Less stuff now

Yesterday, I did it.
The actual physical removal of most of the big vehicles I had left in my motor pool.

Don't get me wrong, I still think all the vehicles just trimmed out are very cool. When the things are really not getting used or sitting in a storage container for 95% of the time, I just don't see me getting as much fun out of the stuff this way.

I've trimmed many long time owned vehicles that I've posted about recently, from my very 1983 HQ, to the 1983 Dragonfly, to vehicles that I've rebuilt like the Phantom X-19, to vehicles I really haven't had that long like the Hurricance. Even the mighty WHALE is gone, as much as I always told myself it would be the VERY LAST vehicle to ever leave my collection.

Good stuff, all gone. But so is the weight of simply having stuff surrounding my corner of the basement. The space is really opened up, and I have the "liquid" value of all my stuff that I can use to complete and get more stuff that I have interest in acquiring.

Although I will not be flying my Night Raven anymore, I gotta admit, that I haven't really used it much for years, and it really rested on its landing wheels on top of a Rubbermaid container for most of the last few years, or eaten up a good chunk of my large shelf space.

Gone, but man, that is one cool plane!! That modern Night Raven CAN NOT TOUCH the old one.

To end on a positive note, I can spread my remaining stuff out and sort, and prioritize now, and most importantly: PLAY!!!

Checkpoint Alpha

Here's a small unit from 1985. I guess officially it is known as just, "Check point." (?!?) But I think most of us GIJOE fans always call it Check Point Alpha.

This was also the name of primary discussion area on SgtSavage.com if I remember correctly, and currently JoeBattlelines. I think that's fitting, it's the big gate, the "alpha" point where GIJoe discussion kind of started.

As far as the actual toy goes, I only got this about 2009, and really didn't complete it (with the clipboard) until a little later in 2010. So, it is really new to me, and I think I got all I'm going to get out of it.

It's a neat little guard tower, even has a speed bump. Really, it matches the Transportable Tactical Battle Platform almost perfectly in color and style. I was really interested in building a big base layout with all the little sets like the Check Point. This was going to be the only way in or out of my HQ, but when it came to trying to actually put up a big layout with everything, there was really the issue of space. When it all gets laid out, for what I wanted it would have taken up a huge spot that I really don't have. (well, on a permanent basis, anyway.)

Because of the fact that I can't really get a big HQ base set up on permanent basis, I'm going to send this Check Point off for trade. The Check Point really seems more like something that would be the main gate guard post of a large installation, ya know?

Going forward with my collection, I'm thinking of taking my Joes into camping mode. Back to basics, on the move, a real mobile strike force that is out there in the action; not so much maintaining a large HQ. (not that my HQ was THAT large, but still...)

This kind of "explains" in my heads imaginative JoeVerse why the Check Point is not here anymore. I've got other things happening in my JoeVerse that will explain my "re-alignments" that I'll post about in upcoming topics.

The Check Point is a really nice set, though. My Security Team almost became the exclusive users of the tower. This alone shows me that I was building a big base in my thinking, where I should have the Security Team more focused in a law enforcement role, instead of being like guards. Not that the HQ doesn't need guards, but the Security Team is much more fun in action, somewhat like urban missions. I'm thinking like Shockwave doing his S.W.A.T. thing.