Updraft : GIJoe helicopter pilot

Updraft
GIJOE Retaliator Pilot.

I put up a list "page" of the GIJOE team members that are in my (I guess I would call it...) "elite" team. As you've read along here, you may remember that I'm bringing my collecting and playing habits small by making myself have only a GIJOE team of 28 figures.

Some choices to make for my team were hard, and it was really down to the nitty-gritty-picky points of what I like more on many of these figures; it came to what qualities a figure had that I thought I would be happiest with, as I was going to have less. A lot of choices that were not easy, and even now as I look at what I have left, I question myself on some.

Updraft, however, was one of the easier figures for me to pick.

When it comes to helicopter pilots in the ARAH toyline, Wild Bill is almost always the most popular go-to choice. I've shared my thoughts on the Dragonfly and Wild Bill here. I like the 2000 "blue" Wild Bill quite a bit. Lift-Ticket is an obvious option, too. I suppose Windmill..., but..., yeah...

It really came down to what I saw as versatility in a figure. I wanted the most flexibility out of a figure that I could get. Updraft really fits what I needed the most. Not only is he a world class pilot, the figure feels like it actually fits in a non-flight seat role.

For me, Updraft is most effective as my teams Tomahawk pilot (the Tomahawk is the core of my GIJOE teams mobility). However, Updraft can keep up on foot on a mission just as well. And he doesn't feel out of place to me.
(and his "JOE" belt buckle is similar to Heavy Duty's belt buckle. Coincidence?)

Updraft isn't all "high-tech" looking, nor does his uniform seem like it is best suited (or limited) to the role of a pilot. Plus, the removable helmet helped to elevate him over Lift Ticket. (Lift Ticket would have been a stronger contender otherwise, as the rest of the body of Lift Ticket is great, as evidenced by Sky Patrol Airborne.)

(Dogfight is becoming best buds with Updraft in my imagination, too. I'll have more on Dogfight another time, for now though, Dogfight is the co-pilot. )

Also, Updraft just plain looks good on the Tomahawk.

Updraft as a figure, and considering file card information, is really kind of a blank slate for me. The chance for me to maybe get some imaginative personality out of this figure was another reason why Updraft was one of my easier team choices.

I can't remember for sure where I got this Updraft here. I'm thinking I bought this figure from the old gijoehq.com back in 2004. It might have even been 2005. Or even 2003! I don't like not remembering where my figures came from, or when I got them.

Anyway, Updraft is here to stay as my teams main pilot

Gone. Gijoes that have left the building. Part 5

Well, as I've looked back at what I had, there's a lot of good memories among all that stuff you see. I've shared the group photos of some of my big "bulk cuts" to my collection. From Part 1, I showed you my big figure cut from October 2011. In Part 2, I showed the "swivel head" articulated figures and others that I had cut in August 2011. And in Part 3, I showed what I cut in May 2011 from an already bare-bones motor pool and then-some. Part 4 shows a big chunk of vehicles and MIP figures and other items that left even before that back in Nov. 2008!

What you won't get to see in a single bunch of photos is the smattering of individually traded and sold GIJoe stuff. And I never did take any pictures of the boxes at a small Madison meet-up in late 2005, or the Ford Taurus wagon full of stuff that I ha with me at the 2005 convention.

So here on out will be a random bunch of GIJoe stuff that has left the building!
























Maybe more random photos to come as I find them. ?

Gone. GIJoes that have left the building Part 4

As I continue (from Part 3) my reverse look back at how my collection has slowly been dwindling in size, I'll have less cohesive photos to say more than I can in writing. So, I may have to simply sum it up on how things went down.

It was around the end of November 2008 when I made another good sized chop. An interesting note is that I pulled my WHALE out of the "bulk" deal at the last moment, but 3 years later I did end up selling it. It was perhaps the biggest one-time draw down I did in one fell-swoop. (I used this liquid value to buy more figures from 2009 into 2010...)

Prior to the 2008 "cut," I met up with some fellow fans down in Madison in late 2005 (shortly after the GIJOE convention in MN) and I was able to trade off some big vehicles and then some. I even got to trade with the now defunct "My generation toys" operator. I may have to make another post with random shots of what I traded there, like the 2003 MCC and my Rolling Thunder and Thunderclap, if I can find them. Or I might just find some old collection shots showing what it was like in my collection at home in 2005 and previous to this "Madison meet-up."

Between 2005 and 2009, I was also trading more online, as well as selling on the Ebay. I'll probably not be able to get a photo grouping of these for you to look at that, though. Perhaps I'll find some photos to randomly put up for something to look at in the next post. ?



Either way, here is what "left the building" in November of 2008 (I did pull my WHALE out just before the deal, so that is why you see it here):










Next up in Part 5 will be a random mix of photos showing what was in my collection around the house that was either traded or sold individually.

Gone. GIJoes that have left the building Part 3

Continued from Part 2, Part 3 here brings me to my May 2011 trimming of my cold weather forces, as well as many larger vehicles.

The cold weather forces were a little easier to send out the door. As much as I really like the dedicated "arctic" troops, it was that overly dedicated role that really limited their overall versatility.

The vehicles that took the ax here were actually what were my choices for an absolute bare-bones motor pool from a previous reductions and trades (see part 4). So what you see in vehicles are some of my favorites, even though I've sent them on. (Yes, even Destro took a hit, but I'll explain that at some point after the New Year starts.)

Even the HQ and Killer WHALE did go. But, less stuff really did give me more room. But pictures of what is gone is what we're here to look at:








But even before getting to the "bare bones" that got cut here, I made even other trims seen in Part 4!

Gone. GIJoes that have left the building: Part 2

In a reverse timeline order, this is continued from Part 1, but Part 1 is actually the most recent big cut to my once decent (and fun!) collection of GIJoes. I cut this part of my collection in August of 2011.

Before trimming the large amount of figures pictured in my Part 1 post, I was considering keeping those as my collection. Those figures seen in Part 1 were really "my years." Those were really the bulk of figures that got the most use from me. Not easy to cut.

The "swivel heads" were a little easier, though. I put up a brief post of thoughts on "swivel heads" here. The figures from 1982-1985, for me, and while VERY COOL still, more often than not did not get out for play. These were the figures that really felt more collector to me, more stuff that just didn't get used.

I still think that as a whole, 1982-1984 makes a great set with the vehicles, and is very much hugely visually interesting together.

Also I decided to trim all the unused Joes from other years, as well as figures that would get little use in my future small collection. So, jet pilots and divers, for instance, didn't have much "future" to me, since my future vehicle collection had no jet planes or boats, really. (This will make sense when I tell you what left the building just prior to this group pictured below)


But anyway, pictures say more. Here is 2nd to last "big chop" of my collection to "leave the building:"













Previous to this huge chunk of my collection, I chopped out another smaller chunk that you can see in Part 3!