Thoughts on Collecting

Life has been pretty quiet around the Reasonably Intelligent Rambling compound these days. My wife's mother passed away on September 7th. She lived to an amazing 91 & 1/2 years of age. While her passing was not entirely unexpected, the loss of a loved one is always a sad and possibly sobering event. My mom has been gone over 25 years, so my mother-in-law had easily become my second mom. 

You may ask what this event has to do with the general content of this silly blog. I suppose I've just become a little more reflective of all the crap I've collected over the years. As I watched my mom-in-law's health begin to decline, I couldn't help but to consider my own mortality. I just turned 53 recently and I really don't feel "old". The death of a loved one is still a sobering moment when you consider your own life. 

At this point in my life, I think about if I'm still around at 91 & 1/2 or beyond. Will I have an interest in these silly action figures? As my health declines one day, what will matter to me? I kinda' hope I'll still have a bit of a love for toys. Perhaps, one day, many years in the future, I'll pass along to whatever is next clutching an old Snake Eyes action figure. I certainly hope so.

But I still have to consider what about all this shit that I have right now? We moved into a new house around 2 & 1/2 years ago and brought 16+ years of crap from our previous home. Hell, I've still got some of my old books from when I was a kid!

Sure wish I still had that damn Mattel Space:1999 Eagle from when I was a kid.

So where am I going with this random nonsense? I've signed up for the next set of figures from the GI Joe Collector's Club. I recently bought a large chunk of this year's "50th Anniversary" figures. I still like GI Joe - can't help it. 

The Club recently revealed a mock-up of their Club Exclusive Membership figure - Pythona! Based on this mock-up, I'm not really surprised by the parts choice that they are going with. I've heard that the body is the reactive armor Scarlett body from the Rise of Cobra series. Plus a brand new head sculpt of course. There are extensive paint apps on the body as well as what appears to be a fabric cloak.

I'm all in for this figure - without question. I've always liked the Cobra-La concept and thought that the execution in the animated movie was pretty well done. I loved the idea of an organic-based technology. Never liked the connection to Cobra, but that's a post for another day.

What the heck does Pythona have to do with this post? Rich on Pop Critica recently posted an article about Pythona and his thoughts on GI Joe and his own collecting habits. While he posts some valid points about Hasbro and the Club (maybe, sort of), I was more interested in his selling off of his collection and his disappointment of the brand. I really can't see myself ever getting into that frame of mind.

Sure, I'm disappointed as hell at Hasbro for the treatment of what should be their flagship line. I've written about those feelings several times on this blog. And now, supposedly, Hasbro is going to help out with Action Man's 50th Anniversary in a much bigger fashion than they did with GI Joe. If true, that just sucks.

Whatever.

Supposedly, GI Joe is poised for some sort of relaunch in 2016, probably still in the 3 3/4" - 4" format and I'm fine with that idea. But is it viable for the long term growth of the brand? The vintage, original GI Joe is done. That time is over. I doubt anything like that will ever be seen again.

Change must occur for the survival of the brand. But the core of loyal fans is getting older and I don't know if kids are interested. I don't think so.

I'm getting long-winded here. I'm actually enjoying writing this post and I hope it isn't too "rambling" and still somewhat "reasonably intelligent."

If indeed GI Joe changes into something that no longer interests me; maybe it becomes just a bit too juvenile, even for this old kid, that's just fine with me. If in a few years, the small Joe's have gone the way of the original GI Joe and the world is stuck with 5 POA POS's, then that's fine too.

I have enough of a collection that could keep me mentally engaged for a long time. The overall concept of GI Joe vs. Cobra, to me, is timeless. It can be lifted out of history and the concept can be dropped into modern history. Actually, in my twisted, weird GI Joe world, the events of the 80's is pretty much disavowed. It's time to (cue the song) "Let it go!"

I've written about that before as well. I frikkin' loved GI Joe back in the 80's, but that's done, it's over. We've all matured, let the story mature as well.

I've really enjoyed flushing my brain with this post. I'm inspired again and I've had some pretty crazy ideas for my own personal reboot of the line.

Hell, once the toys entered my home and my mind, everything else that others have said and done about GI Joe are just bits that help form my new vision for GI Joe. These are my toys and my imagination and that's a scary combination.

Stay tuned, I might piss off a few folks, but I'm going to have some fun!

Paging Dr. Kill-Shot

Never forget...

Gung Ho: Revisited

I really like the new update. Honest, I really do. This new version is a great update of the classic o-ring figure. But there's something just a bit off...
There's just too much baby blue. Plus there's just too much YMCA vibe to that much blue. If only Hasbro had gone with the look, but toned down the light blue, maybe darker or dirtier? Maybe some green tones?

I posted a pic of this new Gung Ho on my Facebook page for this nonsense blog and Arnold Barrios, a fellow GI Joe collector, posted his simple and effective upgrade to Gung Ho. Use a Retaliation Roadblock body!

This is Gung Ho's head on the "Ultimate" Roadblock figure. Looks amazing, but I really didn't want to lose the "Rock." 

So I figured I would try Gung Ho's head on the "Battle Kata" Roadblock body. Very nice! I think I like the green more than the tan of the other body. Seems like I'm getting more and more giants on my Joe team. Roadblock, Leatherneck, Repeater, and now Gung Ho! 
So what? Who cares? They're just toys! 

I suppose I'll leave him like this for now. I like the look of this new easy custom Gung Ho. The green uniform is a nice upgrade from that awful baby blue outfit. Maybe one day, if I luck up and find another, I'll try some custom paint work on the original version.

For now, this will be my default Gung Ho figure.

The Corps!

That loveable, oddball, military toy line is at it again.  Largely known for their brightly colored, poorly articulated figures and their garish, misshapen vehicles, Lanard is at it again with a few gems. 

These two ladies... 

I don't think there have ever been any female characters in the history of The Corps. This is a first for Lanard and these lethal ladies seem to be a pretty big hit among the GI Joe collectors. Usually found at Walmart, The Corps has been a staple of the boy's toys aisle for quite some time. They were around way back when I worked at Walmart. Walmart seems to have a good relationship with Lanard to keep the Corps presence in the toy department. Maybe Hasbro could take a lesson? Didn't Hasbro have a military toy line once upon a time?

The most attractive feature of The Corps line from Lanard is the price. Each of these three-packs were under $7.00. For the most part, nearly all of these figures are disposable. 

The male figures in the 3-pack on the left are pretty lame. The guy all the way to the left has an amazing three points of articulation. The guy in the middle has decent upper body articulation, but the legs have the t-crotch syndrome.

The 3-pack on the right isn't much better. Same t-crotch articulation on the guy on the left. The guy in the middle has five whole points of articulation. I'm pretty sure that the male figures will be headed to the trash. I may try to salvage a couple of the heads and see if they would work with some Joe figures. The weaponry and gear are pretty lame and will head to the trash bin.

The two ladies are quite different. They have the traditional o-ring style of articulation. Pivoting knees, ball and socket hips, a slight waist articulation, swivel shoulders and elbows, and a ball and socket neck joint. Both figures share the exact same body mold. Different paint jobs and different head sculpts give the characters separate identities.

They have specific names, but I don't recall them at the moment. The two ladies are a bit too cartoony to integrate into my main GI Joe line, plus they are a bit too tall in comparison to Joe figures.

So why did I buy them? I'm pretty much a sucker for decently made female action figures.

50th Anniversary Reviews: Round Two

The next wave of GI Joe product has arrived and it's time to take a closer look at some of the offerings.

In my opinion, Gung Ho is the best figure from all of the  two packs, three packs, or vehicle sets. I'm not 100% sure, but I think Gung Ho is a brand new figure, no reuse of any other parts. The prototype of this figure appeared a few years ago as part of the "Concept Case" shown by Hasbro at a GI Joe Convention. I'm pretty sure nearly all Joe fans have been quite pleased with this release.

Hasbro captured the original spirit pf the figure in this new version. While not as big as Leatherneck or Retaliation Roadblock, Gung Ho is still larger than the the average GI Joe figure. I've always thought that Gung Ho was a big dude based on cartoon and comic appearances. Not a huge beast like Hasbro did with Leatherneck, but still an above average person.

The drawbacks of this figure are minor. I'm not really thrilled with the weapon load-out, primarily because the mini-gun is a bit too cumbersome and the other weapons seem a bit small. That's not a big deal when I've got a huge supply of weapons for him to chose from. I don't think a character has to be locked in to using a weapon similar to his original version. 

Hasbro did a nice job matching the baby blue color pallette of the original figure. Yeah, that's a nice match, but I think most Joe fans would have been happy with a more subdued shade of blue or perhaps some green tones. Not a major complaint. Maybe if I luck up and find another, I might try my hand at a paint job. And I'm not really thrilled with the lower legs. I'd rather have the side to side pivot of the ankles over the new style of foot articulation.

The Cobra Shadow Guard that came with Gung Ho headed off to eBay. Not a huge fan of the figure, I thought I could maybe make a few bucks on a resale.

Next up is Storm Shadow and Spirit. This version of Storm Shadow reflects the design of the original figure when he switched from Cobra to GI Joe. Stormy looks pretty good, but his head perches a bit too high on his neck. I've drilled out the head a little to make it sit down a little lower. Stormy has a decent collection of weapons. Ninjas everywhere.

This is an interesting take on Spirit. The skin tones are much darker than previous versions. More accurate ethnically? Don't know, but he still looks pretty cool. I really don't like the vest that Hasbro used; it's too clunky and interferes with head movement. I'll probably use an extra vest from a Retaliation GI Joe trooper since they share the same torso.

Next up is the Shipwreck and Cobra Commander two pack. I really like this version of Shipwreck. Hasbro picked a nice selection of parts for the build. I was originally thinking custom potential, but I think he's my default Shipwreck now.

A black uniform Cobra Commander with snappy red highlights. The red hood and the red gloves look pretty cool in contrast to the black uniform. The red shoes? Oh, how pretty! They just don't work. Decent figure, but the red shoes kind of spoil him a little.

Next up is Alpine from one of the three packs. This figure has been notoriously difficult to get due to the limited release of the original DVD set that he came with. I wanted this set primarily for Alpine, but once he's in hand, I'm not really impressed. Sure, he looks great, but he's a bit of a throwback to the 25th Anniversary era of figure construction. I'm still glad to have him in my collection. 

The Rock Viper that came with him? I get the inclusion as an opponent to Alpine, but I've never been a fan of the figure. Off to eBay!

Next up is the Iron Grenadier and Steel Brigade two-pack. Not much to say here, these two are just straight re-released figures. I like the IG, but I've never been that impressed with them to go nuts with the troop building. A big bulky figure, kind of cumbersome. Those blue and white paint apps on the legs are just sloppy.

Can't go wrong with another Steel Brigade figure. This has always been an excellent figure, but I may use him as custom fodder. I usually use the vests on some other figure. Personally I think a better two-pack would have been the Steel Brigade trooper and this next guy...

The Cobra Shock Trooper. Always a winner (mostly). A great set of gear and loads of custom potential. The drawback, for me, about this figure, has always been the head sculpt. Without all the gear, it just seemed to be a bit too high. I've wound up using most of the ones that I do have as customs, one serving as a body for Scrap Iron, while the rest have been mixed with the Renegades Cobra Troopers.

In my opinion, these two would have made for a better two-pack. Hell, they are both basically the same figure. Same body, same webgear, and I think that they would make for better opponents.

Just one more quick look at Gung Ho and Shipwreck. The new body for Gung Ho does give him some height and bulk when compared to Shipwreck. That's the way I always figured that Gung Ho would be.

But I'm still not really thrilled with the overall look of Gung Ho. That outfit is just a bit dated and it's just too much baby blue. I've got to do something about him.

Overall, of the figures that I have bought, this is a pretty decent set of figures. I've recently seen the two vehicle sets and am tempted, but I'm not ready to drop that kind of money on them right now.

Hoping for bigger and better things for GI Joe in 2016.