Ultimate Soldier's XTreme Detail

Way back around 2000, I remember the cover of Lee's Action Figure Digest and Tomart's Action Figure magazine showing 1:18 WWII soldiers. Saving Private Ryan had just come out and captured the attention of several generations. While toy soldiers had been popular at the 1/6th scale and the 54mm scale, there really hadn't been any historically accurate depictions of soldiers at the 1:18 scale, or the popular Kenner Star Wars 3-3/4" scale.

Enter 21st Century which had done an amazing job at the 1/6th scale and was competing directly with Hasbro GI Joe, selling their figures with beautiful box art at all the big box stores at a similar price value.

21st Century took a step in the 1:18 scale with their XTreme Detail (XD) series. The first series consisted of five US soldiers and five German soldiers from WWII. The detail was awesome. Each US soldier had different rank, unit patches and weapons. There was even a Ranger Captain (Tom Hanks from Saving Private Ryan?). The one tough part was the elbow articulation. It was not the traditional swivel arm like GI Joe: A Real American Hero. Regardless, it was an amazing start. The building diorama sets and vehicles were awesome as well. These figures kick started a 1:18 military collector scale for almost a decade.

Marx Untouchables

I've been a big fan of plastic playsets all my life (Marx, Conte, Barzso, Timmee, etc). I've been a subscriber to http://www.playsetmagazine.com/ for a long time and have each issue. Over the course of the years, I discovered the Marx Untouchables playsets which featured the battles between Al Capone and Elliot Ness during Prohibition in Chicago. While I don't have the playsets or figures, I did purchase the one gangster who is pulling a shotgun out of a golf bag. Gotta love it.

ART Figures Delta Force Sergeant First Class (SFC) - Black Hawk Down

Another 1/6 figure I've been eyeing for a long time. This Delta Force Sergeant First Class (SFC) from Somalia - as immortalized by William Fichtner - didn't last long in the Elite Brigade Catalog. Probably sold out quickly. There have been several Somalia figures from DAM toys which I will have to pick up later.

Looking forward to putting this one together as well.

Let's see...trying to remember how many Somalia based 1/6 figures there are out there.

Dragon - Lucas
Dragon - Danny McKnight - Weekend of Heroes Exclusive 1
Dragon - Danny McKnight - Weekend of Heroes Exclusive 2
Dragon - Gary Gordon
Dragon - Ranger Sergeant Matt (Looks like Josh Hartnett - SGT Matthew Eversman)
Dragon - Delta Force Sergeant Jeff
Dragon - Ranger Sergeant and Delta Force Sergeant 2 Pack (w Black Hawk Down slip cover)

Playhouse - D-Boy (Undercover cameraman - looks like Eric Bana's Hoot)
ART Figures - Delta Force SFC

DAM Toys

93001 CHALK LEADER (75TH RANGER LEADER)

93002 GRENADIER (75TH RANGER GRENADIER)

93003 TEAM LEADER (DELTA FORCE LEADER)

93004 SGT.FIRST CLASS (DELTA FORCE SGT.)

93005 SUPPORT RIFLEMAN (DELTA FORCE SUPPORT RIFLEMAN)

93006 MARKSMAN (DELTA FORCE M14 MARKSMAN)

Soldier's Story's 2nd Infantry Division Korean War Infantry

It's been awhile since I bought a 1/6 scale "GI Joe." Over the years, they just got too darn expensive. The average figures starts at $70 and typically goes over $100. Gone are the days where you could grab a Hasbro or 21st Century Soldier at Target, Toys R Us, or Walmart. Of course, with the price tag comes some phenomenal details and accessories.

Anyway, I grabbed this one for a great deal. I wanted this one because I served in Korea (1997-1999) in the 2nd Infantry Division. I learned a lot about the Korean War there, and studied a lot of the history since I've been back. It truly captures everything about the winter battles there. Looking forward to unboxing this bad boy and taking some diorama photos.

If you want to read about the definitive history of the Korean War, including why the Army was so unprepared for it in June of 1950, read This Kind of War by T.R. Fehrenbach.

League Assignment: What a Nightmare!

What a nightmare! 

Stolen! When I was 10. That's a nightmare.

We owned some property with 14 other families that we would all go to on the weekends...about 35 acres which had lakes, barns, treeforts, barns and large storage sheds. Plenty of places to misplace this case. I know it wasn't one of the kids from the other families, but we all brought friends to the place and I always had a suspect.

For years, I thought they may not be stolen, but that I misplaced them. I would go looking all over. Never found it. 

Fairly easy to replace these days if not mint, but for a 10 year old boy, disastrous nightmare.

Goodwill Geek gave me the creeps with his movie list.

Chris and his Red Ants

I see tanks says Ashley. I totally get this as my parents came from the Eastern Bloc and told me how real this could be (Hungary 1956). 

League Assignment - I Have a Dream...

I have a Dream…

Where one day I can display all my collections (and maybe yours too) at an action figure and toy museum.

While there are toy museums, here and there, there are few that focus on action figures. The Kruger Street Toy and Train Museum (http://toyandtrain.com/) in Wheeling, West Virginia is pretty awesome but doesn’t adequately pay tribute to action figures. I mean, there is only one case of Star Wars figures. There should be a freakin’ room for Star Wars.

The Marx Museum (http://www.marxtoymuseum.com/) is pretty cool as well, but obviously only focused on Marx Toys. There is only one action figure museum, the Toy and Action Figure Museum http://www.actionfiguremuseum.com/site/ I discovered and it is in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, somewhere between Oklahoma City and Dallas, TX. It looks cool, and glad someone had the cojanes to build it.

My dream is to build it in a resort/tourist area – Florida, DC, Boulder, CO where there are a lot of kids, or people who fondly remember their childhoods. When people need a break from the beach or the weather isn’t cooperating, they can take their kids to the action figure museum.

While it would have endless cases of figures, I also intend to have large dioramas.

GI Joe – 12 inch and Real American Hero

101st on D Day

Cover Girl

Sideshow Platoon

Star Wars – vintage, modern, 12 inch

Galactic Marines

Jawas Make a Discovery

Marx, Conte, Barzso playsets

McFarlane NFL and NBA

Da Bears

McFarlane MLB and NHL

Washington Capitals

McFarlane Military

 McFarlane Military

McFarlane General

NECA/McFarlane – Aliens, Predator

AVP3?

Gears of War

Mezco Heroes

Gentle Giant Jumbo Star Wars

Simpsons

Lord of the Rings

Battle of Pelennor Fields

Galactic Heroes

Combat Heroes Combat Heroes

Superhero squad

1:18 Scale Military – 21^st Century, BBI, Bravo Team

WWII City Battle

Walking Dead

Avatar

Marvel Legends and Univese:

  Marvel Legends

Wolverine vs Hand Ninjas

Hulk 181 - The Introduction of Wolverine

Marvel Icons

X-Men 136

Shogun Warriors

SLUG Zombies

Indiana Jones

LEGO

Transformers

DC Universe

World of Warcraft

Dioramas

GI Joe USS Flagg

Gears of War

Gears of War

Walking Dead

Michonne Walks with the Herd

Marvel Legends vs Sentinels

Hoth

1/6 D-Day

NECA “300” 300

Behind the Scenes

How an action figure gets from concept to market.

Customizers Corner

Packaging Art

Books and Magazines

But it’s not just a dream. I’ve been researching commercial real estate, museum display cases, museum builders, and funding (my own, donations, corporate donations, Kickstarters).

I’m in my early 40s and was in fantastic shape, until my heart short circuited four months ago. So now I have a pacemaker. Why do I say that? You only live once…or in my case, I got a second chance. Go make your dreams happen.

Other Dreams include:

Going Back Home to the First Time

Writing and Making Sci-Fi Movies

AJ's Toyboarders

I think I skateboarded once or twice in my life...when skateboards were 5 inches wide and had metal wheels. Never got into them later...sometimes I wish I had. Anyway, I do enjoy collecting plastic army men and playsets. This set of skateboarders I discovered reading Playset Magazine:

http://www.playsetmagazine.com/

AJ's Toyboarders http://toyboarders.com/home.htm are about two inches tall, made of small plastic, and the sculpting is very detailed. The packs come with 24 boarders in 8 different poses @ $5.95/pack. So far there are two series with snow and BMX figures coming in the future. Awesome!