G.I. Jigsaw

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Terminator "LEGO" Set

So maybe not Lego...this set was released last year by a company called Best Lock. The blocks work with Lego and Mega Bloks...well they should, I haven't tried it yet. But it was a pretty cool set. I haven't opened it yet.

It is a product I never would have expected to get released but it is a lot of fun, especially since it involves the futuristic fighting briefly shown in the Terminator movies.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Walking Dead Funko Minis

These guys are a lot of fun. Little vinyl zombies and characters from the awesome Walking Dead TV Show on AMC. This is a combination of Series 1 and 2. Looking forward to more.

These are the figures from Series 2.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Marvel Legends All New X-Men Set

The original X-Men were always one of my favorites. Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Ice Man, Beast and Angel were immortalized in a five figure set by Toybiz back in the late 90s. Of all the obscure figures Marvel Legends has released, I am surprised they didn't do any of the original X-Men up until now. Guess they used the new "All New X-Men" story arc and comic that is currently going on in the Marvel universe.

I have seen some complaints about this set. Mostly that they are using already molded pieces to put this together. Short cuts these days in toys is almost a necessary evil. I would rather have a remolded, repainted piece than none at all.

The packaging is pretty cool as well. Glad Hasbro put this out, regardless of the short cuts.

This is one set I may have to purchase two of,...one for opening, one to keep sealed.

Monday, April 14, 2014

League Assignment: When Did I Get So....?

http://coolandcollected.com/the-league-of-extraordinary-bloggers/

When did I get so….into zombies.

You can accuse me of jumping on the Walking Dead bandwagon, but I’ll be quite honest…I have never been a fan of horror…and certainly not a fan of zombies. I thought they were stupid, ambling around and moaning…”brainnnnnnnnnnns!”

Having read several interviews with Robert Kirkman, Walking Dead creator, he often mentions he wanted to do something different. While he liked zombie movies, they always ended the same way…everyone dead, or one guy boating off into the sunset.

So how did I get into Walking Dead? Like many things, quite by accident. I was working on a project to build an eCommerce store for the US Postal Service (https://store.usps.com/store/). They were using a platform from a company called ATG. In order to test its functionality, I asked ATG who else uses their product. Target and Best Buy used it, so I went to Best Buys site and purchased something so I understood all their features and functionalities. On the DVD page, I saw an interesting DVD set called Walking Dead – Season 1. I had seen, but never read, the comics when perusing my local comic book shop.

I ordered the DVD and waited for it to be delivered.

Episode 1 was fantastic. When Rick rides into Atlanta and runs right into a swarm, I was hooked. The rest of the episodes were dramatic and compelling. Episode 6 (TS-19) has become one of my favorites.

Since then, I’ve watched every episode. My wife (who hates horror movies) got into as well. Why? Because it really isn’t about the zombies – it is about the characters and their journey for survival. They are not riding off into the sunset on a boat. They are moving through the Georgia countryside, trying to find a safe place.

Along with the TV series, I’ve been collecting the comic books. I backtracked the whole series by purchasing the hardcover volumes for about $20 each on Amazon.

I have the McFarlane figures, the Minimates, the Skybound Gentle Giant “Army Men” and the Funko Minis. I’ve built several dioramas and looking at building more.

I’ve watched several of the Resident Evil movies. Shaun of the Dead is hysterical. Read World War Z three times.

So what is the fascination with zombies in general? What is different from zombies than vampires or werewolves? In Triumph of the Walking Dead, one of the author surmises that we are very curious as to what would happen if civil society would break down completely – no government, no police, no army, no nothing. And of course, with all the bad news on the news and shows about doomsday preppers, we often wonder how we could handle survival at its rawest?

Anyway, when did I get so into zombies? I guess it started with the US Postal Service.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Mega Bloks Call of Duty

I've been building LEGO sets for the last few years - mostly because my daughter is into the LEGO Friends sets. I also grabbed all of the Indiana Jones sets and a few of the Lord of the Rings sets. Recently, I stumbled onto the Mega Bloks Call of Duty sets at Toys R Us, and now Target and Walmart.

Centered around the Call of Duty video games, the sets include packs of figures (Arctic, Desert, SEAL team). smaller vehicles (Snowmobile, Drone Attack) and larger sets (M1 Abrams, HUMMWV, base). It is interesting how the sets are named. Instead of M1 Abrams or Tank, it is named Heavy Armored Outpost. I get the Heavy Armored part, but Outpost implies a stationary setting. A tank is anything but stationary. It is designed for speed and power. Oh well. Must have been some kind of naming issue.

Regardless, the sets are a lot of fun. The packaging is killer. The mini-figures are actually very challenging to put together. Not impossible, but challenging.

Mega Bloks also released a few zombie sets. I've never played Call of Duty so not sure how the zombies fit in, but I am a big fan of the zombie genre and these are a lot of fun.

I was also surprised to see some WWII sets. These weren't advertised anywhere or displayed at Toy Fair. There are four sets - Landing Craft, Halftrack, Howitzer, and figure set.

During the New York City Toy Fair earlier this year, several more military sets and zombie sets were unveiled. From the military sets, I am most excited for the Blackhawk helicopter.

And of course, you can never have too many zombies.

I've only put the snowmobile and SEAL landing craft together and some figure sets. Looking forward to starting that tank soon.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Cool Story, Bro! A Military Artist who also painted GI Joe packaging art.

This week’s assignment: Cool Story, Bro!

League of Extraordinary Bloggers

So there I was…the Mojave desert…California…1999. I was a combat engineer officer in the US Army and I had just been transferred from Camp Castle, Korea to be an instructor at the National Training Center at Ft. Irwin. I had commanded Alpha Company of the 2^nd Engineers in Korea for the past 15 months.

I had several ongoing hobbies at this point. First, the 12 inch GI Joes were coming back in force. It was nice to be back in the states where I could grab the latest Joes at Toys R Us, Walmart, and Target. I was also a big fan of military art, especially James Dietz and Don Stivers.

I was a member of the 2^nd Engineer Association and I started looking for an artist to commission a painting for my old unit. I contacted Mr. Dietz and Mr. Stivers. The cost was significant. It would take a heroic fund raising effort. So I shelved the project. This had happened several times in the past with others who tried commissioning a painting for their military units.

Flash forward a few years later, I am living in Virginia and looking at an online military print store. A new artist has several prints displayed. The artist was Larry Selman. His work looked…familiar. I did some online searches and found his website. In previous years, he had painted the art for many of the GI Joe packages.

http://larryselman.com/

In his gallery, you’ll see many recognizable GI Joe box art examples.

http://larryselman.com/gallery.asp

Blue Angels
George Washington

Audie Murphy

British Royal Marine

The Tuskegee Airmen

I connected with Larry, who only lived an hour away from me. We determined a fair price, I got the fund raising done now that we secured an artist, and got the painting and prints done.

“Burning of the Colors” is a painting about the 2^nd Engineers during the Korean War. Assigned to be the rear guard of 2^nd Infantry Division’s withdrawal when China entered the war, the engineers fought as infantry, held off a significant Chinese force before they were annihilated. The 1000 soldier battalion reassembled with less than 300 a few days later. Over 300 were captured and held as POWs for three years. Less than 100 survived interment at the POW camps. Before being captured, the battalion commander ordered the battalion flag to be burned so it wouldn't be captured as a war trophy. The battle streamers that hang at the top of the flag pole included battle streamers from the Civil War, WWI, and WWII.

Burning of the Colors

Larry is a true gentleman, a great artist, and outstanding business partner. I always look forward to checking out what he is working on next. Works in Progress can be found at Larry’s blog: http://selmanart.com/

I thought it was especially cool that a lot of his portfolio was part of my Joe collections. After working with Larry, my appreciation for packaging art increased greatly.

Other Leaguers tell their cool story!

The Primordial Badger Takes a Trip in the Snow

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Why Did I Buy That?

This week's assignment from the League of Extraordinary Bloggers is...Why Did I Buy That? I'm sure we all have many fine examples of this regret as collectors. There is one that I will personally never forget.

http://coolandcollected.com/the-league-of-extraordinary-bloggers/

I had just started reading Playset Magazine (http://www.playsetmagazine.com/) which focuses mostly on 54mm toy soldier playsets from Marx's golden age as well as new companies like Barzso and Conte.

After reading a few magazines, I ordered some of their VHS tapes...these are documentaries on different types of sets. At the end of the Combat Sets, a set I had never heard of was displayed - Barzso's "Last of the Mohicans!"...officially licensed by the movie studio to include character figures. During the video, it was mentioned that the set sold out and is very rare.

Since this was one of my favorite movies, I had to get it. I searched Ebay and lo' and behold, there it was.....for $1500. Buy It Now! Bought it. Was very happy with it.

Only later did I realize that the typical going rate was between $400-500. I pulled the trigger the first time I saw it instead of doing research and seeing a few listings over time. I had to learn patience.

Anyway, it is a great set. Love the mountain cliff side where you can reenact the final scene of the movie. But if I had to do it over again, would have waited for a better price.