GI Joe in Elite Brigade Santa Suit

Another Santa themed figure. This time, your average vintage GI Joe figure wearing a Santa suit from Cotswold Collectible's Elite Brigade line.

Veteran's Day - Old One-Sixth Backyard Dioramas

These were some of the first dioramas I did in my backyard out in New Mexico when I first got out of the Army. While I collected Star Wars as well, my main focus was the 1/6th scale GI Joes from Hasbro, Dragon, Elite Brigade, 21st Century, and others. 

Funny note - photos are from the same backyard. When I purchased the house it had a grass back yard. When I sold it three years later - due to dogs who tore up the sprinkler system - the backyard was all sand. I haven't had a backyard in 14 years.  Wish I did.

Scenes from WW2 Pacific and ETO, Korea, and modern soldiers.

Cotswold's Elite Brigade

Hasbro brought back GI Joe in the Mid-90s with its 12 inch Real American Hero recreation and its Classic Collection. With its popularity, other companies jumped into the fray, and thank goodness. Cotswold Collectibles had been keeping the hobby going for awhile -starting by selling vintage Action Man figures around 1989. Check out their history. They sold plenty of custom equipment (weapons and supplies) and also came out with their own line of figures called the Elite Brigade

What was great about Cotswold is they made figures from obscure battlefields, and paid homage to the soldiers who fought those battles.  Two in particular stood out to me right away since I was in the Army at the time - Grenada and Panama.

PANAMA - 1989 - 7th Infantry Division

7th Infantry Division patch - is on sideways.

Marine - Modern Dress

Army Ranger Medic (I lost his medic bags - he came with two)

Grenada - 1983