Sunday, January 4, 2015

Let's Joe! January 2015

Hi and welcome to inaugural Let's Joe! post for 2015. As I've said previously, the plan is to post this feature once a month and focus on some of the GI Joes in my crew. While there will be some military figures, I also want to do some "slice of life" stuff and humor as well. In fact, I've been actively searching for civilian clothes and accessories so that the whole series isn't just camouflage and rifles.

January's entry doesn't entirely fit either category but leans closer to the military side. Our subject is Col. James D. Wallace, known as J.D. and commander of my GI Joe forces. J.D. started life some years ago as a figure of the GI Joe character "Roadblock". I transplanted his head to a Super Articulated body and he's been the man in charge for the last ~10 years. Originally, he lead a chapter of the Adventure Team (1970s era US GI Joe concept) and later the team morphed into a military unit. The back story of this unit has changed a bit over the last ten years (otherwise it would get boring, right?) but in every case, J.D. and his loyal troops defend whatever nation they serve against forces that seek to destroy them. Usually, they either serve the real world based "imagi-nation" of Aventine or the post-apocalypse/ post-collaspe "Alliance". I can never decide which story I should ultimately present.

At any rate, here are a few photos of J.D. sort of taking the day off. I couldn't find his blue jeans in time for the shoot, so he's wearing camo pants and jungle combat boots. The jacket is actually a WW2 tanker's jacket, although it's very similar to items I've seen sold in modern times as civilian men's wear. The t-shirt is a "Dri-T" but I forgot to take any photos of it. My original idea was to feature J.D. driving some sort of vehicle but I couldn't smuggle one past my kids to take any outdoor shots. Maybe I can do that some time in the future. Who knows? On with the photos.....





8 comments:

  1. He's quite a stern looking Joe, but definitely a military man. :) Congrats on getting the post done, you're off to a great beginning.
    Hugs,
    X

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    1. Thank you! I wish this shoot could've been a bit more interesting but I'll try harder next time!

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  2. He has a great head, I like it! The hands look awesome with the movable finger part.

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    1. I've always thought the hands (called Gung Ho Grip) were cool and pretty useful although they were somewhat controversial in GI Joe and male action figure collecting circles. The headsculpt has always been a favorite of mine. When I first saw him in the store, I knew that was my commander. Over a decade later, that's still the case.
      Glad you like him!

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  3. His bald head is cool. Reminds me of Integrity's Tariq. I'm all for humor with these guys, even with camouflage and rifles. :)

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    1. Yes, I see a bit of resemblance to Tariq. Like maybe Tariq is the younger brother or cousin who made his career as a model? I've got a couple of funny shoots planned so hopefully, things will work out for me getting them photographed.

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  4. It would be interesting to hear more about his story in both worlds... I love the articulated fingers too... transplanting his head was a great idea!

    He's been in charge a long time!
    Great starting post to the new year!

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    1. Once upon a time, I had blog set up to tell the "real world but fictional country" version of the story. There was also a Facebook page and a Twitter account but it was all too much to keep up with. Then the kids came along and that pretty much ended what was left of that endeavor.
      Some of the back story appears in older posts here at RoG. Any reference you see to Chancellor Stahl or the nation of Caelia, for example. The other story line actually involves many of the same characters and situations but is more alternate history and a bit more bleak (although hopeful). Right now, that would be the version I'm leaning towards although it presents a pretty crapsack world.
      Maybe someday.....

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