tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40863532479881172712024-03-14T00:46:01.572-05:00The Republic of GeektopiaThe childish pursuits of an alleged adult.Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.comBlogger124125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-71417040149938513072020-09-13T20:18:00.003-05:002020-09-13T20:18:36.302-05:00It’s Dead Jim!I guess it’s time to finally admit that, after a bit over 4 years without an update, Republic Of Geektopia is dead! Anyone who was a regular reader back in the day will probably have noted that the associated Instagram account I set up no longer exists. There are numerous reasons, including the increasing expense, the aging out of some segments in the hobby, the increasingly despicable nature of social media, the lack of room for new toys and honestly, just a personal loss of interest. I’m getting older and finding escapism less appealing. Blogger itself is about as relevant as MySpace nowadays, although I actually prefer the long form blogger format to the toxic waste dump that is Tumblr and the crap fest of Twitter.<div><br /></div><div>To be honest, it’s really no longer any fun for me. I’ve long since lost contact with most of the folks I knew through this blog, so the social aspect is pretty much dead too. </div><div><br /></div><div>My intention is to shut this all down at some point. My daughter has expressed an interest in many of the dolls I’ve shown here and she’ll get first choice of the collection before anything is sold or given away. Expect to see RoG go off line sometime after the first of 2021. Thanks for playing along in the past and take care!</div><div><br /></div>Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-4071973579490373472016-08-05T13:17:00.001-05:002016-08-05T14:19:48.846-05:00Blah Blah Blog....Hey folks! So you noticed August 1 came and went without a post, huh? Yeah, I have it written but there just hasn't been a lot of time or motivation to do the photo session. Actually, work is delayed on September and October's entries as well. I've decided just to take a little break and step away for a little bit. It may be a few weeks or a month or two. I don't really know yet. At this point however, I do intend to keep blogging here at RoG until at least the end of 2016. Beyond that, I think I'm going to go on hiatus after the first of 2017 and I may start blogging at another page more exclusively about GI Joe and related subjects. We'll see how that goes.<br />
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Anyway, as I've said before, I don't plan to simply disappear without a formal announcement. This isn't a "goodbye" so much as a "see you later". Thanks for sticking with me!Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-22979527913971744392016-07-04T00:00:00.000-05:002016-07-04T00:00:34.140-05:00Independence Day- July 2016 PhotoblogI have to admit feeling a <i>bit</i> ambivalent about an Independence Day themed blog entry. I love my country but I'm feeling pretty unhappy with the state of things right now…. Well, let's not get in to socio-political stuff.<br />
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At the suggestion of the lovely Mrs. Geektopian, this month's entry is General George Washington. Hasbro made this figure as part of their Famous Generals GI Joe series way back in the late '90s. (Way back? Holy heck! Really?) He's pretty much a standard Classic Collection Joe body with a rather nice head sculpt and accessories and he had remained in his box right up until I did the photo shoot. I had plans to switch his body with a later GI Joe Super Articulated body but I've decided to leave him as he is for now.<br />
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First, the standard views that I post with every entry-<br />
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Now some detail shots-<br />
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The very nice map table and accessories.<br />
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The 13 star flag, which proved to be surprisingly difficult to photograph.<br />
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Finally, some shots of the elaborate box. He spent around 18 years in this box but he's happy to be out and ready to kick that Cornholio guy's ass! Oh sorry, that was Cornwallis! LOL</div>
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<br />Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-42024883824217279352016-07-01T11:35:00.000-05:002016-07-01T11:35:08.186-05:00Brief Delay…. Again!Hey folks, just like with June's entries, July's entry will be delayed. I plan to post on July 4th to coincide with US Independence Day. For many of you, this means it will appear later in the day of the 4th or even possibly on July 5th. After this, the monthly photo blog <i>should hopefully </i>return to its regular first of the month schedule.Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-68716392079308633842016-06-08T00:00:00.000-05:002016-06-08T10:42:31.771-05:00D Day Special, pt. 3After I finished the photo session for the previous entries, I started scouting around for what else I had in my collection that would tie in to my D Day theme. And while I'm not an avid completist collector of WW2 figures, it turns out I have a nice little selection. This isn't everything but for my next D Day tribute installment, I wanted to show a couple of my older figures and one in progress.<br />
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Here we have Dragon's 1st Infantry Division "Sgt. Dave" and a GI Joe Collector's Club 2nd Ranger Regiment figure. I have left them both as close to out of the box as possible and while Sgt. Dave still holds up pretty well, Joe could use some changes and upgrades to his gear. At the least, he needs a smaller helmet and more to-scale weapons, although I will probably switch his body for the later Super Articulated style I normally use.<br />
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Here are my normal four-view shots; sorry, no "in action" shots this time! First up, Ranger Joe-<br />
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Next we have 1st Infantry Sgt. Dave-</div>
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Dave is special to me because he was a birthday gift from my wife some years ago and was my first Dragon WW2 figure.</div>
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Finally, a brief look at BBI's 101st Airborne paratrooper, Cpl. Bud Norris-</div>
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Cpl. Norris is a really nice figure in spite of some early-2000s era details but I haven't been able to get much work done on him recently. Also, to be honest, I'm getting a little done with the D Day theme right now (Short Attention Span Theatre!) and I want to switch out some of his gear and weapons before I consider him finished.</div>
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I hope you've all enjoyed this D Day tribute and that you'll stick around for more bloggy adventures in the coming months. My wife has managed to convince me to stick with this format at least for the near future and so I've started compiling a list of possible subjects to post here during the next six months.</div>
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<br />Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-27745248784084594592016-06-07T00:00:00.000-05:002016-06-07T00:00:03.111-05:00D Day Special, pt. 2Continuing with the the US D Day theme as promised, our next subject is a 101st Airborne paratrooper. Like the previous entry, this guy is a "neo-retro" GI Joe style figure. In this case, the entire figure was produced some years ago (early 2000s?) by Cotswold. The one change I had to make was replacing his rifle, a folding stock M1 carbine, with an item from 21st Century Toys after two cast metal Cotswold rifles broke in transit.<br />
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A couple of close ups of our trooper's headsculpt and face up. You'll notice the Mohawk haircut and warpaint worn by some units of the 101st Airborne.<br />
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Finally, a few "in action" shots:<br />
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I realized there are no actual German soldiers for this guy to fight against. The closest thing I have are my East German-inspired troops but that wouldn't really work. Oh well!</div>
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A bonus "buddy" shot with infantry sergeant Joe from the previous entry:<br />
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<br />Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-72109081602368465712016-06-06T00:00:00.000-05:002016-06-06T00:00:19.499-05:00D-Day Special- Photoblog June 2016June 6, 2016 marks the 72nd anniversary of the Allied invasion of France, better known as D-Day. One of the most significant invasions in military history, it would mark the beginning of nearly a year of intense bloody fighting in Europe leading to the defeat of Nazi Germany and her allies. While I am well aware of the contributions and actions of all Allied nations, I have chosen to focus on US forces simply because these are the figures I have in my collection. Nothing more complex than that.<br />
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First, we have a retro-vintage style GI Joe (really, Action Man) dressed as a US Army infantry sergeant from mid-1944. One small but unavoidable error is the unit patch on his shoulder. This is from the Kiska Task Force that fought in Alaska's Aleutian Islands nearly a year earlier. This unit wasn't involved in the D Day invasion, as far as I know but the insignia was already on the jacket when I bought it!<br />
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This is about as close to a typical grunt rifleman as I could get with the parts I had on hand. Everything here aside from the base figure is from Cotswold's Elite Brigade and Gearbox lines. I borrowed the pants and boots/leggings from a Cotswold Ranger, so eventually, this guy will be pantsless and shoeless again. I swapped the hard hands with reproduction Action Man action hands, Palitoy's original version of what became known as Kung Fu Grip. These repro-vintage Action Man figures have so far proven to be among my favorites of the new/old style Joes.</div>
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Now for a few action shots which turned out pretty cool but reminded me of why I don't get down in the dirt and play anymore.</div>
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While this entry is running long, there's still more to come. Please stay tuned!Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-34548162275180947182016-06-01T00:00:00.000-05:002016-07-01T11:46:24.198-05:00Quick status update.<br />
Just to let you all know, the June photoblog entries will be delayed until June 6 in order to coincide with the 72nd anniversary of D Day. And yes, I said entries…. I'm hoping to make it a multi-day, multi-post issue, depending on how much time I have for photo sessions.<br />
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Here's a preview I posted on Instagram recently:</div>
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Beyond this, I'm not sure what's in store for this blog. Including the year I participated in Heather's (littlebearries) Adventurers Club, I've been doing this same format for nearly 2 1/2 years and I'm thinking it might be time for a format change. I'm not sure yet what I would do differently since this works well enough for me as an old guy with young kids. It feels a little stale though and maybe a bit predictable, although predictable isn't really a bad thing for me. I had hoped to make a definite decision by now but June is here and no ideas have crept forth. Unless something brilliant occurs to me, I'll start working on ideas for at least the third quarter of 2016 and reassess things after that.</div>
Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-47123537184219726292016-05-01T00:00:00.000-05:002016-05-01T00:00:37.840-05:00Utaha Kasumigaoka- Photoblog May 2016So, since I've beaten the crap out of all my loyal readers with a steady diet of military subjects the past few months, I decided to mix things up with… a Japanese schoolgirl! I haven't been following any anime series recently and <i>Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata</i> isn't on my "must watch" list but when I saw this Azone Pure Neemo doll of Utaha Kasumigaoka, I knew I had to add her to my PN crew. The short version of Utaha's story is that she's a brilliant student who is already a published popular author. She gets involved in creating a dating sim game with some fellow students and there you have it. You can read more about it <a href="http://saekano.wikia.com/wiki/Utaha_Kasumigaoka" target="_blank">HERE</a> because, naturally, there's a Wikia! Anyway, on the the photos.<br />
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A few more shots, previously posted to Instagram.</div>
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The Christopher Moore and Peter Green books belong to my wife. I haven't posted the blonde "fuzz head" Joe here yet.<br />
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Utaha with two guys you've previously seen posted here. A last moment pose change created a safety situation with the British Para's rifle. Sorry Utaha!<br />
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An in-the-box shot trying to defeat the dreaded Glare Monster.</div>
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That's all for now, see you again soon!</div>
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<br />Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-88382163172324351672016-04-17T11:32:00.000-05:002016-04-17T11:32:38.329-05:00Super Secret Hobby Secrets Which Are Secret!I'm in a grumpy, bitch and moan mode so pardon me. I've been in the 1/6 scale doll-action figure hobby for nearly 20 years, 19 years this April to be exact. Before that, I had been a scale modeler since first grade and in fact, I'm still dabbling in that hobby more than four decades later. The thing is, I've never had any "hobby secrets" and I've always disliked when people did. Let me back up and say that I totally understand if you have a business that relies on some sort of "trade secret" to keep getting paid. Generally though, touting your finished projects while refusing to answer questions about it always annoys me. You didn't learn most skills sets entirely on your own and if you'd rather not share your super secret special methods, don't taunt people with them either. No, I don't believe you have any obligation to pass along methods, materials and techniques to the hobby community but you can avoid being a jerk about not doing it.<br />
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I bring this up because I've had some encounters recently with an individual in an online doll community who gets very snitty and testy whenever someone asks about a doll or accessory this person has posted. The response is always something like "why don't you use Google?" You'll notice that I generally post a list of parts used and their manufacturers. I'll always try to clarify if something is confusing and admit that sometimes, I just don't know. Most of my 'bashes are dead simple but I don't expect my readers to have encyclopedic knowledge of subject matter and manufacturers past and present. If you want to know where the shoes or jacket on one of my figures came from, I will endeavor to answer you. The only time it gets annoying is if a person expects me to do the legwork of finding something for them or repeatedly badgers me to sell or give something to them. But if you say "where did that pair of pants come from?" I'll never say "why don't you just Google it?" In the few cases that I've genuinely worried about causing a run on an item I needed for a project, I've kept it quiet until I have my supply laid in. I've done that maybe twice in the past decade.<br />
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These recent episodes with this particular doll collector have reminded me of how much I dislike this attitude. I hasten to mention that this didn't happen to me personally but was something I witnessed. I've already learned not to ask this person any "how'd yo do that-where'd you get that?" type questions. Like I said above, there's no OBLIGATION to answer such questions, it's simply nice when people do it.<br />
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I don't know, maybe I'm totally off-base here. Is this just me or do you feel the same way? I would love to hear some thoughts from my readers on this.<br />
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<br />Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-2497649972420839632016-04-10T21:05:00.000-05:002016-04-12T13:05:41.041-05:00British Para- Photoblog April 2016This month, we'll take a look at a modern-ish British paratrooper, better know as a Para. To be honest, while I've always found these guys a fascinating subject, I won't claim any sort of expertise on them. Nice way of say that yeah, he's probably wrong but that's just how it is! In fact, the uniform represents an earlier style of the famous DPM camouflage while the load bearing gear is post-1995 but I thought it looked cool. As usual, I managed to lose my small stash of bayonets while working on this guy.<br />
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The basic breakdown is: Base figure is a super articulated GI Joe; uniform, boots and web gear from Dragon; beret from BBI and SA80 rifle from 21st Century Toys.<br />
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The uniform looks more like an early (~1970s) version of the DPM camo.</div>
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Close up without the rifle to show uniform and gear detail.</div>
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The famous red para beret.</div>
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SA-80 5.56x45mm rifle.</div>
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Sorry for the late update this month but as they say here on the 'net, "life got in the way"! A combination of wretched weather, having my house repainted and dealing with some plumbing issues conspired with the usual family and life obligations to delay my photo shoots until now. May's entry should be back on schedule and I'm hoping to have June's entry ready in time as well. Beyond that, I haven't decided where to go with the blog. At the once a month snail's pace I'm posting, I could basically never run out of subjects. On the other hand, I think it's getting a bit stale. Maybe short, random entries more frequently? I dunno….Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-63522307754726186532016-03-01T00:00:00.000-06:002016-03-01T00:00:00.253-06:003a Родина! -Photoblog March 2016OK, I hadn't planned on another Russian/Soviet soldier so soon but this one is sci-fi/dieselpunk/alternate history <i>and</i> one of my grail figures <a href="http://republicofgeektopia.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-2014-want-list.html" target="_blank">See Here</a>, so I'll make an exception.<br />
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Anastasia is a character from the comic/game series <i>Dust.</i> Basically, the series is set in an alternate timeline where WW II continues with super technology, zombies and super-natural elements. She's some kind of Soviet special forces soldier who, as you can see, wields an impossibly large weapon to fight against…um, whatever! I've always liked this girl because she was from an alternate WWII/dieselpunk setting and she avoids the "tactical combat hooker" that a lot of other female action figures seem to fall in to. Unfortunately, she's been made of unobtanium in recent years and on those rare occasions one did turn up, they were usually quite expensive. When I saw this girl at a favorite e-tailer of mine for around $40 USD, I couldn't pass her up! I should also mention that she's 1/6 scale and from Armoury/Twisting Toyz (both logos are on the box). On with the photos….<br />
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The now-obligatory in the box photos. Next, a larger than usual number of (not) super-exciting outdoor shots.</div>
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My typical four-view pose. The uniform isn't anything like a WWII era Soviet style but it looks really cool and seems nicely detailed. OK, so the boots and <strike>big fur hat</strike> <i>ushanka </i>are sort of correct but again, this is supposed to be a Dieselpunk type figure so you'd expect things to be a bit different from "historically accurate".</div>
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I think her face is rather pretty in spite of being a bit cartoonish. I doubt real Soviet female soldiers ever wore this amount (or any) makeup but she's a fantasy figure so…yeah.<br />
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Two shots of the Big-Ass Gun that is literally too big for her to hold and use. It's a cool looking piece of hardware but it could stand to be a bit smaller. You'll notice I switched her bare hands for the gloved versions in these shots.<br />
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Finally, all that winter gear is a bit much for 70 degree F weather (about 21 C for those of you in the rest of the world) so Ana has taken off her hat and opened her coat. Speaking of big guns…! You're not seeing things, she really does have purple hair. I would have tried for some more shots but at this point, my 2-year-old daughter is trying to "help" by moving my tripod and my 3-year-old son decided to headbutt me in the ass then tell my to stop taking pictures of my stupid GI Joe! End of photo shoot!</div>
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Until next time…. Adios!Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-57644464531407087202016-02-01T00:00:00.000-06:002016-02-01T00:00:13.378-06:00Bundeswehr Gebirgsjäger- Photoblog February 2016This month, we have the first of several figures from Armoury's International solder collection that I hope to showcase this year. This fellow represents a Federal German mountain soldier (gebirgsjäger) and has been released from the box he's been trapped in since the early 2000s. While I'll conduct a brief review in a moment, first a rant.<br />
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Considering the popularity of WW2 era German subjects in the 1/6 scale action figure hobby, the lack of post-War German soldiers is rather shocking. In fact, there have basically been NO German soldiers of either east or west from the Cold War era and only a small handful of post-reunification troops. Most of those figures have represented the para-military GSG-9 and KSK. As far as regular grunt Bundeswehr troops go, this guy and a similar Fallshirmjäger (paratrooper), along with some carded desert uniform and equipment sets, all from Armoury, seem to be it. I'm not forgetting the more recent carded uniform from Soldier Story, the two Magic Cube KSK guys or the Soldier Story KSK operator.<br />
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<i>IIIIIIII'm the man in the box!</i></div>
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Lots 'o pics. I was experimenting with different camera settings but I'm not really sure I'm happy with the result. I've given him the uncreative name "Hans" because, well, I ain't feeling creative!</div>
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The usual 4-view shots that you always see here. For some reason, I couldn't really get him to hold his rifle closer to his body. Over all, I like the detailing on this guy although some of old school materials like the extensive use of elastic straps shows its age. I ended up leaving some things out like his radio and pistol because I lacked good research information. I took a wild guess on the bayonet because I couldn't see it in any photos I had.<br />
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Close up shot of his face. Again, not what collectors would accept today but I like him as he is.<br />
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The Heckler and Koch G36 rifle. Like most weapons, some troops love it and some hate it. If I were starting my own army though, it would definitely be a contender.<br />
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A final shot of Hans that I posted on Instagram. I wouldn't mind having a few more sets of this basic uniform. I've had this idea of doing figures from a semi-fictional "Euro-Force" or possibly a German supplied fictional country but both this Flecktarn and the similar Japanese Jeitai camo have been a bit hard to find lately. Even though this guy is a mountain soldier, it would be fun to have a few like him paired with a 1/6 scale Leopard 1A5 and/or Marder 1A3 as an older generation Panzer Grenadier squad. That isn't going to happen but it would be cool.<br />
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See 'ya next time!Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-88203526496621933442016-01-08T21:14:00.002-06:002016-01-09T10:18:10.324-06:00That Liebster Award-Nomination Thing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, Spica at <a href="http://spicasmago.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Spicasmagoria Extreme</a> (or is it just Spicasmagoria now?) nominated me for this Liebster Award thing. As most of you know, this is another one of those blog/social media chain letter things and if you've ever gotten a chain letter, you know there are dire consequences for breaking the chain. If I remember the ones I used to receive by snail mail back in the day, Joe Smith broke the chain and died 20 years later at the age 102 in a legal brothel after a weekend of partying! So, better not tempt fate.<br />
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Anyway, here are the eleven questions I was asked and my answers. Remember that the root of Liebster is LIE, so you'll have to decide for yourself how much inspiration I've taken from that in my responses.<br />
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<b>1. Fantasy or science fiction? Or both? Or neither? (if neither what genre do you like?)</b></div>
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- I lean more towards Sci Fi since I'm not much of a traditional "Sword and Sorcery" fan. Honestly though, I don't read any contemporary Sci Fi any more since so much of it is anvilicious drivel trying desperately to seem edgy and provocative. I mostly read non-fiction history and current affairs when I get the chance. I'm trying to read a book on world architecture right now and I enjoy a lot of Simon Winchester's stuff (Krakatoa, Crack at The Edge Of The World), just for a couple of examples.</div>
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<b>2. Who or what is your childhood hero? Do you still look up to them?</b></div>
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- I don't know if I could say "heroes" per se but as a child I admired Ruth from the Bible, Benjamin Franklin, Davy Crockett and Neil Armstrong to name a few that come to mind. I think they've all generally held up to my admiration over time.</div>
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<b>3. What fictional character do you love to hate?</b></div>
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- Hmmm…. I think I'm becoming curmugeonly because nobody is really standing out right now. I love fluffy moe anime series but let's face it, most of those characters are a collection of tropes and archetypes thrown in to a series of predictable plot turns and twists. </div>
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<b>4. Three things that make you happy? (or more if you get inspired!)</b></div>
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- That's a tough question when the "Black Dog" lives at your house but I love and am grateful for my wife and kids.</div>
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<b>5. What movie/TV-show did you watch last? How did you like it?</b></div>
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- Probably something involving Thomas the Tank Engine. It blends together after a while and I don't know if I liked it or not! LOL</div>
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<b>6. Your favorite restaurant/shop? Tell us a little about it!</b></div>
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- I miss my favorite restaurants in New Orleans but that was a long time ago in a life far, far away. Currently, the restaurants I like are Jutama's (Thai), Tabella (Italian) and Crescent City (US Southern/Creole). I rarely get to go to any of them nowadays but I still like 'em.</div>
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<b>7. What kind of things do you keep always with you? Or do you have such things?</b></div>
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- My iPhone is pretty much always with me until someone actually tries to call me.</div>
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<b>8. What kind of music do you listen to?</b></div>
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- REAL music! None of that crap you young whippersnappers call "music" nowadays.</div>
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<b>9. Do you believe in magic? (the nature of magic not defined)</b></div>
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- Not in the traditional sense of a magic user casting spells and that sort of thing. I would call myself a grumpy empiricist except for the Christianity part. On the other hand, I have very little patience with this faux rationalist cargo cult who insist <i>"Science!" </i>has the answer to everything.</div>
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<b>10. Internet memes! Like 'em or hate 'em? Favorite/least favorite meme?</b></div>
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- Total guilty pleasure and the more stupid, silly, rude and annoying, the better. I wish I could think of some better ones but "Drive Me Closer, I Want To Hit Them With My Sword!" and "Oh, The Huge Manatee!" still make me smile.</div>
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<b>11. What do you think about tattoos? Do you have one(or more)? If you would get one what kind of a tattoo would it be?</b></div>
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- I'm tired of them, like worn out, eye-rollin', ovah it, <i>DONE!</i> I ran in some "artsy" crowds once upon a time and the folks with extensive ink, lots of piercings and wild or retro hair were already common 20+ years ago. To me, it's not fresh, rebellious or counterculture; it's what your grandma did back in the day. And yes, I know at least one 60 year old woman with ass antlers! I don't have any ink but if I did get a tat, it would be a naked Obama on a winged unicorn wielding a hammer and sickle. Because, why the hell not? LOL</div>
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I can't think of eleven questions because my two year old fell asleep late today and is now wired and ready to go while I'm tired as heck. Besides, I'm old enough to be <i>your</i> dad anyway, so get off my lawn, wipe that smirk off your face and turn down the damn noise! LOL</div>
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Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-83483593799854609722016-01-02T00:00:00.000-06:002016-01-02T00:00:01.637-06:00 A Defender Of The Glorious Revolution!Hello, and welcome to the all new 2016 version of Republic Of Geektopia! Oh wait, it's looks like it'll be more of the same, lame old crap. Never mind!<div>
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This month's Photoblog post is another <i>Let's Joe!</i> entry. The subject is the recently released collaboration between customizer Mark Cole and Cotswold Collectibles of a Cold War era Soviet paratrooper. This particular set owes a lot to the original 1980s movie <i>Red Dawn </i>in that the uniform is based on the impressionistic, fictional camouflage from that film. To the basic uniform set, I added some Soviet/Russian equipment from my spares, including an ammo pouch and gas mask bag from DAM Toys, a canteen from KGB Hobby and a bayonet from Armoury. Mark sewed the uniform and beret while Cotswold provided the belt (including a vintage die-cast Action Man buckle), t-shirt, boots, rifle, pistol and holster. I added a Cotswold "Carl" that I already had in my collection and there you have it! While not 100% authentic, I had a lot fun putting this guy together and I hope you'll like him too!</div>
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Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-40998125295859809882016-01-01T00:00:00.000-06:002016-01-01T15:05:53.840-06:00The Obligatory "Year In Review" Post….First up, let me just say that if years were body parts, 2015 would be the a--…uh, never mind!<br />
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I'll save you all the complaining about personal life stuff and just stick to the hobby part of it. Which was, oddly enough, rather good. At least in the first half of the year, I managed to acquire a number of items on my wish list.<br />
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Saru Inu-Ya JGSDF soldiers.<br />
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Made in the classic GI Joe style, these guys are the modern style Japanese soldiers that Takara would've made if they'd still been making Combat Joe in the late 1990s. Actually, I'd say these are <i>better than</i> the Takara figures since they didn't skimp on pouches and web gear and generally have nicer detail. I'd been wanting these guys for a while and was glad to finally add them to the Joe crew, at reasonable prices too! This was a series of three, so there's still one more out there somewhere. However, I'm happy with these two and I'm a bit farther along in my weird fascination with collecting 1/6 scale modern Japanese soldiers.</div>
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Takara Combat Joe.</div>
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Speaking of Takara Joes, I finally decided to get one this year. This Combat Joe was a birthday gift from my family and was quite an awesome gift. While not shown here, he came with all of his gear and represents a US soldier from WW2. I might eventually have to track down another one of these but I'm fine with this one example for now.<br />
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Azone Shana.<br />
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Although I'm not really a fan of <i>Shakugan no Shana</i>, I've always thought this 1/6 Azone/Obitsu hybrid was just too cool. With the the dollar to yen exchange rate being great for early 2015, I was able to pick this girl up for a very reasonable price. In fact, I managed to add a few Azone/Obitsu hybrids to my crew this past year and hope to share them on this blog and Instagram in the coming year.</div>
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Azone Pure Neemo Yuzuha.</div>
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Yuzuha has been a bit of a frustration for me. I loved "Rocker Girl" and "Sweets ala Mode" was OK too but I never could seem to buy one in pre-order. The after-market prices were more than I wanted to pay as well and I was starting to wonder if I would ever have one. I have to say though I'm glad I was able to get this version because I think she's just adorable and maybe a bit more unique than the previous versions. I only regret that she doesn't get more time in front of the camera because I'm really fond of this girl.</div>
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Is there more? Heck yeah! In fact, from a purely hobby perspective, this was a very successful year. Too bad the suck of other parts of the year totally overwhelmed these little bright spots of fun. The monthly photoblog project was not as grand an endeavor as I hoped it would be, in spite of setting the bar pretty low to start with. Nonetheless, I plan to continue the project at least into the early months of 2016, mostly because I still have a backlog of dolls and figures I'd like to photograph and post. As I mentioned previously, I also have this idea for a story line that ties some of my figure projects together. I'm not making any promises here but <i>maybe</i> I can find some way to present it. We shall see….</div>
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Anyway, here's hoping everyone has a Happy New Year and a better tomorrow! Take care!</div>
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<br />Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-35600162926780997692015-12-25T00:00:00.000-06:002015-12-25T00:00:12.189-06:00So This Is Christmas….No, I'm not a big fan of that old John Lennon song but I borrowed the title anyway!<br />
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I'm reposting a couple of photos I loaded to Instagram the other day and it's basically just Santa Joe from this month's photo blog entry in some "action" poses.<br />
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I hope all of my readers will have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. For those of you who pray, I hope you'll add your voice to those asking for relief and solace to the people who've lost property and loved ones, and those who've suffered injury in yesterday's (Dec. 23, 2015) horrific storms in Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi. This seems to have become a yearly event now, as exactly one year earlier (Dec. 23, 2014), a devestating tornado tore through several counties in southern MS, killing five people. (The Dec. 2015 storms were in the northern part of MS.)</div>
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Take care all!</div>
<br />Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-14198314026586184532015-12-23T21:30:00.000-06:002015-12-23T21:30:44.699-06:00What Next?WARNING: Oh no, it's a think piece!<br />
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With 2015 staggering to a close, the question for me is...<i>What Next?</i> I tentatively plan to continue the monthly photoblog feature at least through the first quarter of 2016, mostly because I have a sufficient backlog of of subjects to post. However, let's face it; most of you are probably bored shiftless with it at this point. I enjoy photographing and posting them but I realize that it isn't very interesting or dynamic.</div>
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I've been dabbling in a sort of alternate mid-20th century scenario where most of the countries from WW II are played by thinly veiled versions of themselves, in the grand manga-anime tradition of countries like Gallia, Helvetia or all the countries in that series with the flying girls/mecha/furry/panty shot/gun porn fetish stuff. (Strike Witches?) Some major differences are that this is no "Nazi Alien Superweapons Win WW2" and that most of the technology is at least plausible for the era. In fact, the biggest change from the real world is that the Nazis never come to power as such. Yep, no Hitler, no Nazi party, no flying cyborg SS truppen with laser rifles and hover tanks (Fliegpanzer?) taking over the world.<br />
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However, nature and power abhor a vacuum, so you can expect <i>somebody</i> to step in and fill the space.<br />
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I'm thinking this guy may have a new mission----<br />
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But heck if I know! To be honest, after this past year, I'm not so sure I could pursue such a story line with much enthusiasm or give it the time it deserves. Trudging outdoors to take photos of little plastic people and posting them on a blog once a month doesn't require a huge amount of creative effort <i>BUT</i> that lack of creative effort can become apparent at times. And let's face it; real life, adult world problems and issues always crop up and complicate things. I won't bore you with the details but the last four months have been well, <i>interesting</i>.</div>
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Anyway, yeah…. It does make it a bit less of a priority to think about toys or making up fictional (or semi-fictional) worlds for them to inhabit. This does make me wonder though; am I just over it? Am I just too old and too invested in day-to-day real life to make this sort of creative "make believe" aspect of the hobby appealing to me anymore?</div>
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Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-26456079923933629992015-12-10T13:21:00.001-06:002015-12-21T13:40:34.621-06:00Here Comes Santa Cl…. Uh, JOE!?!?Rounding out my year of torturing you, my dear readers, with boring shots of dolls and action figures (yeah, which are also dolls) here's Santa Claus… er, um, <i>JOE</i>!<br />
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Santa in this case is actually a Cotswold <i>Elite Brigade</i> "Jake" with white flocked hair and beard, wearing a Cotswold Santa outfit. <a href="http://www.gijoeelite.com/f_itemPart.asp?strPart=GIEU-C102" target="_blank">LINK</a> Cotswold Collectibles is a company based in the Seattle WA area that has produced a range of vintage GI Joe-style figures for the last 20 years or so. They also produce outfit and uniform sets and accessories that work with most vintage-style Joe bodies. Hopefully, I'll be able to showcase some more of these figures in 2016, although I haven't really decided what to do with this blog in the coming year.<br />
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Meanwhile, I hope you'll enjoy this month's Photoblog Thing and if I don't post again before the first of the year, Merry Christmas!<br />
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Sorry, I just noticed that Santa Joe is giving the dreaded "chicken choker" hand sign in these shots.<br />
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I think this guy will make a great Adventure Team commander after his Santa gig is over.<br />
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This outfit comes with a vest that has belly padding for the proper Santa physique!<br />
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The shot from behind. Not much to see here except the exhaust fan on my A/C unit! Wish I could've found him a sack full of gifts in time for this photo session.<br />
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Last shot…. Yep, it's Santa!<br />
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A preview of my next entry; a "Fauxviet" paratrooper in fictional "Red Dawn" camo.Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-34271298684522196632015-12-01T00:00:00.000-06:002015-12-01T00:00:14.549-06:00Slight delayJust a quick notice to let you all know that the blog isn't dead but December's entry is a bit delayed. The items I need for the photo shoot have been ordered and <i>should</i> be arriving some time during the first week of the month. After that, it's a matter of getting outside to do the photo shoot. Given my home state's often wacky late Fall/ early Winter weather, this may present a bit of a challenge but I aim to persevere!Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-62078658653726282432015-11-01T00:00:00.000-05:002015-11-01T00:00:00.883-05:00Photoblog Thing- November 2015This month, I wanted to do something a bit sci-fi/retro/dieselpunk. This guy is constructed from bits of various 3A- Ashley Wood figures I've collected over time, most notably the <i>World War Robot N.O.M. Blanc Hunter</i> head and life support pack. Going with Blanc Hunter's already obvious "gas mask Germanic" look, I scrounged around for some German WW2 gear. The coat is an unusual piece that I think might've been used by mountain troops and the rifle is the Mkb 42(H), a rare predecessor to the more famous Stg 44. He also has an ammo pouch from the Stg 44 which uses the same ammo and magazines as the Mkb 42 series, a couple of stick grenades and a K98 bayonet. There's a modern style pistol belt and a hard to see "Nordic" thermal shirt under his coat while everything else is 3A. I have the other two N.O.M. guys from this particular series, so I wanted this guy to be a bit different. Honestly, Blanc Hunter wasn't as interesting to me as the other two, so I'm happier with my kitbash than the stock version. I probably could weather the historical parts to match the 3A parts but I'm lazy and it would take away from the idea of a quick, enjoyable 'bash put together one Saturday afternoon a while back. I should note that, although he has some historical German gear, he isn't affiliated with any sort of National Socialist/Fascist/Totalitarian ideology. I hope you like him!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jaegers gonna jaegen! Dig those skater shoes, BTW.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A better shot of the three cell ammo pouch (from BBI). There are additional magazines for his rifle in there but you'll have to take my word for it. I'm not going to open the damn thing and try to re-close it!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The back looks kind of bare but I wasn't sure what else to add.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Closeup of the life support pack with added bayonet and stick grenades.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A face only a mother could love!</td></tr>
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<br />Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-3436791596366916022015-10-12T12:03:00.002-05:002015-10-12T12:03:56.989-05:00The Passing of Another Giant....This hardly got a mention in the press, so I had missed it until two months after the fact. One of the great influences of modern day scale modeling passed away back in August. Sheperd Paine, who created the How To Build Dioramas series for Monogram Models and later went on to author a series of books for Kalmbach in the 1980s, died on August 1, 2015 at age 69 after suffering a stroke.<br />
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Shep's influence on me, as well as countless modelers around the world, can not be understated. He was also a huge influence on my interest in photography and there's a little bit of his method and ideas in every image I take. The world has become a slightly less for his passing and I mourn the loss of a great artist and personal influence.Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-49944416505674587382015-10-01T00:00:00.000-05:002015-10-01T00:00:05.371-05:00Photoblog Thing- October 2015<i> Up until a few months ago, everything seemed normal. Well, at least as "normal" as things ever get anymore. When the shit hit the fan, there was chaos; slow at first then just totally crazy. I was called back to my unit but I never made it. I met up with other guys in the military who said the same thing. Some of us banded together- didn't matter anymore if we'd been Army, Air Force, Navy or a Marine like me. We were in this to survive now, to protect our families, and God willing, maybe rebuild a life again. Hopefully, we'll learn from our mistakes. Hopefully, we'll do better and future generations won't have to suffer for decades or even centuries. But people are people and human nature never really changes, no matter how we try to believe otherwise.</i><br />
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<i>But enough talk, there's work to do and lives to protect. So lemme get back to it!</i><br />
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This month's downer scenario stars BBI's Tony Bishop, a US Marine MEU figure that was released about a decade ago. I kept tinkering with him because I couldn't settle on a look I wanted for him. I finally said "to hell with it", took off most of his stock gear and redressed him in a hodgepodge of stuff. Tony still wears his USMC desert MARPAT pants, USMC boots and t-shirt but with and older pattern boonie hat, aftermarket chest rig and civilian wind jacket. His weapon of choice is an AKM, the more common version of the AK47, and he also carries a couple of knives. I should have added a pistol but I didn't realize that until after I had uploaded the photos. I came up with a SHTF scenario that implies some sort of wide-spread collapse of order and government but leaves you to fill in the blanks.<br />
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Anyway, here he is, so I hope you like him.<br />
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I tried to get a bit artsy with this last photo.<br />
<br />Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-37580124332086000272015-09-09T00:00:00.000-05:002015-09-09T00:00:04.236-05:00T.O.M.B. RaidingWay back in the day, a group of action figure collectors started a group called T.O.M.B. Raiders. Obviously named after the wildly popular game, T.O.M.B. was also an acronym for Take Out (of) Mint Boxes. The point was that when you buy a figure (or any other toy) you should remove it from the box and play with it, display it or basically just enjoy it rather than leave it boxed and stashed away as a collectible. I like the idea and have certainly done my fair share of it over the years (usually with the stuff that ended up being "valuable" later on) but I still have a lot of figures in unopened boxes. Recently, I have opened a few older figures to provide material for future blog entries but I'm starting to wonder if I should just go for broke and open them all.<br />
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Here's the deal…. I'm not getting any younger and I've been in this hobby for close to 20 years. I'm not taking anything with me when I check out and I kind of doubt that most of this stuff will be of any real value in decades to come. I could sell a lot of the unopened stuff on eBay or offer it up at the few forums I still involve myself with. I could probably make a<i> modest</i> amount of money, which is certainly attractive at the moment. With my wife and I both looking for work, a few hundred dollars in hand is better than no money and bunch of old toys wasting away in storage somewhere. But maybe I should just open everything up, toss out the boxes and go from there. If my kids want any of it when they're older, so be it. Although I'm reluctant to suggest another regular feature here, maybe unboxing old figures and doing something with them could become a regular feature here. Or not….<br />
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I'm going to think this over for a while but I would love to hear from my readers. What would you do in my situation? Perhaps like the Year of Frugal Hobbying I've mentioned before, my motto should be "use it, sell it or trade it" with an eye towards minimal, really <b>NO</b> expenditure for the foreseeable future. I don't know yet but I think I would like to do things differently than I have been and maybe this is how I should proceed.Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4086353247988117271.post-68356265674174904482015-09-07T11:46:00.000-05:002015-09-07T11:46:29.612-05:00Blogging and Job Hunting (a Labor Day rant)So, Mrs G and I are both in the job market (aka outta work) and I'm spending much of my limited computer time filling out applications. To be honest, I've been out of the game for a while, I've spent the last few years as a stay-at-home dad and I'm getting closer to 50 than I care to admit! Mrs G is a hard working, highly motivated and loyal employee who recently got unceremoniously sh** canned after over a decade at her job. We are both feeling pretty discouraged right now but driven by the need to sustain our family. The sad thing is, we know a number of other people in our age group who are in similar or worse situations; some barely hanging on to careers they have while others can't get work at all. One friend was recently told by a long-time professional colleague that he was now essentially black-listed from an industry he'd worked in for 20+ years. I might add, an industry well-known for its deep financial commitments to "social justice causes" and "sustainable, green initiatives" but infamous for treating employees and even executives like total crap. Not to mention the obvious disdain for their <strike>pissant proletariat slaves</strike> uh, customers. If you are reading this, you are familiar with that industry.<br />
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And no, I don't expect government and politicians of any party to fix this or make it better. Neither do I expect that corporate or institutional leaders will change much. I expect to hear a lot about what they intend to do and how it'll all get better and how wonderful they are for doing it but I write most of that off as self-serving propaganda. OK, I'll try to spare you the socio-political opinion stuff since that's not what you're here to read.<br />
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Anyway, this has at least given me a little bit of extra time to catch up on blogging and photography. You'll probably see an increase in activity here, at least through the end of the year. I'm building up a small reserve of material to post the next few months and I <i>may</i> even post twice monthly photo blogs through December. I have more figures in the queue and it's really just a matter of getting them ready and outside to photograph.<br />
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Meanwhile, if you know anyone looking to hire a pudgy, lazy guy in his late 40s with no special skills, two small kids to raise and enough toys to populate a small town, then I'm the guy! Or as I used to say, if you need an employee bad, I'm the bad employee you need!Geektopianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598139714335006408noreply@blogger.com4