Bundeswehr Gebirgsjäger- Photoblog February 2016

This 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.

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.

IIIIIIII'm the man in the box!

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!

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.

 Close up shot of his face. Again, not what collectors would accept today but I like him as he is.

 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.

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.

See 'ya next time!

That Liebster Award-Nomination Thing

So, Spica at Spicasmagoria Extreme (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.

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.

1. Fantasy or science fiction? Or both? Or neither? (if neither what genre do you like?)

- 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.

2. Who or what is your childhood hero? Do you still look up to them?

- 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.

3. What fictional character do you love to hate?

- 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. 

4. Three things that make you happy? (or more if you get inspired!)

- That's a tough question when the "Black Dog" lives at your house but I love and am grateful for my wife and kids.

5. What movie/TV-show did you watch last? How did you like it?

- 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

6. Your favorite restaurant/shop? Tell us a little about it!

- 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.

7. What kind of things do you keep always with you? Or do you have such things?

- My iPhone is pretty much always with me until someone actually tries to call me.

8. What kind of music do you listen to?

- REAL music! None of that crap you young whippersnappers call "music" nowadays.

9. Do you believe in magic? (the nature of magic not defined)

- 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 "Science!" has the answer to everything.

10. Internet memes! Like 'em or hate 'em? Favorite/least favorite meme?

- 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.

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?

- I'm tired of them, like worn out, eye-rollin', ovah it, DONE! 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

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 your dad anyway, so get off my lawn, wipe that smirk off your face and turn down the damn noise! LOL

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!

Anyway….

This month's Photoblog post is another Let's Joe! 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 Red Dawn 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!

The 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!

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.

Saru Inu-Ya JGSDF soldiers.

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 better than 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.

Takara Combat Joe.

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.

Azone Shana.

Although I'm not really a fan of Shakugan no Shana, 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.

Azone Pure Neemo Yuzuha.

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.

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 maybe I can find some way to present it. We shall see….

Anyway, here's hoping everyone has a Happy New Year and a better tomorrow! Take care!

So This Is Christmas….

No, I'm not a big fan of that old John Lennon song but I borrowed the title anyway!

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.

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.)

Take care all!

What Next?

WARNING: Oh no, it's a think piece!

With 2015 staggering to a close, the question for me is...What Next? 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.

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.

However, nature and power abhor a vacuum, so you can expect somebody to step in and fill the space.

I'm thinking this guy may have a new mission----

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 BUT 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, interesting.

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?

Here 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, JOE!

Santa in this case is actually a Cotswold Elite Brigade "Jake" with white flocked hair and beard, wearing a Cotswold Santa outfit. LINK 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.

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!

 Sorry, I just noticed that Santa Joe is giving the dreaded "chicken choker" hand sign in these shots.

 I think this guy will make a great Adventure Team commander after his Santa gig is over.

 This outfit comes with a vest that has belly padding for the proper Santa physique!

 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.

 Last shot…. Yep, it's Santa!

A preview of my next entry; a "Fauxviet" paratrooper in fictional "Red Dawn" camo.