Until four or five years ago, I had little grasp of the history of the G.I. Joe brand before 1982. I was aware that Hasbro had created G.I. Joe as a series of twelve-inch military-themed figures back in the late '60s, but when the Sigma 6 series spun off into a sub-series called Adventure Team, I remember thinking, "That's a pretty nondescript name: 'Adventure Team'? Really? Bit corny, isn't it?"
Whatever the case, those Sigma 6 Adventure Team figures imbued the series with some of the two-fisted archaeology vibe of the Indiana Jones films, and I loved the pamphlet Hasbro included with each figure:
And for all my love for Destro and Gung-Ho and all the other lovely, un-produced 1/18th figures in Hasbro's "Vault", Sigma 6 Adventure Team Joe Colton is perhaps the un-produced figure that haunts me most:
Since the fall of Sigma 6, I have had the good fortune to watch GI Joe Documentary: The Story Of America's Movable Fighting Man:
http://www.amazon.com/Documentary-S...TF8&colid=34EMX3SD9QW4H&coliid=I1KN776TNXIBOH
It consists of interviews with the men and women behind the original G.I. Joe figures, plus original commercials from the late '60s and early '70s. It is essential viewing for any fan of the property.
Either through the documentary or some other source, I became familiar at last with the original vintage Adventure Team product, which is largely dismissed by G.I. Joe fans due to its non-military flavor (a result, of course, of the divisive Vietnam War, which suddenly called into question the commercial viability of "America's Fighting Man").
As a fan of Indiana Jones, I quickly became smitten with the Adventure Team tone and aesthetic. I cannot afford to collect vintage toys from the 1970s, nor do I necessarily care to. But there's something quaint and funny and exciting and almost sweetly naive and optimistic about a group of dudes going on adventures in pursuit of treasures and the like.
How can you not enjoy this?
My kitbashes, then, are not inspired by "the G.I. Joe-versus-Cobra fantasy" or a desire to create a realistic military aesthetic in the 1/18th scale, although I am a big fan of these approaches; Falcon Chile's work in the military-themed approach is absolutely humbling, for example.
Instead, my collection counts as its muses such pop cultural artifacts as Jonny Quest, and the "Science Adventure" novels for boys that arguably inspired Jonny Quest, the Rick Brant series, also called "Electronic Adventures" on some of the covers.
And for a somewhat more modern if intentionally (and fondly) backward-glancing edginess, my hobby takes inspiration also from Warren Ellis and John Cassaday's transcendent comic book series, Planetary:
An early issue of Planetary (indeed the first issue, if memory serves) features a mission statement that encapsulates my collecting, kitbashing and photography hobby:
Now then... this is already an unforgivably long-winded and self-indulgent thread, and I haven't even shared any photos of my kitbashes yet. We'll call this adequate context, then, shall we?
Whatever the case, those Sigma 6 Adventure Team figures imbued the series with some of the two-fisted archaeology vibe of the Indiana Jones films, and I loved the pamphlet Hasbro included with each figure:
And for all my love for Destro and Gung-Ho and all the other lovely, un-produced 1/18th figures in Hasbro's "Vault", Sigma 6 Adventure Team Joe Colton is perhaps the un-produced figure that haunts me most:
Since the fall of Sigma 6, I have had the good fortune to watch GI Joe Documentary: The Story Of America's Movable Fighting Man:
http://www.amazon.com/Documentary-S...TF8&colid=34EMX3SD9QW4H&coliid=I1KN776TNXIBOH
It consists of interviews with the men and women behind the original G.I. Joe figures, plus original commercials from the late '60s and early '70s. It is essential viewing for any fan of the property.
Either through the documentary or some other source, I became familiar at last with the original vintage Adventure Team product, which is largely dismissed by G.I. Joe fans due to its non-military flavor (a result, of course, of the divisive Vietnam War, which suddenly called into question the commercial viability of "America's Fighting Man").
As a fan of Indiana Jones, I quickly became smitten with the Adventure Team tone and aesthetic. I cannot afford to collect vintage toys from the 1970s, nor do I necessarily care to. But there's something quaint and funny and exciting and almost sweetly naive and optimistic about a group of dudes going on adventures in pursuit of treasures and the like.
How can you not enjoy this?
My kitbashes, then, are not inspired by "the G.I. Joe-versus-Cobra fantasy" or a desire to create a realistic military aesthetic in the 1/18th scale, although I am a big fan of these approaches; Falcon Chile's work in the military-themed approach is absolutely humbling, for example.
Instead, my collection counts as its muses such pop cultural artifacts as Jonny Quest, and the "Science Adventure" novels for boys that arguably inspired Jonny Quest, the Rick Brant series, also called "Electronic Adventures" on some of the covers.
And for a somewhat more modern if intentionally (and fondly) backward-glancing edginess, my hobby takes inspiration also from Warren Ellis and John Cassaday's transcendent comic book series, Planetary:
An early issue of Planetary (indeed the first issue, if memory serves) features a mission statement that encapsulates my collecting, kitbashing and photography hobby:
Now then... this is already an unforgivably long-winded and self-indulgent thread, and I haven't even shared any photos of my kitbashes yet. We'll call this adequate context, then, shall we?
