Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Intermission

It's been a while since the last article. Work and family have been keeping me very busy. Plus, I'm battling an awful cold right now. I am working on a new article though so please stay tuned.
Thanks for your patience.

Saturday, April 08, 2006

You Know You're a Joehead When...

For many 1/6 scale collectors the term Joe, derived from Hasbro's original "G.I. Joe", is commonly used to describe any 1/6 scale figure from any manufacturer. Thus a Joehead is anyone who collects 1/6 scale figures, i.e. someone who collects Joes. So, how do you know if you're a Joehead? Every so often Sandboxers ask themselves that very question. Here are some of the many warning signs posted to the Sandbox over the years:
"You have your own Army."
MenMcC

"You associate the phrase 'body cavity search' with restringing muscle bodies."
TRiP

"When you have to SNEAK in the next new purchase, and later disguise it as, 'oh that...that's been here.'"
JamesZX7

"When you start looking at the stove as surface space for interim display."
Scott Crawford

"When you dream at night of finding that little old lady who has an attic full of boxed Joes."
Shannon Wiens

"When your own kids scalp the Joes back to you that you got them for Christmas after they find out how much they are worth."
CBjork6948

"When you no longer look forward to the next baseball season, but rather the next Series II Modern Uniform sets."
Izhevsk

"My own clothes are rags but I spend many late hours repairing old AM and Joe clothes.

Joe's the only guy I know who doesn't have holes in the toe of his socks.

The Cotswold catalog is considered literature.

When you watch the impeachment trial and all you think about is how congressman Richard Gephardt {R}Missouri looks like one of your SOTW head sculpts.

When you hear a sudden bang in the middle of the night and your wife doesn't make you get up and investigate the noise because even she knows it was the CC B-17 Crewman taking a shelf-dive.

When you sleep wrong and complain about the articulation pain in your neck.

Sculpy becomes a source of nutrition.

When you organize your Joes by era!

When you stop going out shopping and start going on 'Recons'.

When you plant a Spring Garden and your choice of vegetables to grow is based on how SCALE they'll look in a Joe photo shoot.

When you say the words, 'Not that Joe room, the other Joe room'.

When you talk military history and your source of reference is the inside lid to a [Hasbro Classic Collection] box.

When you can add to this list and it was easy!

Man do I need help!.....Naaaaaaa, I can quit anytime."
JD.......

"When you put off painting your kids room for months but you've already built shelves for the 21st WW 2 sets.

When the Joe room is twice as big as the master bedroom."
Robert Decastro

"When you look forward to your honeymoon as a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy Joes overseas."
vman

"When you look forward to each vacation as an opportunity for a Joe photo shoot.

The stores you do your daily shopping in are suddenly next door to a Target or TRU.

You build web sites devoted to Mike Power, the Atomic Man."
Anthony O.

"When you actually think you really 'know' somebody by thier posts.

When you start talking to perfect strangers in the toy aisle about Joe. And offer them advice, and keep talking as you follow them as they walk away.

When after reading every ad in Toy Shop, you say, 'DOH! I had that!'"
KevHead

"When you find yourself answering an online poll from a newsgroup for middle aged men who never grew up."
Sean Finley

"There is more dollar value in your collection than your entire house and contents."
Don Garrett

"When you look in your overcrowed Joe room in your house and think 'I'm going to have to get a bigger house.'

Don't worry about trying to find that new Joe that comes out in limited numbers because you've got relatives in North Dakota where Joe collectors are not so numerous."
Lee Aanderud

"When your 3 year old son picks up a new JOE and says 'Nice Head Sculpt'.

When you`re a proud father BECAUSE he said it.

When almost everything you see is compared to JOE scale.

When you start valuing things in JOE terms ie: 'thats kinda pricey...I could get 3 CC`s or a Vintage for that money'.

When the ONLY thing you iron is JOE uniforms."
MERK!!

"When you and your kid goes to target and he goes to look at the CDs and tapes and you go DIRECTLY to the toys."
replica

"When you drive 30 miles to visit friends, but your ulterior motive is to check out the Target near them.

When you need to buy a house to house your collection, but have (and will continue to do so) spent all your money for *more* Joes.

When you know more about current toys than your nieces and nephews."
Dave Jonas

"When your credit card company calls you to confirm you're still alive because there haven't been any TRU transactions in the last week.

When the number of Xmas greeting cards from Small Blue Planet, MonkeyDepot, and other Joe e-tailers outnumber those from friends and family.

When your kids have to wait until you're finished looking for 1/6 scale stuff in the holiday toy catalogs before they can look at them."
ALX2000

"When you start baling the twist ties that come with your new Joes into 30 pound bundles and take them to the recycling center, so you can get the money to buy the lastest FAO Exclusive and not have to pay for it on the credit card or out of the checking account so you don't have to tell your wife or husband."
Neal Silliman

"When you put your wife in a glass case so the Joes have more freedom. (I've known them longer.)"
Ironman1188

"There's a well used coffee mug with your name in the backroom at the local TRU.

You spend more time picking out clothes for your figures than for going to work.

Your wife refuses to cuddle because 'They're watching us!'"
ScottE
Finally, a test to determine if you are not only a Joehead but also a diehard Sandboxer!
"You hear something new is coming months in advance. Then scan the Box three times a day to see if it's out yet. Then watch the reports as other people get theirs, and announce you can hardly wait. Then go to the store and find one. Put it back on the shelf, come back to the Box, [complain] about the price and details. Wait for it to go on clearance. Watch the reports as other people get theirs for 75% off. Go back to your local store and find they're gone. Beg other people to pick you up on clearance, but they're all gone. Then gripe as you have to buy one on the web at 20% over chain prices plus excessive shipping."
James Steven York
So, how did you do? Yep, you're a Joehead. :-)

Saturday, April 01, 2006

The Sandbox Exclusive Figure

On January 24th, 1998 the Northern California Division of the G.I. Joe Collectors Club held what was known as the annual "NorCal show". The show premium for the event was a custom designed WW2 German Mountaineer figure. Pics from the show were posted on a website and in the Sandbox (Click here for a photo) . The following Friday, J. Tucker posted the following:
"From: JRT82281
Date: Fri, Jan 30 1998

I am sitting here looking at pictures of the German Mtn. Trooper that was the exclusive for the Nor. Cal show, wondering if I could EVER possibly get a hold of one of these. Seeing as it is nearly impossible, a thought came to my mind that the Sandbox is such a close knit Newsgroup, would it ever be possible to have a Sanbox exclusive custom figure?? Maybe some unique WWII soldier that was never produced before: German U-Boat cmdr. Waffen SS Machine Gunner, German Snow troop, French Resistance, Afrika Korps soldier you think of something. The idea probvably would never fly, but who knows.........

J. Tucker"
The idea for a Sandbox exclusive figure of some sort was immediately accepted. The next challenge though, was to decide on which figure to design. There were several other opinions and suggestions made: Adventure Team desert adventurer, Smoke Jumper with working parachute, and even the Red Baron.

On Feb 1, J. Tucker put together a list of what seemed to be the most popular choices:
"Alright, here are the ideas that have been repeated since the last post of ideas. They are in order of popularity among the Sandboxers:

U-Boat Cmdr.
Indiana Jones
WWI Pilot
Mt. Everest climber
D-Day Ranger
Modern Desert Infantry
Seal Team member
Flying Tiger pilot

The U-Boat cmdr. has taken popularity and is being discussed as a high possibility. I think Greg is going to post a message I sent him about the figure, and he has also posted notes on the figure."
J. Fusco added his vote to the U-Boat Commander with this post:
"I vote for the U-Boat commander and offer this as a suggestion to the box:

One of the greatest German U-Boat commanders was Gunther Prien (1908-1941). He commanded U-47 and was credited with penetrating Scapa Flow and sinking the battleship HMS Royal Oak in October of 1939. This was considered one of the war's greates naval achievements. Prien was stopped while attacking the British convoy OB293 in March of 1941 and met his fate after sending over 28 merchant ships to the depths of the Atlantic. Prien prided himself, (as many U-boat commanders did during the war) by wearing a shabby reefer jacket (grey) with leather trousers and cork-soled shoes.

I think that Prien would make a good candidate for the exclusive figure. (or at least a good model for our rendition of a U-Boat commander)

What do you guys think?"
Greg Brown next stepped up to the plate with this offer:
"From: Greg Brown
Date: Sat, Jan 31 1998

I have already posted this elsewhere in the NG to someone's proposal, but I thought it might be notices if alone. Here it is again:

OK, I have been doing some serious thinking on this issue and here is what I think we can do for this to make the U-Boat Commander:

Get German Naval Officer's Cap from Cot's
Get either the sailor dungaress, a TON of ME pants, or the fatigue trousers
and I dye them whatever color they need to be
Get Cot's Binoculars
Get an Elite Fig with either the Zach or Frank heads with blonde hair (of
course)
Get (God willing) Tom Calhoun to make some of those black turtlenecks
Get someone (I think I can talk to someone about this) to make a custom box
cover

This is where I need some help:

Boxes to hold these guys
Someone who makes a naval coat (leather or otherwise).

If y'all are serious on this, I will spearhead the procurement and making of these figs. In order for them to be affordable, we need AT LEAST 50 takers.

Please tell me what you think...

Greg"
Others also volunteered their talents and services. Meanwhile, the idea of having a German figure as the Sandbox exclusive didn't sit well with some members of the Sandbox. Arguments about Nazis and Germans in WWII ensued. Greg Brown even threatened to pull out of the project! If anyone wants to see some of the sparks, they can go to this link:
The Nazi controversy

Nevertheless, Greg stuck with it and more Sandboxers kept stepping forward for the cause:
"From: Aaron Luck
Date: Mon, Feb 2 1998

That is what we need. It sounds like most people are ready to just buy a bunch of pre-existing stuff, slap it together on some figure, and call it a sandbox exclusive. I think we can probably do better. We have lots of talent, some great creative minds, and people working in many different fields that could be used to our advantage.

What we need is some smart people (I am not volunteering or qualified) to form a committee, to do some research on the subject. Our figure should be as good as any other GI Joe exclusive, and IMHO should definitely be a GI Joe figure. As such, we really need to get Hasbro involved at least a little.

This is the sandbox, where all those that love GI Joe the most gather and hand out. This should be one of the best figures in the history of Joe, and the least "bought and sold". I don't imagine that we should have a lot of scalping of these figures, and sure, 20 years down the road, they might start showing up in others hands for high prices, but probably not many before that.

First, we need to figure out what we want to make. I don't really like the idea of a U-Boat captain myself, but would probably buy it because I play in the 'box, and hope for something better the next time out.

Second, we need to figure out what the figure would look like in real life, and agree on it at least partially.

Third, we put it all together in a package and show it to Hasbro. We have to find some smart guy there, who has at least a little bit of pull in the management.

Fourth, (hopefully, we can at least get figures from them), we start production (trying to keep costs at a minimum).

Fifth, we all wait anxiously for "OUR" Joes and then when we get them, we all rejoice.

Sixth, there should probably be a limit of 2-3 Joes per person, and we might want to have some sort of criteria for being part of this buy, like we do for contests. Maybe we could even make the sandbox a club or organization (although this may defeat our "open play" frame of mind, and it also requires someone who can manage a club).

Just a long thought I came up with. I think we have a great idea here, just not much direction or organization.

Remember, if you make a plan in a vacuum, your plan sucks.

A. Luck"
A month later on March 2, plenty of progress had been made. Greg posted the following update:
"From: Greg Brown
Date: Mon, Mar 2 1998

Hey all!

I am still working on the U-Boat Commander. Right now, one of our fellow Sandboxers is talking to Hasbro to see if we can use the G.I.Joe log and possibly get CC figures. I am also expecting in a sample of the box that I plan on enclosing the figure in - the twist is that it is made of wood! If anyone is game on doing the artwork for the set, please buzz me. Right now, I have two guys working on the design (anf they look exceptionally promising) but I will always honor anyone else's designs.

What I need is a person who can stay in personal contact with Major Midnite on the Jackets (save me a bundle on long distance phone bills). Someone mentioned that he does an oilskin jacket that is quite affordable. I have sent off for a catalog to get more intel.

Like I said before, I want theis to be as much a Sandbox contributed effort as possible (with the excpetion of the oilskin jacket). I need someone out there who is willing to make the pants for this poor fella. I am thinking that black slacks would be good (unless someone knows a better color - blue maybe?) The turtleneck will be of a grey variety (thanks to Tom C) and the cap will white (hopefully thanks to Byung if he is still up to it). The other accesories would be bought by me from Cot's (boots, binoculars) unless someone is willing to make em by scratch (anyone?).

If our initial plan fails on getting CC Joe bodies, then I have the back up plan of using a Cot's body with a custom head designed by none other than our own Colin Epstein (gawd, I hope you are still up for the challenge ;-)).

So if anyone can help me be my contact to Major Midnite and anyone can help me on the pants, please, please, buzz me back...

--
Over and out...
Greg"
Another Sandboxer volunteered to pitch in:
"From: Alan Dawson
Date: Thurs, Mar 5 1998

Hi Greg,

I know I am coming to this one a bit late but I have a mould to make copies of the Takara German Panzer Commanders Binoculars if you are interested. These are a much more realistic size (big and heavy) than Cotswolds offering and beautifully detailed.

...If any of the foregoing is of interest please let me know as I would love to be involved in this project.
--
Best Regards

Winch (Alan Dawson)"
Around the beginning of April, Alan Dawson posted pictures of John Reiss' custom headsculpt. It was greeted with enthusiasm! A couple of weeks later, Greg was ready to start taking orders!
"From: Greg Brown
Date: Tues, Apr 14 1998

Well, I have finalized the numbers on the U-Boat Captain, and here is what the package looks like:

Cot's figure with custom head, Naval Captain's cap, white turtleneck, black leather jacket, black slacks, black boots, binoculars. Figure will come in wooden box with artwork on the front, back, and tentetively on the inside cover. A majority of the pieces were developed by Sandboxers themselves. Final price is $100 delivered - this takes care of freight and everything. We have set the deadline to have the sets available for release on May 15th. I am now taking orders for the sets. At this moment, only 50 sets will be available in the beginning, but if demand is large enough, we would consider making another run....

If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me. Thanks again for everyones' support :-)
--
Over and out...
Greg"
Incredibly, by April 21st, there were only 3 sets left available not spoken for. In mid-May, Greg posted another update:
"Many of you have already paid for your figs. Those of you overseas, do not fret yet, I am still working on what the cost will be to ship the fig sets you you :-) For those of you stateside, if you have not mailed in your payment yet, please do so at your earliest convenience :-) - money supply is running low ;-)

Production is going well, but just a tad bit behind the anticipated date of mid May. So far, the pants are done, foam peanuts are bought, as well as the boxes (shipping ones). The wooden boxes are still being made, as well as the binocs, custom heads, and jackets. The turtlenecks are enroute and the artwork is just waiting to be glued on the boxes.

I will be sure to post to the NG on how things are coming. Again, thank you all for your support :-) "
On June 5th, however, Greg reports a snag in production!:
"Right now, I am waiting on the leather jackets and the wooden boxes. The boxes are almost finished and the leather jackets are now being made by Circlehome for Major Midnite ran out of the material to make the jackets. I have recieved 10 of the custom heads and anticipate the remaining 40 to come in within another week. My apologies on this not getting out within May - but I am confident that they will be going out within June.

Over and out...

Greg"
One month later, Greg finally had some good news to report:
"Well, as some of you know, I have started shipping out the Sandbox Exclusive U-Boat Commander. So far, I have shipped 20 sets, with about 25 more to go (some have been picked up, others I am waiting on payment). I anticipate the rest to be shipped out no later than next week."
Then on July 6th, S. Charlton posted the first review of the exclusive figure:
"My God... Its full of stars. Err, no, popcorn...

I arrived home this evening to find a very large box waiting on my dining room table. I had an idea about what itwas,but any thought of what this might look like were far,far exceeded by the real thing.

First, the box: This is a beautiful piece of woodwork; slightly wider and flatter than a vintage footlocker, nice natural finish, with cool artwork on the top, with verynice hinges and a latch.

Opening the box revealed a very nice text and graphic insert in the inside lid, and a mass of popcorn packing material. A rapid brushing away revealed my cool new Unterseeboat Kommandant. He comes with a very nice slick black coat, black trousers, a white turtleneck, a white cap and some nicely sculpted binoculars.

The body is Cotswold, but the head is a new sculpt by John Reiss. The head has a very intesnee look to him; it is a bit small, but the detail and expression are wonderful.

This is really a da** fine piece. I just want to thank the folks involved in this; John Reiss, Alan Dawson, Aaron Luck, Tom Calhoun, Tim Hamilton, John Hays, Tim Hogan, Daryl Williams, Dave Kenna and Byung Yoon Lim. And most of all, Greg Brown for putting all of this together."
Eventually, all 50 figures found new homes. The Sandbox exclusive figure was a great success. The label on the box honors everyone who contributed to the project with the following text:
"Upon seeing the Mountain Trooper Set that was offered as an exclusive to NorCal Collector members, many Sandbox members thought it would be agreat idea to make an exclusive figure of our own. Many ideas were suggested on the newsgroupbut the one that stood out was a World War II German U-Boat Commander. Greg Brown took the initiative and decided to head the project, but he could not do it alone.

In order for this exclusive to have a Sandboxer feel to it, it was decided that most of the pieces to the set should be designed and built from other Sandboxers. Greg thus enlisted the help of John Reiss to design and build the custom head, Alan Dawson to do the binoculars, Aaron Luck to make the trousers, Tom Calhoun to create the turtleneck, and Tim Hamilton (of Major Midnite) to make the leather jacket. John Hays (a.k.a. Carcass) was to do all the artwork/package design and the final touch was to house it in a wooden box constructed by Tim Hogan. Also, the Sandbox logo was designed by Daryl Williams and Dave Kenna served as advisor for all legal matters. Special thanks goes out to Byung Yoon Lim for his help in the project as well.

Hopefully, this will be the first of many Sandbox Exclusives to come!

The project spanned over 3 months, but when completed, was a work of art (in our eyes at least). Only 50 sets were released, but they did not stay in one place too long for the orders were in before the first set was finished. Each set was numbered and marked with a Sandbox seal of approval to show its authenticity."
For photos of the actual set try these links:

Indeed they didn't stay in one place. This commander went half-way around the world to Japan!
http://www.kappalab.com/kg/SBEUB/index.html

Aaron Luck's website with his personal account of the story:
http://kungfugrip.adventureteam.com/sandbox_exclusive.html