Crimson Twins

Glad you're still hanging around CT!! Did you hang onto your stuff, or did you get rid of it all? Well, I hung onto most of it. Sadly, once I retired from the Army, we had to move into a smaller apartment. No man cave, no extra room, not even an extra closet for my stuff to be displayed. So now it sits in various boxes and containers in closets and under beds. Waiting. Waiting for the day when it can be proudly displayed again. Unfortunately, with everything boxed up, most of my desire for the hobby feels boxed up with it. Know what I mean? It's hard to get excited for a toy hunt knowing that whatever you do end up with is just going in a box when you get home.

Wasn't it both? One in the newer paint scheme, and the convention one in the more original paint scheme? And to think, I couldn't justify sending $30 on the set at the time when there were 10 or them on the shelves at my local TRU. Now I can't even find them anywhere.

I still lurk around from time to time. I don't think I've posted anything here in well over two years. My whole little world has changed so much in such a short amount of time. I was just thinking about the good old days when I first joined here 12 years ago. Where has the time gone? Not rubbing it in or anything, but for the record, I have 0 warning points VH.

That motorcycle looks a lot like the cycle armor from a few years back.

I enjoyed this movie as well. Just some minor gripes of my own: Quicksilver's music. Unless he found a way to make music play as fast as he runs, the scene where is listening while doing his work would never have been possible. I know it's nit picking, but that really bothered me. He essentially did everything in the time span of less than a second, so he shouldn't have been able to even hear one note of his music. But anyway. Wolverine was a bystander for the most part. He really didn't do much of anything of note. Had they not needed his healing powers to get someone that far back in time, he would have had no purpose. Also, why did they need Magneto in the past? He pretty much went his own way almost as soon as they broke him out. He didn't really help them get back on their feet (or off of them in Charles' case). Wolvie's little speech seemed to be the turning point for Charles (so I guess they did need Wolverine for something), not anything Mags did or said. And to answer your Professor X coming back question, that was answered after the credits in X3. He had supposedly transferred his mind into another body. Now while commentary on the DVD says that this other body happened to be a brain dead twin brother (that sounds even dumber as I typed it), it could be possible that it was just a random body and Charles is able to project his original look onto that body by messing with the minds of those around him. This could explain why his look in the future looks just like he did in the end of X3 before his body turned to dust. On the Nightcrawler note, maybe the reason we didn't see him was because in that altered future he was never born. Azazel did indeed die, Mystique never had her baby boy, he never shows up in the future. Wonder if we ended up with metal infused Wolverine, since it is Mystique that is taking him away at the end and not the actual Stryker. Unless they want to say that the whole Weapon X project was run by Mystique masquerading as Stryker the whole time, which would go against her character that she has portrayed throughout the other movies. I just don't see the one that was persecuted and bullied for being a mutant turn into the type that hunts them down and tries to torture them to find the genetic secrets to their powers. UNLESS... she was doing it all to make the ultimate mutant to take on humans and make them pay for the persecution. Hmmm. Well, that's just my two cents. Figured I couldn't let you two have all the fun here.

Thanks guys. The projectors are one of my favorite mods. Anytime someone sees them for the first time up close, it becomes an instant talking point. The best thing about all of these mods is that I was able to do them myself. You really get a sense of accomplishment when other people like the work that you have done. Those projectors were actually one of the easiest mods I've done. I did it in my church parking lot while waiting for my daughter. About 10 minutes each door.

I also figured I would take care of the foot wells. I originally had some lights that I had bought from Wal-Mart down there, but they weren't bright enough. So, I kept the wiring, sliced off the lights and spliced in some LED strips in their place: You can also see the Decepticon logo in the front speakers as well. Then, continuing on my blue LED theme, I went ahead and replaced the flood lights under each of the doors. I also added a nice little touch to each of the front doors. It's a projector that shines down on the ground. It's hard to see how nice it looks because of the loose gravel in the picture, but that Decepticon logo is super crisp: I also replaced the lights in the trunk with super white LEDs. And I put bright white LEDs in the visor mirrors as well. Word of advice on those, don't look directly at them. Especially at night. They will blind you. Also swapped out the light above the license plate with a bright white LED. Sorry, no pics of those right now. So, that's where he is as of now. There will be a big update on Saturday night or Sunday. Ol' Megatron is going under the knife and will be getting some new eyes. But that is one that will have to be seen. Describing it won't do it justice. I can't wait. Hope you all liked Megatron so far.

Well, it's been over a year since my last update so I figured it was about time to show off some new stuff. First, the old el wire in my dash started to look like this: That's no good. So, I had to replace it. I like the new stuff better actually. While I was ordering new stuff for the dash, I decided to do the doors as well: I also went ahead and took care of the back interior lights and got them to match the blue LEDs in the front:

Ugh. When will Hasbro realize that just because it's a HEAT Viper, that doesn't mean he has something to do with fire? You'd think the company that made these figures would at least know that the HEAT Viper is an anti-tank trooper. I just remember getting so tired explaining that to my friends as a kid. Everyone thought he carried a big flamethrower. I guess the missles were just for decoration. I know it's me being nitpicky, but it does bug me. I do like the figure, and almost all of the offerings. I'm super happy that I might have a chance to get my hands on Low Light and Night Viper, although the cynic in me believes scalpers will scoop these up like they did the singles and put them up on the 'bay. We'll see.

My PMs don't work here anymore (one of the great mysteries that still has no answer). I will try to get some pics together for you, and then I will find a way to contact you through here.

Good find. I might be willing to let my vintage collection go for a great, affordable price.

Not even close, size wise, to the MCC. That's actually smaller than the ROCC would be as well. Those tires aren't that hard to change. While heavy, usually two guys can get it mounted fairly easily. We used to use those size tires for tire flips during our work outs. Now that will wear you out. The back side command center is roughly the size of a typical 20 ft. container. Some have the ability to expand out, but either way, it's not actually 'mobile.' I've never seen anyone working from within while the vehicle was in motion. It's a bit awe inspiring the first time you see something like that, but when when you've been around the Army block as long as I have, it's just another truck you have to do checks for on motor pool Mondays.

Well, a little update for my friends here at TNI. I started selling a good little portion about two months ago. Again, time, space, desire all played a part in me downsizing. But then something happened about three weeks ago. An opportunity popped up for me to nab a loose FSS Big Boa. Now I could never buy one MOC because I would fight with myself to take it out, but knowing how much I would have paid for MOC, I just wouldn't be able to open it. So, when I had a chance to nab a loose one, I took it. Big Boa has always been one of my favorites. I think that stems from my life long love of professional wrestling, and Boa sure seems to look the part of a wrestler to me. I used to use him in my wrestling matches as a kid against other Joes. He was favorite for a long time, and so I kinda developed a soft spot for the over the top Cobra trainer. Getting this new one in my hands might have ignited a small spark. I find myself looking for more Joes on eBay, and I'm looking to add another shelf in my back room to display some more of my Joe stuff. Granted, I'm still in the process of downsizing (wifey just doesn't see the need for duplicates of so many of my vehicles. C'mon, I need to build up that Night Raven army!), but I'm slowly sneaking in some smaller pieces here and there, mostly figures. So, thanks to my old friend Big Boa, I am sorta back in the game.

That is sweet man. I really like the look. A great throwback. This is one of the rare instances where I think the pic actually does do the figure justice. There's no way it could be cleaner than this in person. Nice pic taking technique as well. Pic #8 there really looks like it's underwater looking up at the surface. Great job!

I hear ya, DB. I'm not getting rid of everything. I couldn't get myself to do that. But do I really NEED 8 Cobra STUNs? I'm downsizing for sure. I will hold on to the ones that mean the most. I think a lot of this has stemmed from our latest move to Georgia. In Hawaii, I had a huge closet for my stuff. It wasn't quite a man cave, but it was big enough to display a good portion of my stuff. Now, I've been relegated to one shelf unit, and there came a time when I had to ask myself what did I want to display, and what was staying in a box. I found myself looking at some things wondering why I had them in the first place (JvC vehicles, I'm looking at you here) I couldn't find the love for the RAH era Joes that I once had either. When I had to choose between an RAH version, or a newer more modern version, I always ended up leaning towards the new stuff. I had already sold some of my older stuff earlier this year, and I've had minimal regret. I just think it's time for me to move on. Maybe in a few years, Joe will have a resurgence, and I'll get back into it. But for now, I'll just let Joes sit on the back burner. Oh, and sorry Draven, that Kamakura is one of the ones that's staying. I haven't had an adequate replacement for him yet. And I'll always be hanging around here. This was my second home when I was deployed all those times. Now then, anyone know what I can get for 250 Crimson Guards? @loll@

I hear ya FUGAYZIE. I'm not done with TNI. I know I don't post as much as I did back in the day, but I'm still lurking and will still comment from time to time. There has been some stuff that has really excited me, but nothing to make me doubt my decision. I'll still be checking in, and seeing where GI Joe is going, but I think there are dark days ahead for the line. Not the end of the line, but I foresee a pretty big lull. Now just seems like the right time to get out for me. And don't worry Joe, that's not totally dead (although it has certainly been on life support for quite a long time). It may have just gone in a different direction. One with a little more freedom and action. I'll have to send you some videos.

Forgot about this one. Bad time for me to get out of GI Joe. The original was one I always wanted, but never had. Oh well.

I used Goo Gone on all of my restorations. I swear by it. Recently, I used it on my car to remove some left over 3M tape from some badges, and it got it off without a hitch. That stuff is powerful, but doesn't harm the plastic. I haven't seen it do anything for discoloration though. My second Night Raven has a badly discolored bottom, and the Goo Gone did nothing to it. As for the original topic, I remember my parents/uncles putting together my vehicles when I was younger. I wanted to put my first vehicle together, and thought I would start small with the Ferret. That was not a good choice. For such a small vehicle, those parts and the blueprints might as well have been alien to a 7 y/o. It took me what seemed like hours to put it together, but when I did I was the proudest kid on the block. The Ferret became my favorite vehicle that day, and still holds a special place in my collection. This is one of the vehicles I will be holding onto when I sell my collection. Maybe not all 8 of them, but at least a pair. Maybe three.

I know as collectors, we all come to that point where we think about walking away from the game. It's been bugging me for a while now. I haven't had the same desire I had before. I haven't enjoyed the thrill of the hunt for quite some time. It's not just because of the current product. I actually liked some of the movie stuff. It just doesn't put a smile on my face like it used to. Most of my collection remained in boxes after I moved last October, and I haven't had to fight any urges to break them out since then. Maybe I'm just moving on to something else now. GI Joe will always be a big part of who I am, but I think my toy days are coming to an end. It's just time for me to move on. I just don't have the time, money, space or love for it anymore. I'll probably be putting up most of my collection for sale, keeping only the things I have an attachment to. I'll give you guys first crack at it because it was this community that really brought me back to one of my greatest childhood memories and loves. Thanks for all the good times. I'll still pop in to see how things are going, and I'll still talk about Joe from time to time. Ironically, most of the money from the sale will go to mods for my car which is named after a Transformer, and Transformers never grabbed my interest back like GI Joe did.

I didn't get purple, but I did go with blue. So, I'm going to say its energon flowing. I'll post those pics once I pry my pc from my daughter. Here we go: If the first pic was a little clearer, you would be able to see that the screen says "I am Megatron" and below it, "Megatron is Online".

Some updates: More to follow when I can get to my PC. For some reason, photobucket doesn't like the iPad.

Oh well. Maybe I can get one made then.

Is there one for Megatron? I would love to find a way to display one in my car since I have the Decepticon theme going on and I call my car Megatron.

Don't know for sure now. The more I compare it to the old one, the more the differences seem smaller. I would really like to see it side by side with the original. I probably will end up buying one now. Argh. Now , how am I going to convince my wife that I need yet another large Joe vehicle?

It is easily more narrow than the original. And the side wings with the missiles look off too. And it looks shorter as well.