Why is it that you like about G.I. joe that keeps you going for it. I like it for the military aspect, cobra is a cool TERRORIST group and its not a weird anime.

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Rangers lead the Way!

I'm still a child inside (I'm just 26 Y.O.)!

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Lol! Luis, all of us "adults" who crawl around in the garden with toy soldiers and a camera have issues! That's why we all congregate on this site, we are all as bad as each other. Getting back on topic, the same reasons apply to me too. I've always enjoyed the military side of things, the reasonable realism of the figures and vehicles (ignoring the more weird stuff) compared to other lines, and Cobra is too cool as well. Plus the great Marvel comics run by Larry Hama used to have me waiting impatiently each month for the next issue.

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"The future's uncertain and the end is always near." - The Doors "Roadhouse Blues".

Way back in 1982, I was just a kid collecting toys. With everyone else, Star Wars was about it for 'action figures'. The 12" weren't my thing. They were dolls to me and they still are. That X-Mas, I got a slew of 'em along with the 1st comic and it was just so cool. Sure, it was a military toy but I loved the articulation. When swivel-arm came out the next year, it was still hella dope. But by the end of the Cobra War and DiC coming in, I gave up. The comic wasn't doing it for me either. Things were getting too weird, I was getting older and 'playing' w/ toys just wasn't cool.

2002 rolls around the nu skulpts show up. I told myself that THIS time, I'd have a full collection cuz I had a credit card(s). These weren't just toys. These were things I grew up with. I don't necessarily see a piece of plastic w/ paint and remotely in a human form, I see a character. Transformers, SW, everything else, I just don't see it quite the same.

I found myself, either at the end of Spy Troops or during VvV that a lot of the stuff coming out was junk. I had gotten sucked into buying 'the flavor of the week'. Missile Storm Copter anybody? That POS vehicle Grunt came with? The anti-tank thingy w/ Big Ben? The Fang 3??????? Luke said it best. "What a piece of junk!"

Also during that time, I was doing more and more dios. A few people might remember my 1st dio, "The Ultimate Weapon". But I did a lot of shorts and ads that are now gone from my hard drive. Deciding that I don't need EVERY figure out there, it freed me to items I wanted. Also, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to do GI Joe dios and I buy what I need for them. Just like Luke does.

In the end, I'm stuck w/ Joe because it's the best medium for me. BBI can't touch it, y'know whatta I mean? I'm not as militaristic as Craig or TG, but at what time, I was. I've decided that I want to see the Joes in different situations that aren't necessarily grounded in our reality. I'm not going totally off the rocker but not all futuristic military movies are utterly weird, y'know? Aliens might be too far out, but what about Soldier or to a degree, Stargate? Like I tell people, I want to be the Paul WS Anderson of dios. Luke can be George Lucas. Justin can be Steven Spielberg. Shane can be James Cameron. I bet if Craig did a dio, he'd be the John Tiernan of dios. (Clear and Present Danger)

I just want to be the guy who does the niche stuff. (Anderson did Mortal Kombat, Aliens vs Predator, etc)

I originally started with the big dudes but was turned off for the fact that i couldn't by fighters for them. When i first spotted the Skystriker it was love at first sight. i eventually stumbled onto justin's site and eventually, after reading a ton of reviews, read one of his dios. i was immeadietly amazed by the story and depth of the plot. it also helped that the effects were cool. i immeadeately wanted to make dios and am still trying to this day. (I'm not very fluent in the ways of photo shop:/) the problem is, is that my mom isn't all that happy with me spending money on toys and is stingy about credit card use. (i usually have to beg her for weeks in order to get something, and even then i can't seem to get it) also, i don't have a driver's licsense and have to rely on my parents to drive me to the store. i'm just trying to catch up on the figures i skipped over for vehicles.(that was my first joe love) that pretty much covers it. also i think cobra is a much cooler terrorist threat than Al Qaida.

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You know... I got my first Joe when I was about 4 years old, from my grandmother - it was TF Tripwire... Well, being a 4 year old kid makes you no good to see something more than just a toy.
Besides - I still have this Tripwire and for God's sake - he's not going anywhere from my collection

Then - I spotted in some toyshop Gnawgahyde. I have some of my pocket money, so I couldn't wait to buy it. Unfortunately, was sold. But - I bought Ambush then...
Still have him to this day

Third of them was Undertow, which...

Now you should have a clear main point - I've got all my childhood figures and vechicles to this day. Everyone from them reminds of something from my childhood. I'm pretty damn sentimental and have a rule not to sold ANY of this "main collection" Joes.
And - I think that no better toy was ever concieved. It's the most articulated action figure I'd ever came across with That's why they're ideal for making diostories

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My weekly TOP5:


The sacrifice of innocence the hailing of the gun
My way was death and madness, now let the Tower come

I think these became more than toys for me when they were shown in cartoon and comic form. It made them characters stuck in toy form. Kinda like Small Soldiers (as opposed to Toy Story). Cuz face it, if our Joes and Cobras came alive, they would NOT be saying, "I'm a toy!" So when I look at a lot of the figures, I see who they are, not just pieces of plastic. SW on the other hand...

My reasons are the same as Sonnelion had.

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Well said G, that's a great point. I never really saw the cartoons, but the comics gave GI Joe life. They weren't just plastic toys, they had personalities and foibles and a history, and the way LH wrote them, they could have been real people. I think that's why so many people have such an attachment to certain characters; above all else, thier personalities and their exploits hold a great appeal.

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"The future's uncertain and the end is always near." - The Doors "Roadhouse Blues".