My latest Projects

I got an AT Commander in need of several repairs the other day at mail call. He has good flocking, but needs a cleanup, new KFG hands, restringing, a uniform, dog tag, and repairs to the talking mechanism. He also needs new pieces on both arms to keep them from being floppy. So that will require replacing the arm rivets. Definitely a project Commander. The nice thing is, I feel motivated to do all of it myself, since he needs so much attention. This is my first KFG Commander. So I will keep him and restore him back to duty status. It will take some time however. Here's a couple of "before" photos of him from Ebay.

I also won an Joezeta auction item last night. Just an AT hand and forearm. I'll use that to finish the Sea Adventurer in the post above. Then I will find uniforms and gear for some of the completed Joes from the sets above. Hope to get photos up this weekend. It's been a long time since I had something finished to show!

The Commander above has been sent away for repair to his voice.  I also sent a much older Talking Action Soldier Joe (the one on the previous page) with him for escort.  They should both arrive back at post sometime next month for extraction in Kane County.   I'll be there for the pickup.  And possibly to acquire more uniforms and equipment.  

My newest project is to make a sort of diorama of the three main characters from one of my favorite Navy movies "The Last Detail." I don't have any Joes that look like Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid or Otis Young.  But I do have a black 40th Joe, and lots of pea coats and Navy Shore Patrol gear.   So pretty soon, I'll have some photos for the Joes appropriate for winter.    Coming soon!

Another cool fig! Happy to learn he will be getting a new lease on life, and will soon be back in full fighting trim!

I imagine there are Kane Counties in multiple states across the U.S. There's a Kane County only 11 miles south of where I live, in fact.

It's been a busy couple of months. I haven't had any time for hobbies, with work, and planning for retirement. But I took these new photos on 11/20 as an update on the restoration of the AT Commander figure. He is now cleaned, and restrung, and has his voice fixed, however the words are very hard to understand, even if they are loud. Maybe cleaning the tape or replacing the needle will help.

Top work!

I wish I could take credit. However I worked a trade with a fellow collector I've talked about before, and for some extra Jeep parts I had lying around, he did a restring on both figures pictured, and also fixed the arms since the connectors had dried out. He also fixed both voice mechanisms. The PH figure talks very well now, and is a Talking Action Soldier. I only paid for the restringing kits for the two figures. I have a uniform for the Commander, and I may have some soldier fatigues somewhere I can put the Talking Soldier into. We'll see.

He looks great!

I bought another broken Joe from the Bay a couple of days ago. He supposedly has perfect flocking. We'll see. He's a KFG Land Adventurer, which I have few of. So he'll be welcome on the Team when he gets out of surgery.

He probably will wear Cotswold clothing as my stock of Land Adventure outfits is badly depleted. Pics during the restoration to follow. Still looking for 1964 era slotted shoulder upper arms for my older restore project. Maybe I'll get lucky at Kentuckiana and find a couple.

Joe arrived today from North Carolina. This one is in the worst condition I've ever found. The plastic on the thighs and calves is brittle. I tried removing a chewed up foot, and a large piece of the calf broke off in my hand. So now I'm not sure I want to keep him as a KFG figure. The hammering out of pegs to save the lower arms probably would shatter the plastic, and one lower arm already has a large crack in it. So I'll replace the two yellowed ball joints, the pelvis (yellowed and cracked), both entire arms, the left lower leg that broke, and the right thigh. It had a large gouge carved from the inner side, which likely was a kid "repair" to hide a thigh crack. I'll have a go at the forearms but expect them to break while working with them. I don't think I have any arctic gear in my inventory that isn't already being used. So I'll find some other cold weather clothing for Joe. Maybe just a nice sweater and pants. We'll see.

I did a restring of the Joe last night.  He is still missing his right foot.  The KFG arms did not fit with the new upper arms, so I'm not using them, and he'll be a HH Joe after all.   The other parts are all original except the left lower leg and the foot.  The original left lower leg broke when I tried removing the chewed up foot.  So I needed a new one.  The right thigh and to a lesser extent the left thigh are very brittle and have jagged edges where they meet the ball joints.  The right thigh is by far the worst, so I'm prepping a vintage thigh to replace it.  I don't  have a similar left thigh in stock.   I'll be going to the Kentuckiana Gi Joe show on 1/27, so I'll hopefully find some replacement parts, or at least some of the Elite Brigade variety.   Once I have those installed I'll post photos of the completed figure.

Hopefully you will be able to save him Myles. even if he has to be a HH Joe. Keep up the great work

Here you can see the problem with the thighs, and where they have either crumbled or been carved. I'll need at least a replacement right thigh for Joe to stand properly.

Hopefully, you'll be able to track down the pieces you need to rebuild him

Best wishes Myles for a successful repair!