Hawkeyes Interview (The Official Dossier)
Name?
Ian
Online name?
My AMMO name is ‘Hawkeye’ the reason is not that I have fantastic eyesight lol, no on the contrary I have quite poor eyesight now and have had to wear glasses full time for a good 10 years or so, my reason for this name came from my love of the novel by James Fenimore Cooper ’The Last of the Mohicans’ I have always liked the tale and its morel ethics, the friendship and loyalty between Hawkeye and his adopted Mohican father Chingachgook and his son Uncas and their fight between good and evil and the human spirit of achieving the impossible when all the odds are stacked up against them, the story is fantastic and should be on everyone’s must read list or at lease Watch one of the Movies lol
Location?
I live in a small market town called Northallerton in North Yorkshire, I’ve lived here with my wife Georgette and son James for the past 26 years, I was born and raised in another market town 11 miles away called Thirsk, this town has a claim to fame for it having the author James Herriott as our local vet and now contains a museum in his memory.. in Northallerton where we now live, we have our own Ancient battle field just on the outskirts (The Battle of the Standard) this on the 22nd August 1138 the English forces Ruled by king Stephen of Blois repelled the Scottish forces led by king David I of Scotland on his march to support his niece Matilda’s claim to the English throne. It was named the Battle of the Standard due to the cart carrying a mast baring a pyx carrying the banners of the minister of York, Beverley and Ripon and was situated in the centre of the English position, one of our oldest pubs is the Fleece it was said that Charles Dickens stayed here while he was writing Nicholas Nickelby, just thought I’d give you all a bit of our local area history from our old town there’s stacks more and visitors are always welcome.
First Vam/Joe/Mam or 1/6 figure?
My first VAM was the talking commander with realistic hair and painted eyes hard hands with black beret with red badge it was a present for my 6th or 7th Christmas present I can still remember the delight of having a talking toy it’s amazing what sticks in the old gray matter lol
What was your favourite figure as a kid, and do you still own him?
My favourite figure was the Deep Sea Diver, I spent many a Sunday bath night hunting for sunken treasure and warding off the giant octopus and man eating sharks in our old bath tub, but sadly I don’t still have any of my originals but do have a replacement I picked up last year so very pleased but wish I knew what happened to all my childhood stuff, it may still be in the loft space of our old house NOOOOOOOO!!!!
Favourite figure now?
My Favourite figure now most definitely has got to be the Green Beret, I never knew of his existence when I was young, but then again in our small town toy shops there was never a big selection of uniforms, I only recently found out about the GB when I started my ‘Senior’ collecting, and what a pleasure it was to hunt down and obtain not only a 40th version of him but one almost complete vintage ( minus the silver star medal) and a couple of other kit bash versions
Most desired item?
My most desired item would be the silver star medal but also the Tiger Stripe Cam Green Beret GI Joe I will get it I will get it
What will you do with your collection as you get older?
I intend to be collecting and upgrading my collection for many years to come, I hope to pass them down the line to my son as buying VAM and MAM for him re kindled my desire to start collecting, he's been a great help to me with photo editing and also making bits for my kit bashes and photo comps, hopefully he will look after them for his children to enjoy- if or when.
What does your wife/girlfriend/partner think of your collection/hobby?
My wife Georgette says my hobby keeps me out of her way and out of trouble, but she doesn’t like it to clutter the place and is forever tidying my stuff away after me, I’ve been allocated a couple of shelved in our dining room (My Little Haven) to display a few of my troops the rest get frogmarched into our Attic room where they are left to plan their next Great Escape....
Do you set yourself a budget?
I don’t really have a budget but try to use my ebay selling budget to fund my collection that way I keep Georgette sweet
Worst Vam/Joe/Mam or 1/6 figure?
I must admit the Intruder is my biggest dislike as with all the brilliant design achievements this just looks to have had no thought put into it at all
Views on 40th reproductions?
I’m all for the 40th stuff it allows us all the chance of acquiring the hard to find bits to complete our uniforms and kit at a most of the time affordable price
Worst item of the Vam/Joe/Mam or 1/6 range?
Again the Intruder, the thought of a rubber space ape-man being a good foe for VAM and Joe seemed to me to have been a bit of a rush job but that’s just my opinion and I’m sure there are plenty of Intruder fans out there, I just don’t get it?
Best thing about collecting Vam/Joe/Mam or 1/6 figures?
The best thing is I still get a big buzz when I find the bits I’m looking for and now having the money to do this also seeing my collection grow and get better all the time plus the interest it brings me keeps me out of the wife’s way lol
Do you think your collection will be collectible in the future?
I do hope so, I believe that there will always be someone who wants to collect well made and well designed old toys and there is enough variations to keep future generations of collectors interested
If you did not collect Vam/Joe/Mam what would you collect?
I did used to collect coins mainly old British coins but never got half the buzz as I do from collecting Vam/Joe/Mam don’t suppose I would go back to that, I do like collect old tin Badges I like the designs on a lot of these but I think would be a bit half hearted, but lately I’ve started to get a couple of Dragon figures and head sculpts so probably they would be the bits I‘d go for as an alternative
What AM/Joe outfit or set would you like to have seen released?
Well this is a no brainer for me I would love to have a Last of the Mohicans range with all the Characters :- Chingachgook chief of the Mohican tribe and father of Uncas Le Cerf Agile (The Bounding Elk) Colonel Munro the British officer in charge of fort William Henry in the French and Indian war of the 1750s also Major Duncan Heywood the youthful British Officer with ambition and an eye for Munro’s eldest Daughter Cora who along with her younger sister Alice he was escorting through the hostile territories to their father at fort William Henry situated in the Hudson Valley, also the preacher and singer of psalms David Garmut just for the sake of it, and not forgetting their foe in the form of French General Montcalm who’s army has William Henry surrounded in a siege, the Traitorous Magua or Le Renard Subtil (The Crafty or Sly Fox) the chief of the Huron tribe with a personal hatred for Monro and his seed, and never forgetting Hawkeye, Natty Nathaniel Bumpo or Le Longue Carabine (The Woodsman, The Deerslayer , The Pathfinder, Leatherstocking)
Do you have a/What is your favourite section of AMMO?
Yes suppose my favourite sections are the photo competitions and the kit bash sections I mainly collect VAM and Vintage Joe’s so these sections also get a lot of my interest but I do like to have a browse through all the other sections
Why do you like AMMO?
It’s a Fun and Friendly site and a pleasure to be a part of, it's got a lot of knowledgeable members who are a great help as well as being a good old (and young) bunch of chap’s lol
Cheers from Hawkeye and Hawkster's Hero's
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Subject: May Interview 2015 - Hawkeye 
Sat May 02, 2015 10:26 am
Yes the coin collecting was a bit of a damp squib, I tried to get at least one coin from all the kings and Queens of Great Britain as far back as I could but just ended up with not much interest, thanks for the like of my collection, My son James made the full Shogun kit for me from scratch he also did the same with the Roman uniform, he's a very talented and amazes me with some of the stuff he puts his hand to 
and regards to the Commando books I got them off Georgette the Christmas before last and embarrassingly I've not yet got round to looking at them but now that you've pointed them out I will have to give them a good dose of looking at 
I'm still watching the Deadwood series you put me onto 
