GI Joe
Karma Komedy II: Top Cop Arrives
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Inspired by Wes Wood

This is my first photo story. It was inspired by Wes Wood, who sent me a Top Cop figure, wrapped, mummy-like, in paper towels, in a box. Ah, my brand new antique Mobile Support Vehicle!

Just hours ago the Adventure Team received a mysterious transmission with coordinates, and a message which simply said: "This is a Priority Package! - W.W." Joe dusted off the aging MSV and is currently speeding to the specified grid location. "It's around here somewhere."


The sun was setting on a lovely day when I shot this, so there is a lot of variance in the lighting. This is the original sticker. Not in too bad shape, considering the age of this toy. This is my first CC Joe. He was part of the "Then and Now" set, which included a Timeless Classic figure (replica of the original Joe) plus a new body, called the Classic Collection body. This map was printed on my printer. It is, in fact, a map of the Grand Canyon, and in no way correlates to the land around Joe. This is a vintage Mummy's Tomb pith helmet. I thought it appropriate, and I had just bought it from a fellow collector. This is a storage area that opens up when the computer panel is slid open. Two trays sit on rails, to store things in.

Once he nears the specific location, Joe checks his map of the area. "GPS says it's within 20 meters."

 


Grass never scales correctly. This is a Soldiers of the World shovel, and a vintage Mummy's Tomb pick-axe. This is the remote tracking device from the Adventures of GI Joe - Save the White Tiger set. The shirt is from the Save the White Tiger set. The pith helmet is a highly sought-after piece.

Using his GPS position unit, Joe homes in on the coordinates in the transmission.

 


The vintage pick-axe I thought to be appropriate because he is, in fact, kind of digging up a mummy of sorts. The shovel is from a vehicle accessory set from Soldiers of the World, which included a shovel, an axe, gas cans, buckets... a great set. This mound happened to be here. I have no idea why, but it certainly fit the bill. Prize of any AT collection, I got this vehicle for $65.00 nearly complete, and in pretty good condition, apart from the belt and electronics.

"Whatever it is I'm looking for, it seems to be within this mound of dirt." Joe prepares to dig through the mound.

 


While I was digging into this mound, the head of Windsor Gardens Maintenance came by to check me out. Here I was, a suspicious adult with toys, and several Bankers' Boxes full of stuff, and a red tool box... these days, I may have been confronted by police instead. I told him what I was doing, and he left, happy. Weirded out, I'm sure, but happy. The pith helmet was redone for the new Adventure Team "The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb" set that came out this year. Click here to see that set. I actually used the toy shovel and pick-axe to dig the hole, just so it would look right in scale.

He begins digging, making immediate progress. The dirt is soft like it had recently been disturbed. "Hope this isn't a wild goose chase, like that pygmy gorilla that we never did find!"

 


The "sarcophagus" is the box that the ERTL Top Cop came in. I pretend it's an intricately carved sarcophagus for this story. I hope Windsor Gardens Maintenance didn't mind too much my tearing into this mound of dirt... I came back a few days later, and it was all gone, so I guess it was ok.

"Paydirt!" Joe shovels the earth away to reveal an oddly engraved sarcophagus buried in the mound.

 


The top of the ornate sarcophagus looks vaguely cardboard-like... The contents of this box are exactly as they arrived. I took one look at the figure, wrapped in paper towel, and immediately planned this photo story.

"Wow!" Joe exclaims. "It's a mummy! I've wanted to find one of these since the early 70s!"

 


This headsculpt is known as the "blockhead" among collectors. This is the original blockhead, which has undergone a few revisions in later years. The oversized hand of the Classic Collection figure is often called the Lobster Claw by collectors. Once I opened the box, it took less than an hour to storyboard this shoot and get all the gear ready. Then I piled it aboard my car and went to the playground and shot it in less than an hour. The fastest photo story ever!

"It's a little larger than the standard mummy... they're normally impossibly small. This one's full scale."

I LEFT OFF HERE!!!


"I wonder what he's like underneath the wrappings?" Joe prepares to remove the mummy's bindings, like a good archaeologist.

 


"It's not a mummy! It's a man! And he's still alive!"

 


Jake: "I am alive... thanks... to you... stranger. Call me Jake. Top Cop."
Joe: "Don't speak. Drink this Gatorade. It's blue, so it must be good for you."

 


"Jake, I'm Joe. GI Joe. Good to see you're ok!"

 


Joe: "Here, put these on."
Jake: "Thanks! I'm freezing my copyright notice off here!"

 


Joe: "Well, I'm glad you arrived. We have need of your body right away. Action Man's preserved Eagle Eye head has been waiting in the lab for some weeks now."

 



Joe: "So it's off with your head right away."

 



Jake: "What???"

 



Joe: "Yeah, we have to submerge your head in boiling water for ten minutes..."

 



Jake: "Are you talking about my head???"

 



Joe: "Yeah, why? You're not using it are you?"

 



Jake: "Could you please bury me back in that mound of dirt until someone else comes along?"

 



Joe: "Ahhh, nothin' to worry about it's a simple procedure."

 



Jake: "But, but, but..."

 



Joe: "Nothin' to it. Relax..."

 



Jake: "I have a bad feeling about this..."

 


 - 30 -

With great thanks and respect to Wes Wood for sending me a Top Cop figure when I needed a nice vintage-like body onto which I could pop a wonderful eagle-eyed Action Man head. Wes volunteered a Top Cop body as Karma. It arrived wrapped up like a mummy, and a note saying he had no idea why he did that, just a spur of the moment thing. I did the very same thing (sort of) when I Karma'd off a Captain Action a few months ago. I sent the nude figure with tape binding his wrists and ankles, and tape over his mouth and eyes. Here are pics of his rescue.

But instead of tearing off the wrapping, I thought to myself, why not do a photo story? So I took about an hour to storyboard it and get the gear together. The shoot took less than an hour. Probably about 40 minutes. It's a short story, and was put together in just a couple of hours. Imagine how nice my Aliens story is going to be. 60 pictures and months of planning, and a real camera and photographer!

Again, thanks, Wes! And the shoulder holster was a pleasant surprise! I saw it for the first time when Joe unwrapped Jake in the shot above!

 

PopText™ is my latest Photo Story invention. The concept is a little like "Pop Up Videos" or Informational Text selections on DVDs. The images in this photo story contain hot-spots with explanatory or expository text, anecdotes, behind the scenes information and in some cases, links to other pages. Simply play your mouse over a picture. If the pointer changes to a hand, let it sit there for a second, and informational text will Pop up! In some cases, you can click the hot-spot to take you to a link. For those whose browsers don't support this feature, please, crawl out of the dark ages! :-)

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