Dojo Diorama

I've amassed enough ninja-related action figures to warrant my crafting my own "dojo" diorama, so I threw together this 2-piece dio that is vaguely oriental in design, but could be thematically transformed by changing out the banner in the middle that's connected by magnets. The tiny gong was a Five Below purchase that really sells the aesthetic- it's construction matches the minimalism of my design well. I just used a fifty-cent piece of felt for a rug, though I could acquire a proper dollhouse-scale rug to strengthen the illusion. 

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I purposely chose to hand paint the characters on the banner as opposed to printing out more traditional Chinese calligraphy- it's angular style fit my futuristic/comicbook design. It's a Google-translator approximation of "Super Duper Toybox"...

The base and floor panels are joined by magnets, like the banner. I made a dungeon/fantasy diorama of similar construction just this February. With either, I could easily change out the back wall for an entirely different feel- a project I may focus on next time I'm feeling crafty.

I made this with 1:12 scale figures in mine, but it's big enough to comfortably accommodate my 8" MEGO G.I. Joe Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes ...which look to be a nearly perfect match! You'll be seeing more of this diorama in upcoming posts featuring G.I. Joe Classified figures soon.

More Later- Make It FUN!

G.I. Joe Classified Grunt, Hawk, Falcon, Nunchuk

 Grunt, Hawk, Falcon, and Nunchuk are four more G.I. Joe Classified I picked up recently, Grunt being the only 3.75" Joe I had as kid in the '80s. As I said in my last post, I only had some of the earlier G.I. Joe figures back then. But what modern action figure collector can deny what a cool line of figures the Classified Series has been?

Robert "Grunt" Graves

Grunt really feels like G.I. Joe to me, based loosely on the '80s 3.75" Infantry Soldier I had. He comes with a generous number of accessories, including a conventional M-16, but it's the G.I. Joe rifle I prefer.

Grunt also came with a fully closed helmet and a 

flip-down coordinates device attached to his chest harness...

General Clayton "Hawk" Abernathy

Hawk came with two sidearms and two shotguns, and two pairs of goggles- one for over his helmet and one to wear over his eyes. Still, I had to lay out the Action Force pistols I had for Hawk to review. Small details like the tiny gold star and dent in his helmet make a lot of these Classified series near import quality- fantastic!

Vincent R. "Falcon" Falcone

Falcon came with what felt like a few less accessories that the other Joes- a knife and a great shotgun, but no sidearm. That's no problem for me since I have some far superior Action Force weapons. His backpack is the same Wolf Spider from my last post has, which pegs onto his back only marginally better. I also wish his ankles angled forward better and his suspenders fit his torso tight, but all complaints aside, I do like the figure.

Ralph "Nunchuk" Badducci

Nunchuk came with nunchuks, of course, which stow onto the back of his belt, but it's his gnarly swords are what I love about this figure. What could scream '80s louder than a ninja in camouflage? Really had a good time with this one! 

Pitting Nunchuk against my Classified Red Ninjas would be natural, 

but my Marvel Legends X-Force Wolverine also came to mind ...!

And finally, this new batch of Joes with the Night Force Team I reviewed in my last post. The number in this outfit rivals the number of Classified figures I've opened so far. There's a lot more where that came from, rest assured! Yo Joe!

More Later- Make It FUN!