Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Future Wars => Topic started by: anevilgiraffe on May 28, 2014, 06:23:31 PM
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I picked up this old Action Force Tactical Battle Platform playset ages ago for about £8 if memory serves...
(http://homepage.ntlworld.com/roweller/spyfi/tacticalbattleplatform01.jpg)
- it wasn't complete, the flip out platform was missing, as was the gun rack, but that was fine, as I originally intended to use it as an oil rig... but that has become too specific and the name of the game now is as much use as possible, so taking it down to the base platform gives a very interesting start to a 28mm terrain piece. There are some really great and crisp details and textures and I now see this as a good generic bit of sci-fi terrain for Dredd, Who, Blakes 7 and Action Force - it should work as a research centre, a pumping station, anything science based really (the legs will be used elsewhere I think)...
(http://homepage.ntlworld.com/roweller/spyfi/IMG_2159.JPG)
As you can see, I've removed the recessed vehicle pit and put in a platform - this helps give more area for 28mm figures and means they can cross from left to right without going down into the pit - my initial thought here was to reset the pit so it stuck out and to build more platform around it, however that would make it too big for storage so currently a wide flight of steps will go in the remaining hole. The filler platform has some plating etched into it and some random plates will be added elsewhere to help blend it in. The trench that runs along the back of the platform (joining the armoury with the control room) just happens to be perfect (with plenty of room) for 25mm slottas, so that was always staying, but in what form was a big question - originally I planned access down into the old armoury, and then along at the back to the old control room, but I suddenly decided to fill that blank space between two nicely molded gubbins, and cut down to add some steps there, and so far it looks pretty good I think.
(http://homepage.ntlworld.com/roweller/spyfi/IMG_2161.JPG)
The armoury (on the left) will now become a computer room, as 4 Ainsty computer panels fit nicely over where the rifle rack was. A door will be added to the bottom wall, but am undecided on whether to have a room above this. The control room (on the right, complete with attachment for a action figure sized chair) will become a machine room/engineering, with more hands on gubbins. The chair stalk will be kept I think and a door will be added blocking off the trench/corridor. Now the old control room had a black piece that fitted on for various consoles and this will make the basis of a next floor room, more machinery to monitor whatever is going on downstairs. Even better, on top of that fitted a clear plastic piece that form a lovely angled window on two sides and screams Spy-Fi villains office (but that is down the way a bit), so from that one area, I can easily make a 3 storey structure within the complex itself... plus I still have the hexagonal platforms and the helipad which scale much better to 28mm figures anyway...
Needless to say, this is going to take a while, the plastic is really hard to cut, but should make an interesting diversion...
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Interesting - I look forward to seeing progress!
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Neat stuff, toy bash ftw- as the sprogs say. You thought of sawing rather than cutting, we'd hate for you to lose a finger.
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Yeah I dimly remember having one of these (second hand, missing a lot of stuff) as a kid. I thought it was from GI Joes. It should make an interestingly eclectic gamig piece :)
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no such thing as GI Joe... never heard of it.... ever... >:(
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NSA, the toys branded "G.I. Joe" in the US were branded "Action Man" (and later "Action Force") in the UK. It has only been with the recent big budget movies that the same branding has been adopted worldwide. So it may well be the same toy.
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Eh?
I grew up in the UK and had G.I. Joe toys from '89 to '92 which I bought with my pocket money until I picked up a copy of White Dwarf one day and entered another world.
"Action Man" toys were much larger and completely different.
NSA, the toys branded "G.I. Joe" in the US were branded "Action Man" (and later "Action Force") in the UK. It has only been with the recent big budget movies that the same branding has been adopted worldwide. So it may well be the same toy.
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There were GI Joe 12" 'Action man' dolls and later GI Joe 4" action figures... later to be branded 'Action Force' for the British market... so everyone is Right :)
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Specifically …
(http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w519/SteveFlanaganUK2/Odds%20and%20Ends/gi_joe_action_force_transportable_tactical_battle_platform_2__zps85f06f55.jpg) (http://s1079.photobucket.com/user/SteveFlanaganUK2/media/Odds%20and%20Ends/gi_joe_action_force_transportable_tactical_battle_platform_2__zps85f06f55.jpg.html)
(http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w519/SteveFlanaganUK2/Odds%20and%20Ends/d83ab75d-c51e-4783-972d-a1ebccdc34b8_zps39fad998.jpg) (http://s1079.photobucket.com/user/SteveFlanaganUK2/media/Odds%20and%20Ends/d83ab75d-c51e-4783-972d-a1ebccdc34b8_zps39fad998.jpg.html)
It's the same toy.
Edit: sackofmonkeys is right about Action Man being used as the brand for 12" dolls - but those dolls were also branded as G.I. Joe in the US, where they originated:
(http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w519/SteveFlanaganUK2/Odds%20and%20Ends/GIJoeandActionMan_zpsccd280ca.jpg) (http://s1079.photobucket.com/user/SteveFlanaganUK2/media/Odds%20and%20Ends/GIJoeandActionMan_zpsccd280ca.jpg.html)
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Very nice -- I look forward to seeing it develop!
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Watching with interest.
8)
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Nice! I had two of those platforms as a kid. Often thought about turning them into terrain too. One of them was scavenged for the helo platforms. lol
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We are indeed both right! :) According to the interwebs GI Joe was relaunched in 1982 in 3¾-inch scale because Star Wars figures in that scale had sold so well. It's interesting that it was branded "Action Force" outside the US because I remember all the TV adverts / cartoons all referring to GI Joe and Action Force.
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Here in Australia it was always GI Joe, but we never got the cartoon to my memory, just the toys. I cut one up for an ork Battlewagon once.
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I think you'll find Chris is simply saying that in his world... There is no GI Joe only Action Force. ;)
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Action Force figures were their own thing to start with produced by Palitoy, with WW2 German soldier and so on... series 2 jigged everything up and you had good guys vs bad guys which tied into a comic strip (Battle Action Force), the original figures were reused (the WW2 German became the Red Shadow with some minor tooling)... but not all Action Force figures were GI Joe rebrands, the vast majority were original figures - if memory serves it was only the ones with loads of articulation that were GI Joe rebrands (Red Laser was Cobra Commander, Red Jackal was Destro, Stalker was Snake Eyes and the pilot of the SAS gyrochopper was Tripwire I think - and yes, the Fang was a good guy vehicle), the British toy range was sold all over Europe (was big in Germany if memory serves, although was toned down for violence).
eventually, with globalisation, Hasbro took over Palitoy and an independent British market wasn't viable and the GI Joe stuff started to take over - the Red Shadows were wiped out (but fan pressure did bring them back a couple of times), Cobra was introduced (with completely different back story mind you) and Action Force was reorganised (SAS Force, Z Force, Q Force and Space Force were gone) and Duke et al were introduced... Battle eventually dropped the Action Force strip, Action Force went to it's own comic and became GI Joe and the Action Force or something, eventually the Action Force side was dropped and the rape of my childhood was complete...
I still say that Baron Ironblood was a much better villain than Cobra Commander...
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what Vyper said... my childhood ended in 1985 (although I still had the comics and my heart soared when SAS Force came back for a story versus the Red Shadow remnants, Nazis and Hitler in South America)...
http://bloodforthebaron.com/toys/index.html
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what Vyper said... my childhood ended in 1985 (although I still had the comics and my heart soared when SAS Force came back for a story versus the Red Shadow remnants, Nazis and Hitler in South America)...
http://bloodforthebaron.com/toys/index.html
I had that comic. Awesome boys from Brazil inspired story. I should really get some of those soapy shadow heads really, plenty of late germans to butcher!
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I think you'll find Chris is simply saying that in his world... There is no GI Joe only Action Force. ;)
Pfft... ;D
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Awesome project you've got going and trip down memory lane. I had loads of the the original Action force and the G.I. Joe Action Force toys as a kid. Who am I kidding I still have few of them. Though I myself always thought they was some gaming potential with a bit of converting. I've seen o few converted toys from the film reboot floating around on the forum. I think The Iron Worker uses the Cobra gunship as dropships modified for 28mm.
Just out of interest wasn't there a blog on the interweb from someone who converted a shed load of minis into an original Action Force gaming army with scratch built vehicles.
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Just out of interest wasn't there a blog on the interweb from someone who converted a shed load of minis into an original Action Force gaming army with scratch built vehicles.
that was Soapy - http://actionforcevsredshadows.blogspot.co.uk/
I have some germans I need to convert, but giving them comics correct weapons is a chore...
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Ok, the rooms within the base unit are done, walls thickened up slightly, some card down to hide various out of scale bits removed. All of the walls are at a slight angle, which makes things less boring, but means I have to get the doorways just right - and have just about managed it I think. Computer banks from Ainsty, which fit in quite nicely, the remaining corner will have swappable units I think, so it can vary what research/experiments might be going on...
(http://homepage.ntlworld.com/roweller/spyfi/IMG_2162.JPG)
The other room has had walls raised slightly to match the first room (and extended some of the exterior detail as well to cover the new wall), and again a door added. Again, the slant on the walls makes things tricky and this entrance had less available wall space to play with, so to make the removable door ended up with some very narrow strips of card to allow for the running grove - both doors should be the same size, but this one is a little tighter so has been sanded down on the edges a bit...
(http://homepage.ntlworld.com/roweller/spyfi/IMG_2165.JPG)
so far, this is going well...
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I'd say so! Fabulous!
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Superb.
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Brilliant!
8) 8)
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More photos!
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This is shaping up really nicely.
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OK, after a period of mojo recovery, I've been busy - sadly some of that was a build up, review, tear down kind of busy, but the corrections (note the plural there) were worthwhile.
(http://homepage.ntlworld.com/roweller/spyfi/IMG_2170.JPG)
The bridge slots on nicely and will lead to something I haven't come up with yet, I've decided not to use the hexagonal platforms on the corners as they look odd with the rear bits built up, so I've done a simple platform for security, am still working on ideas for the other corner.
more blurb and pics on the blog: http://anevilgiraffe.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/and-im-back.html
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Looks good. Is it still going to be possible to put it on the towers? That's a pretty cool feature to keep.
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not the original towers, but down the line, there will be optional legs...
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I am glad that you are still doing this, mate.
Very inspirational.
8) 8)