Downtime at the ARCC

Unfortunately the Archangels are in a downturn as we transition between bases and re-establish the budgetary concerns of the command.

"Standby to Standby" is the current motto.

Hopefully the troops wont get too lax in their duties during this evolution.

The Essence of a Command

WHEW!! I just CANT believe that its been 6 months already since I started this blog. My how time flies!

Not to say that everything has been entirely fruitless however.

In that time, we here at the 316th have managed to move our entire HQ to a new locale, with upgrades to literally EVERY units facilities. (Namely: we now have the ever-sought-after, highly coveted, GARAGE space that was just a pipe dream until now.)

Basic setup for Operations has been completed, and heres what things look like....
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One of the things I'm probably MOST stoked about is that I FINALLY actually have a bonafide workbench now! HOOAAH!!
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Here is my OTHER workbench...the one where all the computer work gets done. When I'm using it (and its not too freezin cold or sweltering hot), the laptop sits where the white stack of papers and rulers are in this pic. The diorama piece on the second shelf is one of my many many half finished projects...
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Here are a couple more of those infamous half finished jobbies....the top one is the 'Underwater Swimmer Delivery Vehicle' and the bottom is the 'Sea Talon' RHIB boat...
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The beginnings of XO Savage's office...
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Upon first seeing these pics, a fellow Flash Force commander exclaimed "now THATS a Man Cave". But I had to step in on that. Due to the amount of technology in this one, its really the upgraded version that I have dubbed "The Man LAIR".

;-)
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How it all began

I'm sure if you are an action figure collector already, then you can relate. However if your newly introduced to this hobby, you might be asking yourself 'where does this insanity come from!?" Well here's my story...

It all started for me about 4 years ago right around Christmas. I was living on my own in an apartment I was pretty proud of, with a job that paid pretty well (or so I thought at the time), and things were all good. Weekends were all about hangin' with the friends, and weeknights after work I would come home and burn off steam by loggin in a few hours online playing my absolute favorite computer game "Ranibow Six". (I still to this day can't think of any other game I've enjoyed playing more!)

Anyway, I remember going to the Vons grocery store across the street from where I was living to grab a six pack of Newcastle (so as to slightly elevate the gaming experience). =;^) As I walked in I noticed a center aisle display with Christmas toys for sale. Random items all batched together on the three shelves; plastic cars, stuffed animals, etc. Didn't think too much about it the first time I walked by. However, in the checkout line while standing there waiting for the flustered old lady to find a pen to write her check with and asking the cashier for the date and the amount 3 separate times!!! (sorry-little pet peeve there), I had time to glance over at that aisle display again and whalla! There were 4 boxes that caught my eye right off the bat. Upon closer inspection, my eyes completely lit up at the sight of those 12" Special Ops soldiers. Two of them looked almost exactly like a couple of characters in my game, and at $6.99 it was a done deal! I just had to have them!

Well time went by and I was really enjoying having a 1/6 scale commando on each side of my monitor to inspire me while waiting for the next game screen to load. I remember more than a few times that I would reposition them to match poses of screenshots I had taken of my avatar in the game. Those figures were my ultimate military genre of my ultimate computer game come to life! Suhweeeetness!

One day after a particularly gruesome virtual battle playing Rainbow, I started to wonder if there were any more of these figures out there. I remembered the name on the box..."Soldiers of the World". So I did a Yahoo search, and, whaddya know!? Target sold them! Guess where my first stop, first thing in the morning was? lol. Sure enough, they had a real nice selection, with a few that were particularly complemented with accessories and hardware, aka-firepower!! By the end of that month the count was up to 5.

Couple months went by, and again, it was a tough day of 'deathmatch' on the virtual battlefield that drove me to dive a little deeper into the 1/6th rabbit hole. Actually I think I was just getting sick of having my clock cleaned by 12 year old Rainbow Six hackers who made it impossible to play the game in any realistic tone whatsoever. So I did another Yahoo search, this time I was just curious to find out if anyone else out there collects these action figure things.

Well needless to say, my reference above to the Matrix was no mistake. Remember the moment in Matrix where Neo begins to feel the effects of "The Red Pill" and then becomes forever transformed from that point on?? Well that's about what the results of that search did to me! ha! The results of that search introduced me to the WORLD of 1/6 action figures. That was the day I learned of such groups as Flash Force, and One Sixth Warriors. Of the incredible e-shops like Monkey Depot and Good Stuff to Go. And from that point on - I was hooked!

Joining Flash Force was what really indoctrinated me into what this hobby is all about though. Shortly after my membership to the group posted, I had a very unexpected visit from the UPS man. One of the veteran members of the group, Tim Kano, sent me a fully stocked box of 1/6 accessories, weapons, gears, uniforms...just about anything I could think I was missing in my collection was covered in that box! At that point I knew the real deal - that this hobby is just as much about the friendships as it is about the figures. And at that point I knew undoubtedly I had found my hobby niche.

[Note: I have links to most of the sites I mentioned above at the ARCC main site, in the "Allies" section]

WELCOME ABOARD!!

Greetings, and welcome to my virtual "office" as it were. While the ARCC main base will serve as a permanent showcase of 1/6th, I intend here to provide a more candid and ever-evolving insight into my experiences with the hobby, random thoughts from time to time, and perhaps a few aspects of my personal life as well.

I invite you to stay for as long as you like. I hope you enjoy yourself while your here, and would love to think that just maybe something you see here might inspire you!

I am assuming you got here from the main base, however if you just happened to be wandering through, please take a moment to visit our "main gate" as well as our parent command "Flash Force" by following the links on the right sidebar-------------->

Again, thank you for stopping in, and Welcome Aboard!

Random Shot taken at the Air Expo - Travis, AFB

Air Force Special Operations ATV/buggy

See the full photoshow HERE