One Sixth Memories - 2000 - The First Diorama - D-Day

This November, I will take you all down on a trip of memory lane from 2000-2007 when I first started taking diorama photos of my toys, namely my 1/6 scale GI Joe collection. Some intense backyard battles are coming. 

I had just left the military after 11 years and bought my first home out in the Southwest. This was the fall of 2000. From November 1997 through June of 1999, I spent my Army time in Korea. While home on leave and traveling between duty stations, I started picking up the new 1/6th scale GI Joes. Besides Hasbro, some great figures were coming out from 21st Century (same price point as Hasbro) and Dragon (a bit higher price point). Had some great figures frmo Cotswold Collectibles Elite Brigade line as well.

One weekend, I decided to take some Joes out to the backyard for some simple dioramas. I shot the photos on 35mm film. I remember having to wait for 24 hour photos to be developed. 

First Diorama: D-Day - the movie Saving Private Ryan came out two years earlier. I was obsessed with it, and watched it a ton. In this set up, I have the two Hasbro D-Day Rangers (a convention exclusive), a Ranger Captain and Ranger Medic from Elite Brigade, a 29th Infantry soldier from 21st Century's Ultimate Soldier line. 

Cotswold's Elite Brigade

Hasbro brought back GI Joe in the Mid-90s with its 12 inch Real American Hero recreation and its Classic Collection. With its popularity, other companies jumped into the fray, and thank goodness. Cotswold Collectibles had been keeping the hobby going for awhile -starting by selling vintage Action Man figures around 1989. Check out their history. They sold plenty of custom equipment (weapons and supplies) and also came out with their own line of figures called the Elite Brigade

What was great about Cotswold is they made figures from obscure battlefields, and paid homage to the soldiers who fought those battles.  Two in particular stood out to me right away since I was in the Army at the time - Grenada and Panama.

PANAMA - 1989 - 7th Infantry Division

7th Infantry Division patch - is on sideways.

Marine - Modern Dress

Army Ranger Medic (I lost his medic bags - he came with two)

Grenada - 1983