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"Search for the Cool Stuff at Don's House"
Meeting #9 was hosted by CIGCC member Don Hanke and took place in his garage in Tuscola. The snow outside was cold and deep, but INSIDE, we were quickly warm and having fun with GIjOE.We last visited Don at his home exactly one year ago. At that time, Don revealed that he is a master craftsman capable of creating his own uniforms, equipment and dioramas. Read the synopsis of that meeting HERE. On this day, we spent the next 4 hours jealously eying Don's great collection which includes a lot of rare, vintage gear and pieces, numerous figures, a ton of custom uniforms (mostly Marines) and much more. Over the year, Don had sold off much of his previous holdings, but some of his collection he "just can't bear to part with." We also enjoyed perusing the photo album Robert Mitchell had brought with him. He's compiled an extensive visual record of his outdoor dioramas and military presentations. His last big one was at the Illinois Veteran's Home in Quincy, Illinois. We visited that facility as a club back in October, 2007. Click here NOW to read the synopsis of that meeting
As any good GIjOE fan knows, when fellow collectors come to visit, you should present your figures with the same pride as "Andy and George" did back in the 1960s. Don took this to heart and laid out his favorite vintage gear in 5 beautiful footlockers. Each was carefully set up and included only vintage accessories and figures. WOW! Take a look at the real deal in the photo on the right. Fantastic collection, Don. THIS is what we came to see!
Don had the same tabletop set-up that he had last year, but this time there were a lot more figures "in action." What always amazes us is how much of what we're looking at is Don's own CUSTOM work. The uniforms, the helmets, the caps, the radio covers, the walls, the sandbags, etc. It's almost all handcrafted by Don! We all stood around for an hour or so, just shaking our heads and going "No WAY!" Amazing work, Don. I couldn't show all of the photos I took of this massive setup, so I settled on a few closeups that I particularly liked. Enjoy! And if you have any questions about Don's customs, you can reach him HERE.
JOE SHOW-N-TELL After drooling over Don's tabletop diorama, we moved on to the "Joe Show-n-Tell" segment of our meeting. Jeff brought an amazing vintage Capture Copter, a Mezco King Kong and a slew of Adventure Teamers. The other members also brought interesting items, but we had the most fun setting up Jeff's stuff into an imaginary "Attack of the Giant Gorilla" adventure (see below).
Don loves MST3K and had tapes of it running all day. Now and then one of us would look up to the ceiling-mounted TV, watch a few scenes and snicker, drawing the attention of the others for a few minutes. We really didn't stop talking long enough to ever really WATCH the show, but they are hilarious. Oh yeah...the pizza was delicious too, thick and CHEESY!
TRADE-A-PALOOZA After eating, we always enjoy our "Trade-a-palooza." Each member dumped out whatever they brought, the rest of us pawed through the pile, pulling out a piece now and then. Finally, a deal is made and there are smiles all around. THIS is what our club is all about. Promoting and supporting each other's collecting and enjoyment of the GIjOE hobby. DON'S DEMO Finally, before we left, Don quickly showed us how easy it was for him to make new custom gear with his magic liquid resin material. It was amazing to watch and you could see the light bulbs going on over all our heads as we pondered the possibilities. As Artie Johnson used to say on "Laugh-In"...Veeeeeeeery Interesting! Thanks for hosting this month's meeting Don. You are 'da man!
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TALKIN'
JOES
READY
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DON'S
DIORAMAS
