Meeting Number 23 Colona, IL, August 22, 2010 The Search for Tony's A-Team Meeting #23 was generously co-hosted by member Tony Carducci and was happily attended by members David Thompson, his son, Geoffrey, Mark Otnes, Robert Mitchell, Bob Rodden, Rob Findlay and our newest member (from East Moline), "RT." By the way, it turns out RT is an Illinois State Trooper, so watch out guys...we've got a real "Law Dawg" in 'da house now! Seriously, this was a great meeting, full of fun and Joe-lovin' camaraderie. Here's how it all went down... THE TRIP Colona is 3 hours or so from Champaign-Urbana, so we grabbed some breakfast at McDonald's and were on the road headed west by about 9 AM. Our trip was smooth and before we knew it we were pulling into Tony's driveway. Upon entering his house, we almost had to squint from the brilliant display of bright yellow vehicles that were on display. Tony had taken numerous "cast offs" and other garage sale finds and masterfully customized them into really cool-looking vehicles for his Adventure Team. Take a look at the photos below. Tony's skills will AMAZE you!

Tony told us this watercraft was actually something made by Hasbro. He described it as a "work in progress," but you can already see that it has great potential for further customization. This cigar-chompin' Cotswold figure has a real ATTITUDE about his leopard skinned ride. So..."BACK OFF, ya' PUNK!" Tony's Land Adventurer is pretty comfortable in his new subcompact. He really digs that sunroof! But full convertibles are even better! Believe it or not, this sweet ride used to be one of those ugly Max Steel cars. WOW! Tony took a plain K-Mart helo and converted it into this amazing Adventure Team air machine. Oh yeah! Check out this closeup of Tony's Command Jet. It features sliding TV monitor images and so much more. VERY CREATIVE! We couldn't get past Tony's table of Adventure Team treasures. Great job, Tony! TONY'S COLLECTION (2010 VERSION) Tony has updated his basement Joe room since we last visited in '09 with a new dividing wall and shelving. The room itself is crammed with action figures of all types, from GIjOE to Star Wars and beyond. It takes quite a while to see them all and we still felt as if we were missing something. Indeed, the longer we looked, the more cool things we discovered. In addition, on one side of the room we found Tony's photography table (or "photo deck") where he shoots all of his offbeat, "Bob Diablo" photo comics. We also noticed shelf after shelf of 1/6th scale props and accessories that Tony sets up for his wacky stories. Pretty professional stuff! An inebriated hula-dancing Joe prepares for his big moment before Tony's cameras. And...ACTION! Old shelving from a Blockbuster video store lines the walls, crammed full of Tony's masterpieces. New member "RT" (L) and veteran member David Thompson (R) stand in stunned amazement, surrounded by Tony's unique collection. SHOW-N-TELL This month's Show-n-Tell session was clearly dominated by Tony's amazing new custom vehicles, but he also showed us two new reference books he had acquired. We drooled over each one immediately. Mark also brought two new custom figures he had made including a US Navy sailor with custom ranking, nametag and ship arc iron-ons and a female NYPD police figure with custom nametag, badge and shoulder patches. Robert Mitchell brought in a stunning cast-iron stove that he snagged for only $25 (typically sold for about $75 to $100). Here's some pics... This is a great book. Get one while you can, wherever you can. Chocked full of great photos! Superb book for collectors of vintage Joes. Lots of details and information. Long out of print, but keep looking! Robert's oven is amazing! And it comes with a cooling rack, pots, etc. The little phonograph is a PENCIL SHARPENER! TRADE-A-PALOOZA This month's Trade-a-Palooza went on and on and on! Lots of new items appeared on the trading table this time including a big, bad 21st Littlebird helicopter (went home with David), SAS Jeep, German Screamin' Meamie rocket launcher, Humvee Ambulance, bags full of parts and much more. The frenzied trading action went on for a VERY long time, probably the LONNNNNNNGEST ever. As always, a great time was had by all. Mark even had free door prizes for everyone (cool 1/6th scale mini auto-repair creepers). How much more FUN can you have? THANKS TONY! What a great meeting. WOW. We all want to thank Tony again for his generosity in hosting us this month. There'll be TWO more meetings in 2010 before we have to take off for the Winter and holiday months of November, December and January. See everyone again at our next meeting in September. Time and place TBA. Go JOE! Member Bio Pages Past Meetings Archive Helpful Links Home Page Please visit our sponsor: If you'd like to advertise here, contact Mark at sterling@shout.net