The Fighting 1:18!

Roles
Front Page Manager, Reviewer, Forum Administrator, Asshole

Contact Info
E-mail: paul.pratt@fighting118th.com
AIM: paulwesleypratt
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ppratt

1:18 Biography
I started in the world of “1:18 scale” as a fan of GI Joe somewhere around my seventh birthday. My parents bought me a Cobra Stun, that was my first GI Joe vehicle. After that, to say I was obsessed with GI Joe was an understatement. Between 1987 and 1993 I had amassed a huge collection from my generous family. As time went on, particularly during and after the first Gulf War, all I wanted were real life versions of the tanks and aircraft I had seen on TV and in pictures from the war. I remember being really disappointed when I discovered that the vehicles I did have were out of scale and not comparable to the bulk of things used in the real world. They were all I had though, so I continued on. But, as I got older, toys fell by the wayside. Like everyone else I endured the embarrassment of puberty, I somehow managed to graduate high school, I got married too early, and I had a child before I was ready.

When the 25th Anniversary GI Joe line began I was excited to get involved. The chance to get my old favorites, in new styles, with increased articulation simply blew my mind. The best part was that I could share them with my six year old son. Like his father, he latched onto GI Joe quickly. In order to keep up with demand I had to research the releases. I was led to a well known GI Joe website and was drawn into the huge subculture that had developed around GI Joe.

As time went on I noticed in the various pictures the members posted these incredible vehicles that were to scale with the Joes. The kicker was that they were based on real life military vehicles, too. I was awestruck. I asked around and did a ton of research and discovered another community centered around collecting 1:18 scale military vehicles from various eras of history. I couldn’t believe it, my dreams had finally been realized. Unfortunately I was many years too late and the entire 1:18 market was in dire straits. My son and I scoured local retailers and the internet looking for any signs of 1:18 we could get our hands on. As we found them, it only fueled the desire to acquire more. Clearances and sales only bolstered the collection at seemingly inappropriate times.

Around this time my son was playing Call of Duty 2 extensively on the computer and he had become enamored with all things World War II. He saw that there were World War II themed 1:18 scale figures and vehicles. He demanded to have some upon discovering this. Much to the dispair of my wallet, World War II was the largest category in the 1:18 scale hobby. Despite that, my interest got the better of me and we purchased a few things to get started. Needless to say we are now knee deep in World War II pieces.

Unlike some of the others who may collect, these toys are primarily my son’s. I buy and get to fondle them and look, but he plays with them and the collection has grown to epic proportions. My seven year old’s collection would make some adult collectors jealous. They are probably even more fired up by the fact that he plays with them, just like I did with my GI Joes when I was a kid. I won’t say my story ends there though. The new found love for 1:18 has brought me even further into the depths of nerdity. Customizing has become my new obsession. I’m so fueled by the real life look of the 1:18 scale vehicles that I want the GI Joes to match them now. Although I still love the ideas and foundation of GI Joe, it’s core and what it provided for me as a child, I’m adamantly against letting nostalgia get the better of me. I think there is a better place for GI Joe, where the original charm can meet the military it was based on and bear unique, modernized, and realistic versions of the classic characters. I want to find that balance and build it.