State of the Site - 07/07/2016

NSA

Brotherhood
Admin
Mar 13, 2011
28,536
918
113
Southern California
www.fighting118th.com
Seven.

Seven. Long. Years. Would you believe we (The Fighting 1:18th) has been around for 7 years now? A tad longer, but we always celebrated our birthday as July 4th (Cause 'Murica!).

July, 2009. A bunch of wacky miscreants broke free from the oppressive yolk of Hisstank.com and started our own misguided adventure in foruming. We had BOLD ideas, creative plans, lots of NSFW posts, and Chyna (RIP). We were told we wouldn't amount to anything, that we were most definitely not nephew friendly, and that our membership of 12 was a joke.

Ha! Ha! I say.

Here we are now, 7 long years later and.. what? What is this? Oh, we do only have 12 members now. Well, whatever, those 12 people are diehards! True believers! Up for whatever and down for the cause! Attica! Attica!

... *ahem*

The passage of time has not been without strife and loss, however, as we should take a moment to pour one out for our homies who are no longer with us (on the board, hopefully not dead):


Paul Pratt
MAJOR BLOOD

Monkeywrench
deleted
Midget
Rick
Wild Weasel
HeelJoe
Bravestarr
xhairs *snicker*
starwarsgeek

... and the rest.

You may be lost, but you'll never be forgotten. We have a great archive of all your posts.

Through the many years, we tried (and failed) many different things. A chatroom! (Remember that?) A front page with new and interesting stories (so close, almost made it happen). Comic Con coverage (Thanks for nothing, #SDCC). We even tried doing our own reviews.. but alas, none of it was meant to be. The one stumbling block, the thing we didn't see coming.. our GREATEST ENEMY.. was that we all were adults with adult things to do, too.

Everyone got to jump in the sandbox and play with our toys, some longer than others, but it seems like the school bell of life was destined to ring for everyone at one point or another. People started having more kids, or jobs, or wives, or some combination of those, and a 'for free' site devoted to little Army Men suddenly became the last thing that (rightfully) deserved attention. One by one, people began dropping off.. to be replaced by new front line soldiers, at first.

The first major casualty was Paul Pratt, one of the original Trifecta who formed the site (PCSguy88, NSA, Paul Pratt), also known as "The Other Paul". He was the IDEAS man, he had a great vision for turning the 118th into this shining amalgamation of SSHQ & Hisstank.. but in.. ONLINE MAGAZINE FORM! It sounded pretty spiffy, but, and it's a big but (And I don't lie), it turned out that required an inordinate amount of work, and, as it turns out, most of us are lazy as shit (most times). So Paul went his own way, and exited the hobby.

We replaced him with Tony aka MAJOR BLOOD, who was a great right hand man (if you know what I mean, *winkyemoji*) and served the 118th well, until he too got called by the great recess bell of life. Kids.

The rest of our staff fared no better, some just disappeared, some got busy and had to take a leave of absence, and some even requested to be deleted (looking at you, deleted). I don't hold any ill will towards anyone (except you, deleted!), after all, everything that was done here was for the overall community because we loved this place. It did, however, mean that we were covering less and less as a website, and more and more was going on my plate. I tried to divvy up projects and assignments, XOC2008 stepped up big when I needed him too, until he too.. had another kid (DAMN YOU CHILDREN, you're ruining my toy site!).

Finally it looked like it was just me and Mandingo Rex, who would have thought? Then EVEN HE RUNS OFF (with a woman this time). Later I remembered he didn't do anything anyway, so I was really alone to begin with. :wave:

Woe is me and.. whatever, but it just got very disheartening. I've taken extended leaves of absence before, so I get it. Life happens. I've moved 6 times since we started this site, that's a lot of moving boxes of toys. I finally met a girl, bought a house, had another kid.. couple of dogs, 5 cats, fish tank.. 5 chickens.. you know, the usual. Oh, except the girl hates my toys, so they're banished to the garage (D'oh).

It also didn't help that I did, probably 84% of my work on the site while I was "working". Fast internet access, at a desk all day, perfect! A little over a year ago my job situation changed, and I began to have DRASTICALLY less time to fuck around online, so it seriously impacted my time here. I don't even have a PC setup at home now, and browsing on my phone sucks.. so I just ended up coming here less and less. The more time away, the harder it felt to jump back in.

So while I feel like I've taken a break from the hobby for a little while, it really feels to me like the hobby has been leaving me for years. Seeing the product dry up, the enthusiasm wane, the prices skyrocketing while quality dropped.. it didn't really make for a conducive environment for the site to succeed. That too, was depressing. We all want our creations to be appreciated and to flourish, and I had a hard time thinking we just basically failed. :wtf:


So here we are, it is what it is. I'm glad to see that a few of you are still using the site. Actually, according to my stats, *47* registered (and as far as I can tell, real) users visited the forums in the last 24-hours. Obviously not all at the same time and likely not all posting, but still good to see there are people who remember we exist.

"I'm not dead yet!"

I'm taking suggestions for what you, the remaining stalwarts, would like to see (within reason). Just want it to stay being a place to shoot the shit? Sure thing. Want a new forum? Ok. More n00ds of Eddies wife? Alright!

Regarding the 2016-2017 Officer Club drive.. I'm setting it up now, but it's going to be a little different. It's going full-on donation mode at this point. All existing Officers should be able to keep your status without donating another dime. I still need to get Beeavision to finish the gold star and 6th and 7th year badges.. but I don't have an ETA. Anyone who wants to get in on the sweet sweet NSFW Officer action can donate once and get in for the foreseeable future. But if you love the place and would like to help keep it running, feel free to toss a few bones my way. The hosting cost is currently around $135/year, so 5-6 people helping out would help keep the costs down.

We made it to "lucky" #7.. how many more years do we have in us?! And to think we've been 'Crush-free' for over 5 years! (Maybe I shouldn't have said that).

My sincere thanks to all the fuckers who've stuck with me and the site and continue to be a part of this community. I consider a great lot of you actual friends, even if we've never met. I hope to keep this place running for as long as it's wanted.

-- Paul (NSA)
 

G.I.*EDDIE

gobbles a LOT of cock
Founder
Mar 14, 2011
43,432
428
83
S.E. Mich :(
Great write up! Loved the references to "deleted" and the continued use of that "name"...but, my fave part of that was this...

Later I remembered he didn't do anything anyway, so I was really alone to begin with.

:lmao:

Anyway...what do I want? More of the same, at this point. I want the place I call home to remain my home. The state of the hobby really doesn't lend itself to much else anyway. Even IF we were still attempting reviews and what not, they'd be few and far between. There's just not enough product out there in 1:18th. We'd have to branch out and open our doors to other scales. "The Fighting Whatevers!"

So yeah, I want a place to hang out with the guys I know best on the interwebs. My buddies...whether you like it or not! :D
 

Digler

Officer
Officer Club
Nov 28, 2012
819
88
28
Vancouver,BC Canada
www.facebook.com
Hey Paul, good speech brother, I'm still around. I'll be posting on here until the end. This was my first site(and the best for my type of stuff) to get involved with this hobby, and the only site except shittank sometimes. FB has a life of its own and have a loyal fan base and customer base. With thousands upon thousands of likes and shares from all over the world, I feel my narcissistic needs are being drawn out from this dark dank end of the interweb. :)
 

joesilver

PMC on demand!!!!!!
Jun 3, 2011
374
2
18
44
Portugal
still here!!! only working on some hacks figures lately but taking long absent from the hobby. as you perfectly said Kids are ruining your site, your members and everything they can reach :)
but this is the better place to be in this hobbie... here i saw the best custom figures i ever saw thanks to Obi-shinobi, G.I.eddie or even Rick. Here is where i started seing the amazing dio build by Digler. its where i received one of my adult best christmas presents thanks to Secret Santa( the Archivist) and where i learn how to improve in the hobbie throw several tutorias and tips. its the home of one of the best casters i ever met online( Daremo). So this is a great forum and "the home of the bests".
best regards to all

(P.S.- i also check PROVOST photos :) )
 

Giga Bread

Mega Calories!
Aug 20, 2011
6,368
20
38
43
I'm just waiting for everyone to leave so I can make this site what I want it to be.
 

Maritime96

South East of Disorder
Officer Club
Mar 14, 2011
183
4
18
Long Island, NY
Still here and stopping by every day to see the great stuff you guts post. Thanks for the great work you guys all do to keep the site going.
 

Akunin

Snow Bunny
Apr 7, 2011
1,818
1
38
I lurk a few times a week, always looking for news of new product on the horizon. I rarely log or even post because, well Godzilla is a pretty selective taste, even for this place.

:)

But I always hope to see some news of a rebooted Joe something or other. I haven't given up yet.
 

kt174

Assaulter
Oct 20, 2013
296
8
18
Carolinas
I am still here, usually check in every couple days. Just too busy with work lately, work my customs, but hopefully I get some done and share with you guys. This is a great site, just life wasn't so busy.
 

NSA

Brotherhood
Admin
Mar 13, 2011
28,536
918
113
Southern California
www.fighting118th.com
And I'm guessing Deleted is a certain furry just east of me whom still texts fucked up pictures my way? That all happened during my last year off.

Haha maybe :trollface: it was someone who left, then came back, then left again and said PLEASE DELETE ALL MY STUFF. :crying:

So I figured changing the name to Deleted sounded better :)

And good to see everyone still checking in.. it would be nice if something came along and reinvigorated people.. but who knows when/how that'd happen.

$20 Walmart Hueys??

Hell, I started the site in my Late 20's and now I'm almost officially in my later-30's. Everything is a little different these days. Can't be buying GI JOEs with my PRUNE JUICE MONEY!
 

K-Tiger

All solutions are final.
Founder
Mar 14, 2011
31,266
190
63
Might be able to find some at Five Below (If they have those in the PDRC), and the newest ones are supposed to be coming to Amazon.
 

G.I.*EDDIE

gobbles a LOT of cock
Founder
Mar 14, 2011
43,432
428
83
S.E. Mich :(
I haven't been into a toy section in quite a while. No point. No JOEs. MU/MI is overpriced AND reduced in articulation :talktothehand:, DC is all movie or new 52 looking garbage. Just nothing there for me.
 

NSA

Brotherhood
Admin
Mar 13, 2011
28,536
918
113
Southern California
www.fighting118th.com
Might be able to find some at Five Below (If they have those in the PDRC), and the newest ones are supposed to be coming to Amazon.

I think we only have ROSS/TJ MAXXXXXX out here.. I have a bunch of the Target figs sitting around somewhere though. My son got a newer 5-pack for his bday from my mom that I hadn't seen before. I think maybe she got them at ROSS.

I am pretty sure I've exceeded my limit for fodder figures though.
 

ThunderDan19

Here Comes the Boom!!!
Founder
Mar 14, 2011
10,775
963
113
49
VA
It's kind of sad that Mega Bloks is making the coolest somewhat scaled military stuff right now...
 

pcsguy88

Deuce Deuce
Staff member
Mar 14, 2011
12,421
635
113
KC
www.fighting118th.com
It's kind of sad that Mega Bloks is making the coolest somewhat scaled military stuff right now...

I wish they would stop. My wallet needs a break.

Now that Mattel bought them and is pumping out 6" Halo figs with the same pop on MB armor, there might be a glimmer of hope that they do a larger COD line also?
 

NSA

Brotherhood
Admin
Mar 13, 2011
28,536
918
113
Southern California
www.fighting118th.com
I just wanna dump it all in one go. Be done with it. I'm not making anything with it.

Yeah, I feel the same with my damn ARAH GI JOE 'parts' boxes. I think I have 5-6 decent sized cardboard boxes FILLED with ARAH vehicles/bases/etc. At some point I had the idea in mind of buying all this shit on eBay and fixing up vehicles so they were 100% complete or whatever.. and.. yeah that ended up being a ton of work.

I don't want to just throw them away, but the hell am I going to do with all this crap. Maybe Craigslist or something. Need to get photos of it..

At least figure fodder is relatively small...
 

WVMojo

Mocha Viper
Jul 20, 2011
4,004
3
38
I'm one of the klingons still hanging around.

Given the amount of 1:18 stuff coming to market over the next year or so, it seems like we're on the edge of another ramp up of figures. You gotta figure Mattel and Hasbro are paying attention to these kickstarters that are pulling decent money for a market that hardly exists in their eyes and their token releases.

I dunno...I think things could pick back up here.

I mean come on, in a year+ we can crank out some Red Dead customs...
 

nacho

"Big Guns"
Founder
Yeah, I feel the same with my damn ARAH GI JOE 'parts' boxes. I think I have 5-6 decent sized cardboard boxes FILLED with ARAH vehicles/bases/etc. At some point I had the idea in mind of buying all this shit on eBay and fixing up vehicles so they were 100% complete or whatever.. and.. yeah that ended up being a ton of work.

I don't want to just throw them away, but the hell am I going to do with all this crap. Maybe Craigslist or something. Need to get photos of it..

At least figure fodder is relatively small...

I have a toy warehouse (a literal storage unit, a big one) full of new toys (monkey depot, anyone?) and ARAH vehicles, playsets, etc. Some of it is my original toys, but I also bought tons of stuff for dio-building and for creating the huge battles I always dreamed of as a kid with my son. But now.... it just feels like crap taking up space. My son is 9 and doesn't give two shakes about Joe (or action figures in general).

I have THOUSANDS of vintage and modern joes, but no use for them. I sold my carded ARAH collection (complete 82-87 plus tons of foreign figures), but that was because they brought so much, and I didn't want the value to plummet when all the o-rings broke in the next five years.... plus private school ain't free.

I have a zillion customs planned with lots of loose figures, but in the back of my mind, I'm thinking, "ok, once you've made the customs, then what? what will you do with them? where will you put them? who will care? why bother? Either way, you're going to die and it will serve no purpose."

I always used my kids as an excuse for collecting and imagined all the fun we'd have... and now if I ever do anything with them, I'll just be like the weird old guys that do model trains. Part of me thinks I've outgrown the hobby, and part of me questions if it was worthwhile in the first place. On the flipside, if it makes me happy, is that alone enough of a justification? If so, I guess my piles will continue to grow, only to torture my children who will have to figure out what to do with it all down the road!

And don't even get me started on my comic collection...
 

Preacher13

Officer X
Jul 16, 2014
842
64
28
Center Moriches, NY
www.instagram.com
Depressing but I was really expecting you to say you were shutting it down at the end. Thankfully you are not. You have my donation, sir. Just send a PM and tell me what you need me to do. I'll happily chip in $25. More if need be, but I'm buying a house so I'm a bit short on cash.
 

Preacher13

Officer X
Jul 16, 2014
842
64
28
Center Moriches, NY
www.instagram.com
You never sent the Star Wars stuff you were going to send me for winning your contest! No hard feelings though. I have to rid myself of stuff now too. :trollface:

Yeah, I feel the same with my damn ARAH GI JOE 'parts' boxes. I think I have 5-6 decent sized cardboard boxes FILLED with ARAH vehicles/bases/etc. At some point I had the idea in mind of buying all this shit on eBay and fixing up vehicles so they were 100% complete or whatever.. and.. yeah that ended up being a ton of work.

I don't want to just throw them away, but the hell am I going to do with all this crap. Maybe Craigslist or something. Need to get photos of it..

At least figure fodder is relatively small...
 

XOC2008

Caution: Troll Ahead!
Mar 14, 2011
4,690
3
0
47
Plainfield, IL
You never sent the Star Wars stuff you were going to send me for winning your contest! No hard feelings though. I have to rid myself of stuff now too. :trollface:

Speaking of stuff not received, I still haven't gotten my USB drive for the donation a couple years ago. Dammit, NSA.
 

G.I.*EDDIE

gobbles a LOT of cock
Founder
Mar 14, 2011
43,432
428
83
S.E. Mich :(
I have a zillion customs planned with lots of loose figures, but in the back of my mind, I'm thinking, "ok, once you've made the customs, then what? what will you do with them? where will you put them? who will care? why bother? Either way, you're going to die and it will serve no purpose."

Get out of my head!!

On the flipside, if it makes me happy, is that alone enough of a justification?

Seriously, GET OUT!

If so, I guess my piles will continue to grow, only to torture my children who will have to figure out what to do with it all down the road!

I've often wondered what would happen to all of my "crap" if I died. I get kinda sad assuming it won't be shown the same respect I give it. All the hard work I put into my customs either thrown into a box or, more than likely, the trash. :( That line of thinking leads my back to the "why bother" thinking. It's a vicious circle.
 

ThunderDan19

Here Comes the Boom!!!
Founder
Mar 14, 2011
10,775
963
113
49
VA
Sounds like somebody needs to get busy adopting a dozen or so kids to try and get at least one of them to take on and continue his legacy... :trollface:
 

saltymarine

Enlisted
Aug 22, 2011
270
23
18
It's posts like these that make me think of bailing to, it's just not the same now that my kids are older an we don't go to stores or shows anymore , I work 2 jobs and recently purchased a Ducati Monster and I'm spending shitloads of money customizing it now, toys for boys took a back seat, before kids I lived and breathed bikes and was a road racer, I'm no racer anymore but I feel I'm running out of time and need to get my life before marriage back, Midlife I guess but just not feelin it anymore, I have tons of fodder as well that I've been collecting and it was outa control there for a few years, but I just can't seem to let go just yet, still digging Acid Rain stuff and would never sell that, just fodder and the excess joes I have multiples of, but I'm still here every week and hope it continues, no friends but I enjoy the conversations and provost girls LOL !