Getting Defiant In My Old Age

Another year ticks off the calendar of my life, and I find myself one year older today. This year, I'm feeling Defiant about it!

G.I. Joe Defiant that is!

I remember as a kid always wanting this bad boy, and much like the Flagg, being given the proverbial middle finger from my parents and "Santa" every year. Well, mom, dad and Santa, I went ahead and fulfilled that childhood dream on my own this year.

This thing is a beast!

Whether it be a seasoned collector or an average person who played with toys in the 80's, when you talk about G.I. Joe, someone typically asks, "Did you have the Flagg?" Yes, the massive U.S.S. Flagg is impressive. However, as a glorified table, it doesn't hold a candle to the 1987 Defiant Shuttle Complex. What the Flagg lacks in playability, the Defiant makes up for in spades. To the other end, what the Flagg possesses in durability (sort of), the Defiant lacks greatly. The Defiant is incredibly fragile.

Just look at this massive playset. I have no clue how your average ten year old would have played with this thing. Even as an adult it's cumbersome and awkward to finagle...But I love it!

Let's break this thing down by it's three major components. First, there's the shuttle itself.

Prepare for launch!

The umbilical cord is one of the most often lost pieces which collectors will pay upwards of $200.00 to get! Me? No way. This thing is nothing more than common household ten gauge white wire, cut to fourteen inches. I'm not paying $200.00 for a piece of wire which I can pick up for pennies on the dollar at any local hardware store across the United States. To me, having an original piece of common wire is about as necessary as having the original Styrofoam block for my NES games.

The shuttle sits atop the booster rocket with the aid of this small metal latch at the front, as well as, two grooves on the back.

There's a lot of detail going on here at the underbelly of the shuttle. That hatch at the bottom actually serves a few purposes. More on that below. The flaps on either side of the front landing gear open up to reveal lasers hidden in the compartments.

As I was posting these photos, it dawned on me I had not taken a full photo of the booster rocket. Oops. Because of how cumbersome the overall playset is, I decided I would cut my loses and not disassemble it all to do so.

Inside, the booster rocket has quite a bit of features. Most notably are the numerous foot pegs. They're all over the place on this thing. What's equally fun about them is that some are on the bottom of the walkways to simulate zero gravity.

The booster is broken up into three levels. The first is where the transporter device and seating area are. The second is sleeping chambers and the third is the airlock.

Here's a closer look at the transporter.

The exterior guns and missiles on the booster are incredibly fragile. Especially the front ones which do not rotate freely, despite being on ball joints. The missiles underneath often go missing too.

The booster rocket has several panels on the side, but most lead to nothing more than details. There are, however, two which feature additional lasers and rockets.

Remember that hatch I mentioned on the shuttle?

Not only does it serve for astronauts to exit to your imaginary outer space scenario, but it can also be docked with the transformed booster rocket. It sits atop and the hatch opens up into the airlock, for Joe's to enter and exit both vehicles.

It's interesting to note that several collectors of the Defiant Shuttle Complex actually shun buying the gantry. This is mainly because of its very fragile nature, which deters people from wanting it shipped. There is truth to this fear. Despite the added care of disassembling the doors and bubble wrapping everything, this piece did not make it to me intact. A total of six pieces broke off in transit. Fortunately Super Glue put them back in their place. Unfortunately, the plastic on this thing is super brittle. So handle with care.

I love this view looking down at the holding zone for the booster and shuttle. Massive amounts of detail make it pop.

The side view here? Not as impressive as the one above.

When opened up, each side of the gantry doors has multiple levels and an elevator to access them (above and below photo).

This tiny little crank, with the aid of two very fragile springs, raises the entire complex into its launching position. This works on mine, but I won't be "playing" with it beyond today's photos.

The amount of detail around the gantry is amazing. Check it out!

Hidden play compartments within the gantry (above and below photo), only accessible when it is in the raised position.

A closer look at the crank and the two flanking cannons.

Last up, is one of the biggest flaws with the complex. These tiny wheels do not work well in conjunction with the large scale of the playset. What was Hasbro thinking? These should have been thick treads. I highly recommend not even bothering to try and roll this thing across any surface as they may snap off.

There you have it. The Holy Grail, G.I. Joe Defiant Shuttle Complex!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I think it's important to give yourself something for your birthday and Christmas. Your gift to you, from you, for being you. Splurge on something special for yourself.

Not only will you feel happy about the gift, cause if you don't, you're doing it wrong, but you'll also find that getting older isn't so bad. Seriously. I read posts and comments from people about how aging is so terrible and they dread each and every birthday that draws closer.

Me? I love it! I'm just as excited for my birthday today as I was when I was four. Maybe even more so. Save the terror of your birthday for the actual Terror Drome!

Check out this box! Fantastic!

Yeah, I may have gone a bit overboard this year. I know, I said that last year. I probably say it every year. But darn it, I'm worth it!

My desire for a Cobra Terror Drome was to balance out my Flagg. Well, while it displays nicely underneath it, the playset definitely pales in the size department. I don't think one can beat the shear volume of the Joe's aircraft carrier.

Still, everything about this roundish dome castle is wonderful!

In terms of Joe toys,  it's one of the best. Tons of details, compartments, stations and in general, a lot to play with.

Each panel around the exterior perimeter opens to reveal vehicle docking stations with gas pumps, cannon and even a cell for unfortunate Joe team members who got caught.

All of these docking stations with the gas pumps look the same. While there aren't many vehicles which can fit inside, the Cobra Ferret seems to be a perfect match for them. I may grab a few in the near future to deck the place out with.

The red plastic on the sliding door really adds to the imagination of a laser beam sealed cell block.

These massive cannons open up to reveal a gunner station and counterweight to keep them from swinging closed.

This compartment is rather bland. However, it does draw your attention to the stickers above each door. Can you image a child's playset these days which had, "No Smoking" stickers? The public outcry would be brutal!

The best feature sits right here. This lever activates the top dome to reveal the hidden Firebat inside!

Another not so interesting compartment...

...And another cannon station.

This is all wrapped up with a final fueling station.

My all time favorite feature on the Drome is the launch station with the hidden Firebat. It looks so cool.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...Lift off!

It's unfortunate that the A.V.A.C. pilot doesn't fit inside the cockpit with his parachute on. However, the hatch can still close with it resting in his lap, which I guess is okay.

Everything fits perfectly together with the Flagg displayed on a a table and the Defiant and Terror Drome underneath.

If all of the above wasn't enough to celebrate the day, I went ahead and upgraded my shelving for my toys. I did away with this very blah, very dark cabinet...

...For something a little more "open".

Not only does the glass sides allow for light to penetrate from all directions, but it allows for you to see the figures from multiple angles.

Another aspect I added was tiered shelving. One of the things that always annoyed me about my displays was that I couldn't see the figures behind the others. At least not very much.

While this tiered aspect gives me the view I want, it unfortunately comes at the loss of real estate in the cabinet. I could probably fit another row or two of figures on each shelf if they were all on the same level. However, despite the lost display space, I do admit I really like the way this turned out.

One thing I also found out is that glass display shelves, particularly skinny and tall ones, are not very sturdy. I must have knocked over multiple shelves at least six times before getting frustrated and looking for an alternative.

This came in the form of Velcro discs, which I adhered to the bottom of each figure stand and then to the tiers / shelves. This doesn't detract at all from the overall display, and more importantly, doesn't result in anymore domino effects from the slightest jarring of the cabinet.

I'm not done rearranging everything just yet, but I can already tell the toy room is going to look much better when I'm done. For now, it looks like a bomb went off.

While I clean up the "mess", I'm also taking the time to enjoy every inch of my toy room again. To breath in every piece and enjoy the collection I've obtained over the years. Years which have just ticked off another.

I told my brother and sister I wanted to celebrate my birthday in style this year with a kids themed party. They looked at me like I was crazy. My brother wanted to know why I would even bother to celebrate. He asked, "Is it a milestone year?" I responded, "Every year is a milestone year. Three hundred sixty-five days is a long time."

Check back later today for further birthday related updates and adventures.

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