STORCC
Short Take-Off Rocket Cargo Carrier

The Joes were under-equipped in 1982. Sure, they had a tank, a jeep, a motorcycle and some field artillery, but they couldn't fly anywhere, and the water was out of reach as well. To remedy this, I have three custom vehicles planned to fill in the gaps: a transport plane, a landing craft and a utility helicopter. I envision these as being part of series 1.5, released after the original 1982 figures but before the 1983 run was available. The transport plane is the second to be completed, using a True Heroes AB-115 Shark, which is based on the C-130 Hercules which featured so often in the Marvel run of Joe comics. I cut the carrying handle off of the top and added some seats to the cockpit and the cargo bay. The original is in grey, so I gave the fuselage a few coats of green drab paint (Krylon Ultra-Flat Camouflage), and used the custom sticker set from Toyhax.com for this plane. The original toy has no windows – just empty spaces in the windshield and portholes, so I added some clear plastic windows using Plastruct Plastic Weld. To make it stand out from a regular C-130 I added some booster rockets near the back of the plane in order to give it short take-off capability, which is appropriate for a clandestine unit like GI Joe. Two custom pilots complete the set, named Merlin and Sparrow. The STORCC would have had the same price point as the 1983 Headquarters Command Center, and would have been worth the same number of Flag Points (8).

Base Vehicle - True Heroes AB-115 Shark
Booster Rockets – Godzilla F/A-18 Strike Jet
Stickers – Toyhax.com

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Merlin
Fixed Wing Pilot

Merlin is the pilot of the STORCC transport plane, a custom designed to fill out the ranks of the 1982 Joes, given them some much-needed equipment. Since he would have been released before the second series of figures in 1983, he's made only from parts that were already available. His filecard information is below. Those versed in obscure Joe lore may recognize his file name. So this figure fills more than one hole in the Joe universe.

File Name: Bama, Frederick L.
Service Branch: Air Force
Rank (Grade): 1st Lt (O-2)
Primary MOS: Generalist Pilot
Secondary MOS: Fighter Weapons System Operator
Birthplace: Queens, NY

Graduated: Air Command Training, SERE School. Qualified Expert: Model 15 pistol. Qualified Pilot: C-20B Gulfstream III, E-2 Hawkeye, C-130H Hercules, AC-130 Spectre, EC-130E, AC-130X STORCC.

Head – Flash
Arms, waist, upper legs – Cobra Commander
Torso, lower legs - Clutch

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Sparrow
Fixed Wing Pilot

Sparrow is the co-pilot of the STORCC transport plane, a custom designed to fill out the ranks of the 1982 Joes, given them some much-needed equipment. Since he would have been released before the second series of figures in 1983, he's made only from parts that were already available. His filecard information is below. Those versed in obscure Joe lore may recognize his file name. So this figure fills more than one hole in the Joe universe.

File Name: Ruthel, Wayne
Service Branch: Air Force
Rank (Grade): 2nd Lt (O-1)
Primary MOS: Generalist Pilot
Secondary MOS: Aircraft Maintenance Officer
Birthplace: Shingle Springs, CA

Graduated: Ait Training Command, SERE School. Qualified Expert: Model 15 pistol, XM177 carbine. Qualified Pilot: C-20B Gulfstream III, KC-10 Extender, C-130H Hercules, AC-130 Spectre, AC-130X STORCC.

Head – Grunt
Arms – Steeler
Torso, waist, upper legs – Clutch v2
Lower legs – Cobra Commander

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Very nice work. I love the figures. In my opinion these were some of the best molds they made. The are so versatile and although there are some difference the make everything look cohesive. To me, these represent an army unit.

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great work!

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The aircraft is wonderful, but those amazing figures are what really capture my attention. Nice use of the filenames, too!

Yes, I had a lot of fun piecing these figures together, finding combinations that haven't been done before and which work together.

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Thank you, I like things to make sense in my Joeverse, and adding these "1.5" figures let me explain where those names came from.

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The Blue Angels C-130, “Fat Albert” used to use rockets for its short takeoff maneuver. That’s what this first reminded me of.

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Yes that's the sort of thing I was going for.

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Great work on the plane. The pilots are terrific, they fit right in with the OG13. The whole project has an early Marvel comics feel. Love it.

OB

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