Long title, simple concept.

When I announced my Rise of COBRA mini dio-story project earlier this week,  I mentioned that I had a finale in mind when I initially produced my dio-stories…a clear beginning and an end.  What I didn’t necessarily mention was that I have actually already written the end.  I have it down on paper, I know what happens, what’s next, and how I might transition to a Rise of COBRA/Pursuit of COBRA universe, if that is my intention.  Click the Read the rest of the story link below to continue on…

The purpose of doing the Rise of COBRA dio-story was threefold…  first of all, I wanted to experiment with the newer style of figures to make sure that it was a medium I could work with.  Secondly, I wanted to make sure I felt the spirit of the Rise of COBRA and G.I. Joe universe when using these new figures, and I was quite pleased to say that, yes, I feel that familiar energy.  But lastly, I also wanted to see if the fire was still there.  While I continue to produce dio-stories for the G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club newsletter, I wasn’t sure I still had that desire to dive into my mainstream universe again and go through the enormous task of picking up where I left off.

Well, by the time I was finished with this mini dio, the spark was there.  And now, a week later, it hasn’t subsided.  I feel like I’m ready to continue this project.

Now, when I say “project”, it’s important for folks to understand where I’m going with this.  My final dio-story installment is entitled “Darkness Falls”.  It was written, soup to nuts, as the ultimate tale of G.I. Joe vs. COBRA.  It spans twenty-six episodes, hundreds of characters, dozens of vehicles (large and small) and 5 or 6 different elaborate set pieces that, to this point, remain unconstructed.  One bright side is that I do have the main COBRA Temple…something I commisioned from the fantastic Capolan a long while ago, and something that he built out of the kindness of his heart for next to nothing, which is something I can never thank him enough for.  He knew it was for my final installement, and he wanted to do his part, and that’s just plain awesome.

But, most of the action takes place within the walls of the COBRA Base of Operations, which of course, requires several different rooms of various purposes.  Set building is not really my strong suit, but since finances dictate I don’t commision any other massive pieces to be shipped cross country, I’ve gotta dig this out on my own.

So, I think I’ve officially started the process for finally making Darkness Falls.  Today I poured through my script, a whopping 83 page manifesto that is written in script format, but thankfully was done in enough detail so now, almost two years after it was written, I can still follow it and remember it in my head.  I was amazed as I read it, too, that I didn’t find much I wanted to rewrite or reformat, it worked pretty well “as is”.  This is extremely unusual for my dio-stories, as they tend to go through several rewrites before I even begin the picture taking process.  Truth be told, though, I will do some rewrites here.  I’ll force myself to.  There is a ton of stuff that could be trimmed out, and if I leave it as it is, it would take me so long to do every episode, it just wouldn’t be worth it.  There is still a lot of trim work to do, so I’ll need to print out the 83 page script and start hammering on it to weed out what really isn’t necessary.

The other thing I began today was laying out the set work.  I’ve measured dimensions for three of the more important set pieces and laid out how I want to build them with foamcore and what backdrops to use.  Thanks to the aforementioned Capolan, I know all about scrapbook paper at Michael’s (which was used to create the brick walls on the set for the Rise of COBRA dio) and I’ve found some that work as decent stonework for the internals of the COBRA temple.  Set building for me is all trial and error.  It’s a very weak point in my dio creation process, so it’s a challenge, but one I kind of look forward to.

So here we sit.  I’m really hoping that by giving these public status updates, not only will I educate the readers, but I’ll also keep the spark alive for the dio-story process.  Motivation is SO important to this whole process.  If I’m not properly self motivated to sit on the cold grass for three hours, dig in the dirt, and take pictures, then it just ain’t gonna happen.  If I can’t bring myself to want to spend four hours huffing hot glue, cutting foamcore, measuring three times and cutting once (or twice :shifty: ) then I just won’t be able to do it.  As it is, this will be a tough task with my family additions, and honestly it’s not one I can guarantee.  But I’m gonna give my damndest effort, and I just want folks to realize how much work it takes to do one of these, but I also want to give people some insight behind it, and maybe motivate some other folks to try it themselves.  It’s not easy, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun, and the finished product is very rewarding.  Hopefully not only will I get this done, but you guys will all be right there watching when it’s finished.