With modern era GI Joe's becoming more and more impressive, I get a little bewildered when I'm at my friend Paul's place admiring his staggering collection. Dozens of versions of Duke, Storm Shadow, Cobra Commander and, of course, Snake Eyes. I recall as a child trying to decide on which versions of SE I wished to play with in the day's adventure. I had access to two back then. Now I am spoiled for choice, and I fear that too much choice has spoiled my appreciation. Each one seems cooler than the next too many toys all so cool I don't know what to do I have great toys that get no love because I always have my eye on the next one...
...Stop this hobby. I want to get off.
I needed to retreat. And what better way to do that than to crawl back into where it all begun. When collecting and more importantly appreciating IE playing with the toys was paramount.
It all started in mid March. I was tooling around Camden Town in London and happened upon this guy:
I was all of a sudden swept up in the impressive detail in his sculpt, the uniqueness of his parts and, of course, his ease of compatibility with vehicles and equipment. What we gained in the current construction of GI Joe came at a cost. And I think the biggest cost is fun. Vintage Joe was meant to be played with! I find myself constantly tied up with the fear of losing the infinitesimal knee pads, silencers, holstered guns and knives. All the added poseability only matters in executing impressive poses on your mantelpiece, not for jamming your figures into an AWE Striker loaded with weapons and waging war.
So instead of buying current releases, I'm trawling Ebay for vintage figures I love and as yet do not own. First was a 1989 Blizzard. A cool figure with interesting gear, but made so desirable by being playable in the Taxan videogame. $9. Then I won an auction for a complete Alpine for once again $9. I was going for a Duke, Alpine was just gonna help fill the box out a little. But alas, the main prize was snatched away from me with two seconds left on the clock. I bid too early! Don't you just hate it when that happens?
I had some years ago owned 1989's Stalker, Toxo-Viper and Charbroil. Stalker bought it at the mercy of the lawnmower. And Char and Toxo's crime? O-ring death. And I was young and foolish enough to believe a perished O-ring was incurable. I binned them. My turn to be the fool. I kept their accessories however and as a result it was very affordable to pick up loose, incomplete specimens on the 'bay.
Then a buddy of mine offloaded about seventy o-ring action figures on me. Some Battle Corps, some Star Brigade, Talking Battle Commanders... the balance being an enormous force of vintage The Corps! figures. A number of duplicates of toys I had, but a few gems gladly accepted. I am really impressed by Star Brigade Roadblock. What a sterling figure, and given nice exposure to in some of the swan song issues of the original book, issues 145-148.
Put your desires into the universe, and the universe will spit something out. I kept on striking it lucky. Walking into a comic dealer in Johannesburg hoping to buy a vintage Thundercats Thundertank I had seen there previously, the store owner asked me what I was looking for. My hopeful response, as always, was 'GI Joe'. He took down a box of bits and bobs. After the most cursory of glances I asked for the price, he said R200, I dropped the requisite crisp note on the counter and bolted, box in hand. This is the treasure I had unearthed.
Someone had already made off with the Rattler, Arctic HiSS, Stinger, ASP and Vamp Mk.II. There might have been a second Stinger jeep as I found two drivers lying spare in the box. And I found a Snow Serpent's gear, suggesting some fool took the figure and his attached parachute pack, leaving the rest of the gear. Fool. But what cool stuff, for next to nothing. I had never owned vintage blueshirts, CLAWs or even a vintage HiSS. And you best believe reviews are on the way. I could do my head in pondering how these toys came into my possession, I'll definitely go back and interrogate Mr Cosmic Comics. But the Rattler had Japanese paperwork, the ASP, Stinger and Vamp blueprints were from the United States. If these were bought locally, the paperwork would have been European. There were two Impel cards, which I never saw released locally either. Neither was the Arctic HiSS. There were Triple Win scratch cards - inserts from 1985 carded figures. So Dusty and the Snow Serpent might have been carded at the hands of the meticulous former owner. I wonder what the third figure was? The CLAWs both have European decals...
...this was just one beautiful box of mystery and mirth. And I love it all to bits.
.JPG)
...Stop this hobby. I want to get off.
I needed to retreat. And what better way to do that than to crawl back into where it all begun. When collecting and more importantly appreciating IE playing with the toys was paramount.
It all started in mid March. I was tooling around Camden Town in London and happened upon this guy:
I was all of a sudden swept up in the impressive detail in his sculpt, the uniqueness of his parts and, of course, his ease of compatibility with vehicles and equipment. What we gained in the current construction of GI Joe came at a cost. And I think the biggest cost is fun. Vintage Joe was meant to be played with! I find myself constantly tied up with the fear of losing the infinitesimal knee pads, silencers, holstered guns and knives. All the added poseability only matters in executing impressive poses on your mantelpiece, not for jamming your figures into an AWE Striker loaded with weapons and waging war.
So instead of buying current releases, I'm trawling Ebay for vintage figures I love and as yet do not own. First was a 1989 Blizzard. A cool figure with interesting gear, but made so desirable by being playable in the Taxan videogame. $9. Then I won an auction for a complete Alpine for once again $9. I was going for a Duke, Alpine was just gonna help fill the box out a little. But alas, the main prize was snatched away from me with two seconds left on the clock. I bid too early! Don't you just hate it when that happens?
I had some years ago owned 1989's Stalker, Toxo-Viper and Charbroil. Stalker bought it at the mercy of the lawnmower. And Char and Toxo's crime? O-ring death. And I was young and foolish enough to believe a perished O-ring was incurable. I binned them. My turn to be the fool. I kept their accessories however and as a result it was very affordable to pick up loose, incomplete specimens on the 'bay.
Then a buddy of mine offloaded about seventy o-ring action figures on me. Some Battle Corps, some Star Brigade, Talking Battle Commanders... the balance being an enormous force of vintage The Corps! figures. A number of duplicates of toys I had, but a few gems gladly accepted. I am really impressed by Star Brigade Roadblock. What a sterling figure, and given nice exposure to in some of the swan song issues of the original book, issues 145-148.
Put your desires into the universe, and the universe will spit something out. I kept on striking it lucky. Walking into a comic dealer in Johannesburg hoping to buy a vintage Thundercats Thundertank I had seen there previously, the store owner asked me what I was looking for. My hopeful response, as always, was 'GI Joe'. He took down a box of bits and bobs. After the most cursory of glances I asked for the price, he said R200, I dropped the requisite crisp note on the counter and bolted, box in hand. This is the treasure I had unearthed.
 |
| I don't know what is more irritating, the fact that someone got the Arctic HiSS, Rattler, Vamp and Snow Serpent before I had the chance; or the fact that those toys will forever be incomplete. RRRRRRRRRGH. |
 |
| Wild Weasel filecard, Arctic HiSS blueprint, filecard and used sticker sheet, Stinger 4WD blueprint, Vamp Mk.II blueprint, Japanese Rattler blueprint and catalogue, Nemesis Enforcer and Firefly Impel cards and three Triple Win Game scratchcards. Wow. |
 |
| True story: I had a sticker of this guy stuck to the side of the shelf precisely where my toddler potty was. And as I shat, I fantasized about one day owning Dusty. That day has finally arrived. Amen. |
Someone had already made off with the Rattler, Arctic HiSS, Stinger, ASP and Vamp Mk.II. There might have been a second Stinger jeep as I found two drivers lying spare in the box. And I found a Snow Serpent's gear, suggesting some fool took the figure and his attached parachute pack, leaving the rest of the gear. Fool. But what cool stuff, for next to nothing. I had never owned vintage blueshirts, CLAWs or even a vintage HiSS. And you best believe reviews are on the way. I could do my head in pondering how these toys came into my possession, I'll definitely go back and interrogate Mr Cosmic Comics. But the Rattler had Japanese paperwork, the ASP, Stinger and Vamp blueprints were from the United States. If these were bought locally, the paperwork would have been European. There were two Impel cards, which I never saw released locally either. Neither was the Arctic HiSS. There were Triple Win scratch cards - inserts from 1985 carded figures. So Dusty and the Snow Serpent might have been carded at the hands of the meticulous former owner. I wonder what the third figure was? The CLAWs both have European decals...
...this was just one beautiful box of mystery and mirth. And I love it all to bits.
.JPG)
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