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GIjOE: 45 years and counting...
The original action figure is back, and ready for action, again. [older news]

I'm always buying vintage GIjOEs and Action Man . Email me.

July, 2008

This just in! It looks like Walmart is going to be the only retailer selling a 45th Anniversary 12-inch GIjOE this year. Recently, at the JoeCon in Dallas, TX, Hasbro revealed plans for the worlds largest retailer, Walmart, will begin selling the original military era GIjOEs, available in the coffin boxes, with accessory sets on the tray type cards, starting in October. Image courtesy of www.toynewsi.com . These appear to be a re-release of the 40th Anniversary Joes, but that's OK by me. Rumors abound that the carded sets are the following:

• Marine Dress Parade [pictured below]
• Air Force Survival [yellow raft]
• Soldier Mountain Troops [snow boots and white pack]
• Sailor Frogman Set [rubber scuba suit]

To me this is a decent offering, since I would really like a few of the Frogmen sets, and I don't have the Dress Marine set. Not sure about the Mountain Troops, since Hasbro has not yet made any Snow Trooper winter uniforms or white 'bear' helmets. The Pilot get the inflatable raft, but that's ok, as the Frogmen need something to float on too!

I think if I were in charge of the 45th line, I would have offered the Tank Commander, Scramble Pilot, Frogman, and the Green Beret as the card sets, but that's just me. For $10 a pop, I know I'll be buying all I can afford.

In related news, the downside of these cool vintage style sets, means the 40th Anniversary versions will depreciate, yet again, and the vintage sets will loose even more value. Before the replica sets came out, vintage figures and sets were in high demand, and collectors were faced with buying at a premium the hard to find parts. Now, even vintage nude figures are at all time lows, and I think this is due to folks buying the equivalent 40th Anniversary Edition, or even better, the 40th Anniversary Action Man sets. Now those are something to be excited about!

UPDATE: August, 2007

It was a long time coming, but after the success of the Hot Topic Land Adventurer last November, and the Urban Outfitters, Air Adventurer in Sea Adventurer gear, this past Spring, Hasbro decided to team up with Walmart to offer most of the original Adventure Team Line up!

Here is the breakdown:

• Man of Action
• Adventurer [African American]
• Sea Adventurer
• Air Adventurer
• Land Adventurer

Best of all, these come in repo boxes, and for $9.96 what is not to love about these old friends. Now, the hair on the Sea and Air Adventurer are somewhat odd, but the outfits, and accessories are nice, the figures are well made, the Kung-fu Grip works, and best of all, most Walmarts have them! Take a look:

If you were like me, growing up in the 70's, it's great to see these back on shelves, even if it's for a limited time. I hope these sell well, and that other stores get some exclusives this fall Picture from http://members.aol.com/lannyl7/ATmart.jpg .

I've been a huge GIjOE fan since I was a kid, and have been actively collecting them for years. Original boxed figures and accessories are very rare today and this year, Hasbro has decided to offer the complete 1964 line of GIjOE merchandise available again for the first time since the 1960's. Look at the images below to get an idea of the first wave, that hit stores in mid July. Most places have sold out by late September, just in time for Wave 2.

UPDATE: October 1,2003

Toys 'R' Us had a complete set for $39.99 each [$10 more that retail, thanks TRU], so I was encouraged by my wife to get the whole set. I did. In person these are even better than the photographs.

	Action Soldier: First in a Series Nice box art, smaller window box than the rest. Hasbro finally corrected the M1 Garand trigger guard [looks good, better than the previous efforts] Jacket is nice, zipper has string pull instead of metal. Grenades look good, right color, not translucent, however the ammo pouches are a little transparent, Figure looks fantastic, uniform and boots look great. BIG ERROR: "Anniversary Addition" is printed on the manual should read "Anniversary Edition"! oops!
	Action Sailor: Second in a Series Same long box is very nice, and the larger window box fills up the entire display. Rubber suit is thicker than the originals, and again the zipper has the string pull instead of metal. the color of the tanks look good. Orange hoses are thinner than the originals. Vinyl knife scabbard seems more flexible than the originals. Figure looks fantastic, uniform and boots look great. Can't read the manual but expect it to have the same typo as the Soldier.
	Action Marine: Third in a Series Like the Sailor, it has the full window box, and is the most "striking" looking one of the lot. Again, the M1 carbine's trigger is now the correct size. [the M1 is hidden by the large 40th logo] The pattern and color on the communication equipment is different than the originals, but looks great. The cammo pattern on the unifrom is slightly darker than my originals. Figure looks fantastic, uniform and boots look great. Can't read the manual but expect it to have the same typo as the Soldier.
	Action Pilot: Fourth in a Series Again, the full window box gives a full display and is very appealing. Raft is larger than the originals, paddle has only minor wood grain, [better than previous efforts] flare pistol, first aid and anchor are very nice.[The air vest is mostly hidden by the 40th Logo, but appears to be correct. Figure looks fantastic, uniform and boots look great. Can't read the manual but expect it to have the same typo as the Soldier.

Previous images from Cotswold Collectibles.

Overall conclusion: I really like this set. It's the best effort Hasbro has done in a long time. The 30th Anniversary set were disappointing, but these 40th version make up for it. Details down to the cotton strings stitching the parts to the card has been replicated to be like the 1964 line. Get them while you can. Buy 2 of each, keep one in the box, and play with the other set. Thanks Hasbro, I feel like a kid again on Christmas morning, 1964. If you like the vintage GIjOE line these are as close to the originals as you are going to get. I don't think Hasbro will ever get it any better or even can. These are that good. Unless a warehouse find is discovered of vintage sets, this is as good as it gets. The comments are from a vintage collectors perspective, and not intended to be critical of the latest offerings. Hasbro really tried to get it right this time by NOT improving on anything. [it looks like there are some changes to the footlocker, unfortunately] The things that made these sets work in 1964 is what makes these reproductions so good now. For the 1/6th scale miniature enthusiast who expects accurate models, these are not like modern Dragon figures. For the vintage GIjOE collector wanting a nostalgic reproduction, these are near perfect replicas. I can't wait to see more of the 40th line. My Soldier & Marine needs gear, helmets, belts, pistols, mess kit, my pilot needs a crash helmet, parachute pack, belt and sidearm, my Sailor needs a helmet, raft, signal light, shore patrol gear, oh, I could go on.

Review of the 40th Anniversary Editions Wave 2 Update October 30, 2003

Images from GIjOE Online. Found these At the Local Target store. Very cool set, but, seems to lack the BANG the first set did. No Action Pilot in this set, and it is missed. 2 Soldier sets, and if you want to complete a MP, you will have to get both Soldier sets. The Navy set is lacking the Attack Helmet, Blue Ammo can, and Machine Gun. Also, a raft would be nice. These were not part of Wave 2 so I hope to see them in Wave 3. I can't have my Sailor running around without proper headgear! He does have the cloth cap, which is a surprise. Again, most of the booklets still have the typo, but the Marine does not. Artwork on the Window boxes seems to have had too much time with the image retouchers. It is obvious Hasbro is going after the collectors market on these, evident by the 5th in a series, 6th in a series, etc. . In some ways I'd prefer to get just the loose cards, and window boxes instead of getting another Joe. Oh well, I cant wait to see the next Wave.

	Action Soldier: 5th in a Series The only ones I could find were the African American version, which is cool. I missed the AA version in Wave 1. Nice set, graphics on the window box seem retouched too much. Pistol is the "coarse" grip type. Holster seems to be made of thinner material. Typo on the Booklet, same as in Wave 1. Overall a nice set, missing the MP helmet. I guess you gotta buy the small "MP helmet set" card to get it. Ah, marketing.
	Action Soldier second assortment: 6th in a Series WOW! 3 small accessory cards! Even have the brass rings and Helmet stickers. [no product #]. Very cool set, but unsure how the consumers will like it. Sandbags are a lighter color, and the Machine Gun seems to be made of a softer plastic. Would have been great to see 4 or 5 cards, just seems like a lot of empty room in the display box. A cammo netting helmet card, and a pauncho would have delivered a lot of bang!
	Action Sailor: 7th in a Series Nice set, but again no Navy Attack Helmet. Smaller size Window box. Again graphic is too airbrushed. Too smooth and blurry. My least favorite of the Wave 2 sets, but will display well. IMHO the Navy sets were always a bit boring. Other than the Divers, that is. One cool thing about this one, the Sailors cap is cloth, like the salesman's prototypes, not plastic, like the production version of the 1960's.
	Action Marine: 8th in a Series I guess I like the Marines loud color schemes, because this is my favorite of the Wave 2 set. The M1 Garand is a dark brown, unlike the Target Footlocker rifles. The ammo pouches are too thin and translucent. Typo on the Manual has been corrected! Graphic on the smaller Window box is over retouched. My biggest complaint of the Marines so far have been the uniforms. Too dark a base color, I prefer the MasterPiece edition fatigues better. Accessories look very nice. Materials and textures seem to be very close to the originals. Grenades are too light a gray.

Wave 2 images from GIjOE Online

Preview of the 40th Anniversary Editions "Wave 3" Update December 2, 2003

I found these images from a seller on ebay. For what its worth the "wave 3" selection will be in 2 parts. The first part of Wave 3 will not have any marines. The second part of Wave 3 will not have any Soldiers. The images are all that I could find on the upcoming Wave 3.

	Action Soldier: This looks like a rehash of earlier sets namely the Footlocker accessories. Appears to be available in both ethnic versions.
	Action Pilot Scramble set. Cool! Can't wait to get my paws on this set. I'm glad to see the pilot return.
	Action Pilot small card lot. WoW! more pilot gear! I'm glad to see the helmet and parachute pack.
	Action Marine: Dress Parade. This is actually part of Wave 3.2 But is the missing Marine. Production delays caused it to not be in Wave 3.1

I do have a few 1990's MasterPiece Edition Joes for sale if you need any. Email me at jegner@tk560.com.

The following images are The BeachHead.

2003 Exclusives

2003 Target Stores Exclusive Footlocker. Very nice interpretation of the vintage set. Only variations to mention are: The hinge is a full length "piano hinge" instead of the original 2 small tap on lid hinges. Also, the tray, is DEEP. Like, 3 times as deep as the vintage ones. An extra set of boots, and fatigue cap come with the set. [one on the tray, the other on the figure.] Weapons are of a light brown, and have been reported to be soft plastic. Many of the same accessories can be found on the Marine Window Box. Note, these were displayed at my local Target Store on a front end cap along with the rest of Wave 2. Below is the prototype displayed at the Hasbro booth in June. Notice the clipped corners of the tray, and the corner support of the box? I'm glad to see they changed the design! image from Master collectors.

Walmart 2003 Exclusive Marine Medic Toyfair sample. Seems close to production. Image is from MasterCollectors.

Hasbro has not done a very good job promoting this line so if you visit www.gijoe.com you will not find much info on it. The Beachhead is a good source for information, as is Cotswold.

Here is a copy of the letter I sent to Hasbro:

I don't normally write a company to say thanks, but when I got the 40th Anniversary GIjOE sets, I was completely blown away. These are fantastic recreations of the vintage ones! I sure hope there are plans to do more of the 1964 line. As a long time collector of vintage GIjOEs, I'm glad to see these recreations done so well. Much improved over the 30th anniversary sets, and even better than the previous "timeless collections" efforts. [All of which I have and enjoy]. I'm glad to see certain details, like the reworked trigger guards, and raft oar paddle, correct fabric texture material, color, the improved head sculpt, and face paint. All truly well done! The packaging is my favorite part of the 40th set. I love the narrow figure box, and window box display. A+! As a graphic designer for many years, Its a thrill to see these back on the shelf. Again, the details is what makes these sets work. My only complaint is the instruction manual has a typo on the cover, where it says "Anniversary Addition" this should read "Anniversary Edition". This is minor and can be corrected in future offerings.
Thanks again for returning to stores, and in all his former glory, my favorite toy of all time.