GI Joe

GI JOE IS BORN

Created in 1963, launched in 1964, G. I. Joe was inspired in part by a TV show called “The Lieutenant.”

A licensing agent named Stan Weston brought the concept to Don Levine at Hasbro, with the idea of creating a poseable soldier for boys. Levine and his team of designers ran with the idea, and the rest is history

G. I. Joe was an incredibly ambitious product release, with 75 different products to support the four basic branches of military - Soldier, Sailor, Marine, and Pilot. Sales the first three years were enormous, and Hasbro aggressively rolled out new products that evolved the line, like the Five Star Jeep, Mercury Space Capsule, Deep Sea Diver, footlocker, Green Beret, and Soldiers of the World. Buoyed by their success, Hasbro even tried a few new products, like the G. I. Nurse. She failed spectacularly, and today remains one of the most sought-after G. I. Joe toys

G. I. Joe retained his military theme from 1964 until 1968. By the end of the decade, sales were faltering, as they were for all military-themed toys. It wasn't’t until 1969 that the relatively few kids still buying G. I. Joe saw something very different in the toy aisle. G. I. Joe retired from military service and became an Adventurer. He now adventured in outer space, the far-flung African deserts and jungles, and the unexplored undersea world. As unique as it was, the Adventures of G. I. Joe lacked cohesion and direction, and sales continued to falter

By 1970, the world had changed. Joe no longer had an assumed human enemy - instead, he waged war against the environment, battling fearsome beasts and the elements. Capturing tigers and gorillas and recovering mummies and golden idols became the order of the day. As a member of the newly formed Adventure Team, he was devoted to thwarting catastrophe on a global scale. Reinvented for a whole new generation of kids, Joe now sported “Life-Like” hair and beard and soon received the famous “Kung Fu Grip.” A striking new “AT” logo made

Joe stand apart from his military heritage. An armada of great, vibrant new vehicles stood ready to transport Joe throughout the world. G. I. Joe’s sales skyrocketed in 1970 and kept increasing after that. The Adventure Team line was more successful than G. I. Joe’s military era

The G. I. Joe brand name was idle for six years before a new line was launched in 1982. This time Joe was scaled down, to a 3-3/4” size already familiar to kids who played with the Star Wars line. This incarnation was very different from previous lines: it was entirely made up of unique characters with exotic code names like “Snake Eyes” and “Scarlett.” The Real American Heroes (as they were known on the packaging) were almost as poseable as the original Joe's

Key to the success of the Real American Hero were endless numbers of figures and affordably-priced vehicles packed with play value. These were promoted in a very successful animated series as well as a popular comic book from Marvel. The line was a huge hit with kids, and the line ran for thirteen years - a span identical to that of the original 12” line.

Over this time, the line also changed to try and retain its market share. Ninjas became more prevalent, and concepts like the “Eco Force,” “Drug Elimination Force,” and “Star Brigade” were tried and abandoned

Anchored by the 3-3/4” line, a 12” G. I. Joe was re-introduced in 1992 under the Hall of Fame series, which began as a series of large versions of the most popular 3-3/4” Joe's. These figures were not very poseable and remain interesting mostly as a footnote to the modern resurrection of the 12” lines

In late 1996, Hasbro debuted the Classic Collection, with a body that offers a look and feel similar to the old vintage Joe's

So far, Hasbro has produced a blistering number of figures, many of them very good, retaining their roots as toys as opposed to becoming a very realistic scale-model

The Classic Collection continues to evolve as Hasbro tries new things - including licensed character figures (such as Buzz Aldrin), historical tributes to real G. I.'s, talking figures, and new ways for adults and kids to interact with their figures. Lately, Hasbro began introducing series reminiscent of the Adventure Team era with their “Adventures of GI Joe” line

Also in 1996, John Michlig and Don Levine worked to reintroduce the classic vintage Joe body under the Masterpiece Edition, which was a unique book and figure set published by Chronicle Books. Hasbro has begun to reintroduce its own take of various vintage sets under the Timeless Collection brand. These sets, while not exact recreations of the vintage gems, are pretty close and in some cases take the line in a welcome new direction (like the real metal accessories in the Kay Bee Heavy Metal set and Deep Sea Diver for example). The best of the Timeless Collection has yet to come

40th ANNIVERSARY CELIBRATED

2004 marked the 40th anniversary of GI Joe, and Hasbro pulled out all the stops, launching the 40th Anniversary Collection, which essentially replicates the original 1964 GI Joe's and Accessory Sets in all respects

CHILDHOOD DREAMS REVISITED

"Ham Radio Saves the Day"

My interest in GI Joe started in the mid 60's when I saw the adverts in the comic books for this fantastic toy soldier, a movable, poseable action figure. What more could a boy ask for? Hasbro did it, they opened up a whole new world of play fun !

Unfortunately, growing up in the then Rhodesia, a country frowned upon by the rest of the world, sanctions and foreign exchange controls prevented the import of GI Joe, so for many years all I could do was dream about this new and exciting toy

I bought every comic book, not to read, but to collect and drool over the adverts for GI Joe

I would cut out all the adverts and paste them into a scrap book. I'd page through my scrap book for hours on end and would visit the local book store every week to check for comic books containing new GI Joe adverts, and so my "paper GI Joe collection" grew

Unfortunately, that scrap book got tossed out somewhere along the way. I would very much like to have still had it

In about 1967, by father was in almost daily, or weekly, contact with a Ham in Wexford PA, W3VZW (Frank Lachimia). I soon became pen pals with his son Richard (we were about the same age). We exchanged letters and small gifts on a regular basis and we soon became good friends

In my letters to Rich, I expressed my interest in GI Joe, and one Christmas they kindly shipped over a GI Joe and a few accessories. My dream had come true. I now had a GI Joe - it was fantastic. I was just so excited, and was probably the only boy in the country who actually had a GI Joe

For my birthday a second GI Joe and accessories arrived. Now I had two GI Joe's. They were played with, dressed, undressed, and after some years were packed away for safe keeping

I'm truly grateful to my friend Rich and the Lachimia family for their generosity. To this day, I still have those two 1960's GI Joe's. both are in very good condition. Some of the accessories have however been lost

After all these years, I rediscovered GI Joe on the internet, finding numerous sites where GI Joe's can be bought, not as a "Boys Toys", but as very "Collectible Action Figures"

I've decided that, seeing I missed out on these fine action figures as a boy (apart from the two which I was given), that I'd rekindle my interest in GI Joe, and have started my own collection