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09-16-2017, 11:06 AM | #31 |
Hisstank.Com General
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Brooklyn NY!
Posts: 5,239
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I'd like to mirror Xerofalls' sentiment that Hasbro and Marvel should be very proud of what their Joe teams accomplished in the 1980s. This website and community is proof of that. We, as full grown adults with all of the responsibilities that go along with that, have spent countless hours and dollars, then and now, on the characters that we have loved for decades. For my part I can testify that I'd happily continue to support if given the opportunity. I lament a generation of children that does not know the thrill of hunting for any toy in brick and mortar stores.
Growing up in an old, multi generational, almost strictly blue collar neighborhood everyone played with Joes. Our grandparents were the heroes of the world and our parents were only home, some of them, from Vietnam less than a decade. What better way to live out the heroic campaigns of our ancestors, or at least the glorified versions that we imagined those exploits to be. On the surface GI Joe was what made our birthdays and Christmas exciting. The inserts that teased us with that first new vehicle of the year, blacked out future character silhouettes on the card backs kept us guessing, file cards with their vault of information that we so desperately craved (what other group of kids knew what NATO and Warsaw was by age 7?) and the random issues of Marvels run that we'd all try to complete collectively to know the whole story. The Joe Universe was all we talked about in the school yard and at home. Who knew what, what rumor was true, what was false. The Marvel Comic 3 packs that we'd find at Toys R US to finally get the issue that told us Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow's sordid past made us worshipped at recess. When the Wish Book came we'd poured over the Christmas catalogue like Ralphie, making our lists for Santa! Who'd be the coolest kid by bringing in the first new Joes of the season into to class? Who'd get their hands on that awesome, new, Cobra white ninja first? Who were the rest of these new guys each year, and what did they do? Reading the weapons names off the side of the card (an omission that was big misstep in the modern figures era I must say). Going over a friends' or cousins' house to play with some new vehicle that they got before you. Setting up massive battles in the living room, back yard, with found objects and "props" from long out grown toy lines and making up our own story lines. The toys themselves made our back yards adventures, were a familiar friend to take to the park, or beach, or on a flight. Playing with that new figure with greasy fingers at the mall while eating fast food or pizza because you couldn't wait to get home and open him/her up. Our parents warning us that we'd loose the pieces. The anxiety of Christmas Eve, then waiting for that last gift from that late arriving Aunt on Christmas Day to see if you'd get that one last Joe item after all. In a day when retail actually stocked their shelves, and put the new stuff out as soon as it came in we'd run to the Joe Isle in TRU when our parents took us to spend our allowance and we KNEW that there were new Joes out! Searching frantically through the pegs to see if that one guy was hiding in the back row. The thrill of success finding that one hard to find or new figure that you wanted. How special that new figure was the fist day you brought him home. For a day even Airtight and Footloose were a bad asses. Good times! I'd like to thank everyone at Hasbro involved with the brand, despite our occasional criticism for the characters that we love so passionately. I'd like to thank them for a second chance at childhood. A chance to do it all over again, for the most part. A chance to keep them nice and unbroken, a chance to grab that one vehicle or figure that we never got as children. The chance to build little Cobra Armies that our parents could never afford and would never allow. To relive the thrill of the toy hunt and the chance to share it all with my little nephews. Really, thank you. ON a deeper note my father was one of the few non blue collar guys and worked 6 days a week with long hours, all on salary. No overtime money for us. My mom was struggling with bipolar disorder which deepened by the loss of so many childhood friends that never came home from Vietnam. My brother, at the time, was too young to be a confidant. It's normal for children to have an imaginary friend. I took solace with hundreds. Their names were Steeler, Gung Ho, Recondo, Beachhead and so on and so forth. Low Light taught me not be afraid of the dark. Duke showed me how to stand up for myself. Zandar taught me that is was ok to be the quiet on who sat in the back of the class. In my loneliness GI Joe made up a world where I didn't have to be alone. Despite my current, ridiculously gluttonous, toy collection the only figures that are out for public display are my Joes. Not Warduke, not Darth Vader, not Spiderman, not Optimus, not Brad Turner nor Leoric. Just GI Joe. And now we all have the internet and Hisstank so we don't have to be alone any more.
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Visit my vintage Joe restoration page! https://www.flickr.com/photos/131988164@N07/albums Cross Country's super smooth feedback thread. http://www.hisstank.com/forum/buy-se...ml#post4456308 Currently available Hasbro items. PM me for your prices (DO NOT be discouraged by the listing prices) https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_dkr...nirtoys&_oac=1 Last edited by Cross Country; 09-16-2017 at 11:27 AM.. |
09-16-2017, 11:07 AM | #32 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: KY
Posts: 1,683
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Like many of us, my parents divorces, frequent moves, and constant change were a part of my life so for me GI Joe and Transformers were my entire childhood obsession and constant. The cartoons and the toys together formed stories and worlds for me to delve into and imagine my own storylines in. GI Joe especially struck me for its sense of not only American patriotism, but also higher ideals and sense of teamwork and belonging. Every Joe had a specialty and they were all radically different personalities with diverse backgrounds, but they came together as friends and comrades in arms. Considering the height of the Cold War era I also found the Oktober Guard episodes to be hopeful, despite their differences the Guard and Joes could unite and work together for a greater good despite their differences. Some of my favorite episodes were ones where Cobras and Joes worked together and proved that even villians could be honorable and hope of redemption. I loved all the fantasy and sci-fi aspects worked in as well, even if I'm not the biggest fan of the Cobra-La retcon of the Commander. Like MASK, Transformers, Thundercats, and many other of the great 80's cartoons the moral lessons and sense of striving for greater ideals worked into the episodes inspired me. I always wanted to try to live up to the standards of Optimus Prime and Duke. I didn't get into Joe comics till my later teens, but once I did it just heightened my love for Joe. The release of Classics Transformers line got me back into collecting and when I was hunting them and came across 25th Joes I was a kid all over again. Now, customizing is my favorite hobby and just like my childhood my obsessions are GI Joe and Transformers. Much like Captain America, GI Joe for me will always be symbolic of the ideals of freedom, teamwork, and unity that America can strive for. The best way to sum up what GI Joe is to me, A Real American Hero.
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09-16-2017, 01:27 PM | #33 |
Navy SEAL
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Rogers
Posts: 3
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My story mirrors the OP... broken home, moved around a ton, the Joes were my mainstay. I had a few Transformers. I even had a few Star Wars figures but my #1 team was G.I. Joe and they went everywhere I went to. I didn't receive and allowance until I was older so I relied on others to gift me my collection. My first being the VAMP w/ Clutch, the Whirlwind, Cobra Officer, and Sgt. Flash in the Christmas of 1982. I was 9 years old.
The Joes would be a catalyst to many life lessons aside from the cheesy forced PSA statements at the end of the cartoon. They were my reminder that there is good out there. They reminded me that there are people looking out for my safety. I would learn about the dishonesty of stealing as I got caught stuffing my jacket (in summer) with Joes at my local KMart. I would learn about integrity and courage as these are the things that "A Real American Hero" was made of. I wanted to be like G.I. Joe growing up. I wanted to fight back guys who wished to destroy our way of life. I wanted to get my hands on all the most awesome gear that G.I. Joe got to use! Fly a Skystriker (F-14)? Why yes, sir... sign me up! It was G.I. Joe that instilled an abundance of American pride in me. It also instilled upon me the desire to be part of something bigger than myself. I fully admit that when I signed up to serve in the United States Navy, that somewhere in the back of my head, I wanted to be like Shipwreck. I fully admit that it was my full intention to be an F-14 pilot some day. Unfortunately, many of the lofty dreams and adventures of G.I. Joe would prove to be truly fictional but I never was lost of the novelty of it. As I fought real-life "terrorist organizations determined to rule the world" the impact of G.I. Joe became very apparent to me as an adult. With a disposable income and the articulation of the toys in a more modern age, I'm able to create my childhood visions. I'm able to look at G.I. Joe from an angle that allows me to appreciate them so much more than I did as a child. They're toys to be played with and while I mean no disrespect to collectors... I could never simply buy G.I. Joe to let them sit on the shelf unopened. I must play! |
09-16-2017, 01:39 PM | #34 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: San Diego, Ca
Posts: 1,971
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Gi Joe brought me together with many of neighborhood friends as a 7-9 year old and accounted for hundreds and hundreds of long days...carrying into the early evening, of battling COBRA everywhere and anywhere we could. A new figure meant new adventures, and these were the Toys I have the fondest memories of as a kid. You don't think of it as a kid, but these toys symbolize a lot of the happiness of my childhood. I think that's what got me back into collecting Joe...just trying to find that happiness and magic from my childhood. Although I don't play with my Joes for hours and hours outside anymore, I feel like just seeing them and holding them floods all of those memories back..each and every time. I never had near the number of figures and vehicles as a kid that I do now, but I know that if I had now, what I had then...I'd be just as happy.
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09-16-2017, 06:52 PM | #35 |
Cobra Soldier
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Florida
Posts: 1
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I can still recall when my dad brought home my first Joe figures, Stalker, Destro and Cobra Trooper, and how once a month when he got paid he would come home with a new Joe or Cobra for years. GI Joe is who I wanted to be, my idealized self. Duke, blonde blue eyed, he was me but in shape. He knew how to shoot, fight and win. he was a leader, confidant and cool. His code name was the same as John Wayne,and I grew up watching John Wayne movies with my dad.
GI Joe was my connection with my father, Joe was how we bonded and how we hung out when I was a kid. I recall with great sadness the Christmas I was a horrible son and complained about how Santa gave my brother a Sgt Slaughter and his tank while all I got was the shuttle complex and that I had asked for Sgt Slaughter and that it wasn't fair. This upset my father and as I continued to complain he finally snapped and told me it was him, that there was no Santa, and walked away in anger, I remember my mother pulling me aside to calm me down as I cried about the truth regarding Santa and told me how my letter to Santa had left them both stressed and worried as the Shuttle Complex was really beyond their financial means, and yet they didn't want to disappoint their son. She told me about how the week before Christmas my father had found a Shuttle Complex with a damaged box high on a Toys R Us shelf and had been able to buy it at a discount due to the condition of the box. I learned the idea of being humble and thankful for gifts and I learned that parents will try everything and anything to make their children happy. GI Joe is building an Aircraft Carrier out of plywood and two by fours with my Dad, GI Joe is learning to saw and sand as we built a GI Joe base, complete with a giant rotating radar dish. GI Joe is learning that I could unscrew them and make new and different characters of my own. GI Joe became my single greatest joy as a child and the hobby I returned to when the 25th Anniversary line started. GI Joe became my safe place as my marriage slowly deteriorated. The hardest thing I had to do was pack up all my Joes and give them to a friend to donate because I couldn't fit them in my new apartment and they reminded me of my failed marriage to much to think about asking friends to store them for me. GI Joe is my hobby, and my new wife has continued to encourage me to rebuilt my collection. GI Joe is spending hours customizing. Painting, heating and popping parts, dremeling, and head swapping all under the glow of a LED magnifying lamp. To this day my dad and I talk GI Joe, in fact the only reason he did not attend JoeCon 2017 in Orlando with me is that the Tuesday after the Con, he had an appointment for a knee replacement surgery and a trip across country was not feasible. GI Joe is my bond with my dad, and for that I will always love this brand. |
09-16-2017, 10:19 PM | #36 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 1,617
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Excellent first post Liam, welcome to Hisstank.
For me: escapism, fantasy, and a coping mechanism. Childhoods can be rough and without going into detail, I'll just say that I think mine was. My ultimate adolescent interest was the military, so naturally I was drawn to GI Joe in preference to Star Wars, which I also loved. My childhood ambition was to be a fighter pilot and to this day I have an abiding interests in all sorts of military aircraft. Even though my initial love of GI Joe didn't last past the end of middle school, my interest in the military never really left. If I hadn't had disqualifying health conditions, I would likely have signed up. Likewise, it was my interest in the military that brought me back to GI Joe. I guess I'm one of those 'purist' collectors interested in stuff inspired by real military vehicles or concepts, or at least looked like it could plausibly be. It is fortunate that when my interest was rekindled again about five years ago there was a lot of product that fit into what I used to like: 25th, POC, 30th. First thing I bought was a 30th SkyStriker, a Crimson Hiss, and a bunch of 25th figures I found at pawn. From there it was simply a matter of dropping cash. Since then I would estimate I have spent about $2000 on stuff, including FSS 3.0. Despite being really into GI Joe as a kid, I never had that much and played the heck out of what I did have. The extent of my childhood collection was two sky strikers (one given to me), a dragonfly, and a Devilfish as far as vehicles go. My figure collection was small enough to fit in half a pencil box, most of them being vehicle drivers. Being able to indulge myself with the cash I've had now has been pretty awesome Gi Joe isn't my only hobby, but it is the one that is the easiest to enjoy because its just a matter of throwing money at it.
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09-17-2017, 04:41 AM | #37 |
POWERED BY JIM BEAM
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Wright, Wyoming
Posts: 1,435
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My Grandfather served in the Army in World War II. He took part in the D-Day invasion and the Battle of the Bulge He went into Berlin and then helped free the Concentration Camps. At the end of the war he made the Stars and Stripes when a whole German regiment surrendered to him. Toughest and the Kindest man I ever knew, and he bought me my first G.I. JOE 1982 Snake-Eyes.
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09-17-2017, 10:35 AM | #38 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Michigan
Posts: 2,346
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I remember a point in my childhood where I thought I was getting too old to play with toys so I sold a lot of my Joes in a garage sale. It didn't take long for the regret to set it. I still regret doing that. Since then, I've found copies of most of the figures I sold but I haven't been going after the vehicles so much (I really miss my Shark 9000).
I made the decision for myself that I am never too old to have toys or even play with toys. It is a great way for me to vent creatively and I have a lot of fun playing with my sons. I still love watching the old cartoons and I enjoy the comics (all of them, for one reason or another). Though I don't admit it to most people, G.I. Joe played a big part in me making the decision to enlist while I was in college. Because I was seeking a technical degree, they wanted me to have a technical MOS but I was like, "No, I want combat arms. I want to do something that is completely unexpected of me." So I enlisted as a 13B (field artillery cannon crew member). It was a very transforming experience. I can't imagine how different my life would be or what kind of a person I'd be had I not enlisted. For one, I'd probably have better hearing. Ha! (Always wear hearing protection on the gun line) |
09-17-2017, 11:38 AM | #39 |
Sith/Jedi Hybrid
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Middle TN
Posts: 3,197
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For me, it's a reminder of the ways things used to be. It reminds me of childhood friends I played with, family members who gave me Joes as a kid who might not be around anymore. And then it reminds me how shitty the world is becoming now, and how so many idiots don't even realize it.
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09-17-2017, 01:04 PM | #40 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: KY
Posts: 1,683
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Thanks Xerofall for starting this thread. It is great to hear everyone else's experiences with GI Joe and how we all came to care so much about it. It really is a great blast of nostalgia and like so many others here I love to be able to escape from the day to day for a bit with Joe to reconnect to simpler times and days gone by.
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