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08-14-2020, 01:08 AM | #31 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Boston
Posts: 1,359
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Sorry for reviving an old thread. New member. Consider this my introduction. Warning: It's long.
I was 8-years-old in 1982 and the VAMP with Clutch rocked my world. I went all-in on G.I. Joe over the next several years and collected tons of both figures and vehicles. Every birthday, Christmas, and other gift-giving opportunity, all I wanted was G.I. Joe. I stopped collecting in high school, when I thought I was too old to play with kiddie toys anymore, and my interests moved to video games (NES all the way!) and other things. However, I got back into G.I. Joe after college. I was a very active member of the alt.toys.gijoe-1980s USENET newsgroup and an early contributor to YoJoe.com. A number of photos on that site come from my collection, including the Manimal Iguanus prototype. During that time, I aggressively bought and traded figures with the goal of amassing a "complete" collection. Unfortunately, because I lived in a small apartment at the time and had little storage space, I made the difficult decision to sell off almost all of my vehicles and focus exclusively on action figures. I regretted giving up my original Skystriker for many years afterward. I continued to buy everything and anything G.I. Joe I could when the line was revived in the late '90s and early '00s, but I got burned out by all the terrible figures and endless variations in the Joe vs. Cobra and Valor vs. Venom eras. I took another break from collecting in early 2005 and decided to focus all my energies on the original line of 1982-1994 figures. As far as that goes, I eventually came to the point where I had what I considered to be a "complete" collection from that original run. (More on this shortly.) I looked in with interest during the 25th Anniversary revival, but I really dislike the body design of modern-era figures and decided to forego starting up again. The original o-ring construction looks so much better to me. Recently, my passion for G.I. Joe was reignited during this pandemic due to all the time spent at home. Also, one of my sons has become head-over-heels obsessed with my collection. He's 6-years-old and knows more about vintage ARAH than many adult collectors. He plays G.I. Joe all day every day. It's all he cares about anymore. I've given him a bunch of my castoff figures, duplicates, and junk from the 2002-2004 era. He begs me for more G.I. Joe toys every day. Some days, he wears me down enough that I'll hunt down vintage figures for him on eBay or Mercari. He whined so much for a Storm Shadow v2 that I finally bought him one, only for him to promptly lose it down a storm drain just a few days later. Sap that I am, I bought him another one. To the topic of this thread, I've put a lot of thought into what I consider to be a complete collection. I have one of every domestically released figure from 1982 until the initial cancelation in 1994. Most of them are complete with all accessories, but I am still missing a fair number of accessories, and some figures I've made a conscious decision to re-accessorize if I don't like the accessories they originally came with (most of the spring-loaded, water-squirting, or sound-making crap from the 1990s, as well as the generic weapon trees). I do not have every variation of every figure. For example, I replaced all of my straight-arm 1982 figures with swivel arms when I was a kid and never re-acquired the straight-arm versions. Those feel like a glaring omission in my collection right now. I only have one Starduster (Version B) and two Steel Brigade V1s (B and D). I would like to fill in the 1982 straight-arms and the other versions of those two characters, but some figures with minor paint variations I just can't be bothered to hunt down. I have the 1994 Dial-Tone V4 with the green highlights on his chest but not the one without the highlights, and don't honestly care. I have a good number of figures released in foreign countries during those original years, but I can't claim to be a completist there. I've focused on figures that are substantively different than those released in the U.S., either unique characters or significant paint changes. Even to that end, I still have a long want-list that I'm sure I'll never complete, either due to rarity or expense. Currently, all of my 1982-1994 figures are on display in a locked cabinet. They're really crammed into it three to four rows deep per shelf, but I've put a lot of work into organizing them so that they're all visible. Figures are arranged in chronological order by year, G.I. Joe on one side and Cobra on the other. Most of my figures from 1997 onward are in boxes in a closet. However, I've made exceptions for a Cobra army display on top of the cabinet. That consists of a number of different Cobra Troopers, Vipers, Crimson Guards, and Alley Vipers, with Cobra Commander, Baroness, and the Crimson Twins in charge. I've also recently started selectively acquiring favorite vehicles and playsets. I'm very happy to have found a near-perfect 1983 Skystriker, which I've hung in position flying over the G.I. Joe Headquarters Command Center for a diorama manned by some of the Comic Book-style figures from 2004 and 2005 that I think were pretty cool. I don't plan to go much further with this, though I would like to get a new Dragonfly to sit on the HQ landing pad. Apologies for writing a novel here. I don't have another outlet for this reminiscence. Thanks to anyone who read the whole thing for bearing with me. I'll try to be more succinct in the future. Last edited by Josh Z; 11-05-2022 at 03:24 PM.. |
08-14-2020, 02:40 AM | #32 |
Iron Grenadier
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Arizona
Posts: 764
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Quote:
Sorry for reviving an old thread. New member. Consider this my introduction. Warning: It's long.
Apologies for writing a novel here. I don't have another outlet for this reminiscence. Thanks to anyone who read the whole thing for bearing with me. I'll try to be more succinct in the future. As for the completeness of a collection... For me personally, it's just getting all my favorite versions of my favorite characters and vehicles. |
08-14-2020, 11:10 AM | #33 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Boston
Posts: 1,359
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You can see a Mobile Command Center in the background of some of those pics. That's one vehicle I did save from childhood. I never could bear to give it up. It sat in storage with my mother for years until I had her ship it up to me a couple years ago. It's still fully intact and complete. I even have the original box for it, though that's beaten up quite a bit.
The regular Headquarters Command Center is new to me. I never had that as a kid but always thought it was cool. It's in pretty good shape. Not quite complete with all parts, but close enough. The jail cell walls look cosmetically sound, but the tabs to attach them were all broken. I secured them with a little museum putty, which holds them very firmly but can be removed later if I ever get replacement parts. I thought it was pretty silly that the jail has no ceiling. Any prisoner could easily escape by climbing over the walls. So I made a roof for it out of a fast food container. Last edited by Josh Z; 11-05-2022 at 03:24 PM.. |
08-14-2020, 11:25 AM | #34 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: May 2015
Location: CT
Posts: 2,052
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It's a good question - for me it seems to be always changing. For vintage run ARAH 82-94 I was never a completist in terms of having everything but a combination of what I want due to emotional connection and how I envision my Joeverson in my head. Moreso for me it's having items I had as a kid or I wanted as a kid but never got. I don't have too much interest in the most 82-84 figures but 85-94 is where I focus my collecting on. I also have no issue with using the re-releases of vintage vehicles during the ME instead of having the original vehicle (Vamp, Vamp MKII, Stinger, Skystriker, Hiss, Sharc are all the ME era versions in my collection).
The same mentality applies for my adult collecting - I have been in and out of Joe collecting since 2000 (when I was 18). I had a sizeable VvV/Spy Troops era collection which I just stopped caring about and let my nephews have/sold stuff off, I had a huge ME collection which I sold off to get back into the ARAH vintage collection. Now I find myself wanting to get some of the VvV stuff back and building up a smaller ME collection while keeping my vintage O-ring collection as the backbone of it all. Essentially I just collect what I want to collect and do not feel that I need to have everything for the sake of having a complete collection. Last edited by HitandRun; 08-14-2020 at 11:27 AM.. |
08-14-2020, 11:34 AM | #35 |
Reptilian Ninja
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Jacksonville, Fl
Posts: 15,963
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Complete means to mean original figure doesn't really have to be in perfect condition but needs to be able to tell who it is. Original parts, all weapons, and maybeeeeeee file card. Thats it. If it is my favorite character it is cool to have the card art but not needed.
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B/S/T http://www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-jo...nja-b-s-t.html B/S/T Feedback http://www.hisstank.com/forum/buy-se...adowninja.html Will trade multiples from my haves for the Scarlet and/or Biggles Jones figures from Crossover Set. Same with Fss 5.0 Jane, FSS 6.0 Dojo, Retaliation Red Ninjas, and Hiya Colonial Marine Figures |
08-14-2020, 12:18 PM | #36 |
Cobra Soldier
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: CA
Posts: 19
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Simplified for me. My goal right now, as a new collector, is to find all of the Joe's I had growing up. If I don't have a visceral reaction when I see it in auction, you know, that gut feeling of good times playing with that toy as a kid, then I don't buy it. So far, my memory has me playing with most figures in the 82-84 range, so I'm working on that for now. Maybe when I'm done there I will expand, but not until I've had my fun with those first. That will be complete.
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08-14-2020, 12:47 PM | #37 |
Mass Nerderer
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Slitherin' around the tank- It's cool, though, 'cause I'm being "watched"
Posts: 9,093
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Good thread to resuscitate.
Complete as far as figures/vehicles are concerned means 100% complete in my collection- even with those horrible BC launchers which end up in a drawer. This will sound funny, but it genuinely causes me light anxiety when I'm missing something! I pretty well only feel that way with ARAH, though. With anything newer I'm content with a full gear-up, because they loaded a lot of the ME figures with gear. I really could care less about filecards. As far as my collection in general goes, it's really on an era-by-era basis. Also, I refuse to have figures in boxes or in the closet, if I run out of display space, I don't need it. ARAH: My current goal is to have every figure from 83-94 that was available at mass retail, with a few notable mail-ins thrown in. After that, I may start in on exclusives and select foreigns. Oddly, (and perhaps controversially) I have no need of vehicles this time around. Some consider them integral to the line, I myself did for years, but they take up too much space, they're getting fragile, and I'll tell you from experience that they are a pain in the ass when you live in wildfire country and get evacuated (again). I'm also not army building ARAH this time- too expensive, and I'd rather save the shelf space for something I don't have. New sculpt and ME: I'm really cherry-picking here, especially with NS. I am army building ME though, I only got into this era because of how nicely they display.
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I NEED TOYS DAMMIT!!! |
08-14-2020, 01:19 PM | #38 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Boston
Posts: 1,359
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Quote:
Complete as far as figures/vehicles are concerned means 100% complete in my collection- even with those horrible BC launchers which end up in a drawer. This will sound funny, but it genuinely causes me light anxiety when I'm missing something! I pretty well only feel that way with ARAH, though. With anything newer I'm content with a full gear-up, because they loaded a lot of the ME figures with gear.
For vintage ARAH, this is really only an issue post-1990, when we got all those generic weapon trees and goofy gimmick accessories. I discard those entirely unless they're critical for the figure, which is rare. I'd rather have a figure with no accessories than one stuck with stupid-looking junk. IIRC, the only pre-1990 figure where this is an issue is Recoil, who can't hold his rifle, his pistol, and his mine case all at the time time. That annoys me a lot. I have re-accessorized many post-1990 figures with gear I feel is more appropriate. Some comes from other Joe figures, and some from other other compatible 3.75" toy lines. If a figure is a repaint, I'll try to give them the same accessories that the original version had. When I'm able, I also replace any silly neon-colored weapons with the same item in black or gray. |
08-14-2020, 01:32 PM | #39 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Texas
Posts: 252
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Nice collections! It's interesting to see where people draw the collecting boundaries in years. I'm working on a complete 82-90 collection with figures & vehicles. I'm down to subteams (Night Force, Sky Patrol, Python Patrol, Sonic Fighters), The Cobra Viper Glider Pilot, the elusive Starduster and Rampage mail ins, and about 40 or so of the vehicles. I'll probably never get there but it's gonna be fun trying!
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08-14-2020, 01:56 PM | #40 |
Crotalus viridis
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: In the Land of the Ice and Snow
Posts: 1,103
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My version of complete is having the figures and vehicles I like most from 82-87. Im a little different in that I collect factory sealed pieces. I have a few loose figures for my kids to play with, but don't have the room for a loose collection. Plus, I like the box art most of all.
I started in 1995 when my nephew was born. I was buying him toys and remembered my love for GI Joe. I played with Joe's almost everyday from 1982 until 1987 during my childhood. I started looking for sealed figures and vehicles at that time and would find a few now and again for a decent price. By 2010 I had a very nice collection, but wanted a few more pieces. Prices had gone up and now I was only getting a few pieces a year. The Killer Whale, Cobra Viper Glider, GI Joe Headquarters, and SHARC were still eluding me at that time. I eventually found them all besides the HQ. I never wanted the big 3 because of space and I didn't have them as a kid. But I do collect variants of boxes and drivers/pilots. I like the barcode vs no barcode variants, Box Offers vs No Offer and dark glove vs light glove type of variants. I am pretty much done with my collection and have it displayed in my toy room. I can take my kids up there and show them the toys I grew up with and loved. Plus it has a recliner and TV...so the kids and I watch cartoons a few times a week in my room. Once I get the 83 HQ, 82 Mobat w/ Straight Arm Steeler and a No Offer on box 84 Cobra Stinger 4wd, factory sealed, I am pretty much finished with vintage Joe collecting. It has been a blast finding these pieces and once I get my last few pieces, it will be bittersweet. The hunt for these pieces is viewed as a major part of my collection, almost as much as the toys sitting on my shelves. Last edited by pryorstemmed; 09-03-2020 at 03:52 PM.. |
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