Decepticreep
1983: Vintage Joes
1983!!
The year GI Joe expanded to include guys from other branches of the military!
We got a Marine, an Air Force captain, and a Navy SEAL!
Also, we got another woman and another black dude, a Native American a native Hawaaian and a Cajun! Joe was diverisifying in more ways than one!
The figures looked more diverse as well, gone was the generic, uniform look of the previous year, now each character had a very distinctive look. Hasbro now knew that they had a hit on their hands and wasn't shy about investing a little more into making the brand stand out.
The Joes got thier own HQ, an awesome fighter jet, a chopper ,a missile launching tank, an APC and a snowmobile.
Even Cobra finally got some vehicles: a tank a chopper.
As a kid I had all the Joes that came out this year except for some of the ones pictured here. I never had Airborne or Wild BIll (I didn't have the Dragonfly chopper). I also did not have the Wolverine or Cover Girl. I also didn't have Snow Job, but I had the Polar Battle Bear snowmobile ( I still have one and forgot to sneak it into this shot!). However I literally had everything else that came out this year for both the Joes and Cobras, even the carrying cases (remember the plastic "fanny pack" that you could put 3 Joes in? Ha!).
These are the only vintage Joes I have from that period now, all aquired in my adulthood. As an adult I only focus on getting back my favorite vintage Joes, or ones I could never find in stores as a kid, or never had because they came with a pricey vehicle my parents wouldn't get for me. oh and also ones that came out after I stopped collecting in 1987 that seemed like they were actually cool.
I also need to mention "swivel arm battle grip" ( in the world of GI Joe there is always some sort of "grip" we are supposed to be excited about). This was a revolution in action figure design that was the ultimate cure for the "broken thumb syndrome" that plagued virtually every '82 figure I had.
One other observation about this year, which might be a general cultural observation, is that this year the ratio of clean shaven or mustachioed characters to bearded characters firmly shifted away from favoring those with full beards and has never quite shifted back!
1983: Vintage Joes
1983!!
The year GI Joe expanded to include guys from other branches of the military!
We got a Marine, an Air Force captain, and a Navy SEAL!
Also, we got another woman and another black dude, a Native American a native Hawaaian and a Cajun! Joe was diverisifying in more ways than one!
The figures looked more diverse as well, gone was the generic, uniform look of the previous year, now each character had a very distinctive look. Hasbro now knew that they had a hit on their hands and wasn't shy about investing a little more into making the brand stand out.
The Joes got thier own HQ, an awesome fighter jet, a chopper ,a missile launching tank, an APC and a snowmobile.
Even Cobra finally got some vehicles: a tank a chopper.
As a kid I had all the Joes that came out this year except for some of the ones pictured here. I never had Airborne or Wild BIll (I didn't have the Dragonfly chopper). I also did not have the Wolverine or Cover Girl. I also didn't have Snow Job, but I had the Polar Battle Bear snowmobile ( I still have one and forgot to sneak it into this shot!). However I literally had everything else that came out this year for both the Joes and Cobras, even the carrying cases (remember the plastic "fanny pack" that you could put 3 Joes in? Ha!).
These are the only vintage Joes I have from that period now, all aquired in my adulthood. As an adult I only focus on getting back my favorite vintage Joes, or ones I could never find in stores as a kid, or never had because they came with a pricey vehicle my parents wouldn't get for me. oh and also ones that came out after I stopped collecting in 1987 that seemed like they were actually cool.
I also need to mention "swivel arm battle grip" ( in the world of GI Joe there is always some sort of "grip" we are supposed to be excited about). This was a revolution in action figure design that was the ultimate cure for the "broken thumb syndrome" that plagued virtually every '82 figure I had.
One other observation about this year, which might be a general cultural observation, is that this year the ratio of clean shaven or mustachioed characters to bearded characters firmly shifted away from favoring those with full beards and has never quite shifted back!