Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Tuesdays From The Toy Box - Classic G.I. Joe Design And Box Art


 

 
 








 
I have a deep love for these classic GI Joe sets, especially the ones that included vehicles. Everything looked like it did on the box and worked like you imagined it would. These toys were durable and created with maximum attention to 'playability'. They got you started by giving you all the pieces you needed to have an action figure adventure and left the rest to your imagination. I so miss these toys. All but the Sky Hawk were lost in the 'Great Disaster'. That Sky Hawk flew once and was GONE the second I unhooked the kite. I almost worked too well if you could only play with it once. Cost me a talking Joe figure who was my 'go to' test pilot for all these new toys.
 

 

7 comments:

Erik Johnson Illustrator said...

Speaking of Joe, that reminds me that I have more History of GI Joe comic pages for you since last time.

http://th01.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/f/2013/150/7/c/gijoe_history_04_by_dunlavey-d677m5m.jpg

http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/170/d/3/gijoe_history_05_by_dunlavey-d69pcpi.jpg

Kal said...

That is the history of the 3 3/4 inch Joes which you know I cannot abide. I have none in my collection. NONE. I am a Classic GI JOE man all the way to death. Though I do dig Serpentor who proved to be an even bigger numnut than Cobra Commander. You have no idea how entertained I was when I discovered that...because...as you know my contempt for the job performance of Cobra Commander knows no limits.

Kal said...

And Classic Joes just went on adventures to find treasure and shit like that. They weren't fighting Cobra with a parrot on their shoulder. That shit is embarrassing.

Kal said...

Now of course with that being said you will not find a bigger fan of the GI JOE movies which are based on the characters that come from the cartoon and toy lines. So I am, as you would say, confused.

Jordan said...

The Mobile Headquarters! That was the best. My friend had that.

It's interesting how, in the 1970s, they subtly shifted the focus from militarism to "adventure" (what appear to be scientific surveys, etc.). That's great.

bliss_infinte said...

How right you are. These have always been the bet toys ever and a total gateway to imaginative adventure rivaled only by the Micronauts!

M. D. Jackson said...

I feel the same way about GI Joe. Only the classic 12" figures will do. I loved those as a kid. I even had a British Action Man, on which the American GI Joe figures were based. The Action Man had plastic painted hair and a British Army uniform but he still had the same articulation.