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Welcome to the exacting,
"dead-on" vintage GIjOE collection of
I was only five years old. Such pieces from my childhood collection are (by far) my favorites today. If you ask me which is my favorite, or which is the most valuable one in my collection, my answer would definitely have to be this boxed Action Soldier (photo at right). This guy's been with me since 1966 and is (to me) absolutely PRICELESS! Sadly, some of the rest of my childhood collection is missing. I actually had all four of the original boxed Joes, one from each service, until I moved out on my own in 1978. By then, three of the Joes had fallen apart from rusting connectors and rotting elastic. So, to "save space" I compacted my collection and only saved this one boxed Joe (why did I save the Soldier?). Yes, you heard me rightI THREW THE REST AWAY! Oh well, at least I saved everything the other Joes had worn and my footlocker. I know I'm not the only person who's managed to hold onto his childhood GIjOEs. And my collection today is not really that spectacular or unique. But my original pieces are very special (to me) because they survived in such nice condition and are the inspiration for my current method of collecting. That being, to collect ONLY those pieces that are in at LEAST as nice a shape as the ones I've owned now for over 40 years. After all, why buy junk? I also believe that the only accurate measure of vintage GIJoe authenticity can come from examining SEALED vintage packages. By examining sealed packages, a person can learn a tremendous amount about what a genuine Hasbro® GIjOE piece should look like. Such packages are indisputable evidence of GIjOE's heydays in the 1960's. I know some people may think this makes me an extremely picky collector. Or too much of a Joe "snob" to have any fun collecting. But, that's not the case at all. The main reason I prefer mint stuff is because I started off that way. My childhood collection, although played with, is still in extraordinary condition today.
The medic's uniform also came from another original childhood owner. Imagine my excitement when the package arrived from this guy and the pieces were absolutely dead mint including the stretcher (not shown). That Deep Freeze set isn't too shabby either is it? Thanks to my good buddy Mike Jason for turning me on to this wonderfully dead mint uniform. Years ago, when I discovered that Joe collectors were beginning to congregate online, I hooked up my old Mac Plus (remember them?) with a "high tech" 4800 bps wall modem and was soon networking with hundreds of other fans. Those first groups included people from all over the country on Prodigy's "action figure bulletin board" and the venerable "Trenches" on the AOL GIjOE board.
I had brought along my collection to show to some friends, and when I opened a seemingly normal boxed figure I got a some really strange looks. "Are you SURE that's the way he came?" my friend asked. This figure was an early AT Commander (see photo at right) that I received in early 1970. Yes, he actually did come in that Green Beret uniform shown....I PROMISE! How do I know for sure? Well, I had NO other Adventure Team sets, uniforms or gear in any of my childhood collection. Thankfully, he also speaks as clearly as the day he was made and still has those red and blue color bars on his pull string. When I hear of people selling their childhood collections, I can't help but think that they will regret that decision later in life. I have even had occasions to purchase childhood collections from the original owners. My first question is always "are you SURE you want to part with this stuff?" I always ask a number of times, because I would hate to buy something special from a person that might cause them bad feelings down the road. I've been very fortunate to find so many high quality items from their original owners, I would never consider selling or trading them. I promised the sellers that they would be going directly into my permanent collection. I paid them fair prices too. I think it is really important to treat everyone properly. They may not know what something is worth, but a collector sure does. Good karma can go along way when you are scouring the earth for any collectible, especially GIjOEs. Personal experience has taught me that what goes around truly does come around in lifeALWAYS! I will admit it, I am a vintage snob. Good or bad, at least I know what I like! I have been very fortunate to enjoy the vintage GIjOE hobby at this level. When you find sets and figures in very high condition, then you eventually want everything in that condition; there is just nothing else that will match up. And the level of long-term enjoyment I've derived from this method of collecting is unsurpassed by ANYTHING else. For me, modern-day GIjOEs and other brand new action figures are okay for a while, but after you take them out of the box the fun is quickly gone. By contrast, constantly re-evaluating your vintage collection for items to upgrade is much more enjoyable (in my opinion). Finally, I hope that these photos will inspire other GIjOE collectors to think more about QUALITY and the "what, how, where and whys" of Joe collecting. Some 40+ years after receiving my first four Joes, I still don't believe that I can be called an expert. Just a "more knowledgeable" collector. If you have any questions, or would like to learn more about my collection (or just GIjOEs in general), please feel free to visit my personal website found HERE. Thanks! ---Dan McKee
And Don't Miss... Collections
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I vividly remember the day I
received my first four painted hair GIjOEs.
The loose figures shown at left represent a lot
of hard work. My Green Beret was pieced together mint item by
mint item. The Fighter Pilot was also assembled bit by bit and
the figure happens to also be a talking Pilot. The Medic figure
is also a talker but appropriately a talking Marine. He is absolutely
the best talker I have ever seen or heard, bar NONE! You have
to pull those strings and enjoy the simplicity and low tech nature
of these old toys! How cool is it that they figured out how to
make a GIjOE talk WITHOUT the use of batteries?
Similarly, back in 1995, I saw an ad for a GIjOE
convention in Pasadena, CA. It turned out to be just a local
show, but it was my first GIjOE show, and it also opened up a
whole new world for me. There, I met James DeSimone, bought
his (cool) color book and found some very nice vintage accessories
for my collection.
