G.I. Joe Real American Hero 1982 Catalog

[RG]

90-91 was my last year ,it was just getting out of hand. I had them all from 82-91 and some even 3 or 4 times. When i sold them in a garage sale in 93 I had 550 I sold them all for $150

OUCH! about as bad as me selling my mint with box wayne foundation at a yard sale

[mazinz]

will never get rid of my joes unless I face being homeless. It took me forever back then to find Scarlet

[Earth 2 Chris]

I sold most of mine at a yard sale too. Just kept my favorites. I never owned a Snake-Eyes. I could never find him!

I think the last figures I bought was in the 87 wave. That bird-guy Raptor, Psyche-Out, etc. Joes were some of the last toys I bought. I told myself the military overtones made them more manly, so I held out on them longer.

Chris

[toys2cool]

I sold most of mine at a yard sale too. Just kept my favorites. I never owned a Snake-Eyes. I could never find him!

I think the last figures I bought was in the 87 wave. That bird-guy Raptor, Psyche-Out, etc. Joes were some of the last toys I bought. I told myself the military overtones made them more manly, so I held out on them longer.

Chris

87 was a great year, you had the 3 packs, Lt.Falcon,Jinx,tunnel rat, law and order

[Earth 2 Chris]

87 was a great year, you had the 3 packs, Lt.Falcon,Jinx,tunnel rat, law and order

Yeah, but you also had COBRA-LALALALALALALALLALA!!!

What were they thinking?

Chris

[generic]

(note: after writing this, I just realized that it's quite long and rambling, but it is such a strong memory for me that I thought I'd post it just in case anyone is interested in reading it anyway )


The first time I saw the 3 3/4 Joes was when I was leaving a roller skating place. Some kid had just had a birthday party there and was walking away with what looked like a carded G.I. Joe, but I was at a distance and couldn't tell for sure. I loved Star Wars figures and I had always wanted the 12" Joes, but never had one as a kid, so when I saw this kid with what appeared to be a Star Wars size G.I. Joe, I was obsessed. I kept thinking that maybe I had just imagined it (after all, he was a good distance from me, so it might have just been my mind playing tricks on me).

I kept bugging my parents to take me to the toy stores so that I could look for this Holy Grail of a toy and finally at Kiddy City (which I usually hated because I considered that place the kind of store where old people who didn't know what kids liked shopped) we found a handful of the first wave figures. My dad told me I could get two - those were the hardest decisions in life at that age! After about an hour of painstaking deliberation, I picked Breaker and Grunt, but while standing in line to pay, I realized that Breaker didn't come with a gun. I panicked! I told my dad that I had to go back and swap him out for someone with a gun. My memory is that in spite of standing around the toy store for an hour while I decided on which figures to get, my dad still understood the importance of having a gun for your G.I. Joe, so he let me go back and swap out Breaker for Short Fuse.

So that was it. Grunt and Short Fuse were my first two G.I. Joes and that was the first of many days that my dad and I spent in toy stores together looking for the target of my obsession. I had every single figure and vehicle released for the first several lines and I still have almost all of them including their weapons. My dog ate a few, some were lost, some I repainted and some broke, but I never sold any at a garage sale and my mom never threw anything out while cleaning. I’ve never gone back to collect the 3 3/4 Joes that I don’t have, probably because I have so much of them from my childhood that I just don’t feel the need to get any new ones. I think I actually have stronger memories of looking for the toys with my dad than I have of playing with the toys. And I guess that's why I still collect toys - collecting them is such a huge part of the fun.

[vulcan2074]

(note: after writing this, I just realized that it's quite long and rambling, but it is such a strong memory for me that I thought I'd post it just in case anyone is interested in reading it anyway )


The first time I saw the 3 3/4 Joes was when I was leaving a roller skating place. Some kid had just had a birthday party there and was walking away with what looked like a carded G.I. Joe, but I was at a distance and couldn't tell for sure. I loved Star Wars figures and I had always wanted the 12" Joes, but never had one as a kid, so when I saw this kid with what appeared to be a Star Wars size G.I. Joe, I was obsessed. I kept thinking that maybe I had just imagined it (after all, he was a good distance from me, so it might have just been my mind playing tricks on me).

I kept bugging my parents to take me to the toy stores so that I could look for this Holy Grail of a toy and finally at Kiddy City (which I usually hated because I considered that place the kind of store where old people who didn't know what kids liked shopped) we found a handful of the first wave figures. My dad told me I could get two - those were the hardest decisions in life at that age! After about an hour of painstaking deliberation, I picked Breaker and Grunt, but while standing in line to pay, I realized that Breaker didn't come with a gun. I panicked! I told my dad that I had to go back and swap him out for someone with a gun. My memory is that in spite of standing around the toy store for an hour while I decided on which figures to get, my dad still understood the importance of having a gun for your G.I. Joe, so he let me go back and swap out Breaker for Short Fuse.

So that was it. Grunt and Short Fuse were my first two G.I. Joes and that was the first of many days that my dad and I spent in toy stores together looking for the target of my obsession. I had every single figure and vehicle released for the first several lines and I still have almost all of them including their weapons. My dog ate a few, some were lost, some I repainted and some broke, but I never sold any at a garage sale and my mom never threw anything out while cleaning. I’ve never gone back to collect the 3 3/4 Joes that I don’t have, probably because I have so much of them from my childhood that I just don’t feel the need to get any new ones. I think I actually have stronger memories of looking for the toys with my dad than I have of playing with the toys. And I guess that's why I still collect toys - collecting them is such a huge part of the fun.

I'm Glad you wrote it cause I enjoyed reading it
Sammy

[palitoy]

Great story, Short Fuse was the first one I bought and oddly the only one I have left.

I remember reading an article in the paper about Joe's return to toy stores, so I went to Woolco that day and that's when I first saw the line.

[toys2cool]

Short fuse and Hawk were the first Joes I ever bought in a flea market,it was 1985 and the same guy had a boxed Xamot and tomax set but my mom could'nt afford it, I was 5, funny how you remember stuff like that. That same day i got a loose Shogun Huge robot for like $.75

[Jason73]

Flash was the first GI joe ARAH I got late in 83. Thumbs broke before the end of the year and I had to replace him with the swivel arm version.

[Captain]

I stumbled across the Ram bike first. Then on another hunt found the jump pack set. I first found the figures in Tops in Toys (may they rest in piece) and grabbed Snake Eyes, Stalker, and Grunt. Along with Clutch and Hawk (who was the boss and had the same first name as myself) they have always been my favourite RAH Joes. I was surprised to hear Grunt and Stalker arent in the film? These guys should be mainstays...instead we got Ripcord????

[toys2cool]

These guys should be mainstays...instead we got Ripcord????

and heavy duty

[jds1911a1]

I stumbled across the Ram bike first. Then on another hunt found the jump pack set. I first found the figures in Tops in Toys (may they rest in piece) and grabbed Snake Eyes, Stalker, and Grunt. Along with Clutch and Hawk (who was the boss and had the same first name as myself) they have always been my favourite RAH Joes. I was surprised to hear Grunt and Stalker arent in the film? These guys should be mainstays...instead we got Ripcord????

Stalker was a surpise he has been pretty constant though the line. Rip cord was a shock because not only is he a way more obscure character (1 figure only in 84 and a few comic & cartoon apearances) he was traditionAlly white. There are plenty of African american characters in Joe they could have used

Heavy Duty is the replacement for roadblock and has been common in joe lines since his intriduction in 89

As cool as I always felt Grunt is as a "standard" infantryman he is a 3rd stringer in the popularity of joe (and he hasn't had that many figures). there are many more who are more iconic or profilfic (Like Flint)

[jds1911a1]

Yeah, but you also had COBRA-LALALALALALALALLALA!!!

What were they thinking?

Chris

Cobra LA was one of the big low water marks in the RAH years I wonder how much of that was influenced to by fantasy line success like he-man

Cobra-la was the start of a run of odd sublines that were way off mark influneced by other company lines that were very different from Joe (Mega marines, Eco Warrios, DEF, Star Brigade and Ninja Foce)

[EmergencyIan]

I was hooked on these Joes from the first time I saw them, as well! I remember this catalog layout.

I have some really great memories of playing with these RAH Joes, over several years. One Christmas (1983 or 1984) I remember being given a lot of Joes and vehicles. One great memory is being in the backyard on the morning of the 26th with the Falcon glider (with the tan Grunt) and the Cobra glider (with figure) and flying them around. They really flew! ...all of this in the Snow

- Ian