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Collecting G.I. Joe figures and accessories is a great hobby and one which I thoroughly enjoy. G.I. Joe was one of my favorite toys when I was a kid. I remember many days when my cousin and I would bring out all of our Joes and equipment and create many adventures with the imagination that most children have. We had a blast playing with Joe. Friday night sleep-overs and Saturday afternoons usually involved at least one Joe adventure. Eventually, as I grew older, Joe and his fellow troopers were stored away in footlockers and my adventure team headquarters as my life led me in other directions ... high school ... girls ... college ... girls ... job ... marriage (one girl). |
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With the help (financial approval) of my wife we have continued to build a nice vintage collection (easily my favorite of any GI Joe line ever produced). She has been and continues to be a great supporter of my G.I. Joe hobby and will always grab a Joe if she sees one and think nothing of laying down the cash...within reasonable limits of course. Today, we have accumulated a fairly moderate sized collection of over 1300 figures, which includes nearly 200 vintage painted hair and Adventure Team figures, 140+ newer carded sets, 110 vehicles, and hundreds of various vintage and newer GI Joe collectibles and toys. |
If you are interested in selling your vintage G.I. Joes or accessories, feel free to contact me using the email link below. I have purchased several collections over the past few years and am always anxious to add more troops to the platoon. I am interested in complete collections or single items. Take a look at the Platoon Photos section to see the kind of items that interest me and that are in my collection today. The easiest way to describe what you have is to send photos. Photos help give me an idea of not only what you have, but also help me assess the condition of the items. I will respond by asking specific questions regarding condition such as whether or not the figures have stress cracks and to what extent; clothing condition (stains, rips, missing buttons and snaps); melt marks, broken or repaired items; etc. If you have an idea as to the price you hope to get for the items, let me know that as well and we will see if we can come to an agreement. |
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Memories |
For a long time during my early childhood, the only thing I wanted at Christmas was G.I. Joe. One Christmas my Aunt searched the entire State of New York and probably most of the remainder of the country looking for the Adventure Team Headquarters. She eventually called Hasbro directly. Hasbro actually found two of them in their warehouse and shipped them to her just barely in time for Christmas. One for me and one for my cousin. My Christmas was complete! My late Aunt was terriffic! Her husband, my Uncle (see how that works?), was a real American Hero, a GI Joe assigned to the 45th Infantry Division. He was killed in action in 1944 by a German mortar attack at the Battle of Monte Casino in Italy. Having no children of her own, my Aunt spoiled me and my other siblings. ALL of my childhood G.I. Joes were gifts from her and that is why they have such a special place in my heart. |
Sometimes, the collections can be quite large like this one which filled our Chevy Suburban truck. |
Today, as I look at the first two painted hair G.I. Joes I ever received now proudly displayed, I can tell you exactly where I was and how excited I felt when I received them. Those are the kind of childhood memories that are priceless to me. G.I. Joe is not an investment in the future and a quick money maker as many people have let it become. For me, it is an investment in the past. G.I. Joe is a recapturing of pleasant memories from a great childhood. |
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Here is a picture of me (on the left) and a neighborhood friend of mine back in the early 1970s playing with G.I. Joe. That seems like so long ago now. The Joes, from left to right, are action sailor (in white diving suit), adventure team AA adventurer (who incidentally, came with a foreign soldiers of the world Japanese soldier shirt), action soldier, adventure team land adventurer, and adventure team talking commander on the Irwin motorcycle. They are all still in my collection today. The footlocker was a MARX Stoney Smith version that my Aunt probably purchased through the SEARS Christmas catalog. It was made from cardboard and I still have it in my collection today. The footlocker was filled with several knock-off cheap plastic accessories (machine guns, MP-45, rifles, belts). These appeared to be produced with similar Hasbro molds, but were instead molded in a soft olive drab colored plastic. |
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My wife is very supportive of my Joe collecting. She jokingly tells
everyone that it keeps me out of the bars, but in truth, she just
understands how GI Joe helps me connect with my past and my now deceased
Aunt. We only get to a few Collector's Club Conventions, but do hit
quite a few toy and collectible shows. She is just great.
Shown on the left here are my wife and I at the 2002 Convention
in Norfolk, VA. This was the night of the traditional dinner
and I am shown (with a great deal more gray in my hair than previous photos)
after winning the coveted mystery figure provided at each table every
year (usually a prototype figure donated by Hasbro). This one was a
prototype of the Navy SEAL.
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Today, GI Joe occupies a room with some additional display cases scattered throughout our home. My collection could probably be described as medium in terms of size. Many are much larger and have more valuable pieces. I try to pick up what I can afford. Sometimes I stumble into something and get lucky. |
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My Site
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Take a look at the base exchange to see my extra vintage joe and other items for sale and trade. It is in no way a complete list and has really turned into a want list more than a sell list. I am not a toy dealer so I cannot sell you figures that you're missing or desiring 'cause they're certainly not coming out of my collection. However, email me if you are looking for something in particular. I may have seen it on toy shelves or know someone who can get it. The Exchange also includes many of my items that are currently up for auction on eBay. Simple click on the link there to see all of my current auctions. The items are not always GI Joe related. I have a few Joe items for auction from time to time as I pick up extras in other collections. You can also read my philosophy and policy regarding the auctions I have on eBay. |
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I usually do a limited recon of my local stores on a bi-weekly basis when 12" figures are marketed, less now following the discontinuance of the 12" GI Joe. There are several stores in the surrounding communities of my area including five Wal-Marts, eight Targets, one K-Mart, and three Toys R Us stores. If there are hot G.I. Joes or other military related action figures coming out soon, then I will attempt to check the stores on a more regular basis. |
Overall, I keep my eyes open as much as I can, which is difficult given the number of stores, the travel distance, and the amount of time I have to spend doing this. Keep an eye on my recon reports. Even if you do not live in my area (Washington, DC), I have found that reports of new stock hitting the shelves in other areas gives me a good indication of when I should start looking. Maybe the same will work for you. I would also suggest you check out the alt.toys.gi-joe newsgroup also known as the Sandbox. Here you will find posts from people who have found the latest releases and where they were found. It is a great group of collectors and many people there will simply get an item for you for cost plus shipping if you cannot find it on the shelves in your area. |
The operations schedule
will give you an idea of the current shipping schedules for all new
G.I. Joe and military action figure releases. This information comes
directly from magazine and club listings. I do not release exclusive
GI Joe Collector's Club news until it hits the streets through other
means. If you want access to this information, join the Club. Check
out the G.I. Joe Collectors
Club for great news and information on new G.I. Joe items and
conventions. If you are not currently a member, you should really
consider joining. It's the only way to find out the latest in G.I. Joe
before anyone else! Enter your club membership information. Club
membership gives you a monthly color comic book style club newsletter
with all the latest news.
If you want to see a list of all vintage GI Joe products that came out
for the Action Soldier, Sailor, Marine, and Pilot series plus the
Adventure Team, take a look at my list
of
Sets & Series. Some of the Hasbro numbers have picture files
associated with them so you can see what unopened packages looked like
and contained. I also have a list of all
40th anniversary figure sets.
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Have you ever wondered what some of the early Hasbro paperwork and advertising looked like? I have several examples of these items which include equipment set instruction sheets, comic book advertising including Andy & George, recent toy store exclusives advertising and more. You will also find G.I. Joe sound files and some of those famous G.I. Joe TV commercials and other videos. |
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I have included a list of G.I. Joe related books, magazines and newsletters that have been published. Some are still available while others are out of print. These provide information on the history of G.I. Joe as well as current information on new releases, convention information, and much more. If you know of something that is not on my list, please email me with the information and I will include it. |
Stop by the Beachhead's
maintenance depot. The maintenance depot
shows how to take some of those cool older Soldiers of the World uniforms
and make some useful, good looking outfits for G.I. Joe. There are
pictures and descriptions of removing velcro and adding snaps as well
as making useful helmets that fit and adding rifle and helmet straps.
Check here for hints on removing stains from figures and clothes.
The communications links will show you
a list of some of my favorite links to other GI Joe related sites,
toy store links, and auction links. Go here to find a nice shortcut
to places like Hasbro and more. I am not real big on links. I
feel they really clutter up the webpage and besides, you can find them
on about a thousand other Joe related pages. I have traded links with
a small handful of other sites and will provide links to sites if I
feel they are helpful to the collector like Hasbro, the GI Joe
Collector's Club, and others.
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Today's soldiers will give you a detailed list of the current line of GI Joes listed by year and category. This includes Classic Collection, Timeless Collection, convention figures, Hall of Fame, 40th anniversary, and every other new line introduced. These lists include the product number and even some variation information. I encourage visitors to provide me with product numbers associated with figures listed on this page when those product numbers are missing. |
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I didn't buy every figure, but would still like to record every figure's product number (not assortment number) usually listed to the left of the assortment number on the very bottom of the proof of purchase. For example, 81869 is the product number in 81869/81071 Asst.. This should also be the number on the bottom right side of the UPC bar code. |
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Reassignments depicts new material that I have added to the Beachhead. This includes most website changes. All of the details will be on the pages mentioned, but this page will let visitors know that there have been updates on a given page. If new store recons or hot news have been added, Reassignments will mention this, but the news itself will be found on the respective pages. See the photo below. |
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Enjoy the Beachhead and let me know what you think or if you have any ideas on how to improve it. I am always open to new ideas and information. If you have a similar site that helps the collecting community, then please feel free to contact me and perhaps we can exchange links! |
Disclaimer Many have expressed their appreciation of this site and I am, of course, happy to receive such comments. It's always great to hear from fellow collectors even if the comments are critical of the site's format. For those who do not like this site, I can live with that too and you are certainly more than welcome to tell me what you don't like or what could be improved...just keep it clean and professional please. There are many Joe sites, so I am sure you can find one that suites your fancy if mine does not.
Have Questions on Value or Rarity? Thanks! And remember..." Only G.I. Joe is G.I. Joe!" |
HOT NEWS!
The Beachhead Joins Facebook
2015 G.I.Joe Convention
Get a good look at the latest membership figure free to members
for simply joining the Club. Members have access to a members only area,
receive a special color comic book/magazine each month, and receive
special pricing on club merchandise.
The G.I. Joe Collector's Club has once again provided a free
figure to all of its current members. The figure for 2014 celebrates
the 50th anniversary of GI Joe - Man of Action. Be a club
member by March 16, 2014 and you
are eligible to receive your free figure.
The figure has brown Life-Like hair; standard grip hands.
Includes unique T-shirt with anniversary log and matching shorts.
The optional accessory kit includes the Man of Action shirt and
trousers, short black boots, fatigue cap, box, and gold dog tags.
Last Updated On 05 January 2015
50th Anniversary Ornament
The Hallmark 50th Anniversary GI Joe Christmas ornament hit stores on
October 4, 2014. Quantities were extremely limited. Most stores only
received from 3 to 6 ornaments per store. Many other stores received
none for sale making this a very limited and hard to find Joe collectible.
It is one of the nicest GI Joe Christmas ornaments of all time.
The Beachhead has joined Facebook. Now you can get news, discuss GI Joe topics, and see Beachhead photos. This is a work in progress.
TBD
This very cool Christmas ornament hit Hallmark stores
in October 2014.
since
07 SEP 1998!
The Beachhead 1998
gi.joeguy1@verizon.net
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G.I. JOE is a registered trademark of Hasbro, Toys, Inc. and is
used without permission.
Mark Wright.
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