These two GI JOE Police Search and Rescue figures are KMart exclusives and are part of Hasbro's Alpha Collection. Assortment #53248 and item #53246. These molded T-shirt figures come in the variations shown. One with the green molded T-shirt (no lettering) which have been indicative of the fireman series of figures. This also comes with a plain black ball cap.

The second figure has the blue molded T-shirt with "POLICE" markings indicitive of the policeman series of figures. This also comes with the black ball cap, but marked with "POLICE" and "Special Response Team #12". All other accessories are the same.

Cloth Web Belt
Hasbro didn't make many of these cloth cartridge web belts. As far as I know, they were mostly salesman samples, but you do see them once in a while on eBay. They command a very high price and are extremely rare.

Black Rubber Boots
Hasbro first edition rubber boots are fairly scarce. These are distinguishable from ordinary Hasbro boots by their softer rubber and "Hong Kong" markings around the curve of the bottom heel. The detail in these boots is much more noticeable than regular plastic boots. The boots sometimes get hard with age.

Brown Rubber Boots
Hasbro first edition brown rubber boots are also scarce. Like the black version, these boots are distinguishable from ordinary Hasbro boots by their softer rubber and "Hong Kong" markings around the curve of the bottom heel. The detail in these boots is also much more noticeable than regular plastic boots.

White Combat Boots
Hasbro released these rare white combat boots in 1966 with the Action Sailor Deep Freeze set. This set normally included the more plentiful white snow boots. You could also find these in the 1969-1970s Talking Astronaut. These are just like the tall black or brown combat boots...just molded in white. They are difficult to find and expensive when you do find them. I found my pair in a box full of GI Joe junk and knockoff items at a toy show.

Short Deep Freeze Boots
These are the rare first issue short white boots released with the Action Sailor Deep Freeze set.

Blue Air Police Radio

Airborne MP Radio
The black MP radio with orange markings came with the 1967 (a good year for rare items) Airborne MP set. A matching black MP helmet with orange markings also came with the set.

Tan Adventurer Cap
The tan cap is the same design as the more familiar olive drab cap that came with the action marine and action soldier. This tan version came with the 1969 Adventures of GI Joe figure and is very rare.

Cloth First Aid Pouch
The cloth first aid pouch was the first version of the first aid pouch. The more common version is plastic. It is held closed by a metal snap and has a cloth loop on the back to attach to the web belt.

1964 Pistol - Fine Grip
The 1964 version of the .45 caliber pistol had a fine grip and is a little harder to find as well as being a bit more desireable. It's not worth a fortune, but is more desireable.

Air Security
The Action Pilot Air Security accessories are some of the rarest of the GI Joe items. They were only sold in 1967 like many of the rarest pieces (e.g., airborne MP sets).

Blue Goggles
Goggles came in several colors - green, amber, and...blue. I've never seen the blue version, but here they are.

Treasure Chest Variation
I've only seen a couple of these on ebay. This rare variation of the treasure chest that came in the Shark's Surprise and Eight Ropes of Dangers sets differs from the standard treasure chests, which were two piece gold molded material. The information I've heard is that this chest was not produced for long. It was made of brown marbled plastic with decorative gold/silver plastic adhered on top. The decorative plastic on the chest is gold in color on the lid and sliver on the bottom of the chest.

M-1 Mid Section Hasbro Stamp
Hasbro marked the M-1 Garand rifles on the butt end, usually near the very edge of the butt. A rarer version includes the stamp further up in the mid section of the rifle butt as seen here.

Entrenching Tool with Brass Collar
Shown above is the super rare first issue entrenching tool with a brass collar. Also see the blade earlier above. It was made for the 1964 toy fair and the earliest production accessory sets. These were marked Hasbro R Japan. It came with a first issue cover made from broad cloth. This shows the front and rear sides of the shovel and cloth pouch.

1964 Green Camouflage Field Phone
This is the first issue green camoflauge field phone. This was made for the 1964 toy fair and only the earliest production accessory sets. It was stamped Hasbro R on the inside.

Early Bayonet
This is the Japan stamped bayonet. It was made for the 1964 toy fair and only the earliest production accessory sets. This is an extremely difficult piece to find. Regular bayonets are difficult enough due to their size and how easy they were to misplace and loose. Add to that their delicate nature (most are found broken or repaired.

Diving Buoy
This is the rarest of the marker buoy variations. It is the early issue version with the white flag and red stripe. It also had a metal weight inside. Hasbro also made this first issue buoy without the metal weight inside as a standard production version with no metal weight and a red flag with white stripe.

Early M-1 Rifle
This is an M1 rifle stamped Hasbro that is molded in black plastic rather than the standard brown plastic. It also has some tan and black painted accents. The molding and shape are identical in every way to the standard issue M1's. I have only seen one of these before on ebay.

Early Action Soldier Helmet
This is a strange item. It is a first issue soldier helmet with the large maker's mark stamped inside and the round clips. This early helmet has a yellow helmet netting. I have never seen one of these and I imagine the netting easily deteriorated over time. The inside is marked Hasbro (R) Japan.

Original (Vintage) Body (front/back)
The original GI Joe body appeared in 1964 and featured painted hair and 21 moveable parts. This was followed by the Adventurer and Adventure Team figure with Life-Like hair and later "eagle eye". Pictures coming soon.

Super Articulated Body (front/back)
The GI Joe Super Articulated (SA) body appeared on store shelves in late November/December 2001. It was very similar to the Dragon toys body. Gung-Ho grip hands were on all first releases. Small feet than previous figures. The figure was incredibly poseable although the waist was a bit loose.

Original Body (front/back)
The Ultimate Soldier line by 21st Century Toys was introduced at the San Jose, CA G.I. Joe Convention in 1997. Company reps showed several prototype weapons sets and vehicles that were scheduled to hit the market offering fantastic detail and quality at fantstically low prices. Those pictures of the uniforms on the back of the product cards appeared to be covering some mystery invisible man figure. The Ultimate Soldier action figure was introduced in 1998. This "Sam" figure was very similar to the GI Joe Classic Collection figure then available on the market. However, the price point was much lower at $9.99 for a carded figure (including uniform and weapon) vs. Hasbro's $14.99. The head sculpt was later changed to the "Dead Head" look. Boxed figures ($29.99) followed with some having different head sculpts (101st Airborne, British Paratrooper seen here).

"Super Soldier" Body (front/back)
The Ultimate Soldier "Super Soldier" body was introduced in 2000 with the introduction of the "Operation: Market Garden" and a few other figures. Neck articulation was greatly improved on this version. In addition, the figure could now bend and twist at the abdomen like the actual human body. This feature was very similar to the Dragon action figure. The hip and arm sockets were improved greatly along with the elbow and knee joints. All of these improvements added to the poseability of the figure.

In addition to and prior to the release of the super soldier figure, 21st Century introduced changeable hands for their line of figures. Now the customer could add hands to the figure more appropriate to the pose of the figure. Such hands included saluting hands, fists, trigger finger hands, etc.

New Soldiers of the World (SOTW) (front/back)
Soldiers of the World line by Formative International introduced a new highly articulated figure in 2001 and kept the price point identical to previous figures - $7.99. The figure had vast improvements to the head and neck (now compatible neck post with GI Joe), arm/elbow, leg/knee, and even improved hands and feet. A new waist mechanism slides the torso forward and back. The first releases of the new figure were done in previous uniform schemes and eliminated the figure stand from the package.