GI Joe Toys

It is so difficult to tell which GI Joes figures that you are going to like and which you are not by looking at Internet images and also by looking at the GI Joes action figure still in the packaging. This is at least what I have experienced personally.

I purchased GI Joes Lt. Torpedo retail from Wal-Mart. I did not open this action figure for quite sometime. Actually, I believe I bought two of these GI Joes. I always buy one for storage and the other to open and mess with.

Once I received my GI Joes inventory that included Lt. Torpedo, I set him aside for future opening and detailed photos. This morning, I opened GI Joes Lt. Torpedo, and thinking that this particular action figure was no big deal, I was pleasantly surprised.

This GI Joes action figure, Lt. Torpedo, is one of the better manufactured GI Joes that I have gotten my grubs on. All of the gear fits perfectly and the action figure itself is well done. The features are awesome and he doesn’t look all crazy when you pose him differently like some of the GI Joes 25th stuff appears once you start working with it.

A Bit About GI Joes Lt. Torpedo

His real name is Edward W. Leialoha. I bet you never would’ve guessed that he is from Hawaii, Aiea to be more specific. His primary specialty is that he is a GI Joes Navy SEAL. Now that is cool. He also secondaried in demolitions just about like any SEAL would have.

Lt. Torpedo is one top-notch member of the GI Joes team according to his file card. He seems to have three black belts in a variety of forms of martial arts to include Wushu, Kempo and Goju-Ryu. This guy is tough. I wouldn’t want to cross him.

GI Joes Lt. Torpedo Images

Now for the good stuff and the moment you’ve all been waiting for. More GI Joes images.

Tags: Gi Joe Toys Action Figures by Cole
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I finally got my hands on Barbecue, the GI Joes firefighter. I had to revisit this particular action figure from the GI Joes 25th anniversary line simply because I really liked him when I was a kid and I find that I still do. What more reason do I need to make another GI Joes blog entry on this fella?

Check out the earlier GI Joes Barbecue blog post, GI Joes Barbecue - Where’s the Fire?!

With this particular GI Joes blog entry, I want to address a couple of items. First, is there an actual military firefighter? Second, I took a few photos of Barbecue and want to give you the opportunity to get a good look at this action figure before you head over and purchase a Barbecue GI Joes action figure if that is your desire. I don’t have a lot of them in stock, and I fully intend on keeping two of them, one sealed and one loose.

GI Joes Firefighter - Is There a Military Firefighter Position?

Let’s talk about the firefighter military position. Of course the GI Joes team has a firefighter, but they seem to cover every base even more-so than our real-world military. The answer to his question is yes, the military certainly has a firefighter. The Army has a firefighter also known as a 21M Army firefighter; which is the MOS or job nomenclature.

All Army bases have their own protective services, including fire departments and stations. Army firefighters are accountable for defending lives and property from fire damage and devastation. Firefighters manage fires and help inhibit them in buildings, aircraft and aboard ships.

The GI Joes Barbecue Pics

Now for the good stuff. Below you will find a slew of GI Joes Barbecue images for your gazing pleasure. I took a few pics at close range, distant and a rear view so you can get a look at the backpack that come with the GI Joes firefighter.

Tags: Gi Joe Toys Action Figures by Cole
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Another one of the cooler 1982 version of the GI Joes was Short-Fuze. This was one of the very first GI Joes to hit the market and unfortunately, I never owned this one. I can remember countless times trying to trade a neighborhood friend out of GI Joes Short-Fuze with every offer I could muster. No luck.

Why did they call this GI Joes original Short-Fuze? Well, I guess for several reasons. Short-Fuze was renowned amongst the other GI Joes to literally have a short fuse, or a bad temper. But, being that this GI Joes mortar-man was an explosives and mortar expert, his temper was forgiveable.

GI Joes Short-Fuze was great with figuring mortar azimuths. I guess a GI Joe would have to be if he were going to be the mortar expert. As all of you 11C Army types know, mortar work requires a bit of math and a good memory for formulas and figures. Short-Fuze was known to be expert at it.

The GI Joes comic book genius, Larry Hama, states on Short-Fuze’s file card that he is a “fastidious dresser who maintains an unusually high level of personal discipline”. I’ve known a few real-world mortar folks, and I don’t recall any of them being “fastidious dressers”. I guess the GI Joes universe varies slightly from ours.

GI Joes Short-Fuze Fact

Short-Fuze came with three different versions of the mortar. This was odd when it came to Hasbro’s GI Joes in the 1982 time period because of the cost of remaking the molds for the figures.

• Type 1 GI Joes mortar had a closed thin handle.
• The type 2 GI Joes mortar had an open thin handle.
• The type 3 GI Joes mortar had 3 had an open thicker handle.

The type 1 and 2 GI Joes Short-Fuze mortars came with the straight arm action figure and the type 3 came with the swivel arm version.

The mint condition GI Joes Short Fuze on the card values at about $125 depending on the mortar variation. The mint and loose Short-Fuze action figure goes for around $15.

Technorati Tags: gi joes, gi joe, short-fuze, hasbro

Tags: Gi Joe Toys Action Figures by Cole
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GI Joes Displays | What Looks Cool?

I am up to about fifty GI Joes from the 25th anniversary edition of Hasbro’s GI Joes line. Of course, several of these are of the Snake Eyes GI Joe type because Hasbro seems to continue to repaint and rework this particular GI Joes action figure.

What I would love to learn is some of your GI Joes display methods. My GI Joes are simply setup in the top shelf of one of my old book shelves. This GI Joes display looks fair, but is starting to get a bit packed. I have also mixed my Cobra GI Joes with my GI Joe team GI Joes. They are just kind of spread about.

GI Joes All Over the Place

I literally have GI Joes in boxes all over my computer room. I dove into GI Joes collecting head first and have a ton of inventory. GI Joes collecting seems to be on the rise especially with the GI Joes movie coming out in 2009. So, I have stocked up.

This entry is to obtain some GI Joes display ideas from you folks. I would like to see some of your GI Joes layouts in the form of images as well.

You can email your GI Joes display and collection images to Hawk at GIJoe-action.com. Of course, you must enter the email address correctly and not as I’ve done here. This is to spam proof it the best I can. Not everyone that comes to this blog is a rabid GI Joes collector. Many are evil spammers.

I will be pasting an image of my little GI Joes collection here shortly. I will also be posting a nice image of my GI Joes inventory. Stop by my new GI Joes shop up at the top right hand corner and let me know what you think.

Tags: GI Joe Toys Thoughts by Cole
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GI Joes Lt. Falcon used to be one of my favorite GI Joes. He still probably is but it’s just that green scarf around his neck that irks me. It’s just weird I guess. It doesn’t look very Green Beret like in my humble opinion.

Ok, enough knocking GI Joes Lt. Falcon. This is one hard-charging Green Beanie as those in the special ops community are lovingly referred to.

GI Joes “Showdown at the Top of the World”

I really liked this GI Joes story as it implements a certain paranormal/supernatural feel to the GI Joes world with the inclusion of Nemesis the Immortal creature. Now, how do you kill an immortal creature? Well, you will just have to buy the Nemisis Immortal and Lt. Falcon Comic Pack to see the answer to that. And preferably, you buy it from me. A man has got to make a livin’.

I can’t imagine taking on something from the underworld or another dimension as Lt. Falcon does in this GI Joes comic book. He keeps his cool as only an elite member of the GI Joes team could and he maintains his wit as well.

To be perfectly honest with you folks, I would look forward to a more realistic dramatic type GI Joes comic book. How about the GI Joes not always have some sharp witted comment to spout off after they take a pounding from the bad guy. Or how about while facing the working end of a Cobra machine gun, they aren’t so happy-go-lucky. That’s my vote.

GI Joes Nemesis Immortal

Ok, what do you folks think about this GI Joes character. He was supposedly raised by Globulus from a pile of dead things. Now, that is strange. I mean, what dead things was he raised from? This sounds like some kind of WWII Nazi occultism type stuff. Now, that’s a whole story in itself and would make an awesome bad guy for the Cobra team. Anyway, back to Mr. Nemesis.

This Nemesis Immortal is one tough sun-uva-buck. After the pounding and every other form of abuse you could imagine that Lt. Falcon gives him, he just keeps coming back for more. Hopefully, the Iranians don’t come across a fella like this. We’d all be in trouble.

So, the question of the day; does Nemesis Immortal fit into the GI Joes world or not? Is he too far out there for a GI Joes Cobra bad guy or not? Let me know what you think.

Tags: Gi Joe Toys Action Figures by Cole
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