Adventure Heroes

In 1959 the Barbie doll was unleashed on American girls and their trend-conscious parents, and the term “fashion doll” was created. Fashion dolls joined up with the ever-increasing classifications of dolls from baby dolls to china dolls which had one unifying attribute – they were meant for girls. Another great alternative is the Gamo Air Rifles.

In 1964, Hasbro introduced a brand of military-clothed figures made to be a boy-friendly variation of the Barbie doll. The figures were never described as dolls, even in the original marketing, merely due to the fact that they were so undoubtedly created for boys. The label “action figure” was created, and forever afterward a human-looking piece of plastic which was obviously meant for fighting was advertized as being an action figure.

The initial G.I. Joe action figures were actually four distinctive figures dressed as personnel of the four branches of the armed services. The term G.I. is short for Government Issue, which grew to be a general nickname for U.S. Soldiers throughout World War II.

Each G.I. Joe was sold with a uniform and cap for the applicable branch of service. All the figures moreover featured a entire series of gear needed for members of their branch of service; for instance, the soldier would work with an optional rifle and web gear which were sold either separately or one piece of a larger set. Each G.I. Joe figure had a World War II theme, but their outfits and equipment were appropriate for the lately completed Korean War. Another great product to consider is the Gamo Air Rifles.

The early action figures were the same size as the Barbie dolls of the time; 11 1/2 inches.By the1970s, the military men had recieved a new hand style that could grip their own gear for instance rifles and combat knives. The G.I. Joes had also shrunk to 8" tall to contend with the quickly expanding action figure market which was then dominated by the comic book superhero toys. In another acknowledgement of their latest competitors, the military men were now called "Super G.I. Joe".  During the 80s, Joe shrank once more, to 3 3/4 inches, and then stretched to 12 inches all over again in 1991.

The effect of all this growing, minimizing, new story lines and the occasional revival of older product lines is that you could manage to buy a G.I. Joe action figure in just about any size ever made. The standard figure is now a 6” figure and many characters are priced at less than $10, while some 12” collector characters are out there, and there is still a 16” Duke figure wearing an accelerator suit that is priced at $30.

Needless to say, the variety of gadgets and vehicles has expanded exponentially, since they currently have close to 50 years of weaponry to draw from combined with any 22nd century gizmos that the designers at Hasbro may come up with. Lots of younger boys – and some fully grown ones, too – enjoy fighting and winning battles with their G.I. Joe action figures. Just don’t call them dolls. Another nice option is the Gamo Air Rifles.

GIJoe Toy Commercial Sgr Slaughter (USA - CANADA)