Of all the many toys I had as a kid, probably none were quite as important (or as numerous) as G.I. Joe. Now I can't even remember all the figures and vehicles and things I used to have, so I'm relying on the internet to remind me of some I've forgotten. Though there are probably things I could see pictures of online and still not remember whether or not I had them. In fact, some of the things I list here I'm not 100% certain about, so it's quite possible I didn't have some that I do list, and it's a certainty that I did have some that I don't list. (Things that seem familiar could be because friends had them, or because I saw them in commercials or catalogs or whatever. There were definitely lots of things I wanted that I never got, but it's kind of amusing to realize now that I don't even remember whether I had certain things or just wished I had them.) I eventually sold most of it at flea markets or whatever. Seriously, I can't believe I had so much cool stuff, and now it's almost all gone! I want it back!)
Anyway, I'm sure I got lots of toys as presents from family or friends, for my birthday or Christmas or whatever, but I also must have bought some things myself (whether from stores, or from friends, or maybe at yard sales or flea markets; I definitely had some stuff that came out before I started collecting). Also, a lot of figures and vehicles were re-released in the years after they first came out, and I might have had later versions than the ones I list here. Sometimes they may have been repainted or whatever (I remember being very into the "Tiger Force," but I don't remember for sure if I had any such vehicles, though I probably did). And one Christmas I got the Cobra Terror Drome, which I thought was awesome, but some parts were missing when I tried to put it together, so my parents returned it, and... that was the end of that. That was not the best Christmas ever.
Also I subscribed a G.I. Joe magazine for awhile, but unfortunately I don't have any of those anymore. And I had a few comic books, in fact I still have two of them (#86 and Order of Battle #4), but I wish I still had more of them, especially Special Missions #24, just because I remember on like the first page the female Joes were doing like a Rockettes kinda thing. (I'm not proud of remembering that fondly, but I do.)
But anyway, on with the toy lists....
Figures
Aside from the toys listed below, I also remember once mail-ordering a figure called Starduster, which was supposed to come with... some accessory (probably the Pocket Patrol Pack)... but the accessory never came. And there was a mail-in offer for a "personalized" figure, in the Steel Brigade. (The only thing that's personalized about it is you get to name the soldier and make up details for the file card. I called mine "Lt. Microchips," and I think it's one of only two figures I still have.) Some of the other figures I had may have been mail-in exclusives, but Starduster and Microchips are the only two I specifically remember obtaining that way. (Whether that's because my memory sucks or because I bought them from people who had ordered such figures themselves, I couldn't say.) Note that some toys had different variations over the years, and the ones I link to might not be the versions that I had.
G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe
