Having taken what can only be labelled an extensive break in recent years (I bought, then sold, a Skystriker), suddenly after a BBQ induced nap, an old memory arose that made me remember part of what made me obsess over G.I. Joe, and it relates to the recent change in the toyline.

I remember two figures quite well: Frostbite and Lift-Ticket. Each one, when you bought a vehicle, was a fully-featured, fully-paint-apped, fully jointed and armed figure. You were buying the vehicle, but there was this incredible bonus - a figure you knew wasn't showing up anywhere else.

Then the blue prints let you know every inch of the new vehicle, the stickers familiarizing you with every feature and part, the assembly telling you how it worked in detail. Then the folders and mail away stuff inside set the stage for adventure and play scenarios.

What really made me love G.I. Joe in the big years (84-on - I count these my big years as I was in back n 82, but He-Man and ROTJ worked my attention in those first two years pretty heavy) was that each box was like bringing home a package of military adventure. You got:

Driver
Weapon(s)
Filecard to tell you about him.
Blueprints to tell you about your vehicle.
Vehicle.
Weapons for vehicle.
Ideas from the booklet or back of the box.

Each one was a well assembled adventure - not just a toy, but the ideas behind what you could DO with it. I loved the toys, but for what they could do for me. One man fighters to transport helicopters, each fulfilled a role in helping the rest of my toys.

I awoke from my nap remembering the stripped down articulation of the new drivers and I thought "So that's what they lost."

Just curious if anyone was remembering what got them in. I find my actual nostalgia now s coming to the surface, which is difficult considering now I've spent more years collecting Joes as an adult than I ever did as a kid.

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As a kid? Army men on awesome card art. Plus, they were 1.88 when I started buying them.

As an adult? Dio-Stories. General Hawk, Tim Elf, and zedhatch's work stoked my imagination and got me back into this property. Even now when I buy a fig, I play a scenario in my head on how they're going to fit in, or what parts I can use from said fig to enhance or make another that will fit.

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the cartoon. and the joes. cobra's were cool and still are. but the cartoon, the voices, the interactions of the characters, and then playing with the figures are what made me love it. that and everybody..everybody had at least some gi joes when I was a kid (80's).

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Amazingly, when I first heard about the Real American Hero -- in an ad in Marvel Comics -- my initial reaction was, "They've got to be kidding." I'd never collected the original 12" G.I. Joes (as a kid, I hadn't been allowed to own them), and "Super Joe" hadn't even been on my radar. I'd had a ton of Megos in the 1970's, and more recently had gotten into Star Wars. I certainly didn't expect to have any significant interest in G.I. Joe.

Then I saw the figures at a pharmacy, and was just amazed by them. The superb fully painted artwork on the packaging. The figures were far better articulated than Star Wars. In fact they were almost identical to Micronauts, a line I had enjoyed, but they were less fragile-looking in their design. And I loved the file cards. This was simply something I'd never seen before. Okay, arguably super-heroes and Star Wars figures didn't need these. Most people inclined to buy the toys already knew who Superman was, or Luke Skywalker. People didn't know who Snake-Eyes was -- yet. But it was still a very creative idea.

And as has been pointed out, when you bought some of the vehicles, they came with distinctive figures of their own! I'd say the biggest factors that brought me into the world of G.I. Joe were the imagination and creativity of the line -- there was a whole universe not only very well thought-out here, but applied just as effectively -- and the quality of the toys themselves.

Those are still factors I look for in any action figure line that might happen to catch my eye. They're not impossible to find -- but they're not easy anymore, either.

The commercial for the Marvel comic sparked my interest and then seeing the figures did all the rest. After playing with Star Wars and other figures with their 5 point articulation for so long, it was great getting these. Then when swivel arm battle grip came into being, I was hooked from then on. The cartoon helped but mostly the comic really dragged me into it all.

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i'd say the fun in collecting them, the excitement in finding a figure in stock after only seeing their image on the cardback, the excitement of seeing new releases, and finally their wonderful articulation.

The first time I played with RAH, I got hooked.
I had a few SW figures and Adventure People, but these new figures blew them away with their mobility.
The level of articulation and the size made them perfect to create adventures.

That's why I liked GI Joe so much, they allowed me to create adventures and characters of my own through the toys.

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After wishing for years that my SW figures could hold their guns right, here were figures that could sit right, hold their guns right, and move in a more "realistic" manner. Also didn't hurt that it was cool army men, and the Cobra troopers looked awesome.

First impression: I didn't know what a Commando was but I knew this Snke Eyes fella was "excellent". And this blonde bearded dude was wearing bullets and had a huge machine gun. Comics and a cartoon that at one point was on 7 days a week. We had neighborhood Star Wars vs GI Joe battles. Everyone and their sister had GI Joes. At least one kid had the vehicle your parents didn't get you.

What has kept me liking them through every hiatus or brand swerve is that they are still some fo the best toys ever made. I know their might be some high end model type collectible toys that have more details or whatever, but those can't going driving down a flight of concrete steps in a Tonka race car and come out still stnading like my childhood Clutch can.

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Yeah, I had almost forgotten this - the absolute SEA of different figures available! And wanting to find that new figure...it seemed like Joe shipped in massive waves of so many different guys at once. I remember finding my Storm Shadow figure in 85 I think, and I remember thinking it was awesome there were SO MANY figures available at once. Considering that they just added figures to the production line instead of stopping making the older ones in many cases meant I still got fan favorites like Destro and Storm Shadow past their original premiere years.

Hey, remember when Hasbro made ONE version of a character, it was awesome, and then they sold it for years so everyone got a shot at it, not a repaint? Yeah, me too.

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The business model was simpler and made collecting a much better experience.
The toys came out around the same time each year and they were available throughout the year and the year after.
It didn't feel like a race like it feels today. Get what you can now otherwise it's gone until the next wave.

The various figures were so cool. Each new character felt different.
I remember when a I got the original Storm Shadow. The cool white ninja outfit and the exotic equipment made it a truly awesome figure.
Back then he was the only ninja in the collection which made him even more special to me.

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This, especially the second one...

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Agreed on ALL counts here!

I know we're quickly becoming the old fogey brigade, sitting around with the cups of coffee lamenting the old days, but they WERE awesome!

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As much as I have no interest in RAH as a whole, I do agree.

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