A little bit about myself, I’m 27, married (almost a year now), lawyer and HUGE nerd. When I’m not spending time with my lady and the dogs, and even while I am spending time with them, I’m crazy about 3 things: GI Joe, baseball, and video games (atm League of Legends).  At 27 I consider myself to be on the younger side of the Joe hobby. Many of the guys that I have met online and in person are in their mid-30s. Nothing against you old guys, but your age made you biased against some of the best Joes that came out. The ’90s were awesome in terms of Joe toys. And for me, being born in ’86, put me in the perfect spot to enjoy both the 80s and 90s Joes. I loved Tiger Force and Slaughters Marauders, That blue and camo Sgt. Slaughter is one of my all time favorite figures. He always led the way into battle as a kid. The ’90s were awesome. You were just too busy trying to impress girls to notice. I would but 90 up against any of the great Joe years in the 80s for best of the line. I also had a great time with the neon colors, the lights, sounds and spring loaded launchers. Having missiles that could actually fly and hit a vehicle or a figure was awesome, I didn’t just have to pretend that the missile flew, I got to use it. I think the hate for the ’90s is all about jealousy. Haha.

I do have to say I am sorry about some of the Ninja Force. Zartan with a mohawk and that Scarlett were tough to like. I remember the death of the line in ’94, Joe abandoned me at retail stores. But it was okay, since you guys started to move on to girls, your old toys ended up at antique stores, swap meets, and garage sales. So I continued my collecting through that. I do admit that when high school rolled around, I too put the toys away, HOWEVER, I never truely stopped buying them. From high school all the way through law school, I would at least get a few figures a year. I was always guaranteed Joes at Christmas. Love that my mom never says I am too old for toys. I got Joes last year and I’ll be getting some got Xmas this year!

Since I never really stopped buying Joes, I say that I have been collecting since I was a kid. I still have all my original Joes, as well as new display versions for the ones that took a beating. Sadly that Marauder Sgt. Slaughter ended up with two broken thumbs, a broken crotch and super loose arms and legs. He got used a lot.

I wouldn’t say I became a “serious” collector until fairly recently. From high school, to UCLA, and then to Loyola Law School, there wasn’t a ton of extra cash available to spend on Joes. I did however, know a little bit about some of the rare international Joes. The Argen 7 and Cobra de Aco all caught my eye but I certainly didn’t have the funds for those. My childhood goal, now completed, was to own every single figure that they made for GI Joe. Upon graduating law school and getting a job, I set out to accomplish my childhood goal as well as the adult goal of the Argen 7. I spent my first few paychecks completing the Argen 7. It felt great! Then I went on the task of identifying the 200 or so figures that I missed out on as a kid. I have been hooked on the hobby for a solid two, almost three years now.

 

(That was a pretty good update for one morning. This page is still underconstruction, but at least there is something to read now.)