| 02.28.2020 - Prior to the leaks revealing the latest G.I. Joe Classified series of six inch action figures there have been rumblings about the brands return.
It has been almost seven years since the last live-action movie “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” came out in the big screen in March 2013 and of course a plethora of 4-inch action figures were produced. There have been rumors that Hasbro might farm the G.I. Joe brand to another toy manufacturer the way they did with their Tonka IP previously with Funrise and now being produced by Basic Fun. Those rumors of Jazwares producing the 4-inch range was quickly dashed during this past weekend’s New York Toy Fair. |
Whatever the case G.I. Joe has finally returned and for a fan growing owning the vintage o-ring engineered figures and getting the modernized versions of the classics during its 25th anniversary release as an adult there will always nostalgia with this brand. It is like Transformers, Masters of the Universe, Ghostbusters, and other 1980s pop culture contemporaries it continues to be relevant among those who bought them when they were young and as parents now.
You’ll never get enough of G.I. Joe because they mean something and they were the toyline that brought down Kenner’s Star Wars, which made Hasbro gobble up the competition. Based from using mock figures from Fisher Price Adventure People the 3.75 inch range of action figures, vehicles, and, sets ventured out and let every kid’s imagination running wild.
Playtime Stories
As a child growing up and living in a suburban community somewhere in Manila I used to play with my action figures with relatives and neighbour kids outdoors and we don’t care if our toys were dirtied up from the mud or they were soaked in the sand. The memories of that one summer where the Tele-Viper gained hypnotic abilities due to Dr Mindbender experiments are all those crazy impromptu stories as we make them up as we move along that afternoon.
That was the day someone stole my Barbecue and it was also that time most of the Joes crossed a canal through a wooden bridge while Cobra had to deal with a Tonka Earthmover dump truck full of rowdy Renegades led by Sgt Slaughter that I won’t get my own figure with his Triple T until sometime in 2008. It was the best time not only as a toy collector it also got me into Toy Photography.
Visual Narratives
Over the past few days has given me the opportunity to do some toy shoot with some of the figures from my personal G.I. Joe collections. Among my personal favorites are my first three Joes as a kid though these are not the actual toys I was able to get them back sometime between 2005-2007 as these figures were not that expensive as the ones you see in online marketplace that has an absurd price tag.
Back in 1987 when I got my first three G.I. Joes namely Low-Light, Tele-Vipers, and Zandar I hardly knew these characters as I wanted Snake-Eyes, Duke, and Destro. My mum brought me to Alemar’s located beside the current McDonald's in Glorietta back in the old Ayala where I got these three for ₱59.75 Pesos [$1.79 AUD |$1.18 USD**] each and that was crazy cheap. But if you adjust it for inflation they go now for ₱1,500 pesos each [$44.90 AUD | $29.50 USD**] which depends on the character's popularity sold on the secondary market as most sellers’ base their pricing off on eBay in US Dollars as how they value it despite some of those figures don’t even have complete and original accessories.
I’ve wanted to pull them out from my storage as I don’t display them like the usual collector. I use them as my toy subjects for Toy Photography it is this hobby that streamlined my personal collection and focused on what characters I really needed thanks also to my brother for showing me this concept and story side through the photography medium, which I’m also into that hobby since I was nine.
Toy Photography gave me the avenue to be creative in visual storytelling and G.I. Joe was one of the toys I use in them. It gave new challenges to create your own story than limit myself on the unfocused ‘wants’ in toy collecting. It gives you more reason to ‘use’ the right figures and get to appreciate the character.
If I was deprived and unable to appreciate having Star Wars action figures (I only had one which was stolen by a street urchin in the old neighborhood) as a child then G.I. Joe gave me another reason to appreciate another franchise. These days I just appreciate what I have and the recent toy shoots gave me renewed interest in the Joe figures that I still own. Though some of them look dated and fragile for outdoor shoots the vintage aesthetics still have so many stories to tell, but the modern ones also have more stories to share too in their next visual adventure.
No comments:
Post a Comment