The Mission To Restore And Protect Continues

The mission to complete a vintage GI Joe collection continues, and so does the mission to protect these 3 3/4 plastic treasures. To that end, I began to research a way to protect my Joes once their restoration has been completed. I looked into things like waxes, sheen, liquid protectants, and other such products and after a lot of reading and looking up chemicals I settled on this product to help protect my collection:

303 Aerospace Protectant which you can pick up on Amazon.

I researched products like Armor All and Meguiars polish to see how they held up protecting plastic and rubber (O-rings) and I discovered that since these products are petroleum based and have elements of alcohol, these might not be the best choice for plastic protection. 303 is water  based and contains no alcohol and after reading multiple consumer reviews, seemed like the way to go. When I originally received my bottle of 303, I tested the solution on one of  the action figures in the junk pile that wasn’t in the best condition and I wouldn’t mind loosing should this stuff not work well enough. The solution worked great! it did a great job of cleaning the figure but it also brought out a mild shine one the figure and it looked great. Additionally, the solution isn’t harsh and isn’t greasy which is a big plus with me.

I  have a pretty extensive collection of Mattel’s DC Universe Classics 6″ figures and I’ve been so impressed with 303, I’ve started using it on those as well as some of my Hot Toys and Sideshow Collectibles pieces and it’s worked great with those too despite different materials and surfaces.

Will this stuff really make a difference in the long run? Maybe, maybe not, but for the amount of money I’m spending buying and restoring these figures, a little help protecting them won’t hurt. C’ya!

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As It Stands

As my collection continues to grow, I began looking at ways to proudly display my Vintage GI Joe’s that I’m so painstakingly refurbishing and restoring to their former 1980’s glory. I began looking at cabinets, shelving systems, and risers to get an idea of how my beloved GI Joe figures were going to be set up. I began a test run by standing a few figures next to each other not unlike a grade school class picture, Yeah – you know the type, and while I was arranging them, Sci-fi’s hose caught the tip of the Vipers rifle and…dominoes. They all fell like dominoes. Next step? get some figure stands. Sounds easy enough right?

I began doing some research on message boards to see what fandom was using and it basically came down to two stands. A circular, clear stand by Protech or smaller rectangular stand by smalljoes.com that look (and I assumed modeled) after original vintage stands. I purchased both for comparison’s sake in order to inform you our readers. the result? disappointment and frustration.

let’s look at the Protech first –

As far as stability and style goes, Protech comes out on top due in large part to the sheer size and circumference of the stand and the clear plastic gives the stand a classy “glass” look, But as you can see above, the pegs on the base are too large for vintage figure peg holes and thus the figure doesn’t sit flush on the stand- the figure floats 1/4 inch above the stand! I suppose you could get the figure to go down a bit farther by putting force on it, but with the amount of money I’m spending on these figures, why risk breakage?  I double checked to see if I hadn’t purchased modern stands by mistake and no, these are meant for vintage figures.

So on to the Smalljoes stand-

These smaller stands fit the figure’s peg hole perfectly! and due to their smaller size, I could fit even more figures on one shelf compared to the larger Protech stand. I thought I was golden! Golden that is, until I went to grab Beachhead for some paintwork. I tried to pry the figure from his stand only to have the peg snap completely off  the stand and lodge itself in Beachhead’s heel where it remains until I figure out a safe way to remove it. I didn’t manhandle the stand with bear-like claws either-  I simply held the figure by his legs and pulled up with light force.

For now my figures remain safely stored in zip lock bags until I find the right stand- but really, what kind of a life is that for a toy? to end up in a zip lock baggie? We’ve all seen Toy Story right? And thus the search for the perfect stand to display my Joes continues. I’d love to hear what you’re using, drop me a line an let me know. Until next time,

C-ya!

Vintage GI Joe Card Reproductions part II

We’re back with the second installment to the reproduction card post from a few weeks back. The kit took about a week and a half to arrive, which isn’t bad at all, but Beggars_ Canyon sent along a nice extra for the inconvenience, a whole Zartan kit! Extremely awesome and generous of them to do. Now on to the burning question. Just how good are the card reproductions? They are good. Not 100% exact quality match on the printing to the original cards but they are pretty close. If compared side by side, the reproduction card isn’t as sharp and vibrant as the original vintage card, a good thing if you ask me. Also, the yellow areas on the card where the figure is placed aren’t as bright versus the original card, it’s a more muted yellow. The cardboard is an excellent match and is not flimsy at all, it’s rigid as it should be and feels just like a real card. Here’s a side by side comparison, card one is the original vintage card and card two is the reproduction card:

Sorry about the light source spot, couldn’t manage to an overhead shot without it. As you can see, it’s hard to spot the differences between the two, and like I said above, you need to be looking at it “in hand” to notice the differences.

The kit comes with the reproduction card back and a bubble. On the auction page, there are some instructions to attach the bubble to the card using either Epoxy or double sided tape. I decided to use Epoxy for maximum effect.

I trotted down the my local Micheal’s craft store and picked up a quick set Epoxy kit for under 5$. The Epoxy comes with instructions to mix the two substances in the syringe applicator with a wooden stirrer stick that comes included with the kit but doesn’t work well for precision application so use the Epoxy sparingly and with extreme caution!

Once everything was prepped, I positioned Blowtorch exactly as the vintage figure was placed using a picture of the original carded figure as reference. I then went ahead and sparingly applied the Epoxy using the provided stick applicator. When doing this make sure you apply in such a way as to not leave “hills and valleys” and apply as smoothly and flat as possible. Again, use sparingly because you don’t want to the Epoxy to bleed out onto the card and damage it!  The toughest part was aligning the card and bubble once the Epoxy was applied, which you want to do as quickly as possible since the Epoxy will begin to set rather quickly! I sat the bubble down on a flat surface and positioned the card over it and aligned as close as possible and set it down. It wasn’t perfect, but it was close enough. I let it sit for a few hours and here is the finished product

As you can see, it displays really well and I highly doubt the average person could tell the difference once displayed. I’m going to be putting this in a star case and hanging it up as a really awesome reproduction. I hope you, the reader, enjoyed this piece and that you gained some insight on the process and decide if this is something you’d like to try. Here’s a great video from Beggars Canyon showing you the tape method

Beggars Canyon can be found on Ebay but you can buy from them directly, and save some money in the process,  at BeggarsCanyonToys.com

Once I purchase a Zartan vintage figure, I’ll use the double sided tape method for comparison. Till next time, Yo Joe!

Doc’s Repair Ward: O-Ring Replacement

This time around we’re going to do things a little different and bring in a real expert on GI Joe repair for the very first installment of Doc’s Repair Ward!  Take it away Doc!

Thank you. I’m here today to instruct you on replacing old “O” rings inside your old GI Joe action figures. First, we’re going to cover some basics. The term “O” ring refers to the small rubber band inside your figure that holds tension to your figure’s arms and legs so that maximum possibility is achieved. They look like this:

You can find replacement “O” rings on Ebay or you can also purchase them at gijoeheaven.com , which is where Jose purchased these for today’s demonstration. Before we start, make sure that the screws on the figure you are about to fix are not rusted or need replacement. If they do, just search “restoration” on the search box on the right for help on fixing those. We’re going to be unscrewing those screws in order to perform this procedure so you want them in good working order. Next, you’ll want to reach for your handy cross headed screwdriver of the appropriate size for smaller screws. Here’s the one we are going to be using as an example:

Unscrewing your figure apart might seem a little risky the first time you do this, but not to worry. It’s a simple procedure and we’re here to help you along. Let’s go ahead and find the screw on the backside of your figure

This is where you’re going to be removing the screw from in order to reach the “O” ring

Once open, you”ll notice how the rubber band holds the figure together, take a moment to see how everything is connected to help you along later when we put the figure back together

After you discard the old rubber band, go ahead and place the new O ring onto the “J” hook attached to you figures legs just like this:

Next, thread the new O ring through the pelvis piece and wrap around the circular cavity in the middle of the figures torso cavity. This is what provides the tension so that the figure stays together. Once done, attach the font half of the torso- but wait, don’t screw the figure back together just yet! you’ll want to re-insert the figure’s arms into the cavity before closing and screwing the chest cavity back together.

That’s it! you’re all done. “How you do you feel, Lady Jaye?” “Like a whole new woman Doc!”

That concludes the O ring replacement procedure. Not too difficult right? Lastly, I want to remind you to use caution when using the screw driver. Don’t hurt yourself and end up in a real medical ward! Till next, Yo Joe!

Big thanks to Doc and Lady Jaye for today’s blog post! Drop Doc a line if you have any questions! C’ya!

Vintage GI Joe Card Reproductions

Months ago while searching Ebay I stumbled upon an auction for a near identical GI Joe card restoration kit. The kit includes a brand new, un-punched card, and a bubble to put the figure in and then attach to the card. The card looks so good that you’d have to be an authority to tell the difference. I’ve been VERY tempted from the very beginning to get this kit but before we go any further, let say this – I DO NOT intend to sell my Joes. Ever. So the question then becomes “why do I want these?” A couple of reasons, the first being sheer curiosity. Will these look awesome? exactly how identical are they? Second, I LOVE GI Joe card art and having a chance to own an untarnished pristine card is an opportunity I can’t pass up. Third, carded vintage figures run into the hundreds of dollars and obviously having a complete vintage carded collection is unrealistic unless I were to win the lotto and since that isn’t going to happen, these are a cheap alternative. Just how convincing are these card kits?  Take a look:

Picture 1 is the repro card that I purchased and Picture 2 is the original vintage card. Can you spot any differences? yeah I can’t either. Here’s the cardback:

Look REALLY close under the File card. See it? Right underneath the “Made & Printed in Hong Kong” print. That’s the only difference, a small hard to read “Reproduction Packaging” disclaimer. Curiosity finally got the better of me and I purchased the kit for 13$. I’m curios to see just how well these are done. If you’re interested in these repro cards, here is  the Ebay seller link for you-  beggars_canyon you’ll notice that he also has lots of Stars Wars and some other miscellaneous cards for sale along with other GI Joe cards. I’ll be updating the blog once I get the kit and have it assembled. Let me know what you think of these in the comments section below, I know this is sort of taboo in the action figure collecting community but I feel it’s worth a look if only for research and educational purposes.

On A Voyage Of Discovery

Tonight I find myself in complete awe. I’ve been a Joe fan for more years than I care to count and tonight I stumbled upon a GI Joe toy that I NEVER knew existed. How is that even possible? I have no idea. I’ve mentioned before that the Skyhawk is one of my absolute favorite vehicles as a kid and lately I find myself searching Ebay for vehicles for fun, more or less because my main focus continues to be figures. I sat in front of my PC along with a bowl of Captain Crunch (no Foolin), logged onto Ebay and typed in “GI Joe Vintage Skyhawk and what should fall before my eyes? This:

A Dreadnok Skyhawk?!! It’s not often that I see a vintage GI Joe piece and literally sit straight up and go “What the hell?!” in excitement. At first I though this was a custom being passed off as an official toy but no, I dug around the net a little bit and found this:

The real McCoy. This set was a Sears exclusive back in 1986 – repaints of the GI Joe Skyhawk and Cobra FANG redone in Dreadnok colors. How does something like this exist without me knowing? I have to say that moments like these are why I love collecting GI Joe as a hobby again and make writing this blog worthwhile endeavor. From the people I’ve met via social media, to discovering “lost treasures” like this piece here, Collecting Joes again has been a really fun ride.

At the moment, this set might very well become a grail for me, you know, after the Flag. And the Defiant. Oh, and the Mobile Command Center. I better quit. We could very well be here all night. C’ya!

Get To Know A Joe (or a Cobra)

The story of GI Joe: A Real American Hero and their struggle to stop the evil forces of Cobra has been going strong for the better part of 30 years in the form of toys, comics, video games, a feature film, and books. And in those many years Hasbro has cultivated a large library of characters for both factions, hundreds in fact and if you’re like me, you want to know every characters back story and background . Where did Duke go to school? how did Cobra Commander rise to power? Where did Outback learn his survival  skills? You’ll find all those answers in GI Joe Vs. Cobra: The Essential Guide written by Pablo Hidalgo.

What’s great about this book is that it condenses those 30 years of history into character entries  for easy reference, and not just characters, vehicles,  significant missions,  and important locations also get entries! The art within the books showcases not just vintage art but it also expands into the 90’s and Devils Due so you get a good mix of art styles that whether you appreciate or not, gives you a glimpse into the evolution of the line and characters.  As my collection of vintage figures grows, I take the time to read up on each and every new figure I get and get to know them a little bit. It’s been a great way to expand my GI Joe knowledge and we all know the saying about knowing right? 😉

The Book is broken up into 5 chapter and are as follows:

Chapter One: GI Joe characters

Chapter Two: Threat Forces (Enemies)

Chapter Three: Motor Pool – Vehicles and Hardware

Chapter Four: Mission Reports

Chapter Five: The Mission Continues

The book comes in paperback and retails for about 19$ on Amazon but I’m sure you can also find it on Ebay. Happy reading!