Joe reaches the big five-O

2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Joe's arrival at SKJ HQ. It's scary to think that I got him for my 9th birthday way back in 1970. To mark this milestone I thought I'd run a thread as I have a few things planned to commemorate his 50th. Amongst other ideas I have plans to rebuild his original body and take him on a pilgrimage back to visit Coalville.
I thought I'd start with an admittedly self indulgent but I hope vaguely interesting retrospective of his early years. It's nothing I haven't droned on about in the past but hey, it's not everyday your favourite Action Man hits the big five-O!

Joe was one of the newly designed 2nd Issue Soldiers that marked the beginning of Palitoy's move away from being just a GI Joe clone to making Action Man a brand in it's own right..



Given the kit avaliable to Palitoy, the 2nd Issue was a pretty good approximation of a contemporary British soldier but the hard hands/Sten gun was the combo from hell!



Joe was a minor celebrity on his arrival as he was the first flocked VAM my mates and I had ever seen!



He didn't stay a 2nd Issue Soldier for long as for the same birthday I received Joe I also got a 'Soldiers of the Century' Russian Infantryman uniform.



I don't remember specifically asking for the Russian uniform but I don't think it was a random choice either. I was already very interested in all things 'Soviet', from the space races' cosmonauts to the cold war's 'red's under the bed' so it made sense I got this uniform.



I named him 'Joseph' after uncle Joe Stalin.



The Degtyaryov was a bit too big and cumbersome so Joe soon inherited a MP40.



I was a big Star Trek fan back then so as well as being very logical like Mr Spock, Joe also used to use his 'tricorder' to search for life form readings! (yeah I know it's a binoculars case but to me back then it was a Tricorder!)

Joe rocked the Russian look for  couple of years as you can tell by the condition of his original jacket.



Summer 1971. Me, my dear old Nan, and Joe front and centre.



Joe at 50. A little older, a little heavier....but probably none the wiser!

Great stuff ...interesting journey ..and great pics

Great thread Steve. Lucky and having the Russian SOTC uniform. I'm so pleased to have a lot of my old VAM back, so great having the actual figures I had as s kid, they've seen many a campaign. I'm looking forward to hearing more about your 50th celebrations

What a great insight into Joe! He has certainly had an interesting journey with you Steve, and we haven't even got to his everlasting partnership with Hank! I love how you described using the bio case as a life reader! I think we all did something similar at some point, using an item as something else?
I look forward too hearing more of Joe at 50. Great work mate, really enjoyed it

Great history and photos, Steve, it was a good read. Interesting to me to read about the 2nd generation figures by Palitoy. Had to be a lot better to have a basic British soldier rather than copies of Hasbro's US Army figures.

I'll look forward to seeing what you get into for his 50th year. Trip to Coalville sounds great!

Happy Birthday Joe!!!

I very much enjoyed seeing that vintage photo of your Nan and you , together with your Joe!
Sort of encapsulated the thrill that getting such a playmate was back then!
Thanks for sharing!

Wow! Great read and photos! Truly enjoyed the journey!

What a fantastic retrospective! And such a joy to see you still own your original Action Man and his original uniforms and accessories!
The photo of younger you with nan and AM is a treat to see!

Ah, how I regret having sold my original GI Joe Action Pilot a number of years ago, when I went through a silly phase of "it's time to grow up." He was a painted hair fig, with box and the original accessories I'd received with him, including a pup tent, which was pretty cool. My younger brother's first GI Joe was a flocked hair Adventure Team figure.

I am very much looking forward to seeing what else you do to celebrate AM's 50th! And a huge congratulations to you on your wisdom and foresight for taking good care of him for his first half-century!

Fantastic thread Steve, a fully deserved tribute to one of AMMO's most famous celebrities!

Joe looks great in both his 2nd issue soldier and Russian uniforms, some great pictures

To celebrate his 50th why not treat him to the ultimate gift.......... a 50th body!!!!

Joe's 50th birthday fan club has officially started...  

Beatlefan wrote:

To celebrate his 50th why not treat him to the ultimate gift.......... a 50th body!!!!

 I wouldn't wish that fate on an Intruder!!

SCU_HQ wrote:

.... And a huge congratulations to you on your wisdom and foresight for taking good care of him for his first half-century!

 Well I've taken good care of him for the last few years but it wasn't always like that! It's interesting to compare how he fared during his first tour of duty (1970-76) and the same amount of time since his reflock in 2014.

Six years of active service in the backyard wars had certainly taken their toll on that fresh faced young VAM from 1970.



..but a trip to Flocktastic in 2014 certainly rolled back the years and erased the old soldier's war weariness.



Six years on from that and he's as pretty as ever.



...just goes to prove what a walk in the park life as an 'adult collectable' really is!

The boys look the business Steve!

The reflock made a world of difference on your guys! All in all, though, that's a pretty minor repair considering his age. Good to know that your Joes lived the life a Joe is supposed to live in their younger days and that they survived to tell the tale, and to come back better and stronger nearly half a century later to keep the legend alive.

Really, GI Joe and Action Man are legendary to at least a couple of generations of us who remember the glory days of the mid-60s through the late-70s.

And now, through the near-magic of digital photography and Internet forums, we can re-live those imaginary adventures; not just by ourselves in our own minds as we did back then, but through photography we can bring those scenes to life and share them with like-minded adventurers from around the world.

Looking forward to another fifty years of Joe adventures! Let's hope we all hold up as well as Joe will!

I think I need a re-flock.......

Great thread Steve
You must have a good memory, remembering what uniform you got the same time as Joe
What I like best is your old photos with your nan , great memories

Were there any problems with the plastic of any parts of his body changing colour over time?
I have some MAMs where this problem has occurred.

It's my youngest sister's birthday today. What's that got to do with VAM you may ask? Well after a couple of years of being aware of, and planning for, my VAM Joe's impending 50th it was only today that I realised it's my sister's 50th too!  

Two 'Joes' arrived at SKJ HQ in 1970. Joe my Action Man and Joanne my sister. No guesses as to which my younger self seems to have thought was the most important....and things obviously haven't changed much!

Love you sis!

somekindajoe wrote:

No guesses as to which my younger self seems to have thought was the most important....and things obviously haven't changed much!

Well at least you had (and still have?) your priorities right!
Specially for a young boy!

Happy 50th anniversary of Joe's arrival at SKJ HQ. I bet Joe’s had lots of missions and adventures with you Steve.

PMSL @ Steve made me chuckle mate. Thought you were going to say you bought her a VAM for her birthday

somekindajoe wrote:

It's my youngest sister's birthday today. What's that got to do with VAM you may ask? Well after a couple of years of being aware of, and planning for, my VAM Joe's impending 50th it was only today that I realised it's my sister's 50th too!  

Two 'Joes' arrived at SKJ HQ in 1970. Joe my Action Man and Joanne my sister. No guesses as to which my younger self seems to have thought was the most important....and things obviously haven't changed much!

Love you sis!

After 50 years of sharing the world and a name with your best buddy,  I'm sure she would expect no less. Interesting that she was also named Jo.

Great story!!!

Happy Birthday Jo II...

What a fantastic Post Steve,
it made me think of the Munrovian guys and when and where they came about. My memory is a little hazier than yours even though we are the same age !!

I was born in 1961 and I'm pretty sure I got my first guy in 66 or 67 . As I have blogged before he ended up bodiless  but is now back in his rightful place a commander of the "old Guard"

Here he is on the radio. He is actually on a Cots body.. Just one of the many "must get to projects" I have  


and here he is with black, a soft head, 21 stars mail away.. my very last Childhood VAM ...until the bug really got me again in 2016 .. now I have hundreds  


in rough order of arrival my child hood collection was

Black- Combat soldier- 1966
Blonde- Action Pilot.
Talking Commander
Captain Scarlet
Tommy Gunn
Redbox KO
21 stars Auburn head
21 Stars brown head.
Marx Silver Knight
Action sailor- HMS Dreadnought-first and only realistic hair figure.
Marx General Custer
Black- Last but by no means least.

Black arrived around 1974/5 ?  and  by 1977 they were in the attic as PUNK ROCK had arrived - along with GURLS and BEER  

What a fantastic thread!

There's nothing better for me than seeing our original old childhood friends given a restoration and brought back to life again. That photo of you on the step of the caravan feels so familiar – that's exactly how childhood was for all of us back in the 70s...carefree, long summer days. And we spend the rest of our lives trying to recapture it!
Really looking forward to your next post!

When I was a kid I desperately wanted the Marx General Custer fig, but my parents said "you already have GI Joe."

In retrospect, I suppose they were right, but that Custer looked so cool in the TV and catalog advertising!

SCU_HQ wrote:

When I was a kid I desperately wanted the Marx General Custer fig, but my parents said "you already have GI Joe."

In retrospect, I suppose they were right, but that Custer looked so cool in the TV and catalog advertising!

Hi Dave,

I didn't realise that Marx did military figs - All I ever saw as a kid were the Knights and the Cowboys here in the UK . I've had Stoney Smith on my e-bay watch for ever list.

My original Custer mostly got used as the enemy of VAM

Here are some of the Marx figures I have on display.- I'm making up for lost time