Name?
It's classified. I'd tell you but I'd have to kill you. Newt works in a pinch, though.
Online name?
AdventureTeamHQ.com
Location?
Chicago, United States
First Vam/Joe/Mam or 1/6 figure?
Technically my first 1/6th Joe was the Target exclusive Hall of Fame Duke and a Rapid Deployment Force (possibly a knockoff of RPF) with an eagle on his chest. I came up in the 3 3/4 era and only tried these larger 12" figures on a whim. I did no care for them. That Duke was very stiff and it was actually a few years before I learned his could bend his elbows and knees because of the design. I swore off 1/6th for a decade or more as a result.
When the Walmart Adventure Team figures were released around the time of the GI Joe RAH 25th Anniversary, I ALMOST bought one. But when I went back to get one, they were sold out. A few years later, I decided to track one down and bought the AT Sea Adventurer repro. Immediately I fell in love and couldn't believe how sophisticated this reproduction of a nearly 50 year old figure was. I haven't looked back since.
I believe I am living proof that the GI Joe 1/6th Adventure Team type stuff can still appeal to a new generation. There's this (untrue IMO) belief that people who love this stuff are getting old, dying off and that the life cycle of these type of toys is on the decline. I think with a little love and some awareness, new people can be turned on to the brand and the concept, even if there isn't much new stuff currently being produced. I created AdventureTeamHeadquarters.com to help spread the word and make people aware of the many facets of the Adventure Team, including Action Man and the many other forms of Joe throughout the world. The site is still very much in it's infancy, but the idea is there. Anytime we can get new AT content out there, in one form or another, it's a good thing, in my mind.
What was your favorite figure as a kid, and do you still own him?
As I mentioned before, I was a 3 3/4 kid so my favorite was Sgt. Slaughter. However had I been able to get a Sea Adventurer back then, there's no doubt he would have been my favorite. There's something about that ol' salty dog that I just love.
Favorite figure now?
I like a lot of different figures now. Both GI Joe/VAM and beyond. I'm a big fan of the red shirted Geyperman Adventurer, the classic Land Adventurer and some of the oddball creations from the GI Joe Club and Cotswold Collectibles. To me, that's where the spirit of the line is these days.
But if you had to pin me down to just one, it would be the Sea Adventurer again. I'm particularly fond of the GI Joe Club's repro of it. It strikes a perfect balance of "new" while still being very much a faithful reproduction of the classic version. I do wish it had came with Kung-Fu grip hands. I have a few versions I've swapped out with the better hands. I'm a KFG guy!
Most desired item?
Forever my biggest want was the GI Joe Club's "Aged" Adventurer. That seems like such a perfect concept and the figure is quite rare these days. But recently I was able snag one. He's pretty cool.
These days I'm mostly enthralled with the foreign Joe/AM lines. Group Action Joe has a ton of cool stuff, including their awesome Space Pirate, but probably my most desired would be the Brazilian Falcon-80 figure, Torak. That is just so out there in terms of traditional GI Joe stuff and it makes a lot of sense to have a really cool bad guy like that. I want one!
What will you do with your collection as you get older?
Probably the same thing I do with a lot of it now. Clutter up my basement!
What does your wife/girlfriend/partner think of your collection/hobby?
She doesn't have any objections really. When we first met I barely collected anything, but she knew I had collected some stuff. By the time we moved in together I had started collecting a few things again and she was pretty amazed at how much crap I had accumulated. These days it doesn't seem to have an effect on her when boxes and boxes of crap show up in the mail. Sometimes she's curious what it is, but rarely does she have any complaints or anything. She'll buy me stuff on occasion as well, but she doesn't have much knowledge of my stuff.
One funny story though, is that when I first started getting into 1/6 stuff, I ordered a bunch of things on Ebay. These were various mixed lots or Joes and knock offs. They arrived, for whatever reason, naked. I had a bunch of various outfits and gear I had ordered as well. I got a bunch of boxes in the mail and had opened them up on the floor trying to get the outfits and gear sorted. She comes home from work to find me with about 20 naked "dolls" on the floor and me trying to put clothes on them. Yeah, that wasn't my proudest moment.
Do you set yourself a budget?
Sadly no. If I have some cash, I may buy something. If money is tight, I don't. Usually I only buy if I see something I really want or a rare deal comes up. Often I buy things purely because I think it's a good deal.
Worst Vam/Joe/Mam or 1/6 figure?
Honestly, there's nothing that jumps out to me as so bad that I'd label it worst. I'm sure there's something. I suppose that Hall of Fame Duke that was my first foray into 1/6th is pretty bad, because it steered me away for a decade or so. But hindsight is 20/20 and I don't think the figure is that horrible these days.
Views on 40th reproductions?
I love them. You have to realize, that in the US we saw a much, much smaller return to vintage style figures. We had a 30th and a 40th, but they were tiny runs in the grand scheme of things. The exhaustive Action Man 40th relaunch is something I am in awe of. I am a big fan of repro stuff. To me, it's great to have. So seeing that so much Action Man stuff was made for the 40th, really inspires me.
It's also relatively cheap to obtain (though less so in the US) and I would have loved to have been active in the community when the 40th stuff launched. Sadly, I was just dipping my toes into the water about the time that the 40th stuff was coming to an end. So I missed out on a lot of it, but I still love picking it up today. Anyone who doesn't like or want their 40th stuff, should hit me up, I might appreciate it!
Worst item of the Vam/Joe/Mam or 1/6 range?
Again, I'm a pretty positive guy. My thought is to find enjoyment in all the different types of stuff that's available. I truly believe that no one at Hasbro or anywhere else, ever sought out to make a "bad" item. Sometimes they missed the mark, but often I can find charm in something that others didn't like.
If you put my feet to the fire, I'd probably some of the oversized weapons of the early 90s or some of the MAM figures that have virtually no articulation. I am not a fan of a figure that ends up being able to only hold one pose because of a "gimmick" that is put onto the figure. I never liked that as a kid and I've never known any kids that liked it. Yet for some reason, for 50 years, action figures have been saddled with "action features" that limit the usefulness of the toy.
Best thing about collecting Vam/Joe/Mam or 1/6 figures?
Finding something new. Enjoying it. Being able to tap into, even if for only a moment, that excitement that you felt as a kid getting a really cool toy. I find it largely impossible to get my brain back into the mindset that saw me get on the carpet and play with my GI Joes as a kid. BUT, sometimes I can access just a smidge of that, when taking photos of a Joe, crafting a action figure comic, or just discussing the merits of these cool figures. To me, that's what makes collecting these guys so much fun.
Do you think your collection will be collectible in the future?
Sure. I don't buy it for that reason, but much of the stuff I collect is rare to begin with. It's not always looked at as rare. Much of the repro and newer stuff is frowned upon these days. But it's actually technically much rarer and more collectible than the vintage stuff. Some of the Club's figures have been produced in tiny numbers. So even the rare Hasbro stuff from the 60s, is often not as limited in quantities as the modern stuff. It's just a matter of finding people who are into it.
If you did not collect Vam/Joe/Mam what would you collect?
Who knows. I collect so much other stuff, that I assume it would just be that. I collect Ninja Turtle stuff, Doctor Who, Godzilla, Minimates, Remco and so on and so forth. It would just be a different bunch of stuff. These days I try to stick to 1/6th Joe stuff and a select few other items, but I don't necessarily hold myself to that too strict.
What AM/Joe outfit or set would you like to have seen released?
Some the far out space/sci-fi stuff that other markets got. There were some really cool international figures. Even the UK, which did get a bit of that, didn't get some of the downright crazy stuff that Spain, Brazil, Japan and France got. The line stretched to so many far corners of the Earth and so much of it was really unique, that I wish I could have gotten an opportunity to see it released here.
What is your favorite section of AMMO?
The Comics & Stories sections. To me, this is as close as you can get to really getting down and playing again. There is so much creativity on display there that it's the lifeblood of the hobby in many ways. I definitely hope to see more stuff flourish in these areas and I plan on contributing more to it myself. There's been a real slowdown in recent years of Action Man/Adventure Team comics and I hope to be a part of the renaissance of that.
A few years ago you had some really great stuff coming for folks like Sean Huxter and others. With a little luck, we can rebuild some of that and make the community even more thriving. The comics and stories are something that I think set our particular brand of collecting apart from many others.
Why do you like AMMO?
The activity! A million times the activity. The Joe scene has faded a bit in recent years and while there's a fair amount of 1/6th sites out there, there's not a lot having to do with our particular brand of 1/6. Sure, there are other places and I'm a member of a ton of them, but AMMO to me is probably the most alive. Which delights me to no end.
These days there's a lot of Facebook groups and such, but that isn't really what I enjoy. I am a forum guy. I prefer to read posts and engage in conversation that way. Facebook is honestly just not organized enough for me. I understand why it appeals to many folks, but I love a forum with threads and discussion. That's why AMMO has been so awesome to be a part of.
When I started AdventureTeamHeadquarters.com my goal was to help bring some life and activity into the 1/6 vintage Joe scene. As a huge fan of the Adventure Team concept, I thought this would be a great starting place. It's my goal to continue to try and bring that spark of life to anywhere Joe related and AMMO is a big part of that. AMMO is such a stronghold of great activity with a ton of great people, that it's hard not to be inspired by it. We should all be lucky that such a vibrant community exists here.
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Subject: October 2015 Interview - AdventureTeamHQ.com 
Thu Oct 01, 2015 8:14 am
