Site Navigation
|
Audio
Photos
Resources
|
June 24, 2005
 |
| Brothers Philip (left) and Steven (right) Middlemiss of Woodbury are among the thousands of children and adults gathering this weekend in Minneapolis to pay homage to the toy they love. (MPR Photo/Tim Pugmire) |
St. Paul, Minn. — G.I. Joe enthusiasts kicked off their annual event by dropping more than 300 of the toys from the roof of the 14-story Marquette Plaza building. With small parachutes attached, most of the three and three-quarter inch action figures floated softly into the hands of waiting children.
Steven Middlemiss of Woodbury dressed in camouflage for the occasion. Like a 1970s version of G.I. Joe, he used is own Kung Fu grip to snatch one of the falling toys. Middlemiss is a big fan of G.I. Joe.
"When you look at them, how well they make them, it's pretty interesting," he said. "Because I have a doughboy, and he has a machine gun and everything. And it's kind of like wow, this isn't like a bad drawing in a history book."
That's that kind of toy-appreciation officials at Hasbro like to hear. Hasbro's manufactured G.I. Joe since 1964. A new series comes out this fall. Hasbro spokesman Billy LaGor says there's a reason for G.I. Joe's staying power.
"G.I. Joe has always stood for real action heroes," he said. "Whether it's been in the sixties when he was a military hero, in the seventies when he was an adventure team, eighties with the Joe vs. Cobra line, or today with the launch of the new G.I. Joe Sigma Six line, he's always stayed true to those fundamental values of bravery, honor, and teamwork. And that's something that's always resonated very well with kids."
The adult collectors are also helping to nurture the next generation of G.I. Joe fans. Willie Scott Jr. of Chesapeake, Virginia, likes to share his life-long passion with the kids.
"I want to get these kids started into good toys," he said. "Because these days they don't make good toys for kids anymore. They just sell them for merchandise. I mean I want to get kids started off on real toys, real toys they can play with."
The new line of G.I. Joe has a fantasy-based theme and features characters called Snake Eyes, Spirit, and Stormshadow.
Scott and other collectors are gathering a few blocks away at the Marriott City Center for their annual weekend of buying, selling, and trading action figures and accessories. There are thousands of G.I. Joes from every era, along with the matching uniforms, guns and vehicles. The prices start at a few dollars, but a vintage action figure can sell for several hundred dollars.
Brian Savage, director of the G.I. Joe Collectors' Club says one of the most sought after G.I. Joes is a Royal Canadian Mounted Police version which was sold briefly in Canada in the late 1960s.
"To this day, we've only seen maybe five boxed samples of that particular item," he said. "And those can go anywhere from two to three, $4,000 apiece."
Not everything at the convention is for sale. Ace Allgood of Minneapolis has hundreds G.I. Joes that he's willing to part with. But don't touch those naked soldiers in the glass case.
"These are what's called stamped back G.I. Joes which are some of the first G.I. Joes that came off in the first few days of production," he said. "Very rare, very hard to find, and I picked them up from a collection from somebody I met down in Florida."
Allgood says he needs to trim down his personal collection to keep his wife happy. Remember, these are not grown men playing with toys. These are action figure enthusiasts. Still, Allgood admits it's only at the G.I. Joe convention where he feels his hobby is truly understood.
"This is not something that I have a whole lot of friends that do," he said. "I get a lot of ridicule from my friends and colleagues. But I think it's good clean fun and I really don't care what they think about it because I have a great time playing with it."
The International G.I. Joe Collectors' Convention is open to the public Saturday and Sunday at the Marriott City Center hotel in downtown Minneapolis.
|
|