IDENTIFICATION GUIDE TO PAINTED HEAD ERA GIJOE'S

UPDATED AUGUST 2014

VINTAGE GIJOE FIGHTING MEN (OR ACTION SOLDIERS OF THE WORLD) SETS

The GIJOE FIGHTING MEN sets listed below were available beginning in 1966. Hasbro had just really gotten good at producing mass amounts of merchandise, just barely catching up from the initial rush in 1965 when every boy in America wanted a GIJoe for their birthday or under the Christmas tree. The Large Boxed Deluxe sets of Action Soldiers of the World (S O T W) was the pinnacle of this run up. These SOTW outfits and even new faces of GIJoe represented some of the most creative work Hasbro had done since the inception of the product line. Each large box had unique and beautiful artwork panels. Each box was big too, measuring 14" tall, about 10" wide and 2" deep. These new packages just SCREAMED "OPEN ME UP AND PLAY WITH ME". Even today many GIJoe collectors get involved in collecting sealed packages specifically because they have such an affinity for these Deluxe Boxed sets.

Unfortunately there was one BIG problem creeping up on Hasbro with the release of these SOTW figures in 1966. Late into the 1960's there was a strong anti-war movement sweeping across the country. The United States was heavily committed to the War effort in Vietnam and the U.S. casualties were mounting rapidly. Protest marches on Capitol Hill and the White House, Protest rallies across the whole country, riots, burning of U.S. Flags and Johnson and Nixon effigies going up in smoke became common place. As the bad news of the War filled America's living rooms through their television sets the anti-war sentiment grew ever stronger against "war toys". The reporters embedded in Vietnam with camera crews were showing America the horrors of War in all of it's bloody detail during every news show. Even back then the Media was a powerful machine to effect political change in D.C. Never before, or since, has War been shown to the public so graphically, so dramatically and so frequently.

Americans bought war bonds and Moms and Dads across the country stopped buying anything even remotely associated with war for their kids. Many parents even stopped buying their kids toy guns of any kind, even simple cap guns were frowned upon in many homes. There was one BIG exception to this rule and that was Military families. Many of my current military friends who also collect vintage G I Joe recount many great stories of their awesome gifts and purchases as kids of the 1960's. Many of the later issue GIJoe items, especially from 1966 and later were probably only available on Military Base PX's (the Military Base Supply Stores). I believe this is one of the main reasons all of the 1967 awesome sets like the Fighter Pilot, Green Beret, Marine Jungle Fighter and Tank Commander sets are still in such short supply today. Most toy stores stopped restocking their GIJoe section as each and every update of American casualties came across TV sets.

The whole toy industry was beginning to reel by 1968 and the once invincible G.I. Joe product line's sales were waning. It has been reported by several collectors that they remember these SOTW packages still being on toy shelves during the early 1970's. Because so much of this product did not sell there is still an abundance of these original sealed SOTW packages in circulation today, especially the Japanese, German and Russian. During the big auction in 2000 of Don Levine's personal memorabilia, one great document surfaced which specifically illustrated how badly sales had dropped off. This priceless 5 or 6 page letter from executives said they had to rework packages just to move old inventory and keep sales going. Some inventoried packages had piled up into thousands of dozens of items in the package unsold at Hasbro's warehouse. This continued for several years and along with the oil crisis in the early 1970's doomed the whole GIJoe product line. Many items that had been produced in Hong Kong were simply left abandoned, left in bulk bags and boxes in warehouses in Hong Kong.

#8100 - GERMAN SOLDIER - LARGE DELUXE BOXED SET

#8101 - JAPANESE IMPERIAL SOLDIER - LARGE DELUXE BOXED SET

#8102 - RUSSIAN INFANTRYMAN - LARGE DELUXE BOXED SET

#8103 - FRENCH RESISTANCE FIGHTER - LARGE DELUXE BOXED SET

#8104 - BRITISH COMMANDO - LARGE DELUXE BOXED SET

#8105 - AUSTRALIAN JUNGLE FIGHTER - LARGE DELUXE BOXED SET

**NOTE** - A common misconception is that the SOTW boxed figures listed below had Counter Intelligence Manuals inside. I can GUARANTEE that THEY DO NOT HAVE THEM!

#8200 - GERMAN SOLDIER - NARROW BOXED SET

#8201 - JAPANESE IMPERIAL SOLDIER - NARROW BOXED SET

#8202 - RUSSIAN INFANTRYMAN - NARROW BOXED SET

#8203 - FRENCH RESISTANCE FIGHTER - NARROW BOXED SET

#8204 - BRITISH COMMANDO - NARROW BOXED SET

#8205 - AUSTRALIAN JUNGLE FIGHTER - NARROW BOXED SET

**NOTE** - A common misconception is that the SOTW accessory cards listed below had Counter Intelligence Manuals on back. I can GUARANTEE that THEY DO NOT HAVE THEM!

#8300 - GERMAN SOLDIER - CARDED ACCESSORY SET

#8301 - JAPANESE IMPERIAL SOLDIER - CARDED ACCESSORY SET

#8302 - RUSSIAN INFANTRYMAN - CARDED ACCESSORY SET

#8303 - FRENCH RESISTANCE FIGHTER - CARDED ACCESSORY SET

#8304 - BRITISH COMMANDO - CARDED ACCESSORY SET

#8305 - AUSTRALIAN JUNGLE FIGHTER - CARDED ACCESSORY SET

These 6 Soldiers of the World set were the only "FIGHTING MAN" sets although a case could be made that the Canadian Mountie would easily fit into this category. The Mountie was also packaged in the large deluxe window box just like the SOTW figures. For clarity sake I will include the Mountie in with the Nurse and Trooper in a miscellaneous category in the I D Guide.

PLEASE NOTE THAT MANY MORE OF THESE CARDED ACCESSORY SETS WERE PRODUCED THAN COULD BE SOLD. SEVERAL OF THESE SETS ARE EASILY FOUND SEALED IN SMALL PLASTIC BAGGIES. MOST COMMONLY FOUND ARE THE AUSTRALIAN AND JAPANESE SETS. AT ONE POINT COTSWOLD COLLECTABLES HAD SOME COLLECTOR SELL THEM SEVERAL HUNDRED OF THE JAPANESE BAGGED SETS WHICH THEY INITIALLY SOLD FOR ONLY $40, A GREAT BARGAIN FOR EVERYTHING IN THAT SET INCLUDING THE ALL TOO HARD TO FIND JAPANESE BAYONET. PLEASE KEEP THIS IN MIND BEFORE YOU PAY TOO MUCH MONEY FOR ANY SEPARATE ACCESSORY FOR THIS SET. THERE WERE TONS OF THESE BAGGED SETS FOUND IN HONG KONG SOMETIME IN THE 1990'S AND THEY MADE THERE WAY TO THE U.S. MARKET. ONE COLLECTOR IN THE PAWTUCKET, RHODE ISLAND AREA FOUND A WHOLE BOX OF THE CARDED SETS ON THE BACKING CARDS FROM THE BIG BOXED SET.

PLEASE ALSO NOTE THAT ALL OF THE CARDED SETS WERE INCLUDED IN BAGS THAT WERE SOLD WITH THEIR SOTW COUNTERPART FIGURES IN PLAIN BROWN CORRUGATED TUCK TOP FOLDED BOXES FROM SEARS AS A SPECIAL. THE BOXES ARE MARKED VERY SIMPLY WITH A BLACK INK SEARS PART NUMBER ON ONE END OF THE BOX.

ON THE SAME SUBJECT, COTSWOLD COLLECTABLES ALSO ORIGINALLY SOLD THE JAPANESE UNIFORM WITH HELMET IN IT'S OWN BAGGY AND THEY AGAIN HAD HUNDREDS OF THESE SETS, SELLING FOR $20. I KNOW THIS FOR A FACT BECAUSE I WAS THERE WHEN JAMES DESIMONE BOUGHT FIFTY OF THESE BAGS AND WE DRESSED UP A BUNCH OF COTSWOLD KEIJI FIGURES IN THEM FOR A MASSIVE DIORAMA IN 1998.

BACK TO THE FIRST PAGE OF THE INFOSITE

UPDATED AUGUST 2014