sorry it took so long I forgot I posted this.

I got my first joes way back in 95 they where sgt savage guys. I still have a few most of them are broken. I also had the gi joe movie (which was awesome back then) when I was a kid that movie made me love CC the crimson guards and vipers.

I remember chuckles from the movie and I found him in my grandparents basement with my uncle so that was my first incounter with the vintage line. years later I went up into my grandma's attic and pulled out all the old 80s stuff. they were alot of fun but I didn't start collecting until I was in grade 6 when my aunt got me a snake-eyes with the dvd. I fell in love with gijoe just because of the articulation on snake-eyes.

I then got into the vintage line after watching the cartoon and my uncle telling me all about the figures that he didn't have any more so I started looking for them on the net to see what they looked like. I found yo joe in the process it helped me with every thing I was wondering about.

So here I am today 17 and collecting joes.

Oh yeah when I was little and watched the gi joe movie I didn't like the cobra blueshirts I thought that they were ninja's and they looked like dumb ninja's now that I'm older and understand more about gi joe I love them.

let me see i got my first joe back in 89 : scoop and recoil my mom bought them , they rocks , my best friend used to have lot s of them , all the ARAH 86 , 87 , ( the best years) and i love to play with joes since 1989 , wow that was long time ago ...

Started collecting with straight arm Breaker. Stopped collecting in '89, after the death of my father. Life changed in a big way for me from that point on. Started collecting again after I finished my Masters degree.

Always wanted one of each character, but during the time when I wasn't collecting, I realized I wished I could've army built. That is why I collect now and army build now.

My first joe was Backblast, I buyed him in 1990 more or less. I only had as a child like 15 or so Gi Joe vintage figures. I re-started collecting when the Gi Joe vs Cobra appeared in stores.

Probably because Breaker didn't come with a gun. :D

I was born in 82, but my brother had been into Joes and his first figures were SA Flash and Cobra Soldier. Loved watching the cartoons as a kid. We still have old Beta tapes with G.I. Joe, Transformers, and Thundercats recorded in them. My brother started getting less interested in G. I. Joe and that was when his collection became mine. His friend had sold us a lot of his Joe collection and it included the Mauler, Snowcat, Night Raven, and the Terror Drome (all incomplete.) Still kept getting a couple for birthdays, and Christmas. We lived on a farm and about 1 hour away from any store that had Joes, so When we went to the store I might be able to convince my mom to get me one every other month. Stopped collecting until about 2001 and got some of the ARAH 2 packs. Left home for a couple of years to live on the east coast. Came back and my first christmas home, my mom got me an 84 Stormshadow with a full filecard. While I have been gone, they had bought a couple of collections off of ebay and I got them. Now, 6 years later, I am army building, and fixing the broken vehicles that I have.

Go Breaker!
 

My first Joe was Breaker and the JUMP on my 8th birthday. Maybe the RAM; I can't remember clearly and don't have any photos. He was a super agent (notice I didn't say "trooper") that attacked the Rebels & Imperials alike (I was a Star Wars fan). The Hasbro catalogs (wishbooks) and packaging reeled me in, and I begged for more when I could. Hit puberty and it all went into storage at the parents' house.

Flash forward 20 years: I visit the folks to clean out "my" storage and find the Joes again. Thinking I'll sell them on eBay and make millions, I ship it all to my place. This is virtually the entire collection '82-'87 = A LOT. While that was shipping, I carried the Collector's Case with my straight arm guys home, including Breaker. Reminiscing about the adventures, I couldn't let my buddies go. By the time the rest of my collection arrived, I was back on the collecting wagon. Now my kid enjoys playing with them, too. But I'll confess: the straight arms stay on the wall. They've served their duty and deserve a break!

It was 1985 or 86 we had to go on an hour long car trip because my Grandma found a deal on something at a Montgomery Ward (not sure what) I remember seeing them on the shelf, Grandma bought me Snake Eyes Version 2, Flint, Lady J, Shipwreck, Roadblock v. 2, Shipwreck, and Ripper. The next year in second grade I met my friend Tim we had many a battle on the side of his house with all our joes and our friend Rich. Most times we would spend more time setting up than actually playing which is why the dio really reminds me of old times. My cousin Russel also had a pretty impressive collection the Flagg and the Mobile Command Center. I got older and sold/got rid of most of them. Flash forward to 1998 Tim and I are at K-Mart walk down by toys and see some Corps figures we each by a 5 pack and are in his backyard 18 years old playing with them that night. A few months later we went to a store called groovy I bought the v.1 Destro because I never had him as a kid , and it was back on. We bought so many joes in the next few months that we decided to set up at a Toy show just to sell the extras. We ended up doing toy shows for about 7 years and that was when my collection really grew (especially the BATS). Sorry if that was a little long.

For me it all began the summer of 84 I was four years old and remember going to sears with my dad. My dad was in the military in cuba so when he saw the awesome life like guns the joes came with he didn't hesitate to get me some. The first time was zartan and firefly. Since then I was hooked and would get joes for birthdays and christmas as well as motu. Like everyone The collecting died off as I got older. My parents passed on about 93-94 and some where when I was an about 17 or 18 teen I walked into a toys r us and My eyes got teary. I remembered my parents and it brought back a feeling I had not felt for years ever since then its been my biggest vice next to painting. As well the joe collecting helped me quit smoking cigarettes. It got so expensive to smoke a pack a day that I decided that a pack a day meant a joe a day so I called it quits and now I have way to many joes...lol Like my wife says I can't help getting pissed at your toys when they give you such a big smile!

Medical proof that Joes are good for your health! :)

I wish Joes made it that easy for me to quit smoking! :)

For me the year was 1982 I was about nine and had just moved to Arizona from Chicago after my father went on disability from the sheriffs dept. It was for some reason or other that I earned myself a toy and my folks took me to Lyonel Playworld (first time I had been in a toy store like that) Now I of course was a Star Wars kid as was almost all my generation but when I got to the action figures the wall of Joe Toys caught my eye first! after the usual labored decision making process I left that day with straight arm Stalker and the Attack Cannon Flak (which for some reason I still have today) From then on Joes were my kiddie crack well into my teen years till toys just weren't cool anymore! After I meet my wife I made some feeble attempts to collect again around the Venom and Valor era but lack of money at the time made collecting short lived. Then 2008 I remember getting into an arguement with my wife while grocerie shoping at Walmart (which happens every time we go grocerie shopping) I walked off and found myself in the toy Isle and there I saw the Crimson Twins comic pack, had to have it! now several waves and thousands of dollers latter I have a room full of Joes and they are spilling out into the garage!