G.I. Joe Reaction+

I dug out some of my original figures to try to repair. I was working on Zandar, trying to pry his torso apart. Everyone else came apart very easily once they were unscrewed, but Zandar's torso felt welded shut. I had to try to open it with needle nose pliers in reverse, and then the back of the torso went flying into the abyss of my basement workspace. So that's donezo.
 
NORM said:
I dug out some of my original figures to try to repair. I was working on Zandar, trying to pry his torso apart. Everyone else came apart very easily once they were unscrewed, but Zandar's torso felt welded shut. I had to try to open it with needle nose pliers in reverse, and then the back of the torso went flying into the abyss of my basement workspace. So that's donezo.
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Well Zandar's filecard does say he is a master of sneaking up on people and was good at not being noticed. So that piece is gone.
 
So tonight I replaced O-rings on every one of my vintage figures that still had an intact dick. Probably about 30 figures. Among them was Zartan. And he had the same welded torso as Zandar, and come to think of it, Zarana was also tough to crack. I realized it must be, not just the fact that they’re family, but the color change aspect of each figure. Their torso plastic material felt different than all the others were easy to open. I had to use pliers again to crack Zartan open, but this time I wrapped the O-ring around the torso so it wouldn’t go flying. That worked. I gave up on finding the Zandar torso, so I ordered a loose Zandar off eBay. Doing the same for a few other figures for whom I still have most accessories but their parts are broken like dickless Falcon and broken elbow Chuckles. However, these seem to be common flaws on the ones being sold on eBay, so I guess I should beware.
 
So as a bit of a tangent.

What are your thoughts on the future of your vintage ARAH collection? Mostly talking about their condition and what you think will happen in the coming decade.

Clearly the lifespan for the figures and vehicles is getting shorter and shorter with each passing year. The question is what, if any, plan do you have for the collection as figures breakdown (crotch, elbow, thumbs, etc), or vehicles become unsustainable due to fragile thin plastic and easily breakable parts/mechanisms?

Personally I don't have too many vintage figures left in my collection and the ones I do have left are mostly intact. Some the o-rings have gone and need replacing, but otherwise they are all still in good condition for parts and paint. Sadly though I don't think I'll be keeping them much longer because of the fear of breaking down. I would rather sell them for a bit more now while still "complete" and let the future be someone else's problem than keep them knowing they will keep breaking down. Even if I don't touch them too much.

For vehicles I have a lot of smaller vintage vehicles, but for the mid-large vehicles I do have they are either 25th/ME replacements or somewhat rare/favourites that I am probably willing to keep long term no matter what. The smaller vintage stuff seems to be holding up pretty well, but that may be due to the thicker plastic on a smaller footprint. The larger stuff is doing okay for now, but I can see some of them becoming problematic around the edges or mechanisms. The Phantom X-19 is a worry for me because I worry that, much like the Rattler, the landing gear will eventually become to fragile to open and close and it will have to stay open the whole time. The Mamba is a worry for both the spinning mechanism wearing out, and the blades and "wings" of the vehicles getting brittle.

I still remember getting a MISB Defiant off Ebay for about $300Cdn (back in 2006). The price was good because shipping was a problem due to the size of the box. It was a long brown mailer type box and not the more rectangular retail box. Anyway I was so excited after opening it only to find one of the blue crawler doors broken due to the thin plastic. So ever since then I have been a bit wary of the bigger stuff, but can see the problem spreading as time marches forward. Which is why I am so desirous of someone redoing the Night Raven because it is probably one of the large vehicles that isn't going to last much longer. Considering the problems with the durability of the lowering cockpit already the rest of the body, being fairly thin plastic over such a large footprint, is bound to be breaking down sooner than other vehicles.
 
Now that I’ve replaced O-rings on so many, I feel like I’ve given most of that collection a new lease on life. I only had a handful of figures irreparably break - Airtight, Televiper, Lifeline, Falcon, Footloose, all at the dick, Chuckles at the right elbow, Monkeywrench’s right thumb. The rest are good to go with new rings, even if lots of shoulder swivels and knee hinges are very loose. I was surprised by how many I still had most accessories for. I plan to keep the figures indefinitely.

I just dug out all my vehicles - HAVOC, STUN, SnowCAT, HISS, ASP, Polar Bear. They are SO dusty, but are in varied condition from complete (HAVOC) to missing some parts (STUN’s antennas are broken off) to broken (CAT’s left tread broke off, wiper hinge broke so wiper is gone, missile rack hinge is broken, ASP’s legs broke off). I might wind up just tossing all of them, but I’m in no hurry.

The discussion of what to do with a collection once I’m gone is one I hate having, even internally. I’ve amassed so many things, it would be impossible for my family to deal with. I guess just nuke it.
 
👆That is why I won't replace o-rings unless they break. Even then I will examine the figure more closely for stress marks before. I'm also scared about stripping the screws. One time I replaced a screw only for it to crack the figure internally.
Knee & shoulder hinges are a bit easy to fix just paint a few coats of paint or primer. I would not use any super glue.

I'm seriously considering selling my vintage Rattler. It's gunner canopy was broken when I bought many years ago. Plus the landing struts were also stressed. It's been a challenge replacing that gunner canopy that I've given up on it. Those stress marks on the landing gear are just upsetting me. Better to sell it to another collector to deal with.
My Moray's tabs? or whatever you call the section connections of the deck & hull some are already broken (also bought it this way) I don't mind that.
OH my Dragonfly's landing struts where it connects to the main part broke. Of course this is a common problem with all vintage ones. At least I can glue it back on. I was expecting it.

I'm considering selling a few later era figures & just replacing them with custom modern ones.
 
About 10 years ago my Mom's two 90+ year old aunts passed away very close together, like a week apart. We were very close, trying to help out, taking them to appointments, groceries, etc. They owned a two family house, one aunt lived on each floor until age made it difficult to walk up a flight of stairs, so they began sharing the first floor. The second floor kind of becomes a storage area for their clothes, shoes, purses, jewelry. Lots of stuff brand new with tags, very organized and you can say collector-like. When they passed away, my Mom hired someone to clear out and take that stuff away. Maybe there was some value there? Who knows, it was too overwhelming to deal with. And that is what led me to start paring down the toy collection and being more careful with what I'm adding.

I hardly have any toys left that were bought between 1995-2020. I kept everything I bought during those years for 3.75" GI Joe and most 3.75" Star Wars. Everything else is mostly gone.

The toys from childhood have been untouchable and I'm probably going to "go out" with them. I've been more interested in adding to that part of my collection or picking up a missing piece to make something more complete. For some reason, last week, I needed to reacquire Kenner KITT. I've been thinking about starting a general vintage thread here 😁
 
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@Goldbug for clarity, I mentioned that I had some irreparably broken figures. I did not break them while trying to fix them. They were broken when I was a child, and I no longer can reattach parts because they’ve been discarded or lost to time. Every other figure I have was fixed with care, except for Zandar, who I posted about in earlier posts.
 
Sorry I’ve turned this thread into a catch all for 1:18 vintage Joes. Today I received a replacement hood for my lost Serpentor hood. I plugged it into his back and his torso shattered. I didn’t realize GI Joe figures were also affected by Gold Plastic Syndrome that Transformers of that era suffer from. I was able to glue it together, total of three pieces. The hood can still plug in but I’m wary. Considering finding a replacement for the whole figure since the right fang broke off the mask, but I might just go with a ReAction+ figure and call it a day.
 
Received a complete Bazooka today, to replace my incomplete. It was just cheaper to find a complete figure than to replace each of the accessories. Bazooka was one of my very first Joe figures, so those accessories didn't last long. I honestly couldn't remember what most of them looked like originally. I had always given him a bazooka from an accessory pack, the one Zap used. Having a fresh complete copy is pulling me down a rabbit hole. Now I want a complete Alpine.

I also received an old beater Spirit, incomplete. He is very faded in the torso, and inconsistently in the arms, and smells mildly of cigarette smoke. But his joints are among the tightest I've felt on any vintage Joe. He also came with the belt, which was a big selling point. I ordered an accessory pack version of his rifle, since I already had the corresponding backpack for some reason. I'm skipping Freedom for now, as I don't feel it's that essential to have him.

Complete Airtight and incomplete Crimson Guards are incoming!
 
NORM said:
Sorry I’ve turned this thread into a catch all for 1:18 vintage Joes. Today I received a replacement hood for my lost Serpentor hood. I plugged it into his back and his torso shattered. I didn’t realize GI Joe figures were also affected by Gold Plastic Syndrome that Transformers of that era suffer from. I was able to glue it together, total of three pieces. The hood can still plug in but I’m wary. Considering finding a replacement for the whole figure since the right fang broke off the mask, but I might just go with a ReAction+ figure and call it a day.
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Dang, I just sold a lot of beater Joe figures and I had a Serpentor in there, I would have passed him along. Teeth on his helmet were broken but the body was intact. Yeah that gold plastic can be brittle.

I came by here to announce my excitement for Pythona. I am happy to cherry pick these reaction + figures. Another Duke, Snake Eyes, and Serpentor I don't need but a Fatal Fluffy, a Cold Slither Zasrtan, a Pythona........this is the kind of stuff that I cut back on other toy lines for!

toynewsi.com

Super7 G.I. Joe the Movie ReAction+ Figures Coming Soon

Pop a videotape into the cassette player! ReAction+ Figures inspired by G.I. Joe: The Movie (1987) are coming soon!
toynewsi.com
 
The next assortment is Pythona and Big Lob from the movie, Destro in a more formal long coat, and Snake Eyes in arctic gear.

EDIT: And they're $25 apiece?? They were $20 each for all previous waves. That increase is lame as hell.
 
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