Oh My - Variations Everywhere!

Well, so much for a nice and easy figure line to complete right out of the gate. It seems that there are a number of variations to some of the characters. There are differences in uniform colors and even facial hair! I've made some additions to my master figure list on my 12/30 post. Those are just the ones I have come across so fat. I'm sure there will be a number more of them.

The one cool thing about this is that I really like the camouflage uniform variations. I'm kinda hoping that every figure comes in camouflage, even though it will mean a lot more work for me. So far, the camouflage Raider figure is my favorite!

Sgt Rock Ebay Purchase #1

Well, I'm off and running! There isn't a ton available on Ebay. I typically like to buy large to huge lots because there are often extras, doubles and unrelated or miscategorized items that I can turn around and either trade or sell. Unfortunately, there aren't exactly those kind of collections currently out there. I did just purchase one interesting lot that should pay off, because of a hidden little gem that I saw in the pictures.

You'll notice that this lot is a combination of mainly GI Joe and Sgt Rock, with some other stuff mixed in. The thing that caught my eye though, was in picture number three. It's the upper torso of a 1982 GI Joe Straight-Arm Cobra Commander with the hard to find Mickey Mouse Logo! Obviously, I will need that figure down the road when I put together my GI Joe collection, but I could also trade it off in the mean time if it brings the right sort of offers.

I can't wait to go through this lot when it arrives. I'll update you on everything that came with it!

Sgt Rock : Remco Toys 1982 - 1983

There are a hundred toy lines I could kick off this adventure with. My favorite figures as a kid were easily Star Wars, Masters of the Universe and GI Joe, so any of those three would make perfect sense considering my familiarity with them. But, in the spirit of this quest, since so many of the toys I will be searching for will be completely new to me despite being nearly 30 years in age, I'm going to start off with a fun little line called Sgt. Rock.

"Sgt. Rock and his Tough Action Soldiers" was an action figure line based on the popular comic book hero of the same name who first appeared in DC Comics all the way back in 1959. Remco Toys, Inc., a smallish toy manufacturer that was headquartered out of New York City, produced the line in the early 1980's to capitalize on the popularity of Hasbro's GI Joe. The figures are the same 3-3/4" size as the Joe figures, but have a much more generic look across the line and lack the personality from figure to figure that made the Joes so cool. Still, the figures do have a simple charm about them and when in good condition they display quite nicely! The biggest challenge with these figures is finding ones that don't show massive wear. They were made of a much cheaper plastic than GI Joes and so they tend to have dents, chips and major paint loss if they were ever thrown into battle.

My favorite thing about this line? - I think there were only about 16 of these guys to collect! There are additional bad guys that were issued under a sister line called... Are you ready? ..... "The Bad Guys," but I'm going to address those later. For the time being, the Sgt Rock figures alone should be challenging enough to track down. There weren't a ton made, they broke or wore out easily and most people don't know what they are so they were mixed in with GI Joe collections or discarded all together.

The figures I need to get are as follows:

• Sgt Rock - Complete Gd Condition - Machine Gun #1, Walkie-Talkie, Dog Tag
• Airman
• Chutes - Complete Ex Condition - Machine Gun #1, Walkie-Talkie
• Cowboy - Complete Ex Condition - Machine Gun #2, Knife, Dog Tag
• Doc
• Gunner - Complete Ex Condition - Machine Gun #2, Shovel ( Not sure which accessories he came packaged with originally - Can't find any pictures MOC )
  
• Gyrene - Complete Nr Mt Condition - Machine Gun #2, Shovel, Dog Tag
• Leatherneck
• Mack
• Marksman ( Light Green no Mustache ) - Complete Nr Mt Condition - Machine Gun #2, Shovel
• Marksman ( Dark Green w/ Mustache ) - Complete Very Good Condition - Machine Gun #2, Shovel 
• Mil Police
• Raider ( Light Green - Light Green Sleeves )
• Raider ( Light Green - Black Sleeves )
• Raider ( Camouflage ) -  Complete Nr Mt Condition - Machine Gun #2, Knife, Dog Tag
• Ranger- Complete Nr Mt Condition - Machine Gun #1, Walkie-Talkie, Dog Tag
• Snow Force
• Special Forces
• Tanker
• The Instructor
• Action Machine Gun Nest Soldier

And So It Begins ...

Growing up in the 1980's, there was nothing cooler than action figures. Star Wars, He-Man, GI Joe.. the list goes on and on. I wanted them all  - each and every one of them. I raked yards and washed cars to earn money to buy them. I begged friends to give them to me on my birthdays. I spent hours poring through Sears Wish Books each holiday season so that I knew exactly which ones to ask Santa.... and my parents for.

Believe it or not, even with all of that hard work, I never managed to get my hands on all of them and the collection I did acquire made its way into a number of garage sales over the next umpteen years ( Moms can be so cruel - can't they?).

Since the Internet and Ebay boom, collecting has taken on a whole new feel. Items that had taken years and luck to track down, if you could find them at all, were now only a click or two away. Suddenly it became possible to own every Star Wars figure ever made or every GI Joe Vehicle ever produced. On top of that, countless other figure lines that were less popular or under produced began to find favor amongst collectors.

Well folks, I've decided to make another run at that old, impossible dream and, although I know that I'm going to regret this, I'm going to broaden that goal. I am going to try to acquire every, single, complete action figure from every, single action figure line produced or sold in the United States in the 1980's. I have some ideas as to what I'm going to do with that collection if and when I ever complete it, but I'll save those details for later.

Now, just to be clear, I'm only talking about the actual figures here. Due to the space restrictions that come along with apartment living in New York City, having a GI Joe USS Flagg Aircraft Carrier just isn't feasible. Also, equal to my affinity for said "action figures" is my distaste for those larger Mego style or 12" GI Joe "dolls," so I won't be including those in my collection either. No offense to all of you who collect those sorta things, but they just never appealed to me.

Because I have a pretty demanding job and a social life ( before the 40 year old virgin jokes start rolling in ), I plan to do most of my searching on line through Ebay and various figure message boards. I don;t have all the money in the world, so I'll need to be crafty in how I go about this and along the way I'll share some of my tricks with you.

So without further ado, let's get this part started. Feel free to help me out if you're feeling generous and I look forward to your comments and questions along the way.