 G.I. Joe
30th Salute Mail-In, Joseph Colton
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero Retro Mail-Away Figure
Item No.: No. 15028
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Includes: Machine Gun
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $1 + 5 Flag Points
Availability: 1994
Other: The Founder, and also Almost the Last Figure
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I remember seeing ads for this G.I. Joe - or Joe Colton, if you're nasty - in toy magazines and in stores when it came out. I always wanted to get one, but at the time my budget as a kid did not afford me the luxury of picking up five random figures for the flag points to get one. I regret this - I remember wanting those Star Brigade aliens, but at the time the Battle Corps and Shadow Ninjas were not appealing. I did get an Action Sailor, though, and always meant to go back and get the other 30th anniversary guys. I loved the idea of getting 3 3/4-inch versions of the 1960s 12-inch figures. I still might! But until then, I'm keeping my eyes open and stumbled on this mail-away figure at a collector shop. I paid a bit more for it than it's probably worth, but it was there, and I fell in to a little bit of money, and I intended to use it.
The figure shares body parts with a few of his 30th Anniversary contemporaries, but it's the same basic o-ring structure most figures had since the 1980s. The key difference is the chests for some of these guys got really, really big as the line was wrapping up. My SCUBE diver has an unusually large torso with lots of extra, flat space where the arm meets the body. It's distracting, and this Green Beret also has them.
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As you know, toys age. Figures from the 1980s have crumbling rubber o-rings inside them, but this guy's is still intact. He did have a slight sticky feeling to him when I opened the bag, but wiping him down with my shirt cleaned that right up. All of the joints move just as well as they would have in 1994, which is pretty remarkable for a figure over 30. I've been picking up figures from the Super7 ReAction+ collection, and Operation: Recall, and find them to be all more or less about as functional. This one benefits from having original Hasbro know-how, so I'd say the o-ring doesn't seem too tight and the tolerances are all just a tiny bit better. The figure has a slight shine to it, not unlike Super7's then-recent Hydro Viper.
Since he's got a big chest, I found it difficult to get him in my 2009 A.W.E. Striker - but he fit in everything else just fine. The legs move easily and they aren't so bulky that he can't fit in Adventure People seats. He's visibly chestier than other o-ring figures of his (and recent) eras, but there's a retro charm to him that I always liked. So many b-movies had monsters dealing with the military, and I think that's why I had to get one now. I can send him in to find out what's upsetting all the buffalo.
Compared to giraffe-print pants and wacky battle helmets of his retail contemporaries, he's rather dull - but I think that's what I liked. It looks like the 1960s 12-inch figure, with some changes. His head matches the old 12-inch noggin, complete with scar. It's a nifty way to tweak an old design and give kids (and let's be honest, adult collectors in their 30s and 40s) back in the 1990s a crack at the world's first action figures in a smaller size.
While this does feel almost as good as new in my hands, it also feels very of its time. Around 2000, Hasbro would make sure figures were molded in different materials - some better, some worse. Hands got a little more softer and pliable, so a figure like this 1994 model has incredibly hard hands and it is difficult (but not impossible) to get him to hold his cartoonishly large firearm. Star Wars collectors in 1996 got super fixated on a similarly large blaster with the TIE Fighter Pilot... yet this is bigger. This particular gun was also packed with a few versions of Gung Ho.
If Super7 or Hasbro went back and did o-ring versions of other 12-inch figures - specifically, Adventure Team - I'd be first in line to pick some up. I assume searching for cryptids and monsters or animals won't be high on anyone's priority list, though, so I'll just be happy to have this one... and maybe get the other 30th anniversary guys as I can find them. There seems to be a fair amount of Joe Coltons on eBay. If I had to do it over again, I'd probably get an opened one without a gun and just buy something from the Marauder people. I really dig the figure... but that gun is goofy. I missed out on getting this guy in the 1990s, but I'm glad to spend some time with it now.
The "value" proposition of older figures has changed a lot. Hasbro's o-ring reissues around 2022 were around $20 each, and Super7 makes similar figures for around $25. With some old unpackaged figures selling for around that price, they start to look increasingly attractive for those who want something vintage. I'm still hoping to get the 1994 Action Team set one of these days.
--Adam Pawlus
Additional Images
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