Click on a Picture to See it Unscaled in a Separate Window
Over the past 35 years GI Joe has had many different looks. Some have been more "GI" than others. Here's a pictorial stroll through GI Joe's family tree. Terms and abbreviations often used by collectors to describe the figures and head styles will be introduced. All the images presented here are of pieces in ScottE's collection unless otherwise noted. Feel free to use the images for non-commercial purposes, as long as the source of the image is displayed along with the picture.
| In The Beginning there were the Painted Heads (aka PH). This one is a 1964 vintage and is very soft but not shrunken. The characteristic cheek scar was used as a trademarkable feature. Heads that have shrunken over time until the internal neck post distorts the top of the head are sometimes referred to as Pinheads. The second photo shows how a simple figure elastic is strong enough to severely distort the soft head. |
|
| Joe soon sported a harder noggin. This one is a 1965 vintage. Head Rubs are those areas devoid of paint due to rubbing of Joe's various headgear over the years. |
|
| There were some international sculpts for GI Joes in the 60s. This sample is a 1966 Japanese soldier head sculpt. Thanks to Robert DeCastro for the photo of this figure. |
|
| In 1969, and through the early 70s,
Joe became part of the Adventure Team (aka AT)
and sprouted "Lifelike Hair". This consisted of fibers glued to the head in such a way that they stuck out like short cropped hair. The fuzzhead was born.
Some fuzzheads had fuzzy hair and a clean shaven face. The beardless, blonde, fuzzhead pictured here was a limited release, hard handed astronaut. Like their painted predecessors, fuzzy Joes suffer head rubs. For fuzzheads the rub shows itself as a bald spot on the head or face where the flocking has been worn away. Some samples shown here have typical Rub Pattern Baldness Syndrome. |
|
|
Most of the AT Joes have a full beard and the "new" rubbery Kung Fu Grip, KFG, hands. Seen here are a red headed sea adventurer, and a dark haired land adventurer.
One interesting side note is that some early fuzzheads sport painted hair under their flocking. In the picture of the two heads, the noggin on your right has
pristine blonde painted hair under his patchy fuzz.
|
|
| Still trying to keep interest up in its line of action figures, in 1975 Hasbro releases their own version of the Bionic Man in the form of Mike Power. He's got a clear plastic arm and leg with mechanical pieces visible within them. He's also got a glass eye. His head has a hole in it to allow light to enter the head and shine out through the eye. Thanks to Neal Silliman for this snapshot of Mike Power. |
|
| In an effort to keep interest up in their fuzzy figures, Hasbro added a new feature to an otherwise familar face. The 1976Eagle Eye variation of the Adventure Team figures have a small lever on the back of the head. That lever can be used to change the direction the eyes are looking. The animated image shown here is actually of an Action Man figure, but the face is the same. |
|
| In the late 70s, the large GI Joe figures went out of production. After a long absence, while the lilliputian Real American Hero, RAH, Joes were the only game in town, the big Joes were back. To help tie in the new line with the existing RAH market, a line of figures patterned after their smaller counterparts was planned. The first to appear was Duke. He was initially a TARGET store exclusive, and sold out as quickly as they could be stocked. Several variations ended up being made over the years, including some with electronic sounds. A basic Duke is pictured here. |
|
|
After the initial success of Duke, additional figures were released under the Hall of Fame, HOF, name. Many collectors consider these sculpts to have more character than any previous or subsequent offerings.
Here's "Grunt" decked out in his 1995 Apollo 13 figure gear.
The next two figures are Ace, the pilot, and Rock and Roll, the grizzled veteran.
I've also got a page with scanned photos of Other HOF Faces to look at. |
|
| In an homage to the original vintage head sculpture, the Colton sculpt was used for several figures. This particular picture is of a 1996 Convention Reproduction of a Vintage Astronaut. |
|
| The Classic Collection, CC, Mercury Astronaut figure released in 1996 has a head sculpt called a Blockhead. So named for the blockish appearance created by the flat top crew cut. Similar sculpts with smaller heads are referred to as mini-blockheads, small-blocks, or chevies. The Blue Angel figure, shown here dressed in his civies, has the smaller blockhead noggin. |
|
| The CC figures aren't all blonde hair blue eyed sculpts. Here's an example of an African American, AA, blockhead. |
|
| The 1996 CC Shuttle Pilot was based on Robert Crippen. Distinguishing features of this sculpt are the lack of a facial scar, and the presence of sideburns popular on 1:1 scale heads in the 70s. The enigmatic, Mona Lisa like, smirk adds to the uniqueness. |
|
| The CC famous generals series included the likes of General Einsenhower and Patton. They make nice aging figures for Joe. |
|
| The CC line Brings us GI Jane in 1997.
The 82nd Airborne and Helicopter Pilot figures shared facial features
and the characteristic french braided tresses.
There is a black, brown, blonde, and red haired caucasion Jane.
There also is an African American version.
In 1999 the Vietnam Nurse figure was released. This new figure is not afraid to flash her pearly whites, or let her short, molded hair appear to hang loosely. The caucasion figure's hair colors and the body style are the same as with the previous Jane figure. The African American version of the Vietnam Nurse sports a close cropped hair style. Her smile is much more subtle than her fair skinned coworkers, and yet less stern than that found on what is sometimes referred to as the plain Janes |
|
| The CC carded figures in 1998 are also called PinHeads due to their comparatively small melons. Vintage helmets just rattle around on their heads. The new helmets packaged with them have foam inserts for a snug fit. Don't confuse references to these sculpts with vintage pinheads described earlier in this table. |
|
| The "Adventures of" line debuted in early 1999 and brought back Facial Hair for the first time since HOF days. The first example of these came in the Challenge at Hawk River set, and so the sculpt is often referred to as a Hawk River or HR. The snappyshot here shows a Hawk River figure and his twin, sunbleached brother, just back from Saving the Tiger. The next photo shows the African American variation of the figure. |
|
| In July 1999, the Buzz Aldrin Apollo 11 Classic Collection figure was released. This is the face of a man who has walked on the moon. It's another scarless, smug smiling hero of the space age. |
|
| Also available in 1998-1999 were some offerings from the Timeless Collection line of figures. The first pictured here is the General Grant head sculpt. The next figure is the General Lee head sculpt. |
|
| The CC carded figures in 2000 are labeled GI Joe 2010. The head sculpts used in the 2010 line include an AA Hawk River sculpt with no flocking, a pinhead like the Vietnam soldier, and something referred to as the WWII sculpt. Seen here is a picture of the 2010 Shadow Operations figure with the WWII sculpt. One unique thing about the 2010 line is the contrasting colors used to paint the scar on the figure's right cheek. This figure had a bright yellow scar. Judicious application of a thumbnail fixed that character flaw. |
|
| The figures in the 2010 series continue on into 2001. The headsculpts continue be varied and nicely done. Here's an example of a dark haired Dusty figure from the Midnight Recon set. |
|
