GI Joe® FAQ:
Help Me Id A Joe

This FAQ is about 12" GI Joes. Questions about Action Man and cheap Joe rip-offs have also been included. Most of these questions and answers come from alt.toys.gi-joe. Thanks to everyone who posted either a question or its answer!

If your Joe is foreign in origin, check out the Geyperman Guide or the Action Man Collector's Page. If he's a newer Joe, you might find a photo at Show Joe.

If you still haven't found an answer, you might check Hasbro's FAQ or post your question to alt.toys.gi-joe.

1. Can you help me identify a Joe? The figure appears to be a HOF. It has a molded black belcava over his face was wearing a blue shirt with black pants w/blue stripe. This figure had a gray vest with snake eyes as a name. He had blond eyebrows, a nasty red scar running across his left eye, and two 'I Ching' characters tattooed on right arm. This is indeed Snake-Eyes. This was the first HOF Snake-Eyes, based on the 1991 3 3/4" figure. He's a commando and ninja for the Joes. -- GI Trekker Snake-Eyes was the only HOF to have a molded Balaclava. -- Kevin Merkley

2. I found a Joe with a red 'bandana' wrapped around the lower half of his face. He has sort of a flat-top slicked back, and his right eyebrow cocked up, like Mr. Spock saying, "fascinating." Who is he? COBRA Commander -- Robert Sorrels Cobra Commander - the head bad guy -- GI Trekker

3. I have a G. I. Joe look-a-like 12" doll marked "In Time Products" and wearing a white snow suit with green undershirt and boots. The suit has a inverted multi-colored triangle on right sleeve. He has painted brown hair and his hands clutched as if to hold weapons. Can you help me ID this doll? It sounds like the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) Snow Eagle. These were made by the same folks who produced this years (1996) US Serviceman's Memorial Figures. I don't think they are making RDFs anymore. The figures are inferior with few moveable joints but the set can be used for parts. Some folks have posted that they like them as extra bodies for dioramas, but the torso is a bit longer than Joes and so some things will not look right. -- JM

4. I've got a Joe with a clear body. Who is he? The Takara Henshin Cyborg figures are 12 inch GI Joe bodies molded in clear plastic with either machine parts or guts inside of their torso. They came in various tinted plastics like purple, green, or yellow. They have outfits similar to Captain Action, but instead of Superman or Batman they made Ultraman, Kamen Rider, and other Japanese Superheroes. The figures also came in 8 inch size. -- Joe Salamanca

5. I found a decent vintage PH figure in an antique store today, and at a decent price. He had one slight knee crack, but otherwise in great shape. The butt marks show him to be a Registered figure (ie., not a TM figure) and Patent Pending. Now if you check Santelmo's book - it says this was a 1966 only Joe. If you check Tomart's, then it is a 1965 only Joe. Which is it? It's a 65-1/2 Joe....Kinda like the Mustangs. -- Robert

6. I have a strange Joe I can not identify. Has anybody heard of a 12" Joe astronaut from the star brigade?
   • molded brown hair
   • white space outfit
   • white boots and
   • white helmet with amber visor
   • white gloves
   • "GI Joe" label on the right breast pocket
   • "GI Joe-Star Brigade" label on left arm patch.
   • red space head stocking
   • large gray space rifle
   • cleats (detachable) on boots
   What you have is a Star Brigade Mission Gear set on a Joe. These were 1994 releases that came packaged on a blister pack. The figure you have with molded brown hair could be one of many. This was one of the nicer Mission Gear packs released nd it was approved and marketed with the soon defunct Star Brigade line for the 3-3/4 line. This set should also come with a space-backpack with a rotating laser which you have not indicated. This set was never released with a figure. -- Ed

7. Help me identify this Joe: He is a 12" tall (nude) with holes for voice box, which is missing. He has blonde flocked hair and a shaven face. Most likely he's an ex-talking Astronaut, but he could also be a blond "Man of Action". -- Kevin Merkley He could also be a non-talking astronaut from Spacewalk Mystery. -- Coop

8. I just picked up a naked black Action man/GI Joe at a flea market. He is marked Hasbro 1992 on his butt. He has fairly good fuzzy hair and a mustache. He also looks pissed off! His thumb nail on his left hand is not reversed while the one on his right hand is. His legs have three good clicks. Who is he? That would be the Hall of Fame (HOF) figure Stalker. -- Tom

9. Could you please help me narrow down the year a recent purchase was released? The butt tag puts in the range of 1967-75. It is a hard handed figure with lifelike, brown hair and beard. It came in a set of camouflage fatigues, the same as the Action Marine. It has a pair of inch and a quarter high and an adventure team dogtag. Anybody want to hazard a guess as to its identity and age of birth? With brown hair and beard, camo outfit and hard hands, it's a 1970-'72 Land Adventurer. If it talked and had a green outfit it'd be an Adventure Team Commander. -- AdamsHWA It's an Adventure Team Land Adventurer. Released late '70 to late'74. -- Tom Calhoun

10. Could any one help me identify a joe? He's white with the fuzzy hair and no beard or facial hair. He is wearing olive drab pants and shirt. On his shirt is a red and black funny looking AT logo. Sounds like you have a "Man of Action." They were available first in the hard hand version, then later with kung fu grip. The "Man of A" was available in talking and non-talking versions. I believe the first hard hand versions came with the original GIJOE dogtag and army chevrons and was released in 1970. -- Roy

11. I have two 12" figures. They look just like 1980's eagle eye Action Man but the logo on the waist band of their briefs is the GI Joe AT logo not the Action Man logo. They are stamped Hasbro on the back. Are they Joes or Action Man? They're legitimate 1976 muscle life-like bodied eagle-eye AT Joes. -- Rainman

12. I have a hip/buttocks part from a vinatge Joe but instead of the usual TM marks, it says Hassenfeld Bros on it. Where did it come from?

    That sounds like a body part off a Hasbro of Canada GiJoe. -- Danny Young and Joe Shipley

    It is most likely "Adventure Team" G.I. Joe. I cannot say if it is specifically a Canadian Manufactured G.I. Joe. Let me explain. My Early Canadian Joe's [hard hands, painted hair] have the following information:

                 G.I. Joe  Registered Trade Mark
                 Copyright 1964
                 By Hasbro ©
                 PATENT PENDING
                 MADE IN CANADA
    

    My [Life Like Hair, KFG] "Land Adventurer" Joe's Bumm has:

                 G.I. Joe Reg?
                 ©RD 1964
                 Hassenfeld Bros, Inc.
                 Patented 1966
    	

    It does not say "MADE IN CANADA" on it but I know he was originally purchased in Canada as I got him as part of a "group purchase" with others from there. They all were from the same original owner. -- David M. Matthew

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