G.I. Joe Classic Collection - Introduction

Introduction

With the renewed interest in 12" action figures of all kinds, Hasbro decided to go beyond the 12" versions of their "Hall of Fame" G.I. Joe line and reintroduce a series of figure closer in spirit to the original G.I. Joe lineup. Hasbro's G I Joe Classic Collection figures were first released in 1996, under the Kenner brand.

The following four figures were the initial Classic Collection offering: U.S. Army Infantry (desert camo), British SAS, Australian ODF and U.S. Airborne Ranger. Over the next few years a wide range of figures was released, with overall attention to equipment and clothing detail. Minor changes were made to the actual figure during the "Classic Collection" run, until the broader G.I. Joe releases that used the same body, at which point variants with "fuzz heads", "kung fu" grip and greater articulation were introduced. This line re-introduced the attention to detail and range of equipment/uniforms that had made the original figure popular in the 60's. Although sold as a toy, a prime target market was the then growing G.I. Joe collector's market. This line sparked a resurgence in 12" military action figures; a number of other companies began selling a wide range of military sets and vehicles, in most cases with more attention to detail than the Hasbro lineup, but not necessarily of a higher quality. In any event, this created a lot of competition for Hasbro's new G.I. Joe. Some figures were extremely close in detail and construction, such as this figure sold by 21st Century Toys; it carried its own trademarking, even though it seems a blatant copy of Hasbro's product. Later, companies such as Dragon Models Limited produced figures with a far greater range of articulation & detail, at a premium price, but nonetheless very appealing to collectors.