Latest Joe aquisitions

[GI Defender]

Been a "Gloomy Guss" as of late and have not really devoted as much time to the hobby as I would like. After a nice phone call from Buddy I realized I needed to get my hands dirty again.

So scouring eBay I came across this auction of well used Joes:



All three of these Joes needed some form of TLC. The price was reasonable so I snatched them up.

Staring with the Land Adventurer, his joints were tight and all he needed was a light washing and the years of carpet fuzz picked out of his beard and hair. I was very surprised seeing that his hair was nearly perfect and only the slight chin rubs were all that needed fixed. I have never patched a beard successfully and since I didn't have a lot in this guy I gave it a shot. Got it right the first time! After a little more cleaning I touched up the brows and set him aside. It is to be said, he did have two left legs from the knee down to include the foot. I replaced the calf with the correct right version and I have a right foot coming from eBay. (Bought the foot for $2.99 BIN with free shipping which is a steal) Once I replace the foot he will be ready for adventure.

The PH guy needed help. He was completely disassembled and restrung. Each part was deep cleaned and his joints all tightened. Lastly, I touched up his hair rubs and brows. Thinking he may join the ranks of my soldiers. Or go in the bin for a rainy day. . .have not decided yet . . .but he is a very nice early hard head figure.

Last the poor Sea Adventurer. This guy was a beloved toy, After I disassembled him for cleaning I scrubbed the body parts and honestly there was not a piece or part that was not scuffed scraped or scarred. This guy has had a hard life and these are the kind of Joes I LOVE finding in the wild. The stories they could tell! Cleaned him up and flocked the head with what I call "Charlton Red" again touching up the paint on the brows. I left all of his injuries alone so if you look closely you can see some of the heavy play-wear.



In the end, three really nice Joes, three inexpensive Joes and several days of escaping reality ans I once again immersed myself into what I love about this hobby.

[ATC]

Awesome job, Scott! Super rescue! Huzzah!!!

[Myles_Falworth]

They look great, Scott! Do you ever take in reflocking jobs, or have someone you can recommend? I have one or two who need it.

[KCE83]

[ActionYankee]

Light soapy water on a soft tooth brush will clean almost anything off a Joe/AM head, the flock should be fine as long as you're not directly scrubbing the flock.


Regarding where to get joes reflocked, in my experience there's few better than FlockConcepts: http://flockconcepts.proboards.com/

That is here in the States, and some members do their own. There are also a couple services in the UK that I know of.

[GI Defender]

I use soft scrub and a soft toothbrush to clean the heads when they are heavily discolored. Regular dish soap and the same tooth brush for the hair. To strip the heads I soak them over night in rubbing alcohol. Once the old hair is stripped off I will touch up the brows with either burnt umber of black acrylic artist paint depending on the hair color.

To get out years of belly button lint out of a vintage flock you need a toothpick and a lot of free time. Simply drag the point of the toothpick through his hair and it will pull the lint up and out. You will be amazed at what comes out of the flocking. Be cautious not to dig too deeply or you may cause some bald spots to appear. Once cleaned you may have some areas with some pin holes where the flocking is gone. You can dab it with a sharpie and color the exposed vinyl, never to be seen again.

Craig at Flock Concepts is the go to guy for flocking commercially. The guy is awesome and fast. He and I talk from time to time and he filled me in on some tips and helped me get my flocking machine going. He is an asset to the hobby.