Rescuing a 30th Sailor

[Shermanator]

I visited a local peddler's mall last month and ran across some boxed 30th Anniversary Joes for sale @ $30 each. I contemplated buying one for nostalgia's sake but decided not to. This prompted me to post on the Trenches FB page inquiring what folks thought the fair market value was for these nowadays. Most thought it was a little pricey although some mentioned that the repro box and the gear were worth close to that. This place only had soldiers, sailors and marines. If they had had a pilot I probably would've picked it up as that was my favorite.

Later I went to a different peddler's mall and found a booth that also had boxed 30th figures. This one had soldiers, marines and pilots. I had fond memories of picking these up at Target when they came out in 1994. That was also the year my daughter was born, so I couldn't resist and picked up a pilot as well as a marine.

A couple days ago I went back to the first mall and decided to pick up a sailor. Of course, the wetsuit was melted and dessicated on the figure but I mostly wanted the repro box and gear so I went ahead and picked him up. I also wanted to see how badly the wetsuit had decayed and what shape the figure underneath was in.



I plan to pop him out and see if he can be salvaged. More to come...

Steve

[TNshooter]

I guess I need to look for MAM's with blue shorts. I guess those are the ones with the protruding pin neck posts. Thanks for the info Steve!

Daryl

[Shermanator]

Hey Steve, I found my 30th Soldier and Marine, it turns out I did de-box them. Tonight I heated and removed the head of the Marine, but the headpost is different from
the usual HOF body. Did you have to do any modification to make your head fit? I dug out a box I got on the bay of a figure lot, had three MAM's in it. But their headposts
are the same as the usual HOF.

Daryl

Daryl, I replied to your PM but will also reply here. There were some MAM's sold in the mid- to late-1990's that had the same round-top neck post with the protruding pin as the 30th Joe figures. The one sold as the "Snowboard Raider" was a popular figure to use for swapping the 30th Joe heads onto. Also, there was a line of 12-inch "Starting Lineup" historical baseball player figures that used the same body as the AM snowboard raider (except they had a flesh-colored pelvis instead of blue) and had the same neck post as 30th Joe as well as the articulated arms, legs and waist. They were called the "Cooperstown Collection" and included likenesses of Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth and other players. These are even better since they don't have the Action Man arm tattoo on them.

Steve

[TNshooter]

One thing I didn't realize when suggesting a MAM body as a replacement, was the AM "tattoo" on his upper left arm. I found three MAM bodies in my box of figures, so I decided to transfer
them to those bodies. I tried finger polish remover and lighter fluid with minimal effect.

So I decided to use fine grit wet sandpaper. I wet the paper and the arm, and started scrubbing. I got them off, but due to the shaped of his upper arm a small black spot remains. The photo
shows an AM without the "tattoo" removed, and two bodies that have had it removed with wet sandpaper.

[TNshooter]

Hey Steve, I found my 30th Soldier and Marine, it turns out I did de-box them. Tonight I heated and removed the head of the Marine, but the headpost is different from
the usual HOF body. Did you have to do any modification to make your head fit? I dug out a box I got on the bay of a figure lot, had three MAM's in it. But their headposts
are the same as the usual HOF.

Daryl

[Shermanator]

But after re-reading this thread, I'm thinking of using some of my MAM figures as donors for them. To make them more articulate.

Daryl

I think you'll find it fulfilling to breathe new life into these guys. That's what toys are for...having fun!

Steve

[TNshooter]

I searched through my body bin and found a modern Action Man with the hard plastic limbs & external joints, along with the same neck post as the 30th Joe head. A few seconds under the heat gun and the head popped right on.



I have to admit, opening up his gear and outfitting him, I felt like a kid at Christmas again.

I haven't done anything with my 30th figures, I thought they had articulation more like MAM. But seeing your sailor I realize they don't. I wasn't able to score the mail-in Joseph Colton Green Beret, I got the "consolation" figure in a snow troops outfit.
At the time the Green Beret figure went for a lot of money. A few years ago I was able to get one for $15. I figured I would keep them original, my soldier and marine as a team for the Colton Green Beret.

But after re-reading this thread, I'm thinking of using some of my MAM figures as donors for them. To make them more articulate.

Daryl

[Aiwaloki]

When I see these sets, I think of Caldor's which was department store in my area. They had a toy section that hosted these figures. I remember looking at them and saying something isn't quite right with them. I notice the face and the hands were off. This was my first exposure to Joe since childhood. Later I would go to Ebay and start a small collection..

[Forestjoe17]

He looks pretty cool!

[ATC]

Looks great!

[TNshooter]

Very nice Steve! I'm glad you got him ready for action! I'm sorry that the original body didn't work out due to the fact that the wetsuit had deteriorated, but he is looking good!

Daryl

[Shermanator]

I searched through my body bin and found a modern Action Man with the hard plastic limbs & external joints, along with the same neck post as the 30th Joe head. A few seconds under the heat gun and the head popped right on.



Finally the fun part: opening up his SCUBA gear and outfitting him for underwater adventure! I gave him a pair of red trunks which I think I got from a collector's club figure. He's now ready to search for sunken treasure.





I have to admit, opening up his gear and outfitting him, I felt like a kid at Christmas again.

[Shermanator]

Oh, by the way, how did you like the pilot figure?

Daryl

The Pilot and the Marine look factory fresh.

[TNshooter]

Oh, by the way, how did you like the pilot figure?

Daryl

[TNshooter]

Wow! From the front it didn't look so bad, but the back had really deteriorated. I've heard of vintage figures that spent some time in a wetsuit, the suit basically glued itself to the body.
Seeing the figure without the suit, it doesn't look as posable as the MAM. Aside from the HOF figures it looks like all was added was articulation at the wrists. I have a solider and marine which I have yet to open.

Looks like the elbows and knees are still like a Barbie, with three click settings. The HOF are like that. If I recall correctly, I read years ago that the HOF body was actually from a Hasbro line of fashion dolls.

I have a few HOF, and I've been planning to change them to CC bodies. I did it on two basic Cobra Commander figures that I got for cheap for the mail-in Cobra Soldier uniforms. However the neck post for the CC
figures are a little bigger, so there's a bit of a "puff" around the neck. But the collar on the uniforms covers it. Maybe using a Dremel to shave them down a bit would help that?

As you suggested, I'm kinda surprised that Hasbro didn't have him dressed in his original uniform, with the wetsuit on the side. You would think they would have packaged him that way.

Daryl