Joelanta 2014 Recap

Well, Joelanta 2014 has come and gone. This was the first time that Joelanta was a two day event. Usually, there's a Commander's Package that involves an exclusive 12" figure and some activities on the night before. I've only pursued the Commander's Package once, primarily because I'm just really not that interested in the original vintage style of GI Joe.

Usually, the show runs on a Sunday with a dealer room, an exhibit hall with custom figures and dioramas, and a section of celebrities for autographs. The only celebrity of note for me during the past few years has been Larry Hama. Due to an injury, Larry wasn't able to make it this year.

The local GI Joe club also does a massive display as the centerpiece of the entire event. This year's display was based off the Walking Dead. Really cool stuff, too. I'll post some pictures soon.

This year's show began on a Saturday and included several different panels throughout each day. The dealer room was packed and very lively, very energetic. It was amazing to see all of the various old toys that were for sale.
I was surprised at how many 3 3/4" Joe vehicles were selling. Decent condition vehicles were just flying out of the show. One comment I heard is that they vehicles still basically work with the modern GI Joe figures. True enough; even if the figures don't quite fit into the vehicles, they still look good next to them. 

I went to a few of the panels on Saturday. One featured one of the set dressers from The Walking Dead and it was a decent panel. Interesting to hear the behind-the-scenes tidbits about the show. There were two more that I went to, one was about the "50th Anniversary of GI Joe" and another was the "State of the Hobby." Both of them were entertaining enough, but still a little frustrating.

I was frustrated primarily because I'm a weirdo - I like both 12" and 3 3/4" Joes. While I am nostalgic about the original vintage GI Joe, I'm basically over that portion of the line. 

The mood seemed to be that this was the 50th Anniversary of the original painted hair GI Joe 12" action figure. Uhh, no... that figure has not been produced for the entire 50 years.

It's the 50th anniversary of the BRAND, not just a portion of the life span of the brand. Hell, the Real American Heroes characters have been around for over 30 of those 50 years. Damn, son, get over it.

One of the biggest problems that I had with going to Joelanta again was just not really needing to buy anything. Years ago, I stupidly sold off a bunch of 3 3/4" vehicles at near yard sale prices. Oh well, I don't really want to replace them at the higher costs now. I don't need them anymore.

Prices have jumped as well on the secondary market. Last year, I was buying up all the Vipers that I could find for $10.00 each. This year, the one Viper that I saw was for sale for $20.00. No, thanks, I don't need another Viper that bad.

I did get to meet Carson, the creative genius behind 3DJoes.com. He's a great guy and we were able to just hang out and talk about GI Joe and assorted other silly stuff. 3DJoes.com is an amazing site. If you haven't been there, you really need to check it out. Plus, you need to grab some of his posters. One day, I'll get some frames for the two that I bought and post some pictures on this silly blog.

If you're a fan of the original GI Joe, you can also check out Vintage3DJoes.com, a companion site to 3DJoes.com. Both sites have some amazing 360 degree photography of all sorts of GI Joe figures and accessories.

So my purchase list was quite short. I picked up a carded Renegades Duke (for customs), a loose Renegades Duke (after buying the carded version, dang it), the two 3DJoes posters, a Steeler figure from that big Target set (mainly for the head - custom), and that odd Jurassic Park - GI Joe type figure. He's got the Resolute Duke head on the Night Adder/Roadblock body with a deep tan skin tone and some well done tattoo work on the left arm and left side of the face.

This guy.

I just didn't really need anything. There were quite a few dealers that had plenty of small Joe stock, even new stuff, but there just wasn't anything that I simply needed to have.

The customs and diorama displays were a bit lackluster at this show. Not to slight anyone who entered their work, but there just wasn't much to look at. Some seemed to be re-entries from last year.

I really shouldn't complain that much. I've done customs and I've got some half-assed dioramas started, so I just need to make more of an effort to enter or show off something.

I can imagine that next year will pretty much be the same, expect dealers will have 50th Anniversary items at ridiculous prices. Oh yeah, 3 3/4" 50th Anniversary stuff, not 12" stuff. 

Even if I had won the mega-millions lottery the night before, I don't know if I would have loaded up on some of these vintage toys. Well, maybe I would have picked up that vintage yellow AT helicopter.

It was nice to see the Tiger Force truck there again. There were some other "celebrity" vehicles there as well, but I really didn't give a rat's ass. Seen one Mystery Machine, you've seen them all.

See you next year, Joelanta.

Joelanta 2012 - Cosplay!

Just one more picture tonight...

He even captured the right "nose picker" vintage grip!

Excellent GI Joe cosplay!

Joelanta 2012 - Part 3c

Okay, one last post for the day. This will be the rest of my pictures of some of the various dealer booths at Joelanta 2012.

A bucket o' fun! The amount of vintage O-ring figures that could be found at Joelanta was amazing, some nice and fairly minty fresh and some dumped in tubs like this.

Still an amazing sight to see.

Carded GI Joe goodness and the Night Force APC - whatever it's name is.

Carded Joes - made a deal with this dealer and both of us came out happy!

Thanks, Mike!

GI Joe and Action Force boxed items - cool!

It still amazes me to still see these boxed GI Joe/Action Force items.

Some of these are 30 years old!

Okay, if I win the lottery tonight - watch out Joelanta 2013 dealers -

I'm gonna be on a shopping spree!

Joelanta 2012 - Part 3b

More amazing items at Joelanta 2012. A visual feast of GI Joe goodness!

Great boxed GI Joe items!

Check out that Night Raven! Cool!

Need some Big Jim items? Joelanta has that, too!

See that up there on the top shelf? That's a MIB mail-order Killer Whale and I think there's another behind it. Just $500.00, that's all he's asking. Yeah, that's a killer price, too. A deal killer!

The bridge layer - one of my fave Joe vehicles. Listen to Flag Points #19 and find out the reason why! The first person to post in my comments about how I got my bridge layer wins a prize!

Hmm.. what prize? I'll have to check my stuff!

Nice! A Killer Whale for $125.00. Complete? Don't know, I'm good with mine.

this 1/6th scaled beauty sold! Amazing detailing on this Bradley.

More o-ring Joes!

The Tomahawk - always awesome!

Even the new BBTS exclusive sets were up for sale!

One more update on the amazing dealer items - but you'll have to wait until tomorrow!

Joelanta 2012 - Part 3a

The stuff! Well, some of the stuff. I'll have to split this into a couple different posts because of the amount of pictures that I took. Just gaze through the awesome wonder of this stuff that could be found at Joelanta 2012.

I think this Terror Drome did sell, tough to tell how complete it is.

Damn, I wish that I hadn't sold mine a couple years ago!

Sweet, sweet GI Joe vehicles!

See that Wolverine w/ Cover Girl & tow cable? $50.00 and it's yours!

This guy's set up was amazing. Plastic sorting bins just smack full of wonderful GI Joe bits and pieces!

Any treasure to be found in this tub? Maybe!

I have never seen this before - pretty cool!

Shelves loaded with cool stuff. hey, there's Voltron!

Loose o-ring Joes - ready for new homes!

Skystriker goodness!

The classic, vintage GI Joe Adventure Team Headquarters. I remember mine! My Joe's started off many missions from this command center.

Wait - one still in the box? Sweet!

And a Seawolf submarine still in the box with the original price sticker - $12.94 at Lionel.

I mainly looked at the items in the dealer room - just window shopping and nostalgia. Another great part of going to Joelanta!

Joelanta 2012 - Part 2

Now I don't get to the yearly national GI Joe convention. I wish I could, but it never seems to work out. I did make it to the national shoe here in Atlanta a few years ago, but we were in the midst of a serious debt-snowball and it was only for a few hours. Barely counted.

Therefore, Joelanta is my Joe-con. It's local and I get to go every year. The guys that put together the Joelanta show are just some of the nicest guys that you could ever hope to meet. They love the hobby for what it was and what it has become over the 45+ year existence of the brand.

And the dealers and crowds are always just the coolest group of folks. Some dealers will work out a deal with you on that piece that you desperately need for your collection. And then some dealers have those items that you just stare at and just wish you could get. Or even worse, something that you wish that you still had! (Like me!)

I really don't know how to caption all the pictures that I have posted. I just hope that I can convey the incredible sense of fun that can be had at Joelanta - heck, probably any gathering of GI Joe fans.







There is always so much to see at this show. I can't imagine what the national show is like. And that's okay, because Joelanta is my Joe-con!

Joelanta 2012 - Part 1

Joelanta is a regional GI Joe/Toy show that has been running since 2001. It's largely a show for and by the 12" GI Joe collector, but has grown to embrace all eras and concepts of GI Joe. Except Extreme - no GI Joe collector speaks of that mess.

No matter what type of GI Joe you collect, these pictures are ultimately what GI Joe is all about. Doesn't matter - the original GI Joe, Super Joe, Real American Hero, Sgt Savage, Sigma 6, 25th Anniversary ARAH, Rise of Cobra, Pursuit of Cobra, and Retaliation - it's all G.I. Joe.

This is G.I. Joe - two kids, playing in a hotel hallway with their new GI Joe finds. No video games, no iPods, no flashy light up things - just good old imagination.

This is the essence of GI Joe.

This is just part 1 of my coverage of Joelanta 2012. Hopefully I'll get all my updates before Joelanta 2013!

You can also check out the Joelanta Facebook page!

Joelanta 2012!