Time to channel my inner Dora The Explorer.

Backpack, backpack
Backpack, backpack

I’m a backpack loaded up with things and knickknacks too.
Anything that you might need, I got inside for you.

A while back, I saw a post on Facebook by The Full Force Podcast that they discovered a G.I. Joe themed backpack on Fun.com. Since I try to get all sorts of knickknacks for my collection, I went ahead and tried to order one. Unfortunately, they don’t ship to Belgium, so I had to get creative.

Straight from the U.S of A.

I remembered I once created an account with myUS, a mailing service in the US and UK that will ship packages to you from suppliers that don’t ship to your country. I never actually tried it out, so this seemed like a good time to try it out. I purchased the backpack on the fun.com website and entered the address of the forwarding provider. It shipped quite fast to them and I got an email that an inbound package was expected. They immediately charged me for the shipping costs and the import taxes and duties. This was a bit higher than I expected, but considering they all did this for me, it was acceptable. Just under 3 weeks later, the package arrived at my doorstep.

Now that’s a backpack!

They actually put a bland brown cardboard box around it to ship it to Belgium, but that’s not so interesting to show. The backpack itself is colorful and camo, although the print quality isn’t as sharp as I would have hoped. Maybe I had too high expectations. See for yourself.

Fuzzy Destro

Another choice I wouldn’t have made are the gold colored zippers. They look a bit out of place with the camouflage print and the colors of the figures.

Zip-a -di-doo-da

On the front of the backpack is an extra pouch with another gold colored zipper and a big rubbery G.I. Joe logo. Unfortunately, there is spot of red paint on the blue line of the logo with my backpack. Quality control should have picked this up because it does stand out. Maybe I’m nitpicking, but you really do notice it when you look at the bag.

YoJoe!
Red, white and blue and another spot of red.

On the inside, there is no padding or extra sleeve to put your laptop in, so I wouldn’t recommend it if you want to be sure your laptop doesn’t get damaged. There is a separate pouch on the inside that can be closed with a zipper, big enough for your wallet or cellphone. Another G.I. Joe logo is found here as well, but it’s just on a label that is stitched on quite loosely, just 2 strips on the short edges. I feel that this may become loose sooner rather than later.

Inside pouch and tag.

All things considered, I’m glad this is a part of my collection and I probably will be using it when I go to a convention in the future. If anything, I’ll be flying the G.I. Joe colors.

That’s all for now. See you back soon, until then, Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

Action Figures of the 1980’s

They say that reading is like travel, allowing you to exit your own life for a bit, and to come back with a renewed, even inspired, perspective. The book I received today is more like time travel, where you wish you could go back in time and have bought more G.I. Joe and other action figures.

Action figures of the 1980’s by John Marshall

The book gives an overview in 160 pages of the most popular action figure lines of the 1980’s. It also gives an indication of the prices, both loose and carded/boxed. The thing is, the book was published in 1998, so those prices are eye watering low compared to the prices we see now.

Jinx is kicking Zarana’s butt, while Rafaël is “playing” with E.T.

Inside, there are chapters for each toy line, starting with G.I. Joe, The Corps, over He-Man and the masters of the Universe all the way to Star Wars. I’m honestly only really interested in the G.I. Joe section.

Carded Snake-Eyes, Stalker and Grunt. Notice the original price tags of $2.69.

For each year, from 1982-1989, the figures are listed and given a value, both loose and carded. If somebody still wants to sell me the figures at the prices listed here, send me a PM 🙂

1982-1983 figures with values for loose and carded.

That’s all for now, for those looking for the book themselves, the ISBN number is 9780764304941.

I’ll leave you with a picture of the dapper looking author with his favorite Cobra T-Shirt.

The author, John Marshall.

See you back soon. Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

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