We Had That

  GI Joe Outback action figure (Hasbro, 1987) When GI Joe was re-born as a 3 3/4" action figure under the "Real American Hero" banner in 1982, I was immediately on board!  Each year, a new wave of figures and vehicles was released. For the first several years, I was a huge fan who wanted everything that Hasbro offered!  But as the years went on, Hasbro began to stray from the original concept.  The GI Joe team had originally been made up of the military elite, but with each subsequent wave, more and more figures were showing up who didn't feel very "military" to me.  I didn't mind the crazy Cobra outfits as much since they were a terrorist organization, but I thought guys involved with the US Military should look a certain way. Outback on patrol with all his gear! To me, it felt like 1987 was the crossover year for the GI Joe team.  About half of the guys looked great.  Falcon, in particular, was one of the most military-looking Joes of the entire run....

  Eagle Force: Goldie Hawk (Mego, 1981) I don't remember the exact year when I first heard of the Eagle Force figures (it was either 1981 or 1982), but I do remember that my introduction to the line came in the form of a TV commercial that I thought was absolutely awesome!  The commercial worked and I wanted these figures.  Unfortunately, when I saw them for the first time at the store, I was surprised and disappointed that they were so much smaller than all of my other action figures.  At 2.75 inches, the Eagle Force didn't really fit in with any of my other toy lines.  They were made of die-cast metal, so I always assumed that they must have cost more to make and Mego made them smaller to save money, but years later, I found out the reason for their scale was more likely because Mego had recently acquired the molds for a bunch of old Marx vehicles and playsets that were originally sold with little plastic army men.  They were too small for the 3 3/4" figu...