30th Joe Updated

(I posted this message with an error that I've since corrected. I said this was a 35th anniversary Joe, which didn't sound right. Checking, I see that It was a 30th anniverary Joe, and have made the correction. These were released before I got back into collecting, and I don't even remember seeing one at retail.)

First of all, if you've a mind, scoot over to my "public" writing blog and check out the newly-unveiled cover of my upcoming MechWarrior book, "Trial by Chaos."

And we'll get back to rocket Joe shortly. But first...

Over on the Sandbox, Patrick Stanton posted some photos of his transplant of a 50th Anniversary Target Joe (just to be clear, "50th" in this case is the 50th Anniversary of WWII, not of Joe) head onto a BBi 3.5 body.



This is my own transplant, don't a month or so back, of a 30th Anniversary (of Joe, not WWII, but essentially the same head and body as the 50th) head onto a Mattel Max Steel "Ultra Action" body. I like this body a lot. It's rugged, reasonably posable (it has double jointed elbows and knees, and unlike a standard Max body, the ankles rotate)body that takes a beating and holds poses well. On the down-side it has a molded-in wrist communicator, a non-standard neck mount, and large, rather unrealistic hands. But over all, I nice body, and I've had good luck collecting lots of them in thrift stores over the last couple years.

As it turns out, the non-standard head-mount on the Max is very similar to the one used on the 30th Joe. As I recall, all I had to do was enlarge the hold in the base of the head to fit the Max neck-post.

The uniform and accessories here are 40th Anniversary Joe. The spare sailor uniform was just what I happened to have on hand, so I put it on for fit. The snap-cuffs neatly hide the wrist gizmo, and unlike the BBI body, the Max arms aren't too-long for the sleeves on a vintage/TC/40th uniform. The cuffs were tight, but they fit, and the boots are loose (an easy fix, and not a problem at all for display). Overall, I thought the fit of the uniform was surprisingly good.


Now for the good, part. This Joe can do things that no vintage-style Joe ever could.

I confess, even as a child, I was never a fan of the vintage-style body. My first Joe had a stress crack when I got it home from the store. It was frustrating that he couldn't kneel or sit properly. And don't get me started on those "nose-picker" hands. I always thought they looked terrible, and what good is a soldier who can't hold his gun?

As a kid, Captain Action took over most of Joes uniforms and gear (with our two paint-head Joes becoming his supporting players). At least CA could hold a gun.

Well, so can my improved 30th Joe. He can also kneel and crouch and sit.



Of course, from this Joe's perspective, increased flexibility may not always be a good thing.

Swab that deck, sailor!