Understanding GI Joe Vehicles
GI Joe “A Real American Hero” is probably the most famous action figure in the world. It has been in continuous production since 1964 although the series has gone through a few relaunches as well as changes and additions to the original figures, the biggest of them being the introduction of the 31/2 inch figures which have seen an up and down journey since then. The GI in the series stands for Government Issue and was used before the introduction of the term “Action Figures.”
GI Joe always had vehicles as part of the series as befitting an elite unit, including motorcycles, jeeps, airplanes and even a space shuttle. These vehicles were all fictional and did not have any real life counterparts.
The GI Joe toy vehicles were never stand alone and always had a character driving or piloting them. They were integrated into the series especially after the introduction of the comic book series and the cartoon by the same name where all the vehicles were used.
After 1984 Hasbro, the official makers of the series introduced a fitting antagonist called the Cobra Command which was trying to take over the world. The vehicles also changed to keep pace with the developments in technology. This is when most of the newer vehicles were introduced into the market.
The vehicles in the toy line did not restrict themselves to only the GI Joe army toy soldiers; there were toys for Cobra Command as well. The vehicles that came under this category were the F.A.N.G. (Fully Armed Negator Gyrocopter), Firebat, the Rattler, an attack aircraft and many more.
The Conquest X-30 is a fictional military aircraft and is a forward swept wing concept that is piloted by Slipstream, a GI Joe action figure that comes with it. The X-30 was deployed against the Cobra Firebat in all the comic books and cartoons.
There are also a host of other vehicles for Cobra as well as GI Joe that come bundled together or separately. Going online to choose from a host of different vehicles is probably a good idea as most stores offer both discounts as well as free shipping, including a return policy. The prices for most new vehicles in the 31/2 inch size are around $10 to $15 although if you are looking for vintage vehicles in good condition they may cost you up to $400 for a piece.
