A brief overview of the greatest boy's toy ever. G.I. Joe, America's moveable fighting man. In the fall of 1964, the comic books that I read religiously started appearing with full page ads hawking "America's Moveable Fighting Man" with 21 points of articulation. He was 12" tall (or 11 1/2) and could become a Soldier, Sailor, Marine, Pilot and more! I was hooked. Many cool tv commercials later, and that Christmas became very special for my brother and I. I've never been the same since. As with most people, my mom threw my beloved Joes out. I discovered the collecting boom in the 1980's and have bought and sold many, many Joes since then. The classic ORIGINAL G.I. Joe is app. 12" tall. He comes in a variety of "painted" hair colors and always (with certain exceptions) has an identifying scar on his right cheek. Joe's from the AT (Adventure Team era) will have "realistic" "flocked" hair and or beards. Some of these figures will have soft, rubbery, sometimes discolored hands or "kung fu" grip. Most Joes will have what some collectors like to call "nose picker" hands. The right with just a finger pointing and the left in a "grasping" mode. Most original Joes came in what is called a "coffin" box in that it was long and sized to just hold the figure in his basic uniform. Original Joe's came with a shirt, pants, boots, cap, dogtag, field manual and boot removal sheet and some advertising catalog materials. The pilot would have a one-piece jumpsuit (orange or goldenrod color) Joe's equipment was available in a variety of "window boxes" and equipment cards. Usually a flea market or yard sale Joe find will include a footlocker full of assorted Joe items, sometimes mixed in with some other clothes or equipment from some of GI Joes compatriots of the day such as Captain Action or Johnny West. Always take the time to identify these items, as you never know what you might find. With the resurgence of new Joe's and 12" military figures in the past few years its easy to get confused. The 40th Anniversary and other "repro" figures are around and some people will try to pass some of these items off as vintage...so do your research...there are lots of good guides around for identifying and grading these days as well. The bottom line is to have fun with the hobby....and remember the true pricing structure...anything is ONLY worth what someone is willing to pay for it.