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Cool and Collected

Collecting pop culture toys, comics, and collectibles collections

January 24, 2013 By 15 Comments

Vintage Johnny West and G.I. Joe figures (they’re not dolls!)

johnny west and geronimo

I came across this fun vintage lot on Craigslist yesterday. It wasn’t a huge bargain, but I have wanted a Johnny West figure for a long time, and it’s not really something you see everyday on CL, so I decided to make the call. I plan to hold onto the Johnny West and Geronimo figures, but the other guys will probably find their way onto eBay. I think I can probably make back my $50 investment if some of the G.I. Joe items are hard to find–I have my homework to do!

johnnywest-2

The Johnny West figures by Marx are large and made of hard plastic. These guys are really heavy for their size, and would do some serious damage if you threw these at your little sister. Johnny West figures are fairly common, but they are usually missing hands, legs, or arms. They are known for their multitude of cool accessories. In addition to the headdresses, pots and pans, and rifles, I even got a saddlebag that seems to be made out of cow hide! I’m not sure if it’s a real Marx product, but that’s the fun part about buying vintage toys in bulk.

johnnywest-3

The straw that broke the back for my buying hesitation was this fella, Johnny West’s faithful steed: Thunderbolt. This is such a beautiful toy (and BIG!).

vintage gi joe and ken

Okay, now here’s where I need some help — any G.I. Joe experts out there? I know this guy is a 1964 figure with a rubber head and scar, but that’s about all I know. The boots he is wearing are marked Hong Kong and don’t seem to be hard plastic like the others, but the left boot has a serious hole in the toe. The other figure is a Ken doll, probably from around the same year. Do any of these accessories look like rare  pieces that collectors clamor for?

Let me know in the comments below if I found any diamonds in the rough.

Filed Under: Other Tagged With: Toy Show

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. jboypacman says

    January 24, 2013 at 8:41 pm

    Congrats on the Johnny West score Brian and you no longer have your eCrater store?

    Reply
    • Brian says

      January 25, 2013 at 9:07 am

      I still have the ecrater shop, I just no longer have a link to it on the site. I should probably fix that. 😉

      http://coolandcollected.ecrater.com/

      Reply
      • jboypacman says

        February 7, 2013 at 6:09 pm

        Ok cool Brian I liked to see what goodies you have so we can work out trades/buys for lol. : )

        Reply
  2. Iok says

    January 24, 2013 at 8:49 pm

    Thanks! You’ve solved something that’s bugged me for years. A friend of mine had some of those cowboy figures but I never knew what they were. It’s great to finally put a name to them!

    Reply
    • Brian says

      January 24, 2013 at 9:27 pm

      Glad I could help solve the mystery!

      Reply
  3. Mike Gutierrez says

    January 25, 2013 at 11:37 am

    Those are so cool! Congrats on such a sweet score!

    Reply
    • Brian says

      January 25, 2013 at 6:29 pm

      Thanks, Mike!

      Reply
  4. Todd says

    January 25, 2013 at 1:04 pm

    Don’t see anything out of ordinary on the Joe parts. If he had a clean head, but I think he’s been through it. The white hat and rifle on the doll make the Marine Dress outfit, I just bought a clean one for like $35 so you should be able to get a couple backs on your purchase, plus the Marx Knight.

    Reply
    • Brian says

      January 25, 2013 at 1:06 pm

      Thanks Todd! I was hoping you would chime in here–I know you know your Joes!

      Reply
  5. kngfu says

    January 25, 2013 at 6:02 pm

    I had the Johnny West and George Custer figures waay back when. They were alot of fun. Take a used toothbrush with a little bit of toothpaste on it and give the Joe a good scrubbing. It will clean all the years of fun off the face. That’s what I did with mine.

    Reply
    • Brian says

      January 25, 2013 at 6:28 pm

      Hmmm, I might have to try that. I used just a wet rag last night and got a good layer of grime off but he’s still pretty filthy.

      Reply
  6. Kevin Rooney says

    January 26, 2013 at 7:31 am

    The firepit and folding chair are from the Big Jim Camper, it looked firmiler so I looked him up and found them on here http://www.toysyouhad.com/Bigjim.htm

    Thank you because I couldn’t remeber if I had that or the tent set, and now I know. Must have been the Camper.

    Reply
    • Kevin Rooney says

      January 26, 2013 at 7:33 am

      Edit: They are in both sets, guess I’ll never know.

      Reply
    • Brian says

      January 26, 2013 at 11:04 am

      Thanks Kevin!That’s a great site–I see a gorilla on that page that I have sitting on my King Kong shelf!

      Reply
  7. Grey Endres says

    January 27, 2013 at 4:39 pm

    Brian, I recognize the knight on the left. If my memory is correct, there was a Viking as well. Maybe in light green plastic?

    Reply

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