JoeDeclassified.com

Like many of you, I've been a lifelong Joe collector.

My first Joes were Wild Bill and the Cobra officer and my first vehicle was obviously the Dragonfly. These toys blew my little mind and set me on a path to collect Joes for the rest of my life.

I have been known as jaimanstone on many forums for years. I first discovered the joe site joedios.com about 6 years ago. From there I found yojoe.com and became a regular poster for awhile as well as on other sites. I have found good friends over the years and am fiercely loyal to them.

Before I discovered the online community I just collected on ebay. I am fascinated by what Patrick was saying about "snail-mailing" custom photos around the community. I had no idea there WAS a community when I was collecting back then! I wish I'd have found it sooner.

I'm a father of a 3 year-old son who loves his Joes. It has been so much fun to play in that world again. His favorite figure is "Condo."

I am primarily an ARAH vintage guy. While I think the ME stuff is very impressive, they just don't hold the same magic for me. My philosophy on ARAH joes is that the history of the line demands respect and investigation. Gyre mentioned "archeology" in his post and he and I have had numerous conversations about that. I look at things like preproduction art, test-shots, prototypes and the lot as artifacts; clues to the inception of each figure, vehicle and playset. I am interested in the CHOICES that the designers made and WHY they made them. As part of my exploration I've had the opportunity to work on the Merklein videos as an editor and have had the fantastic opportunity to work with Bill on them. What an absolute gem of a man he is and what a privilege it has been to speak with him about GI JOE and other topics. In summary, I hold the deep history of GI JOE in reverence and have an explosive curiosity to find out as much as I possibly can.

I love what NOMAD said in his post: that he wants to "elevate" the conversation on Joes. This is fantastic. On another site the discourse has become so bogged down in bickering and complaining that it has become impossible to do so. The introductions forum reads like a who's who list of Joe juggernauts and I am grateful for the opportunity to post on these boards as I have absolute respect for the work the declassified guys are doing. I think their work is the most important--and most undervalued--work going on the Joe community. I am hoping at some point I may be of assistance in that work.

Welcome! I think you'll really like these guys.

What happened to the photo?!


Welcome aboard. Part of the upside to creating a new board is the opportunity to interact with new individuals and there ideas. It helps keep the hobby discussion from going stale and becoming insular. Despite Declassified's focus on historical information and rare collectibles, this place is open door to everyone who wants to participate and puts in the effort. Glad you made it over, sounds like you'll fit right in.

I uh...<cough, cough> read the rules. ha ha ha.

Thanks for the welcome Nomad and General Hawk!

I should clarify - the "no images" bit only applies to those that could be considered "adult only." Your picture was fine.

So sexy Bea Arthur is off limits?