Where have YOU been, Scuba Joe? When was the last time you saw this “Perilous Rescue” set in stores or for sale over on the club’s website? We thought so. Well, its sudden appearance TODAY, still NMIB and available, is just one of many eye-openers for fans who thought the only place left to find such 1:6 treasure was on ebay or at collector conventions. But as of today, this sharp-dressed sailor is still waiting for a new owner. Interested? Visit the club’s online store HERE and pick him up before he’s “thinned” out! (Photo: GIJCC)
Is the GIjOE Collectors’ Club getting out of the 12-inch market altogether?
Or…is what’s happening now down in Dallas simply a matter of routine house-keeping for the good people at Fun Publications, Inc.? In what’s being described as an attempt to “thin down some of the archives,” the nation’s largest club for GIjOE fans has been sending out regular messages to its membership announcing its sale of an ever-growing numbers of 12-inch figures, uniforms and accessories, many of which haven’t been seen outside of an ebay auction for many, MANY years. And while not specifically a “sale” per se (there are no discounted prices), this recent push by the club reveals a concerted effort to clear out the remainder of NMIB 12-inch merchandise that few knew were still in stock—anywhere. In fact, according to a message sent out today by GIjCC President, Brian Savage:
Brian Savage, GIjOE Collector’s Club President (Photo: GIJCC)
“More items have been added to the Archive Sale! We have one more upload next week and that will be the end of the items in the Archive Sale for a while (until we do a physical inventory of what is left – there may be (also maybe not) some more items not listed correctly on the logs).”
Sure sounds like inventory “house-cleaning” to us. As to WHY the club has begun this intriguing (non-sale) sale, Savage states:
“We are running out of room in the warehouse and we have decided to ‘thin’ down some of the archives. We have been keeping too many of each product for future use/reference and now it is time to reclaim the space! We have been at this for about 20 years, so there is quite a lot of different items to choose from… some retail… some sold out exclusives and convention items! However… we don’t have many of any of these products! Some are the only one left!”
You better step off, dude! We snapped this photo of our new Coastie Harbor Security Guard guarding the reference books in our office with his deck-mounted .50 cal. Thanks, GIjCC! (Photo: Mark Otnes)
Can you imagine being on this “cleaning detail?” What fun! Wouldn’t you like to open unmarked boxes and discover long-lost GIjOE treasure? (Psst! Hey, Brian! Need some free labor? Where do we sign up?) Savage continues:
“We will be putting up a batch of products each week for a few more weeks. This is a very slow process as we have to go through each storage box and verify what is really there. So, to make this even more fun we are including with each of these products, the below Certificate of Authenticity which if you look closely, has the embossed 1926 Corporate Seal of Hassenfeld Bros. Inc. Providence, RI. We came across this one of a kind item from a collector. We thought you would enjoy having a commemorative imprint from it. This is the FIRST corporate seal that was created when they incorporated in 1926! Check out the items now! Don’t wait… these items will go quickly~ Thanks for your support! —Brian”
Bottom Line: We’re not exactly sure what this latest sale of 12-inch vintage swag truly portends, some believe it means the club is about to abandon 1:6 scale for good. But we’ve already hurried over and relieved Brian of some of his 12-inch “burden,” picking up a SWEET 10th Mountain Division Snow Trooper and a NMIB Coast Guard Harbor Security figure, complete with .50 cal. deck gun and mount. The club’s COA was, to put it mildly, unimpressive, but the Hassenfeld stamp was intriguing. Of course, we freed our new recruits from their cardboard prisons immediately and put them to duty in our office. Isn’t it a thrill to be the one who gets to de-box and pose a new Joe for the first time—EVER? Of course it is! HOOah! Go, Joe! Thanks, Brian!
