Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Sandbox of Iwo Jima

 Sgt. John M. Stryker
John Wayne in Sands of Iwo Jima


Golly-Gee, I would have loved this action figure when I was a kid.  Who am I kidding?  I'd still like to have this one.  I remember as a kid being in a five & dime (what is now Gadsden Variety) downtown and seeing a Johnny West action figure for the first time.  I at first mistook it for a John Wayne figure.  His first name was John and he had some of The Duke's facial features...at least I thought so as a kid.  It's the only reason I eventually asked for it...even though I didn't care to play with cowboy toys.  My favorite toys as a kid were G.I. Joes.  Why didn't Hasbro think about selling a John Wayne action figure in the day?  They would have sold a ga-zillion of them.  It would've been my most favorite toy of all.

4 comments:

Bobby said...

I miss my G.I. Joe's! I had a full military funeral for my last one. He was falling apart. I'll never forget the first year they came out,Santa Claus brought me a Stonewall Jackson because he ran out G.I. Joe's. I remember the Christmas I got Johnny West, I lost his pistol latter on that day at my Grandparents place in Clay county. I love visiting Bommerville...it brings back some good memories.

David Finlayson said...

Not long after the movie Saving Private Ryan was released - a few companies emerged selling sixthscale (12") WWII action figures. Hasbro came out with some stuff too, but companies like 21st Century Toys, BBI, and Dragon started coming out with great figures.

My sister Cindy bought me some vehicles around that time. I've got a Willis Jeep, Indian Motorcycle and a German Kubelwagen. Nori Kelley once gave me one of his old Joes. Mychael John Thomas also gave me one of his Joes.

I don't have any of my old toys, but have enjoyed having a sampling of the newer stuff. Believe it or not, it's actually better than the toys that came out in the sixties.

For years I had regretted getting rid of my most favorite toy of all, the G.I. Joe Five Star Jeep. Have some of the new toys sated the loss of the old ones.

I don't have a little boy to play with them, but my little girl Kelsey enjoys them.

Glad you're enjoying your trips to Boomerville.

Anonymous said...

After reading your post i looked
and found this Sgt Stryker action figure and it wasnt overpriced.
http://www.hobbybunker.com/details.cfm?ID=2444

David Finlayson said...

I've never seen this before. This link is to a 6" figurine. Pretty cool though. I don't know why they call this version an action figure.

The Sgt. Stryker image I posted about is for a 12" fully pose-able action figure (like a G.I. Joe). The cheapest I've seen it is for $50.00. There's also an older version of Wayne as a Green Beret action figure.