How to Identify Vintage GI Joe Vehicles

With many vintage toys being re-imagined and reissued, it is necessary for a collector to know how to be sure an item is indeed vintage. Hasbro started making GI Joe vehicles in the early 1980s. As the years passed, they became more elaborate. There are several basic aspects of a GI Joe vehicle you can look at to identify it as one of the vintage models.

Instructions

1

Examine the size of the vehicles. Classic GI Joe's from the 1960s (before they made vehicles) were 12 inches tall and would not fit in the vehicles from the 1980s and beyond. The vintage vehicles from the 1980s are made to fit Joes no bigger than 3 3/4 inches.

2

Read the logo on the box. The post "Rise of the Cobra" logo is silver and the letters are sharp and evenly spaced. The vintage logo can be a variety of colors with blockier letters. The most telling sign is a red, white and blue trail to the right of the logo.

3

Check the colors. Vintage GI Joe vehicles, while a bit outlandish, came in mostly military green, grays and khakis. Cobra vehicles are mainly black and blue. Modern GI Joe vehicles are available in bright, neon colors.

4

Examine the level of detail. Truly vintage GI Joe vehicles were very simple without a lot of bells and whistles. As time wore on, the vehicles became more detailed. If the vehicle has a very simple design, it is likely a vintage vehicle.