This is Calvin Yip. Calvin was one of the first local collectors I met while Joe hunting at the swapmeets. He remains my friend till this day.

This is Craig Hedges and Frank Paur. They are a couple of the first local collectors I met while Joe hunting at the swapmeets. Craig is the guy who designed the cover of my book as well as formatted it for me. Frank is an Emmy winning animation producer of Batman, Gargoyls and Spawn. For many years Frank was my personal banker, fronting me $$ to produce various Joe projects.

This is Gary Hansen. Gary was one of the first local collectors I met while Joe hunting at the swapmeets. He was the first person I me with more packaged joe stuff than me.

This is Paul Russlle. Paul was one of the first local collectors I met while Joe hunting at the swapmeets. Paul had a ton of NRFB Adventure team stuff that he would go to existing stores to buy so he could sell me! Because of him I went to 100's of toy stores like a cop doing an investigation searching for Joe.

Dick Whittick and Tina Weilendar of Cotswolds were the pioneering dealers of GIJoe.

At some point I decided to start a club. Behind me is hand painted club logo.

I started collecting GI Joe sometime prior to Thanksgiving of 1983. By March 28, 1984 I had collected 60 GI Joes and started catologing each aquisition. From this point for every Joe I got, I recorded the date, time, place, who purschased or received from, cost and what accessories he came with. Each entry was numbered and that exact number was put on a sticky lable and placed on the figure.

This is the last page of the log showing 500 figures. At this point in time, March 1987, I still collected figures but just gave up doing this log.

All kinds of notes about figures I bought. For instance, some collections I bought from the original owner and had several figures and tons of equipment which I cataloged as "brothers" and made sure I kept them all together... ohh, how sentimental...

My first newsletter of about 3 club names and 200 issues. Dated October 1985

My first want list. I sent this out to hundreds and hundreds of people in my quest for Joe.

More of my first want list. I sent this out to hundreds and hundreds of people in my quest for Joe. I drew every item actual size for all the old ladies who I sent list to.

More of my first want list. I sent this out to hundreds and hundreds of people in my quest for Joe.

Me at the first show I ever did. Note says I did not sell, just displayed. The yellow post it is 18 years old...

Just a few of about 100 foot lockers I at one time had.

My first newspaper article. One of thousands around the world to come...

Newspaper article

Newspaper article

Newspaper article

The big time. My first Wall St. journal Newspaper article

My first foreign Newspaper article

In 1991 I got laid off my job of selling food. I had to feed my family. I had 50 banana boxes filled with vintage GIJoe stuff. Lets have a show and with the Grace of God, someone may come to buy my stuff. Honor hand wrote my ad and pasted some stuff on it, copied it and off it went to every known collector and seller out there.

Second but more professional version of ad for my first GIJoe show in Burbank CA.

This is an ad for a GIJoe movie. Ode to GIJoe was produced by Gregory Grant. It played at a local theatre in Santa Monica. This great little video was better than anything Hasbro ever produced for the modern era of Joe.

This was an ad in a local publication for the GIJoe movie, Ode to GIJoe, produced by Gregory Grant.

I got the idea to place my very first advertisement in same publication as ad for the move, Ode to GIJoe produced by Gregory Grant, was in. My spelling was atrocious back than also. The 15 year old yellow post it note shold say Paste, not past... Notice I had the hindsight to use the word "annual show" in my ad...

On Sept 29, God Himself revealed his plan for my life. That sunday morning Target stores introduce the first 12" GIJoe in over a decade. No one in the collector circle had a clue. I think it was 80,000 Duke figures were sold within minutes of the stores opening.

On Sept 29, God Himself revealed his plan for my life. That sunday morning Target stores introduce the first 12: GIJoe in over a decade. No one in the collector circle had a clue. I think it was 75,000 Duke figures were sold within minutes of the stores opening.

Days after the release of Duke, I was inspired to place an ad in the Pawtucket Times. Greg Bernsten called me and hooked me up with Kirk Bozigian. Kirk was the marketing director in charge of GI Joe.

Greg Berndsten was the Hasbro employee who read my ad in the Pawtuckett Times newspaper and started my relationship with Hasbro.

I told Kirk about my GIJoe convention. He was astonished at the timing of this event. I asked Hasbro to participate. They said they will talk about it at a meeting. I gave them a deadline of 5PM, October 8th, 1991, explaining that this was Toy Shop magaizines ad submission deadline. This would give me just enough time to advertise to the hobby world that Hasbro would be attending and participating at the show. At 4:41pm on October 8th, just 19 minutes before the deadline, my friend Ray from the copy shop which I get my faxes to, calls me and tells me he received the fax that I was waiting for all week! The 15 year old yellow "post it" says it all!

Kirk Bozigizn and me.

This is my first ad placed in Toy Shop and mailers announcing to the world of GIJoe that Hasbro was attending and participating.

Hasbro participated by contributing 100 of the 3 3/4" Duke Figures with a card attached signed by the desiner, Kurt Growen. Here is the first card sample signed by Kurt, sent by
Vinny D'Aleva.

Kurt Groen

This is the Hasbro Employee news letter in which I arranged to place an ad. This was another attempt to bring out more GIJoe stuff for the hobby to buy.

This is the ad in the Hasbro Employee news letter.

The assembling and recreating of the worlds largest diarama.

The assembling and recreating of the worlds largest diarama.

News article after the show.

Another news article after the show.

News article after the show.

Security guard and friend, Greg Mullen, with aqua color shirt in front, watching over the diarama at the show.

Just 20 of 50 banana boxes full of vintage stuff...

Hasbro employee Vinnie D'Alleva and I in Vinnies Hasbro office.

I made a big poster of this and displayed it at the show detailing information about the GIJoe diarama.

15 years ago I made a big poster of this and displayed it at the show detailing information promoting my idea about my toys...

I made a big poster of this and displayed it at the show detailing information about toys and children

I made a big poster of this and displayed it at the show detailing information about toy collecting.

A certificate given if someonoe bought a figure off my diarama.