History of GI Joe - 1988 | Vintage 80s Toys & Playsets | ARAH Iron Grenadiers and Tiger Force

In 1988, I was 14yrs young. Girls, Hair Bands, MTV, and Freestyle BMX, were my main interests during that time. 86 & 87 were the last of my years with GIJoe, Transformers, and other action figure lines. G.I. Joe is, and always will be.... The best and greatest action figure line in history.

I was still shocked that my penny pinching parents shelled out for the X19 for Christmas 88. Ghost Rider promptly fell through some floorboards and was lost for 25 years until my dad found his decayed corpse. I also purchased the Desert Fox with my lawn mowing money and Voltar. I was a happy 8 year old. GI Joe was so much fun.

The best year of GI Joe IMO this is when things got really edgy and the line diversified even more than 87 to a point. 88 was also the year Tiger Force arrived and characters like Duke Bazooka and Tripwire were available to kids that missed out on them the first time, it was also the arrival of the Iron Grenadiers. The ads were a lot edgier and cooler too ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Great video! 86-88 are honestly my favorite years of GI JOE. Many of the assortments during 87-88 in particular are criminally underrated, like Muskrat and Hardball. And we cannot forget the Mobile Command Center, which is IMO the greatest playset of the decade.

This version of Destro was my only 1988 figure/vehicle -- and my last GI Joe toys

1988 was the last year I played with G.I. Joe until I started collecting in 1996. The figures and vehicles were some of my favorites. 1987 was my ultimate favorite year, but 88 brought Iron Grenadiers, which is my #1 top favorite sub group... BF2000 is my #2.

No one did play-sets like G.I. Joe in the 80’s! Hehehehe You said Skidmark!

I almost forgot what a great year for Joe that was

Great rundown, Ken! And that pic of Jinx, Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes together looks so good!

Wow, watching this review of the 1988 G.I. Joe action figure toy line brought back so many amazing childhood memories! Those figures were absolute legends, each one packed with action and adventure! Thanks for taking me on this nostalgia trip, can't wait to dive back into my collection and relive those epic battles.

I was 12 in 1988 and still got me a handful of figures and noticed the face sculpt on them was better than the 1987 ones and the line was moving more into futuristic settings what with Destro creating his separate group I was still anxiously awaiting for new cartoon episodes that the toy commercials were teasing at 1988 was also notable in that many toylines that were just as huge like Thundercats; M.A.S.K.; Silverhawks; Centurions; Jayce & The Wheeled Warriors; Bravestarr that had 1-2 year lifespans were out of the way, He-Man was done and would come back with New Adventures but mainstays like G.I.Joe and Transformers were still limping along.

great video! now i know and thats half the battle

Another great gi.joe history video by Toy Kennections!

Thank you again for these effprts, you teach me alot, allow me to better appriciate the figures I purchase whilst adding to my wish list. Love your style, thanks for your hard work!

ROLLING THUNDER!!!! Great way to start it off!

I'm team Hardball personally although undoubtedly Hit n Run is a fan favorite to the max. Great expose buddy.

Rolling Thunder is the best toy of my childhood (not counting the SNES of course, videogames are unbeatable) ! It was always the center of my playroom, so much value and fun. I tried TMNT and quickly came back to GI Joe as TMNT are not well made at all or half the fun

Wow cant def for me 1988 was my favorite year of Gi Joe I was 11 in 1988. Forgot so many amazing things came out that year. Great job Ken!

Let's go!

Great video Ken!!