GI Joe Action Figures
G.I. Joe is a line of military-themed articulated action figures produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. Armed Forces with the Action Soldier (Army), Action Sailor (Navy), Action Pilot (Air Force) and Action Marine (USMC). The term "G.I. Joe" stood for "Government Issue Joe", signifying the universal makeup of the US forces at the time. The development of G.I. Joe actually led to the coining of the term "action figure."
In 1963, noting the commercial success of the Barbie doll for girls, Stan Weston, a toy creator and licensing agent, came up with the idea of a Barbie-like line with a military theme that would be marketed to boys. He presented his idea to Don Levine, the creative director of Hasbro, who saw the potential of the idea and approved.
The prototypes were originally named "Rocky" (the marine/soldier) "Skip" (the sailor) and "Ace" (the pilot), before Don Levine, inspired by the 1945 film The Story of G.I. Joe, decided on the generic name G.I. Joe.
The line was launched, on February 2, 1964, with a World War II theme. The G.I. Joe action figures were approximately the same physical scale as Barbie dolls - 12 inches, or 305 mm, tall. There were originally four figures, one to represent each branch of the Armed Forces. Accessory packs containing additional gear and clothing were also released