ASOTW or SOTW that is the question...

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3277602	ASOTW or SOTW that is the question...	Lead	[-]
Posts: 661 (07/02/09 7:01 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Tags : None I posted this on amhq and thought I'd cross post it here too. It is one of my biggest irritations and will probably be inscribed on my headstone! Someone asked for a large scan of the "SOTW Manual" art and here was my post. Here you go. I scanned it big so you can have some room to play with them. If you want to thank me, please do so in the future by refering to these guys by their correct name: "Action Soldiers of the World" - not "Soldiers of the World". It really urks me to see this so widely accepted and it all comes from Ebay shorthand. Don't believe me: then look at the boxes, look at the packaging or just look on the bottom of the back page of this manual at the trademarks to see what Hasbro trademarked them as. Anyway, sorry to preach, but this is one of my pet pieves and biggest irritations with the contemporary hobby. here is a link: http://auntmarietta.com/tmp/amhq/asotwmanuallarge.jpg Custom Outfitworks
gibri		#1	[-]
Posts: 2118 (07/02/09 7:38 AM) Born Again Adventurer Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Thanks for clearing this up for confused people like me, Mark. When I got back into the hobby in the mid/late 90's I didn't know what they were called at all. I thought they were just, Russian, Japanese, German, etc. When guys started talking about SOTW, I thought they meant the line of figures I was seeing on the shelves at Target made by Formative. Then when I started going to the Joe boards, I began to read between the lines. When talking vintage Joe, SOTW meant the Hasbro foreign figures and in other contexts SOTW meant the Formative line. From now on I will refer to the Hasbro line as ASOTW and Formative as SOTW. That explains how Formative was able to use the name Soldiers of the World. Thanks, Brian
3277602		#2	[-]
Posts: 662 (07/02/09 8:10 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Back in the 70s and 80s, Foreign Soldiers was the term used for foreign production Joes, like Action man, Group Action Joe, Combat Joe, etc. And you are correct about Formative and how they were able to use that name, because it wasn't the name Hasbro trademarked. Palitoy Action man's orginal introduction of these characters was called Soldiers of the World and later Soldiers of the Century, so it that context it is correct, but when speaking of Hasbro GIJoe in the US it is ASOTW. Anyway, I guess I take this stuff to seriously, but I can't help it. Heck, even the people who write the Books get this wrong and I know they know better. I guess they just give in to the common misuse rather than correct it. For me though, if Hasbro trademarked it that way, that is how it should be. Custom Outfitworks
GaMudDog		#3	[-]
Posts: 813 (07/02/09 8:30 AM) King of Cardboard Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Guys, I didn't know anything at all about any of this terminology. I always thought there were just "GI Joes" and "knock-offs". I always looked at it this way....If it had a scar on the right cheek, it was Gi Joe (except for the foreign GI Joes) and if it didn't have the scar, it wasn't a Gi Joe.
3277602		#4	[-]
Posts: 663 (07/02/09 9:26 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I don't know if anyone is interested in this or not, but here is some more... Here is another couple of pages from the above manual. Note that the Brit, French and Aussie are shown with regular GIJoe heads, while only the German and Russian have the Noscar heads.. In these next two pages note that only the Aussie has a GIJoe head and the French, Brit, Russian and German have Noscar heads. I'll shut up now. Custom Outfitworks
GaMudDog		#5	[-]
Posts: 814 (07/02/09 9:45 AM) King of Cardboard Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	You taught me something again, 327...I thought all the foreign Joes were absent a scar !
sniper joe.menwithdolls		#6	[-]
Posts: 135 (07/02/09 10:33 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	thanks for the info 327
3277602		#7	[-]
Posts: 664 (07/02/09 10:50 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I believe they were sold both ways sniper. The pictures in the manual are product shots, so they may or may not be accurate as to actually how they were sold. Much of the time what is planned and what comes off the assembly line are not always exactly the same. Custom Outfitworks
WarriorSigil		#8	[-]
Posts: 1571 (07/02/09 1:04 PM) AT Tinkerer Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Thanks for the info and pics Mark, I always love reference. From what I have read regarding the head sculpts, I gathered that Hasbro released these guys first with a standard Joe head, then changed over to the no scar sculpt. Hasbro did all kinds of things like that back then, substitutions, variations, running changes, etc. I need to rewatch that dvd on Joe's creation, I remember there being some good info on this set. From now on, I have to remember when referring to them in shorthand, it's ASOTW. Almost forgot, your eyes must be better than mine, in that second pic where you say the Aussie has a Joe head, his head looks like the no scar sculpt to me.
3277602		#9	[-]
Posts: 665 (07/02/09 2:11 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	WarriorSigil wrote: Almost forgot, your eyes must be better than mine, in that second pic where you say the Aussie has a Joe head, his head looks like the no scar sculpt to me. You got me Nick. I noticed that too, but thought rather than edit it to correct it, I'd see if anyone else noticed that too Custom Outfitworks
WarriorSigil		#10	[-]
Posts: 1573 (07/02/09 4:29 PM) AT Tinkerer Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	"You got me Nick. I noticed that too, but thought rather than edit it to correct it, I'd see if anyone else noticed that too"
Tonzez		#11	[-]
Posts: 2066 (07/02/09 6:11 PM) Freak of the Month Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Verry informative!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BrineB		#12	[-]
Posts: 2204 (07/03/09 10:52 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Great info and cool pics!!!

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ASOTW or SOTW that is the question...

ASOTW or SOTW that is the question...

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