G.I. Joe 3D View-Master
General Aniline & Film
1972 and 1983
For as many toys as I've obtained in my collection to date, one thing I still find myself lacking is a classic red 1980's era View-Master Viewer and a hearty collection of fun reels. There are so many awesome sets based on iconic 80's properties: Centurions, Masters Of The Universe, Transformers, Knight Rider, The A-Team, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...This list could really go on an on for thousands of titles.
It's a tough set to track down these days, and will easily set you back over a hundred dollars to pick one up in the box. That's why I haven't done so myself as of this writing. Then again, I'm also not one for collecting things in the box, so I'll most likely just end up buying the reels loose, and then grabbing a cheap Viewer when I come across one out in the wild.
Speaking of buying the reels separately, that too was an option back in 1983. Many kids in the 80's already had a View-Master, and therefore, focused strictly on obtaining a library of reels. I wish you could still find these for the original price of $3.29!
Of course, if you really want to go retro, you can also look into the original The Adventures Of G.I. Joe reels which came out in 1972.
General Aniline & Films (GAF) released three different stories. What makes these so unique is that they're actually created using the actual dolls and diorama like set pieces. One of the reels was even compatible with the Talking View-Master, which was originally introduced in 1970. The Talking reels not only included the pictures, but accompanying sound for each frame.
The Talking View-Master is actually so unique in how it works, that I kind of want to go into it here for you. Each set included the standard View-Master picture reel, and then also a small record which include the sound on one side. Both were resting on the same "platter", which was installed into the top of the Viewer. Once inside, you pushed a little button which would start the record, and much like an education film at school, change the frame when you hear the tone.
If you come across one of the "records", they were designed to be played back at 33 1/3 speed. If you don't have a Viewer, but a turntable that will play this speed, you could play the audio that way. Be careful though. These aren't actual hard vinyl records. Rather they are a thin vinyl sheet known as flexi disc, which is somewhat fragile to crinkles and even tearing.
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I don't know why but I never got into viewmasters as a kid. They'd hold my attention for about a minute or so and then I'd quickly put it down to do something else. I wonder If they ever made one with nudies hee hee hee! That would have definitely held my attention lol.
ReplyDeleteI like the nostalgic idea of View-Masters, and the collect-ability of the many reels. However, I don't necessarily see the long term entertainment value from them. I can't honestly say that I ever spent much time with one in my hands. In fact, I don't even know with all certainty if I ever even owned one.
DeleteLoved Viewmaster. Almost bought an Indiana Jones set the other week.
ReplyDeleteOh, you should have. That would have been cool.
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