Glad to have finally got my login sorted to BFTB. My name is Steve Wilson, a lifelong Action Force and GI Joe fanatic. I regularly present on ITV's This Morning programme, and recenlty managed to get my collection shown on the show when I did a piece all about retro toys.
I started collecting Action Force right at the very beginning.... all the way through the Hasbro transition, into GI Joe The Action Force, and then GI Joe.
I used to present a lot of kids TV [ CBBC Presentation [ like the broom cupboard] , Live and Kicking, Call The Shots, The Makeshift, Xchange etc, and stuff for Five, Nickelodeon etc. I never really agreed to being a grown up, hence why I still like toys, still ride BMX, and am very nostalgic!
I never threw away my toys from my childhood, and still have all the old Matchbox/Ertyl/Majorette/Corgi cars I collected, and of course, ny GI Joe/Action Force. I wasnt into anything else [ not Transformers, He Man, Star Wars etc], and spent aLL my poscket money on my love of AF/GI Joe. [ plus a few 'mistakes' buying Lanard's The Corps stuff... made good likesize cannon fodder! ] When it all slowed down, and I was a teenager, my local toy shop sold off all their stock really cheap, so I used all my money to buy the lot, most of which remains boxed, though Im not averse to my kids opening them up these days if Ive got more than one...
That very shop owner told me the other day he thinks he still has some Action Force [ Hasbro] stuff still in the massive upstairs loft hoard of old stock.. so will let you know what I find !!
My favourite current pieces are my carded Baron Ironblood, my Z Force troop carrier, and my Red Shadows stuff. Not to mention the German 1982 Stormtrooper, that Ive just been told is a rare 'black gloves' variant! Haha!
I also have evry Battle Action Force and Marvel Action Force comic that is great to leaf through from time to time..!
Nowadays, as well as a bit of TV here and there, after a spell running a BMX bike shop Lifer BMX, I now run Lucy's World, a personalised illustrattion business with my wife Lucy. We are one of the largest personalised gift makers in the UK, and we also are authors of childrens picture books, the first in the 'Hedgehugs' book range is out now.
I'd like to thank Jim for the invite to this site, and for the wealth of info and knowledge I now have to catch up on!
Thanks for having me,
Steve
