1975-76 Life-Like GI Joe
Called "muscle body Joes" by collectors, the new body style released in late 1975 and 1976. It reduced the articulation of the figure but provided a more realistic muscular physique. Unfortunately, the material used for the arm and neck joints degraded very quickly, turning the rubber to a waxy substance and causing heads and arms to fall off. Added to that, they were packed in bubbles on card backs causing the destruction of the packaging to get the figure out. Those factors add up to make these end-of-the-run GI Joes tough to find, especially on their original cards. The design was later borrowed and much improved upon by Palitoy in England. Hasbro catalogs mention a figure called the Eagle-Eye Commando that was never released. It is thought this was meant to be a black figure with moving eyes.
1976 Montgomery Wards advertisement for the Life-like line
