Kentucky Joe 2023: A Con Review!

I made some friends at the Kentucky G.I. Joe convention, so I did not want to miss the 10th annual KYJoe show!

Below are some photos of the magic of action figure collecting camaraderie!

KYJoe 2023 took place on July 28-29 at the Paroquet Springs Conference Centre in Shepherdsville, KY!

The show had an overarching theme based on the vintage G.I. Joe Adventure Team mission, "Secret Mission to Spy Island!" This was one of the show's exclusives!

1/18 action figure aficionados, Marauder Task Force had a table there! Above is their exclusive, 100% playable "New York Tour Guide" action figure! I bought this guy before the show, because I love some Kurt Russell!

They also made a "Chinatown Trucker!" I did not buy this guy, because I am waiting for the Eagle Force version to come out!

Con favorite and toy master, Greg Autore had a table at the show! I brought my favorite Classic Collection Joe based on the Real American Hero characters. This 1/6 Spirit Iron Knife was designed by Greg when he worked for Hasbro. The bald eagle, gauntlets, and chest kit were new tooling made just for this figure. Greg also specifically requested this figure be molded in the Navajo Code Talker red skintone, but sadly, the engineers in the factory still molded him with the standard Caucasian Joe skin!

Greg brought some prints of Larry Selman's G.I. Joe box art. One portrait is of the unmade modern Adventure Team mission involving Joe's fight with a Kodiak Bear! There are prototype photos of this set floating around the Internet.

Independent comic book writer and action figure enthusiast, Rocko Jerome, was a new, pleasant face at the show! Rocko is a professional writer by day and comic book writer during his free time. Above is the mini-comic he based off of a secret agent Action Man figure he made called Max Almond! Rocko also led a great seminar on managing kickstarters!

White Elephant Toys is an independent toy maker based out of Huntsville, AL! They had a table with many fantastic goodies. My favorite product they make is their 1/6 reproduction of the Takara Combat G.I. Joe head!

Media artist and action figure enthusiast, David Howard, was at the Cotswold table! He is holding one of the numerous box portraits he has designed for the Elite Brigade. David makes super eye-catching stuff and is always extremely supportive of the customs I present to shows!

This year's summer show actually moved to a bigger, better location. Because of the extra space, the convention had space for a large, spectacular diorama! This year's action-packed diorama showcased all of the show's 1/6 exclusive adventure sets infiltrating the mysterious Spy Island!

With closer inspection, a frogman agent can be seen in the water!

This was the Elite Brigade agent utilizing his specially made gyropack from Huxter Labs!

These were the generic Spy Island henchman that came with the show's main exclusive!

Here were some more generic henchman doing henchman things!

One room of the mysterious island had this Bela Lugosi character plotting nefarious plans on this victim!

Here were some more henchmen gearing up for combat!

One of the rooms had some Kung-Fu!

The last room on the island had some guys in suits acting intense!

3-D modeling teacher and toy expert, Brad Curry, was the man responsible for the Spy Island diorama! I met Brad at ToyLanta and he's a joy to interact with!

Another fun diorama at the show was this 1/18 scale Cobra Helicarrier!

Joe enthusiast, Christopher George, made this bad boy; I told him he needs to do a 1/12 Shield Helicarrier for Marvel Legends!

1/6 G.I. Joe customizer, Cindy Scott, brought various dioramas and custom figures she had outfitted!

I really like the Rough Rider in the front; I would like to equip more of mine with these type of accessories!

I like the buckskin cowboy on the right. The guy on the left looks like a young Winston Churchill!

Here are some more uncommon custom historical Joes!

I always take notice of unconventional subject matter. Above was a scene of our motley crew that fought the British at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812!

Here was a closeup of one of the tea drinkers; it was a very dynamic diorama!

Historian and toy enthusiast, Myers Brown, stands behind his awesome set up! I do not think he earned first place, but I personally thought this was the first place diorama of the show!

Here is a 1/12 scale diorama of a custom President Cobra Commander giving a speech!

This was a 1/18 diorama of a Predator scouting the jungle. The assorted scenery and inclusion of resin water was tremendously fresh!

Cotswold brought a custom figure to the show! This is an Ed head rooted by yours truly outfitted in a extremely limited outfit sewn by master Joe customizer, Felipe Monaco! This figure actually earned "Honorable Mention" in the custom figure contest at the show. I could not be any more flattered by this presentation of my work!

This was my entry in the show's custom figure contest! I will explain more about the confrontation between the "Man of the Canyon" and the "Cybernetic Prospector" in a later article!

Not only did this year's show include an explosive diorama, it also featured hobby seminars! Above is a table full of Greg Autore's 1/6 mockups of when he still designed Joes for Hasbro!

Above is a seminar snapshot of Rocko Jerome and Jason Schiermeyer presenting some action figure madness! Rocko disclosed the fruition of his comic, Ghost Agents, and Jason revealed the creation of his 1/18 Scorched Earth Initiative figure line!

Above is one of the characters from the Scorched Earth Initiative. These are some stage samples of how a modern action figure is designed through an independent toy company. The factory (usually in China) will make a figure based on an initial set of schematics. The initial figure is then sent back to the designer. The designer will request alterations based on appearance and quality. The factory will make a new figure with the alterations, and the cycle continues until the designer is satisfied with the final product made.

Here were some of the goodies I picked up at the show for bargain prices!

My "find of the show" was this Eagle Force Returns SGT Bulldog! The tag reads $45, but the nice dealer instead sold me this figure for $30! I have only recently started collecting these Eagle Force figures, and SGT Bulldog was the sole figure I really desired before I bought my first round of these heroes. I was overjoyed to find this guy MIB for a price close to his original retail tag!

KYJoe continues to grow and entertain my action figure escapism! I will be sure to go again next year! You should too!

G.I. Joe Forever!

-Chuck