I can't exactly remember my first G.I. Joe toy, but I'll share a memory.
Part of the excitement was getting a new figure and looking at the file card on the back, trying to figure out who the new characters were, especially in the first few years when the military specialties were listed instead of the code names.
As a kid, I didn't get a large allowance. I could buy a figure every now and then, but I had to save up to get a vehicle. Needless to say, I didn't have many vehicles, preferring to get figures instead. But remember those awesome foldable inserts inside that came inside the vehicles? Because I couldn't afford to purchase the vehicles, I would go to stores, open the boxes up, and steal the inserts. Not the vehicles, just the inserts. And would look at them until they were torn and tattered, dreaming about being rich and able to own all the Joe merchandise.