1980s GI Joe often gets the brunt of jokes about wacky uniforms. If I had a nickel for every time a (usually online) media outlet writer made an overly precious observation comparing the toy/cartoon cast to the Village People, I’d have a pretty hefty piggy bank. Yes—haha—the GI Joe team had several colorful characters within the ranks, and 1985 was
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Released by Chinese minifigure maker Dargo, the series with the supremely odd title Outfight Gold offers military styled figures in an all-gold color scheme. When I first saw a picture of the eight figure set, I was reminded of Mego’s Eagle Force, the 1981 die-cast action figure series. One beret wearing figure in particular brought to mind the group’s leader,
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The hits keep on coming with the recent spate of unofficial GI Joe-based minifigures. I’ve been smitten with the entire assortment, and am hopeful we’ll see more. Who knows with the wild world of knock-off minifigures? Serpy is a challenging character to produce in minifig form, considering his unique helmet, cowl and costume design. The Kreon version adopted a helmet
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I could say that time has not been kind to some of the 25th anniversary figures, but plenty of these guys looked pretty darned goofy when they first hit the pegs. Funky arms and a pin head (and matching pin head helmet) sink this figure into the disappointment category. At least he was included with some sort of tank, albeit
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I will arm wrestle anyone who impugns the quiet dignity of the Cobra Pogo Ballistic Battle Ball. Like the finest art, the Pogo and its package presentation bring the inherent beauty of the natural world into sharp contrast. The fact that the Pogo does not exist except in tiny plastic toy form does not rob it of the same power
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By KansasBrawler I don’t know why, but until recently, I’ve never been that big on Joe boats. I remember loving the Tiger Fish as a kid, but I really don’t have any strong memories attached to any other water vehicles from the Joe line. However, the 25th Anniversary really started turning me around on that thanks to their amazing new
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By Past Nastification This figure is in my collection, but I have no recollection of it. I discovered it the other day and it triggered absolutely no memories. Hasbro pumped out a ton of figures during the Rise of Cobra run, and this is one of them. The more I look at it, the more I like it. Like many
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I’ve only partaken of a single FSS product thus far. While I’d love to dive in to the offerings, finances have prevented me from doing so. I managed to find the money to pick up Iron Klaw from the first set, mainly because I’m a huge GI Joe Extreme mark. Some of the package art for the 25th anniversary as
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A few years ago, I never would have expected an embarrassment of Starduster riches. I was fortunate to be buying Joes in the early 2000s when the original version was much cheaper, and I was jazzed when a couple other versions came out during the 25th Anniversary years. While it was great to get the character in the modern style,
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The original Alley Viper figure was an unknown to me until I came back to collecting in the early 90s. The concept instantly hooked me, and the color scheme and helmet design were extra touches of oddness that drew me to the trooper. When the Battle Corps versions hit, I was able to build a squad of the yellow and
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