Barbecue (1992)

Adding core Joe team members like Flint to the Eco Warriors sub-group didn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense. Barbecue, on the other hand, fits into the concept pretty well. Like the file card states, he’s used to functioning in a hostile environment, only now he may be dealing with more caustic elements than just the average fire.

I had always wanted a Barbecue figure with a removable helmet, and we almost got it with this version. It’s an odd fact that the first series of Eco Warrior Joes all had removable headgear, and the second series didn’t. Maybe the clear plastic faceplate look was less of an expense to produce than a full helmet.

As is usual for the group, the figure is painted with color change plastic and equipped with a water squirting weapon. I don’t mind either too much, since I’m not likely to use this figure outside of its Eco Warriors role. The molded red is quite bright, and even looks a little cheap. Overall, I don’t think the paint apps were as crisp as the first Eco Warriors series. While this is still a darn fun figure (who doesn’t want to squirt their toys with water?) it remains one of the lower tier Eco Warriors for me due to its look.

The mold was reused three times (all as Payload) in the two years following its release as a replacement when the original Payload mold was not available for the Star Brigade sub-line. On a side note, another Eco teammate, Ozone, joined him, so I guess these hazmat suited guys resemble astronauts just enough to be plausible. As many times as this figure was repainted in the 90’s, I still would have liked to have seen the mold resurface in the new sculpt era with a traditional paint job and equipment.

As it stands, the figure is fun and makes a heck of a lot of sense in its specialty. After all, who better to equip with a water squirter than a firefighter?