Heavy Metal’s Microphone (1985)
In the world of toy collecting, there are many expressions and terms that the normal world hasn’t heard in our geeky context. Loose, complete and carded are a few common ones used to describe a toy’s condition, and they make sense once you’ve been indoctrinated into the culture. I won’t even go into the many acronyms that litter the collector lexicon, lest my toy geek card be revoked.
What one considers “complete”, meaning that a figure includes all of its original accessories, can vary depending on both the figure and the collector. Take for example the RAH Battle Corps series, most of which included a plethora of weapons along with spring-loaded missile launchers. Can I consider a Battle Corps figure to be complete if it doesn’t have its big honkin’ launcher and two missiles? I suppose that’s up to me, and in the case of most of the series’ figures, it isn’t really a life or death situation. However, there are a few for which I think the launcher is essential.
So have you ever paid an arm and a leg for a half-inch long bit of plastic? Me neither, but some collectors have in order to consider a certain figure “complete.” Heavy Metal, the driver of the Mauler tank, came with a tiny microphone that plugged into his helmet. Of course, in 1985 most of us were kids who played with our toys, and I’d venture to guess that said microphone was either lost shortly after opening the packaging, or eaten by the dog or perhaps a younger sibling.
So the whole law of supply and demand thing is in full effect with this particular accessory, and now it costs mucho dinero. Bet old Adam Smith never figured tiny plastic bits of toys into his economic theory.
Eh, I’d just buy one from Marauder Inc. (whose mics are CLOSE to looking like the real deal), paint it brown, and pass it off as an original–only difference is, I’d actually GLUE IT into the hole where your’re supposed to put it.
I never had the Mauler or Heavy Metal, so the mic dilemma didn’t apply to me back in the day. Instead, I suffered far more embarrassing losses such as Chewbacca’s bowcaster, Belloq’s map, and Rip Cord’s rifle. I think I’d be cool with a repro, even the black ones I’ve seen since the cartoons and comics have never been known for their consistency. That is, unless Heavy Metal was my absolute, most favorite G.I. Joe character of all time and the original microphone was the best accessory ever. Otherwise, it’s just not worth the dough.
Ah! Ah! Ah!
I have Hardtop’s mic!
Bought him sealed in baggie w keel haul sealed and a sealed flagg mic. Completed my fig collection and my flagg that day!
And if i had fb, this thing would have its own page.
I don’t recall ever having the mic for Heavy Metal. I remember looking through all the bits and never saw it. I wound up cutting up a rifle strap and making my own. Worked for me.
I laughed when I saw this as the entry today. 🙂 The best thing about drivers is they tend to sit inside their vehicles a lot. So Heavy Metal kept cool inside the Mauler for 25 years, and his mic stayed with him. I was shocked to find these parts are so valuable, but it makes sense.
The same pair of bratty kids lost not 1, but 2 of my Heavy Metal mics. They lost the first in ’87. But, I found a kid in my class getting out of Joes who sold me his for $5. (Honestly, that $5 hurt more than the $125 I paid for a MIB Heavy Metal figure….) I then put the Mauler up on a top shelf above where these kids could get it. Alas, I was wrong and my 2nd mic was lost forever, too.
I agree with the Marauder Mics. The black looks great on Heavy Metal. All my loose figs have the Marauder pieces. I’ve kept my original still sealed in the baggie since the fakes are getting to the poit where you can’t tell them from the originals. I wouldn’t pay more than $30 today for a loose mic because there is simply too great a chance of it being fake. (I know of at least 3 major collectors and 2 dealers who have been fooled by repro mics.)
But, to me, Heavy Metal as a figure is only cool with the a mic of some sort. Seeing him with that hole in his face is just something that ruins the figure for me.
letal – email feedback@flagpoints.com if you feel like it. wanna compare mics!