Psyche-Out (1990 European Tiger Force)
Even though 1987 was the last year that I collected Joes as a kid, I still find myself looking back to that year with as many fond memories of the year’s figures as anything from ’82 to ’86. One of my all-time faves (Battle Armor Cobra Commander) was released that year. He was one of the two Joe figures that I held onto when collecting toys became “uncool”. The ’87 Joe team members still had that magic feeling for me when I saw their little postage stamp sized pictures on the cardbacks.
Psyche-Out was one of the stranger looking yet no less fun Joes that year. If I didn’t know better at the time, I might have thought he was some kind of radar operator, what with the amount of antennae and dishes protruding from his person. On top of that, his colors were odd, and that hair–what a mop! Speaking of hair, I guess he felt like dying it black when he made the trip overseas.
On the further subject of color, the European Tiger Force eschewed the domestic releases’ jungle schemes for a more colorful palate of oranges, blues and even red. Though they don’t fit in exactly with their earlier brethren, the figures make for an interesting counterpart. I was excited to see some of these colors return years later on Dial-Tone and Stalker in the Toys R Us exclusive Tiger Force multi-pack.
For a lower tier character, Psyche-Out really made the rounds in the sub-teams. He appeared in Night Force, Tiger Force and the Sonic Fighters. The guy must have had a full footlocker by the time his stint ended.
Technically, he’s a deceptive warfare specialist, and I’m guessing all that equipment of his is designed to disrupt radar, camera feed, any kind of Cobra surveillance gear–therefore, deceiving Cobra into thinking they’re home free.
A very minor correction: Psyche-Out was part of the Super Sonic Fighters. Still really like this blog; keep up the great work, Rob.
He was lucky to enough to receive a more dignified look as a Sonic Fighter. I’ mean, the original Psyche-Out figure truly lives up to his name: That antennae on the back of his head somehow bothered me more than his awful haircut or weird uniform colors. It’s like he’s begging to have a Cobra sniper to take him out. This Tiger Force version reminds me of the ’93 Battle Corps stuff.
For a figure that appeared in more teams than an NFL wide receiver, I’m really surprised he hasn’t been given the modern update he deserves. I half expected the club would do him (fingers crossed for figure 13) but nay!! p.s. I love your blog so much!!
Version 1…the best.
I had this figure for a long time, but it couldn’t salvage the character for me. Ultimately, only the Night Force version made the cut when I downsized my collection. But, this isn’t a bad figure. And, since he’s riduculously cheap when compared to the other Euro exclusive figures, he’s a great way to get into the Euro TF without breaking the bank.
Really? How much does a loose but complete sample usually go for?
~30’ish in the most recent auctions. Since his accessories are the same as the American figure’s, you can sometimes get them cheaper than that. I’m using Master Collector math. $30 for a figure is cheap when you compare him to the $150+ of a Tiger Force Blizzard. It’s all in how you look at it. 🙂
Even still, that’s utterly ridiculous. Sometimes I question why people price certain figures the way they do. I was at an antique shop the other day, they have a little bundle of Joe figures: Footloose, Zarana, a Gyro-Viper, Torpedo, a Tele-Viper, Blowtorch, Cutter, and Cover Girl. The Cover Girl looked to be in great shape, and they charged $30 for her. I didn’t buy it, ’cause even I have limits.
Pricing depends upon 2 factors: supply and demand. The reality is that the supply of TF Psyche Outs is the same as TF Outbacks. But, there is substantial more demand for the Outback and he goes for 3 times the PO figure. But, the PO is still rare enough to command a higher price than most American figures. If you look at the most desirable foreign releases, the demand far outweighs the supply and the prices get into triple digits very fast. But, even items that are nearly identical to the American figure (Brazilian Flint, Bazooka, Argentine Footloose, etc) are so hard to find that people will pay double to triple the price of the American figure to get them. They just don’t come up often enough. But, foriegn figures that are amazing, like the Funskool Spearhead, and have a strong supply sell for 1/8 the price of a US NF Spearhead.
In the end, it’s up to the individual collector to pay what you think is fair. But, be warned, your opinions may not mesh with those of the rest of the collecting community. Just a decade ago, Ebay was flooded with carded Argentine Satan figures that went unsold with $30 BIN’s. Many thought that was exorbitant since the Sparta & Destros were selling for $10 and the ninjas were in the same case. So, they passed them by waiting for the price to come down. Now, those Satans sell for $300 or more. Oops. Wish I had bought a lot more of them back when they were “cheap”.
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