Steeler (2004)
A few days ago, I covered Rock ‘N Roll, who though he had a couple of issues, was one of my favorite comic pack versions of the ’82-83 Joes. Steeler on the other hand is, uh, well, look for yourself.
I know the comic pack figures’ heads tended toward the small side, but poor Ralph Pulaski looks like he’s been on the wrong end of a bad experience with a head shrinker. That’s got to be the teeniest GI Joe head ever. It almost looks like something went wrong with the mold, and the head ended up squeezed.
All is not lost however, as the helmet covers a multitude of sins. The helmet is the one element I find interesting about the figure. The design truly goes for the Marvel comic’s look, rather than the old action figure. As such, Steeler’s helmet bears a bit of a resemblance to the X-Man Cyclops’ visor in its 1960s appearance. It’s odd, yet effective at least in covering up that horrible head.
The rest of the figure isn’t much to note, especially the ill-advised use of Snow Job’s forearms. I suppose it might have been an attempt to recreate the original figure’s rolled cuffs, but the effect is downright ugly, especially considering the rolled short sleeve molds. This Steeler is one odd duck, indeed.
Maybe he’s an Inhumanoid?
Another piece of custom fodder for me (at least for an extra figure). I’d be duplicating a custom I saw where a guy stuck the head of the ’02 Mirage (the first one) on the body, BUT I would put the arms of the Comic Pack Rock N’ Roll on it to have hands that match the skin tone. Anyone like the sound of an armor-less Mirage figure? Here’s the custom in question:
http://www.joecustoms.com/customs/customs_specific_item.php?kind=figure&thumbs=on&alpha=M&page=5&id=5936
@Acer
I’ve never been a fan of the armor, so I like Raptor’s Mirage a lot. Excellent parts match-up on that one. As he mentions there, it’s a great primer for anyone who is hesitant about customizing.
Hasbro’s combination of Mace’s super bulky 90’s torso and their scrawny redo of Steeler’s noggin doomed this figure for life. The original ’82/’83 Steeler has yet to be outdone to this day, a rare feat for such an early version.
Couldn’t Hasbro used the Steeler 83 swivel arms/Wild Bill version 1 arms? I still like this figure, though.
Ah, the old “gloves painted as hands” trick. And “shirt tail painted as belt” trick. Man, I don’t know if ANY effort was put into this figure other than the helmet.
Bad body…
While this figure doesn’t work for Steeler, it does make for a better Greenshirt than the actual Greenshirt pack. I ended up with a few of these since my local Wal Mart clearanced the pack for $5. So, that was his role. Plus, he had a nice complement of accessories for a Comic pack figure.