Like Flint, the Danger on the Docks set contained a variant version of the Cobra Eel. Where the Flint resembled the vintage figure, the Eel was the opposite. It’s not based on the 1985 toy’s color scheme. That’s at least one positive for those who couldn’t pick up the Comicon version. Funny enough, I think this variant’s paint scheme holds
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I will confess that I haven’t always been kind to the 25th anniversary figures here at the blog. Like most collectors, I was excited to hear about a new super-articulated series of GI Joes. The early efforts however didn’t exite mean in terms of the toys’ playability. That’s the main gripe I’ve had about them over the years. Whether it
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The Snow Wolf made his appearance in the first series of Valor vs. Venom, which was sensible considering the animal theme of the Cobra forces. As troops, they’re venomized to become feral creatures with increased abilities to withstand the extreme conditions of cold weather. They’re also crack shots. Who would figure wolves for marksmen (markswolves?) The mold first appeared as
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The first Storm Shadow of the 25th anniversary line was a bit of an interesting departure from the original 1984 figure design. I think that it really showcased this series’ attempt to take the highly recognizable character designs of the Real American Hero era into a new super-detailed direction. I don’t know what constitutes a historically accurate ninja garb, but
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As a toy collector, I’m not the biggest fan of the concept of “chase” items, especially when they’re planned and advertised as such. For me, there’s no thrill of the hunt when it comes to spending disposable income on toys. I don’t want to go through a bunch of hoops to collect them all. If others do, that’s cool. It’s
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Operation Crimson Sabotage was a boon for o-ring army builders, and it even hooked me, a guy who hadn’t dipped his toe into the craze. Between the OCS and the Cobra Infantry pack, I amassed a decent army in a short time. The same mold (minus the Cobra head under the helmet) was also available as the Agent Faces mail-in.
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I’m not afraid to say that the 1987 Battle Armor equipped Cobra Commander is one of my favorite figure versions of the infamous enemy leader. When I picked up the figure back in ’87 (one of my last kid purchases of Joe toys) I found the concept interesting. I had not viewed old snake face as a front-line fighter, and
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By Past Nastification They can’t all be winners. Before the Iron Grenadiers existed, Destro’s organizational presence was MARS. The only MARS/pre-IG character figure to gain action figure status was the 1984 Scrap Iron, somewhat erroneously presented as a Cobra figure. With an amazing no-frills dark blue uniform and red padding, the figure didn’t look like an employee of Destro. It
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Sepentor–love him or hate him, you can’t deny his ability to spark lively conversation among Joe fans. In his various incarnations, be it toy, cartoon or comic, he’s at least unique. My personal opinion of him is based mostly on my first impressions as a kid, particularly as an 80s Marvel Zombie. I thought he would personify, at least conceptually,
Read moreTalk about the early days of online GI Joe exclusives. The BAT pack was offered way back in the comparative dark ages of the early oughts. Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration. It’s not like the set was an alt.toys.gijoe exclusive or something. Regardless, it’s crazy to think that the set is nearing fifteen years old. Dang. That means I’m old
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