GI Joe has a long history of astronaut tie-in toys, dating back to 1966. It only stands to reason, as the 1960s were the space decade. Just a few years after the introduction of the moveable fighting man, Hasbro produced a space capsule and astronaut set. Later iterations were more fanciful, and by the 1990s, the small scale GI Joe
Read moreWhat sort of non action figure product did Hasbro license out during the years between the Real American Hero years and the small Joes relaunch? How about horribly sugary and absolutely unhealthy drink snacks? Yeah, thanks for the diabetes, guys. Is this the stuff Outback drinks when he’s out in the wilderness? I’m sorry, he most likely drinks water. But
Read moreby KansasBrawler Figures like Cutter are what really killed me about the 25th Anniversary line. I loved Cutter growing up (though my only version was the really awesome D.E.F. version). The figure I had was great and reading his filecard, I found out he and I shared a birthplace. That was really awesome to my kid brain and it’s still
Read moreAs mail-ins go, the later issue Steel Brigade figure is pretty interesting. The original is by no means a slouch, and by the 90s had been quite a novel approach to offering kids a special figure. Though no parts were chosen by the young fans, the bio and specialties were generated from choices marked on the order form. I can’t
Read moreIn 1996, I was still collecting vintage 60s GI Joes. I had amassed a little assemblage including a boxed original Action Soldier, a loose complete Green Beret, and a partially complete Scramble Pilot. Unfortunately, I would sell my collection within a few years, as college expenses mounted. Bummer. Enter the Masterpiece Edition figures. At a fraction of the price of
Read moreI am still impressed that so many characters were possible with the limited number of parts available within the Kre-O universe. From the simplest, like Rock N Roll, to the elaborate like Nemesis Enforcer, the Hasbro team managed to get the most bang for their limited bucks. Alpine was a figure I’d hoped to see before the line ran its
Read moreThis more subdued color scheme followed up the Battle Corps’ repackaging of a planned (and colorful) Eco Warrior Outback. I don’t recall if either version was difficult to find, as the last two years of the Real American Hero line lingered on shelves in my area. When Outback was revealed as part of last year’s con set, I was hoping
Read moreNo, it’s not the Miller offshoot beer from the 90s, it’s the former American football placekicker cum Slaughter’s Renegade member. As a kid, I admit that I didn’t really get the Renegades. They just seemed to me like some oddly attired group that didn’t really fit into the existing Joe group. I suppose that was the point, as the crew
Read moreSometimes as a collector of large, long lived toy lines, you get burned by the repetition of main characters. Often, it doesn’t hurt so bad to buy multiple versions of one person. For instance, the vintage Star Wars line, for all its representations of Luke, Han and Leia, the big three were wearing outfits significantly different than the last. Of
Read moreHow many boxes of cereal would you buy as an adult collector in order to capture an exclusive figure? Would you have downed five boxes of Fruit Brute to get a free Membros figure? Come on, don’t be shy. If you’re a toy collector, you know you’ve done it, especially if you were collecting the Star Wars Power of the
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