The 1986 Low -Light is one of those iconic Real American Hero figures whose design I think can’t really be improved upon. The mold had a couple of repaints, and one as late as the 2000s still managed to impress. Even the modern construction version stayed very close to the original design. The Slaughter’s Marauders repaints are an odd bunch.
Read moreWith all the speculation about the goings on for GI Joe’s 50th birthday, and considering the collectors club has shown yet another small scale figure based on the original Joe, I thought I’d join in and talk about one of the 30th Salute figures. It’s hard for me to belive it’s been twenty years since the last big GI Joe
Read moreI don’t know why, but every now and then a repaint inspires me to write a joeaday-ku. Enjoy. Deep in dank jungle. Mainframe pecks at his keyboard. Monochrome war plan.
Read moreWhile some small Joe collectors are lamenting the fact that there doesn’t appear to be much mass retail GI Joe presence on the horizon, I have to feel even worse for those large scale figure collectors, who have already been without much in the way of new product. Even the latest film didn’t generate the traditional highly articulated twelve inch
Read moreFrom the Predator series of GI Joe–I mean the Pursuit of Cobra, comes Jungle Assault Duke. It’s the sort of look that the team’s top sergeant hadn’t really sported before. I suppose the Tiger Force version was a jungle theme, at least in theory. I have to say that this Duke has most others beat in the meanness department. There’s
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I find the second series of Star Brigade figures to be much more interesting than their prececessors. Not only were some new parts mixed in among the reused elements, but the generic card art was jettisoned in favor of character specific packaging, in keeping with the rest of Real American Hero era. When there’s a giant (preferably painted) portrait on
Read moreFinally, I found this figure at retail. It seems like I’ve been hunting for it forever. Ever since I saw the first images online of the repainted “discount store” wave, this Snake Eyes, along with Storm Shadow, were a must-buy. In lieu of the 1991 coloring, it was done up in green. It’s something of an homage to the Heavy
Read moreI consider myself an “opener” when it comes to toys. After all, if I can’t get my hands on it, what’s the point? While I love well made card and packaging art, that hasn’t translated into my collecting habits. So when I picked up this figure, I fully intended to open it up, as I’ve done with all the Funskool
Read moreOf all the versions of Scarlett to produce, they made her in a karate outfit that appeared in the opening pages of Marvel Comics issue #2. I was hoping for an arctic outfit along the lines of the Snake Eyes contained in the same comic pack. Given the limited parts reused for each of the packs, it’s not surprising that
Read moreMutt and Junkyard were one of my absolute favorite figures in the embarrassment of cool action figure riches that was 1984. Though Firefly and Storm Shadow stood out on the Cobra side, Mutt, Blowtorch and Recondo were hits with me. Mutt got the most use, since his look and purpose suited most any mission. The animal companion was just the
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