The constants in GI Joe since the 80s are I think a large part of what keeps collectors coming back to new iterations of the line. The well-known characters are like a well worn ballcap, or a favorite couch. They just feel really comfortable, and we (at least guys like me) can be averse to throwing them away when they’ve
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If there’s been one (make that two) figures Joe ‘toon and comic fans have yearned for over the years, it’s Tomax and Xamot in their Extensive Enterprises business suits. I should have prefaced that by saying adult Joe fans, since I certainly didn’t give a whit about having any business-suited action figures during my childhood Joe years. It’s only with
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The Steel Brigade made a surprise return to the Joe mythos at the tail end of the new sculpt era. It was a welcome sight for me, as I’ve always liked both the SB concept as well as the unique helmet design. Though the familiar design made an appearance (and was removable!) as part of 2004’s Anti-Venom squad, we got
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Heavy Duty has been saddled with the label of Replacement Roadblock for some time. I’ve never thought of him in that way. My initial introduction to the character came from the original 1991 figure, which was still available when I came back to Joes as a collector. I simply saw him as his specialty described, rather than another Roadblock Sure,
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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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I’ll admit that lately I’ve been lazy with updates. You’ve probably noticed the overall effect: terse articles, missed days, etc etc. Things have been busy for me lately, and I’ve also had some health issues lately, so it’s tough to keep up. I didn’t want to go another day without a post, so here’s a blast from the past. Maybe
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During the new sculpt and 25th anniversary eras of GI Joe, it took Hasbro two tries to get a nice Baroness on the pegs. The 2002 relaunch version netted us this weird robotic looking version of Cobra’s leading lady. There was much weeping and gnashing of teeth until she surfaced again in the Valor vs. Venom series. By that time,
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I’ve covered an individual figure from this set before, but I thought it might be interesting to look at the package as a whole. When the Infantry Division set hit Toys R Us, I initially bought only a single copy. I didn’t think that I would care for it much, but there was something about it that struck my fancy.
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When it comes to toys and packaging, sometimes what you see is not what you get. The 2005 GI Joe Moray Hydrofoil is a perfect example. The box art depicted a white and black colored repaint of the classic Cobra Hydrofoil. It looked something like a law enforcement vehicle to me, and the matching flames on the hull were just
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Action features are a sticky wicket. While kids love ’em (and they do, believe me) collectors tend to loathe them. I’m okay with action features when they’re integrated well with the figures. Weirdly scaled limbs, giant buttons or fall-apart bits tend to turn me off. However, when the feature is themed with the character and still allows for playability beyond
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