TBT: Hardtop (2004 Tiger Force)
In honor of this year’s convention set theme, I thought I’d post a throwback to an old post that’s appropriate, I think. Enjoy…
Who do you think would be the least likely member of Tiger Force, the Joes’ jungle specialist team? How about a guy who drives a huge gantry that launches a space shuttle. Right.
Wow, the color scheme rivals something out of Funskool. First he was saddled with a baby blue outfit, and now this. Although when you think about it, what need does a heavy vehicle operator have for camouflage? He’s usually sitting in the largest piece of equipment around. Besides, orange is a pretty common color within the space flight field, isn’t it? I know I’ve seen astronauts and other NASA types doing space stuff while wearing bright orange. Maybe that’s why there aren’t any of the other typical Tiger Force colors here. Or maybe he’s also a huge Cincinnati Bengals fan. Wait, never mind. He’s from Chicago.
Hey, he’s got the original mic! But not his original handgun, which is a bear to find. Apparently so for Hasbro as well. He’s also missing his original legs, so he’s stuck with 1984 Firefly’s. Yeesh, not Firefly again. The collectors club and Toys R Us went to that well so many times in the 00’s, there ought to be a Six Degrees of ’84 Firefly trivia game.
Hardtop is one of those really really specific Joes who don’t get much attention or much love from the fandom. I don’t think I’ve seen him in any online discussions about which figures we’d like to see in a modern interpretation. Poor guy.
I have the original, which I got at a flea market. Yes, he didn’t have his mic or pistol. Truth be told, I have a soft spot for the more obscure Joes, sometimes due to their names. Hardtop is definitely one such case.
His colour scheme makes sense if he gets on the defiant and lands on a Tiger force planet.
@ Acer
I’m with you there. I wish some of the obscure guys got revisited more. The line cant survive on Duke and Snakeeyes.
If Hardtop weren’t such a rare & pricey figure, I might find a way to team him up with Tollbooth and do some battlefield engineering. But the original figure discolors easily, so combined with rarity, I’m losing my enthusiasm. Until you pointed them out, I didn’t notice the Firefly legs; a strange choice, but they kinda work. The consistent paint job top-to-bottom gives a coveralls look, which works – even in tiger stripes.
Ah! Ah! Ah! Great review!
HARDTOP! Will I EVER own you??