The Power of Packaging: 1983 Torpedo
This package art called out to me on the same day that I first saw carded Joe figures in a store. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to buy him that day. I did score Flash, however. It wasn’t long before I was able to go back and get him. It’s such a compelling painting, and the pose is very unique among the early carded figures. Brilliant.
Why weren’t you able to get Torpy that day? Was Flash marked down due to being a year older & you only had enough cheddar that day for him? No denying his card art is probably top 5 of all time.
Might be the only Joe upside down
I came in too late for Torpedo’s original card art, but the amazing recreation Hasbro did on his 25th Anniversary version was eye-catching to me even as an adult. It’s a great design and Hasbro’s art team definitely knew how to bring it back in the day.
I love the package art on old toys. I bought an Encore Ironhide because i had such fond memories of the package art. I didnt care he had no head
Last year i got an Torpeedo in an eBay lot and i’m quite impressed with him
Torpedo was one of the last 1983 figures I found. A friend got the first one I had seen for his birthday in late August of that year. The party was at a swimming pool and having Torpedo to play with in the pool was beyond awesome. By the time I got one, though, swimming season was over and the figure never really took off in my collection.
I love the Toys by Roy sticker. I really miss the old days of independent toy shops. There was one within biking distance of my house until 1988. I remember their going out of business sale where I finished up replacing some 1986 Joes that were still on the shelves. I guess, in a way, though, those old brick and mortar independents have been replaced by the online specialty toy dealers we all know and love (or hate!) these days. So, I guess they do still exist, just in a different format.
The weird part, at least where I live, is that the absence of KB Toys in malls has resulted in independent toy stores popping up in some places. I’ve also seen independent book stores and even CD stores (?!) popping up to fill the gap left by large chains that went out of business. I’m glad and I hope they last, since all the stores I really cared about in malls seemed to be the ones disappearing.
Torpedo is another one of those figures that even with fun accessories is a little lacking, but the cardart and filecard make up for it.
Nice art!