Tiger Force Sneak Peek (1991)
Here’s an oddity. I bought this Tiger Force Sneak Peek on eBay several years ago, when I was on an international figure kick. I managed to get all of the UK Tiger Force repaints, but only this one is incomplete.
The wonderfully colorful and exclusive Tiger Force paint scheme is what keeps my interest in this mold that was fairly boring in its American iteration . The Night Force repaint looked much cooler. I suppose it’s only natural that I should like this version, considering I have a fondness for the out of the ordinary.
Even if you don’t care for the various color schemes, his accessories and specialty are a nice departure from the usual infantry. Sneak Peek is one of those support role guys whose presence can really flesh out the team. Why has the original figure been one of the more uninteresting Joes to me? Maybe it’s been the head mold that’s turned me off. In a way, he looks a little Battle Force 2000-ish, especially with his Giant Turtleneck Collar from the Future.
A bigger question for this figure is: where the heck did it come from? Mine was in a baggie (which I opened–I don’t know why). The only gear included was a black Hit & Run type machine gun. The language on the baggie appears to be Greek. So was this some sort of international mail-in, or even a pack-in figure? Anyone know? Very odd.
Sneak Peek always kind of looked kind of pudgy to me. Not “fat”, exactly, but not as in-shape as the rest of the Joes. I’m not sure why, as his actual dimensions aren’t that different than the other figures.
Would he look so pudgy if he had a head swap?
On the subject of “fat” figures, i for one would love an overwight Stratoviper just like the one seen in Once upon a Joe.
Another figure gladly received in th UK because we missed out on the original!
This could be a vehicle pack-in for the Greek market. Hasbro once had Gung-Ho in his Marine Dress Blues piloting the Retaliator on its vehicle box art, so when it comes to foreign releases, the sky’s the limit.
I would guess that Sneak Peek is pudgy because he was based on Stephen King’s then-teenaged son, Owen? Even the figure’s card art seems more personalized than others.
It takes a lot to get me interested in Sneak Peek, but I wouldn’t mind seeing him updated for the modern era. A set of foreign Tiger Force homages would be great, especially if they included the yellow Blizzard and white haired Outback.
I always hated this guy. Boy did I hate him. I don’t know why. I guess it was the completist in me that compelled me to even get the original figure. Every time I looked at the figure it was with utter contempt. He sat in my Joe bag unused. Only his M-16 and his binoculars got any use.
I just couldn’t stand him!
There were some more shoulder area flair on ’87 figures, like Maverick, Knockdown, Taurus, Law (sorta, but that works well…), Backstop. Sea Slug.
Looking at Sneak Peek here with the Tiger Force pattern so reminds me of the 1988 Tripwire figure from just a couple days ago. Sneak Peek originally “padded” as a new mine detector?
Sneak Peeks helmet is nice, but it should have been removable. The 1987 version gray and red coloring never really seemed very action adventure oriented, so this figure rarely got much attention when I had it.
I’m not a big fan by any means, but I still think an entire complete Tiger Force collection would be cool to have (including international). Realistically it’s out there but it is still a ton of fun when it’s all assembled.
When we redo something in Europe it’s pretty wild. A really different looking Sneak Peek this one and not even the best of the EU Tiger Force. That honour must belong to silver-haired Outback with his Hello Kitty t-shirt!
I like his “jeans”!
While I’m not a fan of Sneak Peek, this figure would look a lot better if it didn’t have the tiger camo on the pants.
There’s a Greek bagged euro mutt too. There were tons of overstock of these that hit the market in the early 2000s. It’s a cool figure for sure.
These bagged Joes were available in the Greek market and the text on the bag is indeed in Greek language. You had to buy some lucky pogs and if you were lucky enough your gift was a bagged Joe with a random riffle or sword (none of the original accessories of the figure included). Greek market was 1-2 year late in relation to US market, these bagged Joes were available towards the end of the Greek G.I.Joe release (~1997).
Another version of the bagged Joes was that of non transparent lucky bags (costed a 299 Drachmas which is almost 1 Euro). The content of the bags was similar to the transparent bags with a figure with a randomly selected weapon. These bags were mentioned as anniversary and the TV commercial stated that 200 different figures were available.