Short-Fuze is one of those original Joes who never really got his.moment in the sun. He was pretty quickly relegated to history after the first series of figures, and never received a revival in later years like Hawk or Grunt. The closest he came was with Downtown, another blonde mortarman, who could have easily been given the name (and actually
Read moreWhen does a repaint pass from odd to over the top? I think when gold boots and gloves come into play, there’s no turning back. This exclusive Firefly very nearly reaches Funskool levels of craziness. But you know what? It somehow works for me. It’s a crimson Firefly! First off, who wouldn’t mind having a crimson Firefly? It’s been done
Read moreOf all the Cobras who dress ridiculously, and there’s no shortage of them, Dr. Mindbender had managed to consistently look like a snickerdoodle even into the new sculpt era. Before he finally donned a normal looking labcoat in Valor vs Venom, he trotted out this number, an unofficial Python Patrol outfit. This figure suffers from a particularly brutal form of
Read moreIs Zartan going to look like this in the new movie?! Uh, no. By all appearances, the master of disguise is going to look like Jonathan Pryce for most of the movie. I’m bummed that the filmmakers haven’t been able to throw even a little nod to the character’s iconic look. Sure, the 80’s style is kind of out-there, what
Read moreYesterday’s post was about a popular variant of a main character turned into a desirable mail-in that was offered through Hasbro for years. Today’s entry is a mail-in that saw release for a short time and continues to be available at rock bottom prices. The new sculpt era was laughably short on mail-ins when compared to the glory days of
Read moreSometimes character variants seem like quick cash grabs or simple excuses to keep main characters on the pegs. These days, Snake Eyes, Duke and Storm Shadow make regular appearances in each new series. Back in the 80’s, Cobra Commander wouldn’t get a new figure on the shelves until 1987. However, this mail-in was available three years before. Unlike other early
Read moreThe original GI Joes based on the four branches of the US military were released in the small format as part of the 30th anniversary celebration in 1994. The molds were well done interpretations of those venerable 60’s toys, with a Real American Hero twist. Fast forward a few years and the molds showed up again, this time as keychains.
Read moreIf the Joes got their top pilot in 1983 with Ace, Cobra followed suit the next year with Wild Weasel. The two even had a very memorable dogfight in the pages of the Marvel comic. However, that’s not my first memory of him. I first recall seeing him in Marvel issue 25 during the swamp battle with Zartan. Seeing a
Read moreThe first time I saw the original Alley Viper was at a flea market in the early 90’s. I had been out of GI Joe collecting for a few years, and had not yet discovered the wonderful Tomart’s guide that would present me with pictures of all the Joes and Cobras I had missed. The figure was sitting in a
Read moreTalk about a turnaround on a figure. The first Deep Six was a toy with a fun action element, but was also essentially a brick with moving arms. This one finally gets the Joes’ deep diver into the traditional articulation style, but not without one disappointment–the helmet. While the first Deep Six was outfitted in a bulky pressure suit that
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