I’ve covered Hasbro’s noble attempt at online only sales or DTC in my Med Alert entry, so I won’t go throuh the details of that ambitious but unsuccessful program again. That’s not to give the line’s figures short shrift, as there were some real gems in it. Major Bludd was one of the major Joe characters that didn’t get a
Read moreThe Valor vs. Venom line of the 2000’s produced its fair share of types of packouts, or ways in which figures were offered. There were two packs of hero vs villain and army builder, comic book three packs and five and six pack themed sets. But the days of single packed figures did return for a few series of somewhat
Read moreToday, your humble Joe A Day writer is attending Power-Con/Thunder-Con, the first convention dedicated to He-Man and Thundercats, two hugely popular 80’s toy and animation properties. Joe has always been my favorite 80’s toyline, but Masters of the Universe ranks high among my personal geek loves, primarily due to the Filmation cartoon and the recent Masters of the Universe Classics
Read moreWhat’s the goofiest Cobra vehicle ever made? The one vehicle that doesn’t seem to come together as a concept yet is awesomely, stupidly lovable? The Buzz Boar? The Pogo? Those two are probably the most ridiculously specific yet pointless vehicles, to be sure. But for sheer bat-excrement insanity, it doesn’t get much more bat-excrementally insane than the Cobra Rat. The
Read moreAnother figure from the end of the Rise of Cobra movie line, the Desert Viper is a fairly successful blending of parts from several Cobra troopers. The extensive use of removable web gear may be the biggest improvement from the vintage to the modern era in terms of the versatility of existing molds. Some folks complain about Hasbro’s reuse of
Read moreAccording to his bio, Slash is inhumanly evil. This mercenary ninja is an apprentice to Storm Shadow, who has a grudging respect for him, only for his skill. This begs the question why a basically honorable character like Storm Shadow would associate with such a cruel and heartless individual. Slash was part of a two pack which also included the
Read moreI miss the days of the big retailer catalogs. Each year around back to school time brought the beloved Christmas catalog or Wish Book in the case of Sears. Before the days of instant coverage and inside intel from the internet, the catalogs were the way that a kid like me found out about all the latest toys. I think
Read moreIn honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day, I’ve asked Seamus McGillicutty, pirate impersonator extraordinaire to write a guest blog. Welcome, me buckos, tis time for what I’m told is a blog post. Never heard of it, though it is soundin’ like it could be part of a sailin’ ship that I wouldn’t like to be tied to. This here
Read moreThe Joe line has had many sub-teams scattered throughout the years, some being more popular than others. Tiger Force, Python Patrol and Night Force have seen releases in both the vintage and more modern series. All of them were known for a common paint scheme or style of decoration of uniforms. One of the sub-teams that doesn’t get much play
Read moreThe venerable vintage Tunnel Rat mold has seen release numerous times since its debut in 1987. It’s been Night Force (twice), a Sonic Fighter, Tiger Force (in Europe), a comic pack, and has even had a Funskool repaint. In 2004, it showed up again in a desert themed Toys R Us exclusive multi-pack. Each figure in the set was adorned
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