Here’s the earliest Real American Hero cardback, featuring just nine figures in the cross-sell art. It’s amazing to look back on something like this, and imagine a kid in 1982 turning it over to see the other original members of the revamped, smaller GI Joe toys. I don’t recall if my first carded 1982 figure, Flash, had a nine or
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By KansasBrawler Doc is a tough figure for me. Like a lot of the 25th Anniversary product, he looks a bit dated. However, I went through the work to snag the stickers for the Doc mail away (and bought a couple comic packs I probably wouldn’t have bought otherwise to get said stickers), so I feel I should leave him
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Look out, it’s the LCV! I wonder if buyers at Toy Fair asked–what the hell is this!? Proof that the GI Joe design team could do whatever they wanted after a few years of huge success. I also never was able to sit a figure on it motorcycle style, as Bazooka is in the inset photo. Need to check if
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Is there a more iconic Cobra vehicle than the HISS? This early villainous ride hasn’t been ecplised as far as I’m concerned. While there have been multiple re-imaginings of it, and other subsequent vehicles have become more elaborate, the original still rules in my eyes as the de facto Cobra ground combat platform. Geewunner’s Fast Attack Tank resembles the true
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Hey kids, it’s another Kre-O minifigure. I can’t resist, they’re so darn photogenic. Besides, can you really complain about about an homage to ’84 Zartan? Especially one that carries an alternate head on its own special little handle. Weird, I know, but somehow it makes sense. All of the hallmarks of Zartan’s outfit are well represented. There’s the always amazing
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Quick, everybody! Look! Get to Toys R Us! Oh wait, this is an old ad. Check out the name references here. I have to wonder whether the copy writer didn’t bother to use the names of the toys, or if the ad was produced before names were finalized. My favorite aspect of this ad is just how gosh-darn shiny that
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In 1993, the Street Fighter II video game characters made their way into the 3 & 3/4 inch o-ring format (and were officially part of the GI Joe line thanks to a tiny logo on the packaging). The fighting figures also appeared in the revamped twelve inch Hall of Fame format. While the idea of these characters inhabiting the world
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By KansasBrawler General Hawk from the Eagle’s Edge three pack was the only Pursuit of Cobra re-release that I didn’t have in some form. That meant I definitely had some pretty high expectations for him. I liked this look for Hawk back in 2011 and I was honestly pretty disappointed I was never able to find him at retail. This
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I became fascinated with the DIC cartoon series for some strange reason back in the early 2000s. At the time, I was delving more deeply into the toys that I had missed between 1988 and 1991. The cartoon was a bit of a revelation in that it featured animated versions of later toys. That in itself was exciting, even if
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No matter how many Kre-O figures I cover, or how long it is between them, I still enjoy revisiting these little guys. They’re just pure joy to me; nice little blocky breakdowns of the toys I loved as a kid. The class of 1986 was the last set of Real American Hero Joes that I connected with on the same
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