GI Joe’s 80s period stands as a triumph of interconnected toys and accessories. Thanks to the common design and size of the figures, there are very few instances of characters not being able to fit in vehicles or borrow weapons and backpacks from their comrades (or opponents). As the series continued into the 90s, Hasbro veered off the compatability path
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This page has not only some ’86 and ’87 Joe favorites like the Tomahawk and Mobile Command Center, but it’s also got a sampling of non-Joe product. This one shows a couple of vehicles from the Gung Ho branded line. The amazing thing about these two molds is the fact that they continued to be produced into the 2000s. Also
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By KansasBrawler I’ve reviewed a lot of modern product during these Field Reports. I suppose that means it’s time to review the one that started it all—25th Anniversary Snake Eyes. The 25th Anniversary line began when I had just started graduate school down in Kansas. As such, I was actually completely unaware of any new, non-Sigma 6 Joe product being
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Can you believe this is a page from a coloring book? From what I can tell, it came from the same Rise of Cobra book that featured a color by number page comprised of three colors, most of which were black. Makes sense though, when you consider the movie uniforms were done in black, off black and slightly less black.
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Looking back at the 25th anniversary series figures, I’ve got to say it’s often a bittersweet reminiscence. On this tenth year since the first appearance of the Joe and Cobra packs, the differences between the action figure market of just a decade ago is striking. I see fewer toy lines featuring individual character art on their packaging. Matt Trakker (and
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If there’s one GI Joe character I’m interested in seeing within any iteration of the toys, it’s Firefly. His design just seems to translate nicely to whatever format comes along. In fact, my first toe-dip into Kre-O was with a set that included the camo-garbed Cobra saboteur. The Kre-O Firefly was a nice minifig, but there’s something about the more
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By KansasBrawler As a kid, I was always more about the figures than the vehicles for the most part and that trend has continued through to the modern stuff. The vehicles just require a bit more space to display, and that’s something that’s still somewhat at a premium. I have gotten a lot of modern Alpha and Bravo class vehicles
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By Flag Points Don
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I make a lot of bones about the quality of GI Joe packaging from the 60s through the 90s. The 2000s relaunched series had its share of interesting marketing material, but the patterns of retail had changed in ways that precluded the need for large swaths of card art and cross-sell imagery. The Cobra Flight Pod goes way back, and
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If you’re into the twelve inch scale, and have an interest in unusual figures and accessories, the 90s Action Man range may be worth a look. I’ve been picking up examples every now and then, and I find quite a few outfit sets speak to my affinity for bright colors and unique concepts that separate themselves from the usual Joe
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