I’m more than a little surprised that Hasbro dipped into the post-1986 well with the last of their Kre-O line. Considering that the bulk of the minifigures represented the first few years of the 80s (the sweet spot for many Real American Hero era aficionados), those of us who wanted to see a little more variety welcomed characters like this.
Read more
Lately, I’ve been thinking more deeply about the history of action figures, and the GI Joe line’s place in it. Of course, Joe was technically the first of what came to be known as action figures, although toy soldiers and dolls have been around for centuries. Captain Action was an early attempt by another toy maker (Ideal) to build on
Read more
As the 1987 figures were showing up, I was on the cusp of losing interest in toys. However, one figure in particular seized my attention. A new, battle-ready Cobra Commander was just too cool to pass up. Here was the Commander as super villain. Being a comic book fan, I loved it. As such, he also survived my GI Joe
Read more
By KansasBrawler The 25th Anniversary comic packs did some pretty great things with a limited parts library. Considering how small Hasbro’s plans for the 25th Anniversary line originally were, they fleshed out the line with some quickly assembled comic packs. Unfortunately, not all those figures were winners and Breaker is unfortunately one of those early 25th Anniversary figures with so
Read more
There’s irony in the fact that the relaunched 1980s GI Joe line, originally conceptualized as a vehicle toy line, became as much about action figures as it did their accessories. Once more colorful characters beyond the green garbed originals were introduced in 1983, the concept took off like a rocket. It’s no surprise then that when Hasbro commemorated the 25th
Read more
The GI Joe Kre-O line wouldn’t have been complete without the inclusion of Zartan’s crude crew of miscreants, the Dreadnoks. As early as Wave 2, we got Ripper, a nice interpretation of the 1980s figure, complete with his “jaws of life.” Torch continues the trend of the ‘Noks coming to the brick world, and I have to say that I’ve
Read more
This isn’t the first placemat we’ve covered here at JAD. A while back, I happened upon a Ninja Force themed mat, and it was appropriately glorious. The military side of the line also got some love from the housewares section that year, with a mat that featured 1992 and 1993 figures and vehicles. On the front side, we’ve got Duke,
Read more
Before Lanard rebranded its CORPS! line a few years ago, it had been using the Total Soldier title for other military toys. Most examples I’ve seen have included slightly smaller, reduced articulation figures as pack-ins. Think Chap Mei, if you want an idea of what I’m talking about. Each year at the annual Lanard sale, there seem to be a
Read more
That’s an impressive feat for a toy line in only its second year. This ad, which I found in a 1965 issue of the Justice League of America comic, touts Joe’s sales success as well as his presence as a TV star. I think most folks have seen the vintage commercials that propelled the toys into the American consciousness. It’s
Read more
By KansasBrawler This figure is a rather unusual addition to my collection. I’ve never been that big on international variants or really much of what the Collectors’ Club does beyond the con set until recently. Both of these categories of figures have, in my mind, things that are cool, but usually just too expensive for me to track down on
Read more