By KansasBrawler When Resolute Cobra Commander was first released as a single carded figure, I wasn’t really that interested in him. Sure, he was a bit of a different than the standard Cobra Commander, but unlike Duke, I didn’t feel there enough changes to warrant adding him to my collection. After all, I already had a lot of Cobra Commander
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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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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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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
Read moreMany of our familiar friends from the 80s ended up with extra name descriptors during the post-ARAH years. From Agent Scarlett to Sgt. Stalker, the Joes had to adapt to the needs of copyright. Such is the life of men and women of action. Of course, this kind of parsing of character names is mostly a concern of nerdy toy
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Heavy Duty has been saddled with the label of Replacement Roadblock for some time. I’ve never thought of him in that way. My initial introduction to the character came from the original 1991 figure, which was still available when I came back to Joes as a collector. I simply saw him as his specialty described, rather than another Roadblock Sure,
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By KansasBrawler It’s taken me a while, but I now finally get to talk about something unusual from the 25th Anniversary line: a Duke figure that I didn’t regret getting. Yes, Resolute Duke was a 25th Anniversary line figure, but the Resolute sub-branding means I tend to place him with his Resolute brothers and sisters rather than the 25th Anniversary
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By KansasBrawler I know a lot of people weren’t totally sold on Rise of Cobra’s interpretation of Cobra Commander. From an action figure standpoint, I’m right along with you. That figure wasn’t the greatest. What really confused me was that Cobra Commander came out in the first wave of figures, yet he barely showed up in the movie that way.
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Destro has always been a clothes horse and a man unafraid to outfit himself in outlandish outerwear. From his original 1980s look to the gold masked swashbuckler during his Iron Grenadier days to the infamous leopard print number, Destro stands out from the crowd. If I didn’t know better, I would think this figure started life in the Indiana Jones
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Hi-Tech encapsulates most of what I enjoy about the eight inch Sigma 6 figures. A large, durable toy (especially in kid-sized hands) as well as multiple, modular accessories with sensible action features. Finally, a funky, stylized look that injected freshness into a brand that had been rejuvenating the themes and styles of previous decades. I really, really like Sigma 6.
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