The BAT has a long history in the GI Joe mythos. First appearing in 1986, they were new grist for the mill in Cobra Commander’s attempts to Rule the World. The robotic troopers also made the perfect enemy force for the Sunbow cartoon, as there were probably no mandates from Standards and Practices against shooting dozens of androids vs. humans
Read moreFunny enough that one of my favorite Roadblock figures was released in the Valor vs Venom era. Looking back at those last few years of the relaunch series, I find myself missing the idea of Toys R Us exclusive figure packs. Even though the sets were repaints, and many had issues, it was still nice to know that a major
Read moreSome of the art of customizing, or creating a new figure using either paint, sculpting, or mixing of parts, is the effective choice of said parts. To have an idea in mind, and to make the right choice from thousands of possibilities in the various GI Joe line, is a daunting process. It’s made even more of a challenge when
Read moreSometimes when I look through my figures for the next batch of subjects, I get all wistful about one or two, particularly if I haven’t looked at them in a while. That’s what happened when I grabbed this guy out of the 2007 con set. This figure impresses me for two reasons, beyond the fact that it reminds me of
Read moreFor your consideration: Toxic Zartan. Before you hit the ‘Back’ button on your browser, for a moment, take Sigma 6 out of its place in GI Joe history as the line that supplanted an improving small scale line in 2005. Put the mostly god awful cartoon series out of your mind. Look at the figures purely from a toy perspective,
Read moreIn remembering back to the time of the new GI Joe 2002 series, there was a clamor by fans for the well known classic characters of the 80s. Most folks also wanted to see their favorites decked out in their old duds as well. Flint obliges, although he’s more than a little odd looking, like some other figures from later
Read moreLeatherneck? Really? Though I generally enjoyed the 2001 series of figures, this one strikes me as quite a lazy attempt at creating something new. Just one year before, the entire ’92 Duke mold was re-released. To repurpose the top half, slap on a new head, and give him Roadblock’s pants just makes me wonder if they really even cared on
Read moreWhenever a new version of a GI Joe toy line is released, you can’t hit the toy aisles without running into a Duke figure. Love him or hate him, the team’s top sergeant is ubiquitous. Heck, the guy can get offed five minutes into a feature film and still get prominent place on the movie poster. That’s staying power. It’s
Read moreHi-Tech by his name only would seem to be yet another GI Joe in the vein of classics like Mainframe, a computer specialist. But his abilities lie along the lines of an all ’round Mr. Fixit. As an Operations Support Specialist, he’s tasked with being able to repair any kind of technology. In this way, he strikes me as a
Read moreMost of the impetus for this blog comes from reconnecting and finding a continuing use for my collection, the breadth of which sometimes makes me question my sanity. Earlier in the week, a couple of GI Joe news items got me thinking about Sigma 6 Firefly. First, there was the news of the Toys R Us exclusive Jurassic Park figures based on
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