I still have a tough time wrapping my head around the Range Viper’s look. Specifically, the head, but the rest of the figure kind of mystifies as well. I’ve always read the sculpting on the helmet as brains, which is symbolically odd, if that’s what it’s meant to represent. Why would Cobra, an organization known for symbolism in its uniform
Read moreCannonball is another driver made entirely of reused parts. It’s not surprising considering he was released as a driver of a Direct to Consumer vehicle, the Rhino. The DTC line utilized a lot of existing molds, with some strategically inserted new parts and weapons. Cannonball’s body is made up of Barrel Roll and Switch Gears, two of my favorite figures
Read moreLanard’s Corps! line broke its figures off into several sub-groups for a bit in the 2000’s (where have we seen that before?) There were the WASPs, an air based group; the ROOS, a rapid response team; the ORCAs, a group of water operations specialists; and the BUCKs, a bio nuclear containment squad. Two of the figures in this group were
Read moreThe flurry of sub-teams at the end of the Real American Hero line is not looked on favorably by some Joe fans. This I feel is unfortunate, because the concepts introduced, while they ranged from the sensible to the outright goofy, brought some more variety into the toyline. The story from those inside Hasbro at the time goes that Joe
Read moreShort-Fuze is one of those original Joes who never really got his.moment in the sun. He was pretty quickly relegated to history after the first series of figures, and never received a revival in later years like Hawk or Grunt. The closest he came was with Downtown, another blonde mortarman, who could have easily been given the name (and actually
Read moreWhen does a repaint pass from odd to over the top? I think when gold boots and gloves come into play, there’s no turning back. This exclusive Firefly very nearly reaches Funskool levels of craziness. But you know what? It somehow works for me. It’s a crimson Firefly! First off, who wouldn’t mind having a crimson Firefly? It’s been done
Read moreOf all the Cobras who dress ridiculously, and there’s no shortage of them, Dr. Mindbender had managed to consistently look like a snickerdoodle even into the new sculpt era. Before he finally donned a normal looking labcoat in Valor vs Venom, he trotted out this number, an unofficial Python Patrol outfit. This figure suffers from a particularly brutal form of
Read moreIs Zartan going to look like this in the new movie?! Uh, no. By all appearances, the master of disguise is going to look like Jonathan Pryce for most of the movie. I’m bummed that the filmmakers haven’t been able to throw even a little nod to the character’s iconic look. Sure, the 80’s style is kind of out-there, what
Read moreYesterday’s post was about a popular variant of a main character turned into a desirable mail-in that was offered through Hasbro for years. Today’s entry is a mail-in that saw release for a short time and continues to be available at rock bottom prices. The new sculpt era was laughably short on mail-ins when compared to the glory days of
Read moreSometimes character variants seem like quick cash grabs or simple excuses to keep main characters on the pegs. These days, Snake Eyes, Duke and Storm Shadow make regular appearances in each new series. Back in the 80’s, Cobra Commander wouldn’t get a new figure on the shelves until 1987. However, this mail-in was available three years before. Unlike other early
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