First there was sailor Shipwreck, then diver Shipwreck, then deck hand Shipwreck. With this Toys R Us exclusive “movie” figure came Deadliest Catch Shipwreck. I don’t know whether he’s on a mission, or just on leave fishing for Alaskan king crab. He’s decked out in arctic gear, but I just can’t help but see old Shippy on a deck somewhere. His weapons
Read moreWho would have figured that Metal-Head would get the remake treatment at the tail end of the Real American Hero line? I suppose it was to be somewhat expected, considering his prominence in the DIC cartoon. Speaking of which, although he was quite the goof in that series, I found him to be a bright spot in what was an
Read moreMy first Major Bludd figure came to me as part of my first GI Joe Christmas in 1983. That year, I was given a couple of three packs, one of which included the Major, as well as Snow Job and Doc. The Cobra Missile Command HQ was also a present that year. After that round of gifts, Star Wars was
Read moreAvalanche is I think the most stylish of the Battle Force 2000 members. Maybe it’s the white and silver uniform, but to me he has the cleanest look on the team. Like his teammates, he’s equipped with an odd helmet. His is certainly the biggest of the group. Perhaps there’s lots of high tech gadgetry built into it, the sort
Read moreThe Devil’s Due comics of the 2000’s brought back old Joe characters garbed in both classic looks and new interpretations. Zartan received some significant changes in his look, finally managing to get himself into a full shirt. While this isn’t exactly what Zartan looked like in those comics, you can see the inspiration. From the waist down, it’s more of
Read moreWill I ever stop lavishing praise on the 1991 series of figures? Not until I’ve covered them all. Even then, I probably won’t stop. I can’t say this enough: it’s my favorite year for Joe figures in the 90’s, and within the top few years of my overall favorites. There was so much great stuff going on in ’91, even
Read moreIt took a while to get another battle ready version of the team’s most famous Marine. After his initial version, 1987 gave us the well done but limited use dress version. I can only assume that another Gung Ho in fatigues was not a priority after producing another fighting Marine in Leatherneck. While this version doesn’t go for a straight
Read moreSnake Eyes I’ve mentioned several times that one of my fondest memories of GI Joe in the 80’s involves a coloring book. It wasn’t that I was still coloring at age 10. Though if I were, would that be wrong? Surely there are worse things than still finding joy in coloring at ten years old. Nevertheless, my fascination with this
Read moreGrunt seems to have gotten short shrift since the days of the new sculpt lines. From 2003 to 2004, he had four figures released. Since the 25th anniversary line, he’s had one fairly half-arsed figure as part of a Toys R Us three pack, and one fairly decent just-off-screen movie based attempt. Why didn’t we get him in the Pursuit
Read moreReleased as the 2008 collectors club membership figure, this Cobra Commander was previously only available via less common means, such as the examples that snuck out of China and were available through eBay for a time. It was a real treat then when the club officially gave this mold to fans, especially for those of us who held the new sculpt
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