1991 is my favorite post-1986 year for figures. The main line saw new interpretations of old standbys for the Joe team and Cobra’s forces. This new edition of Sci-Fi is a tasteful update to his original figure. Say what? A 90’s Joe tasteful? Yes. Regardless of what you’ve heard on the grapevine about the dreaded decade of Eco-this and DEF-that,
Read moreIn a way you could say that GI Joe is a descendant of the little green army men from days of yore. One of my favorite memories of playing with the little green guys were the paratroopers. A simple plastic parachute and string turned the regular troopers into death defying airborne attackers. At the time of its release, the Skystriker
Read moreThe mold used here stands as a testament for me that all was not lost for the GI Joe line in the oft-aligned 90’s. The 1992 DEF Shockwave mold, upon which this figure is based, is one of the better releases of the year, and was an effective redesign for the original 1988 masked version. Not to mention, he was
Read moreIf there was one cartoon accurate figure that I really wanted to see as a Sunbow fan, it was Lady Jaye. The original 1985 figure is by no means bad, in fact even as a kid I found it to be a vast improvement over Scarlett and Cover Girl. But we Sunbow aficionados had to wait, and wait and wait
Read moreEven as a kid, I couldn’t stand ’86 Cross Country. Some of it was the unique yet bland vehicle he piloted. Some of it was the confederate angle. I think most of it had to do with his incredibly dorky head sculpt. He looked like SCTV alum Rick Moranis to me. Could anything be done to ’86 Cross Country to
Read moreThere have always been a few figures that Joe fans (and particularly Sunbow fans) have wanted to see since they were wee little ones watching the cartoon back in the day. One of these wish list figures can also cause much debate amongst Joe fans of all stripes. That is the generic Joe trooper, popularly known as the Greenshirt. The
Read moreRecondo is one of those fan favorites that folks clamor for in every new incarnation of GI Joe, and most of the time Hasbro has obliged. In the 2000’s series, he saw three separate releases, twice as a driver. Were they calling back to his Tiger Force days? The body mold was used in 2003 to create both Double Clutch
Read moreJust how big was GI Joe back in the 80’s? Let’s see: huge toyline, multi-year cartoon and comic book. All of those are hallmarks of a monumental property. The ancillary licensed merchandise is what I find telling about just how ingrained the Joe line became in the public consciousness. Sure, Star Wars, He-Man, Transformers and other children’s entertainment of the
Read moreWhat’s my favorite element of Tiger Force, the GI Joe jungle sub-team? Is it the awesomely recolored jungle deco version of Flint? How about the super cool re-purposing of the Rattler and Water Moccasin as Joe vehicles? Maybe even the exotic and captivating overseas exclusives? Nope. It’s Tiger Force Roadblock’s helmet. No other figure accessory for the offshoot team is
Read moreUpdraft is the pilot of the Retaliator, one of the weirdest craft in the GI Joe arsenal. Advertised as a “Bomb Dropping Rescue Copter!”, the Retaliator was a helicopter with a working winch and a rotating tail with grabbing claw that pivoted out of the tail section. An odd-looking copter with impossibly short blades, it resembled a dragonfly more than
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