While the original Road Pig was impressively buff for Real American Hero line, I found it lacking the imposing face portrayed on the card art. The head sculpt was based on a Hasbro employee of the period, who had an entirely too friendly face for a roughhousing Dreadnok. The remainder of the original figure was well done and effectively accessorized
Read moreSo who knew that Zartan’s extended family would eventually be represented in action figure form? Can’t say that I ever did. Let’s see, we have brother, sister and daughter. All that’s missing now is Zingo, Zartan’s dog. Zanya is an amalgamation of her comic look and her auntie Zarana, thanks to the reuse of parts common to the Dreadnok battle
Read moreGnawgahyde is a character who I always found annoying. I suppose there were several reasons why: his background (a poacher, really?) the figure’s design and his portrayal in the DIC animated series. In the Operation Dragonfire mini-series, he was a doofus, and played way too big of a role in Cobra’s plans. Finally there’s the name itself: naugahyde is fake
Read moreThe original Thrasher is one of those figures who is pretty good from the neck down. I don’t know if its the hairdo or the actual head size that contributes to his melon-headedness. On top of the huge noggin, he just had too much of a friendly look on his face. Maybe that was meant to reflect his spoiled rotten
Read moreNew Dreadnoks are always a welcome sight for me. Ever since their introduction in the ’80’s, I’ve enjoyed the anarchic elements they bring to the line in terms of both character and design. I always thought that the Mad Max films would have made for a great toy line, and the Dreadnoks exemplify that kind of post-apocalytpic look very well.
Read moreI’ve had an absolute bugger of a time tracking down this Storm Shadow. I’d heard lots of great things about it, and therefore was a bit concerned that it might not live up to expectations when I finally got it in my hands. In fact, it’s been sitting unopened for a week awaiting my review. Well, guess what? I shouldn’t
Read moreFirefly’s 1984 figure is one of the most iconic designs in the Real American Hero line. The masked head, urban camo and unique accessories all give the character a coolness level in geek circles that rivals Star Wars’ Boba Fett. The familiar uniform has had a few redesigns over the years, of varying degrees of success. Looks like someone took
Read moreThe Renegades animated series did a fantastic job of taking the Joe brand in a fresh new direction. It’s too bad it ended so soon. At least we now have some figures based on the series. Hasbro struck a nice balance of the established modern style with the likenesses of the animated characters. For the Cobra Trooper, the Renegades style
Read moreWhile the original 1983 Destro remains the iconic vintage interpretation of the character, I always liked the 1988 Destro, with its bigger build and ball jointed gold head. The addition of the cape and sword (which could hang on the figure’s hip!) was icing on the cake. The whole look had a pirate-y feel to me, which was a refreshing
Read moreThe international figures are a source of fascination for many Joe collectors. The mysterious and sometimes weird repaints take something familiar to us American collectors and make it refreshingly new. I didn’t know much about them until I saw them in a publication (a magazine I believe it was called) in the dark days before the internet. Back then, those
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