Frostbite (1993)

No this isn’t a custom action figure from Friday the 13th Part 17: Jason Goes to Alaska. It’s Frostbite, from the 1993 Battle Corps series. 1993 was one of the most prolific years for Joe releases. By this time, the line had been broken up into so many different sub-groups, it could make your head spin. Battle Corps was the main line, and each figure featured a spring loaded weapon. The same year was also the culmination of a trend that had begun in 1991–colored accessories. The accessories for this year were also placed into the packaging still attached to plastic “trees”. Frostbite’s white accessories actually make some sense, as he’s an arctic trooper, but his case is one of the few exceptions. I will never understand the logic of molding all of a figure’s accessories in a single color, particularly when that color is Safety Orange or Simpsons Yellow. Maybe it was an attempt to emulate Playmates’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a line which also used bright primary colored accessories.

Frostbite, like many figures from the Battle Corps series, was a redesign of an existing character. The original version of Frostbite was the driver of the Snow Cat, an arctic assault vehicle. Here he’s become an arctic commander, though the file card still lists his vehicle experience in his bio. The figure is well outfitted in all new yet plain arctic gear. His color scheme is subdued for the period (with the exception of some orange grenades). The unusual mask is what drew my interest to the figure. It’s undeniably creepy, and I can’t help but think of Jason, especially since he also came with a machete. Under the mask, the head sculpt is fairly nice, although there is a giraffe neck going on. I’m surprised that this mold wasn’t reused during the vintage sculpt re-releases of the 2000’s, as I think a head swap and some color changes could make for a nice generic arctic trooper.