JoeCon Starduster

By KansasBrawler

As a Joe fan, I’ve always loved jetpacks. I was a bit too young for the original JUMP, but I remember being very excited when I found the 1991 General Hawk with his brand new jetpack. By and large, the souvenir sets at Joe Con in 2009 weren’t really my cup of tea, but the International JUMP Jet 2 Pack was something I thought was really cool. Since I didn’t need to worry about blowing my entire Joe Con floor savings on souvenirs, I figured I could go after the JUMP set and not have to worry about it. While Starduster may not have been the original JUMP operator, Hasbro really did such a great job at making him so identified with the JUMP that it was a no-brainer for the GIJCC to make him the Joe liaison to the Heroic Commandos for JUMP tactics. That’s a pretty good career for a guy who started his life as a mail-away exclusive to entice kids to buy (from what I understand the absolutely terrible) G.I. Joe Action Stars cereal. Also, I’m glad the GIJCC was able to call him Starduster rather than Skyduster. I thought that was a lame name shift to cover for lost trademarks when Hasbro had to do it for the Toys ‘R’ Us exclusive set he showed up in.

Hasbro made a Starduster figure in the modern style as part of a Toys ‘R’ Us exclusive and he’s not the most impressive modern figure ever, but the GIJCC switched up some parts so he wasn’t a straight-up rehash of a Hasbro product and looked a little better. I’ll admit, perfect world, I would have loved to have seen a few more parts get swapped out, but as it stands, he’s at least different enough that I don’t feel like I got suckered into buying a lame store exclusive I passed on multiple times at premium Joe Con souvenir prices. Starduster’s upper legs come from 25th Anniversary Snake Eyes while the lower legs come from 25th Anniversary Steeler. I like this pairing because I can see having an ankle holster as being useful, if somewhat dangerous, to a guy in a jetpack. The torso is where the GIJCC switched things up a little bit in terms of parts choice. While Hasbro’s Skyduster used the 25th Anniversary Duke torso (which is in line with the classic Starduster figures), the GIJCC used the 25th Anniversary Viper torso. I like the use of the Viper torso here for a couple of reasons. First of all, it’s from a slightly later 25th Anniversary figure so his torso gap isn’t ridiculous. Also, I prefer it because it doesn’t have Duke’s Airborne pin molded on. It’s a little more generic and I like that. The arms come from 25th Anniversary Tiger Force Flint and I kind of wish the GIJCC had swapped these parts out as well. By 2009, the new Shipwreck arms had been tooled up so you could have gotten short sleeves and gloves but without the funky anatomy that plagued the Flint arms. However, I do like that now Starduster is also a lefty. I can forgive the Flint arms, but I really wish Boss Fight Studios had existed in 2009 because I really don’t like the use of the 25th Anniversary Colonel Hawk head here. It’s a good piece and it works well for Hawk, but Starduster’s filecard always made him seem like a guy who just loved to be flying around the battlefield in his jetpack and this head seems way too grim for a guy like that. Much like Snow Job, I would be okay if Starduster had a grin plastered on his face because it fits with his established personality. I actually think the 25th Anniversary General Hawk head would have worked for him. It’s a bit younger and I’ve always seen Starduster as kind of a young guy for some reason so I think that head would work well and it doesn’t have 25th Anniversary Colonel Hawk’s intense scowl. To help differentiate Starduster from Skyduster, he also gets a different set of webgear. Skyduster used the 25th Anniversary Duke bandolier, again as a nod to the classic figure. However, the GIJCC didn’t have to recreate that look, so they didn’t and they gave him 25th Anniversary Steeler’s shoulder holster and belt. It’s a really great look for Starduster and it makes him look surprisingly different. Giving Starduster a shoulder holster is not a new idea since the alternate 1987 version of Starduster used Recondo’s torso, which gave him a shoulder holster. I have to give the GIJCC credit for finding a way to make Starduster look different from Skyduster while still referencing a version of the classic Starduster figure.

I think what really sold me on Starduster over Skyduster was his color scheme. The GIJCC paint team did a bang up job on Starduster. His base color is a nice vibrant blue and I really love it. I think part of what turned me off from Skyduster is that his color scheme was awfully muted. While neither figure really captures the original Starduster’s color scheme, at least the GIJCC’s Starduster is eye-catching and interesting. Starduster also has darker blue camouflage blotches over the blue base and while it’s a subtle camouflage, it breaks up the blue enough that it makes him look more interesting Skyduster. Starduster’s shoulder holster and ankle holster are both colored the leathery yellow color I like so well. I own plenty of heavy work gloves this color and I think it works well here and is a little more visually interesting than either black or brown for these parts. Black is used sparingly on Starduster, but it works well on his boots and gloves. Personally, I’d almost prefer to see his knife sheath and pouches in yellow rather than black, but that’s just me. Starduster’s helmet looks great in a matching blue and I really like the star tampo on the center of the helmet. This is another one of those classic Starduster details that looks great on a modern figure. Starduster also has an American flag tampo on his left arm and while the tampo is crisp, I do wish they’d put the flag in a box or something because the blue of the flag really blends in with the rest of the figure.

Because he’s so tied to the JUMP pack, Starduster is another character that is kind of defined by his accessories and the GIJCC did not disappoint on that front either. The highlight of Starduster’s gear is the modern JUMP pack. This thing looks great. I know Hasbro initially released it with the 25th Anniversary Cobra Air Trooper, but it really looks at home on Starduster’s back. The JUMP pack looks really sharp in black and silver and the star tampo on the back matches the star on his helmet and I really like that. Since it’s a GIJCC release, they also went back and grabbed the flame base from a Star Wars Jango Fett figure and gave it to Starduster like they did the last time they decided to do a JUMP-based souvenir set. It creates a really dynamic display picture for him, though it does increase the footprint of the figure on your shelf. Starduster has traditionally been armed with a grenade launcher and this version of is no different. While I’m still not a fan of the 25th Anniversary Gung-Ho’s grenade launcher, I think the GIJCC was able to mold it out of more substantial plastic because this version is not nearly as flimsy as either of the copies I have of it that were made by Hasbro. The grenade launcher looks great in silver and it’s another nod to the classic Starduster figure. Even more surprisingly, the grenade launcher actually fits pretty well in Starduster’s left hand. The 25th Anniversary Tiger Force Flint arms are notoriously finicky when it comes to holding anything other than a shotgun, but Starduster holds his grenade launcher very securely. To fill his ankle holster, Starduster has the standard 25th Anniversary pistol and he also gets the standard 25th Anniversary Joe knife to fill his sheath. I appreciate that the GIJCC made sure to fill those since Hasbro didn’t always do that and it drove me a little mad when a figure had a functional holster or sheath but nothing to fill it with.

Starduster is another great exclusive. I know my collection was not incomplete without him, but I really do find myself enjoying this figure. Yes, I passed on its mass market counterpart a few times, but there were a couple mitigating factors. First of all, he was packaged with two other figures I had absolutely no desire to own. Secondly, he just didn’t seem all that exciting and he looked rather bland. The GIJCC version didn’t have either of those strikes against it. Starduster is a striking figure and he looks great paired with Sgt. Manleh. Add in the fact that he’s a figure from my first Joe Con and I can’t help but smile whenever I pull him out of the box. Heck, after looking him over for this review, I’m kind of trying to come up with a good place to display him since he’s currently in storage rather than Sgt. Manleh since Manleh is the more interesting of the pair. After having looked at him again, though, I’d really love to have him out on display, too.