Rayden (1995 Mortal Kombat Movie)
During my last search for blog subjects, I ran across my set of Mortal Kombat figures, including the movie versions. Though neither the game nor film-based figures were part of the GI Joe mythos (unlike the initial StreetFighter II assortment) the toys were produced using GI Joe parts.
Rayden doesn’t look too much like his game self, but bears a passing resemblance to the character as portrayed by Christopher Lambert. The thunder god spent a good part of the film without his iconic hat, and the figure follows suit. Unfortunately his soft goods vest is starting to deteriorate. I imagine this thing will be dust within a few years. It’s a sad reminder of how long ago 1995 was. Wow, I’m old—even the toys from my adult collecting years are disintegrating.
The most exciting aspect of Rayden for Joe collectors lurks under his clothes. No, not that—get your minds out of the gutter. Under the vest is the body of one of the infamous cancelled 1995 GI Joe Ninja Commandos. This mold was originally intended to be Flint, but like other movie Mortal Kombat line mates, was repurposed by Hasbro. That reason alone makes it a worthwhile pickup, even if his clothes are giving up the ghost.
One final note: today’s pics were all shot by JAD Will, who has developed into a very capable action figure cameraman at the young age of seven. Once he learns to type, I can turn this whole enterprise over to him.
I’m not sure we’re worse off for not having actually gotten the Ninja Commandos released. But, at this point, I’d take any additional Joes over nothing. In Flint colors, this guy was probably a little better. The all white doesn’t flatter the mold.
Even 3 years ago, no one cared about these MK figures. But, now they’ve gotten hard to find and pricey. Hopefully, the ebb back to lower prices in a couple of years, again.
I used to have this figure back in the late 90’s, and miss it very much. I got it at a KB Toys store. And then it got stolen. The only thing that I have left of it today is that vest. And you’re right, most, if not all of these vests that were taken out of their blistered cards many years ago, will be turning into dust eventually, unless there is a way to save them. The other accessory that came with that figure, was a removable hat, that did not look like a hat. That thing is just weird. There is another Rayden figure(which I have) that is based on the video game version of the character, and that one has a hat that was designed to look exactly like the hat that Rayden wears. But, that hat is glued to that figure’s head. And also, that Rayden figure has a gun holster on one of it’s legs. Anyway, elbow cracks, and discoloration, are the only problems that I am having with my classic G.I. Joe figures. Also, the front rubber tires on my Dreadnok Thunder Machine, are bending, and looking like they are flat. Speaking of KB Toys, there is news going around(which could be fake news, or some April Fool’s prank) that since Toys R Us might be going out of business(as predicted in The Simpsons tv show years ago, according to some people), the owner, or owners of KB Toys, might bring it back. I only hope that this is true, and not fake news, anything else. And if it is true, then I hope that their prices will be fair, and reasonable, and not expensive.
Great photography! Interesting head on this figure, and besides being so large to accommodate the action feature, it’s a good looking figure. Why would they go with a vinyl-over-cloth for his poncho? Just a piece of cut vinyl, like the early Kenner Star Wars figures, probably would’ve lasted longer. Or even just white cloth by itself?
The head’s actually reused from the Ken Masters figure from the Street Fighter movie line.
Awesome photos. Shame about the vest. My only gripe with most Ninja Force/ Commandos is the lack of a screw in their back. Too hard to switch out heads or replace o-rings.
My gripe, too. Though, head switching would be limited for some figures anyway. I have a broken Nunchuk and his head isn’t ball jointed or early swivel style, but a third type of head, swivel without the notched neck. It would have to be customized to work with either torso type.