Here at JAD, we love toy presentation as much as we love the products themselves. GI Joe in the 80s and 90s had some of the most eye-popping packaging for its product line. It’s no wonder that legions of kids were drawn to these things. I mean, what’s not to love here? I also have to admire Hasbro for being
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I was just remembering that I had a Zarana figure as a kid, but not Zandar. Why? Who knows, maybe I just found her look more interesting. Zandar today seems to me to be sort of clownish. Oh well. I was surprised to see her show up in the Kre-O line when she did, although I suppose the limited number
Read moreThe Dreadnoks were an impressive addition to the Cobra ranks to a kid in the 80s. With an edgy design amalgam of punk and the Road Warrior, they were a threatening force of destruction. Ripper is one of the original Dreadnoks, and as such, is equipped with an amazing melee weapon along with an unexpected implement of destruction — the
Read moreBuzzer was the first Dreadnok figure I picked up in 1985, and he was an instant favorite. I probably didn’t “get” much of the biker gang references within the ‘Noks’ look at the time, but I thought back then that they reminded me of the bad guys from the Road Warrior movie. Funny how my first exposure to that film
Read moreby KansasBrawler I don’t know why, but Road Pig has always had a huge following. It’s always boggled my mind a little. I wouldn’t think a shirtless bruiser would be so popular, but Larry Hama did such a great job with him in the comics and on his filecard that it’s hard not to be intrigued by this particular Dreadnok.
Read moreRemember when convention exclusive vehicles’ secondary market prices didn’t reach instananeous and stratospheric heights? Up until a few years ago, one could initially pick up many JoeCon items for a 20 to 30 percent mark-up. Some items from those days, like this Dreadnok Cycle, weren’t all that popular at their time of release. Today, many of the attendee exclusives seem
Read moreWhen I started collecting GI Joes again in the early 90s, there were some toys from my youth that I had somehow forgotten about. The Sears exclusive Dreadnok vehicles were one memory that had mysteriously vanished from my mind. I know that I must have seen them in the Christmas catalog that year, as I pored over each store’s version
Read moreAll three of the original Dreadnoks were very cool characters, and some of the most out-there action figures of the 1980s. After all, what’s not to love about a group of rough and tumble bikers who looked like they stumbled off the set of a Mad Max film. Larry Hama’s characterizations of the group in the Marvel comic always made
Read moreOut of all the 80’s Dreadnoks, I think Monkeywrench most resembles a regular biker gang hooligan. He doesn’t have any new wave hairstyle, funky glasses or armor plated jeans. Instead, he’s decided to accessorize with patches and bandanas. In the end, he’s not too wild looking, just a long haired dude in jeans, vest and grenade bandolier. Okay, forget what
Read moreSometimes parts reuse just doesn’t turn out as well as expected. As a former action figure customizer, I can appreciate having a vision for a base figure and thinking that vision will be borne out in the end. I’ve also had experiences in which the limitations of the base figure couldn’t be overcome, and the final figure didn’t match what
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