What’s the goofiest Cobra vehicle ever made? The one vehicle that doesn’t seem to come together as a concept yet is awesomely, stupidly lovable? The Buzz Boar? The Pogo? Those two are probably the most ridiculously specific yet pointless vehicles, to be sure. But for sheer bat-excrement insanity, it doesn’t get much more bat-excrementally insane than the Cobra Rat. The
Read moreAnother figure from the end of the Rise of Cobra movie line, the Desert Viper is a fairly successful blending of parts from several Cobra troopers. The extensive use of removable web gear may be the biggest improvement from the vintage to the modern era in terms of the versatility of existing molds. Some folks complain about Hasbro’s reuse of
Read moreAccording to his bio, Slash is inhumanly evil. This mercenary ninja is an apprentice to Storm Shadow, who has a grudging respect for him, only for his skill. This begs the question why a basically honorable character like Storm Shadow would associate with such a cruel and heartless individual. Slash was part of a two pack which also included the
Read moreI miss the days of the big retailer catalogs. Each year around back to school time brought the beloved Christmas catalog or Wish Book in the case of Sears. Before the days of instant coverage and inside intel from the internet, the catalogs were the way that a kid like me found out about all the latest toys. I think
Read moreIn honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day, I’ve asked Seamus McGillicutty, pirate impersonator extraordinaire to write a guest blog. Welcome, me buckos, tis time for what I’m told is a blog post. Never heard of it, though it is soundin’ like it could be part of a sailin’ ship that I wouldn’t like to be tied to. This here
Read moreThe Joe line has had many sub-teams scattered throughout the years, some being more popular than others. Tiger Force, Python Patrol and Night Force have seen releases in both the vintage and more modern series. All of them were known for a common paint scheme or style of decoration of uniforms. One of the sub-teams that doesn’t get much play
Read moreThe venerable vintage Tunnel Rat mold has seen release numerous times since its debut in 1987. It’s been Night Force (twice), a Sonic Fighter, Tiger Force (in Europe), a comic pack, and has even had a Funskool repaint. In 2004, it showed up again in a desert themed Toys R Us exclusive multi-pack. Each figure in the set was adorned
Read moreThe Tiger Force sub-team not only featured repainted figures but also had its share of redecorated vehicles. Most of the vehicles didn’t include a driver, and those that did had their original replaced with a different figure. The repaint of the Snow Cat is an exception, as it came with Frostbite, its original driver. Some of the Tiger Force paint
Read moreThe Street Fighter spin off series of the 90’s produced not only figures based on Joe molds, but vehicles as well. This was a stretch to say the least. What possible reason would fighters like Chun-Li and Blanka have to drive a missile-firing off-road truck? One character that could justify piloting a military vehicle is Col. Guile, who has a
Read moreThe Steel Brigade has had a long history in Joe collecting. It’s been around since the vintage line, and continues as part of the modern line. Hasbro’s original concept of letting kids make up their own character was a hit with imaginative young collectors like me. Although the original version was a hodge podge of ’83 and ’84 parts, it
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