How can you make a figure like Chuckles stand out on the shelves and get kids to buy him? I don’t really know, but I certainly picked him up back in 1987. Maybe it was the Hawaiian shirt. Actually, it was probably the cool removable holster.
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Even late in the Real American Hero era, packaging art was impressive. The Armor-Bot as a toy is itself marvelously huge for a 90s Joe vehicle. Heck, the painting of Hawk in his Armor Tech duds is much more interesting than the actual figure. Now there’s a fig that needs to be revisited in the modern style. I wonder if
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Breaker is one of the more recognizable of the early 70s Joes. Thanks to his memorable card art, with its focus on his unique comm gear, he became an early favorite for many kids. I always associated him with the RAM cycle, since he was pictures on its box art. Are there any other Joes you associate with vehicles because
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The Stun never really resonated with me, even as a kid. I just couldn’t get into its look, and was bummed that it seemed to become the de facto Cobra fast attack vehicle in the Sunbow cartoon in place of the Stinger. Of course, the toon had to maintain a link to the product that was new on toy shelves,
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Confession time. In the early 2000s, I bought a carded Tiger Force Tunnel Rat via eBay. I didn’t pay a whole lot for it, at least not in comparison to what the international Tiger Force figures would later begin to fetch. Being a collector who preferred loose figures, and after a bit of vacillating, I opened the packaging, albeit carefully
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I hate to sound like a broken record, but damn do I miss the artistry and beauty of vintage toy packaging. It’s a lost art, much like movie posters. Modern packaging, for all its slick style and strong branding, has lost its charm. Captain Zargon and the Space Ranger were no doubt some of the most fanciful Action Man figures.
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Low-Light is one of the stand-out figures of 1986. From his unique accessories to his sleek and functional uniform, he was one of the coolest releases of the year. The card art again speaks for itself, showcasing a great figure design. It also makes what’s basically a single-color figure dynamic. While I’ll always prefer the original background explosion, this is
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What a concept the GI Joe Battle Gear sets were. I wish the Star Wars line had offered something like this, as most of my childhood figures’ weapons went missing fairly quickly. The only downside to the Joe replacement gear were the odd color choices. I wonder if any of the Joe archaeologists have discovered the reasoning behind the lack
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I never had a Major Bludd on card. I got mine in one of those Christmas catalog 3-packs. I’m not complaining, but I missed out on staring at a full-size example of his card art. However I did have his file card, and the example of his poetry brought me great joy. “and make the suckers jump and dance” still
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Sky Patrol is on most Joe fans’ minds at the moment (I wonder why) and I’ve already covered the original figures here, so it makes sense to dig up something different. How about an interesting variant package design from GI Joe’s European release history? While I love the painted packaging of the 80s and 80s era, there’s something inherently cool
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