The 2000s series 12 inch figures continue to fascinate me. I was mainly collecting the 3 & 3/4 inch releases at the time of their rekease, but I did keep a watchful eye on the bigger guys. I was turned off initially by the lack of full cloth uniforms. Since revisiting them in the early days of this blog, I’ve
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With the GI Joe relaunch in 2002, the o-ring style originated in the 80s made a limited comeback. In just the first two years, the classic Viper mold (well, most of it–more on that in a minute) had been revisited five times in the mass market, and once (okay, twice if you count the fuschia fiasco) as a Collectors’ Club
Read moreOne of the more imposing Cobra figures released during the relaunched small Joe era, the revamped Iron Grenadier was an instant favorite with me. I didn’t have any attachment to the 80s version, as it was available first during the time I had dropped out of toy collecting. Maybe that’s the reason I accepted this figure so readily. Whatever the
Read moreYour intrepid blogger has been under the weather of late, so it’s been a bit of a slog to keep up the pace. For tonight, here’s a quick shout out to an old post. There are more than a few figures from the relaunched o-ring years that piqued my interest and kept a bit of freshness in the brand. Red
Read moreBarrel Roll is one of the coolest figures of its time. What? Yes. How much cooler can you get in a GI Joe line when a new character not only starts an intriguing storyline, but also includes a disguisable vehicles? To start off, Barrel Roll introduced a new specialty that’s interesting, a high altitude sniper. The concept is simple, and
Read moreI’ve covered Grunt in his Spy Troops incarnation before, but after taking pics of a few other disguised figures last week, I’ve wanted to take another look at him. Many of the Spy Troops series snap on armor, leg and arm bracers and helmets were less than convincing. Some were of a downright humorous effect. Grunt’s Cobra getup doesn’t look
Read moreThe Spy Troops series was one of the boldest efforts in the history of GI Joe figure gimmicks. Based on disguising the warring factions as one another certainly made for an original attempt at adding play value to the toys. The problem was not the idea, but rather the execution. Most of the added armor and clothing elements just didn’t
Read moreby Twitziller The Sand Snake is often considered part of series 2 of the Built to Rule sets released in limited distribution in 2004. However, like the Rising Tide, the Sand Snake featured a hybrid packaging style, including the box art design of series 1 and interior packaging, including a plastic build tray, unique to the two sets. Both sets
Read moreHoly cow, did the GI Joe world need forty seven Big Ben figures between 2002 and 2006? At least with this one, the old body was replaced with another. The only problem: it was General Hawk, whose Talking Battle Commander look is just too easily identified to be a good substitute. On the other hand, it is nice to get
Read moreThere were a few figures in the relaunched o-ring era that hold up well when compared to their Real American Hero predecessors. Wild Bill’s initial figure release was one of my favorite Spy Troops molds. With an updated uniform design not too heavy on the cowboy aesthetic, more naturalistic proportions, and a removable hat, he was a welcome follow-up to
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