Tiger Force Blizzard (1991)
The domestic release of Blizzard is another figure that I pined for back in the days of my return to Joe collecting. He was another snow trooper, a speciality that always did (and still does) spark my interest. Much like other figures of the years I missed, he was also packed with an abundance of gear. He can also store and hold all of it at once. I love that sort of thing.
I didn’t discover the European exclusive Tiger Force figures until the days of the internet. The colors alone were enough to set me off on a search to acquire them. What could be better for a collector with my tastes than to have a snow trooper outfitted in yellow and blazing orange. How does he blend in? Who knows, but I’ll avoid the obvious yellow snow joke.
Strangely enough, the only tiger stripes are on the figure’s chest. They almost seem like an afterthought. That’s part of the reason I find the international Tiger Force figures interesting. The designs weren’t restricted to a common pattern or color scheme, and they threw in unique colors that the US versions didn’t use.
Blizzard also got a hair color change, but that’s because this character has a completely different file name and place of birth, though the bio section and quote remain the same. For the record, he’s now Gottlieb von Trapp, from Austria. The hills are alive with the sound of repaints.
Reminds me of how I have got to pick up the Arctic Guile figure from the Street Fighter movie line–I want to use the body and skis for an “Arctic Commandos” Blizzard.
I’ve never seen this before. I love it. Blizzard was a favorite of mine not long before I stopped collecting. I’m tempted to try and track this down.
Yeah, the color palette here is something else. Frank Zappa would have loved this guy. I probably like him better than the U.S. version on visual appeal alone.
Having an Austrian member on the international roster is rather unique. Wish all these figures had seen some kind of domestic release on our side of the pond so they wouldn’t be so pricey and difficult to find nowadays.
“Watch out where the huskies go” Love the Zappa reference!
I’d never known about this one. I always liked the Blizzard mold and I don’t know why, but done up in yellow it still looks really awesome. Nice profile of something that’s a little unusual. At least now Tiger Force Frostbite doesn’t have to be the only arctic operator on Tiger Force.
A great figure!
Maybe someday I’ll get that Tiger-Force Psyche-Out….
Does Blizzard’s real name and place of birth match that on the original Euro Blizzard? Many Joes had their names and place of birth altered for the Euro release….. and I know in some cases of more than one figure per character they aren’t 100% consistant….
Depends on the country, on Belgian cards he was still American.
http://www.gijoe.nl/dossiers/1991/dossier_sneeuwstorm_tigerforce.jpg
http://www.gijoemuseum.nl/dossiers/dossier_sneeuwstorm_nlfr.jpg
I do like the UK Tiger Force and Blizzard isn’t even the best one. I really like the TF Outback and TF Psych-Out we got here. Bizarrely, they both changed their hair colours too although they were still Stuart Selkirk and Kenneth Rich – go figure!
Love this figure. Don’t love his $220+ price tag. But he’s an awesome way to experience the euro joe exclusive goodness.
The original Blizzard is a really nice looking figure, but this Tiger Force version is just disappointing. There’s way too much solid yellow going on here and not enough tiger stripe camo. I think it would’ve looked nice if they had gone with black tiger stripes on the yellow and left the hoodie a solid orange.
The file card on this guy states his birth place as ‘Leipzig, Austria’…..Leipzig’s in GERMANY…..
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