1985 Airtight

When I was in grade school, I always got a reward if I had good grades. In Feb. of 1985, I continued my trend of solid grades and was allowed to get a toy or two. Rumour had it that the local KB toy store had the new 1985 Joes. I finally convinced my mother to take me. Sure enough, they had a section full of the new 1985's. After a second or two of digesting the 10 or 12 new figures they had, I finally grabbed an Airtight and a Footloose. (I would have gotten Flint, but all the heads in the Flint packages were drooping and I thought the figures were broken. Imagine my surprise when I got home and discovered the new head articulation Joe figures were given that year.) As I was surveying the figures, a clerk came over and promptly told us that they had sold out of all the Commando (Snake Eyes) figures in a matter of minutes. It mattered little to me, though, as I had two awesome new figures.

Airtight quickly became one of my favorite figures. I would use him as a diver off of the hovercraft or a pilot for the Skystriker. (I still think he looks an awful lot like the Rebel pilots from Star Wars.) I also used him as a flamethrower or had his gun shoot out toxic gas. I don't remember where I read it, but I am still sure that somewhere in all the Joe literature I had at the time it said that Airtight's gun was not only a sniffer, but also shot a 9mm bullet. With that info, I used him even more. I quickly wore out my original figure and had to replace him late in 1986. That is the figure that you see here. I took my original apart and used him for customs. After I got the Tomahawk, though, I put him back together and used both my Airtights as the Tomahawk crew. I also used him as a science officer. He, along with Mainframe, often manned the computer of the G.I. Joe headquarters. Airtight was a versatile figure that could do all sorts of things. As such, I always wanted a few more. Two was just not enough.

Now, I like to look at Airtight, but I don't use him all that often. He is one of those figures that I don't know what to do with. I still like to use him as a pilot, but all the Star Brigade figures I have work just as well, plus they have removable helmets. I still use him as a science officer or a firefighter, but he doesn't get nearly the use he once did. I slowed my quest and haven't picked up another Airtight until just a few days ago. I still think he is an awesome figure. I love to have one displayed. Like many of the early Joes, he was slightly eclipsed by the later figures whose way of removable helmets and more detailed molds were paved by the early figures like Airtight. Still, this guy is great because he is simple. He uniform isn't so busy, like many of the later figures, that it takes away from the aesthetic tranquility of the figure. The bold, contrasting colors create a figure that is just fun to look at and own. His play value can be found with a little imagination. With a lot of imagination, he can become an essential figure for any collection.

Airtight was the quintessential backup character that made the '85 line so memorable. Like Alpine, Airtight wasn't the focal point of the '85 line, but was an key backup figure that was fun to own and cool to look at. The 1985 series was probably the best year in the history of the G.I. Joe line. It was full of memorable main characters as well as awesome backup characters that kept the Joes on the cutting edge. Now that Cobra had all sorts of cool specialty troops, Joe needed them to. Airtight was part of the backup team that pushed Joe to the top of the toy world.

The Airtight mold was a world traveler. After Hasbro was done with it, Airtight was sent off to Brazil. There, he was released in an exclusive Tiger Force color scheme as Ar Puro. From there, the mold went on to India. Funskool released Airtight in colors similar to the American figure for many years before he was temporarily discontinued. In 2002, Funskool released Airtight again and the Funskool Airtight is rather easy to find today. It is likely that Hasbro got the Airtight mold back in 2003 when they acquired all the other Funskool molds. For whatever reason, though, Airtight has yet to appear in the re-release line. (He would have been an ideal candidate for the Anti-Venom set. I would very much like to see the Airtight mold reappear. It is very high quality and could lend itself to some very cool repaints. (Just see what some customizers have done with the mold.)

Airtights aren't too tough to find mint and complete. They are not nearly as popular as other '85's so they aren't too expensive either. He is just a cool figure, though, that didn't get much airtime and came out in a great year. (Though his appearance in G.I. Joe Special Missions was very memorable.) Even collectors that hate the later neon figures like Airtight. He is just one of those figures that many people have, but don't pay attention to. At least he can get some due. (Just a side note, check out Airtight's Hostile Environment. It's a great page full of awesome stuff, including a nice profile of the figure you see here.)

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