Upon this Firefly's release, collectors rejoiced at another paint job of a hugely popular character becoming available. At the same time, they maligned some of the design choices that Hasbro made with the figure. All of the 2000 series figures were given "PAINT-WIPES" in an attempt to add the "gritty realism" that Hasbro thought fans of the time really wanted. The result is that many of the figures look like they fell into the tar pits. For Firefly, though, the effect is somewhat lost on the dark green and brown body. There is really only one area where they are apparent: the figure's hands. This Firefly is bare-handed and not wearing gloves. Every other version of Firefly using his mold has gloves. (The Wreckage figure, who is a Joe, though, does also feature bare hands.) It's kind of an off-putting image to see Firefly with bare skin. And, the choice to not glove Firefly's hands is made all the worse by the paint wipes that just make it seem like he's been making mud pies all day. The hands were most criticized aspect of this figure and, even today, can be a contentious point with many collectors adamant that the hands ruin an otherwise excellent figure.
Really, though, this Firefly isn't all that well done. Hasbro let the marbelized plastic body handle most of Firefly's colors. Aside from that, he only has red explosives and black grenades on his chest. The did give him a black undershirt and boots to provide a little color. But, this figure is a far cry from the Firefly repaints of 2004 and 2005 that fully showcased the mold's details and gave the figure remarkable life with 6 or 7 different colors. Also, it should be noted that the green and brown marbelized plastic on Firefly is not consistent. This means that every single Firefly is really a unique figure. But, some versions have more green plastic while some have more brown. It's possible to find figures that appear to be green with brown accents and others that appear brown with green accents and still more that are right in the middle. This offers modern collectors choices since they can find a Firefly that best fits their aesthetic preferences. But, it can also leave you bewildered at the fact that photos of the figure you find online do not match the figure you have in hand.
The other major change to Firefly's look is his mask. Hasbro treated collectors a a giant, black Cobra sigil on Firefly's forehead. In red, this would have been too much. But, the black blends with the figure and prevents the logo from being too over the top. The bigger change, though, is that Firefly's eye slit is now broken into two, separate eye holes. (Insert Rick and Morty joke here....) The mask now has a painted barrier between the eyes. For some, this was not a well liked update. Personally, I don't mind it. When the only real exposure collectors had to the Firefly was the 1984 version, this update seemed bigger than it was. Now, it's as much part of the figure as the open mask of the 1984 is. I like the update since it gives some differentiation to this Firefly. But, it's not really a huge enhancement or detriment.
This Firefly struggles to find a niche. The green and brown base help make him a woodlands version. And, he is a nice match for the 2002 green Vipers. If you want an outdoors Firefly, this is probably the version for you. Over the years, I've found him a good option for outdoor photography. At the same, time, though, I usually end up opting for other figures. They work well enough and have the iconic coloring that seems to attract people's attention. But, the original Firefly is surely better. And, the 2004 Urban Assault release as well as the 2005 Comic Pack versions are, easily, superior figures. This version works in that he's different and having options for a character as important as Firefly is useful. But, if you are economizing a collection, this is an easy version to pass over since there are so many better options for the mold.
Firefly's gear is iconic. Getting it back in 1998 was a treat. And, getting it in 2000 was even better. The black version of the rifle was something collectors had always wanted. No one knew we'd be sick of the gun in just a few years. So, these early versions of Firefly were a treat. I had quickly lost the cover to Firefly's pack when I was a kid. So, that's a piece that I've always held in high regard. This figure includes a unique coloring of the pack: again using the marbelized green and brown plastic. So, once again, you can find versions that are drastically different in primary colors from each other. Missing, though, was Firefly's walkie talkie. (Sorry, I'm hard pressed to call it a phone since it was released in 1984....) The upside is that a black version of it appeared with other 2000 figures and many others since. But, it was an odd omission. Firefly's original card artwork showed him with a pistol. I've always wondered if the figure was originally going to include two weapons before Hasbro either removed the gun or simply replaced it with the radio.
Hasbro got all they could from the Firefly mold. After the US release, Hasbro also released Firefly in Europe and Japan. The mold then showed up in India. Funskool released a Firefly that was nearly identical to the 1984 coloring for a few years in the 1990's. During that time, the mold was colored light blue and yellow and also used in the Complan Commandos line as Rocker. Hasbro got the mold back around 1997 and released Firefly in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003 (2 Convention repaints and a repainted Joe named Tiger Force Wreckage), 2004 and 2005. And, in 2005, the body was released again but with a new head. Firefly's chest was going to be used on the "Tiger Force Steel Brigade" figure, but it was never released. There is also an unproduced green body 2002 Firefly as well as an alternate Urban Assault figure that were widely available to collectors. Hasbro made Firefly in grey, green, red, black, blue, crimson and even a weird orange and green variant. There's something for everyone if you collect Firefly.
This Firefly had a very odd pricing history. In the fall of 2000, you could buy all of this figure you wanted for $8 at Toys R Us or KB Toys or $5.84 at Wal Mart. I bought half a dozen or more and left many multiples of that number behind. Everyone had the figure and didn't think anything of finding him. That all changed in January of 2001, though. Firefly was discontinued from the Joe case assortments right as the line's popularity took off. Hordes of new collectors came online in early 2001: only to discover they had just missed the first wave of retail Joes. Firefly quickly rose in price. MOC versions of him and Undertow were $30 purchases by the summer. And, by the fall, you could sell MOC sets for $75. (At the same time, a mint and complete with filecard Starduster was $30 and MOC Satans were $50!) Then, though, Hasbro started releasing the Firefly mold in what seemed like every wave. By 2005, this Firefly had fallen from grace and you could get MOC figures for around $20. From there, the figure went into a freefall, with MOC figures running $10 well into the 2010's.
Now, left to the open market, this Firefly is pretty cheap. Mint, loose and complete figures run in the $6-$10 range depending on timing and the filecard. Dealers, though, routinely get $16-$20 for the figure, mostly just due to having the figure available at any given time. You can still get carded versions for around $20. And, since you get the excellent Undertow figure in the same pack, it's probably the way to go. The 2000 Firefly certainly isn't the worst release of the mold. But, it's close to the bottom...only because so many subsequent figures were excellently done. For cheap, this guy is a valuable pick up. But, the figure has limitations and the color scheme really doesn't offer anything drastically different enough from better releases to be a must buy.
I used to want this figure a lot more, but I got a lot of the other Firefly repaints first and mostly lost interest in this one. I still want another blue Undertow though, so maybe I'll get a carded set like you mentioned sometime.
ReplyDeleteThinking about it, a major problem with this figure is that he's basically in the same colors as all of the ARAHC Joes. For the Joes, you could kind of handwave the repetition a bit, but having a Cobra look exactly the same as Duke seems like a bit much. Blue or black like the convention figure would've been a bit better and still worked well enough for the really-stuck colors they were obsessed with.
Back then, I kept my Cobras and Joes in separate drawers by year. So, I never noticed Firefly's similarity. And, when he was on the pegs, he really only matched Tomahawk/Dial Tone. But, after that, every single Joe figure they made until 2002 was the same color.
DeleteThe unproduced 1997 Firefly used a lot of green camo over the grey base. So, that's what they were going for. But, the 1997's were mostly created from hand painted mock ups from some long term adult collectors of that era. 2000 and forward was Hasbro's new generation and it kind of showed.
He was fine for the times. But he also looks like those custom from that same era where the realism-leaning fans would make things gritty. And no matter how well done, they felt somewhat disconnected from the source material, because GI JOE isn't scale modelling.
ReplyDeleteWhy is he knighting Rock'n Roll?
I think the intent was that Firefly was going to behead him. But, the angle didn't go well. There's a whole set up with the Flak Vipers around them. But, can't remember what all was going on. :)
DeleteYou bring up a good point about the deviation from the source material. The entire repaint era felt like it was a soulless rehash instead of an extension. Most of the fan driven Kickstarters feel similar.
I remember when the news of the RAHC figures came out Firefly and Dusty were the two figures I was looking forward to the most. Firefly for me was one of the coolest, if not the best Cobra figure. As a 90s kid I was never lucky enough to have an original 84 Firefly but when I came across him while at friends houses in the early 90s I always was drawn to him - the color scheme and figure design blew me away.
ReplyDeleteFast forward to 2000 when I became an "adult collector" at the age of 18. I thought and still think this is an incredible figure. I can still capture in my mind the pure excitement as a teenager of obtaining a new version of my favorite Cobra figure in the mold I never had as a kid. I can certainly admit to some of the faults of the figure - the bare hands and paint swipes but his overall color scheme was very cool to me. The woodlands camo really fit in well with the designs of the rest of the figures from the RAHC as well.
Having the ability to recall this figure with much more clarity in my mind makes me miss my late teenage years and early 20s with all of my Joe hunting. There was still that same excitement and enthusiasm as was in my youth, the toys and my hunts for them offered me a small reprieve from the realities of growing up and my impending adulthood.
I have similar feelings, just a bit older. I was out of school and had a job and could buy all the retail Joes I wanted. I'd get a pack or two every time I went to Wal Mart. My wife and I had just bought our first house and she gave me a ton of retail figures for Christmas that year. (I used to have a photo of it all.) It was an awesome time.
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