2005 Winter Operations Frostbite

When you see this figure, you'll instantly recognize the mold as that belonging to the 1983 Snow Job.  Despite this easy connection, though, Hasbro actually released this mold as many times with a different character name as they did under the name of Snow Job.  Between 1998 and 2010, Hasbro never used the mold for the titular character who is forever associated with the beard, hood and goggles.  Instead, it was used first for a new character and then twice renamed and released as Frostbite.  Were it not for the ill-conceived "Then and Now" Snow Job who bombed at retail in 2011 or so, this mold would have been used the same amount of times for Snow Job and Frostbite.  And, that seems like something that shouldn't have happened.  Snow Job is iconic.  And, even while writing this, I actually wrote Snow Job in reference to this figure instead of Frostbite on multiple occasions.  So, really, I just take this release as another color scheme for Snow Job.  And, in that vein, this figure works way better than it should.

Blue is a tough color to make work on a Joe.  Blue is Cobra's color.  And, an especially dark blue color as an accent is even more closely associated with Cobra.  So, having the blue coat on this figure doesn't make much sense.  For a time, I had designs of getting a few extra Comic Pack Trooper or Officer heads and trying them out on this body for a Cobra snow trooper.  But, I never really got around to trying it.  The hues of blue are off just enough that it would be a tough match. And, my fascination with a Cobra head on every 1982-1984 Joe body has been played out now that there are 100's of Cobra Troopers to choose from.  

I'm not sure why they just painted the inside of the figure's arms blue.  It's a weird design choice.  But, the hint of color does help break up the figure.  The one thing that is really nice, though, is that Frostbite's coat is painted onto his waist.  So, you can see the full sculpting of the coat and how it extends below his belt.  The black gloves and details, along with the rich blue, make this a more serious looking figure.  The brown beard takes a bit away from the Snow Job visage.  But, I can see his hair turning darker as the character aged.  Sadly, vintage Joe plastic is a different finish that than of the 2000's.  So, that makes a vintage Snow Job head a difficult replacement on this Frostbite body.  The sheens just don't match up.

Beyond the blue, the figure features a difficult to see but amazing detailed cream colored splatter pattern on the legs.  The color difference is subtle.  (I'm not sure if the plastic is white with the brownish strewn cream color as paint, or vice versa.)  It's difficult to see.  But, it's there.  And, it probably cost a great deal of the entire set's production budget.  You'd have thought it would be on something easier to spot on the figures.  It's not until you really examine the figure that you notice how intricate the paint masks really are.  They are easily on par with the Vypra figures from a few months prior.  With the pattern and other, detailed paint applications, this Frostbite is more akin to a convention figure than a TRU release.  Collectors don't really notice, though, because winter figures aren't overly popular and this set was out of the collective mind before it even had a chance to collect dust at retail.

Frostbite's gear is both OK and also underwhelming.  By 2005, Hasbro had given up on the notion of matching accessory complements to a figure mold.  And, they had really given up trying to give any of the Toys R Us 6 pack figures any memorable gear at all.  Despite Snow Job's ski pack, skis and ski poles being ubiquitous during the 2001/2002 release years, they were not included with this set.  Instead, the set came with a series of 1988 Blizzard snow shoes and skis.  They aren't bad.  But, they aren't as fun as the 1983 skis, either.  In addition, the figure included a 1992 Gung Ho backpack, a sniper rifle from the JvC era and the Comic Pack inspired M-16 rifle. The sniper and Gung Ho's pack with the molded rope always reminded me of Snow Job climbing the Alps in the opening panels of G.I. Joe #23.  With this gear, he'd have made a good Comic Pack figure.   As a whole, the gear isn't bad and makes for a decent looking figure.  But, it's tough to see the Snow Job mold without his iconic XMLR and ski gear.  

Despite the character choice, the enemy specific colors and the bland gear, though, this figure does work.  It looks really nice.  It's not discoloring...yet.  The more pliable plastic is preferable for any winter accoutrements you wish to pair with the figure.  And, the figure looks close enough to Snow Job that you can easily just make it Snow Job in whatever mechanism you have for the figure.  This is one of those releases in the repaint era that holds up pretty well: even though it was completely forgotten during its release window.  It's not not a figure you remember like the clear Mirage or the excellent Snake Eyes.  But, you don't hate is like you do the Backblast figure.  He's just another repaint that was blasted out to retail during a time when  Hasbro was dumping everything they could before pivoting to the DTC model.  

That, though, lead me to rediscover this figure nearly 20 years after his initial release.  I had no need for another release of Snow Job mold back in 2005.  But, now, he's much more palatable.  1983 Snow Jobs discolor very easily.  The 1997 repaint and Whiteout are both pretty close to the 1983 colors, too.  The 2003 Frostbite is a nice match for the 1994 Windchill.  But, he had no gear.  So, that leaves this figure as an alternative to the more traditional Snow Job role.  This, certainly, isn't a figure that I'd go out of my way to include in a photograph.  But, 2 weeks of snow this year has given me an opportunity to better explore my winter themed Joes and has rejuvenated a bit of interest in the hobby that I've lost in the past couple of years.  

Winter Operations figures aren't all that common to find.  By 2005, Hasbro had reduced the production run on the G.I. Joe themed sets to around 16,000 total sets.  That's down from the 20,000 that were typical for Cobra sets.  On top of that, collectors were leaving the hobby in droves by the time this set was released.  Couple that with the general malaise towards the overall set, and few collectors even bothered to buy it.  Those who did almost never bought multiples.  So, the set didn't find an afterlife from disillusioned 2000's era collectors liquidating their duplicates in the early 2010's.  You'll see dealer pricing on this figure in the $20-$25 range...which is entirely too high.  At best, he's half that on the open market.  But, there is simply no supply right now.  So, your options to  acquire the figure are limited.  But, really, if you have the 1983 Snow Job, the 1997 Snow Job, the 2001 Whiteout or the 2011 Snow Job, you have much more useful figures to represent any character you choose.  So, those are the better route to seek should you want a cheap representation of this mold in your collection.