1985 Armadillo - Around The Web

The 1985 Armadillo is one of those perfect, small vehicles from the line's formative years.  It's not a greatly detailed toy.  But, for the size and price, it packs a ton of fun into a small package.  As such, it's quite a popular vehicle to appear in photos.  

1985 Armadillo Profile

1985 Armadillo by theatticagazette

1985 Armadillo by thedustinmccoy

1985 Armadillo by matemylar

1985 Armadillo by dashiellrfairborne

1985 Armadillo by steelbrigade

1985 Armadillo by 3rd_wave_sabotage

1985 Armadillo by gijoe_c4_panama

1985 Armadillo by thedustinmccoy

1985 Armadillo by evilface

1985 Armadillo by dashiellerfairborne

1985 Armadillo by Steel Brigade

1985 Armadillo by 73larebear

1985 Armadillo by gijoe_for_fun

1985 Armadillo by SnowCat

1985 Armadillo by fun_time_at_serpentorslair

G.I. Joe #36 - Marvel Comics

I had bought just 9 other G.I. Joe comic books when issue #36 came out.  And, even with that limited experience, my initial thoughts about #36 were pretty much, "what the heck is this?!?".  There was something off about the book.  From the different artwork and perspective on the cover to some of the artistic choices in the book itself, #36 stood out as something different.  In looking back at it, now, the differences are less obvious.  But, at the time, this issue was a departure from those that had come before it.  (Though, to be fair, the artwork in #35 also stands out as something different.)  Hidden inside the issue, though, is a plethora of toy introductions, foreshadowing of upcoming, major plotlines and some closure of the "Zartan" arc that began about a year earlier.

The issue's cover is distinctive as it heavily features a pale cranberry red background.  This color hadn't been seen on a G.I. Joe cover since #8.  It was a dramatic splash of color to offset the dark Cobra blue and olive drab of the Hovercraft.  The perspective of the cover flows from left to right.  It's reminiscent of the #29 cover which also featured the Hovercraft: just in a a different role.  There's a lot of action packed into just a few items.  And, the Rattler, Hovercraft and ASP all convey aspects of the story.  Comic covers were never meant to be 100% representations of what was inside the book.  Instead, they were a composite to give the feel of an issue.  And, the #36 cover delivers on that.

The book opens with a strong portrait of Cutter, Deep Six and Doc.  This version of Deep Six, wearing standard clothing instead of his bulky dive suit, is actually how I think of the character.  He appeared more in  the comic in this outfit than that of his actual "action" figure.  Yet, we never got a toy version of Deep Six that was anywhere close to this above water look.  It really seemed that Larry Hama liked the Deep Six character.  He played significant roles in several comic issues.  And, he got more comic time than many of the standard carded figures that were released through 1984.  And, while we got a nearly perfect update to the Deep Six undersea diver in 1989, we never did get a way to represent the character out of the water.  Topside is the closest representation.  And, the "crewman" Deep Six was a staple of late 1990's and early 2000's customizers.  It's one of the missing figures that I'd gladly buy in the ReAction+ line just because it's never been done.

This issue went on sale in March of 1985.  It has a few notable debuts.  It is the first time we see Cobra hydrofoils that were based on the Moray design.  They are Cobra blue, though.  At the end of the issue, we see the debut of the USS Flagg.  (Though, it's not really noted as being significant.)  The odd thing is that this also marks the debut of the MMS.  For some reason, the MMS didn't appear in G.I. Joe #1.  (I don't think the FLAK did, either.)  And, it wasn't until this issue, four years later, that the 1982 toy finally appeared in a comic panel.  It got to blow up a Rattler and was then destroyed in the fiery aftermath.  The most notable debut, though, is the notion of a "Sea Rattler" and their white-clad pilots.  In the early days of online collecting, the white Rattler pilot was an oft requested new figure should the Joe line return.  The line did return.  But, we never actually got this white Rattler pilot.  In an alternate reality, there would have been a #36 Comic Pack with the proper Deep Six, the Rattler Pilot and one of Fred's "thugs" or a "Rubber Mask" Snake Eyes.

This issue spins three central plots.  The two aquatic adventures are intertwined, but also separate.  The destruction of the G.I. Jane was done to pave the way for the USS Flagg to appear later that summer.  The land battle at the atoll was a somewhat self contained story that had no bearing on the overall except for a throwaway line as the Cobras watched the Joe triumphantly depart.  A Cobra Trooper mentions the larger Gulf operations as foreshadowing for that summer's primary plot.  The Snake Eyes/Scarlett plot, though, was another step forward in converting G.I.  Joe into the Snake Eyes story.  

The Hovercraft arc is interesting because the Joes pretty much decimate the Cobras.  But, the real takeaway is that the good guys are always smarter than the bad guys.  It's a trope that's all too easy.  But, as a kid, seeing the good guys blow up the capable, but not quite smart enough bad guys was a lot of fun.  The crew of Torpedo and Snow Job is kind of random.  It seems like this is a last ditch effort to show off some '83 characters as their figures would have been selling through for the last time.  Seeing Torpedo on the Whale triggered another memory for me.  I had a standard crew for my Whale.  Cutter and Shipwreck manned the helm.  BBQ sat behind them as the requisite firefighter.  But, Torpedo always manned the hidden recon sled underneath the Whale.  I never remembered he was there when I was a kid.  So, I had forgotten about his involvement on every Whale mission I undertook during my childhood heyday.  

The Jane arc balances out the Whale story since Cutter, Deep Six and Doc lose.  While they destroy the Rattlers (it was still a bit jarring to see pilots and others die in the comic when I was 11), the Jane is also destroyed.  The Joes hadn't lost a piece of equipment of that size since the pre-fab HQ was blown to bits back in #19.  I suspect this was done to remove the Jane and bring in the USS Flagg whose toy would appear on retail shelves later in the year.  When taken in that context, the Jane's demise seems kind of cheap.  But, as a kid, the story was pretty intense.

The Snake Eyes/Scarlett story line is also pretty good.  It features Fred along with a group of Cobra goons.  These generic guys appeared a few times in the early issues.  This might have been their final comic appearance.  They are '30's mobster archetypes.  But, they work in conveying that they're bad guys and dangerous.  Scarlett and Snake Eyes dispatch them.  Seeing them all killed with impunity is, again, kind of jarring.  But, they were foils to show the capability of the protagonists.  The culmination is that Fred "dies" by falling off the ferry into the cold water.  (He lives, of course.)  But, the big reveal is that Snake Eyes's face is so horrid that Fred loses his mind upon seeing it.
 

One enduring memory associated with this issue is the carton that says "Snax" on it.  It appears in one of the integral panels to the Snake Eyes/Fred story.  It seems a silly thing to fixate upon.  But, my friend down street always thought this spelling of the word and its appearance in  the comic was hilarious.  Even when we were in high school, he'd mention Snax from time to time and we'd chuckle.  I remember this issue, specifically, for this reason.  It's that one weird thing that makes this issue matter to me.  We all have weird pneumonic devices that recall certain aspects of childhood.  For me, it's "Snax".

The main thing that bothered me about this issue, though, was some of the internal artwork.  Look at the faces and body positions in the panel posted below.  The grotesque mouth poses seemed out of place.  In looking at the creative team, the entire issue was penciled by 4 different people.  So, that may explain some of the oddities among the pages.  I did love the guns that were drawn in this issue, though.  Until the end of my childhood collecting days, I wanted weapons that matched up with those wielded by Fred and his minions in this issue.  

Early Joe comics aren't worth much.  They were printed in massive volumes.  And, many copies survived through to today.  In pretty good condition, this is a $5 or $6 book.  Of course, graded copies will cost more, especially the 9's and 10's.  But, just a couple of years ago, all the non-key Joe comics were about $1 or $2 purchases.  The pandemic pricing destroyed comics, too, I guess.  I'm not sure I'd pay $5 for this issue.  But, comics from the '80's seem like they should be cheap.  The fact that they're over 40 years old isn't as much of an issue as it was when looking at items from the 1940s back in the 1980's.  These '80s items were produced in unfathomable numbers and lack any real sense of rarity.  Even with a strong childhood connection to the comics, I haven't been compelled to finish my original Marvel run.  I'm not missing many.  (I was pretty thorough when I was a kid.)  But, maybe it will become a focus now that my desire to find any unowned figures is pretty much at a dead end, too.  Rereading these old issues is fun because you do find some new stuff when looking at it for the first time in 2 decades.  But, the real value is remembering stupid things like "Snax" and fondly recalling those bygone days when such things were fresh and funny.

1985 Torch - Around The Web

It's pretty non-controversial to say that Torch is the least popular of the original 3 Dreadnoks.  And, you'll see that played out in the content below.  Instead of seeing Torch as the main focus in many of the photos, you'll actually see him in the background.  He's integral to the theme of the 3 Dreadnoks.  But, he's rarely the focal point of the action.  He's just kind of there.  But, he's also conspicuous in his absence.

Some of Torch's obscurity is elevated by the fact that he did not appear in the repaint era.  Buzzer, Ripper and Road Pig were available from Funskool during the early 2000's.  And, starting in 2004, Buzzer and Ripper became available as convention figures and, eventually, a retail release. Zanzibar, Road Pig and even Thrasher would get releases during this time.  And, there were convention figures meant to emulate Gnawgahyde.  Torch, though, was left behind.  It's likely because his mold was gone.  He did get one of the better figures in the JvC style of releases, though.  But, as everyone has forgotten that those figures even exist, it didn't help his popularity.

Torch did get 4 distinct figures, overall.  He has variants released in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina.  But, all three figures are pretty much the same as his Hasbro release.  So, there's no even the cachet of a rare foreign coloring (like the Red Buzzer or Purple Ripper from India) to bump his status among collectors.  

So, he remains the lost Dreadnok.  But, because the full set of original 3 Dreadnoks remains so popular, there's tons of content on him out there.  He's just rarely the full subject of the photo.  But, you can clearly see the value of the figure within the context of his original team.

1985 Torch Profile

Comic #30 Profile

1985 Torch at the Attica Gazette

1985 Torch by thedustinmccoy

1985 Torch by joesandtoys

1985 Torch by 73larebear

1985 Torch by u.n.i.t._gijoe

1985 Torch at Joe A Day.com

1985 Torch by cobra_rules_cybertron

1985 Torch by themexicangriswolds

1985 Torch by viper_space

1985 Torch by gi_joeisthere

1985 Torch by gijoe_c4_panama

1985 Torch by powervsdreams2000

1985 Torch by mrmikevinthepit

1985 Torch by Evilface

1985 Torch by thedustinmccoy

My Favorite Accessories - Part 1

I look at my collection in distinct stages.  The first, of course, is my childhood.  This covered 1982 through 1987.  The second phase is the pre-internet days of adult collecting.  For me, this was 1992 through 1997, give or take.  And, then the final phase is my adult collecting years that have occurred since I found the Stars & Stripes set in December of 1997.

As a kid, it was nearly impossible to get extras of specific weapons.  Your only options were to buy another figure or two to get the gear.  Or, really hope that a friend of yours happened to hate that particular item and you could trade him something you didn't really care for in exchange for the item you did want.  The notion of having several extras lying around was pretty much a pipe dream and impossible for all but the richest kid.  

During the mid 1990's, it was also somewhat difficult to just buy accessories.  You'd often find guys with grocery bags or shoeboxes full of Joes.  And, they'd say something along the lines of "it's too much work to figure out who gets what gear"  (there was no YoJoe.com back then).  But, at the same time, none of them would sell individual gear.  They were too afraid that you'd buy the one super rare item and they'd miss out on 4 extra bucks in later years.  1990's scalp culture was weird.  The thing those guys would do, though, was sell you the whole bag or box of figures for what, now, seems a really stupidly low price.  Sure, there'd be no female figures or Snake Eyes in the lot.  But, that was fine because you'd end up paying a dollar or two per figure.  So, you could get extra gear, but you'd get the figures to go with it, too.

The early days of internet collecting were nice as guys would pretty much trade any accessory straight up for another that they needed.  So, for a few years, you could easily trade a spare Alpine rope gun to get a Shipwreck pistol.  But, as the 2000's dawned, things like that mostly disappeared.  By then, collectors had realized which gear was the most desirable and hardest to find.  And, as the 2000's turned into the 2010's, you had the rise of online dealers who would sell individual accessories and Ebay stores that did the same.  Sure, you'd pay a premium for a 1982 Uzi.  But, they'd often sell very nice stuff from later years for cheap prices.  You could still get the charcoal Recoil rifles from later editions of the Steel Brigade for under $5 up through this time.  

Since then, the price of gear has steadily gone up.  Certain weapons that were once desired (like Snake Eyes' Uzi) did see demand tempered a bit as repaint era options became readily available. I didn't need to seek out extra 1983 weapons to arm my terrorist contingent because I could easily get 2000's era accessories that worked just as well and were a fraction of the price.  But, other gear got stupidly expensive.  Things like Flint's shotgun (that, really, were never hard to find) got really pricey as dealers flocked to the market and marked things up in the post 2018 Joe world.  Now, I'm glad that I have a lot of extra gear.  Because there is no way I'd accumulate my armory at today's prices.

For today, I'm going to focus on my childhood favorites.  There is a lot to read here.  So, I'm going to break this walk down memory lane into different parts so they are more manageable.  Here is part 1:

My Childhood Favorites:

1. Flint's Shotgun

There's just something about this weapon that always spoke to me.  It was an original design and unlike anything that had come before it in the line.  The notion of a shotgun toting badass hearkened back to the Westerns you'd see on weekend afternoon TV.  

On a boy scout trip, some of the adults were shooting skeet.  I gathered up a dozen or so spent shells and cut slits in them so that I could affix them to suspenders or a belt like Flint.  When we'd play guns in the neighborhood, I'd wear the shells over a vest.  It's amazing to think we used to run around the neighborhood, toting very real looking toy guns with real spent ammo on my chest and no one batted an eye.  This is probably the one thing that's most changed between my childhood and that of my kids.

As a kid, I lost Flint's shotgun all the time.  My original figure's disappeared at some point during his run.  In 1986, I replaced my original with a new one so I'd have the rifle, again.  That winter, we went to visit my grandparents.  We'd play in their basement.  The floor was cold, hard concrete.  But, they had about a dozen carpet sample sized rugs that we'd arrange as islands or somesuch and structure our adventures around these.  We were playing down there one afternoon and my younger brother somehow kicked Flint's shotgun off of one of these carpets.  I frantically searched for it for hours.  I picked up every carpet, got a flashlight to look under the cabinets and swept the floor with my hands. But, that Flint shotgun was gone.

A while later, my grandmother told me over the phone she had found a green gun in her basement.  She put it in her room, thinking it might be important to us.  I was sure it was Flint's shotgun.  But, when we saw her again, I was disappointed to find it was not.  Instead, it was a broken machine gun from one of my dad's old, cheap plastic soldiers.  So, the remaining years of my childhood Flint's life were spent with him wielding the weapon from the Night Landing Craft, a Snow Serpent's AK-47 or the Ripcord rifle from the Tactical Battle Platform.

When I started collecting, getting a complete Flint was a priority.  As Flint was super popular, though, he'd be in a ton of the lots I was acquiring in the late 1990s.  Usually, I'd get his gun, too.  Over time, I bought a bunch of loose Flints from online and local sellers.  I had up to 8 of them at one point.  Even after my collection  purge, though, I still have 5 originals plus at least 5 loose and 5 more carded Funskool versions.  What I can not do, though, is give Flint's shotgun  to another figure.  It just doesn't look right.  So, while I love Flint's shotgun, it is reserved for Flint and Flint alone.  

2. Alpine's SMG

What's interesting is that many of the weapons on my childhood list feature stories about me losing the weapon.  The reason for this is that the experience was traumatic since I loved the accessories so much and I often would no longer use a figure once his original gear was lost.  For Alpine, the main story is one of loss.  But, there are also two stories of redemption.  

Alpine was one of the earlier 1985 figures I acquired.  I remember that I already owned him by the time I got Snake Eyes in April.  And, I have cold weather, early spring memories of playing with him and the Eel on the front steps of my parents' home.  Being an early arrival, though, meant that I was less careful with him than I should have been.  In short order, I lost his pistol and broke his grappling gun.  As the figure was cool, though, I replaced my original Alpine some time in 1986 so I once again had a complete figure.

In the fall of 1986, we were playing with our Joes outside with some kids down the street.  We rarely played in their backyard as it was small and didn't have a ton of great places.  But, their dad had recently cleared out a small thicket of trees near their back fence that bordered the alley.  So, on this day, we set up an adventure there.  Among the figures I had was Alpine.  At some point, I took his gun out of the figure's hand and set it down on the soft, dry dirt.  The gun instantly disappeared.  It was gone.  I searched for quite a while, moving dirt, etc. to no avail.  My Alpine's gun was gone.

About a year later, we were playing soccer in their yard.  The ball went back into this thicket.  I went to retrieve it.  And, as I went to pick up the ball, I saw my Alpine's gun in the dirt!  By this time, we had given up toys.  But, I did show it to everyone and asked if they remembered when I had lost the gun.  I put the pistol into my pocket and added it to my stash of Joes when I got home.  Over the years, my youngest brother broke into these stashes and removed key figures.  During these thefts, my Alpine was taken and his pistol disappeared again.

In 1997, I was working a job post college and living at my parents' house until I moved to Arizona.  During this time, I dug out all my childhood toys and started displaying them on the shelves in my childhood room.  One night, as I was heading to bed, I happened to notice something weird about the SnowCat.  It seemed there was an asymmetry in the open spaces on the black underbody beneath the lights.  Upon inspection, the difference was that my Alpine's gun was wedged into the part!  No idea how it got there.  But, I had a complete Alpine, once again.  It was the same gun from the dirt thicket because the grooves of the weapon were still filled with the fine dust from a decade earlier.  With this recovery, my Alpine was again, complete.

Over the years, I've picked up one or two extra Alpine pistols.  It looks good with a variety of figures.  And, I'll often use it with other 1985 releases as a way to bring some visual diversity to a photo.  It's a weapon I still enjoy.  I wouldn't mind if I had another four or five of them.  But, I'm very happy with the number in my collection, today.  Each time I see it, I'm reminded of finding that dusty gun in the back of our friends' yard.  It's a great connection to the past.

 

3. Hawk's Pistol

I view this pistol as Hawk's.  It actually debuted with  the 1985 Keel Haul, though.  But, since I never had a Keel Haul, I had no idea that he came with a gun.  So, I view this weapon as Hawk's and Hawk's alone.  Originally, this Hawk figure first belonged to my younger brother.  And, while I did use him quite a bit, my brother was hard on the figure and lost his pistol.  This hurt as I loved the weapon and often used it with other figures.  I gave Hawk the M-203 from Leatherneck and made him a younger leader, more akin to the role meant for Duke, instead of the grizzled general.  This made the Hawk figure much more useful and kept him a key player in my collection.

Sometime in late 1987, I went to a local toy shop in my neighborhood.  It was a small, independent store that was mostly a hobby/model shop who also sold toys.  They were expensive.  But, it was just a few hundred feet away from the comic book store where I spent many, many hours of my youth.  I stopped in one afternoon and found they had marked their Joes down to $2.99 instead of the usual $3.99.  I didn't like paying that extra dollar.  Their entire stock was 1986 figures...including Hawk.  I didn't buy the figure that day.  For some reason, I felt I needed parental permission to buy a figure, even though I spent my lawn mowing money with impunity at the comic book store.  When I got home, I mentioned something about the figures being on sale to my mother.  She made a flippant comment about how it was my money and she didn't care how I spent it.  So, on my next trip to the comic book store, I dropped by Ed Shrock's Toy and Hobby and bought myself a new Hawk.

I kept this figure, though, as the younger character from before.  And, Hawk, once again, got the M-203.  I had 2 of these weapons.  (It's next on the list!)  So, that freed up Hawk's pistol to be used by other figures or in other situations.  Crankcase was the main recipient of the pistol.  But, I would also use it in specific scenarios.  So, if a Joe got caught without his weapon at the end of a firefight and he had a sculpted pistol on his leg or chest, Hawks' pistol would stand in for the sculpted weapon.  The Joe would just use it that once.  But, it allowed for me to finally put to practical use some of the sculpted details on my favorite figures.

Today, the weapon remains a favorite.  I have a couple.  I never felt the Hawk pistol was all that hard to get.  But, when I liquidated all my extra Hawks, I sold them complete with the pistol.  I think I kept one or two extras that are available.  Though, one is always with Crankcase.  Hasbro had the mold for the weapon in the 2000's.  It was included with the Convention Hardtop.  But, it never appeared again.  Instead, we got crappy new sculpt pistols in the Comic Packs that the figures couldn't hold and that were just too stubby to be any fun.  I only imagine what it would have been like to get a dozen or more extra Hawk pistols in that era.  I'd have kept them all.

4. Leatherneck's M-203

Leatherneck's rifle had a lot going for it.  It was a bit bigger than the weapons from prior years.  But, I liked that about it since it made the weapon appear more deadly.  The main  calling card, though, was the affixed grenade launcher under the barrel.  This gave the weapon more utilization possibilities and made Leatherneck effective against both infantry and Cobra vehicles.  I always wanted more of the weapons.  In the summer of 1986, though, I lost my original Leatherneck in the bushes in front of grandfather's house.  My cousin, who lived next door, never found the figure.  And, I went months with no Leatherneck.  At some point before the end of the year, I bought another Leatherneck figure.  My main reasoning was that when I returned to Buffalo and found my original figure, I'd have a spare gun to give to other figures.

When I went back to my grandfather's in the summer of 1987, though, my Leatherneck was no where to be found.  I know the bushes were evergreen.  But, the volume of snow they received could have left him shoveled away.  So, I wasn't to get that spare rifle.  But, fortunately, the end of 1986 and early 1987 gave me another avenue.  For Christmas of 1986, I got the Mission to Brazil set.  This included a desert themed Leatherneck with the same rifle as the original.  Naturally, I kept that accessory with the figure.  But, when I really wanted the 1986 Hawk to have the rifle, I'd equip the desert Leatherneck (now a Marine army builder) with the 1984 Battle Gear Zap Bazooka.  But, then, in 1987, a new Battle Gear set was released.  Frankly, this set sucked like the earlier sets with poor colors and missing gear.  But, it did include a brown version of the Leatherneck rifle...a color that perfectly matched the Mission to Brazil figure.  So, the army builder was given the Battle Gear accessory and I had a spare M-203 to give to other figures.

As an adult collector, I discovered that the weapon was later released in black, too.  But, I also found the weapon had fallen out of favor.  I didn't see it as a team standard any longer.  I did give a black one to Recoil for a bit.  But, once I had a charcoal Steel Brigade rifle, Recoil didn't need the M-203 any longer.  And, by the time superfluous weapons were included with repaint era figures in the 2000's, I ended up with a baggie full of extra M-203s that I don't use at all.  It's a precipitous fall for one of the top weapons of my childhood.  But, Hasbro made too many better weapons in subsequent years.

5. Mutt's Mac 11

Mutt belonged to my younger brother.  And, he didn't take care of him.  In short order we lost the mask, nightstick and pistol.  At one point, I found the Mutt figure in the bottom of an antique wardrobe that was in my brothers' room.  Since I had pulled the figure out when it was fairly dark, I always thought that Mutt's pistol must have been  lost in the bottom of that piece of furniture.  I searched it many times.  In fact, I searched it as recently as 2013 when my mother finally moved out of the house and was giving the piece away.  No Mutt's pistol.  There were a bunch of old Legos, though.

Having lost such a cool gun always made the weapon mythical to me.  Add to that the weapon's silencer and it was a perfect accessory for Dreadnoks, Cobra leaders or even just Snake Eyes.  In 1985, I finally got a bright green Mutt's pistol in the Battle Gear.  And, despite the color, I used this weapon extensively.  I'd give it to Zartan.  Or, some nameless bad guys would use it to assassinate Hawk.  I'd place the weapon in the cockpit of the Whale where either Cutter or Shipwreck could grab it as a backup to shoot boarding Eels. It had a ton of uses.

But, I never got another black version of the gun until I was an adult collector.  While I upgraded pretty much my entire 1985 figure collection, I didn't do the same with the 1984's.  Mostly, this was due to the fact that the '84's were pretty sparse at the retailers I frequented in 1986 when I was spending to upgrade my figures.  But, also, the '84's were somewhat old news by then.  I was more interested in getting some of the newer characters back into my collection since they were the staples of the comic and cartoon.  So, a complete Mutt didn't rejoin my collection for over a decade.

Now, I have just two Mutts: both with the pistol.  But, I also have Mutts from Europe and Brazil.  So, I've got several of the pistols.  I think I have a spare or two still hanging around.  You'll find photos of the pistol being used by Scarlett, Snake Eyes, Headman and others.  It's a fun weapon to use as an alternative pistol.  I still think the silencer adds a sinister element to the weapon.  

So, that's a look at the weapons that drove my childhood.  While I liked most Joe weapons of that era, these were the ones that most spoke to me.  They were the ones that were the subject of daydreams of bins of gear being available to me.  Now that I can do that, I've found that I still flock to many of these weapons and never pass them if they're offered cheaply.  (Which doesn't really happen any longer.)

I'll continue this series at some point.  It won't be next week.  But, probably this year.  This was a fun jog into the bowels of my formative Joe years.  It's good to dig into that well of memories every now and then as it helps keep some of the feelings fresh.  Let me know your childhood favorites in the comments below.

1985 Snake Eyes

How do you approach a figure that is generally regarded as the most popular and most important figure in the entire Joe line?  The figure isn't "forgotten" by any means.  It is also a mold that is personal and dear to collectors of multiple generations.  While there are admitted flaws in the figure's design, they are forgivable due to the overall quality of the the release.  I've avoided writing about this figure for 25 years.  Yes, officially, this Snake Eyes marks the 25th anniversary of me profiling G.I. Joe figures.  And, really, the only choice for such an occasion is the most popular figure in the history of the Joe line: the 1985 Snake Eyes.

In very early 1985, a kid in my class heard rumors of new G.I. Joe figures showing up at the local KB Toys store.  Since the Dreadnoks had come out early, pretty much everyone was aware of who would be part of the 1985 line.  And, the cartoon from the prior fall had made Flint, Lady Jaye and Shipwreck early front runners to be the favorites.  Everyone, though, was also highly curious about the new Commando figure.  We all knew it was a new Snake Eyes and were desperate to add him to our collection as a foil to the then brand new 1984 Stormshadow figure.  I finally got my mother to take me to the local KB on a Friday after we got mid term grades.  Sure enough, 1985 Joes were falling off the pegs.  My young mind could barely take in all the various newness that was strewn about the pegs.  I found a Flint.  But, I put him back because his head drooped and I thought he was broken in the package.  (I didn't know about the new head articulation.)  I ended up buying Footloose and Airtight.  My youngest brother got a Crimson Guard.  While I looked over the figures, a clerk came over and remarked about how they had gotten a couple of the "Commando" figures and they had sold out right away.  On one level, I was disappointed I had missed out on this figure.  But, on the other hand, there was so many other amazing new releases that any disappointment was washed away.

Over the next few weeks, my two best friends and I had a friendly competition over who could find the most new figures.  At the time, we didn't know the code-names for the Tele Viper or Snow Serpent.  And, my one friend was oddly bothered by the fact that no one had found a Lady Jaye figure.  None of us really pined over Snake Eyes, though.  Stormshadow, from the year prior, had not really become available at retail until the Fall and my friend had ended up ordering exta figures from JC Penny's to get a Stormshadow figure after being frustrated at retail for a year.  We assumed Snake Eyes would be similar and we'd not see hide nor hair of him until the leaves began to turn.  

The Friday that Spring Break began, though, my mother took us grocery shopping to stock up on food while we were home for the week.  Both of my friends and their families were going to Florida for the time off.  The local Cub Foods in Indianapolis was very close to the Toys R Us.  And, as a quid pro quo for us going shopping and bagging all the groceries, my mom would stop at TRU and let us browse before we'd go to the supermarket.  When we arrived, nothing seemed all that different.  I made my way to the Joe aisle where I saw a box on the floor.  This box turned out to be a yet to be stocked case of 1985 Joes.  I slowly peeled back the flaps that hid the contents inside.  I scanned the exposed accessory bubbles for anything of interest.  My eyes immediately fixated on a grey wolf.  I yanked the figure out of the case and held the 1985 Snake Eyes figure in my hand for the first time.  I was trembling at my luck.  My mother, though, failed to see the significance of the find and refused to buy me or my brothers anything.  Fortunately, I had my own money and took my prize to the front where he became mine.  In the hullaballoo, I'm sure I bypassed not only my missing Flint, but also Lady Jaye and the yet to be named Tele Viper and Snow Serpent.  But, I only had enough to buy one figure and it was going to be Snake Eyes.

I got Snake Eyes home and opened him up.  Immediately, I posed him with my other new 1985 figures on top of the Bridge Layer.  The new Snake Eyes was just so cool that I didn't do much more than admire him for that first afternoon and evening.  I can still recall turning on the light in my room after bedtime, just to make sure that Snake Eyes was still sitting there, next to Alpine, Airtight and Footloose.  I still wasn't sure that finding him had been a dream.  But, it wasn't. And, in the ensuing days of having no friends to play with, Snake Eyes became the focal point of my adventures.  He battled Stormshadow, would kill scores of Cobras and even just do mundane things around my Joe base.  But, mostly I just admired him.  I found the sculpt and design enthralling.  And, I'd try to dream up adventures for the figure where I felt all aspects of the figure could be used.

In the zeal of youth, I called my friends when I got home.  They, though, were both already gone.  I let each of their phones ring more than 20 times (it was the days before answering machines were common) but did not connect with them.  When we returned to school around 10 days later, neither believed my luck until I brought my new Snake Eyes over to their respective houses.  It was months before either of them found a Snake Eyes.  And, in that time, I was pretty much a dick who wouldn't let anyone play with mine.  In fact, there were times I didn't play with mine as I didn't want to break him.  But, having the figure provided more value than the actual character did.

This revelation, though, proved pivotal in my long term evaluation of this 1985 Snake Eyes figure.  While I did, eventually, play my original to death and broke his thumb, I also found that this version of Snake Eyes was almost too cool to use.  Many times, I would take the figure along, but never actually use him.  It was tough to integrate Snake Eyes into my play.  A big part of this was that my adventures of that era were heavy on dialogue to move the plot along.  Snake Eyes being mute made it difficult for him to be an integral player aside from carrying out a specific task or objective.  This lead to Snake Eyes often being set out of the way, waiting for his time in the spotlight.  This backfired on me, too.

After my original Snake Eyes broke, I got another one at some point in 1986.  This figure was better cared for and continued to tag along on great missions.  He was always included in the "away" force that traveled with me to may grandparents' or aunt and uncle's homes.  It was in my grandparents' backyard in Dayton, Ohio that my second Snake Eyes disappeared.  My grandparents had a great backyard in which to play.  It was terraced into three levels by limestone walls full of ledges, pipes and ivy.  Years later, Hit and Run would be hidden among this ivy for months after I forgot him due to his excellent camouflage.  I do not, though, know where my Snake Eyes went.  The stairway to the third terrace in the yard was lined with fresh potting soil and newly planted geraniums.  It's likely that I left Snake Eyes here and he was tilled under before I could find him.  So, Snake Eyes disappeared from my collection once again.  In late 1987, I paid a classmate $10 for both his 1985 Snake Eyes and a complete with microphone Heavy Metal.  (This seems like a deal, now, just due to Heavy Metal.  But, it seemed a princely sum in 1987.)  This Snake Eyes survived for many years.  Around 1996, he and my childhood Stormshadow were set in a permanent duel on a shelf in my room.  When I moved to AZ, then ended up in a Crown Royal bag for the move and stayed there until 2001.  At that point, he was incorporated into my general collection and is, to the best of my knowledge, one of the three or four 1985 Snake Eyes figures I still own today.

Snake Eyes did take on another life in my collection.  The unbroken parts of my original figure were used to make a new, custom character.  This individual was a "mystic warrior" who was trained in martial arts, but also fantasy magic.  He could speak, giving him a tremendous advantage over Snake Eyes.  He also, though, was torn between the world of military discipline and devout practice of his chosen arts.  As I grew into a 1990's jaded Gen X-er, this character turned his back on the Joes and went off to study in the Rocky Mountains.  Cobra, though, managed to train an assassin who would go insane and then started killing world politicians: setting the stage for a post Cold War World War III.  The Snake Eyes character was pulled out of retirement and sent to find and kill the maniacal assassin.  In the end, he was successful in doing so.  But, then also viewed his debt to G.I. Joe fully paid.  Though, he had one final use.  As an old man, he helped to arrange the killing of General Hawk, forcing G.I. Joe to face the realities of the world in the late 2010's.  If he's ever found out, he will die in prison.  But, the stakes were too high and his final, horrible act is also the one that saves the team and allows them to grow before the world passed them by.

Snake Eyes' accessories are damn near perfection.  The weak link, for me, is one of the aspects of the figure that most other collectors hold as the highlight: the inclusion of Timber.  Timber is well sculpted and commands a premium by himself.  I've never really gotten this as I don't much care for animal companions in general.  But, the wolf is a key element of the figure.  Hasbro sculpted a new Uzi for this Snake Eyes version.  It is nearly identical to the original from 1982/1983.  But, it has a thicker barrel and is jet black in lieu of the charcoal colored original.  The figure then includes a well detailed black backpack.  Into this pack fits the character's sword.  The sword is the highlight for me as it's well detailed and a huge step forwards in terms of toy making from both the 1984 Stormshadow katanas and the contemporary 1985 Quick Kick sword.  Something about the shape of the sword just added to the overall mystique of the figure and it remains my favorite sword in the line.

Snake Eyes was released by Hasbro in 1985 and 1986.  The Hasbro figure was available in Europe and Japan.  Estrela got the figure around the early 1990's and produced a nearly identical figure to this Snake Eyes named Lobisomem (Werewolf).  Thus ends the life of this mold.  Yup, that's it.  What is, arguably, the best and most desirable mold in the entire vintage Joe line was used just twice in nearly identical paint schemes.  It was never repainted in any meaningful way.  Hasbro planned the mold for a 1997 release.  The painted mock up is, basically, the 1985 figure with more details.  It would have been a hugely popular release.  But, Hasbro couldn't find the mold.  So, it was replaced with a V1 Snake Eyes hybrid.  Hasbro remade molds for the vintage Crimson Guard, Cobra Trooper, Cobra Officer, Lady Jaye, Mutt and Scrap Iron.  Yet, they never bothered to remake the iconic 1985 Snake Eyes.

This, though, is likely a factor of Snake Eyes' general success.  Hasbro had no incentive to make a new Snake Eyes in the vein of the 1985 because they had access to the 1982, 1989 and 1991 molds.  Those fulfilled the demand for Snake Eyes well enough that it made no sense for them to incur extra expense to make something new for the character.  Had they chosen to re-do this 1985 mold, though, they probably could have repainted it 4 times before collectors tired of it.  So, there is simply an untold amount of untapped potential in the mold.  

In the late 2010's, though, Black Major released waves of 1985 Snake Eyes repaints.  There were nearly 30 of them in the first three waves.  I'm unsure of the final number of repaints that Black Major eventually released.  Most of them were Cobras and sold as flavors of the Cobra Mortal or Cobra Invasor.  But, there are some great versions that can be used as Snake Eyes.  In 2022, Hasbro brought back o-ring Joes.  The first set was Snake Eyes and Stormshadow.  The box artwork showed the 1985 Snake Eyes.  But, the actual figure was based on the 1983 design.  So, as of this writing, Hasbro has never redone one of the most popular figures in the line's entire history.

One thing that the Black Major repaints showcased, though, was that the 1985 Snake Eyes mold has some flaws.  Collectors were willing to forgive the oddly sculpted mouth behind the mask and, even, the slight pot belly that adorns Snake Eyes' stomach.  But, with all the repaints you could ever want now available, those design flaws in the mold became more pronounced.  The black plastic hid the flaws in a much better way than the lighter colors used one some Black Major designs did.  And, it shows that this Snake Eyes mold isn't perfect.  But, collectors can overlook that because this 1985 update is such an improvement over the 1983 Snake Eyes.  

For me, though, the 1985 Snake Eyes is, entirely, seen through the eyes of 11 year old me who found him months before anyone else on that Toys R Us floor.  The figure holds a mystique because it was the single item that every kid my age wanted.  I used him on adventure after adventure.  And, despite all that, I still feel that I didn't use him enough.  I don't have specific memories of him because I could never quite get a story that was as cool as his figure.  So, I still feel that this figure is underutilized in my collection.  I've found it difficult to photograph him in a way that I feel showcases the awesomeness of the figure.  So, to this day, I can't seem to capture the essence of how awesome I've always felt this figure actually was.

The 1985 Snake Eyes has always been expensive.  Back in the early 2000's, they were among the first figures to climb over $30.  Then, slowly, the went over $50.  But, in the doldrums of the early 2010's, the figures settled into that $30 range.  But, when the Joe world went nuts in 2018, this Snake Eyes was among the most affected.  For a time, mint and complete with filecard figures would flirt with $200.  They found a steady price in the $125 - $150 range, though.  As the market has softened, this Snake Eyes has gotten more affordable.  There are just too many of them out there to really remain among the more expensive figures.  Now, you can find nicely conditioned and complete figures in the $80 range.  And, if you're patient, can probably put a complete one together from different sources for less than that.  Dealers will still get $100+ from impatient and uninformed buyers.  You do need to watch for wear on the silver wrist dart as it's the most common place for paint loss.  And, unscrupulous dealers will equip him with a 2000's era Hasbro Uzi.  (It has a different mold and is very easy to spot from a trained eye.)  But, common, loose figures aren't the plum they were in the last hurrah of Joe pricing.  And, we're starting to see them fall into more normal ranges.  Carded figures, though, are a different story as they remain pricey.

And, with that, 25 years of writing about a toy line that lasted for only 13 is complete.  I've come to realize that my continued fascination with Joe is 100% rooted in my frustrated creative juices.  I've ignored my life long pangings to be a writer due to a crippling fear of failure.  So, instead, I've talked about the toys that were the ignition for that creative spark that still ripples through my mind.  I can't really wrap my head around the notion of 25 years, though.  It seems an impossibly long time and also a chronological flash that has raced by.  Collecting has been fun, frustrating and a hassle.  I've met a lot of great people.  And, had a lot of fun.  I have no idea what the next 25 years will hold.  But,if it's like the journey from 1999 through 2024, it will be an interesting ride.

1985 Crankcase

The 1985 series of Joe figures were released during the apex of my childhood.  Nearly every kid in my class played with Joes.  It was a binding force for boys of our year.  By the spring of 1986, though, most of the other kids were outgrowing toys.  But, 1985 was that magical time when you could find common ground with any kid of similar age by bringing up G.I. Joe.  Everyone knew the characters.  And, even  if you had most of the same toys, the line was vast enough that most people had something you didn't.  Among my friends, we had some not always friendly competition over finding new toys.  We'd then take them over to each  other's homes to both show them off and also enjoy the new items together.  This cemented the memories of many acquisitions and tied them to locations and people.  To this day, I can  remember the huge white cabinets at the bottom of my one friend's basement stairs where all his Joes were kept.  And, I haven't been in that house in nearly 40 years.  But, that's the power that the 1985 line had on me.

I found the mid-sized Joe vehicles in the summer of 1985.  I don't recall if I first acquired the Snow Cat or the AWE Striker.  But, they were both added to my collection during that summer.  While the Snow Cat would find itself in the thick of my Joe convoys, though, the AWE Striker didn't catch quite the same attention.  The reason for this, though, was entirely of my own doing.  Early in my ownership of the AWE Striker, I had it outrun some Cobra missiles and take cover under my younger brother's bed.  The clearance under the bed was just not quite the same as the height of the AWE Striker.   And, as I had the vehicle race the missiles and zip under the bed at full speed, I stripped the cannon right off the top of the jeep.  While the bracket on the gun's pivot wasn't completely broken, it was stressed badly.  And, after that, the large gun never did anything but sag towards the ground or the sky.  And, it fell off as I tried to move the vehicle around our toy room.  So, the AWE Striker didn't have much of a life in my collection.

Crankcase, though, did.  I'm not sure why he so resonated with me.  Clutch had been my favorite figure of the original 13.  Crankcase's role as a small vehicle driver was similar to Clutch's.  So, I might have given Crankcase some benefit of the doubt due to Clutch's importance to my early Joe playing days.  We also didn't have a swivel arm Clutch figure.  So, as I didn't use straight arm figures due to their limitations, I was missing an iconic vehicle driver who could operate the multitude of small Joe vehicles that now comprised my mechanized divisions.  As Crankcase was cool looking, featured nice colors, had decent accessories and had a memorable face, he fit into this niche rather nicely.  And, since vehicle drivers were often called into battle after their vehicle had been disabled, Crankcase found himself involved in most of the pivotal moments in any play scenario.

The real testament to Crankcase's quality was the fact that he was a rare figure in my childhood collection who was able to survive the loss of his accessories.  For some reason, the rifle that came with my childhood Crankcase was weak and the stock quickly broke off.  As the weapon was ruined anyways, I then snipped off the clip with a nailclipper in the vain hopes that I could repurpose it as a pistol.  This ruined it even further.  And, I lost one of the coolest guns of my childhood collection.  To make matters worse, I also misplaced Crankcase's helmet.  When I was a kid, my parents kept a brown plastic tub near the back door for dirty shoes.  For some reason, I had it in my head that Crankcase's helmet was in the bottom of this tub, mixed among the clumps of mud.  Since I thought I knew where the helmet was, I didn't really look for it for several weeks.  When I finally did, the helmet was not there.  And, my childhood Crankcase went bareheaded until he was packed away in 1988.  

Despite this, though, Crankcase endured.  He would drive the VAMP, Awe Striker, Silver Mirage and sometimes find himself in the 2nd seat of the Mauler.  In 1986, I discovered that Hawk's small pistol looked great with Crankcase.  And, it was of the right size to have been pulled from the holster on Crankcase's leg.  I was fortunate in that we had two General Hawks in my childhood collection.  So, we had a spare pistol I could give to Crankcase.  (I also happened to prefer Hawk using Leatherneck's M-203.)  To this day, I often photograph Crankcase with Hawk's pistol.  And, there is even a spare 1986 pistol sitting in my drawer of 1985 figures that is always meant for Crankcase.

I see Crankcase as a natural heir to the role that Clutch originally filled in the Joe team.  He has a design that both denotes a bit of casualness.  But, unlike the more reckless Clutch, Crankcase seems like he's more polished and professional in his duties.  You could count on Crankcase to get the job done.  But, he wasn't going to do something crazy that might or might not work.  This reliability made him indispensable to the team.  He was the perfect backup player to work with my preferred main characters as he wouldn't steal the spotlight.  But, was essential at crucial moments.  Plus, he looked good with the 1985 through 1987 figures that dominated my late childhood collection.

One area where I also found Crankcase was in the Action Force comic books.  My local comic book store had started stocking Action Force.  So, I had access to most of the issues of the run.  Action Force books all featured original stories that were exclusive to the book and not, otherwise, available in the U.S.  The fun part was that they often featured characters who didn't have the spotlight in the reprinted Marvel Comics that also comprised parts of each issue.  My first issue was #9.  In that issue, there was a unique story that focused on Flint and Lady Jaye.  However, Crankcase was there, moving blast shields around them to ensure only three people died if Flint couldn't defuse a bomb.  Seeing him featured like this was a treat since he didn't have a real role in the Marvel comic.  And, I suppose I've always had a thing for obscure characters who happened to have figures that resonated with me.

The thing about Crankcase is that, upon first glance, he looks rather basic.  He's got a green shirt and tan pants: nothing very special.  But, upon closer inspection, the figure features 8 different colors.  Even among vintage Joes, that's a high number.  He features a variety of small details that bring little splashes of color to him.  These paint masks would have make Crankcase an expensive figure to make.  His gear only adding to that cost.  But, this tells the story of how popular Joe was in 1985.  Hasbro could afford to make a vehicle driver as intricate as a carded figure that would have been available on a card.  This, of course, would change in just a couple of years.  But, the 1985 vehicle drivers might be best designed figures that were meant as packs in in the line's history.

Crankcase was available in 1985 and 1986 as the AWE Striker driver.  Starting in 1987, though, Crankcase began his life as a mail away figure.  Here, Crankcase found a long life.  In fact, massive overstock of bagged Crankcase figures were available from Hasbro Canada in 1999.  You can find mail away Crankcase figures bagged with a red backed filecard or with no filecard at all.  The retail figure and some mail aways feature different country of origin stamps, different rivets and slight color variants.  Crankcase's legs appeared on Major Storm in 1990.  In 2003, Crankcase's rifle appeared in gold on early samples of convention Major Storm figures.  There was also a listing that appeared in the Toys R Us computers that was named "AWE Striker with Crank".  When the toy appeared, though, Crank was long gone and replaced with a re-release of the 2002 Dial Tone figure.  

Crankcase figures have gotten pricey in recent years.  Mint and complete versions will run between $20 and $25.  Oddly, you can get a nicely conditioned AWE Striker along with a complete Crankcase for about $15 more.  So, that's probably the way to go.  Crankcase figures can be had for $7 or $8.  The real value seems to be in the rifle.  They usually run about $10.  That's a far cry from a couple of years ago when the rifles were a buck or two each.  But, Joe accessories have really climbed in price since 2020. So, you're now paying premium prices for even common gear. But, since Crankcase was such a large part of my childhood collection, I'd probably pay the prices for him.  As 1985 figures, he's still among the cheaper options.  And, if you don't want the rifle (you do, though, want the rifle!) his price makes him a no-brainer.  

Rarities - 1985 CAT Tank (Sears Exclusive)

The MOBAT sucks.  It's important to start out with that as a statement.  It was, easily, the worst toy to debut in the line in 1982.  And, it was never compelling.  Sure, it was cool in the comic and cartoon.  But, there, you got to see characters interacting with it in a way that was simply not possible with the actual toy.  So, Hasbro recoloring the tank in black and red for release as a Sears exclusive in 1985 didn't really solve any of the limitations of the toy.  But, the Crimson Attack Tank (CAT) exists and remains a prized piece for collectors: even if it's undeserved.

It's tough to remember that Sears was the king of retailers as the '80's dawned.  The catalog sales model was a proven way to reach massive amounts of consumers who didn't have access to a physical Sears store.  But, Sears was also pretty effective at getting stores into even small towns.  (The small town where my cousins grew up had a stand alone Sears store.  It was about the size that a Dollar Store is today.  But, it was clean and efficient.  It stocked a few items.  But, mostly, it was a place where customers could come in and order from the catalog.)  So, them being able to afford an exclusive run of toys made a lot of sense.  And, starting in 1982, Sears carried their first exclusive Joe toy, the craptastic Cobra Missile Command.  

In other profiles, I've written about how my dad was a Sears junkie.  He could go in and look at the tools for just as long as I would look at the toys.  And, as they were near each other in our local store, I'd often find myself free to wander the ample toy section while he browsed the hardware.  Really, my only memories of spending time looking at toy lines I didn't collect was in Sears.  My time in Toys R Us or Children's Palace was always Joe focused with little time to spend browsing around.  I recall looking at He-Man and Sectaurs at that Sears store on the north side of Indianapolis.  In these sessions, though, I also discovered the CAT and the SMS.  I distinctly recall both of them being on the end of an aisle and the boxes were neatly stacked on the floor.  The display was huge and the stock was more than ample.  The following year, I found the Dreadnok exclusives in similar format.  Since my dad liked Sears, we found these toys under the tree.  Except, that is, for the CAT.

For Christmas of 1981 or 1982, my dad's best friend bought my brothers and I, each, a remote controlled tank.  They were undersized for Joes and not really meant for action figures.  We played with them for a day or two.  Once home, though, they got tossed into the toy box where they'd stay.  They were too big to match the grocery store plastic soldiers that every kid in the early '80's had in spades.  And, they were too small for Joes or Star Wars figures.  So, they weren't that fun.  Because we had these, though, my mother was adamantly against us getting any more motorized tanks.  I asked for the MOBAT once because I wanted Steeler.  The tone of my mother's "no" ensured I didn't ask again.  

Aside from Steeler, though, I don't think we really missed anything.  Our friend around the block had a MOBAT.  And, no one every played with it.  It was big, didn't interact well with figures, and, you couldn't roll it into battle like you could the toys with free-rolling wheels.  

To this day, I do not own any incarnation of the MOBAT.  Through the years, I've had the original and the 1998 versions.  But, I sold them all off as they are bad toys and worse display pieces.  I've never owned either CAT.  And, I've never had any inclination to do so.  It makes no sense to pay a premium for a vehicle that I don't like and would never, ever use.  But, the CAT is a relatively hard to find item, especially complete with the gun cap.  And, for that reason, it's always been popular with collectors.  The 1985 version has always commanded a premium price, even when alternative versions were getting clearanced from KB Toys' website for a couple of bucks each.  

At its core, the CAT is just a MOBAT colored in black and red.  If the MOBAT were a good toy, this recolor would be an awesome addition to the Cobra army.  But, since it's not, the CAT is just a big hunk of black plastic that takes up huge amounts of space in photos and can't hold any figures.  In Canada, an all black MOBAT was released.  I actually prefer the two-tone CAT, though.  While both toys are rare (the Canadian being substantially more so) they both are heavily limited by the MOBAT design.

Today, with a bit of perseverance, you can find an open sale of the tank for about $250.  But, this is an  item that dealers always pick out.  So, there is consistently plenty of stock available.  The tanks are just sold in the $350-$400 range.  And, lots of people pay that price since the tanks are there for the taking and $100 is worth not having to wait for a year or more to get one at a real market price.