1992 Barricade - Around The Web

The 1992 series of figures is extremely well done.  And, in recent years, collectors have started to realize that many of the figures released this year are worthy of the Joe line's legacy.  Barricade fits this narrative quite well.  He's a well designed figure that looks good and has some usefulness.  His gear is fun and his backpack contraption is a nifty piece of engineering.  There's not a ton of content on the 1992 Barricade out there.  But, there's some high quality stuff in the smattering I could find around the web.

Barricade Profile

Barricade by Falcon_C

Barricade by Slipstream80

Barricade by albafica

Barricade by nostalkid

Barricade by falkiria viper

Barricade by djv

Barricade at Half the Battle

Barricade by Slipstream80

Barricade by Lava Boss

Pre Production Barricade at YoJoe.com

1993 Barricade

One of the odd phenomenon in my collection is that figure's I missed out at certain points in my collecting life take on importance far beyond their merit.  The first, of course, is the 1986 Dialtone.  My younger brother got the figure before me and 34 years later, I'm still picking up new Dialtone figures in an attempt to salve that wound.  From my college, fresh collector years, though, these figures are defined by characters that looked great on the cardbacks but I could never find at retail.  The Headhunter and the Flak Viper are the two who most stick out.  To this day, I can't get enough of them.  Another figure who intrigued me from cardbacks of the era was Barricade.  I never found him.  But, unlike many other figures who drove obsession, I didn't acquire a Barricade figure as part of a targeted purchase. Instead, he showed up in a lot of many other figures I missed at retail in the mid 1990's.  In the awesomeness that was discovering dozens of new figures I had never owned before, Barricade was overlooked and neglected.  His design just wasn't enough to capture my attention over other figures.  In the decades since, though, I've grown to like Barricade.  And, this 1993 repaint is one of the reasons why.

I've been singing the praises of neon Joes since they were still at retail.  General Hawk and I were about the only two collectors willing to commit the sacrilege of acknowledging the G.I. Joe line continued past 1987...must less 1989.  In those early days of a online collecting, no one cared about 1990's figures and they openly ridiculed anything neon.  Back then, the rare message was that the 1990's molds were great and would benefit from a repaint.  And, in cases where these repaints occurred, we were proven right.  But, neon figures have their own charm.  And, in the late 2010's and into 2020, neon Joes have taken on a new life and become collectible.  The eye catching colors are attractive to younger collectors who grew up with toys using these colors.  The lower production runs and lower profile in the existing collecting world have also made the figures expensive.

This 1993 Barricade, though, only fits half that description.  While not all that easy to find (none of the 1993 repaints of 1992 molds are...) Barricade remains cheap.  Mostly due to his obscure character and some limitations of the mold, Barricade remains one of the high quality 1990's releases that has yet to catch the collecting world's eye.  But, knowing how obscure this figure has been in even my collection, I can see why this is the case.  While Barricade is decent enough, the bulbous helmet is a far cry from his card artwork appearance.  (Which, to be fair, is way more Robocop than anything made in 1992 should have been.)  That alone is enough to relegate him to subordinate status...especially when taken against figures like Shockwave V2, Bulletproof, General Flagg, Gung Ho and Cutter who debuted the same year.  

But, the figure still has some merit.  I'm a sucker for orange figures...just because they bring such visual stimulation to the line.  And, Barricade's body mold is useful with the large swaths of armor.  (His head is less ideal, with the cockeyed grin.  But, is still an impressive feat of sculpting for the time.)  With a couple of extra paint applications, this figure could have really popped.  But, the simplicity of the gold and orange works within the context of his release year.  Brightly colored toys are fun.  And, even today, any licensed line is light on color.  Star Wars has gone gritty.  Batman, too.  It's rare to find a toy line what features eye popping characters that are fun for kids to play with.  Barricade reminds of a time when that wasn't true.

Which isn't to say that this is an essential figure.  Had I found this guy back in the '90's, I'm sure I'd have picked him up.  But, by then, I was buying everything that I didn't already own.  But, this figure does fit well with many others released in 1993.  Outback, Mirage, Mutt, Snow Storm, Long Arm, Cross Country, Muskrat and Wet Suit all feature shades of orange coloring.  It turns out, orange was a popular color that year.  But, some of that consistency is kind of fun.  Grouping figures like these together makes for bright, vibrant photos.  And, as they are less often seen, the figures are unique when used in dios and such.  That's not a great life for this Barricade.  But, it's far better than that of many of his contemporaries.  

Gold plastic is the bane of collectors.  Gold plastic from the 1990's is notoriously brittle.  While the color isn't overly common the Joe line, it did appear on some figures in the 1990's, this Barricade being one of them.  The gold plastic used for the figure's crotch snaps without any real effort.  And, because of that, it's really common to find otherwise mint and complete Barricade figures with broken crotches.  Fortunately, it doesn't seem that the gold on this figure has started to break down like some other toys lines have seen.  But, you have to be careful posing Barricade or sitting him in vehicles as slight pressure will snap his crotch right off.

Barricade's gear is the same as the 1992 version's.  The base blue colors make less sense now that they appear against the red/orange base color of this repaint.  But, the gold and red helmet better matches with this version of Barricade.  So, you win some, you lose some.  The gear is still solid enough.  The machine gun looks good.  And, getting a backpack to which you could attach the missile launcher was at least practical.  I still feel that Barricade's helmet is his weakest point and could have been better.  But, at least he had a helmet and his is not the worst helmet to be used in 1993.  But, there's little else to say about his gear.  Honestly, with just his gun, the figure is just as good as if you have him complete. 

Barricade got a few uses.  After his debut in 1992, Hasbro released the mold in the final two years of the line.  First, this 1993 figure appeared.  Then, in 1994, Hasbro repainted and re-characterized the mold as Gears.  In 1994, the figure's waist and legs were used for the Cobra Blackstar figure.  Barricade then disappeared for a decade before making a surprise appearance in the 2004 Anti-Venom set.  This is, easily the best version of Barricade as the tan and copper color scheme shows that the mold had untapped potential leftover from the 1990's.  There are two unproduced Anti-Venom Barricade figures: a light blue and dark blue version to be on the lookout for, too.  For some reason, there are releases of Roadblock named Barricade on foreign cardbacks.  (The Chinese version is the most common.)  Barricade works as an alternative name for Roadblock.  But, that's more a trivia question than any actual connection to the Barricade character.  The character even appeared as an overpriced club exclusive in 2016.  If you care about Barricade there's lots of ways to show your appreciation.

1993 Barricade figures are not pricey.  While dealers will sell a lot of mint and complete figures in the $15-$20 range, it's about a $6 figure when left to the open market.  Carded figures can be had for around $18 on the open market, too.  But, like most figures, the open market sales are drying up as professional dealers gobble up overstock and then determine pricing by simply not letting the market decide the value of the figures.  For $6, this figure is fun to have and has some value.  Much beyond that, though, is an overpay.  You're far better off getting the blue 1992 version or the 2004 Anti Venom version of Barricade.  Those are better figures.  But, this orange version is fun and is a nice reminder of the Joe line's neon years.

2004 Anti Venom Barricade - Around the Web

The Anti-Venom set was pretty well done and it a nice update of many figures.  Barricade is among them and this was his only release in the repaint era.  It was good to see him, though, in a color scheme that really made the mold more valuable.

Barricade Profile

Unproduced Anti-Venom Figures - Dark Blue

Barricade at GeneralsJoes.com

Barricade at JoeADay.com

Barricade at HalfTheBattle.com

1992 Barricade

As I filled out my collection of Joes from the remnants of retail in 1995 and 1996, I had only the cardbacks to go by to determine what figures had been released.  In my hodge-podge collection, I was pretty sure which figures were 1992, 1993 and 1994 releases.  But, as it was not unheard of to find figures from any of those three years in the various clearance and overstock aisles, any figure that appeared on the card was a potential find.  Through the years, I found pretty much all of the figures depicted: with a few notable exceptions.  To a figure, these were Cobra army builders which, even at the time, proved popular.  The Alley Vipers, Flak Vipers and Headhunter Stormtroopers were nowhere to be found.  These figures all had a general theme, though.  Some very popular characters like Cobra Commander were understandable, too.  A few other no shows, however, made no sense.  Among those was the Barricade figure.  From the small artwork on the back of the 1992 and 1993 cards, the figure looked cool.  But, through my travels I never came across one.  In retrospect, it makes some sense now, though, since the 1992 Barricade is a pretty decent figure.

My first exposure to the Barricade figure, though I didn't know it at the time, was through the 1993 Shark 9000 Cutter figure.  He included a black version of Barricade's gun.  At the time, I assumed the gun was unique to Cutter.  But, I thought it was great.  I liked the newer accessories that were included with the '90's figures since they were so different from what I had grown up on in the '80's.  The Cutter figure became important just because of that gun.  So, when I learned that it was originally included with Barricade, it made the figure more desirable to me.

When I got my first Barricade, though, I was disappointed.  The figure is two-tone with the blue base and gold armor.  There are no painted highlights or details.  So, the he is rather bland.  His helmet is also pretty bad.  It's not that interesting, doesn't make a lot of sense and uses red and gold as the base.  Since his head is so large, the helmet makes Barricade appear unbalanced.  In short, it's no where near the Robo Cop inspired design from the card art.  The rest of his accessories, though, aren't bad.  The battering ram is huge.  But, that is forgiven since it's actually useful and works with the spring loaded launcher.  The fact that it fits onto Barricade's pack is a great bonus since combinable accessories were starting to get scarce in 1992.  But,the combined gear is way too large and the figure can't stand with it attached to his back.  So, it has practical drawbacks, too.

As Barricade entered my collection at a time when I was adding dozens of new to me figures every month, he was quickly lost in the shuffle.  He just wasn't as strong as other figures, even those from his own release year.  So, into the drawer he went and he pretty much stayed there for a long time.  In a 1992 display, though, Barricade fits in nicely.  He can work well with DEF figures or the regular release carded figures.  Among his peers, the figure looks less out of place and the unsophisticated paint application isn't as noticeable.  It is here where Barricade has found his limited use for me.  He is good background filler when you have out later release figures.  Beyond that, though, I find that is last release is really the only version of him to use.

The Barricade mold got some interesting uses.  It was released in the blue 1992 paint job as well as a bright reddish orange 1993 repaint.  In 1994, the entire figure was used for the Star Brigade Gears figure.  We would not see the mold for another decade.  But, it was dusted off in 2004 and made a surprise return in the now classic Anti-Venom set.  Coupled with the retail, tan version, were two different unproduced color schemes for Barricade that were offered by Asian Joe sellers.  There is both a light blue and dark blue paint job Anti Venom Barricade figure.  As these were readily available to the collecting community for a few years, they are worth noting as alternatives for Barricade fans.  Parts of his mold were used with come convention and club figures, but the Barricade character never returned.  Being such a late release, you could argue that the first three releases are sub par and that the figure was never truly used to his potential.  But, with 6 versions of the mold out there, it would have gotten a bit overused had Hasbro continued to repaint it ad naseum.

To call this figure worthless would be an understatement.  Loose, mint and complete with filecard figures sell in the $5 range.  But, so do carded figures.  The only reason the loose figure is so expensive is because sellers won't handle them for under $5.  The figure was released at a time of lesser popularity, was heavily clearanced into the mid 1990's and had large amounts of overstock bought by the toy dealers of the time who had visions of $100 Joes dancing in their heads.  But, the character never clicked with the collecting community and the figure, when taken out of his 1992 context, isn't all that special.  So, the complete collecting community malaise towards Barricade is perfectly logical and unlikely to change any time soon.

But, this leaves the modern collector with opportunity.  You can get both the 1992 and harder to find 1993 versions for nothing.  They are worthy additions to any collection and the 1992 figure does work very well with the DEF figures from that year.  Barricade's gear is fun and his design is strong.  The figure has flaws, but most Joes do.  If you're looking for good dio filler or just a way to bring something different to your collection, Barricade is certainly a strong candidate.  Had I found him back in the '90's, I think he would have been among my favorite figures.  But, I appreciate him now as part of that era.

Rarities - 2004 Dark Blue Anti Venom Set

In 2004, Hasbro produced a Toys R Us exclusive 6 figure product named the Anti Venom set.  In it were several figures that were making a return to retail for the first time since the vintage days.  Even among the army building obsessed collectors of the day, the Anti Venom set found an audience.  It was appreciated by most collectors and the gripes with it were generally overwhelmed by the set's positives.  As the year progressed, though, variant Anti Venom figures started appearing.  Initially, these were light blue.  There was also another change, the caucasian Lifeline figure was now an African American Stretcher figure.  These figures were also well received by collectors and became rather common as they were brought over from Asia.  But then, another set of variants appeared.  These were dark blue variants that looked very Cobra.

It quickly became apparent that the dark blue figures existed in much smaller quantities than the light blue figures.   And, as such, even when these types of figures were an Ebay staple and would go unsold, the dark blue Anti Venom figures fetched much higher prices and were highly sought after.

First up is Barricade.  In addition to the dark blue, his armor is now silver.  It is a good looking figure and a very striking contrast.  But, with his helmet on, this figure would have had a very Cobra vibe.  I think that is likely the reason for the color changes.  The blue was too close to Cobra and on a figure like Barricade, his affiliation might have been lost.  You will notice the figure's head is painted flesh color: just like the production figure.  This is notable as the light blue variant of this figure had a molded flesh colored head.  The molded flesh would have had much less propensity for wear and tear as the figure's helmet was removed.  But, Hasbro went with the painted heads in both cases.

The next figure is Mutt.  In Mutt's case, though, I think the dark blue works.  I've always seen Mutt as having at least some affiliation with law enforcement and security within the Joe ranks.  So, seeing him in this darker blue fits into that image.  As such, I don't mind the Mutt in these colors and would actually like one of the figures.  Unlike the production figure, this Mutt features a flesh molded plastic head.  The production figure has a painted flesh head.  Not sure why the painted head was chosen for production as this head looks much better.  The molded flesh head also appeared on the light blue version of the figure.

The next figure is Charbroil.  With Charbroil, like Barricade, the obscure character and need for a helmet would make him appear very Cobra.  As such, I find the production figure to be better.  But, this is a very different look for the character.  Again, this Charbroil has the molded flesh head.

Next up is Duke.  I can't stand the painted sleeves on this Duke figure, just like I can't stand them on the production figure.  The only cool thing about this figure would be if you put a Cobra Trooper/Officer head on him and made him a Cobra Trooper.  But, even then, the sleeves look terrible.  Again, the flesh molded head appears here whereas the production figure has a painted flesh head.

Roadblock is the next member of the set.  It was great to see this Roadblock mold, late of Funskool, make an appearance in an American set.  This dark blue version, though, is very close to the upper body look of the 1993 figure.  The dark blue pants are also a bit too much.  Were they black, this figure might be really cool.  But, in general, I prefer the 2005 HAS version of the this Roadblock mold.  Of note is that the blue pants to match the shirt on this version were not repeated on the light blue version.  The light blue version only has light blue pants, and an upper body that matches the matches the tan production figure.

The final two figures in the set are the most interesting.  Two, you say?  I thought this was a 6 figure set?  Well, it was.  However, it appears that the last figure, Lifeline, went through a lot of changes before the final, production version.  The Lifeline figure uses the 1990 Stretcher mold.  For some reason, though, Hasbro had something against the Stretcher character.  In 2002, they released the body, but with a new head as Sideswipe.  In the Anti Venom set, they forewent the new head and simply recolored Stretcher's head as a Caucasian.  The result was Lifeline.

However, there were a couple of oddities.  In the light blue set, Stretcher was still African American and had a molded plastic head.  But, in this dark blue set, there were two differences.  The first is that Lifeline features a molded flesh colored head.  This is more consistent with the other figures in the set.  The second set of images, though, show a Sideswipe figure also released on the dark blue body.  Was Sideswipe planned for the release?  If so, why was he replaced?  Lifeline is a more popular character than Stretcher.  But, using the same body, with a different race as a different character seemed some lazy.

Of the dark blue figures, the Lifeline/Stretcher/Sideswipe figures are the most desirable.  Sideswipe is the rarest of the dark blue figures.  And, as such, tends to command the highest prices.  You will often see people selling a set of the 6 figures, including the Lifeline rather than the Sideswipe, just due to Sideswipe's rarity.

In all the dark blue Anti Venom set is interesting. But, I think the production version, minus the painted heads, is better.  This is a good insight into how sets do change over time and having access to some of these unreleased concepts is a rare way to see the evolution of a product before it reaches production.

2004 Barricade (Anti-Venom)

For years, I have felt that Hasbro's approach to repaints has been misplaced. They have largely focused on releasing figure molds that have been repainted a number of times and represent major characters. In some cases, this approach has worked. Most of the time, though, collectors are left with a figure that is inferior to the original paint job, yet not something different enough to overlook the poor color schemes. There have been a few times, though, where Hasbro has really gotten it right. In select cases, Hasbro has pulled out an obscure mold from the '90's who was poorly painted the first time around and given the mold a new lease on life through a superior repaint. In my opinion, most of the figures released prior to 1991 were properly colored and are difficult to improve upon. (There are, of course, exceptions.) It is the high quality molds from 1992, 1993 and 1994 that were poorly painted the first time around that are in so desperate need of a quality repaint. While Hasbro has, for the most part, ignored this tactic, they do pull a specific example out every once in a while. The most recent example is the Anti-Venom Barricade.

The Barricade mold has appeared on this site only once before, but as the character Gears. That figure was profiled for its rarity, not the quality of the mold. This figure is showcased for the simple reason that is a repaint done right. While Barricade mold has always been very detailed, it took this figure to finally offer collectors a version with a paint application that brought that detail to life. The metallic olive paint on Barricade's body armour showcases that particular feature in a way that breathes realism into this figure mold and accentuates, for the first time, the level of detail that was given to this character. The cammoed tan base color allows this figure to be used in both desert and urban settings and offers the versatility in color that I look for in a Joe figure.

I've long used Barricade as more a specialist on the Joe team. I've never looked at the Joe team as being totally comprised of the best of the best of the best at everything. In a setting like that, egos would be massive, toes would be stepped on and the team as a unit would have inherent dissension that would undermine its effectiveness. As such, I've viewed the Joe team as a different hybrid. There are a few "superstars" on the team: guys who are capable of amazing feats who are highly gifted and even more highly trained. However, the bulk of the team is guys like Barricade. They are people who are the best at one particular task. Taken out of their specific element, they are entirely average. As such, the team has the environmental or situational specialists who are along to perform a specific task or series of tasks on a particular mission. After they are done, the other Joes know they can be counted on to do their best when the circumstances call for improvisation. But, the other Joes also know that these specialists are not ideally suited for changes in a mission and can not be expected to perform on the same levels as other specialists might. This creates a more realistic symbyism for me as it makes the Joes more human and keeps the team more in line with what you find in the real world.

The Anti-Venom set is a mixed bag. To me, it succeeds on a few levels, takes some daring chances but still fails spectacularly in one of the most important elements. First off, the character selection of this set is well done. It is a given that all Joe sets of this nature are going to require the presence of some major characters. Whether collectors like it or not, this is how it is going to be. As such, this set features the mainstays of Duke and Roadblock. The Roadblock is the high quality 1992 version. This figure hasn't been seen in the US in over a decade. However, the fact that he was a widely available Funskool release coupled with Roadblock's presence in the Night Force set makes this figure less likable. He is, though, a solid color scheme and a useful figure. The same can not be said for Duke. Duke is the highly dated V1 mold from 1984. (There are some modifications to the construction, but they are minor.) He is just goofy and his lack of accessories make this figure absolutely useless. Hasbro just used part of the 1993 Duke in a Comic Pack. Why the lousy '84 mold was chosen over that one is beyond me.

The next two characters are Lifeline and Mutt. Both of these figures are what I would consider secondary characters. They have a fan following, but are not in the first tier of popularity. As such, they are great inclusions as they do increase interest in the set. The Lifeline figure is actually the Stretcher mold. In what I think is a first for a US figure, though, the black complexion of Stretcher was changed to a Caucasian Lifeline. This is a rather daring maneuver on Hasbro's part and I think it worked. The Lifeline figure is not easily confused with Stretcher and Hasbro added some new looks to Lifeline's persona. As this figure includes all of Stretcher's original gear, it makes it a top notch figure. The Mutt is less so, though. Mutt is mostly the 1984 version with some new parts. That mold still looks good and is a welcome sight since the V2 Mutt mold was just used in the Convention set. Mutt's colors are solid and he does include Junkyard. Where he fails, though, are in his accessories. But, more on that later.

The final two figures are what makes this set so interesting. Charbroil and Barricade are two obscure characters who have almost no fan following at all. The fact that Hasbro dusted them off for this set is really a treat after we have been subject to rehash after rehash of the same tired Joe molds for nearly 3 years. Charbroil is visually interesting but not spectacular. However, his mold is difficult to really energize. He does include most of his original accessories and this is a great way to put an older, forgotten character back in front of collectors. Barricade is the star of the bunch, though. He is painted in a way that accentuates his mold without being overbearing. He does not have the contrasting colors that you see on other figures in this set and includes his original gun. He is a perfect update to an underutilized original mold.

Where this set fails as a whole, though, is the same area in which the other 6 packs have failed: the accessories. This set starts strongly enough with Roadblock including the original Browning .50 cal (even if it is now overused) and backpack. Lifeline has all the accessories that were included with the mold's original release. Charbroil has most of his original accessories and Barricade has his original gun. Duke and Mutt, though, were simply given overstock weapons of which we have seen too many. They lack the special accessories that are integral parts of their character. Mutt is defined by his mask. Lacking that, the character seems half finished. The biggest sacrilege of all though is the helmets. All the figures save Lifeline include a hollowed out Steel Brigade helmet. In and of itself, this is OK as the accessory is new. However, putting 5 Joes into the same, nondescript helmet run counter to the very notion of what Joe is about. G.I. Joe is not about anonymous army guys fighting bad guys. Instead, it is about the characters and the personalities who comprise that team. Putting these helmets on these figures strips them of their individuality and firmly carves out the very thing that made Joe so popular for over 2 decades. On top of that, these helmets were included in lieu of 3 distinct helmets: Charbroil, Barricade and Mutt that defined the characters who wore them. As such, this entire set fails as it takes these characters out of their element and makes them closer to the generic military lines that clog the clearance aisle of every discount store in America.

No version of Barricade is expensive. While the red version from 1993 can be tougher to track down, you can still buy one for under $8. This version of Barricade will be no different. Toys R Us ordered somewhere around 20,000 of these sets and, as there are no army builders in it, they will be hard pressed to sell them all without the Christmas holiday. Collectors who want this set can easily find it (You can get them from Amazon.com, too.) and will get their fill at this point. As such, I don't foresee there ever being a collector demand for this set that will push the figure prices to much over the original retail cost. That isn't to say, though, that this figure isn't one that collectors could enjoy. He is one of the best Joe affiliated figures to be released in a 6 pack in a long time and is a great update to an obscure character. That alone makes him worth adding to your collection.