The Celtic Boar - 1987 Iceberg Battle Gear Weapon

This profile is a little different.  It's not about a figure.  It's not about any particular release of G.I. Joe ephemera.  It is, instead about a weapon.  Not just any weapon, mind you, but a magnificent weapon around which I developed an intricate story.  The gun itself isn't all that special in terms of design.  Really, the only thing it has going for it is that it's big.  The Joe line is full of lots of large weapons: some more realistic and useful than others.  But, this one weapon had the fortune of being in the right place at the right time.  And, as such, it is one of the very few accessories around which I built a story line.  One of the things that kept G.I. Joe so relevant to me is that I was able to expand or contract the story at any given time.  But, the diversity in the line allowed me many avenues of play to explore.  In the course of that, I developed the idea of the Celtic Boar.

I got Iceberg in the summer of 1986.  He was of little use to me in the summer.  So, he evolved into a high ranking Joe who rarely left the Snow Cat.  When he did, though, he brought out his highly powerful and deadly accurate rifle.  Iceberg's included weapon was comically large.  So, I saw it as something special that few people would carry.  As 1986 turned to 1987, my Joe world took a different tact.  Now, the world was full of criminals and outlaws who were loyal to neither Joe nor Cobra.  But, could be hired by either.  Slowly, these groups formed integral parts of my ongoing Joe saga.  I'd have to come up with various plot devices to involve them, though.  Often, they'd run guns, secret battle plans or stolen money or treasures.  They would build out hodge podge vehicles that were scraps from older, broken toys.  And, the figures would be combinations of releases I didn't care for, figures that were badly worn or broken and kitbashes of various leftover parts from when I made good looking customs that supplemented my Joe team.  These ragtags, though, could be effective.  And, when properly utilized, could do things that changed the course of the Joe vs. Cobra conflict.

This all lead to the Celtic Boar.  It was the name I gave to Iceberg's rifle.  The Celtic Boar was an impossibly powerful and accurate weapon.  It had a range of over two miles: making it an overpowered and dangerous weapon for assassinations.  With it, a person could kill Hawk or Cobra Commander from so far away that they'd get away cleanly.  There were only a handful made before they were deemed illegal and forever forbidden.  Iceberg, being high enough ranked, was able to grandfather in his possession of the weapon.  No one else, though, could.  Soon, Celtic Boars became incredibly valuable contraband.  Cobra wanted them for anonymous assassinations.  The Joe team wanted them off the market.  And, the criminal syndicates wanted them for the well paying work that would come their way with the possession of a Celtic Boar.

It was actually the grey version of Iceberg's weapon that was included in the 1987 Battle Gear pack that gave rise to the story.  The less environmentally specific coloring made the weapon more useful to me.  But, it could be a thumb breaker.  So, I was reticent to use it with my top flight figures.  But, this accessory became a legendary part of my collection.  Cobra was able to murder a few politicians in the US by subcontracting the killings to underworld cartels.  So, the Joes became an investigative unit hell bent on finding the remaining Celtic Boars that were available in the world.  So, for a period of 1987, my Joe adventures entirely revolved around various Joe teams trying to find bands of outlaws who had the weapons in their possession.  Of course, this would end in chases through the city or high speed races on country roads.  The criminals had an advantage in that the Celtic Boar could cripple most Joe vehicles that were capable of any speed.  And, it was deadly should anyone get hit with a bullet fired from the weapon.  (I imagined that if a .357 Magnum could leave an exit wound the size of a frozen pot pie, thanks to Larry Hama's usage of the phrase in the comic, then a weapon like the Celtic Boar would simply blow a person in two or remove limbs if anyone was unlucky enough to be hit by a bullet it fired.)  So, the Joes had to be very careful when chasing down criminals in possession of the weapon. 

The one limitation I put on the rifle, though, was that ammunition for it was also banned and very expensive.  Often times, the possessors of a Celtic Boar did not have the ammunition to fire out of it.  And, if they did, individual bullets cost thousands of dollars.  So, it wasn't something to wantonly waste during their attempted escapes from the law.  Usually, the Joes ended up killing the bad guys in the chase.  But, there were times when the perpetrators were taken alive.  Then, they would go off to prison for the rest of their lives, maybe even be executed as the ownership of such a weapon as the Celtic Boar warranted that type of punishment. More than a few times, nameless characters (such as those portrayed by the Mission to Brazil figures) would perish in their pursuit of a Celtic Boar.  Often, this would give the criminals who murdered them names and reputations.  With that, not even Cobra would touch them based on the heat any association with them may bring.  This would give me some villains that were not Cobra who could stand against my Joes and help keep the conflict from growing stale.

When the weapons were captured or destroyed, they were marked off a list of known weapons that were manufactured.  In an interesting bit of characterization, though, I had a couple of well respected Joes keep one of the weapons that they captured.  Flint and one of my custom characters were both growing older and less involved in field operations were the most prominent.  In my world, they were rich men.  Both of them kept a Celtic Boar for their private collections and kept them under lock and key in their secluded East Coast estates.  (Remind me to some day write about the "Family Antiquities Act" and how that law helped shield rich and successful people like Flint from the same consequences of owning illegal items that ordinary people would face.  Yes, I actually created a different code of laws for my Joe world.  I was/am a nerd.)  So, at times when the Joes needed something like a Celtic Boar and Iceberg was not available or would not go along with the mission, the Joes could get access to one without having to scrape the underworld for one of the missing weapons.

In this story, you can see many of the influences that shaped my world in the late 1980's.  My Joe world featured history and familial patriarchy that was similar to that still found in Europe.  The ability of the rich and powerful to skirt laws were a result of things like Iran-Contra and the financial scandals of the day coming to light.  And, the existence of powerful criminal syndicates were a function of the propaganda spread in the various "Just Say No" campaigns that kids of my age were subjected to.  It all evolved into a rich world full of stories to tell.  If I wanted straight military, I could get it.  But, if I wanted something a little different, the Joe line offered me the flexibility to make it happen.

Today, the Celtic Boar is just a relic of my childhood.  The 1987 grey Iceberg weapons sits in a plastic sandwich baggie with some Sgt. Rock bazookas, Corps! rifles and other, oddball accessories that had accumulated in my collection by the mid 1990's.  Every now and then, I'll see it and am reminded of the adventures which centered around the weapon.  But, neither that weapon nor the original from the 1986 Iceberg retain any real place of importance in my collection.  But, that's OK.  It allows me to remember some fun times.  The dark green carpet of my bedroom remains vivid in my memory.  I can still recall the placement and color of all the furniture in that room, even though it's been 35 years since it existed.  Things like the Celtic Boar remain mnemonic devices to help cement the memories of the mundane.  Just writing out this profile reminded me of various parts combinations who comprised the figures of the various smuggling cartels.  

The upside to the 1987 Battle Gear is that the weapon coloring wasn't terrible...at least for some of the weapons.  This Iceberg rifle is dark grey.  It really doesn't mesh with Iceberg due to this color.  But, the grey is far better for other figures than the white version from Iceberg.  Other weapons in this set that feature the grey color are the 1986 Viper rifle (which quickly found itself with the Motor Viper) and the Beach Head machine gun.  There were some pistols, too, which also found themselves being used by the various bad guys.  There was also brown gear.  Some of this was nice.  And, I used the Leatherneck gear with the Mission to Brazil figure as it both fit and allowed me to give the 1986 a grey Leatherneck rifle that I thought looked great with him.  There's some weird cream colored gear, too.  In the grand scheme of things, the weapons in this set were about as useful as those from other years.  But, the greys, of which this Iceberg rifle is a part, are about the most useful, non-original color that gear like this could use.

Battle Gear weapons remain among the least desired and cheapest accessories to acquire.  You are starting to see 1983 Battle Gear parts gain some appreciation in price just due to their similarity to the originals.  And, for many collectors, these weapons remain a useful way to augment their gearless figures from 1982 and 1983.  There are a few, select parts from later sets that have some popularity.  And, the fact that many of the 1984 and 1985 pieces are useful with factory customs from Red Laser's Army has made some of the helmets and oddly colored visors more desired than their contemporaries.  Generally, though, you can still get these pieces cheaply.  Since the colors tend to clash with their intended figures and not really integrate with other releases of their time, though, most of the gear will never really have the desirability of original pieces.  The legacy of Battle Gear is that it was an innovative concept that probably helped kids get more weapons and assisted parents and relatives who wanted to give a cheap gift.  But, the odd colors and weapon choices left the concept as one that was underutilized and could have been better executed. 

1983 Battle Gear #1

After Christmas of 1982, I owned four G.I. Joe figures.  But, between Snake Eyes, Clutch, Hawk and Breaker, I had just one gun.  Three of the four figures did not include weapons.  This greatly limited my play options.  I went so far as to find an HO-scale coupler for train cars that kind of looked like a pistol and used it for Breaker.  I desperately wanted additional accessories so that all my figures could not only have at least one weapon, but even a choice of some of my favorite weapon designs.  My wishes came true one day when we were in Buffalo, visiting my grandparents.  We were there for a short trip early in the year.  We hadn't taken many toys, confirming the trip was shorter than our normal week.  But, when out shopping, I found a new pack of G.I. Joe accessories at a local store.  It was the original Battle Gear pack.

The pack was cheap enough that my mother bought one for both my younger brother and I.  With these weapons, I now had the ability to give Clutch a visor as well as offering a spare Uzi to Breaker.  I could choose any weapons I wanted for Hawk and Clutch, too.  Of course, Clutch got Stalker's M-32.  But, I also added some accessories to the VAMP.  The new Breaker headset would fit behind the seat with the wire tucked into the seam between the seat and the bottom of the vehicle.  So, this allowed for anyone riding shotgun in the VAMP to be able to communicate with the rest of the team.  I also placed a spare Uzi on the same spot.  This way, the VAMP had a backup small arm if it crashed or just ran out of gas.  Hawk, well, I learned a hard lesson with him.  I tried to get Grunt's M-16 into his hands and it immediately snapped his thumb.  That was the end of that Hawk figure.  And, it's part of what pushed me back to Star Wars figures as 1983 crept on.  

The odd thing about the Battle Gear pack was that the accessories were colored differently from those included with figures.  The weapons themselves are a lighter grey color than the original gear.  Even in 1983, I could easily tell the difference between the Battle Gear and original weapons.  But, the weapons are close enough in color to be useful.  The visors are identical to the originals, though.  The helmets and backpacks, though, were very different.  The helmets were dark brown and did not match any figure.  The packs, though, were worse.  They were a tan color.  Again, they matched no figures until the 1983 Falcon Glider Grunt was released.  There was no explanation for the color changes.  In fact, the 1983 promo catalog showed original gear in the set.  So, the color change was a later decision that was never explained.  

The 1983 Battle Gear set includes every accessory from the 1982 line.  There are 4 visors, two Uzis and even Snake Eyes' ammo pack.  There were three exceptions, though.  Short Fuze's mortar and stand were omitted as was Zap's bazooka.  These three pieces would later show up in white in the 1984 Battle Gear set.  But, again, there was no explanation as to why they weren't included.  It was made weirder by the fact that their shared backpack was included with the 1983 set.  The fact that both those accessories underwent design changes could explain it.  But, both the 1982 Snake Eyes Uzi and Stalker M-32 are different from the 1983 releases of both accessories.  So, other weapons were modified, too.  The exclusion of these weapons remains a mystery nearly 40 years later.

The biggest new feature of the Battle Gear set is the battle stands.  These little rectangles of plastic brought a whole new element to Joe collecting.  The stands allowed kids to pose their figures and stand them up in any pose they desired.  The Battle Gear included two stands.  Starting in 1984, differently colored stands would be included with several small playsets.  By 1993, every figure included a stand on their weapon tree.  This ingenious idea allowed kids to display figures.  But, it also allowed them to put their toys away on a shelf using vertical space and keeping their gear on.  

In the early days of Joe collecting, the ubiquity of 1983 Battle Gear weapons allowed customizers to accessorize their creations with great aplomb.  They were free to paint, slice up and otherwise modify the Battle Gear weapons without worrying about their original accessories.  For dealers, though, the 1983 Battle Gear provided a great way to bilk unsuspecting collectors out of their hard earned money by offering them as original gear with original 13 figures.  Even today, you'll see many seller "mistake" Battle Gear weapons for the original.  But, the colors are blatantly different and there's no excuse for any mistakes by a seller.  

The value to a collector today is that this Battle Gear is an excellent option to properly outfit factory custom figures.  Many of Red Laser Army's figures are obvious homages to various foreign and unproduced characters from the Joe line's earliest days.  They, though, lacked gear that was a perfect match for them.  Battle Gear allows you to give these characters the weapons they deserve.  And, while the 1983 helmets and packs aren't great for many figures, the weapons are a great way to update the homages.  Having some cheap alternatives for that purpose is a definite plus.

Back in the early 2000's, before people got stupid with Joe prices, it was relatively easy to put together a small team of original 13 figures in a tan style.  With Grunt, Clutch and Doc bodies, you could make a tan Breaker, Hawk and Stalker.  If you were handy with a little paint, you could put together a decent Snake Eyes, too.  And, the Battle Gear weapons are a perfect match for this set.  To this day, I store my Tan Grunt with the Battle Gear backpack and M-16 since they are so closely aligned in color to the figure.  The tan works with Scarlett, too, as a way to better accessorize her.

For me, the real value of the Battle Gear came many years after its initial release.  In 1986 and 1987, I often had third faction terrorists or freedom fighters (really, they're the same thing just with different marketing depending upon which side they battle against) who would interject into the Joe vs. Cobra conflict.  My favorite was having them drive up to a ceremony in the A-Team van, open the door and pop out with small sub machine guns and mow down the dignitaries in attendance.  As small weapons were not overly common in the Joe line (and, most of the ones that did exist were in use by their original owners!) the Battle Gear Uzis were a great means of making these civilian fighters a more formidable force.  I'd toss in some of the larger rifles, too, as part of their getaway plan.  

My other random memory of the Battle Gear weapons comes on a cold winter's day, probably in either 1984 or 1985.  It was a Sunday and I had been playing with my Joes in the garage.  (It was warmer in there than outside, but still counted as outside play.)  I picked them all up and took them in.  A few hours later, right before dinner, I went back out to put away some bikes or balls and happened to find a Battle Gear M-60 on the floor.  It wasn't part of my team that had been in the garage that day.  And, it was a neat find as we didn't have a regular Rock and Roll and this Battle Gear version was the only copy of his weapon in our possession.  I took the weapon inside.  Really, though, it's not finding the weapon that was memorable.  Instead, it was the feeling I had as I picked it up off the floor.  For some reason, I got an overwhelming feeling of sadness that it was Sunday night and I was back to school on Monday.  To this day, I get the same feeling on some Sunday afternoons as the sun goes down.  Every time I do, I think back to that day in the garage, finding Rock and Roll's gun and then being saddened by the fact that my fun was over and it was back to work early the following morning.

You'll see some dealers command premiums for various accessories in this set.  The Uzi tends to command the highest price and sells for around $7, even as dealers ask double that.  But, the real value in the set is the visors.  As such, you'll usually find sets that are sold sans visors.  A whole loose set with no visors will run about $20.  On their own, though, visors sell for around $20.  So, getting the visors, too, will be expensive.  You can get carded sets in the $85 range.  Which, with 4 visors is a little lower than the loose price.  For just the weapons, the price is probably decent.  Original Uzis aren't easy to find and this is a cheap way to get them.  My only real lament is that the other Battle Gear packs in subsequent years didn't follow the close coloring of the originals like this first attempt at additional accessories did.

1985 Battle Gear #3

In very early 1983, I found the first G.I. Joe Battle Gear on a peg at a toy store in Buffalo, New York.  The weapons were similarly colored to the guns included with the carded figures.  But, the helmets and backpacks were drastically different.  In 1984, a new set was released.  This filled in the gaps from the prior year with the inclusion of Zap's bazooka and Short Fuse's mortar.  As 1985 dawned, I was excited for the Battle Gear pack that would surely be released.  The 1984 series of figures were amazing.  And, through heavy play, I had lost gear to Mutt, Firefly, Scrap Iron and Blowtorch, broken gear for Roadblock and simply wanted more Ripcord parachute packs and masks.  The Battle Gear would solve many of my desires for a reasonable price.  Then, though, I found the actual pack that was released.  Looking at the list of figures above, you can imagine my disappointment.  None of the gear I actually needed or wanted was included.  Despite this, we had at least three of the sets in my childhood collection.  And, when reviewed outside the context of my childhood disappointment, this set has some redeeming factors.

The 1985 Battle Gear includes a lot of 1984 gear.  It is also missing quite a bit.  The first Battle Gear pack did not include three pieces: Zap's bazooka and Short Fuse's mortar and stand.  The 1984 release was missing Tripwire's mine detector and all of Torpedo's gear.  1985, though, omitted quite a few pieces of gear.  Included in the set was red versions of: Baroness' rifle, Firefly's rifle and walkie talkie and Scrap Iron's pistol.  There were tan versions of Recondo's backpack and rifle, Spirit's rifle and pack, Roadblock's pack and ammo box as well as Blowtorch's backpack.  There were 4 grey helmets: Mutt's, Blowtorch's, Ripcord's and a standard 1982 style helmet for use with Duke or Roadblock.  There were 2 green battle stands.  And, finally, a deep, rich green array of weapons and gear that include Mutt's pistol, Torpedo's spear gun, Blowtorch's flamethrower, Ripcord's rifle, Zartan's pistol, Duke's binoculars, Thunder's monocular and two new visors.  The visors were not opaque versions of the classic 1982 release.  They featured a nose notch like the goggles included with Thunder.  But, Thunder's piece required his earmuffs and their elongated pegs to affix the visor to the helmet.  These visors were stand alone.  The black version of them is similar to the one included with Starduster.  But, the design debuted in this 1985 Battle Gear set and never appeared again.

What's missing from the set, though, is more notable.  Thunder's earmuff's and visor are absent.  There are no Cobra backpacks at all.  So, Baroness, Firefly, Scrap Iron and Zartan are left unaccessorized.  No animals were included: nixing Freedom and Junkyard.  None of Duke's gear aside from the binoculars (and helmet) is included.  None of the masks included with Mutt, Ripcord or Blowtorch are present.  Roadblock's machine and tri-pod are absent: despite the inclusion of his backpack.  Ripcord's parachute pack is a no-show, as is Mutt's nightstick.  But, the most glaring omission is that there is no repainted Stormshadow gear in the entire set.  In 1985, edged weapons for Joes were nearly impossible to track down.  Getting a repainted Stormshadow sword or two would have been great.  Everyone lost or broke Stormshadow's bow.  But, it's not here.  (It's my guess that Stormshadow was popular enough that kids would get parents to replace that figure entirely so his accessories weren't wanted in Battle Gear that might blow another figure sale.)  It's an appalling amount of missing gear for a set and it started a trend that would continue through the rest of the Battle Gear's retail life.  This was a likely function of the fact that 1984 figures started including more gear and many pieces that were far more intricate than anything that had come before.  But, it was an unfortunate shift for kids of the time.

As 1985 began, I had lost my Zartan's pistol.  Firefly's walkie talkie and backpack cover were long gone.  Mutt's mask and night stick were distant memories.  Roadblock's pack peg was broken, a stand was broken away from his tri-pod and his machine gun had been snapped in two.  A friend I was outgrowing had stolen my Scrap Iron's missile table.  And, Blowtorch's air mask had ripped and was no longer usable.  Of the 10 items I needed to rehabilitate my 1984 Joes, this Battle Gear pack included just 3.

What was great, though, was that the set did include some pieces that were useful.  I loved Recondo's backpack.  I wanted more of my figures to wear packs that carried more supplies.  The neutral color of the pack make it more useful for many other figures.  (It's also still commonly mistaken for Recondo's real gear by dealers who aren't Joe specific since the colors of the pack and the Recondo figure match up.)  Having a few additional walkie talkies was fun since it gave all my figures ways to communicate.  The long range sight devices were another useful inclusion since advance teams always needed them.  (The binoculars also became standard issue in the cockpit of the Whale for Cutter to use at any time.)  Additional Mutt and Zartan pistols were also nice since the color wasn't terrible and small pistols were always getting lost.

The biggest value of this set, though, was realized when I started to take apart my old, broken Joes and frankenstein together some new figures.  At first, Battle Gear helped to simply flesh out figures who had no other gear.  But, as 1985 moved into the summer, I began to paint many of my creations into new designs.  Along with this, I painted accessories.  I didn't want to waste "real" gear on this endeavor.  So, Battle Gear was the logical choice.  My favorite was a Ripcord helmet painted blue with white "fur" lining the edges.  As I used cheap paint, the helmet quickly chipped.  But, this became part of the character of the commander who wore it.  Slowly, that character turned into the leader of the Joes and became the character that is represented by the General Flagg figure today.  I actually still have 2 pieces that I painted as a kid, including that Ripcord helmet that you can see below.

In the days when slightly off condition Joe figures were cheap and plentiful, Battle Gear weapons were far more useful.  Customizers abounded and they were always in search of cheap gear they could paint, cut apart or combine into new pieces.  Battle Gear was a cheap and easy way for the customizers of the early 2000's to build out and re-accessorize their creations.  Now, they are weird colored items that take up space and cross an item off a list.  In this era of factory custom figures, though, things like the helmets, visors and even weapons will match up with some of the figures we've seen.  That has given these sets a new niche in which they have value.  But, there's still so many of them that even new uses does little to move the large surplus of these items that are still out there.

While some individual items from this Battle Gear pack are more desirable than others, the truth is that the entire set is not overly expensive.  You can still get complete sets for around $10.  Duke's binoculars, Zartan's pistol and the green visors are, far and away, the most expensive and desirable items.  And, they are often the pieces most often missing from sets.  But, the non-standard colors and general ubiquity of the gear has left it an undesired piece of Joe collecting.  If you bought collections of figures at any time in the past twenty years, you have plenty of Battle Gear weapons lying around.  I still find the deep green a fun visual treat.  But, they don't really work with any figures.  The childhood disappointment still clouds my vision of this set: 35 years later.  But, you have to give Hasbro credit for understanding that kids lost gear and trying to give them a way to fix that.

Action Force Enemy Battle Gear

A while back, DragonFortress wrote a great blog post about weapon trees.  While some consider them the scourge of 1993 and 1994, they had a certain charm to them and did allow for figures of the time to include a much larger array of accessories.  In the comments from the article, it was brought up that the first appearance of weapon trees was actually in the European Action Force line.  Palitoy took the idea of Battle Gear and applied it to their toy offerings.  Rather than pack a bubble full of loose accessories, though, Palitoy dropped a few of their weapons onto trees, too.  The presentation of the toy was similar to the way Hasbro approached their weapons supplements.  But, Palitoy offered a far more diverse range of offerings by branding smaller sets of battle gear with the sub set of figures with which the gear was meant to be paired.  While there were several sets of Battle Gear released around 1983/1984, I wanted to look at the Red Shadows set and its connections to both Joe and Star Wars.

At its core, this Enemy Battle Gear set includes just 7 pieces.  I'm not sure of the retail pricing in relation to single carded figures from the same series.  But, each set included far less gear than an American Battle Gear pack.  The pieces, though, are all excellent.  They include a small, clear figure stand, two weapons that were exclusive to Palitoy releases, a Palitoy backpack and two repainted accessories from the 1982 Joe line.  The set is Action Force in a microcosm and perfectly showcases the various inspirations for the Action Force line, its evolution into the European G.I. Joe line and the unique European-ess of the original pieces.

The Red Shadows were the main antagonist in the Action Force mythos.  They have been heavily co-opted into the G.I. Joe story at this point and some of their early European roots have been lost.  While most consider them a pre-cursor or European branch of Cobra, the Red Shadows were designed as a stand alone villain in the same veins as both the aforementioned Cobra as well as the Galactic Empire from Star Wars.  In short, they were a cross over of Nazi era extremism, uniformity and discipline while being just enough super villain to not run afoul of the still festering wounds left on the European continent by World War II.

We'll begin with the two G.I. Joe repaint weapons included in the set.  The first is a black Zap bazooka.  This thick handled version is a thumb breaker for G.I. Joe figures.  But, for the softer plastic hands of Palitoy Action Force figures, this was less of an issue.  The black color is unique to Palitoy releases and was included with the standard Red Shadow army building figure.  Red Shadows were ubiquitous for years.  But, the retconning of Red Shadows into G.I. Joe has driven interest and the Red Shadow figures are now more expensive and harder to find.  Most collectors can identify the black bazooka as a Palitoy release and will charge for it accordingly.  It's not a rare accessory by any means.  But, you'll pay a premium for it relative to its availability.

Rounding out the Hasbro molds is a red version of Short Fuse's mortar and stand.  You will note the mortar is the half-handle version with the thick handle.  This helps identify the timeline of the weapon's release.  I'm not aware of this red mortar being released with any Action Force figure at retail and believe it exclusive to this set.  This makes it much harder to find than the black bazooka.  But, as the red is a vibrant and bright color, there is less desirability here.  The black bazooka looks good with a host of Cobra and Joe figures.  The red mortar is less useful.  But, it still helps to make the weapon more Cobra and take away some of the association with Short Fuse and his signature weapon.

We then move to the red backpack.  Palitoy Action Force figures were based on Kenner's vintage Star Wars line.  They had five points of articulation and softer plastic hands.  Palitoy's designers took more risks with the figure posing and many of the figures had arm and hand positions that were designed for a specific accessory.  In addition to borrowing the Kenner figure design, Action Force also borrowed their design for backpacks.  After the Empire Strikes Back was released, Kenner introduced a mail away offer that included some new, soft plastic backpacks that affixed to figures via flexible plastic bands that closed and attached to the figures by plugging soft knobs into holes on the pack arms.  The same design is seen here with the included bright red backpack.  The pack seems to be an infantry pack with fun detail, but little specific purpose.  (There are other packs in the Action Force line, such as radios and diving gear that are purpose driven.)  The pack will fit on Action Force figures.  But, its use for Hasbro G.I. Joe figure is hit and miss.  This pack will not fit on either a 1983 Cobra Trooper nor any factory customs based on its mold.  It may fit on other figures from the 1982-1984 timeline.  But, the straps are tight and don't have much leeway.  Regardless, it's a fun piece of gear to help round out a diorama.  But, again, it's bright red.  This pack mold certainly appeared with other figures in the Action Force line, but I believe this color is exclusive to the Battle Gear set.

The final two weapons are included in the carded set attached to the weapons tree.  I do not know if this tree was used for all Action Force weapons of these molds.  Or, if this was a new mold created from the originals to quickly and cheaply add some additional gear to this set.  Either way, it includes two black rifles: a STEN gun and an SA-80.  These are noteworthy because they were definitively British weapons of the era.  So, while G.I. Joe focused on the American-ness of its weapons (the M-16, M-60, etc.), Action Force focused on its British roots for the unique gear.  The inclusion of these weapons help to round a Joe armory from the early '80's and provide some nice diversity for the modern collector.

The STEN gun is interesting.  The real weapons are cool and would be a visual treat for Joe figures.  The toy, though, doesn't translate that well.  The side clip is small.  And, the weapon feels like more of a pistol than a famous rifle.  It still looks good with a variety of figures: especially early Joes based on the 1982 sculpts.  But, it's something that I was disappointed with and definitely expected to be more fun than it actually was.  The black version of the weapon was included with at least one Action Force figure that I can find.  It also appeared in other colors in various sub sets of the Palitoy line.

The final weapon in this set is the doozy.  Not because it's any better than the others.  But, because of where else it was used.  The black SA-80 in this set was included with a few Action Force figures, but always in different colors.  I can't find another Action Force figure who has the black version.  (I don't know Action Force off the top of my head like I do Joes, though, so please correct me in the comments if I'm wrong.)  But, there are other colors accompanying carded figures, including a silver version that I think looks better.  But, this black SA-80 was also released with the super rare German YPS Hoth Stormtrooper figure.  Basically, this is a Kenner Snowtrooper (missing some country of origin info and including a specific skirt) that includes the SA-80 instead of the Kenner large blaster rifle.  This little detail makes all the difference.  What was a relatively common Action Force weapon is now highly sought after among Kenner Star Wars collectors.  This gun, alone, can command over $100 to Star Wars fans.

Pricing on this set is troublesome for this reason.  While the SA-80 is super desirable, that is a more recent development.  Many Joe collectors were able to snatch up the huge quantity of overstock carded Action Force figures and gear sets for super cheap prices over the years.  So cheap that many of the sets were opened and incorporated into either Red Shadow or Cobra armies.  Many Joe collectors are not aware of the Star Wars connection and will sell the set to other collectors, ignorant of the single gem inside.  You can still get carded sets in the $70 range.  But, again, finding the right collector might get you one for a fraction of that.  While the SA-80 is cool, it's not cool enough to warrant the price tag.  If you want the rest of the gear, you should be able to get it cheap since it lacks the desirability of the signature piece.  And, you can get better colored SA-80's for the same price as other Action Force gear and that allows you to have the mold in your collection without breaking the bank.

For me, I always love getting Joe gear in different colors.  The black bazooka is one of my favorite international repaints of a Hasbro weapon.  The Palitoy exclusive weapons are also excellent and work surprisingly well with Joe figures.  I have found many of these weapons to be a great accoutremout to the factory custom figures that use so many early 1983 parts as their inspiration.  The unique weapons help to separate these figures from many of their brethren that use similar construction.  (I also like the bazooka and mortar as a call back to the JC Penny three pack of Cobras that included the weapons.  But, the black and red are more Cobra than the weapons that accompanied the Penny's figures.)  There are many other weapons in the Action Force line that cross over to Joes as well.  Without the Star Wars connection, many are available for relatively cheap: especially if you buy a lot of junk Action Force figures.  You might get 15 figures with 5 accessories.  But, that can be worth it when you consider the price you are likely to pay.  I've found parts of this set in American collections, too.  So, keep an eye out when buying up collections that were amassed in the early 2000's as Action Force figures and weapons do appear in these from time to time.

Rarities - Zap Bazooka Variants

One of the most frequently asked questions around various Joe forums is in regards to the Zap bazooka variants.  The reason is fairly simple: a few of the variants are among the rarest accessories in the line and command up to hundreds of dollars.  And, a few of the rare variants look very similar to far more common variants.  The only real way to tell is a combination of the bazooka's mold, its color and the markings that appear on the handle.

Below is information and photos I've gathered over the years in regards to the various Zap bazooka variants.  It is unlikely to be complete.  We know Zap had tons of variants released in the U.S., Europe, Mexico, Brazil and India.  And, his bazooka was used with some other figures at various times, too.

Here is another photo showing some of the variants.  From top to bottom, they are:

1982 Double Handle - no #
1982 Thin Handle - no #
1982 Thin Handle - B2
1982 JC Penny Thin Handle - A1
1983 Thick Handle - no #
Accessory Pack - 3
Accessory Pack - 7

Additional info:

1982 Double Handle - No#
Mexican Zap - #B2
1982 Thin Handle - No#
1982 Thin Handle - #B2
1982 Thin Handle JC Penney - #B1
1982 Thin Handle JC Penney - #A1
1997 Thin Handle Stars & Stripes - #B6
1997 Thick Handle Stars & Stripes - No#
UK Red Shadow Thick Handle - #4
US Accessory Pack Thick Handle - #2
1983 Thick Handle - No#
UK Dolphin Thick Handle - No#

A close up of the JC Penny Bazookas

It should be noted that while the B1 bazooka is a JC Penney exclusive, it came with two different figures.  One Cobra Trooper always included a B1 variant bazooka.  But, the Zap from the same 1982 catalog could also come with a B1.  Some Zaps had it.  Others had the B2.  So, the B1 is still pretty hard to find.  But, it's no where near as hard to find as the A1 which was only included with the other Cobra Trooper.

There is a Hasbro Direct Zap figure that was available via mail away around 1986 or so.  This figure has a very slight color variant to the previous Zap figures.  And, as such, there is also a bazooka color variant that is not listed above.  I have only seen the colors and not been able to verify the markings.  So, if you have any info on this Zap bazooka variant, please let me know so I can update the resource.

1984 Battle Gear Pack #2

In very early 1983, I acquired the first Battle Gear pack.  It was odd to have only 4 G.I. Joe figures (Clutch, Hawk, Snake Eyes and Breaker) but have the gear for every figure except Zap and Short Fuse.  It was in short order that I snapped the thumbs of Hawk with either the accessory pack M-16 or M-60.  But, that is a story for another time.  It was the 1984 accessory pack that really took hold of the 10 year old me.  My fascination with it bordered between everything that was so perfect about the notion of accessory packs and everything that was so done so wrong with them.

In 1984, I had abandoned Star Wars toys.  From October of 1983 on, I was only a G.I. Joe aficionado and spent my time playing with those toys, almost exclusively.  The small pieces of the Joe line, though, were tough to maintain in any sort of good shape when they were shared with a 7 year old and a 5 year old.  So, throughout 1984, I constantly found my prized G.I. Joe figures and accessories being lost or broken while I was away as school or otherwise indisposed.  Enter the battle gear packs.  Ostensibly, these were cheap ways for parents to appease their children who lost accessories and didn't want to replace an entire figure.  The sets included helmets, backpacks, guns and other parts that were designed to re-arm figures whose accessories fell victim to the vacuum, back yard or other fates that could only be designed by kids of the 1980's.

You can see from the photos below that I spent some time "customizing" my accessory pack weapons.  I would never damage any of my figures' original accessories.  But, I was very willing to experiment on accessory pack items.  You will see an Airborne rifle missing the bayonet and another missing the stock: two early attempts to make the weapon something a little different.  I also cut off the strap and stock of one of Gung Ho's grenade launchers.  I then super glued the remaining piece to the underside of a Snow Job rifle.  It was my first attempt at a rifle/grenade launcher combo.  You will also see that my set is incomplete: missing landmines, the AK-47 and the Dragunov Sniper.  I scoured every deep box and bag that might have old Joe accessories to find even this many examples of the sets.  Through the years, I sold off most of my weapons: often as add ons with lots of figures who were severely off condition or broken.  It was a way to increase the interest in junk figure lots without losing any real accessories.  But, it also cost me complete versions of the various Battle Packs.

Battle Gear was likely extremely popular.  The sets were released from 1983 through 1988.  If you ever acquired collections from their original owners, you know that it was basically unheard of for a collection of any size to not have Battle Gear accessories strewn around with original gear.  Pretty much every kid who had any number of G.I. Joe figures had a Battle Gear set.  They were good for both replacing lost weapons, but also getting a nice armory in reserve or outfitting figures that had not included weapons (like the vehicle drivers of the time) with gear that was befitting their specialties.

I recall acquiring one of these sets in late 1985.  At the time, my Joes were set up in my parent's basement.  When I got the set, I set all the weapons out in nice little rows and had an array of Joes and Cobras set on opposite sides who then had to sprint to the pile to get their weapons.  (Very XML kickoff-ish.)  From there, I lined the weapons up in the racks inside the Headquarters.  Beyond that, though, I don't have many memories of the packs, besides being disappointed every year when the pack was missing the one accessory I had lost and really wanted. (Mutt's Nightstick, Blowtorch's mask, Flint's shotgun, etc.)  I did have fun customizing the weapons.  But, the super glue I used tended to melt the plastic and didn't hold together for very long.  So, the accessory packs were mostly relegated to use by my junk figures.

A few of the sets contained some excellent add ons that were great updates to any collection.  The tan gear from set #1 was a perfect match for the 1983 Falcon Glider Grunt and the 1984 Clutch.  (The visors were also exact matches for the standard version visors.)  In the first Cobra Battle Gear pack, there were blue missiles for Scrap Iron's missile launcher.  These matched the pre-production colors shown in the 1984 catalog.  The 1985 set included a new visor that was opaque and had a nose notch.  It would most famously be used with Starduster.  But, the 1984 pack is pretty light on useful weapons.  The grey G.I. Joe accessories were somewhat useful for later arctic figures.  But, that was a stretch.  The brown packs didn't really fit with any of the figures for whom they were intended.  The blue Cobra weapons are better.  The blue Destro pistols found years and years worth of use in the cockpits of my Hiss Tanks as the personal side arms of the Hiss Driver.  But, mostly, the accessory pack gear became fodder for the rank and file junk figures who would comprise the nameless terrorists and thugs who would be generic villains for both Joe and Cobra to fight and kill off.  I needed guns for these figures and wouldn't want to strip any of my good figures of their weapons to outfit a no name who was going to quickly die.

The general summary for this Battle Gear pack and the entire concept in general is that the colors were weak even if the weapons were decent.  Had every pack been in the generic lighter charcoal color of the first pack, they would have been sets for the ages.  Why Hasbro chose such non traditional colors for their sets simply made no sense. At the time, there was no collectible issue with which Hasbro would have been concerned.  It's possible they simply saw the alternate colors as a way to bring color to the packages hanging on retail shelves.  (It is known that Hasbro deliberately chose figure colors within a given year that complemented each other when on display at retail.)  It's also possible that they didn't want a kid to get a Battle Gear pack and then have no need for a figure.  If you wanted Gung Ho for his grenade launcher and you could get it cheaper and in the same colors in a Battle Pack, then you didn't need to buy Gung Ho.  I don't really buy that notion, though.  I would love to know the reason for the colors, but it's likely lost to time.

Battle Gear packs were the bane of G.I. Joe collectors in the late 1990's and early 2000's.  It was extremely common to buy up unseen lots of figures (pictures were sparser in those days) that were advertised as "complete" only to get them and realize that "complete" meant complete with Battle Gear pack weapons.  Some dealers argued extensively that Battle Gear equipment could complete figures and there was a time when "complete with original accessories" was the way to convey that the item you had for sale did not include the more common Battle Gear parts.  We seem to be past those days.  And, some of the Battle Gear parts (especially from the early sets) have gotten harder and harder to find as collections have been broken up, resold and stored away in attics and basements.

Battle Gear Pack #2 sets are cheap.  You can get them still MOC for around $15.  Loose, complete sets tend to sell in the $8 range and they will drop to as low as $2 or $3 per set if you take out one or two of the Cobra pistols.  At the price, there is no reason to not have one.  But, if you have ever bought aftermarket lots or collections of figures, there's a pretty good chance you already have most of the items from the set.  Some of the Battle Gear packs contain items that are excellent add ons to a collection.  But, set #2 is not one of those.  And, as such, is priced accordingly.  As a source of customizable fodder, Battle Gear sets are a solid buy.  As an interesting piece of Joe collectordom, the same can be said.  But, as a valued part of a collection, these sets simply fall short.  They are nice ideas and it was something that Hasbro did for Joe collectors that Kenner really never did in any significant way for their Star Wars line.