Rarities - Funskool Calcium Sandoz Figures

Funskool is notorious for producing their figures for a variety of corporate tie ins.  As they are owned by a rubber company who makes its fortune in tires, they have a bit different approach to product tie ins that a major American toy company may have.  In many ways, Funskool's corporate partnerships in the 1990's and early 2000's were reminiscent of Hasbro's and Kenner's from the 1970's and 1980's.  Along with Pepsodent, Complan and TV marketing deals, Funskool also worked with Calcium Valdoz for a series of figures based on G.I. Joe molds.

I'm not sure what Calcium Sandoz is.  It's a supplement of some sort that was discontinued in the UK in 2015.  But, in an effort to get children in India to take it, the company that produced the product worked with Funskool to offer some G.I. Joe figures as a promotional opportunity.  The figures were different from classic Funskool releases in two ways.  First, most of the figures are unique color schemes to the Calcium Sandoz premium.  But, more interestingly, all of the figures have a new pair of straight arms on them.  Below you can see some samples of the figures and the exclusive color schemes that go with them.

Hydro Viper:

The Hydro Viper is one of the best recolors of the line.  This blue version would be a great crew-member on a Moray.  The terrible arms, though, mostly ruin what should be a classic repaint.  It's too bad that this color scheme was never offered with the swivel arms on the standard cardback.

You can see a sample of Stormshadow in the photo below.  He is missing the classic cammo pattern from the 1988 mold.

Funskool Calcium Sandoz Stormshadow Figures

You see that the arms are not the original Hasbro molds for straight arms.  For some reason, these figures were all given these new arms.  This is odd as the copyright for these figures is from 2003: a timeframe when we know that Funskool was still producing carded G.I. Joe figures and had full access to the original molds.  Below you can see a Captain Grid Iron figure with the exclusive coloring as well as the back of the insert card showing not only Grid Iron's bio, but the copyright date, too.  Also note that his colors are drastically different than the carded figure variants.

Funskool Calcium Sandoz Captain Grid Iron Figure

Funskool Calcium Sandoz Captain Grid Iron Insert & Bio

There are a lot of different figures in the set.  I'm not sure of the entire roster.  I have included the figures of whom I am aware in this post.  But, please let me know of additional figures in the comments below.

Blaster:

Here you will see Blaster with a body colored like the "Vehicle Driver" Blaster that was found bagged inside of specific vehicles in the early 2000's.  It's appearance here actually helps us understand how such a variant came to appear in vehicles.  But, this figure also uses the color scheme from the 2001 Funskool General Hawk.

Deep Six:

Deep Six is colored very similarly to the single carded figure.  There are some variants on this figure with plastic that's more translucent or opaque.

Desert Scorpion:

This Desert Scorpion is an interesting combo.  He has unique lower arms that are still the straight arms.  The figure's general base colors are similar to the single carded figure.  But, the figure lacks highlights and has some color differences such as the color of the figure's head/antenna.

Star Brigade Sci Fi:

Again, Sci Fi has unique lower arms.  But, the figure is colored almost identically to the single carded version of the figure.

Lifeline:

Lifeline uses base colors similar to the carded figure.  But, this version is missing all the paint applications.  The Funskool Lifeline has very intricate paint masks an their absence here makes the figure look unfinished.

Psyche Out:

Like Blaster, this Psyche Out is in the colors of the mysterious "Vehicle Drivers" set.  But, this version has the terrible straight arms.  This color scheme for Psyche Out, but with the swivel arms, has been found in Funskool Halibna and Maldova promotional figures, too.

Big Boa:

Big Boa is blue.  As a figure, this is probably his best base coloring.  The head is also more silver than the grey version from the single carded figure.

The Calcium Sandoz figures have gotten to be stupidly expensive.  Bagged versions can run upwards of $500.  But, like most foreign Joes, these guys were easier to find just a couple of years ago.  And, now, many characters have all but disappeared.  However, as these were 2000's era releases, it's likely that there are more of them out there that will show up as kids from that time start looking to liquidate some toys. Until then, though, these guys are hard to find and expensive.

Funskool Big Boa

I will start this profile with a disclaimer: I hate Big Boa. I despise this figure mold and all of its incarnations. I hated it from the moment I first saw it. There was just something about the look of the figure with the S&M torso, odd helmet and circus coloring that made me despise the figure. Really, though, Big Boa is no more buffoonish than Raptor or Crystal Ball and while I don't care about those figures, that's the end of my feelings on them. Only Big Boa incites such hatred. For years I've avoided the figure but my recent acquisition of the Funskool version (stupid quest to be a completist!) brought the figure back into the forefront of my collection. With a little reflection, I've gotten to the core as to why I hate the figure so much and that has lead to a begrudging appreciation of the character.

The simple reason why I hate Big Boa is because as a character, he's really cool. The idea of a Cobra trainer who is so tough that even the Cobras bend to his will perfectly fits with my vision of Cobra. The frozen turkey sized fists and bull horn voice from his filecard were lasting images from my childhood. The character was a specialty that was needed and the resulting design was just perfect for what Cobra was. The problem is that the figure mold is simply terrible. It was a tragedy to see such a great characterization wasted on so horrid a figure mold. That is the source of my hatred. The simple reason is that the figure was so useless for such a great addition to the pantheon of Cobra characters was enough to forever sour me Big Boa.

Originally, Big Boa was not intended to be the Cobra trainer. Instead, he was designed as the Cobra counterpart to the planned Rocky Balboa figure. Big Boa would have been Rocky's main opponent on the Cobra side. Big Boa's boxing gloves and speed bag were intended to convey this rivalry and were planned as a great play pattern for kids. However, the Rocky figure never came to be. Hasbro quickly had to scramble to remove him from their lineup. But, Big Boa was too far into the process for Hasbro to eat the costs for his development, too. So, the figure was re-classified as the Cobra trainer and released with his full complement of boxing gear anyways.

1987 was a terrible year for Cobra characters. Really, it was. But of the 4 new characters who comprised the main retail line Raptor and Crystal Ball can be ignored. They have their cult followings, but neither really offered all that much to the line that they had to be considered. Croc Master was a decent enough design that he found use. He isn't an integral character and were he never created, there would be no desire for such a specialty to appear in the modern line. Big Boa, though, filled a niche that simply could not be ignored. Cobra troops needed a trainer. It is a position that every military has. That makes the figure somewhat relevant: regardless of its poor design.

At the core, it is the necessity of Big Boa's position that leaves me wanting so much more. This figure delivered a character that had potential, but gave us a design that suggested something much different. Due to the poor mold, my Cobra is now devoid of a trainer. Were I to create my own figure for this role, it would certainly incorporate some of the elements of Big Boa. But, to do so seems redundant since there is already a character out there...his figure just sucks.

Which leads to my collection. As a kid, Big Boa was the one loser who always died some horrible death almost immediately. He would be ripped to shreds by wild dogs in a debris field. He might fall into a crocodile pit. Or, he might end up boiled to death in a pit of wax. Basically, my deep hatred for the figure manifested itself in horrific ways. I used quick, but painful deaths as way to show my contempt for the figure. Beyond my childhood years, though, the figure has no presence at all. In fact, in the late '90's, I had even decided that Big Boa would not be part of my collection. But, after I got one in a large lot, I figured I might as well keep him as the day would come that I was a completist and the prospect of going out and paying for a Big Boa figure by itself was less palatable than just keeping the one I had acquired with other figures. Now, not much has changed. I have Big Boa figures for completion's sake, but that's about it. This profile has brought out the root of my dislike of this figure and has lessened my contempt for Big Boa. But, it has not moved Big Boa to a place where I'd ever like to see another one. But, were Hasbro to put together a nicely done, new version of the Big Boa character, then I think I might be interested. You just aren't going to hear me leading the call for an updated version of this character in any format.

The Big Boa mold actually was quite the world traveler. After his initial release in the US, his body was repainted in 1993 and used for the Street Fighter Balrog figure. Almost immediately after that, the mold made its way down to Brazil. Here, it was released with a black helmet as a character named Kangor. (As a note, Kangor has great card art that makes it look like he's boxing a kangaroo!) The mold then showed up in India where it was released for many years. The Funskool version is very similar to the US version, but lacks the paint details on the helmet and does not include the face hose that was a hallmark of so many '87 Cobras. It was still being produced in India into 2003 and it is likely that Hasbro has access to the mold again. While I don't think that the entire thing should be used again, I think the head could be dusted off and amalgamated with some other parts to make a new and improved Big Boa figure.

If you want a Big Boa, just spend $4 and buy a carded version. The time is coming when Funskool figures are going to dry up and those who missed on their cheap availability will be forced to spend higher prices for the figures on the secondary market. While I don't foresee Big Boa ever being a $10 figure, I really don't see any reason to add even a dollar or two to the price when he is currently readily available. That being said, this was one of the last Funksool figures I added to my collection. I only bought him for completion's sake and that is the extent of his use. From a pure design perspective, the American figure is superior. But, this figure has its place and can find a home in most collections.