1994 Star Brigade - Carded Set

In the second half of 1998, I really started to look to G.I. Joe collecting as my hobby of choice.  I had dabbled a bit in a Joe resurgence for a while.  But, the retail stream of new Star Wars figures consumed not only most of my money, but also my time.  However, by the summer of 1998, the Star Wars market was over-saturated.  The huge volume of shipments and new waves that included carry over figures from earlier releases had caused a pegwarming backup that was unprecedented.  While the early part of 1998 had been a great time of constant new figures and refreshed army builders, Hasbro had made too much and the waves planned for later in the year could not get out to retail.  This resulted in a some waves being cancelled, others only showing up in obscure retailers and the complete reboot of the line in early 1999.  To me, though, the retail frustration of Star Wars, coupled with my first major promotion in my adult career lead me down another path along which I could spend my money.  All of this, of course, coincided with the emergence of Ebay as a means to purchase items that were not available from local toy dealers or second hand shops.  As I shifted my collecting priorities, I first focused on a few items from the Joe line that I had long wanted.  Among them were a Hammer, the 1989 Rock and Roll and, at least one Lunartix Alien.

In 1998, the alien figures, MOC, fetched about $15 on the secondary market.  This seems low, but was a princely sum back then.  You could get lesser character 1985 figures MOC for that price at the time.  So, it was a large purchase when I bit the bullet and got a Lobotomaxx figure.  When he arrived, I realized how cool the overall card presentation was.  I liked the colors and look of Star Brigade.  And, I had a connection to the 1993 series that I had found at KB Toys liquidation stores a few years prior.  As I surveyed the other 1994 Star Brigade offerings, I was enthralled by the designs and colors.  At the time, the figures were relatively hard to find, especially if you wanted them loose.  However, you could find them carded: and they were cheap when you did.  So, I put together my first complete series of carded figures: the 1994 Star Brigade.

The '94 Star Brigade line was divided into two distinct series.  The first wave consisted of Cobra Commander, Cobra Blackstar, Sci Fi, Payload, Space Shot, Duke and Roadblock.  The second wave contained Ozone, Countdown, Effects, Lobotomaxx, Predacon and Carcass.  This left an unlucky 13 figures in the retail, single carded line.  But, the overall presentation remained.  Gone were the generic pink cards from 1993 and in was a visual delight of black, blue and purple with a clean G.I. Joe logo running up the card's left edge, culminating in a bright Star Brigade logo at the card's top.  Each character got his own, unique card art along with a yellow "gimmick" tag that touted some feature of each figure.  In short, they were a crisp, clean look for the last unique retail wave of figures to hit stores.

Wave 1 showcased Hasbro's commitment to the line.  5 of the 7 figures featured either mostly new parts, or all new parts.  On top of this, the characters all included a wide array of feature rich accessories that were essential for retail success at the time.  Hasbro did skimp on the overall paint applications, though.  Most of the figures only have three or four minor paint masks.  And, Duke and the variant Roadblock only featured one paint mask on their entire body.  This Roadblock and the Payload figure were repaints of Star Brigade molds that had been released in 1993.  Which, in turn, were mostly repaints of prior years' retail release figures.  So, the line spent money wisely in terms of bringing something new to the market.

1994 Star Brigade Wave 1: Duke, Sci Fi, Space Shot and Cobra Commander

1994 Cobra Blackstar - Around the Web

The Cobra Blackstar is one of the final Cobras to be released.  He is, technically, an individual character.  But, he is affiliated with a group of "mysterious space pilots" and "may not even be human".  Regardless of your feelings on aliens and G.I. Joe, this is a figure worth tracking down.  Here's some of the best content on the web for the figure:

1994 Cobra Blackstar Profile

Blackstar at ARAH Gallery

Blackstar at 3DJoes.com

Blackstar at HalftheBattle.com

Preproduction Cobra Blackstar at YoJoe.com

Blackstar at JoeDios.com

1994 Star Brigade Blackstar

1994 was not a year that is fondly remembered by many Joe collectors. The Star Brigade line is looked upon with such udder disdain, that those of us who actually like it are often ostracized and ridiculed. (Okay, I am exaggerating, but the line is usually not well received.) Actually, though, the 1994 Star Brigade line is full of awesome figures. Many of those '94 astronauts are among the best figures produced in the line. The colors make sense for space exploration. While I'll leave the debate as to whether space exploration should fall under the Joe line or should have been given its own to another space, the figures, when taken as themselves, are very, very good. The Blackstar is no exception. All of the figures in this line have their attributes. I still think the best head for a custom Cobra Commander or custom Cobra troops is the 1994 Cobra Commander head. It is just awesome. It is a pity that it isn't more readily available.

While this guy does suffer from "Big Shoulder Syndrome", the mold is very good. The colors are a bit much for many people, but he works for me as a pilot or diver. I also have a carded sample of him where you can also see this guy's card art. I feel most Joe figures look very good on the card. The time spent on the artwork makes for a nice display piece. Of all the figure lines, though, I think the 1994 Star Brigade figures display the best. The subtle colors blend nicely and make a very aesthetically pleasing diorama. I'm actually sorry the line didn't continue. Sure, I wasn't too keen on the Manimals, but some of the Lunartix aliens and other astronauts would have been very cool. Unfortunately, I'm in the vast minority when I make statements like that. Most collectors were ecstatic that the Star Brigade line was killed off. They are just unhappy that the rest of the line was killed with it.

The one problem I have with this figure is that he won't fit into many of the earlier vehicles. I would love this guy to fly one of my Cobra planes. Unfortunately, he won't fit into the cockpits of many of them. Still, this guy is a lot of fun to have. I use them as Cobra deep sea divers. Since I don't have a BUGG, I don't know if he will work in there. The bulky suit, though, makes him look like a diver or rescue trooper. Had his torso been a bit smaller, I think this figure would be much more popular. He looks a bit out of proportion. The head, though, is fantastic. At some point I will have more time to customize figures. When I do, the Blackstar will be one figure that will be experimented with. The head and legs are too cool to not go use for something. This mold, though, proved that Hasbro was still capable of making good figures. They didn't try too hard in 1994, but when they did, they could still deliver figures that were worthy of being held in high regard in comparison to the rest of the line.

The Blackstar saw just a short production run in 1994. After that, the mold disappeared until 2005 when Master Collector used it to make their exclusive Steel Brigade figures. In that capacity, the mold worked well. Though, I do feel that this mold really should have been used for another Cobra character. The detail and design are such that the mold deserves a more prominent re-use. But, now that the heads have been stolen into the Steel Brigade, it is doubtful that any future appearance of the Blackstar mold will have as much attention heaped upon it by collectors had it not been used on those Convention figures.

1994 Star Brigade figures are very easy to find carded. Loose is a different matter. The Blackstar, though, is among the easiest 1994 to find in that state. He was released in series 1 and more people purchased them. You can usually find this guy in lots, though getting him complete can be a challenge. Still, he is nowhere near as hard to find as the series 2 figures or even some series 1's like the 1994 Roadblock. You can get Blackstars carded for about $6 or $7. Loose, he runs much less. I think, though, that loose samples will start appearing more frequently and allow army builders to do so. The carded figures, though, are starting to appear less often than they did only a year ago. Now may be the time to snap these guys up. I know that I got both my carded and loose samples for nothing. You can still do that, but had better hurry before others start discovering the gems in the 1994 Star Brigade line.