1993 Mega Marines Gung Ho

I have few memories of buying Joes in 1993.  In fact, I'm not sure I have any.  In 1993, I wasn't around much.  I was busy at school in the first part of the year.  I went overseas for half the summer.  And, when I returned, I worked constantly to earn money for when I returned to school.  When I went back to school, I had little interest in anything beyond my school life.  I'm sure I went to Toys R Us over Christmas break in 1993.  But, I don't remember it: even though I had to have bought some figures.  My main memories of 1993 Joes, therefore, come not from their release year.  But, instead hunting them down as the dregs of the line remained at retail and shipped to offbeat retailers through 1995 and into 1996.  

In the summer of those two years, I'd go to Toys R Us several times per week.  I worked near the local TRU store.  And, if you wanted to have any chance at finding some of the new POTFII figures from the Star Wars line, you pretty much had to go to the stores multiple times per week.  But, also, during the week, I was bored to tears.  All my friends lived out of state.  So, I had nothing to do on most nights of the week.  So, a quick trip to TRU was a way to pass some time and, maybe, get lucky in finding a new figure or two.  

As I didn't have much money, I'd limit my purchases to a couple of figures per week, max.  As there was still a decent supply of figures, I'd wait to find new figures that I didn't already own instead of buying duplicates of figures already in my collection.  At the local TRU, there were lots of Ninja Force, Street Fighter, Armor Tech and Shadow Ninja figures.  The Battle Corps selection was usually sparse.  But, every now and again, a new case would show up.  Among the dregs of prior years that were left on the shevles, though, were a couple of Mega Marines: Clutch and Gung Ho.  Both figures were somewhat intriguing.  They were characters I had loved as a kid.  Both of them included black weapon trees with some of my favorite molds.  The colors were bright.  But, that didn't bother me.  What did stop me from buying them, though, was the price point.  $5 for a figure was just too much.  I could almost buy two Battle Corps figures for that price.  So, I let the figures linger for weeks.

On my trips to the store, they were always there.  There were at least 2 Gung Hos.  Probably 1 Clutch.  They never moved and stayed on their solitary peg.  After a few frustrating weeks where I had not found any new figures to buy, I decided I was going to bite the bullet and pay the premium price for a Mega Marine.  I'm pretty sure I landed on getting Gung Ho since he had a removable helmet.  So, I went to the Toys R Us, ready to overpay for a figure.  But, when I got there, the Mega Marines were gone!  After weeks of no movement, they had been purchased: just as I decided it was time to buy one.

This development amped up my frustration at finding Joes at retail.  But, it also changed my approach.  I no longer felt I could leave any new Joe behind.  (Well, to a point, I guess.  I still skipped Ninja Force, Street Fighter, Shadow Ninjas and Armor Tech.)  I'd never see the Mega Marines at retail, again.  And, it was not until 1999 that both Clutch and Gung Ho finally entered my collection.  As they were acquired at a time when I was amassing new figures at an alarming rate, I didn't really give them their due.  And, they were infrequent subjects of any photos.  I liked the figures.  But, they had disappeared into the sea of 1992 through 1994 figures that were expanding in my collection.

It was only in the past decade that I've really started photographing the Mega Marines.  It helps that the Monster Blaster APC is among my favorite vehicles.  So, Clutch and Gung Ho appear with it.  The bright colors on both Gung Ho and Clutch really pop in photos.  This visual cue usually makes the photos popular as people stop to check out the colors.  Outside of that, though, this Gung Ho doesn't have a lot of specific backstory.  Had I gotten him in the summer of 1995, he would have found a much more important role in my collection.  Just pushing him back a couple of years, though, drastically changed how important he was to me, though.  

Mega Marines definitely had a shorter production run than other 1993 figures.  Even back in the days when no one cared about 1993 figures, you'd find them with much less frequency than you'd find the Battle Corps series of figures.  That's resulted in them also being harder to find today.  They're not rare, by any means.  But, you won't find them with the ubiquity of the Battle Corps 1993 figures.  The higher retail price point didn't seem to have the popularity that the cheap vehicles of the line's early years had enjoyed.  

Mega Marines are a series of figures that were ideal candidates for repaints.  And, in 2002, Hasbro proved it when they released an amazing Mirage figure.  They then topped it off with an even better version later that same year.  Sadly, though, that figure was packed with a Viper.  And, as such, collectors hated the figure since they had to get so many of them to army build the Viper.  This hatred was misconstrued as backlash against later molds being used in the Joe line.  In fact, most collectors of the early 2000s really loved the Mirage repaints.  They just hated having to buy two dozen of them in order to also get the Viper army they wanted.  Hasbro didn't return to the Mega Marines well for any retail figures beyond even more Mirages.

The club, though, was a different story.  They did like the molds.  They used the Mega Viper to great effect in 2003.  And, in 2005, they repainted this Gung Ho in a dark grey and black motif.  Overall, the figure is...OK.  It's kind of too busy.  But, at the same time, it showed that the Mega Marines molds did have potential.  The upside is that the 2005 release of this mold didn't sell out at the show and remained cheap for many, many years.  So, it was attainable for collectors of that era.  And, for many, it was their introduction to the Mega Marines Gung Ho.  The club dusted off the Blast Off and Clutch molds for use on some of their kitbashes, too.  Unfortunately, none of these figures really took off among collectors.  Some of that was that the color schemes or characters that used the molds weren't great.  Part was that convention items were always passe after their release.  The biggest aspect, though, was that it takes a particular kind of repaint to really make these molds pop.  Overly dark base colors and poor accent color choices quickly render these molds mundane.  The reality is that many of the 1993 figures were sculpted with bright colors in mind.  So, taking that part of their development away actually brings out limitations in the mold.  It's a weird paradox.  But, one that played out with later uses of the Mega Marines.

Gung Ho included the classic weapon tree that became ubiquitous in 1993.  Fortunately, he came with one of the best trees and, it was colored black.  These black weapons alone were usually enough to get me to buy a figure.  But, Gung Ho's higher price point and the fact that I had the tree in black from other retail figures, deterred me.  I actually like the commonality of the black MP-5 inspired weapon of this era.  It gives the Joes a bit of uniformity.  Having grown up with diverse weapons for every figure, seeing several of my favorite new figures including the same weapon was actually kind of fun.  The only reason I didn't buy Gung Ho was his higher price point.  As a broke student, I economized as much as possible.  It's why I missed many figures as I just didn't have the money to buy more when I'd find a stash.  Eventually, I wore down, though.  And, I made up my mind that I was going to buy Gung Ho and Clutch.  I had seen them for so long I had justified the extra cost.  So, I went to my local TRU where I'd seen the figures hanging for months.  They had been there just a couple of days prior.  But, now that I'd decided to buy them, the figures sold out.  I found only empty pegs at the Toys R Us store. 

Thinking back, I wish I'd scoured the store for a closeout section.  Toys R Us didn't do that often during those days.  But, it's possible the stock was reduced and moved.  In later years, this disappearing act would also occur with Street Fighter, Shadow Ninja and even Armor Tech figures.  Maybe they were boxed up and sold off to close out stores.  I'll never know.  But, I've never forgotten that hesitation with the Mega Marines.  It lead me to more impulse purchases with the POTFII Star Wars line.  I didn't want to end up passing something by for a long time and then find out it finally sold on the day I decided to buy it.  

Gung Ho's helmet is the closest thing to a classic fireman's helmet that we'd see in the vintage Joe line.  This similarity, though, was never explored.  I felt you could easily make a classic BBQ using the helmet and some of the body molds that were around.  In fact, in my early collecting days, I managed to snag a lone Gung Ho helmet expressly for the purpose of customizing it into a fireman character.  I never did that.  In fact, that helmet still sits in a bag of extra helmets from 1982 through 1984.  A lone, neon reminder of unfulfilled ambition.  Maybe I'll get around to it when I retire.

The Hasbro Joe team was big on color theory.  Even starting from the first wave of Joe figures in 1982, they approached each year as a retail experience unto itself.  They mixed, matched and combined various colors to create an attractive display in the store.  Figures were given complementary colors so that parents felt they matched.  It was a subtle way to sell more figures.  It was also a way to quietly convey quality.  You may not have realized why Joes looked so good.  But, you did notice that the toys really seemed to tie together.  This practice continued through the line's demise.  And, within subsets, the same practice was applied.  

When you look at the Mega Marines as a team, they work.  When you look at the Cobras as an enemy, they also work.  You see many of the same colors used across he figures.  Gung Ho uses an olive green that's incorporated into his base.  Mirage uses a similar base.  Gung Ho's orange accents tie him to Clutch, Mirage and Blast Off.  His yellow makes him appear unique.  But, the other colors faintly tie him to the rest of his team.  You know they are coherent while maintaining their individuality.  You see this throughout the line's history.  And, it's why you can find near perfect Joe pairings among figures that were released a decade or more apart.  This approach died on o-ring figures after 1994.  But, Hasbro did utilize it to a lesser degree on their early waves of the JvC figures in 2002.  

One of the great things about the Joe world from about 2015 onwards was that the anti-neon crowd had mostly moved on.  The smaller collector base who remained tended to appreciate the neon figures.  By the early 2020's, neon figures were seeing a resurgence and had gotten actively expensive and desirable.  In the past year or so, though, you've started to see more takes of "neon ruined the line!".  Most of them are driven by click-chasers who are vying for attention.  You see some that are just older toy collectors who are dipping their toes back into Joes and think their tired '90's takes are still relevant.  It's an unfortunate development.  I hope it's a passing fad.  But, it's a facet of the online Joe world that's rearing its ugly head, again.  

Gung Ho's mold was used twice.  The Mega Marines figure saw release in 1993.  A dozen years later, in 2005, the figure was repainted for a convention attendee exclusive set.  That was the end.  Hasbro used the 1992 Gung Ho mold far too many times.  And, you really wonder if this 1993 mold would have worked in a TRU set during the repaint era.  If you painted this mold up in the blue that is similar to the 1983 Gung Ho, the sculpt would likely work.  I don't think I've ever seen anyone attempt a V1 Gung Ho color scheme on the Mega Marines mold.  I think it could work.

Pricing on these Gung Ho's is tough right now.  The market is cooling pretty fast for non-premium items.  So, you'll see some mint and complete with filecard figures sell for more than $35 while others will remain unsold for $20.  It seems the biggest draw to increased prices is the canister of playdoh.  And, as the playdoh is certainly a dried ball of compacted dust, it really makes no sense to pay a premium for a can that probably belongs in the garbage.  As a figure that, likely, exists in lower numbers than almost all of his retail contemporaries, this Gung Ho isn't a bad buy at $20.  But, he's better at $15.  For me, this figure conjures up college age memories.  So, I find value in him that others may not.  But, he is cool and makes for a can't miss display item.

Rarities - 1993 Mega Marines Toy Fare Catalog Pre-Production Figures

Back in the days before the internet, toy companies sold their wares at Toy Fair each year.  Smaller brands would seek out retail partners.  While, the big companies would put together impressive solicitations designed to wow their partners at the huge, national retailers of the day.  In 1993, Hasbro's catalog featured the full Joe line.  But, as the catalog was put together before the figures were in production, it contains a large number of pre-production figures that feature differences from their retail release.   

Below is the page for the Mega Marines.  There's a few, fun little differences you can spot among the figures.  Starting from left to right, you first see the original Mega Viper.  This figure features a slightly green face shield instead of the retail yellow.  You'll notice the odd purple color of his gun, too.  This color was never used in production.  But, it matches the figure quite well.  I always wonder what would have caused a change like this.  Instead of getting weapons that matched his purple trim, the Mega Viper received accessories that matched his yellow instead.  To me, that would see like a personal preference/coin flip type decision.  But, knowing Hasbro of the day, it was very likely a conscious decision that was made to make the figures more attractive to buyers.

The Joe side of the page features the biggest differences.  Aside from the fact that the figures have been given random accessories that Hasbro likely just had lying around, there is one major change from the retail figure.  You'll notice that in this photo, Clutch still has his goggles and Mirage's eyes are uncovered.  Originally, these goggles were meant for Clutch.  (See this Rarities post from 2016.)  And, they appear on the figure in the solicitation photos.  

Again, this would be an interesting piece of trivia to track down.  Why were the goggles changed from one figure to another.  Mirage's head looks bare without them.  But, that's a function of the fact that we've always seen the figure with the goggles.  Had he not included them, it wouldn't seem so out of place.  And, Clutch's specialty as the driver makes more sense for a goggled head.  But, this reasoning is probably lost to time.

The whole diorama is action packed.  Hasbro did similar things for Street Fighter and the DEF.  And, those pages also feature some interesting early takes on the toys that were ultimately released.  As far as this page goes, though, the figures frozen in the plastic blocks got a lot of attention when this image first surfaced.  Many thought they might be unproduced figures.  But, they are likely just production figures painted white for use in this display.  But, really, the idea of people frozen in ice is a bit macabre for a child's toy solicitation.  But, the intended audience was adult buyers.  And, there are monsters in the toyline.  So, I can see this just being a fun modeling session for the photographer.

Old Hasbro print pieces are chock full of pre-production and prototype toys.  They are a treasure mine of original intentions and also provide the provenance for many pre-production and VSP figures that survive to this day.  As I'm a Mega Marines fan, this layout is really cool to me.  But, even if the Mega Marines aren't your thing, the earlier designs for the toys are a valuable part of Joe history.

1992 Gung Ho

In December of 1992, I went to a local Toys R Us on my lunch hour to buy some Joes.  I hadn't been to a toy store in over 2 years.  And, while I was up on the Joe comic, I was not familiar with the toys.  A wall of never before seen figures awaited me at Toys R Us.  And, having limited time, I had to make some decision as to which figures I would buy.  I ended up going with names from my childhood as I picked up a 1992 Destro, General Flagg and this Gung Ho.  With these purchases, I became a Joe collectors, even if only a casual one for the next three years.

My choice of these three figures seems somewhat odd in retrospect as there were cooler figures available.  But, there was a method to my madness.  General Flagg was bought because I had always wanted one as a kid (even if it was a different character) and I thought his gun was just amazing.  Destro and this Gung Ho, though, were selected because they were both favorite characters from my childhood, were solid designs that were true to the characters from nearly a decade prior and they had weapons that looked amazing.  This was enough for me to add them in lieu of other figures that were surely hanging on the pegs.

The biggest thing for me is that this figure looks like Gung Ho.  If you showed him to anyone who had played with Joes as a kid, they could recognize this figure as the Joe team's original Marine.  The 1992 release date, though, brought with it the added heft that was always missing from the 1983 design.  Gung Ho now had a figure to match up with the muscle bound physique he sported in the comics.  While his Marine Corps tattoo is smaller on his chest, it is there: further defining the figure as Gung Ho.  (Oddly, for the 1993 release, the tattoo was moved to the figure's arm.)  It was these features that drew me to Gung Ho as an early acquisition.  He reminded me of the figures from my childhood while also solving some of the limitations that were apparent on the old designs.

Truth is, this figure is solid but unspectacular.  While Gung Ho features nice detailing on his chest with the bullets and vest, that's about the extent of his features.  His lower body is non-descript and the arms do not stand out.  While the coloring is muted and realistic, it's also kind of boring.  Truth be told, I far prefer the 1993 red repaint to this original green.  Sure, it's nice enough.  But, it lacks any pizzazz like you see on many other 1992 releases.  Gung Ho is just that staid, solid figure that was the foundation of the Joe line.  In looking at him now, were it not for the childhood connection the figure forged with me upon my discovery of him, it's unlikely this Gung Ho would have ever really been someone I sought out.  If he showed up in a lot, I'd keep him.  But, there's nothing about him compelling enough to make him the focal point of a search when there were more recent retail releases of the mold and a more bold coloring from the following release year available.

Gung Ho included a variety of accessories.  The calling card of the figure is his American flag.  It's designed to be carried by the figure.  I find it kind of cheap.  But, it's unique to Gung Ho in the vintage line.  He then includes a standard spring loaded weapon and stand.  The main gear is a well done backpack (Again, the pack was overused in the 2000's.  But, it was very good for 1992.) and a massive machine gun.  The weapon is oversized.  But, due to the heft of the Gung Ho mold, it somewhat works.  I find that Hardball's grenade launcher is a much better fit for this figure, though, and is more true to the Gung Ho character.  But, the machine gun is acceptable for me as well.  The gear is in line with vintage releases and matches with what you can see Gung Ho using in combat.  1992 would be the last year that this was really true.

In the 2000's, Hasbro loved this Gung Ho mold.  Though they only released it as Gung Ho once (on the bland and pretty worthless 2001 version), the figure's parts showed up on many releases over the years.  The best use of the Gung Ho torso was for the 2006 Classified figure from the comic packs.  But, he also appeared on some convention releases.  His parts were probably overused, but Gung Ho remains under-represented.  I'd have loved a TRU 6 pack in the 2000's that contained the 1992 Gung Ho, Wild Bill, Ace, Wet Suit, Duke and Mutt painted in a scheme like their original figure releases.  It would have been both a great homage and a spectacular update to each mold.  Hasbro had all these figures and could easily have done it.  But, they didn't and this Gung Ho really only has this and the 1993 repaint as unique and distinctive colorings of the sculpt.

The good news is that this Gung Ho is still cheap.  You can get carded versions for under $25.  And, while dealers will price and sell mint and complete figures in the $12-$15 range, you can easily buy them for 1/2 that price on the open market.  For a figure of this quality, those prices are a rarity these days.  But, the Joe market is showing signs of softening for anything that's not an investor grade piece in terms of both quality and rarity.  So, we might be coming out of the darkness that has been the past 18 months.  In the meantime, this Gung Ho is still a worthwhile acquisition. He's been in my collection now for 27 years and still remains relevant.  That's not an easy feat and is a testament to this figure's ties to the original Gung Ho character and the quality of the overall udpate to his appearance.

2005 Convention Gung Ho - Around the Web

Convention figures are a mixed bag for me.  They often used molds that didn't otherwise appear during the repaint era.  But, in their effort to be different and give the collector a feeling that the figures were actually work ~$15 each, the paint applications were often overly intricate: betraying the essence of Joe.  After a decade and a half, though, my stance has softened on many of these figures.  They're still not my favorites.  But, we never got anything better and having any repaints is better than none.  This Gung Ho shows the quality of the Mega Marines mold and proves that well done repaints of '90's figure molds would have worked at retail.  Here's the best of the 2005 Convention Gung Ho from around the web.

Gung Ho Profile

Gung Ho at GeneralsJoes.com

Convention Gung Ho at JoeBattleLines.com

Gung Ho at IceBreaker's HQ

Rarities - 2004 Desert Patrol Set (Convention Prototypes)

At the 2004 G.I. Joe convention, Hasbro showcased some upcoming Toys R Us exclusive sets.  One such set was the Desert Patrol.  This five figure set showed some promise.  It included the long missing 1991 Snake Eyes figure as well as a spiffy looking version of Stalker and Ambush.  (Though, with Low Light's head.  Tunnel Rat and the odd hybrid figure that would be named Dusty weren't all that exciting.  But, it was enough to get collectors interested.

When the set finally showed up at TRU in 4th quarter of 2004, there were a couple of small differences in the actually released figures.  In addition to Gung Ho being added to the set, the Ambush figure went from a solid cammo pattern (like Stalker) to a combo of the agave green and desert colors that matched Dusty, Tunnel Rat and Snake Eyes.  It took a solid set and turned it into a dud.  But, overall retail sales of the set were strong as Christmas of 2004 saw TRU sell out of most of its exclusive Joe products.  (That the set only had around 16,000 total units produced also helped.)

Today, the production set has actually gotten somewhat hard to find.  There is a ridiculously hard to find set of unreleased Desert Patrol figures, too.  But, these photos from the 2004 San Diego Comic Con show a set that still had promise before Hasbro made it worse.  This was a theme in 2004 and really carried into 2005 as the line died at retail.  The DTC offerings that used ARAH molds turned the tide a little bit.  But, it was too late.

You'll note that the photos below have a combo of what appears to be production figures as well as hand painted samples.  I am not aware of any full cammo Ambush figures actually making their way into the collecting world.  The version below could be hand painted or it could be production.  I can't tell from the old photos.  But, it is a massive upgrade over the figure that was actually released.  With the "final" Joe convention occurring this weekend, it's kind of sad to look back at a time when a convention meant seeing lots of cool, new stuff.

Rarities - Asian Bootleg 1992 and 1993 G.I. Joe Figures

I've saved the oddest item of all for last.  In the late 2000's/early 2010's, carded bootleg examples of 1992 and 1993 G.I. Joe figures started showing up in Asia.  They were on cards mimicking the vintage carded look for G.I. Joe.

The figures sometimes attempt to be similar to the colors shown on the card artwork.  In other cases, they are very off.  But, the figures are spectacularly bad.  They are definitive bootlegs if only for their horrendous quality and garish design.

Below you will see ten of the figures offered.  There may be more.  I'm not sure of the origin.  But, some figures, like Cobra Commander can be interesting due to the different paint jobs.  I own the Iceberg figure, but have never gotten around to opening him.

These figs were dirt cheap when the first appeared, often selling in the $5 MOC range.  Today, they are still relatively cheap with the most popular figures running around $20 for a MOC figure.  As an interesting display piece, the figures have some value.  But, they are really, really awful in terms of quality.

Rarities - Funskool Complan Commandos

Collectors have long known that some Funskool figures were among the rarest figures in the line.  It was not uncommon for "new" figures to be discovered well into the early 2000's.  But, after around 2004, that seemed to end.  Sure, there were lots of new variants being found.  But, completely unknown figures seemed a thing of the past.  Still, a few collectors had found some odd parts in lots they had acquired from India.  Most were written off as discolored figures or maybe some color variant of a released figure.  But, around 2009 or so, that changed with the discovery of the Complan Commandos.

The Complan Commandos were a series of five figures released by Funskool as a promotion for a kids drink.  The set consisted of Striker, Rocker, Cross Country, Rednok and Canary Ann.  Each of the figures was made from repainted G.I. Joe parts from early waves of Funskool Joes, with the male figures all being amalgamations of multiple molds.

The figures were packaged under the Complan Commandos banner.  They were done on the cheap and feature almost no paint masks and extremely minimal accessories.  Supposedly, they were a premium related to a chocolate drink available in India.  Though, I'm not sure if they were available in stores, or just as some kind of promotional item.

High quality Complan Commandos are very rare.  With that rarity comes expense.  Mint and complete versions of some figures will top $3,000 and even more.  Even really beat up samples will fetch over $100.  But, some of the early rarity was due to collectors asking for G.I. Joe only and these figures being ignored.  As collectors learned what questions to ask, more Complan Commandos appeared.  Not enough to make them common.  But, enough to make them available to more than two or three collectors.  

The first and probably most interesting figure in the lineup is Canary Ann.  She is a straight repaint of the Funskool Lady Jaye.  As the name suggests, though, the mold is repainted in a canary yellow.  Topped with a red cap, this is the most drastic look deviation of any use of the Lady Jaye mold.  The lack of paint masks are a tough miss to overcome, though.  It appears she's wearing a yellow undershirt.  It's not completely out of whack.  But, it's odd.  Her all black waist, though, is too much.  It kind of ruins the figure.

Canary Ann included a black version of Lady Jaye's gun.  You can see her filecard below, too.  The filecard is actually rather interestingly written.  It's far and away better than the Funskool exclusive filecards we say in the Joe line in the early 2000's, even though it incorporates much of Lady Jaye's filecard info.

Next up is Cross Country.  He is an amalgamation of Scrap Iron with Zap's head.  The all red body with black highlights is rather Cobra.  He likely included a version of Firefly's gun.  You will see his filecard below.  It is heavily derivative from Beach Head's filecard.

Rocker is next.  He is a blue Firefly body with a Short Fuze head.  The blue plastic is EXTREMELY prone to discoloration and most of the few Rocker's out there are heavily discolored.  The figure included a version of Torpedo's harpoon gun.

Rednok is the second female in the 5 figure set.  She is a red repaint of the Baroness.  Prior to 2002, this would have been an extremely in demand figure.  However, we have seen many red Baroness repaints in the 15 years since then.  And, as such, this version with no painted highlights just looks cheap.  But, as it's a Baroness repaint, Rednok will always maintain collector demand.  She likely included a version of Major Bludd's pistol.  Her filecard steals from both Jinx and Low Light.  This is odd as neither of those characters ever appeared in India.  So, you wonder where Funskool got the information.  The fact that her glasses are fake are also a different character trait.

The final figure is Striker.  He is a green repaint of Gung Ho with a black haired Short Fuze head.  The figure looks a bit odd without the Marine Corps tattoo on his chest.  But, it's a different look for the mold.  (There is also an olive drab version of Gung Ho that was available as a Funskool vehicle driver that may have been a recolor using the paint masks from this figure.)  Striker included Gung Ho's grenade launcher.  His filecard steals from Big Boa.  I love that Bowling Ball was changed to Cricket Ball for the Indian audience.  The connotation changes quite a bit with this little detail.

These figures exude cheapness and would be hated were they not among the rarest figures ever released anywhere in the world.  Even then, they aren't appreciated for their quality but their rarity and value.  The card artwork and filecards are, for me, the most interesting part since they take so much from around the Joe world.  But, for the hundreds to thousands of dollars these guys cost, those traits aren't enough to get me really interested in the figures.  Sometimes rarity trumps something cool.  Other times, though, it masks something that's kind of lame.  And, in the case of these figures, were they common, no one would touch them.  But, since they are extremely rare, collectors care and give them due they would not earn on their own design merits.

1983 Gung Ho - Around the Web

Gung Ho was one of the most memorable characters to be introduced in 1983.  His bayou background was a great offset of his military training and showcased how G.I. Joe was going to be very different from other toylines on the shelves.  Here's the best of him around the web.

Gung Ho Profile

Gung Ho at JoeDios.com 1

Gung Ho at JoeADay.com

Gung Ho at JoeDios.com 2

Gung Ho Video Review

Gung Ho at JoeDios.com 3

Gung Ho PreProduction at YoJoe.com

Gung Ho at JoeDios.com 4

Gung Ho at 3DJoes.com

Gung Ho by PlasticBattles

Gung Ho at JoeDios.com 5

Gung Ho at JoeDios.com 6

Gung Ho at JoeDios.com 7

Korean Carded Gung Ho

In the late 1990's, foreign Joes that weren't the Chinese exclusives, later run Estrela figures or a few, select Funskool releases were rather scarce to come by.  You would see some displayed at conventions and there were a few pictures online.  But, information was incomplete.  One day, though, a bunch of Korean carded Joes showed up on online auction sites.  The figures themselves were Hasbro produced items from the early 1990's.  These generated quite a bit of discussion as collectors argued over whether to bid them up because they were Korean or to ignore them since the figures weren't exclusive: just the packaging.

The end result is that the figures didn't sell for much.  I think I paid $15 for the figure below and sold it for about the same a couple of years later.  But, I liked this Gung Ho.  I was drawn to him because I had bought a 1992 Gung Ho figure at retail and considered him one of my "return to collecting" figures.  But, I also liked the juxtaposition of the American flag on the packaging and with the figure, yet with Korean writing.

There were quite a few figures in this series.  But, the images I saved are long gone and I didn't save a scan of the cardback.  This Gung Ho is another one of those little oddities that I've owned over the years that I wish I had hung onto.  Not that it's overly valuable or rare.  But, the figure is interesting and is a fun way to show off just how influential the Joe line was around the world.

Rarities - Alternate 2004 Desert Patrol Figures

In late 2004, Toys R Us released the exclusive 6 figure Desert Patrol Squad set.  Featuring Stalker, Snake Eyes, Dusty, Ambush, Gung Ho and Tunnel Rat, the set was fairly well received and pretty much disappeared from retail during the Christmas shopping rush.  The set had some great figures, some boring figures and some terrible figures.  But, with under 17,000 units produced, it didn't languish at retail like the 2005 sets would.  Like most of the Toys R Us sets of that era, though, the Desert Patrol Squad had a set of variants.  The most famous, of course, is the Caucasian Stalker figure.  But, the rest of the set had equally difficult variants, even if they were not as pronounced.

The first figure is the race changing Stalker figure.  I've covered it in depth a few years ago.  Note the blonde hair.  The other change is the leather-brown highlights.  This will repeat itself on future figures.

Next up is Ambush.  At the 2004 G.I. Joe convention, this Ambush figure was shown in full body desert cammo where his upper body matched his lower.  This was, likely, a hand painted sample as full production versions of the figure will the full body brown and tan has not been seen.  But, the figure below does have differences from the production version.  Basically, it's just the leather colored bandolier and belt.  Not overly exciting, but still unique.  I think it gives the figure more depth.  But, the figure generally sucks, so even this small improvement does little to help it.

Next up is Snake Eyes.  Again, the unproduced figure features the leather colored highlights.  With more surface area changed by the leather, the Snake Eyes does appear substantially different than the production version.  He also sports different colored goggles.  In the case of Snake Eyes, I'm not sure which version I actually prefer.  The production version is fairly strong and fits in with the desert motif.  The unreleased version, though, has a richer color palette that gives the figure a bit more texture.  Really, I'd have liked either version were it released and would not have minded both variants having made their way into production.

The final figure is Tunnel Rat.  Here, you see a slightly brighter green grenade on his chest and the richer browns on his straps, belt and holster.  For Tunnel Rat, I actually prefer the brown on the unreleased figure to the released version.  But, the figure is generally not all that good, so it's kind of a moot point.

We know that the Gung Ho figure had a production tattoo size variant.  But, like these other four figures, there is also a version in the leather brown.  The same goes for Dusty.  I lost the photos of them many years ago.  But, the entire set has the subtle differences.  As the color changes, aside from Stalker's race, were slight, they were lost in the more flashy changes to the Anti Venom, Urban Strike, Night Force and Wal Mart figures.  But, these variants are out there, waiting for the enterprising collector to track them down.

Edit: found some more pics:

Marechal Do Ar - Brazilian Exclusive Dress Blues Gung Ho

Gung Ho is one of the top tier Joe characters in the line.  He was popular from the get go in 1983 and retained much of that popularity through the current time.  His character, look and general demeanor appealed to kids and adults and has made him one of the most iconic Joe figures behind the first pantheon of Duke, Snake Eyes, Cobra Commander and Stormshadow. Hasbro revisited the Gung Ho character in 1987. At the time, remakes of existing Joe characters were few and far between. So, for Gung Ho to get this treatment was a testament to his popularity. Rather than reinterpret Gung Ho in a new combat motif, though, Hasbro went with a classic marine dress blues uniform for Gung Ho. He became the first Joe figure to be released in a ceremonial uniform rather than combat fatigues. The result was a good figure for the intention, but a rather boring toy to actually play with.

In 1987, I was flush with cash and bought pretty much every Joe I wanted. Every time I found a new figure, I would spend my lawn mowing money and add him to my collection. There were times when my younger brothers got a figure before me. But, even in those cases, if I liked the figure, I would simply buy myself another version. Every now and then, though, I came across a figure in which I had no interest. In 1987, those figures were somewhat abundant: especially on the Cobra side. Crystal Ball, Raptor and Big Boa were all figures which I let my brothers purchase and never bothered with on my own. They just didn't interest me. On the Joe side, though, there was really only one figure that fit that mold: the Dress Blues Gung Ho. In retrospect, the figure is actually very cool and a neat homage to the military. At the time, though, it was a figure in a dress uniform when I wanted combat figures for my collection. So, the figure simply had no use for me.

In the late 1990's, though, I found a use for this Gung Ho. At the time, I spent a great deal of effort on stories involving law enforcement and criminals. Figures like Chuckles represented captured Cobras who were heading off to long prison sentences. Typically, their Cobra comrades would try to free or kill them so they would not go to jail. There were two prime places for these Cobra rescue attempts: by attacking the convoy carrying the convicts to their imprisonment, or in the courtroom. The courtroom was a more unsecured place since they were in public buildings. As those dramas unfurled I realized that no court was complete without a judge. Enter this Gung Ho figure. His formal attire worked as a judge in those settings and the figure found some use for a while as either an unwitting pawn who would end captured or dead in Cobra's attempt to save their own or as an undercover co-conspirator with Cobra who would, unexpectedly, start assassinating law enforcement officers as Cobra agents freed their friends.

Marechal Do Ar isn't much different from the American Gung Ho. There are slight color differences and the Brazilian figure does not include the stickers for rank insignia. Where the Brazilian figure exceeds Gung Ho, though, is in accessories. Marechal Do Ar includes a version of the Annihilator's machine gun, Shockwave's pistol and a recolored missile firing backpack. Frankly, the gear makes no sense for a figure in this dress attire. But, it's fun to see a dress marine fully loaded with a anti-aircraft missile on his back and machine gun in his hand.

Sadly, though, that pretty much sums up Marechal Do Ar's role in my collection. He's a display piece and nothing more. He's cool when displayed among his Brazilian contemporaries since they all have familiar molds with different colors and spring loaded weapons. He can also serve as a second judge should the need arise. But, for the most part, this is a collectible figure for me and not one that serves much purpose. As the original Gung Ho had little relevance to me in childhood, the remake of this figure isn't as significant to me as are foreign remakes of my childhood favorites.

In the mid 2000's, this figure was readily available MOC for under $20.  For years, the overstock sat mostly unsold on the Joe secondary market.  But, as time passed, the supply was slowly absorbed.  Today, the figure is still fairly available, but a lot more expensive.  If left to market demand, carded versions sell in the $35 - $40 range.  But, those are few and far between.  Dealers have most of the remaining stock and typically try to sell the carded figures for around $70.  That's a bit high for this figure's popularity and availability.  But, if you want to complete a set of Brazilian Joes, it may be required at this late date to add the figure to your collection if you don't have an abundance of patience.

2005 Gung Ho - Convention Exclusive

The Mega Marines subset has long been held as an example by collectors of molds that, had they been properly painted, would make for tremendous figures. In the early days of Joe collecting, it was common to see repainted Mega Marines figures since the subset featured some classic characters, great molds, but terrible colors. When the repaint era began, many fans called for Mega Marines repaints and wanted them to be among the figures Hasbro offered. Fortunately, Hasbro listened...to an extent. In 2002, the first Mirage repaint appeared. It was a fantastic update to the vintage figure. But, it was quickly repainted two more times. And, the fact that it was packed with army builders quickly soured collectors on the mold. Still, though, collectors wanted to see more from the Mega Marines molds. In 2005, Master Collector came through and delivered on the desires and produced a set of figures that utilized some of the Mega Marines molds. The results are not bad: as evidenced by this Gung Ho figure.

There is such a thing as overcompensation. The original Mega Marines Gung Ho figure was painted in an eye-burning yellow with orange highlights color scheme. It was as bright as any figure from the 1990's. This 2005 figure, though, goes too far in the opposite direction. The figure is so dark that many of the subtle color splotches and details are consumed by the overall opaque hue. Lost in the unnecessary cammo pattern is the more lightly colored grey that forms the base of the chest and legs. Were this color not covered by the rain and cloud cammo pattern, the dark green and black details on the mold would pop much more. You would be able to see that there are multiple shades of grey used on the figure and the general metallic black and gun metal greys would have more visual contrast. The figure is still quite good. The colors really can't be beat, especially for an urban assault themed figure. But, in an effort to make something drastic, Master Collector went too far. The cammo is an interesting conversation piece. But, it probably takes away from the figure as a whole.

This figure was a very late addition to my collection. As such, he really has no definitive role. The Mega Marine Gung Ho never had a real place in my collection and this figure doesn't either. He would work on the Monster Blaster APC. But, the brighter colors of that vehicle really require the 1990's era neon figures to give it the full effect. So, this Gung Ho remains unused and really unwanted. He's interesting and shows what could have been done with the Mega Marines molds. But, with so many other high quality figures from around the world already available, this figure fades away. It's not a definitive look for Gung Ho and the 1992 and 1993 updates of the character are more true to the marine's roots. It's nice to have something different for him when the need arises. But, for the price and hassle it takes to acquire this figure now, that's too small a role to justify his inclusion in my collection.

The figure's accessories are rather boring. Gung Ho was given a grey version of the Range Viper rifle. I don't often like Cobra rifles included with Joe figures. The other way around tends to work as you could see terrorist organizations using weapons from all over the world. But, seeing a Joe with a weapon I associate with Cobra really doesn't work for me. He also included a grey version of the MP-5 inspired rifle from 1993. It's nice to see this weapon as it's one that I enjoy and would have liked to have seen included with more figures in the repaint era. But, it's a weapon that doesn't really fit the Gung Ho character. His backpack is the common Big Bear pack that was also ubiquitous throughout the '00's. The only accessory unique to the figure is the helmet. This time, though, the helmet is decked out with multiple paint applications and features metallic blue, green and a purple tinted brown that bring a level of depth to the helmet rarely seen on Joe headgear.

To me, the most underutilized portion of the Gung Ho mold is the helmet. Take away the mouthpiece and this helmet is a dead ringer for a firefighter's helmet. As such, I always felt it should have been used on a new update for the Barbeque character. It would have been great to see the helmet on a more modern, updated firefighter. Even with the mouthpiece, you had the basis for a fire crew that was able to communicate effectively while dealing with burning choppers, tanks or bases. Knowing the mold was available shows the unfulfilled potential of the vintage Joe molds. There was so much that could have been done with them. But, lack of innovation kept the actual product bland and predictable most of the time.

This Gung Ho was sold as part of a 3 figure attendee exclusive set at the 2005 G.I. Joe Convention. Included with him were the excellent Dragonsky figure as well as a Steel Brigade Commander. Limited to a reported 500 sets (there were many more figures, including some with subtle paint differences available from Asia), the figure is rather hard to find. The upside to this Gung Ho, though, is that he was released two years before the attendee exclusive sets took off in aftermarket pricing. So, while you don't see him all that often, you can still get the figure for around $25 when they do appear. For a high quality repaint that was produced in such limited quantities and is of a major character, that's probably a fair price. I was fortunate to acquire this figure before such aftermarket pricing became common for convention figures. Had I not struck then, it's unlikely this Gung Ho would call my collection home. But, I have found the figure is better as an idea than an actual display.

1993 Battle Corps Gung Ho

There are few figures as iconic as Gung Ho.  From his first appearance in the media surrounding G.I. Joe #11 in 1983, he has been nearly ubiquitous in the Joe mythos.  His tattoo bearing chest and distinct color make him instantly recognizable among all Joe fans.  He crossed the comic and the cartoon and remains wildly popular with collectors and fans today.  But, for all the fan-fare, Gung Ho really only had the one figure in the early vintage days that drove his popularity.  Hasbro, though, made up for that by the time the vintage line ended in 1994.

In 1986, Hasbro released Leatherneck.  A marine, Leatherneck also shared a mustached face with Gung Ho.  Really, Leatherneck could have easily been seen as Gung Ho's replacement.  But, in 1987, Hasbro brought out a new Gung Ho figure, though in his marine dress blues uniform.  It wasn't a great figure, but was a great way to keep the character alive and prove that Leatherneck and Gung Ho were meant to be complements and not replacements.  Not until 1992, though, did Gung Ho receive a combat update.  This figure kept many of the elements of the original Gung Ho figure (that bare chest, the tattoo (though now on his arm in lieu of his chest), his muscular physique, the mustache and bald head) but also brought some new flair to the character.  Gone was the traditional grenade launcher and in its place was a massive M-60 machine gun and American flag.  In 1993, Hasbro repainted the previous year's figure with a red vest.  The result if this figure: the 1993 Gung Ho.

This version of Gung Ho was my white whale for some time in the early 2000's.  I desperately wanted him (and some other 1993 repaints) due to the obscure nature of the figure as well as the distinctive look.  While the red vest was not overly conducive to combat (especially when compared to the green 1992 figure) it was a color combination that really worked for the figure.  The 1992 Gung Ho sort of washes away due to the lighter colors.  But, the 1993 figure is bolder.  It befits the character of Gung Ho, especially when you consider his origins of turquoise green.  I bought tons of figure lots that included 1993 releases.  But, Gung Ho was never among them.  Finally, I managed to trade for the figure you see below.  He filled a gap and became the default Gung Ho in my collection.

In 1992, Gung Ho was one of the few figures I purchased at retail.  He looked like the character I remembered from my childhood and had some decent accessories.  If you look at the mold, it has sensible details like the bullet strap that befits his new machine gun.  The bare chest and massive arms showcase the strength that was the hallmark of Gung Ho's comic appearances.  He has a grenade on his arm that can be construed as an homage to his original grenade launcher, but it likely just a neat little detail.  Beyond that, though, the figure is fairly plain.  It is a simplicity juxtaposed to the necessary detail that makes this mold relevant as the Gung Ho character.  Having the 1992 version as one of the first figures post childhood has provided a nostalgic factor to this figure as it was one of my first forays into collecting Joes.  The 1993 version, though, has replaced that '92 figure.  When you want Gung Ho for a dio or photo, but don't want to use the original version, the red and dark green 1993 figure works better than any of his other releases.  You know it's Gung Ho, and his uniform is acceptable enough to work in combat situations.

This Gung Ho body mold was eventually overused.  In the vintage line, it appeared in 1992 and 1993.  (The 1992 version was also released in Asia in Asian packaging.  Nothing like seeing a figure packaged with an American flag but packaged in Asian writing.)  Hasbro brought the mold back in 2001.  After that, the body became a Hasbro favorite for the repaint line as it appeared on numerous retail and convention figures as either Gung Ho or parts of other characters.  This over saturation of the mold soured most collectors on it.  But, these vintage releases are high enough quality to remain use full...even after the mold was rendered moot.

While certainly not a rare figure, this 1993 repaint (along with a few others) are more difficult to find than they really should be.  It's easier to find this figure carded these days than it is loose.  But, neither will cost you more than $6 or $7 as the figure is just not that popular.  This is a good thing, though, as it allows the modern collector to pick up a high quality version of a major character for basically the cost of a sandwich at lunch.  For a 20 year old toy, that's not too bad.  This is a figure that I still enjoy having in my collection.  It's different yet recognizable.  You really can't ask for more from something that's still so affordable in the vintage line.