Rarities - Alternate Weapon Schematics for 1994 Star Brigade Predacon

It's tough to say that Predacon is most distinctive of the 1994 Lunartix Aliens.  But, his figures do tend to be the most popular.  It's likely because he's the closest to a standard Joe.  And, he's easier to play with and pose than either Carcass or Lobotomaxx.  Predacon's calling card is his four arms.  To outfit him, Hasbro included a standard weapon tree with four weapons so that Predacon had a gun for each hand.  The tree had debuted in 1993 with Col. Courage.  It featured a 1987 Tunnel Rat rifle, a 1990 Sky Patrol Airborne rifle, 1987 Blaster's "pistol" and the smaller, ubiquitous pistol that had debuted with the 1988 Shockwave figure.  As weapon trees go, it's one of the best ones.  And, with Predacon, it was only used three times: two of them with short run figures.  (Predacon and the 1993 Dino Hunters Ambush.)

However, according to Hasbro documentation, Predacon was originally intended to include a different array of weapons.  And, in these cases, the weapons were not ones that had previously appeared on standard weapons trees.

The first weapon listed is the Skycreeper pistol.  This isn't a weapon you see all that often.  And, it has a very science fiction look.  

I've always felt that the Super Sonic Fighters Road Pig included great weapons.  They are a bit offbeat.  But, they work in a lot of contexts.  And, had they existed in a color outside of bright orange, they'd have been a lot more popular.  But, early customizers both ignored brightly colored weapons and didn't tend to have access to some of the 1990's weapons molds.  Seeing one as a possibility for Predacon is interesting as it would have opened up the weapon to more exposure.  And, it might be more popular today had that happened.

The next weapon is listed as being from Pysche Out.  But, it was actually used for the 1992 Talking Battle Commander Cobra Commander figure.  It is a terrible accessory.  It's not worse than some of the other molds used on '90's weapon trees.  But, it's not good and would have been a lackluster inclusion.  Though, it does fit the aesthetic of the other weapons that were being considered.

We don't know if these weapons were originally intended to be part of a weapon tree.  Or, if they would have been individually packaged like we later saw with Street Fighter Movie and Mortal Kombat figures.  The line was over by the time the Lunartix got to retail.  And, they were likely victims of cost cutting as production numbers were lowered.  

Had Predacon included these accessories, they would have felt more "his" than the generic tree he ended up with.  These weapons were more obscure, all only being included his higher price point, specialty figures.  So, they would have felt more unique.  Really, it's a shame they weren't released with the figure.  Though, had they been, they'd be among the more expensive gear from the '90's.

1994 Mexican Lobotomaxx - Lunartix Empire

Halloween is a fun time.  It's not something you'd normally associate with G.I. Joe.  But, as the line progressed, Hasbro was kind enough to introduce various monsters and aliens to the mythos that gives me fodder for profiles nearly 25 years later.  Most of these are tucked into the Lunartix aliens theme that was introduced in 1994.  Technically, we only have 6 members of the empire: 3 aliens and 3 Manimals.  But, there's much more.  In terms of rarities, there are 9 unproduced Manimal figures.  But, there are also three exclusive Lunartix alien repaints that were released as Mexican exclusives in 1994.  There were days when these figs were super common.  But, they have become scarce (likely due to extremely low production numbers) and desirable among collectors.  The Carcass and Predacon repaints are notorious for their drastic differences.  The Mexican Lobotomaxx is less distinguishable, but still an interesting addition to a collection.

Supposedly, the Mexican variants on the Lunartix alien figures were actually factory mistakes.  When the first samples returned from Asia, the aliens' colors did not match the card art.  So, they had the figures recolored and released in the U.S.  The miscolored figures were then packaged up and had Spanish language stickers slapped onto them before they were sold in Mexico.  I do suspect that some of these figures were actually sold in the U.S., too.  In the early 2000's, it was not uncommon to find Mexican Star Brigade figures intermingled with American Star Brigade figures when you bought from dealers. There are also factory samples of the figures with US cards that are incredibly rare, too.  But, these were among the final figures Hasbro ever produced so some ambiguity is forgiven since the guys who had given their life to make the Joe line so amazing had suddenly found themselves out of a career.

As a figure, Lobotomaxx is weird.  He's a four legged monster with a third hand on his tail.  On top of that, half of his head was removed when Predacon whacked him with a laser sword.  This detail as well as Space Shot being a Han Solo clone were likely inside pot shots at the newly acquired Kenner team that was working on returning Star Wars to retail in 1995 and would, ultimately, take the jobs of most of the Joe designers in the boys action figure division.  It also leaves Lobotomaxx as an awkward action figure.  The lower legs are actually two feet attached to one joint rather than four, separate feet.  The figure lacks the classic o-ring construction and has cut, swing joints for the hips.  A casual collector could come across this figure and really have no idea that he's from the G.I. Joe line.

But, as a piece of sculpting, the figure is an achievement.  The hands and tail are well detailed.  And, the entire figure's body features strings of veins running through it.  Lobotomaxx looks like a monster with no real ties to a humanoid form.  Thirteen years of knowledge and experience culminated in the Lunartix figures.  And, if you forgive the concept, you can see the attention to detail and quality on each character.  For this reason alone, the figures are noteworthy.  Even if their concept is too far from left field to really incorporate into the Joe mythos.

My first encounter with Lobotomaxx was in 1998.  I had just returned to G.I. Joe collecting and online resources showed off the exotic releases from 1993 and 1994 that I had never found in stores as I scoured the last bastions of Joe at retail stores.  The Lunartix aliens fascinated me because they were such a departure from the Joe I had grown up with and collectors, generally, hated them so much.  One of my first purchases at that time was a carded American Lobotomaxx.  I paid a princely sum of $15 for it.  (Remember, at the time, bagged version D Steel Brigade figures wouldn't sell for $5 and mint and complete Hardtops could be had for under $10.)  The figure than sat at my parents' house for several years while I acquired other, far cheaper versions as online supply of late run Joes exploded between 1999 and 2001.  And, that was pretty much the extent of Lobotomaxx for me.  At some point, I came across a loose sample and found the limitations of the figure weren't enough to keep it around when I had carded versions stashed away and this Mexican version remains the only loose Lobotomaxx left in my collection.

As for usage, there's not really a way to incorporate the Lunartix into the Joe world.  I had a story where the monsters were experiments of Dr. Mindbender gone awry.  As a one off idea, this can work.  You'll see a variant on that theme in the photos below.  But, it's not really a way to use Lobotomaxx as anything other than a de-humanized monster.  I suppose you could make him super intelligent as a by product of Mindbender's recklessness.  But, even that would play out rather quickly.  Really, the only use for figures like this is a conversation piece.  And, that's mostly what you see Lunartix reduced to in the modern collecting world.

There are a couple of notable differences between the Mexican and American Lobotomaxx figures.  The easiest to spot is the fact that the Mexican figure is a darker green.  However, as Lobotomaxx isn't a figure that most collectors are intimately familiar with, this detail can be obfuscated by unfamiliarity.  If you have a loose sample, the easiest way to tell them apart is the back of the figure.  While the American Lobotomaxx is clean, the Mexican figure features a silver overspray you can see in the first photo below.  This is the tell tale sign of a Mexican Lobotomaxx should you come across a loose sample in the wild.

While the Mexican Predacon figure has gotten pricey, you can still get both loose and carded Lobotomaxx figures for decent prices.  It's worth noting that the Mexican Lobotomaxx's accessories are slightly different in color from the American figure.  So, that's something to watch for.  But, you can get a figure for around $70 MOC and as low as $50 loose.  There are still lots of poorly labeled Lobotmaxx figures out there since few realize the color variant and you can get lucky to this day.  But, as American Lobotomaxx figures are $50 for a MOC figure these days, the luck only takes you so far.  For the price and the type of figure this is, I find him worth it because I'm a Star Brigade apologist.  For others, that probably isn't worth the price.  But, he's an odd duck to have in a collection for a variety of reasons and that's always worth a premium.

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 Star Brigade Predacon - Lunartix Alien

It has been a while since I profiled an astronaut figure. That's mainly due to the fact that I've exhausted what I can say about the space element in the Joe line and I kind of ran out of figures to showcase. However, I recently opened up one of my spare carded Predacon figures that had been sitting in a box for almost 4 years. I had long wanted a loose Predacon, but found that the experience of owning the figure was substantially less fun that wanting to find a loose one.

As a mold, Predacon is probably the most useful Lunartix alien. Carcass is decent, but his bendy arms prevent him from being truly useful. Lobotomaxx is just a bit too out there with his long neck, four legs, and tail. He looks neat in the package, but is a little awkward to use. Predacon seems fairly useful. He is well colored in shades of light blue, white and green. His four arms are all articulated in standard Joe fashion and have some detailed adornments that look like ceremonial armour. His head is well formed and highly detailed with his molded teeth and snake-like hair. His eyes retain a truely reptilian look. As such, Predacon seems almost like he could be a Cobra genetic experiment gone awry.

Where the Predacon figure fails, though, is in his body construction. He has huge feet. These over sized appendages tend to cause loose knees in the figure as the standard knee joint was not made to withstand the increased mass of the figures lower legs. As if this weren't enough, Predacon is sculpted so that he is permanently bent over. It's difficult to explain, but his torso is bent so that he can stand up straight only when his knees are bent. (Such as in the photographs below.) This feature makes the figure nearly useless as he can not move in a manner that enhances play. Frankly, I think that had the Lunartix alien portion of the Joe line continued, it would have failed due to the figure quality rather than the concept. While aesthetically pleasing, all three aliens are lacking in play value and would have made for a boring toy line to most children.

Where this construction does help Predacon, though, is that it makes him more animal like. Even with his knees bent, it appears as if Predacon is from a species that has only recently been able to walk erect. This feature has lead to my using him as a hybrid genetic experiment. I use Predacon as the result of an early failed experiment to give humans certain animal reflexes. As a horrid shell of a human, Predacons (There are more than 1. It took Mindbender a while to get it right!) roam the swamps on Cobra Island. From time to time, one is rounded up and set loose as either a training exercise for some Cobra Troopers or an act of terror against a Cobra enemy. As the Predacons are animalian, though, they are mostly dangerous as raging beasts. They lack the intelligence to properly utilize their physical abilities. Hence, my use of the figure is rather limited.

If you want to know my take on Star Brigade and its place in the Joe line, you can read any of a number of my other Star Brigade profiles. My stance on Star Brigade as a concept has not changed. I still think they are among the most eye-pleasing subsets ever offered. But, I'm not naive enough to think that a Star Brigade's return to retail would be a big hit among collectors. As such, as we see more and more themed ARAH style Joe sets released, I think that we would be best served to avoid Star Brigade for some time. Eventually, after most other subsets have been done, there could be a call. Properly done, a Star Brigade set could be cool. However, it simply would not sell fast enough to justify its production. Released now, such a set would probably kill the potential for any future ARAH style themed sets. So, while Star Brigade remains among my favorite parts of Joe lore, I would prefer them to remain in the past rather than risk future Joe offerings by having them appear now.

While they were produced in limited quantities, Predacons are actually kind of easy to find. MOC, they are just about everywhere. He will, though, usually set you back a bit more than the other 2 Lunartix aliens as he remains the most popular. Loose is a different story. As such, if you want this figure, it's probably easier to just buy a carded one and open him up. However, my experience has been that this figure is much more interesting MOC than he is loose. While I normally recommend all things Star Brigade, that is not the case with Predacon. He is a cool addition to a collection. But, his design is just not conducive to use. As background in a Dr. Mindbender's lab diorama, the figure would work. As an enemy to Star Brigade, though, he leaves a lot to be desired. As that is most fans' assessment of Star Brigade as a whole, though, Predacon is probably destined to remain a collecting afterthought.

While I've got all the American Predacons I need, I would still like a Mexican version. If you have one available, email me.

1994 Mexican Exclusive Star Brigade Carcass - Lunartix Alien

Fans of this page know that I'm a Star Brigade junkie. I've profiled several astronauts, both Joe and Cobra. It's been a while, though, since I graced the Forgotten Figures section with a Star Brigade figure. I've been wanting to showcase the one area of Star Brigade that I've been missing, the Lunartix empire, but have not had the loose figures of which to take pictures. I've said before that I've got a complete set of carded '94 Star Brigade figures, but I only had Carcass loose. However, a couple of weeks ago, I got a chance to add this much less seldom seen version of Carcass to my collection. It is from Mexico, and one of two exclusive color schemes done to Lunartix figures that were only available down there. While the Mexican Predacon is cool, I like the American one better. That is not the case with the figure you see below. While both versions of Carcass leave something to be desired as figures, it is the exclusive Mexican variation that is much, much cooler to see.

I'll just get one thing out in the open right now. Most Joe collectors are not too happy about the inclusion of space aliens into their beloved line. Personally, I don't think it was the direction the line needed to go in order to perpetuate itself. However, I do believe that Hasbro had its reasons for doing this. Also, the fact remains, these three Lunartix aliens are part of the G.I. Joe line. To some people that's about as appealing as the fact that Street Fighter is a part of the line is to me. The point is, the debate about Star Brigade, its place in the line, and whether or not it destroyed Joe has been done to death. Of course, this is my web site so I get to spout off about my opinions. If you don't want to hear them, just skip the next paragraph.

Personally, I think that Star Brigade and G.I. Joe were going to take two different paths in 1995. From all indications, Hasbro was going full tilt into the Star Brigade concept. Several concepts and prototypes for the proposed 1995 line have survived to this day. They show a continuation of the traditional Star Brigade concept, more Lunartix aliens, the infamous Manimals, and a new concept called the Replicators that would have made the Manimals seem plausible. Add to that the fact that the Star Brigade logo was becoming more prominent on the packaging and there is a lot of evidence that makes me think that had Joe survived into 1995, Star Brigade would have become its cousin rather than its brother. The 1995 Battle Rangers line was taking Joe back to its military core. I think that line would have kept going under the G.I. Joe banner while the Star Brigade stuff would have become a more distant cousin that just shared a few old characters until the newly developed characters who were just for Star Brigade had a chance to be established. I will say that the only evidence I have of this is my own observation. However, I would like to hear different interpretations. Email me with any comments or commentary you might have about your opinions of where the line may have gone. Please don't email me just to say, "Star Brigade sucks." At least show some originality. ;->

Frankly, I like these aliens. Their place in the Joe universe is suspect, but they are very cool figures. Of the three, Carcass is the weakest. His arms are just a "poseable" mess of rubber. You can do much with them beyond what you see in the photo below. Aesthetically, this guy is cool. The black body with the colored organs inside the translucent chest piece is a start contrast that shows off the level of detail given these figures. Hasbro spent some bucks to design these guys. It's a shame that so few people have them, or even know about them, now. This Mexican variant showcases the figure's features in a way the American version can't. The red American Carcass simply all blends together and doesn't really make you stand up and notice him. The Mexican version is the most visibly striking of all 5 variants of the Lunartix figures. It's just a shame that the arms take away so much of the playability.

The thing about all the '94 Star Brigade figures is the colors. As you can see in the picture below, these guys utilize some color schemes that are both pleasing to the eye and visually bold and striking at the same time. The vibrant oranges, reds, greens, and blues set against subtle hues of black and grey give these guys a unique appearance that is not found on any other set of figures. On astronauts, you can get away with that. I think that's the single most important reason of why I so like the '94 Star Brigade figures. They look great out on display. It's also why I couldn't, even after I had made up my mind otherwise, bring myself to open my carded set. The visual effect of them all together is just much stronger than any other group of carded figures in Joe's history.

Updated 4/26/07

Modern collectors have since learned a lot more about the origins of these Mexican exclusive aliens. It seems that the Mexican exclusive figures were the first figures produced for the Lunartix line. However, these colors that came back from the factory were so different than the card art, Hasbro nixed them, went back to the factory and got the colors right. However, there were enough of these figures made that they warranted release. So, Hasbro dumped them wherever they could. All of the Mexican figures are on American cardbacks. Hasbro simply taped a Spanish language sticker over the essential parts and sent the figures off to Mexico where they sold as overstock.

One other thing has happened in the nearly 6 years since I first visited this figure. Mexican Lunartix figures have gotten expensive! Recent sales of the Mexican Predacon put a carded figure well over $100 and a mint, complete loose figures near $60. Carcass trails a bit behind but carded Mexican Carcass figures now fetch over $60 and loose, mint complete figures will break $30. The reality is that these figures probably saw a VERY small production run. It was surely a fraction of the American Lunartix and it is generally accepted that they were limited to 10,000 pieces. As such, you are going to pay a bit more of a premium to add these figures to your collection today.

End 4/26/07 Update

This figure isn't too tough to find. He usually appears for sale every other month or so. He can easily be purchased MOC for under $20. I know that the American Carcass was shipped 3 per case in his initial run, making him the most common series 2 Star Brigade figure. I don't know if the Mexican assortments kept the same ratios. At any rate, this guy is Star Brigade and Star Brigade means cheap. No one really likes these aliens (Just look at how the Manimals now clog the pegs. Ouch!) and so there are very few people looking for them. In fact, most toy dealers who have these guys aren't really Joe dealers and have no idea of what they have. I've gotten Mexican carded Star Brigade figures mixed in with American Star Brigade figures on more than one occasion. To be honest, I think most of these guys, like the Chinese exclusive figures, are now in America. That's nice since it allows you to pick up some different versions of obscure figures with relative ease and inexpense. Those are the types of foreign figures I like. They are unique and eye catching, but they won't ruin your budget. Now, if I could only get some Brazilian figures the same way!

I like this guy, but have the only one I want. If you have a Mexican Predacon that you want to get rid of, let me know.