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.

2002 Mirage - Wave 2

In 2002, the brand new sculpting style of the JvC figures debuted.  And, unsurprisingly, collectors hated it.  The lack of o-ring was just unforgivable at the time.  Hasbro, trying to save face, quickly announced that they'd be moving to an o-ring construction starting with Wave 2.  However, this meant that Wave 2 of the line would be delayed.  To both fill in the retail gap as well as appease collectors, Hasbro quickly threw together Wave 1.5.  This was a wave of repainted vintage Joes that featured two popular army builders.  Collectors accepted this bone that was thrown to them and enjoyed the wave.  Shortly thereafter, Wave 2 appeared.  Again, Hasbro had tossed two collector themed backs into the case assortment.  Along with newly sculpted JvC figures, there was a repainted Alley Viper/Big Ben and Viper/Mirage pack.  While only 1 per case, each figure was available in ample quantities for collectors of the age to get their fill.  Of course, the focus was on the army builders.  And, collectors tended to ignore and even loathe the Big Ben and Mirage figures.  But, once again, Hasbro had thrown a couple of underappreciated gems into the line.  And, the 2002 Mirage from Wave 2 is one of the better repaints of the 2000's.

In the summer of 1986, I moved all my toys out of my room and into our basement.  My parents weren't big on air conditioning and the basement was much cooler in the hot summer months.  Here, I created the first aspects of a larger Joe world.  When I moved my toys back up to my room in the fall, I had a very different approach to the Joe vs. Cobra conflict.  Among the new additions to my world were "commandos".  Essentially, these were nameless, faceless cannon fodder minions of the Joe team.  The named Joes were "warriors" who were excellent at their jobs and rarely died.  Commandos, though, ranged from semi-competent to outright terrible in their performance.  Thousands upon thousands of them perished against Cobra.  Who, now equipped against a more equal adversary, was far more effective.  The problem, though, was which figure to use as this army builder?

At first, I put together a lame kitbash of unloved parts leftover from broken figures.  These guys were terrible and died often.  I didn't want to make any of my good Joe figures these army builders as I liked all of my characters.  Flash and Grand Slam would be appropriated for the army builders of a 3rd faction who aligned with Joes.  And, eventually, I made the 1983 Ace a "Special Missions Commando" and the Mission to Brazil set figures followed as "Special Forces Commandos" (Leatherneck), "Diver Commandos" (Wet Suit) and Science Officers (Mainframe).  Years later, I even made the 1994 Shipwreck a "Special Commission Commando" who was a group of soldiers just below the Joes who would, eventually, see promotion into the Joe ranks.  But, for the basic commando, I was still stymied.

As my collection grew in the late 1990's, I tried various figures as this basic trooper.  But, none would stick.  Finally, in 2000, the blue Dusty with red beret became my default Commando.  It was a figure that didn't really work as Dusty, but was amazingly cool.  And, it was easy and cheap to army build.  The main issue with that figure, though, is that he had no armor and was relatively unadorned with gear.  In 2002, though, the first Mirage repaint was released.  This figure looked like someone that I could use as my commando character.  He was well colored, was covered in gear and armor and had a decent weapon.  Plus, he was packed with a Viper so I'd definitely end up with a few of them.  And, within a few weeks of me starting up a small squad, Mirage became my default Commando figure.  When this more olive version was released in the fall, he just joined the ranks as a different coloring of the same character.  And, to this day, Mirage figure represent army builders in my collection.  They are more advanced than "greenshirts".  But, still find themselves getting wasted by Cobras at various junctions.

In the early 2000's, Mega Marines were not a popular subset of the Joe brand.  There were some collectors (like me!) who advocated that the molds were excellent and would prime candidates for a repaint.  But, we were a minority.  Someone at Hasbro, though, agreed that Mega Marines had some potential.  Aside from Mirage, we'd eventually see the Mega Viper, Monster Blaster APC, Gung Ho, most of Clutch and even parts of Blast Off in the repaint era.  Only the Cyber Viper and the larger sized monsters did not see any type of re-release.  No other subset of figures got as much attention as Mega Marines did.  Yet, it still feels that the subset didn't live up to its potential.  Mirage certainly did.  But, it still seems as if all the figures could be repainted again without being too redundant.  But, as a whole, collectors rejected the Mega Marines repaints and didn't find them as compelling as excellent molds redone in more muted colors should have been.  It was probably too soon.  And, if Hasbro had released the Mirage repaints in 2018 instead of 2002, they'd have been much more popular.

Mirage's paint scheme is actually pretty good.  His legs are the same green as the torso from the Wave 1.5 figure.  So, you can kitbash a few different combos of Mirage figures together to make different sets of army builders.  He has a G.I. Joe tampo on his right shoulder.  I'm not a huge fan of this.  But, the logo is crisp and shows how far paint masks had come by 2002.  The torso is olive.  But, being offset by the brighter green and silver makes the common color less noticable.  Mirage's head features the clear goggles.  While there's still many details left unpainted on the figures (grenades, ammo, wires and hoses, etc.), it's got enough details to showcase the mold's quality.

Mirage's gear is kind of generic.  But, he has a few weapons that help detract from the blandness of it all.  It seems that Hasbro lost the molds to the weapons trees that were endemic to the 1993 and 1994 figures.  And, while the trees were reused a lot, Mirage's gear was less often seen and seemed to fit well with him.  But, fortunately, the 1992 General Hawk rifle is also a very nice fit for the mold.  The Big Ben rifle is a tougher sell.  It is definitely Big Ben's.  So, seeing it with other figures is less impressive.  And, it was ended so overused by Hasbro that it lost any of it's wow! factor.  The knife is fine.  Some people will give to the Viper instead of Mirage, though.  So, it's up for debate if the figure is complete without it or not.  The most noteworthy factor about these weapons, though, is that they are a unique graphite color.  There is a sheen to them not seen in other gear.  And, this coloring is specific to this version of Mirage.  So, when looking for a complete figure, be sure to ensure that the rifles and knife are the correct color and not the silver and black versions which were released with several different figures during this era.

Today, this Mirage remains in his original role.  I pull him out occasionally for photo shoots.  But, usually, he's in the background, supporting the main subjects of the photo.  I have him on standby, though, and available for when the situation calls for his presence.  My kids actually found a few of this figure sitting out a couple of years ago.  They played with them for a few days.  But, they managed to break the crotch on one of the figures.  This is a rarity for the 2000's era softer plastic.  But, they figured out how to do it.  Their handling of the figure also showcased the fragility of the o-ring design.  They handle modern Star Wars and Spinmaster Batman figures with no breakage.  But, even Joes designed for more flexibility didn't withstand their play.  So, there's an upside to some of the modern designs.  

Mirage was overused by Hasbro.  After his vintage release in 1993, the first repaint in Wave 1.5 debuted around May of 2002.  This Wave 2 version followed in the early Fall.  In 2003, Hasbro released another Mirage with the Hoverstrike vehicle.  This awful toy featured the best Mirage who incorporates colors from the other figures and features yellow goggles that were omitted from the Wave 1.5 figure.  Then, in 2005, Hasbro dropped Mirage into the Winter Operations set.  On the surface, Mirage seemed an odd choice.  But, the actual figure was made clear to showcase Mirage's purported abilities that match his codename.  As something different, the Winter Ops figure is pretty strong.  But, 4 releases in 4 years was a bit much and collectors never wanted to see Mirage again.  I'll argue that Mirage never had a bad version of him released, though, so collectors have a lot of fun stuff to find for the character.

In this age of stupid G.I. Joe prices, Mirage remains a hold out.  Even with a highly popular Viper repaint, you can buy carded figures for under $25.  Dealers will sell mint and complete with filecard figures in the $8-$12 range.  But, if you can find one left to the open market, it will go for half that price.  Be wary as this Mirage includes Graphite colored accessories that were exclusive to the Wave 2 figures and not the more common silver version of the 1992 General Hawk rifle.  But, as the price of this figure remains low, there's no reason for anyone to be missing him in their collection.  Had this figure been released in 2019, he'd be hugely in demand with massive aftermarket spikes.  But, the collectors of 2002 weren't quite ready to admit that later Joe molds and characters had merit.  So, we can be grateful that we got figures like Mirage while also lament that other figures weren't popular enough to warrant an updated repaint.

1993 Monster Blaster APC - Around The Web

 The Monster Blaster APC is one of those vehicles whose time has finally come.  After being ignored for years and years (even with a Cobra themed repaint offered at retail) it seems collectors have come around to the quality of this vehicle.  The late release date and Mega Marines subset got many to ignore the Monster Blaster.  But, the vehicle is on par with early Joe releases and is full of play value.  There's a little bit of content on this thing out there.  It's highly photogenic.  So, I hope more people take advantage of it in coming years.  Here's the best of the Mega Marines Monster Blaster APC from around the web.

1993 Monster Blaster APC Profile

Monster Blaster APC by Lava Boss

Monster Blaster APC by Nekoman

Monster Blaster by tituslester32

Monster Blaster APC by Slipstream80

Monster Blaster APC at 3DJoes.com - Including the variants

Monster Blaster APC by HCC788

Monster Blaster APC at Reasonably Intelligent Rambling

20th Anniversary Key Moments - 1993 Cyber Viper

The Cyber Viper has occupied two prime slots in my timeline.  The first time I reviewed the figure was back in 2004 for the site's 5th anniversary.  That was the final profile of my site as it existed in that format under that domain name.  After that Cyber Viper profile, it was a full 6 months before I wrote about another figure.  And, it was now under the JoeCustoms.com domain instead of my own.  The second time I looked at the figure was nearly 10 years later: on January 1st, 2014.  In both instances, though, the figure's bright colors, excellent mold and untapped potential dominated my perception and expressions.

The Cyber Viper is a perfect analog for my site simply because he has always been somewhat hard to find, is ridiculously colored and also has a ton of untapped potential.  I've long wanted figures like the Cyber Viper to get the respect they deserve.  And, in the 2000's, I was a staunch advocate of Hasbro repainting 1990's molds instead of the 1980's figures that so many other collectors clamored for.  In the cases where Hasbro did look at someone from the 1990's, they often produced a high quality repaint.  But, in almost every instance, collectors ignored it.  The community just wasn't ready for repaints of the newest vintage Joe molds.

I'm a critic of the 2000's era Hasbro because they so thoroughly wasted their mold library with far too many releases of the same molds over and over again while ignoring many figures like this Cyber Viper who had amazing potential, but poor initial colors.  However, the reality of the time must be factored in.  Hasbro did attempt to bring back a few of their later molds in better colors or retconned as more popular characters.  In each and every instance, though, these releases failed.  Big Ben was a retail disaster despite the fact that each repaint of him was very good to excellent.  Nobody cared about the convention repaints of the Ferret, Mega Viper or 1994 Viper.  Mirage pegwarmed even though he was packed with a Viper repaint!  Collectors punished Hasbro for innovation.  So, they had zero incentive to actually try to find obscure molds like the Cyber Viper and update them in better colors.

Now, we're left with a fun, ostentatious figure that has started to fall out of the range of many collectors.  And, that's too bad.  Everyone should be able to revel in the '90's wackiness that invaded the Joe line.  But, this Cyber Viper is also useful and fun.  He goes well with '90's vehicles and does look good in a variety of displays.  His colors pop in photos and the details of mold are always appreciated by collectors who either overlook him or simply can't find one for a price they are comfortable with.  

In looking back at my writings on Cyber Vipers, I mention both times that the figure is hard to find.  Looking at the $12 price point for a mint, loose and complete figure in 2004 and the $22 price for the same in 2014, you see two prices that seem cheap now, but were actually rather high for those time periods.  Now, mint and complete Cyber Vipers routinely fetch $70+.  That's way too much for a figure who lacks name recognition, is poorly colored and has non-descript accessories.  But, in 2020, collectors are paying for scarcity, be it real or artificial.  So, you see high prices for both the Cyber and Mega Viper figures since the Mega Marines were produced in lower quantities than other 1993 releases.  It's a sad state of affairs as figures like this were fun when they were cheap.  At current pricing, you lose some of the silliness factor that drove the early 90's neon era.

1993 Mirage - Around the Web

Mirage is a one of the great examples of excellent '90's sculpting that was ruined by less than stellar colors.  But, within a decade, Hasbro repainted the figure several times and created some of the best re-releases of the 2000's.  The Mega Marines have taken on a bit of an afterlife in recent years and have become somewhat popular.  Mirage always lead the way, though, and was the first Mega Marine to really get a following...mostly due to those 2000's era repaints.  Here's the best of the Mirage figure around the web.

Mirage Profile

Mirage at JoePedia

Mirage at 3DJoes.com

Mirage on Instagram

G.I. Joes of the '90s by General's Joes

Diorama - Swamp Base

At my old house in Indiana, there was a ditch behind the fence that would pool water after rainstorms.  In the early spring, one of the rains left a nice puddle of clear water.  It was there for a couple of days, so the grass got waterlogged and the leftover fall leaves gave the whole scene a swampy look.  I went out for a pretty elaborate set up.  But, it was very cold that day.  My fingers froze in the cold water as I set up the figures.

I had plans for this to be the beginning of a dio story.  But, I didn't get all the photos I wanted due to the temperature and I never had another chance to get out before I moved that fall.  This was one of the few times that I was able to get the Mega and Cyber Viper out and into dios.  The focal point was supposed to be the Bronze Bombers Firebomb figure (a Secto Viper repaint) but I ended up looking at the Secto Viper instead.

This General shell was really beat up.  I ended up throwing it into the trash rather than moving it.  I did strip all the pieces, which I still have.  I kind of wish I had kept the body.  But, it was massive and broken in ways that couldn't be fixed.  The Moray in the pics below got pretty beat up through my various moves and is in nowhere as good of condition as you see below.  In all, it was a fun setup with lots of obscure and bright Cobras.

1993 Monster Blaster APC

In the mid 1990's, Joe was starting to disappear from retail.  Its space in the toy aisle was being pressured not only by shrinking toy departments in general, but also by the new, flashier and bulkier toy lines that were omnipresent at the time.  Joe was fading into obsolesce at the hands of a toy style that would prove to be less sustainable than the Joe designs from the 1980's.  But, if you were persistent, frequent and willing to tenaciously search the nether-reaches of stores at the time, you could still find some interesting stuff.  One of my finds was the Monster Blaster APC.

In the midwestern United States, there is a regional retailer named Meijer.  They were an early innovator in the concept of one store fits all.  They featured a full grocery on one side along with a full retail store on the other.  The upside was that any grocery run could also be a toy run.  The downside was that the massive warehouse space of the store made it such that combining these two errands meant a minimum of 15 minutes spent inside the store.  Meijer's sales model for toys was interesting.  While they stocked most of the currently in production toys of the day, they also carried overstock and surplus from the various toy manufactuers.  As such, in 1995, it was possible to go to a Meijer and find the currently shipping wave of Star Wars POTFII figures along with an old case of 1993 Battle Corps Joes.  It was though the model that I came across the Monster Blaster sitting on the bottom shelf of the action figure aisle.

When I first saw the Monster Blaster, I was not overly interested.  The name was off-putting and the box art really didn't do anything for me.  Plus, it did not include a figure, despite the relatively expensive price tag.  I had not bought any Joes in a while, though, and had some money in my wallet.  So, I decided to just go for it and acquire the vehicle.  I figured it would include a catalog that would help me place the release year and might offer some insight into other things to look for in my quest to snatch up the last remnants of the Joe line at retail.

When I got home and opened the Monster Blaster, though, I discovered a gem.  The vehicle was colored rationally enough that I could integrate it with my existing collection.  But, the real value was the size and play features.  The vehicle can hold a full 8 figures inside protective enclosures.  In addition, two other figures can man the rear gun mounts.  And, if you really want to weigh it down, 6 more figures can ride on the rails on the vehicle's side.  In short, the Monster Blaster held about my entire collection of figures at that point in time.

It was the type of vehicle I had always wanted.  As a kid, the APC had been a favorite of mine.  It could hold all the Joes I needed for a mission and their gear.  But, the cloth covering didn't offer a whole lot of protection for the group inside.  By the time the Warthog came out in 1988, I was done with Joe.  So, the Monster Blaster finally offered me the ability to move a bunch of figures around, while providing them the armaments and armor necessary.  It was about the only vehicle I had at the time so, it got a lot of use.  I even chose it over the Mauler in a late night spring loaded missile battle with a friend of mine in 1996.

The general design of the vehicle holds up well.  The main driver cockpit is roomy and detailed.  It holds the bulky 1994 figures with no issues.  (To this day, I prefer the 1994 Lifeline driving mine.)  The canopy provides cover, but allows some visibility of the figure.  The gunner station isn't as protected, but still works.  The large gun is not overly detailed.  But, figures fit on it well.  Any figure seated with the gun covering the opening is secure from oncoming fire.  The six passenger seats are large, too.  You can fit figures into the vehicle without too much crowding and still have room for a small complement of accessories.  The back gun stations are so large that their movement can be hindered by any figure in the mounts.  The guns show a science fiction bent and aren't as realistic as I'd like.  But, they are better detailed than many of the contemporary vehicles.

The best part of the Monster Blaster is the body detailing.  The main gunner station has a small ladder and the side passenger compartments have footholds to ease access to the high walled body.  The entire vehicle is encased with foot rails for figures.  They are separated enough from the vehicle body that fully loaded figures from the '90's (with spring loaded weapons and all!) can fit onto them without the awkward posing often required on some earlier releases.  There are various hand holds and armor points around the body as well.  It's about as realistic as you could expect from a rolling, armored cannon that's designed to fight genetically altered monsters.

The back roof has a catching mechanism that allows you to prop it open for display, play or elevated missile launches.  The roof fits tightly onto the chassis, though, and it a nice bit of engineering.  The spring loaded cannon is not overly obtrusive.  But, having the actual main cannon of the vehicle being tied to raising and lowering the roof (and exposing the troops inside!) is a bit off-putting.  The spare missiles that rest on the roof are well placed, though and do not detract from the overall appearance of the vehicle.

When I got the vehicle home and found how awesome it was, my thoughts on the Mega Marines in general began to soften.  My local Toys R Us had several each of the Mega Marines Gung Ho and Clutch hanging on the pegs.  I had not been driven to buy them, despite the black weapons, just due to the higher price point and really gaudy neon colors.  With this vehicle in tow, I decided it was time to break down and finally add them to my growing collection.  The next time I was at TRU, though, the figures had sold out.  After sitting unsold for months, they all sold out in just a couple of weeks once I decided I wanted them.  But, that was how it was back then.  At least I have them now.

The Monster Blaster was just released by Hasbro.  However, there is a European variant that has much deeper green lower half/interior.  It's an interesting piece that's not easy to find, but also not very expensive.  After those two vintage uses, the Monster Blaster APC mold disappeared until 2004.  At that time, Hasbro re-painted it, switched the vehicle's affiliation and released it as a Toys R Us exclusive BAT Transport.  This should have been a huge winner of a repaint.  But, the actuality was that the BAT Transport was a huge flop that hung around at retail for a very long time, even though it included 3 army building figures at a time when collectors could not help themselves buying every army builder that Hasbro released.  The BAT Transport, though, was released during an onslaught of new toys in the final few months of 2003 and first few months of 2004 and was caught up in the whirlwind that the retail Joe line became during that time.  It was a sad fate for a vehicle of this quality.  But, even I'm to blame.  While I did buy a BAT Transport when it was released, I sold it off rather quickly.  The recolor simply was too poor to justify and I found that having the repaint took away from the enjoyment I got from my original vehicle.  It's likely that, had Hasbro released the repainted Monster Blaster as a companion to the underrated Night Rhino vehicle that it might have generated more interest.

Monster Blasters are not popular.  Mint in the Box versions sell around $50 from time to time.  But, those prices are heavily dependent upon lack of competition.  Left to it's own device, a mint, complete Monster Blaster might sell between $10 and $15.  Of course, you'll pay that much or more in shipping.  So, the price can be a bit misleading.  Regardless, the vehicle is cheap to acquire and well worth the price.  It integrates well with the neon figures from the '90's as well as the more classically colored figures from previous years.  My nostalgic bent on the vehicle keeps it important to me.  But, an empirical review still allows the mold to hold up.  It's a toy that's worthy of any collection and is still available at a price point where even marginal interest makes the money worthwhile.  I'm glad I got this vehicle when I did.  I otherwise might have passed it by.  And, based on the quality, that would have been a shame.

Rarities - 1993 Mega Marines Clutch

The Mega Marines are a high quality sub set that suffer from questionable color choices.  Originally, though, the figures were going to be a little different.  Below you see a hand painted sample of the Clutch figure.  While the trademark bright orange is still present, he had some more vibrant ancillary colors as well.  The real different, though, is the presence of the unproduced goggles.  This sculpt eventually made it's way to the Mirage figure.  But, they were originally intended to be part of the Clutch design as well.

I think this figure is a cool look into the image the designers had for Mega Marines.  But, the Clutch figure's garish paint job was not going to be saved by the inclusion of the goggles.  Through the years, a lot of accessories were planned for figures that never saw the light of day.  Sadly, they were mostly discarded for cost reasons.  But, items like this show that that designers had grander plans for this figure.  But, they still always intended for it to be orange.

1993 Cyber Viper - Around the Web

The Cyber Viper isn't a figure that should demand collector attention.  The bright colors and odd design usually spell doom for a figure.  But, I've found him to one of my personal favorites.  Here's some of the best content around the web on the character:

Cyber Viper Profile - 2014

Cyber Viper Profile - 2004

Cyber Viper at Blood for the Baron

Cyber Viper Pre Production at YoJoe.com

Cyber Viper at Half the Battle

'90's Joes at Generals Joes

Cyber Viper at Joe A Day

Cyber Viper at Joe Battlelines.com

Cyber Viper at JoeDios.com

Cyber Viper Tag at Instagram

Cyber Viper by yotothejoe

1993 Cyber Viper - Mega Marines

For the first time in many years, I have the chance to post a profile on New Year's Day. What better way to exacerbate a hangover than with a figure so brightly colored he'll give you a headache on a normal day!

Recently, I have been re-reading the final 30 issues of the Marvel G.I. Joe comics from 1992 through 1995 This exercise has shown me a couple of things. First, those issues are largely as bad as I remember them. The stories and artwork are nowhere near the standards put forth on the G.I. Joe book from the earliest days of Kwinn, Dr. Venom and Scarface. Beyond that, though, you see the Hasbro influence coming through.  While there were still many classic characters involved in the book during those final years, there was also a heavy emphasis on the new figures that were being sold at retail.  In some cases, these substitutions worked well.  In others, they seemed very forced.  But, Hasbro's influence was at least a constant in the original Joe comic.  What was most interesting to me, was the way that those comics still blended classic Cobra forces with many of the newer (and much brighter!) Cobras that were being sold at retail.  Among these new Cobra army builders was the oddly menacing Cyber Viper.

I have looked at the Cyber Viper before...over nine years ago.  In that time, my perception of them has not really changed. they are solid molds whose brightness is so bad, it makes the figure good. But, closer inspection of the mold in general shows that the designers created the figure with attention to detail and care that was common with the line's entire history. The head is incredibly intricate, even down to the mouth sculpted behind the bizarre face covering. The entire body mold features very subtle details that are lost in the lack of paint details. This is a figure that should be high on the list for customizers due to the potential it yields for repaints. But, the general obscurity and scarcity of the mold has likely prevented that.

The Cyber Viper is cast in neon green, yellow, red, flesh and grey.  That combination should not work on any level.  But, it does.  There is something so off about the figure that it has a cachet.  It clashes so badly that it works.  Combined with a vehicle like the Detonator, the Cyber Viper is a decent contrast that stands out as a crewmember. The same is true in the Terrordrome. Cobra has always been a bit outlandish. So, having something so bright that it induces headaches would not be completely out of character...especially in the various hidden laboratories under Cobra's domain.

Cyber Vipers are, at their core, cyborgs.  The head features electronics that connect directly to the character's brain through his skin. On some level, this is a bit too far fetched for the Joe line. (Though, really, more plausible than space aliens and zombies.) But, how far off are cybernetic human enhancements? We have seen glasses and watches and phones that can do things that were unimaginable in 1993. In another 10 years, it will be commonplace for people to have access to even better technology that is even more embedded in their body. The difference is that they won't wear outer casings like those of the Cyber Viper that advertise their enhancements. They will be subtle, nearly unnoticeable. But, the concept remains, basically, similar.

In the context of the Mega Marines concept, Cyber Vipers work rather well. They are somewhat sci-fi and colored in line with the other members of the subset. However, I like to see their role as much broader. The Cyber Vipers can be scientists, deranged troops who work with unholy, man made abominations or just technological troops who happen to wear bright uniforms. I find the general figure so nice that I come up with ways to integrate the Cyber Viper into as many situations as possible. On display, though, the Cyber Vipers find their best home as a crew of a Detonator. I have always associated the Cyber Viper and Detonator together. So, seeing them on display together seems just about perfect. It isn't a huge role. But, given the prominence of the Detonator in my collection, the figure is front and center more so that he would be for most collectors.

The Cyber Viper's accessory complement is nothing great, but also not terrible. The weapons are cast in a unique grey color which gives them a distinct visual appearance. Some of the actual weapons are appropriate as they are originally from the Toxo-Viper and Incinerator figures. The remaining weapons from Voltar and the Rock Viper, though, are generally useless. The Incinerator flamethrower is a weapon I've liked since my first encounter with it when I purchased my first Crimson Guard Commander figure. I see it as less a flamethrower and more a high tech rifle that Cobra gives to more specialized troopers. Within that context, I like the weapon. I've never been a fan of the Toxo-Viper's rifle. But, the link between Cyber Vipers and Toxo-Vipers is close enough in the tree of Cobra specialties that it's appearance is acceptable. (However, the figure is missing any backpack into which either of these weapons could plug. So, that diminishes them a bit.) The figure also includes the requisite neon green body armor, can of play-doh and bright yellow missile launcher that were hallmarks of both the Mega Marines subset and other figures from the time. The problem is that this surplus of gear makes tracking down complete Cyber Vipers somewhat more difficult. But, since the armor and launcher don't really add much to the figure for me, I'm willing to sacrifice completeness in order to acquire some additional army members.

There was a time that collectors despised the Cyber Viper and avoided them like the plague.  In time, though, collectors grew to accept the neon years and figures like the Cyber Viper (which were produced in lower quantities than most of his contemporaries) started to dry up.  Now, Cyber Vipers are actually somewhat pricey and can be difficult to track down.  Mint and complete with filecard versions often sell for $22 or more.  Carded figures can go as high as $40.  For a figure that was basically worthless in the late 1990's, that's quite a change.  But, the rarer nature and the camp appreciation that comes with a figure that is so terribly done have made the Cyber Viper among the more desirable neon heavy releases from the line's final years. I find myself guilty of liking them and have built my own army since the figure is so interesting to me. Granted, I don't know if I'd do that had each figure cost me as much as they do today. But, I am glad that more than one Cyber Viper calls my collection home.

1993 Blast Off - Mega Marines

In 1995 and 1996, I spent a lot of time trying to track down the last vestiges of Joes at retail. Through 1995, my local Toys R Us stores still got new shipments of 1993 and occassional 1994 figures. As the year went on, though, those became more and more scarce. As the better figures dried up, I started to look at what was left on the shelves and determined whether buying the figures was a good use of my time or not. For many months, my local Toys R Us had a couple of Mega Marines Gung Ho and Clutch figures hanging on the shelf. I passed them by for months and months, not letting even the black weapons twist me into buying the figures. Eventually, though, desperation kicked in and I succumbed to buying even the most hideously neon figures available. So, I went to Toys R Us to pick up the Mega Marine Gung Ho and found that the figures had finally sold out.

The Mega Marines are kind of a neat idea...if taken within the context of 1993. Cobra has some science fiction inspired monsters and augmented soldiers that require special skills and gear to combat. If you take the science fiction out the concept and just leave the Mega Marines as a highly technological, extremely well training fighting force, though, you have a pretty solid basis for a sub team. Really, they could have been a modernized Battleforce 2000 without the gimmicks. Unfortunately, the subset was bogged down in neon colors, outlandish villains and play-doh armor that was supposed to add play value.

The Mega Marines first entered my collection in early 1999. I acquired a huge lot of '90's figures and it included Gung Ho, Clutch, Mega Viper and a Cyber Viper. The figures were well done and rather interesting. But, their colors didn't lend themselves to great use. The figures were quietly packed away and didn't appear for a long time. I lost interest in the sub set and never really went out of my way to complete it. A few years later, the constant Mirage repaints coupled with my increased interest in the Cyber Viper finally brought me around to completing the line. I acquired a Mirage and Blast Off...and quickly packed them away, too. The figures were good enough, but had issues with colors that would forever doom to the pile of what could have been.

Blast Off's accessories are neither great nor terrible. His weapon tree features a solid cast of useful weapons. But, they are all colored dark blue. In 1993 terms, this is pretty good. They could have been pink, orange or yellow. But, Clutch and Gung Ho had black weapons, Mirage had olive and the Cyber Viper included grey accessories. So, of the members of the subset, Blast Off's blue only beats out the neon yellow from the Mega Viper. The figure includes the requisite body armor and play-doh that were the gimmick for the line. Finding play-doh that hasn't dried out at this point in time is basically impossible. But, it wasn't much of a collector oriented feature, anyways. Blast Off's helmet could be better. As a mold, it is very solid. (See Dragonsky for further proof!) But, the neon orange color and lack of paint details really takes it down a notch. The other issue is that the helmet is tight. So, any Blast Off figure that had the helmet removed and put back on more than a few times suffers from severe paint wear on the figure's nose and eyebrows. At least the late release date makes finding mint versions easier than if this were, say, a 1985 release.

The Blast Off mold was used just the one time in the vintage line. During the repaint era, one Cobra and all the Joe Mega Marine molds were found. Mirage was used ad naseum, but the bodies of Clutch and Gung Ho only appeared in a convention set. And, this is the only other time the Blast Off mold appeared, too. The head and helmet were used in the incredibly well done 2005 Dragonsky figure. It was a great reuse of the parts and created a figure for the ages. It would have been cool to see a full redo of the 6 standard construction Mega Marines figures in a repaint set. But, that was not to be. So, Blast Off remains a sad reminder of the neon era of Joes, even though the sculpt could easily be saved with a solid repaint.

Blast Off figures aren't easy to find. All of the Mega Marines seemed to have been produced in lower numbers and Blast Off is among the least common of them all. Mint and complete with filecard versions of the figure sell in the $10 - $12 range, but carded versions can be had for $18 - $20. It's a lot for a figure like this, but is also in line with the figure's general scarcity and late release date. Had I not found this figure when I did, it's doubtful he would be part of my collection. It's a figure with potential and works in the context of the Mega Marines. But, Blast Off will never be a vital part of any collection.

1993 Mega Marines Mirage

In 2003, collectors were simply sick of Mirage. He had been released 3 times: twice with Vipers that collectors army built to extremes and once with a really crappy hover vehicle. Despite the fact that all three repaints of the mold were well done and were perfect examples of how Hasbro should have approached the retail repaints, the Mirage figures were generally loathed by collectors just because they acquired so many in their army building zeal. A few years removed from this, though, Mirage doesn't have quite the same reputation. Now, he has fallen back into semi-obscurity even though a clear version was released in the Winter Operations set. Collectors have gotten over their overwhelming animosity towards this figure and that has lead me to re-examine his role in my collection. As I finally had a chance to acquire his original version, this visit to the Mirage mold is for the first version of Mirage.

The reality is that this is not the best version of Mirage. In fact, it is only the 4th best version of the figure and that's only because I find it hard to use clear figures. But, as it is the original, it has a significance due to the quality of the mold and the then-unrealized potential of the figure from 1993. The Mirage figure shows a remarkable attention to detail as it features a wide array of molded accouterments that hearken back to the golden years of Joe sculpting. Mirage also features a detailed head mold that is complete with colored goggles that affix to his face. The goggles complement the detailed head gear that is molded onto Mirages head.   The Mega Marines were an interesting subset of figures. They were designed to fight against Cobra genetic "monsters". They all included moldable "bio-armor" that was playdoh that could be stretched over horrid plastic "armor" shells. All the figures in the set were also very bright. They all featured various neon hues of red, yellow, green or blue. The worst part, though, was that they were higher priced at retail due to their included armor. This just added to their pegwarmer status and kept them around gathering dust at retail along with Armor Tech and Shadow Ninja figures.

The figures themselves, though, were actually well done. Each figure had a nicely detailed mold that was just colored wrong. In subsequent years, we have seen repaints of Mirage, Mega Viper, Gung Ho and part of Blast Off. All of these repaints have been light years ahead of the originals and have showcased that these molds can be made into memorable figures with just a sane paint application. I wish Hasbro had taken this approach with more of their ARAH releases. There are still so many well done molds from the line's later years that would be great figures with a decent paint scheme. Instead, they focused on bringing back molds who were done right the first time and revisiting them. In time, this got too repetitive and I think that some of the waning retail interest in the product could be attributed to this lack of ingenuity.

Mirage is an decent figure. In fact, he is about 70% perfect with his base colors of olive and black. Unfortunately, the remaining 30% of the figure was colored bright blue and neon orange. This odd mix of colors doomed the figure. (Though, sadly, Mirage is the best colored of all the Mega Marines figures.) In his time, though, Mirage was somewhat useful. Back in '93, the bar for good Joe figures was actually rather low. While I think that 1993 did produce a wide array of very good figures who stand up against the line as a whole, the sheer number of overall figures produced lead to some real clunkers. These simply overwhelmed the year and left it as being perceived as a terrible year despite the hidden gems. As such, Mirage was one of the more popular Mega Marines figures and did not hang around on the pegs as long as Clutch, Gung Ho or Blast Off.

For years, the Mega Marines were a customizer's favorite. The mix of classic characters, good molds and bad colors lead to many new interpretations of the Mega Marines. Many of these custom pieces showcased the level of detail inherent in all the Mega Marine molds. While more recent years have featured less of this as the part base for customizers has grown and Hasbro has filled many of the character gaps with their vast amount of retail releases, you can still find some customizers who revisit the Mega Marines molds and use their skill to bring out the details that the Hasbro sculptors felt were important but the people who designed the paint masks did not.

While I lament the fact that there weren't more post '00 repaints in the spirit of the '02 Mirages, the sad reality is that collectors really aren't interested in them. One thing I have noted about the Joe collecting community is that we, as a group, do not reward ingenuity and originality in our Joe releases. Since Hasbro brought Joe back in '97, the most popular figures have been the molds of major characters or significant army builders all done in color schemes that are similar to the vintage figure. In the case of a few army builders, collectors have flocked to the newer color schemes, but that was mostly in situations like the Alley Viper where there was no non-neon vintage figure. Yet, even then, collectors lament that the Alley Vipers released were not straight repaints of the V1 figure. Master Collector has been the one outfit that has attempted to create some original figures. Yet, all of their figures with the exception of the Crimson Strike Team have featured waning interest in them after their initial release. It appears to be no coincidence that the lone convention set that has kept collector attention is also the least original in terms of figure mold choice and color scheme. While the Cobra Infantry figures who are slight retools of the vintage mold in almost matching colors are heralded by collectors, a figure like the Nullifier (Who is in the exact colors of the Infantry figures!) who updates a great mold that most collectors don't have in multiples with perfect colors is relatively ignored. It all points to the result that we really only have ourselves to blame for the repetitive releases who feature the same characters, colors and molds over and over again. While this seems to be what the main base of the collecting community has wanted, though, I would suggest that this has been off-putting to the newer, more casual collector and has, over the past half decade, eroded the fan base to the point where they are not a great enough purchasing entity to keep the line afloat at retail.

I have yet to really determine this Mirage's role in my collection. While I use the later Mirage repaints as faceless army builders, that was more due to the fact that I had amassed them in quantity and liked the mold and color schemes so much that I wanted to use more than one of the figures at a time. This version, though, is more unique and really needs to be used as the character of Mirage. While Mirage was intended as a heavy gunner, but I can not see him in that role. I think of him more as a technological foil to Zartan: someone who uses new technologies to hide in plain sight and mimic invisibility as a means of infiltration into enemy territory. Going forward, I may flesh the Mirage character out a bit more. But, for now, he remains one of those figures who doesn't see a lot of use but does get pulled out of his drawer when I stumble across him in a search for another '93 figure.

Mint and complete Mirages are actually somewhat hard to find. The Mega Marines was an unpopular, higher priced subset at the end of the line that was still hanging around retail in 1995. As such, many collectors passed these figures by. With the majority of them going to kids, many Mirages were played with, damaged and suffered lost accessories. Now, a complete with filecard Mirage typically will run you around $11 or so. Some will be more expensive and others can be cheaper. It seems this is one case where overused repaints of the mold actually helped the original release as collectors realized that it was a quality mold and discovered (as they tried to find one) that the original figure is actually tougher to find. Now that there are better versions of the figure available, I find my need for the original Mirage to be diminished. This version is still rather visually interesting, though, and could find a place in various base situations. But, if he's going into the field, this version is put away and some of the 2002 figures will come out. Most collectors are the same way and, these days, you will not often see this version of Mirage being desired for anything more than completion's sake.