Forgotten Figures
Profiles and photos of G.I. Joe figures from around the world!
Monday, October 14, 2024
2004 Comic Pack Snake Eyes - Arctic Gear
Friday, October 11, 2024
1992 Eco Warriors Deep Six - Around The Web
The 1992 Deep Six is a figure that, once in hand, tends to captivate people. Those who don't have one are not likely to be actively seeking him out. But, those who do have one really like him. And, because of that, you see more content on the figure that you do of many other of his contemporaries. So, check out the content below to see more of the figure.
1992 Deep Six by python.patrol_benny
1992 Deep Six by thedustinmccoy
1992 Deep Six by g.i.joe_manila_ph
1992 Deep Six by gijoe_c4_panama
1992 Deep Six by elevatemetoahigherhumanform
Monday, October 7, 2024
1993 Edmond Honda (Street Fighter)
I've told the story of the peg-warming Street Fighter figures, before. It is the legend that defines the entire slate of figures, for me. But, I'm an anomaly in that regard. I was never a fan of Street Fighter in general. It came out during a time when I didn't much care for video games. So, I'm mostly left with just some oddball figures that are part of the G.I. Joe line as their legacy. But, in recent years, I've come to appreciate the figures for the designs they are. And, Edmond Honda may be the most unique figure released in the entire Joe line's history.
I'm not really sure what to do with Edmond Honda. The uniqueness of his mold makes him an anomaly among the Joe line. And, that's what works for him. He's supposed to be a Sumo wrestler. And, he has the physique to prove it. Hasbro went all out and created a deluxe level figure to match the character. There was no one-size-fits-all that kept Roadblock the same height as Scarlett. Edmond Honda was massive. He features oversized arms, tree-trunk legs and a torso that is so heavy that it destabilizes his lower legs. He is a singular piece of design that was made to create the visage of a popular character that kids of the day could instantly recognize. In that regard, he might be the most successful of the Street Fighter figures. You know who he is. And he has the heft to allow kids to act out their favorite video game battles.
For someone who doesn't have the connection to the game, though, Edmond Honda is a weird figure to have around. He looks cool. But, his construction has a flaw that I'll discuss later. More importantly, he doesn't really have much of a purpose. To be fair, though, he really isn't wearing much less clothing than Quick Kick. And, if you're going to have a samurai in the Joe line, why not a Sumo wrestler, too? As martial artists were always my least favorite characters, though, Edmond Honda's appeal to me is also limited. Aside from a weird battle scene, there's not much use for him.
I've also told the story of the "battle arena" scenario I used to play out in my friends' basement. They had figures from an array of toy lines. (Though, oddly, not much G.I. Joe....) And, here, I'd pluck out two random figures and stage a battle to the death. The figures rarely had accessories. The notable exception was the M.A.S.K. figures. But, they needed the weaponry in the masks to compensate for their small size. Even with weapons, they always lost. Masters of the Universe figures always did well. Usually, just because they were bigger and could punch other guys to death. I do wonder how I'd have evolved these battles had the Street Fighter figures been available in the mid 1980's. Edmond Honda would have done well due to his size. And, when looking at the figure today, that's really the only thought I have about him.
Edmond Honda features a fatal flaw. Now, it's not the thong diaper that he wears under his skirt. Nor is it the massive physique of the figure. It is the action feature. Most action features are annoying. But, they rarely ruin the entire figure. Edmond Honda's, though, does. His left leg is supposed to kick. And, due to this feature, it will not stay under his body. So, it's basically impossible to actually pose the figure. For years, you'd see occasional photos of E. Honda. And, he'd always be in awkward poses. It was only upon my acquisition of the figure that I learned this was a design feature of the figure's selling point. So, even in my photos, you see Honda posed very carefully or just sitting. Because, this is pretty much all he can do. His leg will kick out and the figure will topple: making him not overly useful for a modern collector.
Edmond Honda features amazing sculpting for his release year. His head is well detailed and his hair is remarkably intricate...a necessary element given his larger head size. Hasbro went all out on the Street Fighter line. They made all new parts and put forth some of their best efforts on some of the characters. (They did kind of phone it in on a few others.) So, the Street Fighter subset had substantial budget spent to make it appealing to kids. And, while the survivor bias of seeing them on the pegs in 1995 and 1996 shapes my feelings on the figures, the reality is that they seem to exist in ample quantities. Suggesting that Hasbro sold quite a lot of them during 1993 and 1994. I'd love to find actual sales or production numbers on some of the later year waves. I suspect many of them had massive production runs while others got just a fraction of the resources. But, it's unlikely we'll be privy to that info any time soon.
Edmond Honda features a large array of weapons. Like most figures from 1993, he included a weapon tree. His tree, though, was large and included an impressive 7 weapons. When you add in the figure stand and the cloth skirt, Honda was among the better accessorized figures of his era. His weapons are 2 swords, 3 knives an axe and a sickle: all cast in dark blue plastic. The swords and axe are pretty well done and look nice with the figure. The sickle is a personal favorite of mine. But, that's mostly because it has a hook to which a rope can be tied: making it a much more fun accessory to use. In total, though, Honda's gear is useful to the figure and also gives you some extras to hand out to other martial arts themed figures should you not have their gear handy.
E. Honda was used twice. This blue skirted figure features red face paint and was available as part of the G.I. Joe line in 1993. There is a much rarer version that debuted in 1994 as part of the Street Fighter Movie Line. This figure features a white loincloth and blue facepaint. As most of the figure is just a naked torso and legs, though, the two figures don't have massive visual distinction. But, the Movie Edmond Honda is among the easier figures from that line to track down and isn't nearly the pricey acquisition that many of the other 1993 repaints who appeared in that line tend to be. As the body mold is completely unique, there wasn't much to do with Edmond Honda outside of his character. So, the parts never appeared again.
E. Honda figures are not as ubiquitous as they once were. Long a staple of the $5 carded figures bins you'd find at toy shows and comic shops, E. Honda has risen past that. Today, mint and complete figures will run you $30. Carded versions will cost you $50 or more. But, as is the norm in today's Joe market, the price is heavily dictated by the slow supply of quality figures in the market at any moment. Honda is a likely candidate for price reductions during the next supply boom. Until then, you can can incomplete figures for cheap. Though, the giant, fat guy in a diaper only has so much appeal. I passed on this guy for a long time. Now, I have one. And, aside from taking him, specifically, out for photos, I have no real need to own him. For cheap, he's a fun conversation piece. But, at today's prices, the figure is an easy skip for me. But, if you have an attachment to the Street Fighter game, the figure may hold a great deal more appeal to you.
Friday, October 4, 2024
1992 T'Jbang - Around the Web
T'Jbang's one of those figures that no one really remembers. You probably know there is a character named T'Jbang. And, you know he was a member of Ninja Force. But, you probably need a reference photo to remember what he looks like. Despite this, there's a nice batch of content on him out there. So, check out the various photos and write ups.
1992 T'Jbang by thedustinmccoy
1992 T'Jbang custom by jogunwarrior
1992 T'Jbang by gen_liederkranz
1992 T'Jbang custom by sintechness
1992 T'Jbang by thedustinmccoy
1992 T'Jbang by mrmikevinthepit
1992 T'Jbang by thedustinmccoy
1992 T'Jbang by gen_liederkranz
Tuesday, October 1, 2024
2021 Black Major Cobalt Guard (Gold Trim)
Back in the early 2000's, I was vocal that Hasbro should release a repaint of their updated Crimson Guard mold in Cobra blue. I was hassled for this by collectors hung up on the "Crimson" part of their name. When the Shadow Guard were released in mid 2005, I was adamant that the set should have included at least one Cobra blue figure to lead the new legions of black clad Siegies. More people came around on the idea. But, Hasbro was done and new repaints of their Crimson Guard mold were not to be. In the early 2010's, though, Black Major released his first Crimson Guards. These figures, though, were not as ubiquitous as the Cobra Troopers and Invasors had been. The cheap lots of 4 to 6 figures were no more. And, when he released a Cobra blue version, I was pretty much out of the Joe world. Around 2016, I managed to get one of the blue Black Major figures off of Ebay for a few bucks. In short order, the figures would get very expensive: too expensive for army building. But, in 2021, Black Major brought back the Crimson Guards with a new mold. This time, the figure included additional heads and a Viper rifle. Among his color offerings were a few takes on Cobra blue. Sold under the Cobalt Guard header, these blue Crimson Guards finally gave me a chance to build a blue Siegie army that I had wanted for a decade and a half.
The Crimson Guard was one of the most requested army builders from the early 2000's. He was the third or fourth most requested figure behind the Viper, BAT and Cobra Trooper. Eventually, Hasbro relented and resculpted a new Crimson Guard figure. The figure wasn't bad. But, it reused some existing parts, didn't have the classic gear and only included heads with removable helmets. In short, they were fine. But, they didn't really scratch the itch for collectors who loved the original mold. In the early 2010's, though, Black Major made his first round of Crimson Guard figures. These featured a multitude of color options and included the original gear. But, these figures were made in lower quantities than the Cobra Troopers of that era. And, while plenty of guys did army build a few flavors, they really didn't permeate the collecting community to the degree that some of the other factory customs from those early days had done. Finally, about a decade later, Black Major's second run of Crimson Guard figures were released. Done up in even more colors, these figures were well received by the dwindling collector base of the time. Since there isn't much content being created these days, the figures don't appear with the frequency that you'd expect. But, that's more about the dwindling creative collector and less about the figures themselves.
For me, as a kid, the Crimson Guards really were Cobra's elite troopers. To me, the red uniform was combat ready. The Siegies were just so good that they could wear red into battle with little concern. The best of the best would then become Eels (I still swear that, somewhere, I read that CG's became Eels. But, this appears to be youthful exaggeration on my part rather than any official canon.) who could then become Snow Serpents. (Who were the pinnacle of the Cobra army and equal to most Joes.) But, as I got older, I saw this as a less likely use for the character. Instead, they slowly became guards for Cobra Commander and other Cobra hierarchy. They were still elite fighters. But, they were reserved for protecting Cobra's top leaders. The dressy uniform was still cool. But, I didn't see it as combat ready...especially now that I had far more army builders available to me.
It is from this protector role that the CG's evolved. One of the main events in my Joe world was the Crimson Guard Rebellion. The group tried to take over Cobra in the mid 2000's. The end result was that the elite unit was mostly broken up. Those who remained are still entrenched in Cobra leadership: a powder keg of potential unrest just waiting to be lit. But, mostly, they keep their heads down after they saw so many of their brethren be unceremoniously executed by Cobra Commander when he defeated them.
One of the humiliations that the Commander bestowed upon the Crimson Guardsmen was that he allowed for their uniform to be worn in different colors. Most of the younger elites choose blue to show their loyalty to the Commander. Elders often wear black to denote their status. But, some choose to wear red. Mostly, it's done as a troll to the remaining rabble of rebellious guardsmen who see the youngers wearing red as an insult. But, the Commander prefers blue and his personal guards always wear the blue uniforms as a means of confirming their loyalty to him. The golden trim, though, is reserved for the officers among the Commander's entourage. A special notation fitting of their status. And, the blue and gold motif matches the Commander's dress uniform: implying the leaders have access to the Commander when he's at his least guarded moments.
My main draw to the gold trimmed figure is just how exquisite it looks. For some reason, the color combo of the lighter blue and bright gold really clicked. Not so much in that I wanted a dozen of them. But, it worked as the leader of a large unit of figures. As you can see in the photos below, the blue is a bit lighter than standard Cobra blue. But, it's not quite the Soldado blue. It works for me. Especially now that there are several other figures that have similar hues that are available from factory custom makers. For this figure, the paint masks are tight and the figure quality is really nice. The golden paint really makes the fine details on the CG mold pop. It's great to get Crimson Guard rifles. And, you get an extra Viper rifle with every figure. (Which is kind of handy when you have a couple dozen 2006 Viper Pit figures sitting around.) Even now, where I'm in a phase of hyper-criticality on anything Joe, I still find this figure aesthetically pleasing. Which keeps it relevant to me.
It is likely that this gold trimmed figure exists in smaller numbers than the other blue Crimson Guard flavors that were made. For those who pre-ordered a set, a single gold trim figure was included along with nine of the silver trim figures. (You could choose red Cobra logos or silver Cobra logos for the 9 other figures. I went with silver.) What this means is anyone's guess. On the one hand, lower run figures tend to do well if people can't get them. But, at the same time, the obscure nature of their differences combined with the massive amount of new figures released all at once tends to leave the figures the odd men out. We'll see how it plays out with this figure. But, I'm glad I have one as he's a visual treat that really helps provide more depth to the Crimson Guard brigades.
You can get the gold trimmed Cobalt Guardsman for about $22. This is a far cry from the pre-order pricing. But, in line with the retail cost when single figures were made available. In general, Crimson Guard flavors from that era sell in the $15-$20 range. So, the gold figure has a slight premium. But, that's also likely due to reduced options for acquisition. In the end, the gold and blue is a striking combination that makes for a visually pleasing figure. But, you have lots of options for visually pleasing figures these days. I go with what speaks, specifically, to me. This golden trimmed Guardsman did just that. So, he's a fun addition to my collection. I just need to use him a bit more often.