2004 Night Force Roadblock

The 2004 Night Force set featured a nice set of molds that were recently returned from Funskool.  Flint, Beach Head, Action Man and Tunnel Rat were fresh from India and Hasbro were keen to get them into production.  The set was augmented by the 1989 Downtown mold.  These five figures all meshed quite well in terms of style and bulk.  The 6th figure in the set, though, was the odd man out.  Instead of using another mold that was also of the ball headed style, Hasbro tossed in an older, swivel headed mold.  And, it was a mold that had been used twice in the prior three years.  By the time of the Night Force set's released, collectors were tired of the 1984 Roadblock mold.  It had been released enough times.  And, the last thing collectors wanted was another version of it that was also missing the classic accessory complement that was iconic to the Roadblock character.

In 1984, Roadblock was bulky.  The figure's torso was design to showcase Roadblock's muscles and size.  In looking at him through the lens of 2004, though, the limitations of this design show through.  Hasbro got much better at figure sculpting as the line progressed and figures like Roadblock, while important stepping stones, show the age of their design.  He was out of place with the other figures in the set.  The fact that Hasbro tried to use paint to cover up the fact that the original had a lot of exposed skin also made the figure's visual just seem odd.  He lost the muscle tone that was implied by his exposed flesh.  Even in 2004, Roadblock was the least popular member of the Night Force.  And, his inclusion was the most questioned by the collecting community.

I was one of those who found little purpose in the figure.  I get it that Roadblock was a hugely popular character at the time.  But, Hasbro had just gotten back the 1992 Roadblock mold.  (We didn't know it would re-debut just a few months later in the Anti-Venom set.)  And, they had used the 1986 Roadblock mold in 1997, but never given us an actual Roadblock release using that body.  Seeing the 1984 sculpt so close on the heels of the BJ's Roadblock and the 2001 Double Blast just felt like laziness.  And, that colored the perceptions of the Night Force set.  Roadblock was enough to suck some of the joy from a set that, otherwise, featured molds collectors were clamoring for.  

Hasbro's ability to paint figures grew quite a bit between the vintage Joe line and the early 2000's.  And, Hasbro took several opportunities to showcase just how far they could push the paint applications on figures.  The Night Force is one of the best examples from a retail release of that time.  Roadblock features six different colors on his body.  And, the Night Force cross pattern shows just how intricate Hasbro could be with their paint applications.  But, one of the things that the new paint proved was that, sometimes, less is more.  The Night Force figures are so elaborate that they're too busy.  The details become distracting.  And, what could be great figures end up somewhat diminished because they simply tried to do too much.  If Roadblock had more solidly colored pants with the patterned shirt, he wouldn't seem quite so distracting.  The same is true if the Spider-Man webbing were removed from his torso and the digital cammo on his legs remained.  Hasbro outsmarted themselves on several figure sets in the 2000s where they did too much.  Then, they overcorrected and did too little.  It was rare to find figures that were just right.  But, when they did hit, Hasbro was still capable of making figures that surpassed much of the vintage line.  This Roadblock, though, just wasn't one of the figures that accomplished this.

One of the things that the reuse of the Roadblock mold proved was just how important the proper accessories were with some figures.  The 2001 Double Blast used this mold and included almost all of the original Roadblock's gear.  And, as such, he's an acceptable (but boring!) repaint.  Once Hasbro removed the helmet, pack and proper machine gun, though, the limitations of this Roadblock become apparent.  I've hated this figure for 22 years.  Yet, when I finally slapped a black version of his pack on him along with a 1985 Battle Gear helmet, the figure is actually useful and can be a nice version of Roadblock to drop into photos.  

But, you have to have your own accessory store from which to outfit the figure.  The 2004 Night Force was notoriously light on accessories and all the figures included common gear that had been recently used with other figures instead of classic accessories that were intended for the molds.  Roadblock was a typical offender.  Instead of his "Ma Deuce", Roadblock included just two rifles.  Neither fit the figure.  One was the classic 1984 Firefly sub machine gun...a weapon far too paltry for Roadblock.  The second is the 1990 Big Ben rifle.  Once upon a time, this was a great weapon that was fun to have around.  By 2004, though, it was overused, overexposed and generally hated by collectors.  It also didn't fit the character.  I can't reiterate enough just how much this 2004 Roadblock is improved with a helmet and the 1984 Roadblock machine gun, stand and backpack.  Fortunately, the weapon, pack and stand were all released in bulk during the 2000's.  So, they are an easy acquisition you can get to improve this figure.

With the added accessories, I've come to not hate this figure.  But, I also still don't have any uses for it.  I much prefer to use the 1984 figure or even Double Blast when I want this mold in a photo.  This Night Force version is nice to intermingle with other 2000's era figures.  But, Double Blast is better for that, too.  That leaves this Roadblock on the outskirts of my collection.  He's just not a guy who has a lot of purpose.  And, he's so out of place among his team that he doesn't even fit there.  So, I have the photos of him I took for this profile.  That's the extent of the usage I've gotten from him in over 20 years.  That's not much of a legacy.  If you don't have a Double Blast, though, the Night Force Roadblock isn't a terrible stand in.  But, then you have to go out and find some new accessories for him.  And, that's not really worth the effort.

The 1984 Roadblock mold was only used by Hasbro.  But, it was used a lot!  The figure debuted in 1984, got a 1988 Tiger Force repaint and then proceeded to appear in 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005.  The parts (mostly the arms) were used on a multitude of other figures.  The torso even appeared on the 2006 Tommy Arashikage figure.  The 2001 repaint (which, technically, was Double Blast) was OK, but not materially different from the 1984 figure.  The 2002 Gift Set figure is an odd blue color that appears more Cobra than Joe.  (There is also an unproduced version of this figure available in red.)  The comic pack figure from 2005 is equally bad as it uses pastel yellow as the base and has a terribly sculpted new head.  Even this Night Force figure has an unproduced variant where you can find the figure in white pants.  In short, Hasbro overused the mold but still never managed to make a good repaint of this Roadblock.  Thankfully, Hasbro moved on to the 1992 Roadblock mold for their repaint mania and collectors were spared additional, bad repaints of this 1984 mold.

Despite the fact that this Roadblock, you know, sucks, dealer pricing is high.  Incomplete figures sell for $12-$15 with alarming regularity since the figure doesn't appear all that often.  Hasbro made around 20,000 Night Force sets to be sold at retail.  The sets were available both in stores and online and it took until the end of 2004 for them to really sell out.  And, large quantities of additional loose figures were available from Asia for a while.  So, the figure is out there in numbers.  But, the influx of new Joe collectors since 2018 has caused many of them to overestimate the rarity of the 2000's era figures.  The same thing happened to the 1997 and 1998 figures in 2001-2003 when a large group of collectors who had just missed the prior retail releases came online.  In time, that sorted itself out and those figures fell precipitously in price.  The same thing will happen with this Roadblock since he simply doesn't stand up to real scrutiny.  He's not the worst Roadblock.  But, that's only because Hasbro made stinkers that are even more abominable.  

2004 Comic Pack Snake Eyes (Arctic Gear) - Around The Web

The second appearance of Joes in media spent the majority of the issue with four classic Joes wearing completely different uniforms than their action figure appearances.  It would take 22 years before we would actually see a figure that matched with the comic appearance.  In this case, it was Snake Eyes.  

The Comic Pack #2 release turned out solidly.  While mostly just a Snake Eyes head on a Snow Job body, the figure adequately conveyed the look from the classic comic.  With the splashes of green, yellow and white to offset the black, Snake Eyes created a nice visual that's held up pretty well over the past 2+ decades.  

The figure still appears with some frequency, too.  Below are some links full of the figure's appearances.

2004 Arctic Snake Eyes Profile

2004 Arctic Snake Eyes by Bouncy Bengal

2004 Arctic Snake eyes by mikesjoetography

2004 Arctic Snake Eyes by General Liederkranz

2004 Arctic Snake Eyes by backyardjoes

2004 Arctic Snake Eyes by atwooddan

2004 Arctic Snake Eyes by Cody

2004 Arctic Snake Eyes by mikesjoetography

2004 Arctic Snake Eyes by doksewage

2004 Arctic Snake eyes by silentinterlude

2004 Arctic Snake Eyes by mikesjoetography

1993 Mail Away Spirit - Random Photos of the Day

 The 1993 Mail Away Spirit remains one of my favorite figures.  The colors are different, but work on the mold.  He has a solid sculpt.  And, he looks good with a variety of 1992 or 1993 accessories.  This figure was once very available.  But, he's gotten pricey in recent years as more and more collectors forget his ubiquity and desperately try to prove that every figure they own is a piece of unrequited gold.

In the case of Spirit, though, the figure really is golden.  It's a great update to the character and gives you a choice when you want to use Spirit among later release figures.  I've photographed him quite a bit over the years and you'll find him in both backgrounds and forefronts of photos dating back to the early 2000's.  He's actually tied with several other figures at #7 on my list of most photographed figures.  So, he's definitely found good usage through  the years.

Usually, during Rarities Month, I spend my time refreshed and write up a good half dozen or so profiles to keep the content flowing through the rest of the summer.  This year, that didn't happen.  I've lost a bit of inspiration and haven't had much to talk about.  I'm barely taking any photos of Joes for a variety of reasons.  And, so far, I haven't really missed it too much.  Some of the recent Super7 releases have sparked a bit of my interest in Joe again.  So, we'll see if that gets me more motivated to get some profiles out the door.  I have about 30 of them started, with most being about 2/3 done.  But, each time I look at one, I just can't muster the energy to complete it.  So, I'm going to get some old features that showcase some of my favorite figures out there.  Usually, that's enough to break the malaise and produce something interesting.

2004 Nullifier - Around The Web

The Flak Viper is one of my favorite Cobra army builders.  His design resonates with me.  And, I pined for him for years as his retail absence mocked me from the cardbacks of his casemates I could track down.  While I love the colors on the 1992 and 1993 releases, they still left a lot of potential in the mold for repaints.  And, in 2004 Hasbro delivered.  Renamed as the Nullifier, the Flak Viper mold was released in Cobra Blue and black.  The result is one of the best army builders of the 2000's.  Sadly, he didn't include any proper accessories.  Fortunately, in the 2010's, there were plenty of Flak Viper rifles available for cheap prices from Asia.  So, if you have any army of them, you can outfit them with proper weapons.

This is one of the few army builders of the repaint era that I still use with great frequency.  Sadly, the figure's upper arms are extremely prone to discoloration and they will turn a dark blue that gives the figure two-tone arms.  So far, I've been able to ignore this, though.  

I would have liked a silver visor on this guy.  The entirely black helmet loses some of the depth that existed on other Flak Viper mold uses.  Aside from that, though, the figure does everything he is supposed to do.  He's a mid tier figure from the 2000's when it comes to his popularity.  You see him often enough.  But, he's not ubiquitous like some other figures from that time period can be.  Check out all the content below to see how others use the figure in their photos.

2004 Nullifier Profile

2004 Nullifiers Diorama

2004 Nullifier - Around the World

2004 Nullifier at JoeBattleLines.com

2004 Nullifier by joerizzo2025

2004 Nullifier by Night Force Tunnel Rat

2004 Nullifier by gen_liederkranz

2004 Nullifier by relena_warcraft

2004 Nullifier by dreadnokdread

2004 Nullifier by icebird

2004 Nullifer by gen_liederkranz

2004 Nullifier by classic_gijoe

2004 Nullifier by yotothejoe

2004 Nullifier by dreadnokdread

2004 Nullifier by dawghaus_

2004 Nullifier by gen_liederkranz

The Rankings - 1998

The 1998 line might be perfect.  Not that it was all things to all collectors.  But, it had everything right going for it.  The toys were cheap and plentiful upon their release.  Hasbro offered collector themed sets that were still fun.  The figures featured most of their original accessories or, at least, gear that was robust and appropriate for the figure. The line wasn't overly large.  But, was still broad enough to be interesting.  And, there wasn't really a dud among the toys released that year.  I'll argue that the worst 1998 figure would rank in the top 3 to 5 of 1997 and 2000.  It was just an amazing year of figures.  It might be my personal favorite year of releases, ever.  

Really, I started the ranking series because I wanted to showcase the entire year of 1998.  I profiled most of the figures in the set a decade or more ago.  So, I wanted to get back to the year and remember why they resonated so deeply with me.  Part of it was that I was a young collector with money and time living in a place where I had access to tons of these figures.  Part is that the figures were all molds or characters in which I had interest prior to their release.  And, part is just that the figures all turned out exceptionally well.  It's hard to compare 1998 with 2001 as those two years seem as far apart as 1985 and 1993.  But, Hasbro really dialed in the 1998 releases after the lackluster reception to the 1997 series.  So, check out the list and see if you agree with my choices.

#15 - Heavy Duty

When Heavy Duty is the worst figure from your year, you know it was a strong crop of figures.  I didn't get this guy until 2000.  I skipped the MOBAT because it sucks.  But, the figures included with it were strong.  Heavy Duty is one of those guys who, at first blush, doesn't appear all that colorful.  But, in hand, he's got some strong paint details and uses some colors that aren't often seen in the Joe line.  But, he's kind of bland.  He doesn't include any accessories.  And, the 1991 figure is better.  So, he falls to the bottom of the year.

#14 - Col. Brekhov

The Red Star mold is great.  The 1991 release features excellent colors.  This 1998 repaint that was renamed Col. Brekhov isn't quite as strong.  Again, he features excellent overall colors and paint masks.  But, the pea green isn't as appealing as the brown on the 1991 repaint.  Even the comic, though, made a joke about Red Star just being Col. Brekhov.  So, this figure mold was very designed to be the character for which he was used in the 1998 series.  There's no shame in being #14 on this list, though, as the rest of the figures are just so strong.

#13 - Ace

This figure's price makes no sense.  He's not that great.  Even though he is the best paint job of the Ace mold.  Seeing people pay hundreds of dollars for him is just asinine.  This Ace does, though, feature some great paint masks and it remains the most detailed use of the 1983 Ace mold.  When he was cheap, the figure was a no brainer.  Now that he's stupidly pricey, he's a much more unnecessary purchase.  Sure, he looks good.  But, he's not 10 times better than the 1983 Ace.  I'm glad I got one when they were affordable.

#12 - Cobra Officer

Since 1984, collectors had wanted more grey Cobras to match up with the Stinger driver.  14 years later, Hasbro delivered.  The result is very strong.  So, why's he at 12?  Because all of 1998 is awesome.  And, the grey color scheme on the Viper body just didn't pop.  The silver is too close in hue to the grey background and it washes out the painted details that should make the figure among the best of the year.  I wonder if a gold faceplate might have helped.  

#11 - Wet Suit

It's tough to rank the divers.  All of them are pretty similar.  And, none of them stand out from the others.  At this point, it's subjective among your personal favorite mold.  For me, Wet Suit ranks lowest as he's not the best paint job on this mold.  He's awesome.  But, the other two, to me, are better.

#10 - Torpedo

Torpedo is my least favorite of the molds that were released in the diver set.  But, the paint job on him really made the sculpt pop.  The aqua and grey offset against the black base body make for a striking figure.  He really works well and is the best paint job ever released on this mold.  This was my first exposure to this figure mold.  So, the 1992 and 1993 Wet Suits always paled in comparison to this black based 1998 use.  I am happy that Hasbro renamed this mold into Torpedo instead of reusing the 1983 Torpedo mold.  While that might have been a fun figure with the aqua highlights, the 1983 mold has severe limitations and wouldn't have fit with the rest of the 1998 series.

#09 - Shipwreck

Shipwreck is an amazing figure.  Again, the colors work so well for a diver.  And, I love the 1994 Shipwreck mold.  The painted details shows how much thought when into the 1994 Shipwreck release.  Back in 1998, the 1994 Shipwreck was among my top five figures.  So, seeing it available in some new colors was a dream come true.  While I loved the entire diver set, I bought several because of this Shipwreck's inclusion.  Even today, I haven't profiled this figure because I haven't found a way to properly express just how cool I think he is.  So, why is he only #9?  The lack of an included weapon is the main reason.  In later years, Hit and Run rifles became very easy to acquire so you could outfit these older figures with proper weaponry.  But, in 1998, it was pretty hard to get extra guns without buying junk figures.  So, this Shipwreck takes a tumble on the list due to his poor accessory complement.  

#08 - Vypra

I'm not a Vypra fan.  Never have been.  I even skipped this set at retail because I had no use for the figure and vintage Stingers were cheaper than the TRU version at the time.  But, I have come around on her.  She's still too tied to the "evil Jinx" trope just because they share a mold.  But, the paint masks really work for her.  The white and grey oversprays do create a strong visual.  As the original Jinx isn't a figure that's important to me, I've come to see this mold as more Vypra than anyone else.  I still don't use her all that often.  And, while her paint masks are good, they are also a bit sparse.  Vypra fits the visual style of the 1998 series.  But, to me, she's a middle of the road release.

#07  - Volga

I did not appreciate Volga for many years.  Her head is just such a poor sculpt that it's easy to overlook the rest of the figure.  But, Volga's paint details are amazing.  After 1998, we would never see such quality outside of an expensive convention figure.  Hasbro's inability to nail vintage Joe head sculpting also didn't change.  So, Volga's head has held up better than it should have because Hasbro was churning out stomach turning heads through the remainder of the 2000's.  This figure was intended to be Daina.  No idea why it was a made a new character, instead.  The 1997 Lady Jaye mold suffered from quality issues.  Volga is better.  She's definitely aged better than I would have thought back in 1998.  It's not a perfect figure.  But, the paint applications really are.

#06 - Night Creeper

It pains me to rank this guy so low.  Not only is this the best paint job on the Night Creeper mold, it's a stark visual that stands in contrast to all the deeply colored ninjas that populate the line's history.  The white and grey just work on this mold.  You can see all the folds and details on the figure's body and head.  It's colorful enough to be seen.  But, still white enough to be stealthy in the snow.  I lament selling my spares of these figures as a small army of them would be fun to take out in the cold.

#05 - Lt. Gorky

If you've never seen this figure in person, it's difficult to explain how great he really is.  He suffers from the same overly grey body as the Cobra Officer.  But, he overcomes that with a few splashes of color on his face, neck and waist.  It's enough to elevate him quite a bit.  He also features different shades of grey on the chest.  It's subtle.  But, it's enough to add a completely different visual layer to this figure when compared to the Officer.  Photos don't really do the figure justice as he's impressive when he's in hand.

#04 - Snow Serpent

Hasbro nailed it with the 1998 Artic color scheme.  They managed to make the figures realistic to their environment while also giving them the colors and details that make for a great toy.  Their usage of the 1991 Snow Serpent mold seemed like a poor decision in 1998.  The 1985 Snow Serpent was held in much higher regard.  But, this color scheme brought a whole new generation of collectors to appreciate the 1991 sculpt.  The soft greys, subtle blues and perfect usage of black detailing brought this mold to life.  And, he included his full range of accessories.  This Snow Serpent might be a perfect figure.  And, yet, he's not in the top 3 for the year!

#03 - Cobra Trooper

A better Cobra Trooper/Viper or backbone of your Cobra army figure does not exist.  This 1998 Trooper is everything every collector wanted from an army building figure in 1998.  And, Hasbro delivered.  The figure uses a base color of real Cobra blue.  All of his details are painted in black or silver.  The golden visor isn't overbearing and adds additional depth the figure's appearance.  While his gear isn't true to the original, it was a perfect complement of accessories stolen from the obscure 1991 Dusty that filled out the Trooper's accoutrement.  The only two blemishes on the figure are the fact that the head can droop a bit and that he doesn't feature a Cobra sigil.  Both are forgivable and don't take away from the quality of this figure.  Hasbro never got close to this guy in another retail release.  (The convention Crimson Viper uses the same paint masks from the 1998 figure and is a strong runner up in the best Viper repaint, though.)  It is a perfect army builder and was released in the perfect army building set.  You got two of this guy and a grey officer for $10!  In the context of today, that's just insanity...even in 1998 it was unbelievable.

#02 - Firefly

You can say I rate the 1998 arctic Cobras too highly.  But, this 1998 Firefly is perfect repaint.  At the time, he was only the second Firefly ever available.  He was drastically different from the original.  But, he was enhanced in ways that blew the 1984 out of the water.  Instead of a dark grey on light grey wash, the figure gets the requisite white base.  Then, though, all of the details that were obscured in Firefly's original release are painted to perfection.  Colors are blended so that his pouches, grenades, knife and explosives all offset each other and allow you to fully appreciate the sculpting job that had been created 14 years earlier.  These Firefly paint masks then became the base for all the excellent Firefly updates we got in the 2000's, too.  In short, this is a spectacular figure that is worthy of the Firefly character.

#01 - Thunderwing

Yes, it's a surprise entry for the best figure of the 1998 release year.  Thunderwing is another of those figures that, if you don't have one, is tough to see just how great the design, coloring and paint applications really are.  Thunderwing uses a green base color that is unique to him.  It wasn't used again on any other figures.  Building silver, grey and black paint masks on top of it layered in a depth that was standard in the vintage line but largely lost after about 1992.  The rich use of color makes this figure stand out among his peers.  And, even among the line as a whole.  Thunderwing shows what was possible during the repaint era.  Sadly, though, he remained the exception rather than the rule.  Do yourself a favor, though, and pick up a Thunderwing.  You won't be disappointed.

There's a lot of reasons why the 1998 series is special to me.  But, the sheer quality of the entire lineup is the most important of those.  Comparing 1998 to the 2000 and 2001 releases shows just how far those later years fell in quality.  I actually now kind of see 1998 as a pseudo convention set.  You got 15 figures who featured great accessories, remarkable paints masks and a thoughtful mold selection.  The figures look like they were designed to all fit together.  Really, it would have been the best convention set ever released.

Instead, it was released at retail and was stupidly cheap.  Looking back at 1998 prices, we had no idea how good we had it.  Well, that might be a bit of a stretch.  I bought these figures en masse.  Many other collectors of the time did, too.  Armies of the Cobras were a standard for a while.  The influx of collectors in 2001, though, made the 1998's more exotic and expensive.  So, they fell from favor even as they rose in price.  That was short lived, though, and many later collectors were able to stock up on these guys during the late 2010's.  Now, the series is a bit harder to find and will cost you a premium.  (Especially, and inexplicably! for Ace.)  But, they are worth it.  1998 might be the perfect year of Joe releases.  I'm curious to read your thoughts in the comments and whether you agree or disagree.