Top 10 Rarest Joe Figures

Most new collectors start in the hobby with the same questions. The one that is most often asked is, "what figure is the rarest?". There is no easy answer and just about every collector will respond differently. However, most seasoned veterans will be able to give at least a few common figures, if they are allowed some leeway. I put together this list based on the figures I have had the most trouble finding, listening to what other collectors are after, and how often I see a particular figure for sale. The results are unscientific at best. Of important note, though, is that I do not necessarily equate price to rarity. There are many, many figures that are expensive, but are very easy to find. There are also some figures that are nearly impossible to track down, but, when you find them, they are very cheap. G.I. Joe is not like other toy lines in that there is some "Holy Grail".

This list ranks mint and complete figures. As such, you might see some items that seem easy to find, but they have a hard to find accessory or are impossible to find in mint condition. This list incorporates both foreign and unreleased Joe figures that have been publically discussed. I'll be frank: there are several Joe figures that are rarer than just about anything on this list but they are not listed because those who own them have not yet made their findings public. If the owners give the rare figure a "coming-out" party, then they will make this list. Until then, they will not appear here.

I'm sure many will disagree with what is listed here and there really isn't any definitive list of the rarest figures. For all I know, tomorrow, someone will find a warehouse of 1000 blue Hawks from India. So, the list is fluid based on what's happening in the collecting world at the time. So, here it is. Feel free to argue away.

No.	Year	Figure	Comments
1.	1986(est.)	Venezuelan Exclusives	This list includes the white Cobra Mortal and the other Venezuelan exclusive versions of his Argentine contemporaries. The white Mortal is the most distinctive Venezuelan figure and is the one that gets the most press. At this time, though, the White Mortal is also the most common of the figures. But, they are all lumped together here since there are only a few of each figure known in the US at this time.
2.	1998	Unproduced Desert HQ Figures	These three figures: Outback, Dial Tone and Pathfinder were intended for release in 1998. There are less than half a dozen sets known to exist and Dial Tone is the rarest of the 3. These figures rarely appear for sale in even the highest markets.
3.	1992 (est.)	Blue Hawk	This Funskool figure is incredibly rare and only a few are currently known to exist. The Hawk was only available with a vehicle and few made it out of India.
4.	1995	Unproduced Battle Corps Rangers	These figures only exist as resin prototypes, though a few are handpainted. This series includes: Baroness, Dr. Mindbender, Flint and Footloose. Around a half dozen of each are known to exist at this time.
5.	1992 (est.)	1st Series Funskool Repaints	The first series of Funskool figures featured some unique repaints. Among them are the blue Major Bludd, blue Short Fuse, Red Stalker, Clutch and Emerald Zap. These figures are easier to find than the blue Hawk, but still appear very rarely. Some are easier to find than others and most of these have been found carded.
6.	1986 (est.)	2nd Series Argentine Figures	This is the most well known rare figure subset. It includes: Cobra Mortal, Glenda, Manleh, Shimik, Topson and Redmack. A few years ago, these were pretty much impossible to find. But, a few Argentine collectors managed to bring several dozen of each of these figures to the US. Today, they are still pricey, but not as rare as they once were. Don't get fooled by the "Argen 7" nonsense that's out there. There are 6 figures in this series. Some are easier to find than others (Manleh is probably the toughest to find.) but they all get a special denotation as they are so intertwined.
8.	1995	Ninja Commandos	There are 2 ways to get Ninja Commandos: either as resin prototypes or as full production figures. There are very few of each. As these are ninjas, they aren't as popular as some other unproduced concepts. But, they are very hard to find in either form.
9.	2004(est.)	Unproduced Alternate Asian Figures	In 2004, a slew of unproduced alternate color scheme figures started appearing out of Asia. Some of these (alternate white pants Night Force) are very easy to find. Others (Tiger Force Steel Brigade) are very difficult. This group that is rare includes the dark blue Anti-Venom figures, the aforementioned Steel Brigade, the alternate Desert Patrol figures, removable helmet Cobra Infanty, the Alternate Convention Dreadnoks, alternate Convention Gung Ho and Dragonsky and a few other new sculpt figures. Each of these has unique rarity, but the harder ones all tend to exist in about the same quantities.
10.	1997	Pimp Daddy Destro	The most over-hyped figure of all time actually isn't that hard to find. Several dozen PDD's are known to exist in the collecting community and it is believed there are hundreds more still in Asia just waiting to be discovered.

Bronze Bomber Darklon (Crazeblaze)

Darklon isn't a character most people care about. At worst, he is an oddity that was the prelude to the weirdness that affected the Joe line in the '90's. At best, he is an obscure villain colored in a way that renders him useless to most collectors. As a mold, though, Darklon does have promise. And, had he been colored more sanely, I think many more collectors would warm to the character. Alas, Darklon was only produced in the one color scheme by Hasbro and never appeared as a G.I. Joe figure anywhere else in the world. But, there is still hope. In 1997, Hasbro sold a group of old vehicle driver molds to the Olmec toy company. Among these molds was Darklon. Olmec put the molds into a set of figures named the Bronze Bombers. While the Darklon mold doesn't have a lot of detail, the base coloring redeems the figure mold and actually makes Darklon a character that can be relevant to the modern Joe collection.

In the Bronze Bomber set, this figure is actually named Crazeblaze. Not a bad name for the figure and no less humorous than Darklon. On the surface, this figure appears to be black. In actuality, the figure is a deep, dark purple color. As it is so dark, though, it's hard to identify it as purple. There really isn't another Joe figure I can think of that is similarly colored. The purple is offset by a nice dark beige. The contrast is stark and offsets some of the mold detail. But, as far as color goes, that's it. This is a 2 color figure. He has a base color and 1 paint application. Typically, even the blandest Joe figures from modern times have at least 4 colors on them. The best figures have 7 or 8. So, this isn't a highly detailed version that shows all of the trappings of the Darklon mold. Instead, it is a rather basic offering. But, it works. The simple colors are different enough that they appear more textured than they really are. Plus, the overall look of the figure is so different from the Hasbro version that you are drawn to the difference, not the lack of detail. As a stand alone example, this simplistic approach works. I wouldn't want a dozen different figures that only featured 2 colors. But, in rare cases, it can be effectively used to give us something different.

Ahh, what to do with Darklon? I've never been overly fond of Darklon's character in the comic. In fact, I had so little interest in the character that I only have 1 Darklon figure in my collection and it is in poor shape. I never had any interest to find a nice one since I really didn't care about the character. Now, though, this figure has given me a chance to add another Cobra leader to my mix. I don't really like him aligned with Destro since Destro already has some field generals. I have enough South American Cobras as well. As such, I see Darklon joining the ranks of those loyal to the new Cobra Commander. He will join with the characters portrayed by the Agent Faces figure. But, I see Darklon being more of a military commander. While I would like to have my new Commander be vulnerable, the reality is that he would never have risen to power without some military might behind him. The Crimson Guard provided some of that, but the Commander needs more rank and file troops, too. I foresee Darklon filling that role. A military commander of the masses who is young and ambitious. He has no sights on the Commander's job...yet. But is putting himself into positions where he can learn all he will need to know to someday take the Commander's job.

Overall, I really like this figure. Sure, it could have more painted detail. But, the overall look is nice for a Cobra leader and it does show the potential of the Darklon mold. Plus, the figure is obscure enough that when people see it, they usually mistake it for a custom or foreign exclusive. I tend to like lesser known figures like this as they add great depth to a collection. You can put together a diorama and have a figure like this milling in the background and that will generate more discussion than the main action of the picture. As a whole, I think the collecting community likes to see figures that don't get the spotlight. They don't, necessarily, want to see them in starring roles. But, as background fodder or minor players, these figures are the type of thing that distinguishes a collection from its peers. While some might take that as arrogance or bragging, I see it only as a measure of individual preference. For me, having what everyone else does takes the fun out of it. Seeing something new that I hadn't previously paid attention to keeps the hobby interesting for me.

The Darklon mold was only used by Hasbro for the original figure and then by Olmec. So, there aren't a lot of options for Darklon fans. The nice thing was that the Bronze Bomber set actually used the Darklon mold twice. The second figure is a Bronze Bomber that features an Olmec exclusive head with a grey body accentuated by dark blue highlights. Frankly, this body would work with either the original Darklon head or the one from the Crazeblaze figure and give you yet another option for the Darklon character. Of course, if you can't find the Crazeblaze, it's not likely you'll find the other Bronze Bomber who uses the Darklon mold, either. The sad reality is that the molds used by Olmec are gone. Olmec had issues with the federal government and is defunct. The molds they were sold are gone and there is little hope we will ever see any of the molds from the set resurrected in any format. It's a shame as there are some great molds in the Bronze Bombers set. But, most of them have decent Hasbro figures and some that don't, like Darklon, were done well enough by the Bronze Bombers that collectors have a nice variety to add to their collections.

If you want this figure, it is not easy to find. When you do see them for sale, they will easily fetch $25-$30. But, there is hope. Most toy dealers who have a passing interest in Joe will occasionally find Bronze Bomber figures. Usually, they will not know what they are and will either mislabel them (often as Funskool figures) or toss them into bargain bins. If these dealers do know what the figures are, they rarely realize how much Joe collectors are willing to pay for individual figures: especially the Cobra molds. I found this figure in a bargain bin at a toy dealer for $3. In the past 2 years, I've found 2 Bronze Bomber figures like this. So, it can happen. It's not likely that it will happen to you tomorrow, but usually, in time, you can get just about anything for a fair price. This is the best version of Darklon. But, it's Darklon. If a Bronze Bomber were the best version of Stormshadow, Cobra Commander or Snake Eyes, then I've have no issue with paying the high price tag. But, my collection is complete without a Darklon. Granted, it's more complete with him. But most collectors wouldn't consider Darklon to be one of their essential characters. As such, for most collectors, it's worth waiting to find this guy on the cheap. This figure was well worth the price I paid for him, but I know that I wouldn't have paid much more just to get him.

2005 Oktober Guard Horrorshow

Simply put, the Oktober Guard were the figures most requested by collectors since...well...since they were introduced back in the first year of the comic. Hasbro attempted an Oktober Guard 3-pack in 1998, but it was met with lukewarm collector interest and went on to become a massive pegwarmer. That set, though, didn't feature any of the classic Oktober Guard characters. In 2005, Hasbro made another attempt and, this time, hit much closer to the mark with their products. Of the 5 members of the Oktober Guard who were immortalized in plastic at that time, it is Horrorshow who stands above all the others as an achievement worthy of collector expectations.

Of all the Oktober Guard characters, Horrorshow is probably the favorite among collectors. Daina has her fans. But, at the end of the day, there is simply no other character like Horrorshow in the rest of the Joe mythos. He had a distinctive look and an abundant characterization that combined to create one of the iconic characters in the original comic book run. When Larry Hama killed off the Oktober Guard in the comic, it was Horrorshow that I missed the most. The rest of the Oktober Guard characters could be replaced rather easily with new characters that were similar in style and personality. For Horrorshow, though, that would have been much harder since the character was so unique. His massive physique, out of control appetite, larger than life mustache and general buffoonery were an odd combination that simply clicked on every level. As a toy, though, Horrorshow posed some problems. The other Oktober Guard figures were easily cobbled together from various existing parts. Horrorshow's look, though, had no existing counterparts in the vintage line. It was a problem that had confounded customizers for years and was the one stumbling block to Hasbro releasing an adequate Horrorshow figure.

Fortunately, Hasbro had a solution. To create this figure, Hasbro sculpted a new head, chest, arms and waist. This is the first ARAH style figure in the modern line to feature any newly sculpted parts other than a head. (A few figures such as the Cobra Infantry, Crimson Guard, Anti Venom Mutt and Lady Jaye are actually new molds, but they were based on the original molds rather than all new sculpts.) The legs are from the remade Cobra Soldier and Scrap Iron figures. The overall look of the figure is nothing short of spectacular. It perfectly captures the design of Horrorshow as he appeared in the comics. The new parts give the figure an authenticity that is missing on the other 4 Oktober Guard figures. But, they are not without their drawbacks. First, Horrorshow is supposed to be HUGE. This figure isn't sculpted huge. Instead, he is actually smaller than the other Oktober Guard figures who use figure molds from the '90's. Among figures from '84 and earlier, Horrorshow fits better. But, as soon as he's showcased with molds from '85 or later, his lack of size becomes more apparent. More importantly, though, is an aesthetic decision that was made regarding the figure. Horrorshow wore a long, quilted coat. It extended below his waist. To capture this, Hasbro sculpted the waist piece to extend the coat from the torso. When the figure is standing up, this little detail adds remarkable depth to the Horrorshow figure and is really a key to what makes the figure special. Unfortunately, this aesthetic hinders the movement of the figure and Horrorshow simply can not sit down. In the grand scheme of things, this shouldn't be a big deal to most collectors who simply display figures. But, it is an annoyance when you try to pose the figure or take photos of him. Given the choice, though, I'll still take the sculpted coat on the waist over the normal movement. Were I a kid, though, I don't know if that would still be the case.

Horrorshow's accessories are adequate. While the rest of the Oktober Guard featured accessories that I found to be fairly mundane and out of sync with the figures, Horrowshow's weapons worked. He includes an RPG that is close to the one he used as his trademark weapon in the comic. It isn't 100% accurate, but what Joe accessory really is? This was really all he needed, though, for good measure, he also included a backpack. If you want to properly accessorize your Oktober Guard figures, though, head over to Marauder Inc. and buy one of his weapon sets. It's a lot easier than trying to find replacements for your other Oktober Guard figures and you get a more accurate weapon for Horrorshow to boot.

In my collection, Horrorshow is pretty much as advertised. There isn't much I could do with him that was out of character with how he was presented in the comic. But, as the character was killed in the comics, I do find that I don't really use him, or any of the other Oktober Guard figures. They will have a place when I finally get around to getting a nice display case for my Joe figures. In the meantime, then wait in their drawer: rarely seeing any attention beyond the rare profile like this one.

The one aspect of Horrorshow's character that I think is under-explored, though, is his relationship with Col. Brekhov. In the comics, it is implied that Brekhov and Horrorshow have the deepest ties of any Oktober Guard members. From the simple act in the second yearbook where the two are tossing a bottle of vodka back forth to Brekhov's final words to his dead friend's body in their final minutes, you can see the Horrorshow and Brekhov are the two closest members of the Oktober Guard. They seem to be the equivalent of Stalker and Snake Eyes on the Joes: great soldiers whose past experiences have bonded them in ways that most people can simply never comprehend. It is in this regard that I think the character of Horrorshow could be further utilized. How did he meet Brekhov? What sort of missions did they undertake prior to the formation of the Oktober Guard? What were Horrorshow's true political leanings? These are questions that could easily be explored at some point in the future.

It is that direction that I have taken the Horrorshow character. I see him in the past, serving the Soviet Union at the height of its power. Horrorshow and Brekhov were the ones sent on the worst missions into Afghanistan, the Soviet states and Siberia. They were sent after military rogues who had stolen nuclear warheads. Often times they would work with agents from Argentina, Brazil and Europe. In fact, one of the themes I have in my collection is that Brekhov only accepted Daina into the Oktober Guard because she reminded him of Quarrel. The truth is that the notion of the Oktober Guard is an anachronism in our post Cold War world. Keeping them in their own time seems the best way to utilize the characters.

Horrorshow is the single most expensive figure that was released in the comic packs. Today, you can purchase the entire comic pack still MOC for around $30. If you just want Horrorshow, though, mint and complete with filecard he will typically run between $16 and $19. That's pretty pricey for a modern figure. But, this is the only way to get the Horrorshow character in toy form and he was part of an underproduced wave of figures. On top of that, there are many collectors who had no interest in any of the modern Joes except for the Oktober Guard figures. So, there is a higher demand than there is for most other characters. For the effort that Hasbro put into this figure, that's not a price I'd have a problem paying if the figure were not part of my collection. I hold out hope that, at some point, Master Collector or another exclusive Joe seller will revisit the Horrorshow mold as a convention exclusive or that some enterprising retailer will realize the potential of high quality ARAH Joe figures and produce a repainted Horrorshow. But, even if one of those were to happen, it is unlikely that the new figure would be much cheaper to acquire than the original. So, what to do??? Personally, I'm happy to see this character in toy form...even if the figure has its flaws. If we waited for every figure to be perfect, the Joe line would have about two dozen figures that would pass muster. So, flaws and all, in the case of characters like Horrorshow, I'll take what I can get.

1986 Lifeline

The Joe line's medical corps had an interesting evolution. Doc was the first edition, but he was a full fledged M.D. While his inclusion makes sense in an elite combat unit like the Joes, you would have thought that the first step to making the Joe self sufficient would have been a medic. As the unit expanded, you would have seen the budget set to include a full physician. But, the Joes took the opposite route and it was not until Doc was off the shelves in 1986 that Hasbro finally released a standard medic in the Joe line. But, what a medic it was! With a remarkably detailed mold, acceptable colors and legendary accessories, Lifeline proudly filled the void left by the Doc figure at retail.

For me, Lifeline is a solid mold and decent figure. But, he is made great by his accessories. The backpack and gun are decent enough but the opening medical case with attaching air mask are the pieces that make Lifeline a classic. From the moment I first found Lifeline hanging on the pegs at retail, it was those accessories that sold me on the figure. I was even able to excuse Lifeline's red color since I wanted to have a medic with those accessories with my Joes on every mission. While I have no real memories of using Lifeline as a character, I do vividly remember him valiantly saving wounded Joes in several situations.

My first memories of Lifeline were of him saving Joes who had been badly shot up by my new Viper. His airmask pumped up the lungs of the fallen Joe who had been perforated by Viper bullets. In time, the figure's role morphed to more of an army builder figure. I viewed Lifeline as a nameless, faceless medic under the command of Doc who was responsible for the Joes on various missions. Often times the red uniform would lead to the medic being shot and the Joes being left to fend for themselves. But, there were many missions where a rescue team with a medic had to fight hard to reach a stranded Joe team who were under heavy Cobra fire and had seriously wounded soldiers. In time, though, the figure became more useful to have than to use. I wanted a Lifeline in my Joe base to save anyone who was hurt, but dragging him along in a valuable slot in the WHALE, HAVOC or APC simply got boring. I didn't want other, more combat centric figures being left behind so I could have a medic. Though, when my friends came over, one of our "rules" of play was that if you didn't have a doctor on your team, any figure wounded in battle had to stay out of action for the entire play session and couldn't return until the next day. With a medic, the figure could return after only a few minutes. It's odd that we had to create guidelines for play. But, it kept fights down since no one person could decide to go rouge and have some figure on their team become invincible.

In later years, Lifeline's accessories found a second life in my Joe air corps. I was never satisfied with any of the Joe pilots of my youth. I always wanted a figure who featured a real, removable air mask. Ripcord was close and his mask was the default for a few pilot figures for a while. But, I liked more complex accessory pairings. In the late '80's I used the Silver Pads Grand Slam as my de facto pilot of choice. I outfitted him with his standard helmet and visor, but augmented him with Lifeline's mask. With that grouping of accessories, I had a pilot that featured everything I wanted: eye protection, air to breathe and a unique look that none of my other friends could match.

After Lifeline was done at retail, he was released in Tiger Force colors. This was a great way to give the figure a bit more use since the colors were more militaristic. After that figure was gone, the medical specialty in the Joe line was filled by Stretcher. Stretcher was less medic and more extraction specialist, but the intent was close enough for most kids to not know the difference. But, Stretcher never really caught on as a character and Lifeline remains most collectors' default medical figure. The upside is that, as a tandem, Lifeline and Stretcher are great complements to each other.

The Lifeline mold got decent usage. After this figure was done at retail in 1987, Hasbro recolored in the Tiger Force subset in 1988. In 1991, Hasbro used all the mold except for the legs as part of an exclusive cereal mail away figure. (The cereal company didn't want the mail away figure to have any weapons molded on it, so the original legs were ditched for some that did not have a sidearm.) From there, the mold went to Brazil where it was released in colors very similar to the American Tiger Force Lifeline. Once it was done there, the mold went on to India where Funskool produced the figure for many years in a color scheme that was reminiscent of Tiger Force, but was much brighter and bolder. (It seems the air mask mold did not make it to India, though, as the Funskool figure does not include that accessory.) As this figure was still in production in India up until 2003 or so, it is likely that the mold is available to Hasbro. However, they have yet to use it. Instead, they have resurrected the Lifeline character using the Stretcher mold in the Anti-Venom set and an amalgamation of molds in the Desert Patrol set. I'm somewhat torn on the Lifeline mold at this point. While I'd love to see it reappear in a new color scheme, I'm also satisfied with the versions of the Lifeline mold that are available. So, if we never see the mold again, the figures that do utilize it are not bastions of unrealized potential.

As a character, Lifeline was interestingly done. While the figure included a pistol and was molded with a sidearm, the character was represented as a pacifist. Lifeline did not want to fight: he wanted to help those who did. (Frankly, I still feel that is a fundamentally flawed character trait and one that would have kept Lifeline out of the military.) In the comic, Lifeline had a memorable debut alongside the Oktober Guard in Issue #4 of G.I. Joe Special Missions. But, this gimmick wore thin with me and it wasn't long after that issue appeared that Lifeline as a character disappeared from my Joe world. (Astute fans will note that in his debut, Doc mentioned that the Geneva Convention prevented him from using a firearm. This was easier to circumvent, though, as it was implied that Doc was willing to use weapons. He was just precluded from doing so by the confines of his specialty within international law.)

1986 proved to a turning point in my Joe collection for many reasons. As the year progressed, I was less interested in the characters that Hasbro was churning out. As '86 featured many recycled specialties held by earlier Joes, it seemed to me that many of the figures were somewhat redundant. In my personal collection, a figure's value was dependent upon the condition of the original figure who shared the new figure's specialty. As my Breaker was long broken, Dial Tone was a valued asset. But, since Stalker was still going strong, Beach Head had less value as a character. As such, I started to develop the notion of Joe army builders. In 1985, I had amalgamated a figure from spare parts that was a generic soldier for the Joes. But, as '86 wore on, these roles were filled more and more by the new figures who were released that year. The best example of this occurred with the release of the Mission to Brazil set. This was a set I really wanted and became an important part of my collection. But, the figures that I wanted from the set were all just repaints of characters who had caught on in my collection. As such, all of the Mission to Brazil figures became army builders who specialties followed that of their original figures. It was from these ranks that new Joe characters from '87 arose. Lifeline was a logical extension of this. Any figure whose comic characterizations failed to keep my interest was, instead, turned into a faceless automaton against whom Cobra was more evenly matched. It helped prolong my interest in Joe a bit too long into my adolescence, but does provide some of the more lasting memories of that time of my life.

Lifeline's can be tricky to find if you want them complete. Most of the cheap ones you see out there tend to have some paint wear on the white details and are often missing either the silver pistol or the air mask. Mint and complete with filecard, Lifelines tend to run between $9 and $15. That's a not a bad price to pay for a figure of this quality with all his accessories. For a long time, I army built this figure. Now, though, I'm content without the massive numbers and find the figure more meaningful as an individual. Most collectors feel the same. Lifeline is a valued member of most collections and remains the medic figure who most collectors associate with the specialty.