1982 VAMP

In October of 1982, the first G.I. Joe toys entered into my life.  My brother got about half the overall line for his birthday (with many duplicates).  Of the toys that he received, my favorite was the Clutch figure.  His overly detailed mold with the chest holster was enthralling.  I gave him Stalker's gun, Grunt's backpack and a visor and had him rule the day.  Of less interest to me was the vehicle which included Clutch, the VAMP.  Sure, it was cool.  But, I had mostly played with spaceships for several years and my ground play patterns were pretty much limited to figure only interactions.  In fact, I made Clutch fly because that was far more interesting than having him try to walk across our front yard.  As we got more Joes, though, and Star Wars fell more into the rear view window, the fun of ground vehicles started to become apparent.  And, the high quality construction of Joe toys quickly set them apart from many of their contemporaries.

After my brother got his spate of Joe toys in October, we had to wait until December for more.  In that time, though, my brother's VAMP took a beating.  Our front yard was bisected by a concrete sidewalk that ended in four or five stairs that lead to the public sidewalk that lined our street.  The VAMP would be revved up and driven over these stairs almost daily for two months.  It was usually the culmination of the adventure and the VAMP was either careening to its doom or escaping a disaster.  Often, the ending of the day's adventure would be determined by fate.  If the figures fell out of the jeep, they died.  If they remained inside, they lived.  So, you never knew how the day would end.  The VAMP held up very well to this rough play.  In time, pieces broke off and the roll cage cracked.  One trip over those stairs would turn any of my kids' 2022 toys to shards.  But, the VAMP took it for several weeks before the cold forced our toys inside.

For Christmas, though, I found my own VAMP under the tree.  Along with the MMS and Snake Eyes, it formed the group of presents that mattered the most to me.  They joined my RAM and Breaker to create the focus of my adventures for the next several months.  I kept my VAMP, though, in better condition.  It didn't get sent over the "waterfall" out front.  And, even by 1987, it was in pretty good condition (I had swapped out the bottom half of the VAMP for a Stinger's, though, as I liked the more advanced Stinger interior.) and I even still had all the pieces.  It began a pattern where I'd care for my toys while being less concerned about those of my younger brothers.  They would destroy their pieces.  So, I'd use theirs for dangerous maneuvers while keeping my samples in far better condition.

As a kid, I found the VAMP very frustrating.  I wanted it to be my favorite.  But, I found that the design was somewhat limiting.  If I wanted to move two figures around the battlefield, it was perfect.  If I wanted the passenger to be holding a rifle, that worked too.  You could even fit any of the 1982 backpacks into the cockpit if you wanted.  But, the bulkier gear that started to be included with figures starting in 1983 was problematic.  There simply wasn't room for them.  So, with no place to store the gear, I found the toy lacking.  I wanted my figures to carry all their accessories into battle.  If they weren't important, the figures would not have included them.  So, anything too small to accommodate them was of limited use.

The more frustrating aspect was that it could only hold two figures.  The comic and cartoon VAMPs seemed to grow or shrink based on the needs of the writers.  The toy was more constrained. I desperately wanted Rock and Roll or Flash to man the gun turret on the VAMP.  At various times, I attempted to attach the seat from a Whirlwind onto the back of the VAMP with rubber bands so that a third figure could sit by the gun.  These never worked as the bands would not hold.  And, the VAMP's gun is too low for a gunner to properly operate it.  So, my imagination was limited by the toy itself.  Eventually, my brother's VAMP's gun stripped off.  With it gone, that VAMP became more of a service vehicle that supported the fighting vehicles that still had their weapons.  Even years later, these service type vehicles were useful.  And, my youngest brother even turned my VAMP MK II into a cargo vehicle by cutting the off the back and making it removable so that you could access the cavity beneath the facade.

But, as my collection grew into the late 80's, the VAMP still served a valuable purpose.  It was small, light and fast.  It was Joe's only way to outrun a STUN (which was my Cobra's primary mechanized weapon).  The cannons that could swivel both 360 degrees as well as elevate gave the VAMP a field of fire that was really unmatched by other Joe vehicles.  It could shoot down Flight Pods and FANGs while still also tearing apart infantry who were on the ground.  The small machine gun on the vehicle's hood was another way for the VAMP to be deadly when it was both on the attack and fleeing from Cobra.  I never cared much about the steering wheel.  And, I removed the front roll bar and replaced it with the additional headlights from the VAMP Mark II as I thought it looked better.  The gas cans were fun as pursuing Cobras would shoot for them and, with luck, turn an escaping VAMP into a raging fireball.  I'd also remove them and use the carrier as a place for additional weapons or gear.  There's not much to the VAMP.  But, that simplicity is what allows it to excel.

There are few vehicles as iconic as the VAMP.  Released in the first year of the G.I. Joe line, it went on to become one of the hallmark vehicles that defined the toys for years.  The VAMP was the first vehicle to get reused when the VAMP Mark II was released in 1984.  And, even today, it's the iconic jeep for all Joes.  Collectors love VAMP re-releases and always seemed odd that Hasbro so underutilized the mold in the 2000's.  But, the body configuration they had for the Desert Striker had a lot of limitations and it was only when they retooled the original VAMP in the anniversary era that those who enjoyed later figures had an option to place inside Joe's classic fast attack vehicle.

1982 was a defining moment for me.  When the Joe line was released, I quickly abandoned Star Wars toys that had been the basis of my play since 1978.  The updated articulation and plethora of accessories that were interchangeable with every figure won me over.  And, as 1983 began, G.I. Joe were the only toys I wanted...until the late spring.  As Return of the Jedi came out, the toys that Kenner made to accompany it won the day again.  The updated accessories on the 1983 figures as well as plastic that didn't snap when the weapon was put into the hands too roughly pushed Joe to the background.    I left my small collection of 1982 Joes behind in the spring of 1983 and focused on all the new Return of the Jedi figures.  By the summer, I had all of the first wave of Jedi releases.  I didn't take any Joes with me when I visited relatives.  It was all Star Wars.  And, had Joe not made a major improvement in 1983, I'd have never gone back to it.  That will be the tale for next week's profile, though.

The VAMP is a constant of the Joe line from around the world.  Various configurations and constructions of the VAMP have appeared in Canada, Brazil, India, Europe and Japan.  If you want to spend $20 to get a VAMP, there are variants for that price.  If you want to spend $1000 on a VAMP, there are variants that will cost you that much, too.  Collectors who only focus on VAMP variants can still spend years and years tracking them all down.  In the past few years, more new variants have been discovered and new versions were even released in India.  In many ways, it feels like Hasbro could have done more with the VAMP mold.  While there are variants of it for Cobra, the desert, Tiger Force, the police, civilian racing and all shades of green, Hasbro could have pumped it out to match every Toys R Us exclusive set in the 2000's and collectors would have gobbled them all up.  It is my hope that the VAMP will return in some form in 2022 as part of the anniversary celebration.  Time will tell, I guess.

For my money, the VAMP is a classically iconic toy.  It is instantly recognizable as a G.I. Joe vehicle and stands on its own as one of the titans of the line.  The subsequent repaints did much to cement the vehicle's legacy.  Today, mint and complete VAMPs with the blueprints and Clutch will run you close to $100.  The steering wheel alone can cost $30.  But, there remain many cheap options available, too.  VAMPs missing the steering wheel and gas cans are still selling for under $25.  And, you can sometimes even get the gas cans in that price range.  There's tons of them available which helps sate demand and keep the prices more sane.  There's really no excuse to not own the classic VAMP.  It still looks good and works with most figures.  And, the multitude of factory customs in recent years have added to the spate of figures with whom the VAMP works well.  For me, the VAMP is the toy that helped launch my Joe obsession.