Funskool Croc Master

I last looked at Croc Master over 20 years ago.  The 1987 Hasbro release was one of the earlier profiles on this site.  And, in reading it now, you can hear the wide eyed young collector who was still feeling out what this site would become.  The original write up is full of optimism of a time when everything was still possible in the Joe world and, at the same time, everything old was easily available and attainable.  The profile is notably lacking in details on other releases of Croc Master from around the world.  In an interesting bit of kismet, right around the time I first published that treatise on Croc Master, I also got a package from Malaysia that included the first 8 or so Funskool figures that I had imported from abroad.  At the time, I had no knowledge that, in just two months, Funskool figures would invade the U.S. and be a key component of the early 2000's collecting experience.  Included in the saturation of the collecting market was a new version of Croc Master.  Though not materially different from the American figure, the Funskool Croc Master would become one of the mid tier Funskool figures that both found a following and was also ignored.

As a kid, I was fascinated by swamps.  Growing up in the Midwest, swamps seemed exotic locales that were far beyond anything we had in our environment.  Our closest semblance were small bogs filled with frogs and mosquitoes when the spring rain water pooled up.  Twice during my childhood, we visited Florida.  Here, the natural environment was amazing.  The fact that deadly creatures like alligators were just part of daily life was incomprehensible to me.  We went to an alligator farm where my parents had to constantly pull me back from getting too close to the animals as I attempted to take pictures of the creatures in a close approximation of their natural habitat.  One of these trips was in the spring of 1987.  I have no recollection of whether I yet owned a Croc Master in late March of 1987.  (Though, it's doubtful I did based on more springtime memories of getting Outback, Law and the Techno Viper later in the season.)  But, I do know that the visit to Florida helped to make Croc Master a more important member of my Cobra hierarchy than he probably warranted.  

In the comic, Croc Master was mostly relegated to Cobra Island security.  And, considering his specialty, that wasn't a bad role for him.  He had a niche purpose.  But, that purpose was also extremely important.  But, for me, Croc Master was more useful as the archetypal comic book villain.  He was a character who had abilities that seemed supernatural.  And, weapons like his whip were way more effective against men with guns than any grounded-in-reality accessory could ever hope to be.  But, that was also what made him fun.  By 1987, I was near the end of my childhood toy run.  So, while Croc Master only got a few months of being a key player in my collection, they were the last few months I ever played with toys.  So, his importance was heavily shaped by recency bias.  

For a time, though, Croc Master was one of my key Cobra operatives.  He resurrected the importance of Copperhead.  And, the two of them were a team who could dominate the swamps.  During the summer months of taking my toys outside, this was extremely important.  The lush gardens of early summer were a perfect setting for these two figures.  By the dog days of August, though, the drier vegetation helped reduce their use.  And, as the final battle of my childhood unfolded, I don't recall much of a role for Croc Master.  Like many figures, the fact that he was new was what made him useful.  As that newness wore off, the figure faded away.  

Acquiring the Funskool Croc Master gave me a new occasion to appreciate the Croc Master character.  To this day, I consider Croc Master the best of the new, named villains released in 1987.  But, seeing as how I rank Raptor, Big Boa and Crystal Ball among the worst figures ever released, that's hardly high praise.  But, even today, I do see the value in the Croc Master design.  He's not a guy I use every day.  But, he is a figure that definitely works in some specific environments.  The Funskool version is a lighter green with softer yellow on weird alligator eyeball belt buckle.  In a lot of ways, it's actually a better coloring than the olive American release.  But, the similarity is close enough to be inconsequential, too.  

For Funskool to keep colors similar to the American Croc Master, though, means that Hasbro had at least some interest in the character.  Any figure released true to the American coloring was almost always at Hasbro's request.  It was a way for them to ensure consistency among the looks of their characters around the world.  And, seeing as how Croc Master appeared as a character in both the JvC era and the Anniversary sculpt figures, Hasbro did have some use for the character.  This is too bad as Croc Master is a mold that would have lent itself to an orange or yellow and red repaint that was completely bat shit, Funskool crazy.  But, getting him on a card, with all his gear, for cheap in the early 2000's was nice, too.

The Funskool Croc Master includes the same gear as the U.S. figure.  For me, the important piece is the whip.  That makes the figure.  It is a finely detailed accessory that is best whip offered in the line.  (It is, to the best of my knowledge, the only whip offered in the vintage line...)  The plastic alligator isn't impressive.  A six foot tall beast is nothing to trifle with.  But, alligators can grow to twice that size.  So, if the reptile is your calling card for this figure, you're best left to find one of the many other options available in other toy lines for a properly scaled, man eating beast that was modified by Dr. Mindbender.  The chained collar for the alligator is here and is another piece of gear I find useful.  Though, I use it as a shackle for prisoners as they are being moved around.  It works well lashed around Chuckles' neck as various Law figures take him to a lifetime of doom.  The final piece is one collectors most fret over since it is most often missing from American figures: the face hose.  It is included with the Funskool figure.  But, the hose is extremely rigid.  As such, it's pretty much impossible to affix the hose to the figure's head and his shoulder mounted harness without breaking it.  So, you get the hose.  But, it's practically useless.  

Croc Master had a decent life.  After the Hasbro release, the figure went to Brazil.  There, Estrela released a Croc Master figure that is extremely similar to the U.S. version.  After that release, the mold went to India.  Funskool then produced a Croc Master figure for many years.  Croc Master was also released on a Russian card and was even part of the 2009 series of Funskool re-releases.  Again, this figure is fairly similar to the American figure.  (There are some waist piece and coloring variants of him.)  But, Funskool also produced some variants of Croc Master that were included in promotional lines.  The Maltova line included a Croc Master colored very similarly to the single carded Funskool release.  Only, it had bizarre straight arms that were, for some reason, standard on the Maltova figures.  The real plum, though, is a variant figure included in the Calcium Sandoz line of promotional figures.  This is a frightening all black version of Croc Master with silver highlights.  Sadly, he also includes the straight arms.  And, he is rather rare and hard to find.  But, if you're a Croc Master fan, there are enough variants of the character to keep you busy for some time.  

The black repaint shows there is some life in the Croc Master mold.  Alas, Croc Master was not among the molds returned to Hasbro in 2003.  But, the fact that Funskool was still producing him as late as 2009 offers hope that the mold may still exist.  (Though, if it does, there's almost no chance it will ever be put to use again.)  Hasbro did offer up some repaints of the Croc Master mold that were made for the anniversary figures.  The figure's look was based off of the 1987 original.  And, the red repaint, again, proves that Hasbro could have pulled at least one or two serviceable repaints of their original mold had they the inclination.  The hope for new o-ring styled repaints is long gone, though.  And, even if we see the format return, it will almost certainly be "retro" themed offerings that are designed to mimic the originals in coloring and construction rather than offer something new like Hasbro attempted in the early 2000's.  

Funskool Croc Masters have gotten less common.  But, they are still not overly desirable.  Left to their own devices, they are about $20 MOC figures.  Dealers seem to sell them in the $30 range, though, and they're easier to find at that price.  Considering that a high quality, complete, loose US figure sells for around the same price, you can make a determination of where to best spread your collecting dollar.  In the days of $4 Funskool figures, guys like Croc Master were a must have.  They were cheap ways to get slightly altered versions of your childhood favorites at a pittance.  And, as we went for nearly a decade with figures like this Croc Master being both cheap and ubiquitous, it's hard for me to now look at them as collectibles.  Sure, figures like this Croc Master are now older than the "rare" early Funskool figures were in 2001 when this guy showed up at every American dealer who could Frontpage a web site.  But, the wholesale importing of them ensures that they are neither scarce nor unattainable.