You all know that Flint is my favorite figure in the Joe line. I spend way too much time trying to find little, nuanced releases of Flint that I can add to my collection. And, while there are a lot of figures that are based on the 1985 coloring, there aren't too many Flints that fall outside his main motif. You have the 1988 Tiger Force version. And, then the 2004 Night Force version. And, that's it. Well, almost. There is one more main variant of Flint. And, that is this unproduced version of the 2004 Night Force figure. It's not materially different from the production figure with the exception of the figure's pants color. Instead of the retail version's black pants, this pre-production figure features white pants. This should create a lesser figure. But, in a lot of ways, the white pants version of Flint is more interesting than the production figure and offers one of the few alternatives for a Flint figure in the vintage line.
I can't really argue that the white pants on these pre-production Night Force figures are better than the black pants that were used on the production versions. They aren't. The black is a better match for the hunter green of the upper bodies and is more true to the vision of Night Force than the white pants would have been. What the white pants variants do offer, though, is a visual contrast. As a production figure, they would not have worked. But, as pre-production variants, they do. These aren't supposed to be better than the production samples. And, the white pants bring a different visual to this Flint while also not making any sense within the context of his release. So, you can see why Hasbro changed them from white to black.
For me, I just like having alternate looks for Flint. From the waist up, the production and pre-production figures are essentially identical. But, when the figures are out and about, the white pants and black pants differences are enough to make both useful. The golden belt buckle really pops on the white pants figure. And, that sticks out, to me. As such, you'll see the white pants figure appear more often in the background of photos here than you do the production figure. Much of that is the element of scarcity and the fact that you don't often see the alternate figures used these days. The white pants get people to double take and question why the figure looks different. It's a petty use. But, it's one of the reasons I enjoy the figure. And, were the white pants version the production release and the black pants the pre-production figure, I'm sure I'd use the black pants version in a similar vein.
The Night Force set was one of the more intricate retail releases of the early 2000's. The figures featured convention level paint masks and color combos. These features would be stripped away as the sets matured and Hasbro tried to squeeze every last penny out of them. And, the poor accessory complement included with the Night Force set was also a harbinger of the cheapness to come. But, as just figures, the Night Force set features convention quality paint masks. This Flint features at least 8 different colors. That's more than most vintage figures would receive. And, it shows that Hasbro invested money when they developed the Night Force set.
Night Force gear was bad. And, Flint's accessories from the set were no exception. He included a hodge-podge of common weapons that would appear over and over again during his era. For some reason, Flint got a near complete set of Firefly's gear...missing only the backpack cover. The upside is that this gear is easy to find. So, equipping one of the pre-production figures with it isn't difficult or expensive. But, the weapons make no sense and are so tied to Firefly that it's tough to see anyone, especially an iconic Joe character, using them. Funskool had the full array of Flint accessories. But, those never saw another Hasbro release. So, there's no telling what happened to them between the end of the Funskool production run in 2003 and the appearance of this figure in 2004.
So, that leaves you searching for proper gear for Flint. In the photos below, you'll see some different options. As I often lost Flint's shotgun back in my childhood days, I often had to find alternate gear for even the vintage figure. My two go-to's were the sub machine gun from the 1985 Night Landing and the charcoal Ripcord rifle from the Tactical Battle Platform. But, I've tried many other weapons with this Flint and found that many look really nice with him. When a figure is as nicely done as Flint, the accessories are just an adornment that enhances an already amazing design.
The alternate, Asian figures that dominated discussion forums in late 2004 and early 2005 have faded into the obscure recesses of the Joe world. Many of those who bought up every variant as it appeared are no longer active in the community. Newer collectors who came aboard during the Anniversary era have no real recollection of these figures or their widespread and cheap availability. Now, most of the alternate, Asian figures are stupidly expensive and seldom seen. It's too bad. As, the alternate looks were often a fun way to differentiate a photo or spark conversation in a forum. Now, they are the domain of well-heeled collectors who have financial interest in downplaying just how common the figures actually are.
With the Toys R Us exclusive sets, Hasbro started out by offering new looks for classic sub teams. The first three sets were Tiger Force, Python Patrol and Night Force. None of the TRU sets featured figures in color schemes that were homages or even matches for the original members of those sub teams. Instead, Hasbro tried something different. The Tiger Force featured some European inspired blues and oranges. Python Patrol offered figures that were better matches for Python Patrol vehicles. Night Force just went in an entirely new direction. The figures didn't match vintage Night Force figures. Nor did they match Night Force vehicles. And, this was good. The original Night Force figures are bland and mostly two tone in green and black. The 2004 set offered a more complex look for some figures. You can't really make this Flint the leader of a faction of 1988 and 1989 Night Force figures. But, he does look great as a stand alone figure when mixed with other 1997-2010 releases.
And, this works. Within just a few months of the Night Force set's release, I was already noting how the figures worked very well as, well, figures. The Night Force theme was less important to the overall, long term success of set. It was more of a marketing term to get Joe fans interested than it was a continuation of a team from 15 years prior. And, that's part of the reason that Night Force (and, really, all of the 2003 and 2004 Toys R Us sets) has held up so well. It was about as big a chance as the Hasbro of the early 2000's was willing to take. It was enough to make the set memorable and allowed the figures to find lives of their own.
You can't discuss the 2000's era repaints without touching upon how crappy the plastic is and how likely it is to discolor. The Night Force figures, with their dark hues, have been mostly immune from those plights. These white pants figures, though, are susceptible to discoloration. The white will take on a yellow hue, even on properly stored figures. There's nothing you can do to stop it. You can just slow it down a bit. It's a sad legacy of early 2000's Hasbro that their plastics were so poor. All of the toy lines from this time suffer from easy discoloration. And, that would discourage me from splurging on a mint piece. Eventually, time catches up with the materials and they will decay. Yellowing figures are a personal pet peeve. They bother me over other afflictions. I'll take paint wear and loose joints every time over an otherwise mint figure that features a tinge of yellow. Others have different tolerances. And, for many Joe figures, discoloration is so common that newer collectors don't really know what a mint figure is supposed to look like. It's something to be aware of with figures like this Flint.
It's time to break some hearts. Between 2005 and 2007, this figure was pretty easy to find. He'd go unsold on Ebay for under $5. You could buy a complete set of 6 alternate Night Force figures (including the Night Force Tracker!) for $60. And, they sat and sat and sat. You could get one whenever you wanted. Slowly, though, the stock got absorbed. Once it was gone, no one cared for a while. Around 2015/2016, you started to see old timers talking about how the once common alternate Asian figures had turned scarce. Then, in 2018 or so, prices started spiking. In 2020, these Flint figures sold between $75 and $100. Really, that's way too much. And, for such an uninteresting variant, there's really no bang for that kind of scratch. But, the market is stupid and filled with new collectors who don't really understand how common figures like this really are. It will correct soon enough. Until then, I'm glad I was able to get figures like this when they were cheap. And, I'm sad that this figure is one of the few that I have remaining.
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