1988 Tiger Force Lifeline

In 1988, I was done with toys.  I did buy a Tiger Force Roadblock, Hardball and Hit and Run.  All of them were bought very early in the year, probably January or February.  After that, though, I was done and didn't buy another Joe until the summer of 1990.  My younger brothers, though, continued to acquire new Joes.  And, they ended up getting most of the 1988 lineup before the year was said and done.  It is likely that my younger brother got the Tiger Force Lifeline around the same time that I got the Tiger Force Roadblock.  I have some memories of stealing some time to play with the figure.  So, it probably entered our home early in the year before my interests fully turned elsewhere.

Right out of the gate with my acquisition of the 1986 Lifeline in the early part of that year, the character simply didn't exist.  While Lifeline had a fun little run in a few comics, he didn't make much of an impact.  His figure, though, did.  I quickly made Lifeline an army builder.  Here, he could die or exist in multiples.  It was a good way to make use of a figure that was awesome while not tying him into a character that had some limitations.  I explained away the red uniform with the idea that even Cobra had some rules and they would not shoot anyone dressed in red as they were a medic.  However, if the Joes were going on a secret mission or infiltration, the red would give away the rest of the team.  So, these missions would go sans medical support.  When Tiger Force Lifeline appeared, though, I had a solution.

The Tiger Force figure became my "field medic" who could travel with an elite unit in the field.  The risk was that the medic could be killed.  But, that was an acceptable risk since the more valuable field troopers could get medical care in the field.  The higher odds of completing a mission were well worth the loss of a few additional medics.  And, this also explained the pistol.  I had always envisioned the 1986 Lifeline's pistol as a flare gun.  The large size just didn't work as a regular pistol.  With the Tiger Force version, though, the figure had need for a weapon.  So, the pistol was just that.  I didn't have the medics as combatants, per se.  But, they could defend themselves and any wounded soldier they were tending.

One of the things that makes no sense on Lifeline is that he's both wearing sunglasses and also has a pair of same colored goggles on his head.  This redundant eyewear seems to be a thing in 1986 since the Viper also featured random goggles to cover his visored eyes.  The upside, though, is that it makes the helmet look cooler since it has more details.  And, I do like Lifeline's glasses since they allow for anonymity and make the figure more believable as an army builder.   

Lifeline features a relatively subtle Tiger Force color scheme.  While his shirt is yellow, it has enough orange in it to make it drastically darker than the yellow used on Lightfoot.  His pants, though, are a nice pea green.  They are a near match for the same green color used in Night Force that debuted later in the year.  The offsetting grey and brown highlights and details work very well with both the yellow and green.  While the figure is probably too bright for some, I find it a workable look for a solid mold.  

Lifeline's gear is rather spectacular.  The Tiger Force version includes all the gear from the 1986 original.  The gear is mostly recolored with the pistol now being black.  The case is a nice green color.  The mask remains black while the silver radio back from the original is now also cast in black.  The ensemble perfectly matches the new colors on the figure.  I always felt that Lifeline's air mask was the best mask in the line.  And, for years, it was a staple of every pilot figure that helmed the Skystriker, Dragonfly or Skyhawk.  Having a second shot at it with Tiger Force was well worth the price of a figure.

1988 brought about the first real repaint wave with Tiger Force.  While Hasbro had repainted molds since 1983, they had always been one or two figures here and there.  Hasbro had also introduced new sub sets as part of the 1987 line.  While the Renegades and Cobra La were one off single packs, the introduction of Battle Force 2000 brought about the first notion of a themed sub group.  But, Battle Force 2000 were all new figures.  The advent of Tiger Force in 1988 married the themed sub group to repaints of original figures.  Tiger Force included a large number of classic characters and brought back Roadblock, Duke and Flint for a generation of kids who still saw reruns of the cartoon but had no way to acquire figures of the major players on their TV screen.  

Later in 1988, Hasbro would double down with the Toys R Us exclusive Night Force figures.  From there, the repaint train had fully left the station.  1989 saw both Python Patrol and Slaughter's Marauders.  1990 cooled it a bit as Sky Patrol was the only subset.  And, while the bodies of all the figures were reused molds from prior years, each of the figures included a new, unique head and brand new accessories.  The remaining four years of the Joe line all included subsets.  And, they were always a mix of new figures and some repaints.  The Joe line of the 1990's has a reputation of being subset heavy.  And, from 1992 through 1994, it is.  But, the value of repaints and how they could make good profits for Hasbro started in 1988 and the future sets owe their legacy to Tiger Force.

I've already said that I was done with toys in 1988.  But, the truth is that it was not by choice.  I didn't organically outgrow action figures.  Instead, I bowed to peer pressure and hid my toys away to be more acceptable for my age.  I got into baseball cards in very late 1987.  And, I was keen to buy a ton of cards in 1988.  But, the summer of 1988 was very dry with a drought hitting my area.  So, lawn mowing was not as lucrative as it had been the prior year.  With money a bit tighter, I was less likely to branch out and spend some money on a toy.  (I was able to bike to a toy store or two where I could have them by myself.)  So, I spent my money on baseball cards.

But, as 1988 progressed, I lost more and more interest in G.I. Joe.  Not having the figures available to me lessened my enthusiasm for the product.  And, for a few months in late 1988, I even stopped buying the Joe comic that had been a monthly purchase since 1984.  After a few months, though, I got back into the comic.  But, I have an odd gap of a few issues even in my comic collection today from the late 1988 issues from when other pursuits grabbed my attention and money for a bit.  By early 1989, I had figured out how to balance my still flickering interest in Joe with other, more age appropriate hobbies.  But, again, the money to support sports cards, Nintendo games, comics and toys was just not something I was prepared for, yet.  That would change in 1990.  But, those are stories for coming weeks.  The biggest takeaway from 1988 was that a forced break did nearly end my interest in the property.

Lifeline had three uses from Hasbro.  The original 1986 red version also saw release in 1991 in the same colors, but with new legs.  This Tiger Force repaint was release as the filling in the sandwich in 1988.  However, there are also two international versions of Lifeline that were also based on the Tiger Force coloring.  In Brazil, a nearly identical color scheme to the Hasbro figure was released as Paramedico.  This is a fun release for the slight color differences as well as the card art that has the "RESCUE" on the medical case changed to "SOCORRO", even though the actual case remains unchanged.  Funskool released a Lifeline figure for many years.  There are a variety of variants for Lifeline.  But, they are all loosely based on the Tiger Force color scheme.  Funskool Lifeline was sold by US dealers for many years.  But, people now drastically overpay for the common versions from the early 2000's.  Hasbro never got the Lifeline mold back.  They released the character twice in the Repaint Era.  But, each time, he had a different mold.  There's lots of Lifeline variants to track down.  But, really, there are just Tiger Force derivatives and the red uniform.  The mold could have used another repaint.  But, you can't really say that it was wasted.

Tiger Force Lifelines are odd to price.  The figure is actually very common and you can find a ton of them at any given time.  But, he is often incomplete.  And, the figure's crotch is notoriously brittle and snaps often.  Dealers routinely sell mint and complete with filecard figures in the $50 range.  There's a good amount of them available in the open market, too.  But, most of the mint and complete with filecard figures will reach nearly $50 at open pricing, too.  It's rare to see such an alignment between dealer and market prices.  However, where it gets weirder is that you can find complete figures around $20, too.  They're not as common as the $50 sales.  But, about 30% of the figures you find go cheap.  So, take your time to find a Tiger Force Lifeline as deals are out there.