1989 Rock and Roll

In 1989, G.I. Joe toys were nothing but a memory.  While you can read my shameful story of the 1989 Snake Eyes to see how he came into my possession, the only other 1989 figure that was acquired by even my younger brothers was a 1989 Scoop figure.  After dominating our house for 6 years, G.I. Joe was done.  That didn't mean, though, that I wasn't keeping and eye on the brand.  While visits to toy stores were far fewer and there were scant opportunities to check out the retail releases, I was actively buying the Joe comic.  And, as such, I had a knowledge of the new figures and characters that would be released that year.  While the Cobras of 1989 now gobble up most of that year's attention, it was the new Joe figures that most intrigued me.  Downtown, Stalker, Recoil and Backblast all looked like amazing figures to own.  But, it was a new version of Rock and Roll that really captured my imagination and remained a figure that got away...kind of.

I worked out an entire backstory for this new version of Rock and Roll.  I imagined he was older and had destroyed his knees on a mission.  As such, he was still strong, but unable to carry his heavy gear on foot.  So, Rock and Roll had to be supported by a vehicle.  His preference was the APC as he could carry his large weapons and plenty of ammo.  I created all of this in the back row of my Spanish class.  I had enough background in the language to easily pass my first year.  So, I spent my time writing down mission specs and story outlines in a notebook instead of paying attention.  I had pages and pages of notes.  It was a way to build a creative outlet for me since playing with toys was pretty much something I could no longer do.  

In 1989, I went full in with baseball cards.  I had a couple of friends who collected and we were focused on finding Ken Griffey Jr. cards or the Bill Ripken Fuck Face error card.  (I remember my two friends calling me and boasting they'd found a box of Fleer with the error at a local store and hidden them.  They bought them the next day and didn't get a Ripken.  But, I'd pull one from an overpriced pack at a card show later that year.)  My collecting impulses and focus were spent on collecting cards instead of playing with toys.  It's something that has dogged my life.  I need something into which to throw myself for entertainment and distraction from boredom.  It was toys, then sports cards, then rugby and then this website.  As I've found this year by year, chronological accounting of the Joe line tedious (and, I'm only at 1989!!!!) I do think I'm starting to drift into something new.  I'm not sure what that will be, yet.  And, when I do, I always usually keep a finger in the pot of the hobby left behind.  

1989 was a reboot year.  There were 10 standard carded G.I. Joe figures (the other 7 were Cobras).  Among them, though, were 4 updated designs of existing characters: Rock and Roll, Stalker, Snake Eyes and Deep Six.  I argue that Downtown could easily have been a new Short Fuse and Backblast a new Zap.  And, I'll go so far to suggest that Dogfight could have been a new Wild Bill.  It seems that Hasbro was making at attempt to maintain some of their relevance with a stream of existing characters to supplement their new releases.  We know that 1987 was a turning point for the brand and that 1988 took on some different forms to hide some of the brand damage done in 1987.  So, it is possible that 1989 was a way to get the brand back on track.  And, I will admit that it was a strong strategy to keep a disinterested teenager around.  New looks for some of my favorite characters was a strong enticement to stay connected to the brand.  Even if it wasn't enough to get me to actually buy any figures.  

Once I fast forward a few years, though, I was back to collecting as an adult.  I had money to spend and the internet offered many opportunities to buy items I had always wanted.  One of my top priorities when returning to collecting was to acquire a 1989 Rock and Roll.  I hadn't been able to own one as a kid.  But, I wasn't going to let that opportunity pass me by as an adult.  And, I sought out the figure early in my online buying days.  While there were a few Rock and Rolls for sale as individual figures, it was far more cost effective to get one in a lot.  Back in the late 1990's, most lots that were for sale featured most mint and complete figures that were taken care of in someone's childhood.  You could get them for $1.50 to $2.00 per figure and the lots were full of army builders, mail aways and other goodies.  I sought out a lot with Rock and Roll, bought it and had the whole world of post 1988 Joes opened up to me.  Rock and Roll was the gateway to exploring the later years of the line.  And, I spent my early collecting years not rebuying toys from my childhood but, instead, buying up the Joes I had never owned.  It was counter to the thinking of the time.  But, to me, something new was always better than something I had owned before.

As a new sculpt, this Rock and Roll is gorgeous.  It is the true to the original character with the blonde beard and heavy machine guns.  But, the 1989 design brings a whole new element to Rock and Roll.  You can argue between he and Stalker as to who was the better upgrade in 1989.  But, both were near perfect ways to bring a character from 1982 back to life in 1989.  You'll notice that Rock and Roll has wrinkles sculpted around his eyes.  It shows a weariness from stress and age that you'd see in an old warrior like him.  This new depth in his facial expression helped mold the character I created for the new release.  The figure, though, has some issues.  While the entire body is covered in amazing sculpted details, Hasbro didn't choose to paint most of them.  The only thing that discerns this Rock and Roll from the sparsely painted 1988 releases is the camo pattern on his legs.  His chest and leg details, though, are left to blend into the base plastic color of torso and thighs.  It's a shame as the details would have popped with some silver, brown and black paint.  But, the cost of Rock and Roll's accessories likely diluted the budget that was available to him for additional paint masks.

When it comes to accessories, Rock and Roll is fully decked out in his heavy machine gunner role.  He includes a nicely sculpted, but largely useless, shotgun that affixes to his right leg.  It's a neat detail.  But, something that's difficult to get the figure to hold.  He then includes an ammo backpack.  It's not greatly detailed, but works for its purpose.  It has tabs on the left and right that are used to attach the two straps of bullets to the pack.  These flexible, grey pieces then connect to tabs on the underside of Rock and Roll's dual machine guns.  He has two of these weapons, one for each hand, and each weapon has two barrels positioned beneath a neatly designed pistol grip.  Rock and Roll is a walking wall of firepower.  Oddly, he does not have a right and left weapon.  Each of his two machine guns are the same.  This makes attaching the bullets somewhat awkward.  But, the overall size and bulk of whole setup is tough to use and the bullets easily detach in play.  So, it's easier to just take Rock and Roll with one gun and his pack.  

The Rock and Roll mold had three uses.  After this 1989 version was released, the mold was repainted in 1991 for the Super Sonic Fighters line.  This orange highlighted figure features excellent base colors and is a fun addition to a Rock and Roll collection.  Hasbro then sent the mold to India where Funskool released a figure very similar to the 1991 version for a few years.  After that, the mold kind of moved around.  Funskool returned it to Hasbro sometime in the 1990's.  Hasbro planned to use it for the 2001 Headquarters pack in figure.  But, for some reason, they returned the mold to Funskool before they could do so.  Funskool didn't really know why they got it back.  But, they planned a new repaint of the 1989 Rock and Roll for a late 2003 or early 2004 release.  Sadly, the Funskool line was cancelled before that could happen and there were no more uses of this mold.  There's tons of repaint potential in the sculpt, though.  Maybe Hasbro can revisit it in the 2020's.

1989 Rock and Roll figures are very common.  He must have been owned by nearly every kid in 1989 as they are easy to find today.  While his ammo belts aren't always seen, they aren't rare by any means.  Mint and complete with filecard Rock and Rolls are about $15-$20 figures.  If you sacrifice the ammo belts, though, you can get them for under $10.  That's a travesty for a figure of this quality.  But, it's also nice since newer collectors can get an excellent upgrade on a classic character for a cheap price.  That's getting harder and harder to do.  There was a time when I had more than half a dozen of this figure.  While those days are gone, the lone sample remains a vital part of my collection and has specific memories from two different eras of my collecting journey.