The 1994 Flint holds a special place for me. First, he was Flint, one of my favorite characters from childhood. Second, this is a badass figure with a cool helmet and a slick design. Finally, he included a great tree of black weapons that outfitted several of my other 1993 and 1994 figures for a while. This enticing package quickly made this Flint one of the centerpieces of my very small collection during that time. Since then, his popularity has ebbed and flowed with me. I've always liked the figure. But, he appears and disappears as my tastes morph over time.
My main memory of this figure is finding him, and only him, in a sparse toy aisle in the Target at Nora in Indianapolis at some point in 1995. Seeing no other Joe figures besides him really sank in that the line was over. I bought that Flint with the knowledge that it was probably the last Joe figure in a store that had supplied so many of my figures since the line launched 13 years earlier. It was bittersweet as I was just coming back to collecting right as the line was dead. But, I managed to find a quite a few figures still hanging in nooks and crannies of various retail stores. In fact, I'd find another Flint, too. I bought it and still, to this day, have it carded. I bought it for the extra weapons but couldn't bring myself to open it.
One of the staples of this figure in my collection is that my original version has worn a poncho from an Episode I Accessory Pack since I found the sets on clearance in 1999. The poncho is a tight fit. But, it's a perfect addition for the figure. Aside from solving the issue of bare arms in the desert, it also ties him more to the "Man Without a Name" motif. But, the poncho also obscures much of Flint's quality. And, while I love his helmet, it also covers up the face of Flint. And, the 1994 head sculpt is really amazing. Gone is cockeyed from from the 1985 Flint. Now, his face is older and more stern. He is a battle hardened warrior, now.
Hasbro released Flint with two paint schemes: one with painted leg straps and one with monochrome legs. The straps version is better as the added detail looks nicer. Hasbro repainted the mold in green and brown in 2001 and 2002 and released him with the HQ of that era. (Lots of these figures were also available from Asia, making them much easier to find today than they should be.) As this figure didn't have the helmet, he's kind of boring. But, it also showed that this Flint had some potential. A repaint in 1985 colors would have gone a long way. But, it never happened. At least the two paint jobs the mold received were both top notch.
When I say that I like this figure, I mean it. Even in my pared down and heavily liquidated collection, I still have 6 of this figure. Some have the extra paint applications. Some do not. All, though, get rotated into use in photos, etc. at some point or another. This Flint is just a strong release of a main character. And, having him available in environmentally specific themes is a nice bonus. As loose, mint and complete with filecard figures run about $15 (carded figures are about double that), the 1994 Flint remains relatively affordable in comparison to his contemporaries. So, I highly recommend picking one up and enjoying all the figure has to offer.
What do you think of the 2001 Rock n Roll/ Flint HQ version?
ReplyDeleteIt's a solid figure done in by lack of accessories. If he had a helmet, that would have done a lot for him. I don't think to use him that often, though. May need to get him into some VAMP shots.
DeleteHitandrun from Hisstank here - another great write up! Flint was the last figure I got brand new from the ARAH run. I came across him at the PX in 1995/96? - I had my little brother buy him for me as I was at that awkward stage where I thought I was too old to buy toys but still played with them (12/13 years old). I really do love that version of Flint though and the 94 line really had a lot of great molds and the return of classic characters - Stalker, Shipwreck, Dial-Tone, Lifeline etc. I can only imagine that the Battle Rangers line that was supposed to come out in 1995 before Joe was cancelled would have continued using the same type of molds to deliver new versions of classic characters.
ReplyDeleteGlad you stopped by! If '95 had made it to production, a bunch of the Battle Corps Rangers would be stupidly expensive and hard to find these days. Their quality was going to be good and the lower production run would have drive modern collectors mad.
DeleteI REALLY hope we get to see a 1995 figure or two in the Pulse line if it continues for a bit.
Cable with black hair!
ReplyDeleteI should've gotten more of the 2001-2002 Flint/Rock'n Roll, as people will believe they are rarer than they are. But Chinese stuff will just dry up and never appear again. I recall random lots of early 2000's ARAH and nusculpt figures with rando accessories, I only ever bought one for the Convention Buzzer in it. At some point the lots stopped, never reappeared.
It amuses me that Desert Flint could have easily been Dusty, and Dusty V3 could have easily been Desert Flint. (Aside from hair color of course).
ReplyDeleteWould have been cool with removable baret...
ReplyDeleteOne my favorite GI Joes of all time was this Flint figure. Shame that several of the Duke figures and this were only done in a desert theme, I suppose it had to do with the Iraq Kuwait war. Thank you for profiling this one and giving it the shine it deserves.
ReplyDeleteI was never very keen on this figure, though I'm not sure why. I think the bare arms are a big part of it, though, he also just never looked much like Flint to me. The head is very good though, I think it's just something about the overall design being so different.
ReplyDeletebare arms, i hate them. no one is running around battlefields with bare arms voluntarily. they ruin figures for me. and people complain about the Series 5 vehicle drivers having giant heads...
ReplyDelete