1986 Thrasher

I don't really know what to think about Thrasher.  He was among the first 1986 figures I acquired.  And, he was terrible.  His design, head and accessory were such a drastic departure from 1985 that I thought he must have been an early figure and the later releases that year would be better.  Alas, as far as vehicle drivers go, I was wrong.  And, Thrasher was perfectly exemplary of the quality that the 1986 vehicle drivers would feature.  Most of them had overly large noses and heads.  None came with cool gear like the '85's.  And, none of the them really stood out as a figure that deserved a single carded release.  All these years later, my opinion of Thrasher remains unchanged.  And, for a figure that entered my collection at the height of my Joe world building, he is conspicuously absent from my stories.

There are people who love Thrasher.  While Road Pig gets the most association with Mad Max, Thrasher's look is also out of derivative post apocalyptic fiction.  The oddball armor, bare midriff and green streak in his coiffed hair, though, don't create a particularly compelling design.  The paint applications and colors used for Thrasher, though, are pretty good.  And, it's a shame that he's one of the more adorned 1986 vehicle driver figures.  He features layers of color and painted details that do tie him more to the 1985 releases than the spotty paint mask drivers who would follow through the year.  In addition to his grey and black motif, Thrasher features green, brown and silver.  It's a solid array of color that bring life to the mold's details.  If Thrasher's shirt was not torn off, the figure would probably be more amenable to me.

The 1985 vehicle drivers are known for their accessories.  The figures included amazing weapons that were the envy of several single carded figures.  1986, though, did not follow this path.  Most of the drivers did not include any accessories at all, further downgrading them from the previous brethren.  Thrasher, though, was one of the few who did include an accessory.  Sadly, though, it's an oddball lacrosse stick with a spiked ball instead of a net.  It's a silly weapon.  Though, it's made worse by the fact that the handle is incredibly thick and did not feature a natural grip.  To this day, I have never successfully put the stick into Thrasher's hand.  Others have done it.  But, I can't bring myself to risk it.  Especially for a weapon that's simply useless.

As my only Cobra land vehicle available as 1986 started was my old Hiss Tank, Cobra found themselves at the mercy of Joe's superior mechanized capabilities.  So, with the introduction of the Thunder Machine, it made no sense to have it be a one off vehicle that was manned by a named crew.  So, in short order, the Thunder Machine was driven by old, beat up Cobras and was an army building, anti-infantry vehicle that rode in support of the Hiss battalions.  When the STUN entered my collection later in the year, it simply joined a now formidable Cobra force.  But, the Thunder Machine was not part of the Dreadnoks.  It was Cobra.

Of course, this left Thrasher as the odd man out.  And, I had no use for the figure.  But, he was part of the inspiration for the bands of "punks" that inhabited my Joe world.  These were people who lived in the ruins and debris fields left by the massive battles between Joe and Cobra.  They were not affiliated with either faction and they were dangerous to each.  They survived by salvaging machines and weapons from the discarded battlefields.  They sold these to 3rd party merchants who sold them back to Joe or Cobra.  The punks were based on a throwaway line in an issue of Savage Tails that was passed around my classroom.  I only remember that the good guys blasted their way through a nuclear winter wasteland.  The "punks" became my wild card.  Often, Joes or Cobras would have to scrounge debris fields for missing comrades or lost intelligence.  Here, they'd run into punks.  

The punks were savage and could be formidable fighters.  They had access to large caches of weapons.  And, they'd use them to soften up their quarry before they'd finish the job in brutal, face to face combat.  I built an entire society for these people.  Some of them were runaways from the cities and towns surrounding the battlefields.  Others were born into the life.  And, some, like Buzzer, were disaffected intellectuals who found the allure of such raw brutality too much to resist.  So, Thrasher would embody some of the punks.  It was rare that they would win a skirmish.  Even if they killed a few Joes, a larger force would come in and annihilate them.  But, it was a way to get some use out of poor figures like Thrasher and also liven up the Joe vs. Cobra dynamic and provide diversions from the standard story.

Thrasher had just the one release in the vintage line.  As the Thunder Machine made its journey around the world and was released in various countries, Thrasher didn't follow.  He was completely MIA until 2004 when he appeared in a convention exclusive attendee set with Zanzibar.  This red Thrasher repaint showed that there wasn't much redemption for the mold.  And, it sat unsold, for years...only selling out when it was offered on clearance.  On the heels of the convention figure, though, Thrasher showed up in the first series of DTC Comic Packs in 2005.  This figure got a new head.  It also got blue pants which discolor worse than the plastic used in 1985 on the original 3 Dreadnoks.  He was an odd choice and that Dreadnok Comic Pack was also clearanced for $3 after it had sat around, collecting dust in the warehouse for a few years.  So, Thrasher got way more than he deserved.

I'm not alone in disliking Thrasher.  He is one of the few cheap Joe figures left.  High quality figures can be had with no effort for $10.  And, mint and complete with filecard versions top out at $15.  In this market, that's about as cheap as figures come.  Honestly, though, I'd avoid Thrasher even at those prices.  He just offers nothing.  But, for Dreadnok fans, he is one of the few members of the team.  So, that alone makes him somewhat desirable.  And, the Thunder Machine is a staple of any Dreadnok collection.  So, you need a Thrasher for that.  But, the overall package of the figure is just off from the original design of the Dreadnoks.  But, again, my opinion of the figure is not shared by all. So, your personal value from the figure may vary from mine.