1985 Frostbite

While I got my first Joes in 1982, my real heyday of Joe toys was actually 1984-1986.  During the time, Joe was the main part of my social interaction with my friends.  And, pretty much every boy in my class at school played with them in some capacity.  1985 was the sweet spot, though.  It was the high point of everyone still playing with toys and finding them socially acceptable.  By the end of the year, the cool kids had aged out.  And, by the spring of 1986, most of the other kids had followed.  By 1987, toys were taboo and my obsession with them was a secret kept from my peers.  But, the memories from 1985 remain strong.  But, the biggest of them was finding something new before my friends.  When this happened, the new item stood out and everyone would flock to the lucky kid's house to see the new acquisition.  Over the summer, though, this happened less as my friends were often out of town.  So, when I found the Snowcat in the summer of 1985, there was no one to fawn over its release.  But, a winter vehicle found in the dead of summer was also out of place.  Still, I found a way for it to work.  The biggest surprise, though, was the quality of the Snowcat's driver: Frostbite.

When Frostbite was released, there was just one other arctic figure: Snow Job.  Snow Job's design and gear, though, were top notch.  Had Frostbite been a carded release, he'd have been in trouble.  But, as a vehicle driver, there were less expectations of him.  And, the figure was able to deliver a solid follow up for the Joe's cold climate team.  He was a very different figure from Snow Job.  But, that was OK since he a distinctly different role as a vehicle driver.

Frostbite's sculpt is relatively simple.  He doesn't have tons of details.  But, that's what makes him appealing.  Frostbite isn't overdone.  His pants have no details.  His chest features just a couple of pockets, a chest holster and a fur collar.  That isn't much.  But, it's enough to make Frostbite work.  The early arctic figures were fairly minimal in their mold details.  In 1986, Iceberg began a trend of more complexly uniformed cold weather fighters.  Frostbite, though, is a good bridge between Snow Job in Iceberg.  While those two figures can appear out of place when posed together, either of them looks good when paired with Frostbite.  He's a small evolution in the design of the winter characters that allowed the line to progress without appearing to move too quickly.  

The big surprise with the 1985 vehicle drivers was that they included accessories.  Frostbite was gifted an exclusive rifle.  Frostbite's rifle seems a bit oversized in 2023.  But, in 1985, it was an amazing upgrade over the M-16 that came with Grunt.  The size gave it significance.  And, the large scope was a detail that gave the weapon much more depth.  While the weapon was used with Frostbite for a while, my real desire for it was to replicate the weapon that Stalker used is his Vietnam era comic drawings.  I hounded my Grandmother for a Stalker and spent a week at her home over the summer searching out every toy store in Dayton, Ohio until I found one.  Once in hand, this Stalker got a brown version of Duke's backpack from the Battle Gear set and Frostbite's rifle.  It meant that I could not use Stalker and Frostbite together.  But, the value the weapon brought to Stalker made Frostbite more than worthwhile.

As my childhood play universe progressed, Frostbite moved from a typical Joe to more of a command role.  By 1987, Frostbite and Iceberg were the two highest ranking leaders from a cold weather faction that was aligned with the Joes.  Their weapons were special items capable of killing Cobras at incredibly long ranges.  Usually, they stayed in the cockpit of their Snowcat.  They disliked warm weather.  And, stayed in the climate controlled vehicle for their own comfort.  Frostbite conferred directly with Hawk and Flint.  I don't recall exactly how he grew into this role.  But, it was the final characterization that was given to the Frostbite figure.

Now, I just enjoy the figure for what he is.  Frostbite is another in the string of 1985 supporting characters that really augmented the Joe line.  He's not essential to a collection.  But, he's also cool enough and useful enough that he's worth tracking down.  So much of the Joe line is figures like this.  Frostbite doesn't need to be the best cold weather figure or character.  But, he's good enough that you want him and will use him in the proper situations.  That diversity was what gave the Joe brand its staying power.  Kids could have different crops of figures for different seasons or environments.  If Frostbite stayed in the toy box for 9 months, that was OK.  Because, once it began to snow, he was dug out and put into action.  Modern toy lines focus on main character saturation.  But, the vintage Joe line proved how the supporting cast could be instrumental in keeping Joes at the top of every kids' play patterns.

Frostbite's mold did not have a long life.  He got just two releases: this 1985 figure and the Tiger Force repaint in 1988.  However, as Frostbite was a mail away option for many years, there are variants of both this 1985 version and the later Tiger Force release.  Most of them relate to Frostbite's beard.  It can be thicker or thinner based on the time of release.  His fur that covers his shoulders also has a slight coloring difference on the later releases.  Both of these variations are subtle and not something that really makes them sought after.  But, it's something to be aware of.  The Tiger Force Frostbite figure was released in the Auriken Tiger Cat that was sold in Mexico.  It's possible this is a foreign variant of the Tiger Force Frostbite.  But, I'm not sure if the figure was Hasbro's release that was included with the Mexican vehicle or a totally separate production run done by Auriken.  If you have more info on the later year runs of Auriken releases, please let me know.

Frostbites are actually somewhat cheap.  Dealers will get $15 to $20 for a complete Frostbite.  But, you can get one for $10 without too much trouble.  Incomplete figures will run $5.  This is surprising for a 1985 figure.  But, Frostbite was available for many years.  So, there are plenty of them out there.  And, at his price, he's a figure that everyone should have.  The Snowcat remains one of the best cold weather vehicles.  And, you really need to have Frostbite at the helm.  He's one of those obscure figures that really works for his intended purpose.  And, he's affordable enough to always justify his acquisition.