2005 Convention Metal Head

Metal Head is one of my favorite Cobra characters from the 1990's.  I first became aware of him when a kid down the street had one.  I thought the figure was really cool.  Then, I came across him in the comic and the character was interesting enough.  As I hunted down the remainder of the Joe line at retail, I discovered that Metal Head had returned in a new version.  I quickly bought him and he became a key component of my first foray into collecting.  Once I acquired a 1990 Metal Head, though, I found that I actually appreciated the 1994 design much more.  

When Joe returned in the early 2000's, I was hoping that the 1994 Metal Head would return with a nice, new repaint.  That never happened at retail.  But, he did appear in the 2005 convention set.  This figure returned my favorite look for Metal Head.  But, the figure didn't resonate with me.  While it was great to see a late mold return, the overall colors for the figure weren't spectacular.  And, I wasn't really a fan of tying him to closely to the Iron Grenadiers.

The Iron Grenadier set is generally considered the best overall convention set.  While others may have individual figures that surpass any in the 2005 release, the Iron Grenadiers tend to win out when taken top to bottom in terms of each individual figure.  But, at the same time, this Metal Head is generally regarded as the bottom figure in the 2005 set.  The army builders are well liked.  And, both Destro and General Mayhem have found stupid aftermarket interest in recent years.  Metal Head, though, has not.  He's one of the most neglected convention Cobra characters.  

The figure is flawed for many reasons.  While the Iron Anvil and Iron Grenadier figures are really nice repaints that feature Iron Grenadier adjacent colors, Metal Head seems more of a mess.  First, he was given a bright red shirt.  And, this gives him a base color that is difficult to offset.  It's especially difficult when the color covering it is gold.  Gold paint is notoriously brittle.  And, slathering the figure in that base color, especially on the chest is a recipe for disaster.  The final piece is the asymmetrical arms.  Sure, this exists on the 1994 figure, too.  But, the 1994 keeps the left arm in all black.  So, the differences are less noticeable.  But, the extra paint on the arms showcases the unexplained differing details on each.  And, it calls out some of the limitations of the mold.  I find the head problematic.  But, that's more personal preference as I feel Metal Head's beard should be fuller and the sunburnt skin tone that was so common in the 2000's always feels off to me, especially when you have a figure using red as one of the primary body colors.

Personally, I don't like Metal Head being so bogged down as a member of the Iron Grenadiers.  But, that is heavily a function of the fact that I had the original Metal Head figure in the mid-1990's and used him as one of the many "new" Cobras that I had created.  The 1994 coloring allowed Metal Head to be independent.  So, seeing the sculpt with an Iron Grenadiers logo on it is somewhat off-putting to me.  But, this is a function of my own, personal, experiences with the figure mold and character.  For others, seeing Metal Head as an Iron Grenadier and in colors that perfectly match army builders and characters from the same set would have been welcomed.

Metal Head's accessories are typical of the 2000's era.  They are random weapons assigned to the figure with no real purpose.  I guess the same could be said of the 1994 Metal Head's weapon tree, though.  Convention figures included grey accessories and clear figure stands.  This was, supposedly, done to prevent the new weapons from being mistaken for the originals.  I do think, though, that the club also wanted the special gear so that it wasn't possible to stock the figures with indistinguishable weapons from the cheap retail fodder of the era.  It helped to justify the exorbitant pricing on their sets.  Metal Head includes a JvC era machine pistol.  It's small and just OK.  Then, he has a redone 1992 Duke weapon.  This gun looks good until you put it into a figure's hand.  Then, the imbalance of the handle placement and oversized sculpt become obvious.  The upside is that lots of overstock convention weapons were sold over the years.  So, it's not impossible to complete a figure like Metal Head if you can find an incomplete one for cheap.

If you've been around this site enough, you know I am not a fan of the collector club that existed in the 2000's.  Their utter disdain and disrespect for their customers irreparably harmed the entire G.I. Joe brand.  And, their entire tenure is just a series of one fiasco and public relations disaster after another.  If you ever want to study how a nepotistic monopoly still managed to run itself out of the business, the club is the prime example.  But, I have to be fair to them when it comes to the 2005 convention set.  In either late 2004 or early 2005, the worst kept secret in Joe fandom was the list of proposed 2005 convention figures.  

This list laid out the Iron Grenadier theme.  If mentioned the Iron Grenadiers using the original 1988 mold.  Desto was there.  And, the convention vehicle was going to be the Cobra Condor.  People who could discuss the list in private showcased excitement.  But, as the club was know for pettiness, the list wasn't shared publicly for quite a while.  And, when it was, the club denied it 100%.  Then, when the convention set ended up being about 90% correct, the club got self inflicted egg on their face.  But, the fact that the list was wrong wasn't their issue.  In 2004, they would have been seeing if molds could be found or utilized.  It is known that a mold labelled 1988 Iron Grenadier was found.  But, it actually ended up being the 1988 Destro.  So, the fact that they had to improvise for the Iron Grenadier and swap out the Condor for something different isn't really an issue when you look at a proposed list generated so far before a production date.  The list itself wasn't the problem.  But, the club's consistent bungling of their messaging ended up with their best set being met with a bit of malaise.

Pricing on this figure is weird.  In just 2021, you could get mint and complete versions for under $30.  Now, you see dealers trying to get $150-$250 for him just because he's a convention release.  You can occasionally find one for $75.  But, that's rare and hard to do right now.  In another year or two, I expect this figure will back down into more normal pricing realms.  He's not popular and the Iron Grenadier set seems to exist in more than ample enough quantities to satisfy the demand from a dwindling collector base.  Most importantly, though, this isn't a figure that gives you enough satisfaction to demand premium pricing.  He doesn't stand out on his own.  And, I'd argue the original version is better.  So, he's a definite figure to avoid in the current market.