Rarities - James Bond Jr. Black Parachute Pack

While G.I. Joe was the staple of Hasbro's action figure offerings, they did also make some other, lesser heralded action figures lines as well.  Among them is the 1991 James Bond Jr. line.  I have no recollection of the James Bond Jr. franchise.  I was out of toys in 1991 and not really watching afternoon TV, either.  However, it was a fairly ambitious project.  It featured 65 TV shows (an absurdly high number for an unproven concept), novels, comic books, games, video games and, yes, a full toy line with action figures and vehicles.  Despite all of this, the concept was pretty much dead by 1992.  I have to assume that some of the companies involved took a bath by investing so heavily in something that was so fleeting.  But, it didn't deter Hasbro from chasing other, licensed properties in later years.

The toy line is unremarkable.  There were 12 figures and 3 vehicles.  The figures are early 90's garbage with limited articulation and exaggerated features.  This likely made them cheap to produce.  So, that may have mitigated Hasbro's exposure.  The figures came with an accessory or two.  One, of those accessories, though, is remarkable because it was reused from the G.I. Joe line.

The James Bond Jr. in Flight Gear figure includes a black version of the 1990 Sky Patrol parachute pack.  In 1990, Hasbro had used this mold, extensively, for the Sky Patrol series of figures.  So, they knew that the mold was available and that it worked.  A working parachute is a neat feature for a toy.  So, reusing something like that from the Joe line was a great way to make a figure attractive to kids while also cost saving by using an existing mold.

The parachute pack was only released at retail in the black color with James Bond Jr. and the Paratrooper Guile.  However, in 1994, the rather rare Convention Exclusive Fighter Pilot also included a black parachute pack.  Many people find the black parachute pack from James Bond Jr. and think they've found a super rare gem from the obscure convention figure.  And, you'll see many, many, many, many, many, many questions about this James Bond Jr. pack in various forums, etc.  But, there are actually two different molds for the parachute packs.  The mail away version is different from the Sky Patrol version.  And, the James Bond Jr. pack is the only black pack that uses the Sky Patrol mold. 

The quickest tell as to which mold you have is the sculpted dials at the top of the back of the pack.  They do not exist on the 1985 mail away mold which is the basis for both the black Action Pilot and the Paratrooper Guile.  So, if you find a black parachute pack out in the wild that has the dials, it's from James Bond Jr.

As nobody cares about James Bond Jr., you can still buy the figures for cheap.  The black pack would be a great option for your Cobras.  And, is a great match for a figure like the Abutre Negro.  But, mostly, it's good to know that there is a difference between the accessory used in this release and the one that was colored black in the G.I. Joe and Street Fighter Movie lines.