Last year, we looked at the S.I.T. figures from Remco. That series was full of awesome designs that would have made great additions to a Joe collection. Hidden among the sea of other, rather terrible, Remco figures, though, are other series of high quality figures. As the Remco line progressed, they stepped up their game in terms of figure design, characterization and accessories. One of the more bizarrely interesting releases is their Swamp Man figure.
This diver figure was sold under both the US Forces and American Defense brand names. (Maybe even more, as Remco was known for reusing items ad naseum. And, there are several American Defense cardback color variants.) While he includes different rifles based on his release, the basic dive gear accessories remain the same. He has flippers, air hoses and a chest mounted dive armor. It's not a bad complement and is a look that would have interested me when I was a kid as I was a sucker for removable air hoses that plugged into a figure's helmet.
The main thing is that the figure is pretty interesting to look at. He would perfectly integrate into a Joe collection and look in line with figures like Eels, Hydro Vipers and Undertows. Part of me is sad that I didn't really take advantage of the cheap lots of Remco figures that used to litter Ebay. Now, they're mostly gone and finding figures like this is a pain as few toy dealers bother with them. But, if you can find a Swamp Man, he makes for a solid entry to a Joe collection.
I had the K-Mart American Defense version. Not sure what gun he came with. Too long ago. I recall one of his fingers broke and that's one of the big issues with those Remco figures.
ReplyDeleteHe was a Hyrdo-Viper knock-off but his gear was a lot less fidgety than Hydro Viper. It's funny Remco's budgetary mindedness led to creating removable gear to go over existing bodies in a few cases (not really that many) like Swamp Man and the robot Safety Zone.
Those later Remco figures are a curious mix of military, sci-fi and sports weirdos. Some, like Swamp Man, feel like Cobra wannabes. It's odd Remco's military lines never had an enemy force.
"Forst Trooper" obviously one of the guys under Robert Forster's command.
Shame about the placement of the shoulder pegs in this line.
ReplyDeleteI'm really digging those characters on the back of the card, they seem really interesting! Any chance of getting reviews of the rest?
ReplyDeleteHopefully! It's tough to find good pics of them. I'll have an Ice Wonder/Yeti feature next year for sure, though. I'm working on Spike as he's also pretty cool.
DeleteI'm a huge sucker for gimmicks. I'm in love with Slugger and Touchdown, and really like Safety Zone and Super Space.
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