When I first saw the 1987 catalog, it was full of toys I wanted. Two oddball items stuck out to me, though. The first, obviously, was Cobra La. I wasn't sure what the hell that was supposed to be. So, the companion three figure set also seemed weird. At some point in the summer of 1987, I found the two three packs at the local Toys R Us. There was no way I was buying the Cobra La set. So, I bought the Slaughter's Renegades set while my younger brother purchased the Cobra La figures. Once opened, I still didn't really understand the Renegades. Taurus and Red Dog seemed out of place in the line. Mercer, though, quickly found heavy use. Though, I didn't really follow his ex-Viper background.
As the year progressed, the Renegades didn't appear in the comic. This was rare for the age as even Crystal Ball showed up in an issue of Special Missions. When our friends from down the street tried to describe the G.I. Joe Movie to me, they made no mention of the Renegades as the bizarre fate for Cobra Commander and the celebrity voices were the extent of the highlights. So, the Renegades, and their purpose, remained a mystery to me. So, I found uses for the two "lesser" figures in the set. Red Dog's main value came from his pistol. Taurus, though, never really found grounds for existence and was one of the very rare 1987 figures who I didn't fully characterize.
Taurus's head is well sculpted. Really, it might be one of the best sculpted heads in the entire line. It is distinctive, unique and it conveys a sense of consternation and experience that is difficult to convey with a small, plastic countenance. The bushy red beard and eyebrows offsetting the bald head and large ears leave you with a lasting impression of the figure. You know what they sculptors were trying to convey and it came through very well. It is still flummoxing to me that even modern sculptors have struggled so mightily to match the sculpting of vintage Joe heads. Especially when you see how much variety there was in the line. Heck, Falcon and Taurus were sculpted in the same year and offer two extremes of head design. Yet, to this day, people have yet to really mimic the overall aesthetic of vintage Hasbro heads.
Taurus's colors are interesting. He was just the fourth figure in the line to use yellow as a primary body color. (Blowtorch, Airtight and Claymore) His legs are a pea green that are a near match for the green that would define the Night Force subset starting in 1988. I feel this is an overlooked detail that would allow for Taurus parts to appear on more Night Force customs. The colors aren't a bad match, though. And, Taurus is visually interesting. It's just that the super short sleeves, dramatically exposed chest and red facial hair offset the yellow and somewhat ruin the overall appearance of the figure. The more I look at him, now, though, I find more value in Taurus's appearance. Really, he's one of the most visually distinctive Joes in both colors and sculpt. And, re-evaluating him more than 35 years later has left me with a very different opinion of the figure than I had as a kid back in 1987.
As a kid, I didn't find much use for Taurus. Often, he'd be relegated to the role of a nameless villain who would pop out of the A-Team van and kill a bunch of civilians: causing the Joe team to hunt him down. In one of the Special Missions issues, Larry Hama created a radical named Horst. He was a brainwashed zealot who blew himself to bits: thinking it would lead to eternal glory. Instead, his comrades didn't even remember his name. I used Taurus as a stand in for a Horst like character. Though, it was far more often that the Joes (and, sometimes, Cobras) would kill him before he could suicide them all away. Taurus had no name or characterization beyond being a terrorist who could offer some divergent adventures from the standard Joe vs. Cobra scenarios.
As I've grown to appreciate this figure more, though, I don't have many regrets over my childhood treatment of the toy. Really, Taurus got every chance to capture my imagination. He just failed to do so in any meaningful way. As I had a pretty much full collection of Joes, though, Taurus as going to have a tough time breaking out. He appeared near the very end of my childhood acquisitions. And, his bizarre release vehicle to which I lacked context didn't endear him to me. I was just confused as to why the entire Renegades team existed. So, that left Taurus to stand on his own without the benefit of a comic book appearance. But, one of the benefits of adult collecting is that you can reconsider figures like Taurus who didn't matter in my childhood collection. And, in Taurus's case, he's a rare occasion where I've found him more valuable as an adult collection piece than I ever did as childhood plaything.
Taurus' gear, well, sucks. He has the worst weapon in the three pack. It is silver, which wasn't common for the time. But, it's not quite a pistol. And, also too small to be a rifle. It doesn't really work with any figure and just always looks awkward. He also includes a brown version of Recondo's backpack. As a kid, I matched the black Footloose pack with Taurus as I thought the brown Recondo pack better fit with Mercer's color scheme and the black pack was a better match for Taurus. The card artwork didn't offer any clues for the pack/figure matches. So, I kept the Recondo pack meant for Taurus with my Mercer figure for years. In fact, if you scroll through photos on this site from 2008 or earlier, you'll always see Mercer wearing Taurus's pack. Now, though, we have plenty of evidence that this pack was meant for Taurus and I've evolved to using Mercer's proper backpack with his figure.
Taurus is the only one of the three Renegades figures who doesn't really have a foreign exclusive repaint. Red Dog got a Funskool repaint in 2001. And, Mercer saw release in Brazil about a decade earlier. However, all three Renegades did get exclusive single carded releases in various European countries. All of these cards feature unique artwork that wasn't available in the U.S. Many years ago, a collector friend of mine mentioned that he thought there were extremely slight coloring differences between the U.S. and European releases of the Renegades: Taurus in particular. But, he never confirmed it. So, this is one of the rumored Euro exclusive releases that I'd love to someday validate.
Taurus is one of the cheaper figures in the entire line. He is the least popular renegade and doesn't match with Mercer or Red Dog. The yellow shirt isn't a color people much care for. And, as such, you can still get nicely conditioned and complete Taurus figures for under $10. Dealers do sell a lot in the $15 range. And, the highly fragile gold paint will often drive that price point. All of the Renegades seem pretty common. 1987 saw a high production run to coincide with the G.I. Joe Movie...which then ended up as a straight to video release. So, the less popular figures from this year really tend to show up a lot and remain extremely cheap. It's a just fate for Taurus as he's really not that good of a figure. But, I do appreciate his sculpting and colors more as an adult collector than I did as a kid in the final days of childhood.
Yeah, one of those figures to cross off the list, but not a priority. I was well out of Joe by the time the movie came out, so I have no nostalgic or emotional connection with him. In hindsight, Mercer and to a lesser degree Red Dog, were far superior. Modern prices for Taurus reflect that. He works as a merc , enemy soldier or even a Dreadnock ,but that to me is the extent of his use.
ReplyDeleteTaurus was one of my distinct purchases while in college, from an antique store that, unfortunately, is no longer in business. It’s also where I got Voltar and a 1988 Sgt. Slaughter.
ReplyDeleteI'm really excited to see the Marauders make their way into the Classified Series at some point, hopefully blending the vintage designs with some new concepts rather than being straight translations. I had the Marauders as a kid and liked their weapons but I didn't see the movie until much later, either, so I didn't know their cool, "off the books" role in the Joe team. Pest control, indeed.
ReplyDeleteI always think that the revolver on Taurus' chest looks like a better fit for him than his rifle, though it does seem like something with a lot of character. It feels heavily personalized, like perhaps it was something from a sharpshooting act he was involved with during his circus days.
Sgt. Slaughter's Renegades and Slaughter's Marauders are separate sub-teams, FYI.
DeleteYou're absolutely right. I think I had the 2011 set that called them all Marauders in my mind while I was writing this.
DeleteI have to say I like Taurus very much. Like you said, he's well sculpted, his head is amazing, and his pants/legs are very nice. The yellow color of his vest is subdued enough to not be offensive IMO, unlike some of the neon yellows and darker macaroni & cheese yellows seen elsewhere in the line.
ReplyDeleteBut also he's got a mystique. A former circus performer from Turkey would probably have gotten into many interesting misadventures. He's got a Sindbad the sailor vibe that I kinda dig. There's also a Mandela effect around Taurus for me: I really want to think he came with a scimitar, but he didn't. Could be because of his movie appearance with one. The convention exclusive Taurus did come with a scimitar-like weapon though.
One more thought: is it possible Taurus was originally planned to come with a recolor of Snake-Eyes' scimitar? I want to believe this for some reason.
DeleteI can't, specifically, recall Taurus's pre-production artwork. Supposedly, the Gyro Viper helmet was originally meant to be Mercer's "Viper" helmet. But, as the helmet doesn't actually fit on Mercer, it was an early change. If anyone has Taurus's artwork, it might answer your question.
DeleteWho is Sindbad?
DeleteI think his gun is a pistol, though I'm not entirely sure what kind. I've seen it called a Claridge Hi-Tec, but that company didn't exist until 1990. Prior to that, a similar design was produced by Goncz Armaments in 1984, they made a few hundred guns in several variations including the Goncz Carbine GC-9, which had a wood stock similar to Taurus's gun. The Goncz guns were commercially unsuccessful and by my guess, would have been rather obscure when this figure was being planned, though so were many other Joe guns. The guns became slightly famous for a few appearances in some movies during the 90's and 00's, including Total Recall. I've seen a few pictures of the Claridge carbine, but not the Goncz carbine specifically.
ReplyDeleteTaurus is a lot of fun. I only got him by chance, but inventing a role for him was fun and rewarding. The bright yellow shirt looks a little silly, but it's also eye-catching and makes him seem more unique. Mercer and Red Dog always strike me as a team, usually with Falcon, but Taurus I've had work on his own a lot more.
I love the risky pose in that second picture!
I never really appreciated Taurus until recently either. My favorite Renegade was Red Dog. Most of the time, the Renegades just rolled with Sgt. Slaughter in the Warthog and looked cool.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a checklist figure. He was best used as parts for customs. Though GIJoeburg did an excellent series on the Renegades.
ReplyDeleteTaurus is a figure I have some vague memories of as a kid. My older brother got the Renegade 3 pack but this is the only figure I really have any memory of playing with as a kid. With that said he did not get much time under the sun as a favorite character of mine but stayed on the periphery of my Joe-Verse.
ReplyDeleteAs an adult collector I have certainly changed my tune. You mentioned the great details of the sculpt and I totally agree with you. The figure design and colors also just work for him. I can also appreciate now that he and the other renegades are paid mercenaries for the Pentagon. I brought up his filecard to take a look and his background is very cool and well thought out and provides a solid outline for who he is. Alot of these details flew over my head as a kid but I can now certainly appreciate everything about Taurus.
If his shirt was blue would have been huge difference
ReplyDeleteTaurus was like a customizer cliche/trope in the late 90's. How little regarded a character is to be reduced to Dreadnok parts fodder. Red Dog sometimes suffered that fate. Mercer less, so, because at lot of the hardcore collectors online then were raci...I mean comic purists.
ReplyDeleteI just think Mercer has the best back story out of the three as an ex-viper. His figure design is also better than Taurus and Red Dog.
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