Rarities - Action Force Zartan

Zartan was one of Hasbro's most popular toys.  Something like 1.7 million were produced.  Despite that asinine number of toys available, Zartan remains one of the most popular and expensive vintage Joe figures.  The character was released all over the world.  And, while the single carded release from Japan is, arguably, the most sought after, there are Zartan packaging variants from many other places.  Below is one such release: the Action Force Zartan.

Zartan fell into an odd release window in Europe.  He was early enough to appear in original Action Force boxes.  Below, you'll see a sample of the early box where the selling point is the toy itself rather than the artwork that would appear later.  The most interesting part, though, is the early Cobra logo that was used on this Action Force packaging.  It's a highly stylized green snake wrapped a Cobra text bubble.  As an alternate way to promote the bad guys, it's kind of weird.  And, it didn't convey the size and capabilities of the Cobra organization like the printed Cobra logo did.

The figure and swamp skier are the same as those released in North America.  You will note that the Swamp Skier features alternate stickers.  Missing is the cool chameleon sticker that is the calling card of the North American Zartan.  Really, I wish this had become more of the logo of the dreadnoks than the later offerings that appeared in the 2000's.

Seeing the toy in action, though, would have been a big selling point for me as a kid.  I was never a huge fan of the artwork on the boxes or cards because they often didn't match the toy you were getting.  And, one of the lasting memories I have of the Action Force comic was that they included ads that featured the actual toys in action.  Back in the '80's, there was no such thing as action figure photography.  So, it was awesome to see some of the toys out of their boxes and set in actual play settings.

Here is a later Action Force box.  It is more in line with the Hasbro release in North America.  You will note, however, that this version features a grey filecard.  And, this is the much harder to find version of the filecard where the reference to Zartan being a "paranoid schizophrenic" has been Bowdlerized.

Rarities - Italian Jet Man (Slipstream) Bootleg

The Italian Jet Man figure was one of those things that was long rumoured, but never really confirmed for a long time.  In the past decade or so, though, the figure has finally come out of hiding with loose and boxed versions actually being available.  As to how or why an Italian toy company got to release a red version of Slipstream, though,  remains an absolute mystery.  But, this figure exists and is one of those bizarre oddities that dot the periphery of the collecting landscape.

To me, this figure very much looks like the body of a A-Wing fighter pilot from the Star Wars line.  The colors really show how close the pilot mold is to that of the original Star Wars designs.  Were this guy in orange, he's be a dead ringer for X-Wing pilots, too.  So, I guess the coloring of the original Slipstream is a testament to how overt copyright infringement can be avoided.

There are other European bootlegs that are based on Slipstream.  So, I don't know if this company got access to the Hasbro mold for Slipstream.  Or, if they just copied it.  You can see a cheapness to the figure's face.  But, that may just be the paint masks that were used.

The figure includes a red rifle that originated in one of the Joe knock lines of the mid 1980's.  I think it was Galoob who first produced it.  But, I may be mistaken on that.  Regardless, as a kid, I didn't much care for this rifle at all.  For some reason, it just looked cheap and I always associated it with lazy rip offs of official G.I. Joe weapons.

Jet Man is one of those weird items whose existence is baffling.  How did such an obscure company get ahold of such an obscure mold to use for a toy?  And, if they made their own mold, why did they choose Slipstream?  The upside is that this is an incredibly oddball release for collectors to track down.

Rarities - B.A. Baracus (Glasslite - Brazil)

We all know about the Estrela toy company from Brazil.  They were Hasbro's partner to release licensed G.I. Joe figures in their native market.  But, if you are a Star Wars collector, you are more likely to be familiar with another Brazilian toy company of the era: Glasslite.  

Most famously, Glasslite made the only production Vlix figure from the Droids line.  While not as rare as they once were, Vlixes are still holy grails among vintage Star Wars collectors.  But, Glasslite also made action figures under other licenses.  Among them were MacGyver, Airwolf and the A-Team.

Below you will see some images of the Glasslite B.A. Baracus figure that was based on the breakout character from the TV show who was played by Mr. T.  The card artwork is gorgeous.  And, the figure is drastically different from the B.A. figures released in the U.S.  

The U.S. BA is wearing a green jumpsuit.  While there are a few variant figures depending upon whether the figure was carded, boxed or a vehicle pack in, I'm not aware of any U.S. A-Team figure using the double bandolier chest that the Glasslite figures use.  (There are, though, plenty of uses of it in other knock off lines.)  The red color of the Brazilian release is more eye-catching.  And, while not anywhere near Mr. T's signature look from the show, is more flamboyant and in line with the B.A. Baracus character.

Sadly, the Galoob molds used for the A-Team figures were bad.  The heads all feature poor paint applications and creepy smiles that were likely a way to soften the fact that you were buying figures of vigilante terrorists who were wanted criminals.  And, the team's signature weapons were replaced with standard weapons that were recycled from other lines.  The Glasslite figure suffers the same fate.  While the colors and mold are better than the Galoob figures, they still are poor representations of the characters from the show.  You wonder what a company like Hasbro could have done with them.  

As a kid, we had the A-Team figures.  We watched the A-Team every week, at least for the first couple of seasons.  We had the van.  We also had one of the big boxed sets that included the repainted General Patch tank as well as a plethora of crappy accessories.  It was this gear, though, where I found value.  The A-Team figures were straight arms that were released in a swivel arm world.  They never had a chance.  But, the vehicles were relatively compatible with Joe.  And, for many years, my 1984 Copperhead figure wore one of the red backpacks from the A-Team set.  Stuck into the straps of the pack was the holster from the Endor Princess Leia figure.  And, Copperhead used her pistol for a long time.  I miss that type of imagination.  I was able to make Copperhead very important to my childhood play since he had that extra gear.  Now, I only use him as a color match when showcasing new Black Major figures.  

As an aside, a random memory I have of the A-Team is actually from the summer of 1993.  At the time, I was in Barcelona for a few weeks.  Every night, a TV station in the city played A-Team reruns, dubbed in Spanish, during prime time.  It was weird to see a nearly decade old show playing in such premium time in another country.  I watched an episode, just for nostalgia.  But, the shows are bad and even in 1993, they didn't hold up well at all.  I haven't watched an episode since.  I'd rather remember the cool factor of the original airing during my childhood than confirm the cheesiness of '80's TV that the series actually is.

Hasbro has recently announced a 4 figure pack of Ghostbusters characters that are made in vintage Joe format.  The absolute dreamer in me sees something like that and starts a reverie about Hasbro dropping oddball o-ring releases of things like Indiana Jones, the West Coast Avengers and, even, the A-Team.  The A-Team is the one most certain to not ever exist.  But, it's also the one that has the most potential cross over with Joe.  It was contemporary to Joe.  And, both Mr. T and Sgt. Slaughter were professional wrestlers.  But, things like that won't ever happen.  I'm left with silly musings about how my childhood would have been better had things like that existed in the 1980's.  

In the early 2000's, many Brazilian G.I. Joe sellers would also have A-Team, MacGuyver and Airwolf toys available.  But, they'd try to sell them for the same premiums that figures like the Cobra De-Aco would command.  So, few people bit on them.  Now, you don't see the toys all that often.  But, that's likely a function of the brands lacking enough cachet to bring high prices.  As a collectible, though, the Glasslite A-Team figures are a small and cool subset to collect.  I think they're better than the Galoob figures.  Just, good luck finding them.

Rarities - Action Force Persuader

On of the most ignored facets of the worldwide Joe line is that a huge number of vehicles that were released in Europe actually feature some pretty drastic color differences from their North American counterparts.  Usually, the colors are darker and richer.  It's very noticeable when you have both the North American and European versions next to each other.  

There's no real reason why the colors were changed.  All of these vehicles were made by Hasbro in the same factories as the North American releases.  It would be one thing if just, say, the green plastic was changed.  But, you see different hues of brown, red and orange, too.  So, the color changes were deliberate and occurred over multiple years.

Below you will see an Action Force Persuader.  The vehicle features a darker green base.  As something different, the green is kind of nice.  It's a little dark.  So, it would be tougher to see in photos.  But, as part of a convoy, the different color would add some depth to the display.

There's many Action Force vehicles that feature these type of color differences.  The documentation on them is sparse and difficult to dig up.  But, the communal reference resources for the toy line haven't been updated in over a decade and it's really caught up with the community.  And, now, minor differences like these alternately colored vehicles are mostly undocumented.

Rarities - 1985 CAT Tank (Sears Exclusive)

The MOBAT sucks.  It's important to start out with that as a statement.  It was, easily, the worst toy to debut in the line in 1982.  And, it was never compelling.  Sure, it was cool in the comic and cartoon.  But, there, you got to see characters interacting with it in a way that was simply not possible with the actual toy.  So, Hasbro recoloring the tank in black and red for release as a Sears exclusive in 1985 didn't really solve any of the limitations of the toy.  But, the Crimson Attack Tank (CAT) exists and remains a prized piece for collectors: even if it's undeserved.

It's tough to remember that Sears was the king of retailers as the '80's dawned.  The catalog sales model was a proven way to reach massive amounts of consumers who didn't have access to a physical Sears store.  But, Sears was also pretty effective at getting stores into even small towns.  (The small town where my cousins grew up had a stand alone Sears store.  It was about the size that a Dollar Store is today.  But, it was clean and efficient.  It stocked a few items.  But, mostly, it was a place where customers could come in and order from the catalog.)  So, them being able to afford an exclusive run of toys made a lot of sense.  And, starting in 1982, Sears carried their first exclusive Joe toy, the craptastic Cobra Missile Command.  

In other profiles, I've written about how my dad was a Sears junkie.  He could go in and look at the tools for just as long as I would look at the toys.  And, as they were near each other in our local store, I'd often find myself free to wander the ample toy section while he browsed the hardware.  Really, my only memories of spending time looking at toy lines I didn't collect was in Sears.  My time in Toys R Us or Children's Palace was always Joe focused with little time to spend browsing around.  I recall looking at He-Man and Sectaurs at that Sears store on the north side of Indianapolis.  In these sessions, though, I also discovered the CAT and the SMS.  I distinctly recall both of them being on the end of an aisle and the boxes were neatly stacked on the floor.  The display was huge and the stock was more than ample.  The following year, I found the Dreadnok exclusives in similar format.  Since my dad liked Sears, we found these toys under the tree.  Except, that is, for the CAT.

For Christmas of 1981 or 1982, my dad's best friend bought my brothers and I, each, a remote controlled tank.  They were undersized for Joes and not really meant for action figures.  We played with them for a day or two.  Once home, though, they got tossed into the toy box where they'd stay.  They were too big to match the grocery store plastic soldiers that every kid in the early '80's had in spades.  And, they were too small for Joes or Star Wars figures.  So, they weren't that fun.  Because we had these, though, my mother was adamantly against us getting any more motorized tanks.  I asked for the MOBAT once because I wanted Steeler.  The tone of my mother's "no" ensured I didn't ask again.  

Aside from Steeler, though, I don't think we really missed anything.  Our friend around the block had a MOBAT.  And, no one every played with it.  It was big, didn't interact well with figures, and, you couldn't roll it into battle like you could the toys with free-rolling wheels.  

To this day, I do not own any incarnation of the MOBAT.  Through the years, I've had the original and the 1998 versions.  But, I sold them all off as they are bad toys and worse display pieces.  I've never owned either CAT.  And, I've never had any inclination to do so.  It makes no sense to pay a premium for a vehicle that I don't like and would never, ever use.  But, the CAT is a relatively hard to find item, especially complete with the gun cap.  And, for that reason, it's always been popular with collectors.  The 1985 version has always commanded a premium price, even when alternative versions were getting clearanced from KB Toys' website for a couple of bucks each.  

At its core, the CAT is just a MOBAT colored in black and red.  If the MOBAT were a good toy, this recolor would be an awesome addition to the Cobra army.  But, since it's not, the CAT is just a big hunk of black plastic that takes up huge amounts of space in photos and can't hold any figures.  In Canada, an all black MOBAT was released.  I actually prefer the two-tone CAT, though.  While both toys are rare (the Canadian being substantially more so) they both are heavily limited by the MOBAT design.

Today, with a bit of perseverance, you can find an open sale of the tank for about $250.  But, this is an  item that dealers always pick out.  So, there is consistently plenty of stock available.  The tanks are just sold in the $350-$400 range.  And, lots of people pay that price since the tanks are there for the taking and $100 is worth not having to wait for a year or more to get one at a real market price.  

Super7 O-Ring Figures

So, we finally get to see the Super7 take on o-ring G.I. Joe figures.  They are...pretty much as expected.  Basically, they are ReAction figures with vintage Joe articulation.  They feature the same heads, smooth sculpts and trademark hand design as the 5 points of articulation figures.  So, they will stand  out among vintage Joe figures.  But, they are also somewhat close and will work with vintage figures.

My thoughts:

1. The heads are too large and detailed for the vintage style bodies.  They will definitely not look like vintage figures.  
2. I'm not a fan of the hands.  But, the main reason is that the gear is much less likely to be compatible with vintage Joes.
3. The bodies are just too smooth.  They lack details that the vintage Hasbro team used to give the figures depth.  The smooth bodies look like knock off figures from the '80's.  (The smooth upper arms are especially egregious.)
4. The waists are too big and blocky.  This is a feature that also plagues many kickstarter figure lines.  
5. The crotch is short and stocky.  It's straight off of a K-Mart Remco figure.  It's hugely noticeable among vintage Joes.
6. The accessories don't look great.  The cartoon inspired designs are OK.  But, the guns included with the BAT and Snake Eyes look like Chap Mei type weapons that are overly large and embellished.

So, I'm left with an existential question: am I an o-ring figure collector or am I a vintage style Joe collector?  Because, I don't see these figures as being an extension of the vintage Joe line.  Really, the entire success of this line will likely hinge upon the paint masks.  If they offset the cheapness of the sculpting, these figures will be really nice.  But, even skimping on one or two masks will leave the figures looking more like knock-off Joes instead of an upgrade over Hasbro's work.

I'll  definitely use them to supplement my vintage collection.  Especially if they make missing figures like Dr. Venom or the Khaki shorts Kwinn.  Figures like Snake Eyes and Cobra Commander seem unnecessary since I have plenty of them that are already compatible with my collection.  The Twins (a surprise announcement!) and Cover Girl fall into the middle tier.  For the right price, I'll get them.  But, $50 or more for the Twins is a no.  Though, $35 might be doable.  

We're seeing Hasbro and other toy makers dropping prices and also pushing discount lines at brick and mortar retailers.  But, collector lines haven't felt the full pinch...yet.  So, it will be interesting to see where the price point on these ends up.  They were going to be expensive.  But, the market may not support that, now.  So, we'll see where they end up upon release.  I'll be hard pressed to pay $25 plus shipping for these figures.  $20 at my local Target seems like a lot for all but the best figures.  $12 seems great.  But, that's just not going to happen.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Rarities - Unproduced 1995 Big Ben & Snow Serpent

The 1995 Joe line would have been pretty great.  Had it come to be, many of the items would be held in the same regard as precious items from the line's heyday in the 1980's.  And, with the lower production runs of the line's final year, many of the items would likely be super expensive to acquire today.  While the line featured a solid array of new figures, it was also going to include many repaints of earlier releases.  Two of these would have been the figures included in the planned 1995 repaint of the Tactical Battle Platform which would have been called the Battle Station.  For some reason, this set piece was going to include repaints of Big Ben and the Snow Serpent.

You can tell from the photos that both of these figures are hand painted prototypes that were used the 1993 mail away figures as their bases.  As such, you see production colors on the legs.  It's unlikely that the final figures would have matched these concepts, exactly.  But, they'd have been close enough.  So, you get the general idea of what the designers were trying to do.

Oddly, the concept art for the Battle Station doesn't actually feature the figures who would have been included with it.  Instead, it is a smorgasbord of unreleased 1995 figures and likely reissues of 1994 releases.  This would imply that the figures included with the set were more ways to just use molds that were available rather than really spice up the design.  But, the Battle Station concept art also showcases many of the figures in the cardart poses with positioning that suggests placeholder design.  So, it's likely that they box art would have changed upon release and probably featured the figures included with it.

I find it interesting that concepts from both of these figures did, eventually, see release.  The 1998 Snow Serpent borrows elements from this unproduced 1995 figure.  And, the 2001 Big Ben was an arctic repaint in the vein of this unreleased Big Ben.  So, it's nice that some of the work was eventually used...even if it was by a different team looking to save a few bucks rather than an homage to the founders of the brand.  

Seeing current prices of the 1993 mail versions of these two characters makes me shudder at what these 1995 figures would cost today had they seen release.  Being in a low production, high dollar playset would have made acquisition unlikely for many kids...meaning fewer figures going into the secondary market.  I take solace, though, knowing I'd have forked over the money for a Battle Station had it been released...just because it included these two figures.  I had a rule that I'd buy vehicles with figures included.  And, Big Ben was one of my earliest grail figures.  So, the Battle Station would have called my collection home.

Sure, it would now be yellowed and decaying in a box in the closet.  But, I'd have these figures and enjoy them for what they were.  I still maintain that collectors would hold the 1995 line in high regard had it seen production.  But, there were forces at work that were far beyond the G.I. Joe brand.  So, we're left with tidbits of what might have been.  Repaints like this aren't nearly as interesting as newly designed, unproduced pieces.  But, they would have been an important supporting cast for the planned new figures.  I'd still love to know if any of the 1994 molds that debuted that year would have gotten updated paint jobs for 1995: as was Hasbro's habit at the time.  I'm sure some would have been cool and others would have been...less so.  But, more figures are better than fewer.  And, we really missed out with the line's cancellation occurring in 1994.  

Rarities - Brazilian Marfim

The 1993 Outback is actually an excellent sculpt.  It was never, though, released in really nice colors...at least by Hasbro.  In a rare occurrence, the Brazilian release of the 1993 Outback mold is actually the best paint job ever used on it.  And, it has created a great figure: Marfim.

All of the other uses of this mold featured bright colors.  Marfim, though, is far more muted.  Gone is the orange and yellow.  And, it's replaced a by a nice hunter green that is offset with gold highlights.  The figures still features some blue on his pants.  But, it's not overly done and is a decent accent color.

With this different coloring and international name, you can use Marfim to overcome the greatest issue that collectors have with the 1993 Outback.  People just can't see this figure as Outback.  But, when given a new name, it becomes much easier to accept the quality of the sculpt for what it is and not have it saddled with the rose-colored glasses of 1987 nostalgia.

Marfim's gear features excusive coloring of some weapons that debuted with the DEF.  He includes red versions of the 1992 Mutt's pistol and the 1992 Headman's rifle.  Estrela loved DEF weapons.  And, Headman's rifle appeared twice.  Once in red with Marfim and once in a bright green Coronel Coragem.  It's odd that this weapon was available in Brazil when they never released either a Headman or a 1992 Mutt repaint.  (The two figures with whom the rifle was included by Hasbro.)  It's likely that Estrela had access to more molds than they actually produced, though.  And, that's how things like the original Alley Viper weapon ended up in Estrela releases, too.

Back in late 1997 or early 1998, a member of the G.I. Joe Usenet group managed to find the skeleton of the early Estrela Toys website.  Back then, search engines had limitations.  And, if you didn't speak Portuguese, there weren't website translators that were readily available.  Many of the pictures on the site returned the dreaded red X: meaning they were gone.  But, one image that remains burned in my mind was a photo of many of the final releases in the Estrela G.I. Joe line.  The one figure I remembered was the Headhunter repaint.  At the time, the Headhunter was a grail figure for me.  And, it wasn't common knowledge that he had been released in Brazil.  This Marfim would have been in the same image.  But, they were small and grainy.  So, the Marfim's quality didn't imprint upon my brain in the same way the Headhunter did.  I wish I could find the images from the old Estrela website.  They are likely to exist somewhere.  But, we have such better reference material now, though, that those old photos would be more nostalgic than informative.

So, back in the late 1990's, Marfims were pretty easy to find.  He was one of a few select Brazilian figures that was available to new collectors.  There were always a couple of them available (usually carded) for really cheap prices.  But, as the 2000's dawned, the figure simply disappeared.  For about the next decade, it was really difficult to find a Marfim in any condition.  And, the prices skyrocketed.

Now, you can find Marfims again.  But, the prices haven't fallen to levels are that indicative of his availability and desirability.  This is too bad as this is a great release of a solid mold.  Toy dealers have become less and less interested in letting the market set prices for collectible figures.  That may change at some point in the future.  But, the circumstances of any change like that aren't likely to be good.  When they do, figures like Marfim will become more affordable.  But, you'll have to act quickly to add figures like this to your collection.

Rarities - The 2023 Unproduced Lot - Mickey Mouse Cobra Trooper and Officer

In late 2023, a random Ebay lot appeared.  In it were loose versions of the unproduced alternate head Zap, Short Fuse and Breaker figures.  The figures had been played with.  But, the molds matched the known, existing samples of those three figures.  Also in the lot, though, were two other figures that had never before appeared publically: an alternate logo Cobra Trooper and Cobra Officer.

These figures feature the "Mickey Mouse" Cobra logo that appeared on  the early run Mickey Mouse Cobra Commander figure.  Up until this point, these logos had never been seen on either a Trooper or an Officer (in public).  And, the collecting community quickly went into overdrive to authenticate the figures.  

It certainly helped that the figures were found along with loose samples of the alternate head 1983 figures.  That gave them a  provenance boost since there were other items in similar condition that indicated a pre-production find.  And, those other items featured mold changes rather than the more easily faked paint differences.  The fact that the items had play wear meant that the original owner had no idea that they had anything special.

At the end  of the day, these figures aren't all that interesting.  We've seen the logo before.  And, the figure molds are the same as production releases.  Seeing the two together is notable when you put together a timeline of the design process.  The Mickey Mouse Cobra Commander, though, already gave us that information.  But, really, the Mickey Mouse Cobra logo sucks.  The logo that they went with for production is drastically superior.  So, Hasbro made the right choice with the change.  But, seeing production figures like these tells you how close this logo was to being the definitive symbol of everyone's favorite evil terrorist organization.  

The value on these figures is likely in the thousands of dollars.  Even if more of them appear (as happened with the alternate head 1983 figures after the first samples were discovered), it won't be enough to sate the high dollar demand.  Items like this don't appear all that often.  And, it's been a while since legit pre-production variants had been found on vintage Joe items.  

The fact that things like this still exist speak to the sheer volume of product that the Joe line encompasses and the fact that many people who had access to these items may not have really cared, or even noticed, that they had  something materially different from the full production items in  their possession.  It's great that there are still  finds to be made out in the world.  But, they are far more likely to be made by professional resellers who buy out old toy designer's closets and basement than actual collectors.  

Which means items like this will remain the domain  of well heeled collectors.  We can just hope that the original sales of the items continue to be in public forums so that the items in question don't get to just disappear into private collections with no documentation of their existence.  (Like the pre-existing samples of these did.  Yeah, other copies of these exist and are kept hidden for...reasons.)  So, at least we now know these figures exist: even if they aren't all that cool.

Rarities - Flash (Plastirama Version from Argentina)

The final Flash entry is this Plastirama figure from Argentina.  This guy also features a darker body color.  But, he has a flatter finish than the Estrela figure.  The green is also a slightly different hue.  While the 3rd series of Plastirama figures were widely imported to the U.S., the first series are surprisingly findable, today.  They're not cheap and you'll spend time searching them out.  But, they aren't mythic like the fabled 2nd series.

I find looking at the different releases of the same character kind of fun.  It really showcases how much figures changed between their international releases.  There was a time when most collectors dismissed figures like this, thinking they were all very similar.  But, as you can see from the past few days, each foreign company put their own, unique stamp on their releases.

Rarities - Flash (Rubiplas Version from Venezuela)

Today, we feature the rarest of the foreign Flash figures: the Rubiplas release from Venezuela.  Rubiplas figures are the last great, unexplored reaches of the Joe line.  While we have some good info about earlier releases, they were releasing figures in Venezuela for many years after these straight arms were retired.  

There are two points of interest on this figure.  First, he includes a dark green version of Doc's helmet instead of the standard 1982/1983 helmet.  The second is the light brown hair color.  It's very distinctive and nicely offsets the darker green of the body.  These two items represent the biggest tells of the Rubiplas figure.  

In general, Rubiplas figures are not easy to find.  There was a time for a couple of years where there were a couple of different ways to acquire them.  But, those seem to have dried up.  Now, you're left chasing the few samples that were imported when the Venezuelan sellers were active.

They're neat because they are different and have some weird oddities to them.  There's really no explanation why this Flash features a Doc helmet.  But, this helmet wasn't available in a similar color to the dark Rubiplas green anywhere else.  (The AP helmet from Hasbro is drastically different.)  So, the figures have a cachet since they are so distinguishable.  Someday, I hope to see better info on the full Rubiplas line come to light.  Until then, it's just crumbs here and there.

Rarities - Flash (Auriken Version from Mexico)

I profiled this Auriken Flash a few years ago.  Instead of deeper, darker green from Brazil, this Mexican release features a much brighter and distinctive green hue.  Frankly, it's amazing.  And, I'd love for factory custom makers to emulate it on some of their releases.  It's drastically different from anything released by Hasbro.  So, it really stands out.  And, juxtaposed against the red of Flash's pads, you get a stunning toy.

Rarities - Flash (Estrela Version from Brazil)

Today marks the beginning of a few days of Flash.  Flash was released around the world.  So, I'm going to showcase each of his releases.  First up is the Estrela release from Brazil.  You'll note that this Flash is a much darker green color.  The greens used on the early Brazilian figures are much richer and more vibrant than those used by Hasbro.  And, the set of early Brazilian figures has much more visual distinction between the characters than Hasbro's original 13 figures.  I would have loved for this color to appear among the factory customs...especially when the Flash mold was available.

Rarities - Estrela Reaktor - Brazilian Exclusive Fastdraw

Estrela released about 150 unique figures in Brazil.  Most of them were very similar to the Hasbro figures.  But, every figure had subtle differences.  (With the exception of the figures that Estrela made for release in North America like the Slaughters Marauders and some mail aways.)  In the old days, these differences were often ignored.  But, in the past two or so decades, collectors have come to appreciate the subtle color nuances that exist between Hasbro and Estrela made figures.

The biggest difference is often the Brazilian green color.  It is a richer and deeper green color.  It appears on many Brazilian figures from the earliest years through the end of the Estrela line in 1995 or so.  

Below, you can see the Brazilian release of Fast Draw that's named Reaktor.  First, Reaktor is a great name...even if it would seem at home on a He-Man character.  Secondly, you'll note that Reaktor was a member of the Brazilian Battle Force 2000 subset.  He replaces Dodger, whose mold was retained by Hasbro for use in the Sonic Fighters line.  

The most notable difference on the figure is the Brazilian  green on both the figure and his accessories.  There are other color modifications, too, especially the hue of red on his accents.  Overall, though, the figure is darker than the Hasbro made figure.  It allows for easy visual distinction between the versions.

Rarities - 1986 Promotion Image (Pre-Production Figures)

Every year, Hasbro would go to the New York Toy Fair.  Here, they would showcase a catalog of their upcoming year's worth of toys.  As the Fair was early in the year, the catalog would often feature early designs and pre-production figures from various toy lines.  Below is not the 1986 catalog.  I'm not actually unsure of the origin of this image.  But, it's not from the official Toy Fair catalog.  But, in this promotional image, you can see several pre-production figures from the 1986 line.  The 1985 figures are all production level.  But, there are lots of 1986 goodies to explore.

The most interesting thing, of course, is that Mainframe still includes the little stands that were meant for his computer.  The holes into which these would have been inserted did manage to survive on Mainframe's production computer.  But, the stand was never released.  It is likely this was done to save cost as the stand didn't really add any additional play value.  But, the artifacts of it's early existence are proved out by its appearance in this photo.

Most people viewing this will likely focus on the BAT that is in the front and center of the presentation.  You'll notice that it has a different chest hologram as well as a different head.  This head appears squatter and fatter than the sleek head on the production figure.  I think the production figure looks better.  But, your mileage may vary.

Hawk also features an additional paint application on his helmet.  The goggles are painted black.  It's a very nice additional detail.  And, while it would have been great to see it at retail, it's also not enough of a change to really notice it's missing.

Several of the figures feature alternate heads.  The BAT and Dial Tone's heads are the most jarringly different from their production counterparts.  There are also lots of subtle paint differences, too.  Some of these figures might have been hand painted samples.  The awkward posing on the 1986 figures suggests that they were not production level at the time the photo was taken.  

You'll notice that Iceberg, Leatherneck, Low-Light, Monkeywrench, Zandar, Zarana and Roadblock are all missing from this display.  I'm not sure why.  I can see Zandar and Zarana being later releases while they finished up the color changing.  (Zarana is noted in some material as featuring a color changing "mohawk" which never came to be.)  All of these figures, though, do appear in  the official Toy Fair catalog for 1986...with a few pre-production oddities of their own.  By the time of the Toy Fair catalog, though, all of the pre-production figures from this photo (except the BAT)  had been replaced with production figures: even while the missing figures remained pre-production in that later photo

Stormshadow was also carried over into 1986.  This makes sense for one of the most popular G.I. Joe figures ever released.  There was a time when I was hell-bent on finding a grey Stormshadow filecard that would denote his 1986 release.  I can't recall if I ever succeeded in doing so or not.  But, check out that 6109 assortment that included Stormshadow.  You got Stormshadow, the 1985 Snake Eyes, Crimson Guard, Flint and the BAT in one case.  By Toy Fair, though, the assortment was modified to drop the Crimson Guard, but add the Eel, Low Light and Leatherneck.  That would have been a dream assortment to find hanging on the shelf at your local stores.

These old catalogs are a treasure trove of early designs and pre-production kitbashes.  In later years, Hasbro got better at including more production level figures in their materials.  At least until 1993 and 1994.  But, we'll talk about those at a later time.

Rarities - 1991 Pre Production Eco Warriors Flint (Commercial)

If you watch the toy commercials that aired during the vintage Joe days, you will find that they are chock full of pre-production and alternate paint job figures.  Usually, this was a function of the fact that the commercials had to be shot before the actual production figures were available.  

Below is the 1991 Eco Warriors Flint who appeared in the 1991 Eco Warriors commercial.  The figure is actually shown with the backpack and water gun that was included with Ozone.  The colors match Flint quite well.  It was not uncommon to see Joe figures with incorrect accessories in commercials or in catalog photography.  This was likely just a function of the producers having to make their best guesses as to which figures should have which gear.  

The most interesting feature of this pre-production figure, though, is that the visor on Flint's helmet is painted a light blue.  It's a small change that makes an incredible difference in the appearance of the figure.  Oddly, with the visor painted, Flint's head looks similar to the 1991 Snow Serpent.  But, it's almost certain that the missing paint application on the helmet was nothing more than a cost-cutting move.  

If you watch the Eco Warriors commercial closely, you'll notice that the Cesspool that is used is also a pre-production design.  It's still pretty similar to the production figure, though.  There is also, though, a weird Duke figure that is nothing like any production Duke.  The Duke also appeared in other contemporary commercials.  A few years ago, someone tried to fake the Duke and pass it off as the one used in the commercial.  But, it was sniffed out as a fraud by the community.  But, the fact that we didn't see a production Duke until 1992 which had similar coloring, it makes you wonder if Duke was planned for a 1991 release and got pushed back.  Or, if Hasbro just wanted to promote the Duke character even though they didn't have a figure of him available at retail.  (Hasbro has stated that, for their Star Wars line, they can not put any figure on a box that they haven't released to retail.  But, it's unclear if that's a general law or something specific to the Star Wars license.)  But, it's a weird Duke that stuck around for a while before the 1992 Duke figure became available.

The second image is from the 1991 Toy Fair catalog.  It also features Flint with the painted visor.  You'll also note that he is now pictured with his correctly colored pack that matches production.  But, he has a green version of his stand alone rifle.  This weapon was never actually released in green.  Which is too bad.  I think the green gear is a better fit.  But, it also didn't provide any contrast.  And, Flint decked out in all green and yellow gear makes the gear hard to spot.  The blue offsets his base colors better.  So, these updated colors likely made for better retail presentation on the shelves of the time. 

I'm a fan of the Eco Warriors Flint, in general.  Had the figure been released with the painted visor on his helmet, I would be even more of a fan.  That little paint application makes a huge difference in the appearance of the figure.  It's really a shame it didn't make to the production release.