1992 Eco Warriors Barbecue - Around The Web

While I really enjoy this Eco Warriors Barbecue figure, I've never been able to really capture his essence in a photograph.  You won't find that issue in many of the photos below, though.  Others are quite good at showing off this figure.  So, scroll through the links and leave a comment for the creators who are able to make this figure really work.

1992 Barbecue Profile

1992 Barbecue at Nekoman's Viper Pit

1992 Barbecue by Tituslester32

1992 Barbecue by the Dragon Fortress

1992 Barbecue by 73larebear

1992 Barbecue by gen_liederkranz

1992 Barbecue by Tituslester32

1992 Barbecue by viper_space

1992 Barbecue by boonsart_com

1992 Barbecue by 73larebear

1992 Barbecue by 1990s_gi_joes

1991 Snow Serpent

There is a very valid argument to be made that the 1985 Snow Serpent is the single best G.I. Joe figure that Hasbro ever made.  6 years later, Hasbro revisited the Snow Serpent character and produced a second version.  Behind the legacy of the 1985, this new Snow Serpent had a tough path to collector acceptance.  But, Hasbro really did come through with the design.  And, they gave us something completely different than the heavily equipped '85.  This new Snow Serpent was sleeker, faster and more nimble.  His gear was more high tech.  But, he included the weapons of destruction that rivaled the original.  The long shadow of the version 1 Snow Serpent, though, remains hard for this later update to escape.  And, while I find the 1991 Snow Serpent to be an excellent figure in its own right, sometimes you just can't overcome your predecessors.

I should start with a couple of caveats.  First, I'm a big fan of the 1991 Snow Serpent mold and actually prefer it to the 1985.  But, secondly, the 1991 coloring of this mold is the worst of its three uses.  Both the 1993 repaint and the 1998 Toys R Us exclusive figures are superior to this 1991 palette.  The 1993 mail away is striking in its bold use of color.  The 1998 goes the opposite way and makes for a perfect arctic figure by using colors that blend into a snowy environment.  This 1991 is somewhere in the middle.  He's got enough color to be noticeable.  But, he's still too muted to be a "realistic" (whatever that means) figure.  

My preference for the 1991 design is rooted in practicality.  Even as a kid, I saw the 1985 Snow Serpents as "long siege" troopers.  They were equipped to dig in and take a while to achieve their objective.  As a kid, I built stories around this.  Now, though, the reality of Cobra being a terrorist organization  makes the sleeker design of the 1991 more practical.  These guys could swoop in fast, cripple or destroy a location and jet out before any reinforcements could arrive.  Their speed meant that smaller numbers could inflict the necessary amount of damage.  And, they could escape before anyone really could understand what had happened.

The figure's design showcases this.  He doesn't appear as bulky as the 1985.  But, the 1991 still has amazing sculpting.  The figure's head has goggles that realistically protrude away from the covered face.  They separate a hat on his head and the facemask that protect anonymity.  The figure's chest, though, has a deep pattern to denote a heavy jacket: necessary in the cold temperatures.  His gloves feature the same texturing.  This helps tie the whole package together.  The figure looks like a cold weather operative.  But, he doesn't appear to be as weighed down as the original design.  This newer version has more freedom to move in his uniform and can handle the deft maneuvering required for his snowboard.

One little detail I love about this figure are the two scarf ends that are tied behind the figure's back.  These flowing pieces of cloth are specifically detailed on the card art.  While their movement is lost on the actual figure, the sculpting is still there.  Both strands are etched on the figure's back.  It's a dumb little detail that really doesn't matter all that much or add anything to the figure.  But, Hasbro took the time to add it as a way to distinguish the Snow Serpent.  Little things like this were the difference between Hasbro figures and everyone who has come since.  They cared about little things like this and took the time and expense to add them to figures.  It didn't goose the sales of Snow Serpents.  But, it did affect the perception of the line's overall quality.  Parents felt better about spending money on Joe toys because they were high quality and worth the price.

1991 figures are decked out in gear.  Hasbro upped the accessory complements of the 1990 and 1991 assortments: likely in an attempt to make the toys feel like a really good value.  In 1992, the accessory count dropped.  And, the spring loaded missile launcher became a requirement for all retail figures.  The Snow Serpent, though, got the best of both worlds.  He includes a ton of gear.  But, he also got a spring loaded missile launcher that mounted on his backpack.  Snow Serpent was one of the transitional figures from 1991 that got the earliest spring mounted accessories.  Being among the first meant that the weapon is far less ostentatious than the spring loaded gear would later become.  You can see it being an integrated part of the more traditional gear instead of an add on.  And, because of this, the spring loaded launcher works for the Snow Serpent.

The engineering showcased on Snow Serpent's gear, though, is the real story of the figure.  The backpack is the focal point.  It features tabs to which the hoses that attach to the weapons affix.  There is the attachment of the missile launcher to the pack via a hole on the top.  This allows the launcher to swivel as far around as you want it to.  And, finally, the coup de gras: the Snow Serpent includes a rocket powered snowboard.  This piece is big enough to hold the figure and has some nice details.  It also attaches to the backpack so the Snow Serpent can carry all of his gear on his pack...just like the 1985 original.  

I can, reliably, sort out G.I. Joe weapons by vintage or repaint era without error with just two exceptions: the 1991 Snow Serpent rifle and pistol and the 1998 versions of the same.  The white plastic makes it difficult to differentiate them.  I believe there is a plastic difference you can feel when you have both in hand.  But, I'm loathe to rely upon it for weapons I've acquired outside of figures.  As I once had a mighty army of 1993 Snow Serpents, I spend decades acquiring rifles and pistols from the other releases to outfit the 1993s.  I succeeded in doing so.  But, I really have no idea how many of the weapons are 1991 vs. 1998.  At some point, I should just work it out and find the actual tell of the difference between the two.  But, as the 1998s are likely to exist in much lower numbers than the 1991, I'm not sure the exercise is really worth it.

The availability of 1991 figures is something I'd like to know more about.  It seems there were different assortments and some figures from the year were more difficult to find than others.  This Snow Serpent seems one of the easier figures to find.  In the late 1990's, he was about the only 1991 figure you could find in abundance.  And, even today, he is much more available than a figure like the Desert Scorpion.  The 1991 assortment only shipped for one year before the line got a soft reboot in 1992.  So, the production was truncated.  (This is one reason why so many 1991 molds ended up being released in other countries, too.)  If you have more info or even anecdotes from the time about the way the 1991 figures shipped, please drop it into the comments.

The Snow Serpent mold was used just the three times.  The 1991 original, the 1993 mail away and the 1998 remake were the only appearances of the mold.  There was a planned use in 1995.  A new Snow Serpent was going to be included with the Battle Station.  It was a weird mish-mash of the 1993 and 1998 designs.  Really, it would be the worst of the Snow Serpents, were it released.  But, it would also be the priciest as inclusion in a high priced 1995 playset would have meant low production numbers and limited collector penetration.  About half of the 1991 assortment appeared in other countries.  But, the Snow Serpent was not among them. You can argue that more uses of this mold would have created strong figures.  But, the 1998 was about as close to a perfect repaint as we saw in the 1998-2006 timeframe.  So, you can't fault Hasbro for not using it more.  

You can get all the mint and complete 1991 Snow Serpents you want for slightly under $20.  If you drop even one of the accessories, the price starts to plummet.  High quality figures with no gear can be had for $8 with ease.  As 1991 army builders go, that's a pretty good price.  And, as Joe figures go, in general, that's a pretty good price.  The 1991 Snow Serpent just doesn't have the cachet of the 1985.  Or, really, even his later repaints.  So, it's a good figure to acquire and, maybe, even army build a little bit.  But, let's be frank.  If you wanted to army build this figure, you would have.  And, the fact that you haven't isn't a function of his obscurity.  It's a function of the fact that this is the worst version of the Snow Serpent ever produced.  But, the worst Snow Serpent is still better than the best of several Joe years.  So, you do owe it to yourself to have at least one of these guys.  They're fun to have around.  Even if all of the other versions of the character are better.

The Zeroes - Mark IX

When I started to write this Zeroes post, I thought I must have made an error.  Last year was Mark VIII...meaning this would be the 9th year I posted something like this.  There was simply no way that could be true.  But, I didn't skip any numbers and this really is the 9th year I've looked at the site's least popular posts.  

The past year has been interesting.  I get lots of daily traffic.  But, individual posts don't get nearly the attention they used to.  Before, 600 or more hits were common within a few days of a new post going up.  Now, it's well under 200.  Despite that, overall site traffic is up.  The massive archive on a currently active blog seems to help drive search results.  And, in turn, funnel some visitors to the site.  

The upside, though, is that engagement is higher.  Posts tend to get more comments.  I'd rather have a smaller, more engaged audience than a broader one who is passe.  I love seeing discussions and the points made in the comments.  (I appreciate the corrections, too.)  So, I'll take that over some fire and forget moment on a crappy social media site.

With no further adieu, here's the worsts performing new posts of the past year:

Cobra Trooper Driver (Red Laser Army) - 284 Views

The days of Red Laser Army profiles getting big views has passed.  A few years ago, they were surefire hits.  But, as it's been 7 years since he last produced figures, the popularity of his releases has faded into memory.  You rarely see the Red Laser figures used in photos.  And, those who do appear tend to be the same 5 or 6 figures.  And, this Cobra Driver isn't among them.  Which is too bad since this is a decent release.  It doesn't do all that much.  But, it doesn't have to.  You now have a driver that looks like every custom Cobra Driver that was kitbashed and painted up back in the 1990's.  But, that's OK.  This guy was supposed to fill a niche.  And, he does that admirably.

Grey Night Viper (Black Major) - 255 Views

People like the Night Viper.  And, generally, they also like Black Major figures.  But, this one was an older figure.  And, for many long time collectors, these types of throwbacks can be passe.  This is a great color scheme for the Night Viper  mold, though.  And, it deserved a better fate.

1984 Copperhead - 249 Views

This was my second look at Copperhead, the first being more than 20 years ago.  The figure has held up quite well.  But, he didn't seem to capture anyone's attention.  Copperhead appears to retain about the same level of popularity that he's always had.  Which is to say that people appreciate him.  But, they're not going out of their way to make him their favorite.

1982 RAM - 229 Views

Usually, 1982 items do fairly well.  The RAM did not, though.  Part of that may have been the time of year.  For an iconic part of the line, the RAM didn't garner much attention.  Maybe it will take on more interest the 2nd time around.

Gatilho - Python Patrol Airborne - 213 Views

I'd been trying to write an updated Gatilho profile for about 7 years.  I had to proofread it a bunch of times to make sure I got all the historical math correct as I'd talk about the original profile like it was 15 years old instead of 20.  Regardless, the days of figures like Gatilho making a splash seem to be gone.  The figure is common enough that many collectors own it.  And, the character has appeared a few times in other sculpting styles.  So, he's not as unique as he once was.  

G.I. Joe #36 - 201 Views

With my figure reserves running low, the vintage comics are an area I'll expand into more and more.  They are a treasure trove of alternate looks for many characters.  And, re-reading them is proving to be a soothsaying exercise due to Hama's writing.  As for this issue, it didn't do great numbers.  But, I still have fond memories of it.  So, comics will be a thing you see more in the next 12 months.

So, that wraps up last year's duds.  This year's Rarities Month did pretty well.  I was happy with the content.  I've got some profiles mostly ready to round out the summer.  But, I still haven't acquired any new Joe figures in over 18 months.  I don't really miss it, to be honest.  And, as I find more and more figures starting to discolor, my desire to expand my vintage collection is really waning every day.  I'm finding more interest in ephemera and looking at oddball coincidences I can find in the line.  Those are fun to work out.  Hopefully,  I'll get the photos for them before my collection goes back into storage...again.  Hopefully, that will be settled by the fall and I'll be able to get some photos before all the leaves are gone.

Until then, continue stopping by to check out new features, photos and profiles.

Funskool Quick Kick

I'm not a Quick Kick fan.  I never have been.  Even back in 1985, I didn't find much use for the figure.  I had Snake Eyes to engage in epic sword fights with Stormshadow.  So, I had no need for another guy who wasn't part of the story and really didn't fit the ninja aesthetic of the time.  This was not the case for my peers, though.  They loved Quick Kick.  One of them loved him a bit too much and overused him to a great extent. But, to me, the character never really mattered all that much.  He simply wasn't someone around whom I could build adventures.  And, his only real use was as a generic civilian type militant who would get wasted by the Joes or Cobras when they tried to attack.

Much of my malaise towards the figure, though, was due to simple timing and luck.  For me, it was good luck.  For Quick Kick, it was bad luck.  Back in 1985, I found the new Snake Eyes figure very early in the year.  He was among the first 6 or 7 figures I acquired that year.  This was an anomaly as I had been very lucky to find an unstocked case of Joes on the floor of our local Toys R Us.  Inside was a Snake Eyes.  With Snake Eyes in hand, there was no way that Quick Kick was ever going to matter.  For my friends, though, this wasn't the case.  One of them had to wait until nearly Christmas to get his Snake Eyes figure.  With no other foil to his Stormshadow, Quick Kick became an integral figure to his collection.  Had I not found Snake Eyes on that fateful spring day 40 years ago, I might have found the same importance for Quick Kick.  Fate's cruel hand, though, dealt Quick Kick a fatal blow from which he hasn't recovered.

As I came online, though, I learned that many collectors view Quick Kick in a manner that's closer to that of my childhood friend than they do to me.  For many, Quick Kick was the only option to battle against Stormshadow.  And, he may have even been their only figure who carried edged weapons.  And, in this context, Quick Kick would be a vital childhood memory.  I, still, could not find much value in the figure.  He's among the least photographed figures from my childhood sweet spot of 1984-1987.  That doesn't mean, though, that he's a bad figure.  Quick Kick features all of the quality that was evident on other members of the 1985 figure class.  He is a cohesive design that creates a memorable character.  He just wasn't one that resonated with me.

But, seeing other collectors enjoy the character has, at least, gotten me to examine him on more than one occasion.  I feel it worthwhile to challenge my pre-conceived notions about figures...especially those from childhood.  Maybe I missed something.  And, as I've collected for over 3 decades, now, it's worth going back and trying to uncover an aspect of a toy that I may have overlooked or simply not appreciated as a child.  I find this a valuable exercise since it leads to self discovery as well as identifying items I've owned for years that can feel new and exciting again as they capture my attention.

With that in mind, I decided to take another look at Quick Kick.  He was the subject of a theme month at ARAHGallery.com and that gave me an opportunity to photograph his various versions.  I had a bit of fun with the various releases that I own.  As Quick Kick isn't an often participant in my photoshoots, I thought of a few ideas for him.  While R.T.G. has found success foiling Quick Kick against 1987 Cobra villains, I didn't find such a pairing.  Due to his release year, I see Quick Kick as more a pairing with more of the traditional Joes instead of the martial artists.  But, Quick Kick doesn't really match up with the missions on which Flint and Footloose would lead.  So, this still left the character with no real purpose and no real home.  In a couple of years, I'll try again and see if he captures my attention, then.

Quick Kick was a world traveler.  After Hasbro was done with the mold,  he was released in both Brazil and Argentina.  Both of these figures have coloring variants to the Hasbro and Indian figures.  Brazil even produced a large number of Quick Kick figures that were then available from Hasbro Direct as a mail away offer in the early 1990's.  These figures are identical to the Estrela figure released in Brazil.  But, they are fairly common and cheap, today.  Finally, Quick Kick went to India where Funskool released him for a long time.  An oddball figure using Quick Kick's body and Budo's head was even released as a Funskool promotional figure.  Hasbro never bothered to ask for the mold back.  And, Quick Kick was even among the Funskool figures who got a re-release in 2009.  The mold is, likely, still in India.  Maybe someone will resurrect it one day.  But, we probably have all the Quick Kick figures we need at this point.

At his core, the Funskool Quick Kick isn't all that much different from the Hasbro version.  The skin tone is more pink.  The pants are a shinier black.  And, in general, the accent colors of red and blue are more vibrant on the Indian figure.  The paint applications tend to be a little sloppier than Hasbro's.  So, there's really nothing that this Funskool release offers that you don't also get with the Hasbro version.  So, it's really just a bragging point or international Joe collectors and a figure to cross off a list.  

The Funskool version includes the same accessories as the Hasbro version.  The nunchuks are more flimsy than the Hasbro versions and feature a very thin chain that breaks easily.  The sword isn't as hefty as the Hasbro release, either.  It's noticeable when you have them both together.  His backpack is a dark black instead of the grey from the Hasbro release.  It's the most visually distinctive difference.  I'm loathe to use the nunchuks due to the fragility.  And, if the plastic dries out, they'll likely snap even if I've never used them.  I do like giving Quick Kick's sword to Budo as an alternative look for him.  That's about the most use I've ever gotten from the weapons.

There are many variants of the Funskool Quick Kick figure.  As he was in production for a long time, color nuances became the norm.  Generally, figures with very pink sashes are the rarest and most desirable.  Excellently conditioned samples can run upwards of $500.  Those variants, though, were not among the widely imported Funskool figures from 2001 and onwards.  All Funskool figure pricing on common figures from that era is stupid right now.  Quick Kick was available from American dealers for years and years.  Which makes sense that people trying to sell the figure in the $40-$50 range don't tend to do well.  But, supply is still very low.  So, you see carded figures sell for upwards of $50 all too often.  Left to market pricing, Quick Kick is about a $30 MOC figure...which is still way too  much for a figure of this stature and supply.

You can get a mint and complete Hasbro Quick Kick for about the same price as a carded Funskool version.  While a loose Funskool Quick Kick will be a lot cheaper, they are also harder to find.  So, it's probably worth it to just solve your Quick Kick needs with a Hasbro figure and call it a day.  I have this figure because he was $4: like every other Funskool figure that you overpay for today.  He was worth that price to me.  But, he wouldn't be worth much more.  But, it's also likely that my take on Quick Kick was forged by experiences that few others share.  So, to them, this figure has much more value.  And, if the character is important to you, having the option of another international variant makes collecting him much more fun and interesting. 

Rarities - 1984 Blowtorch Pre-Production Images

The 1984 Blowtorch is one of my favorite figures.  His gear just made him so much fun to play with.  Sadly, my childhood figure quickly fell apart from overuse.  So, I've long lived with the lament of not being able to use him to his full potential when I was a kid.  I've attempted to compensate by tracking down all the Blowtorch variants from around the world.  But, even that won't solve the disappointment from the mid 1980's when Blowtorch's mask and flamethrower ripped apart.

That being said, the real story of Blowtorch is how the figure changed from his marketing designs to the production figure.  Originally, Blowtorch's accessories were going to be a bit different.  And, they give some insight into Hasbro's evolution from wires that were simply part of the accessory's design (like Flash's laser rifle) to the separate black hose pieces that would debut with the Dreadnoks in late 1984.  

Here is the best image I can get of an early Blowtorch.  You'll see what appears to be some parts differences on the arms.  The biggest difference, though, is the mask.  You'll note that this early version has open eye holes.  And, then, instead of a yellow wire to plug into the figure's body, you'll see a black hose.  This is very different from the solid piece mask that was released on the production figure.  The final difference is the black hose that is attached to the flamethrower.  The production figure has the hose molded as part of the weapon as one, solid piece.  Here, it's a separate hose to run between the weapon and the backpack.  This image, below, is a screenshot from a 1984 toy commercial.

But, the same figure was also showcased in the 1984 marketing catalog that was included with every vehicle and playset.  You can see Blowtorch still has the open eyes and the black hoses.  More interestingly, though, you can see that the hoses were intended to attach to Blowtorch's backpack instead of having the air mask hose plug into his body.  

Hasbro changed the hoses, though, to be solid pieces that were part of the mask and weapon.  In late 1984, though, Ripper would be the first figure released to include black hoses that connected two accessories.  These black hoses would remain the Joe staple for the remainder of the line until they were phased out after 1991.  It's likely that Hasbro realized the limitations of attaching plastic hoses that were part of an accessory mold to a backpack.  Even back in 1983, it was common for Flash's laser rifle or Breaker's headset to have broken wires.  In their quest to always be improving, the separate hoses were a novel way to solve this problem.  While they may have explored the idea on the 1984 Blowtorch, they must not have been ready to get it into production.  So, they made Blowtorch in a more traditional format and delayed the black hoses until the 1985 series.

The eye holes on the mask, though, make more sense.  I can see these being problematic.  They would have been a likely source of plastic flashing.  So, many pieces would have been opaque, anyways, as excess plastic leeched into the small spaces.  And, the top part of the eyes would have been extremely thin.  It would have easily ripped and torn; especially as kids stretched it out when they affixed the mask to the figure's helmet.  Hasbro was concerned about making quality toys back in 1984.  So, making a solid piece that was more sturdy made sense.

Personally, I'm a bit torn on this.  I do like the color continuity between the flamethrower and mask and their hoses.  But, at the same time, the addition of the black coloring adds a new dimension to Blowtorch's look.  I'd have loved for my childhood Blowtorch to have not torn.  But, the hoses would have only solved for the flamethrower as it was the connection pieces that wrapped the mask around Blowtorch's helmet that ripped on my childhood figure.  I'd have likely gotten frustrated that the hoses got lost, too.

Still, it's interesting to see how the figure evolved prior to release.  And, it shows how methodical the Hasbro team was in getting things right before they moved them into production.  But, when you know you have a hit toy that's going to run for years, you can be a bit more cautious in your approach to innovation.  I'll leave you with a final commercial screenshot.  You can see the the figure more clearly since he's not wearing all his gear.  He looks like more of a kitbash.  But, really, I'm putting it out there because I have idea what's going on with Cutter's head in this photo.  But, that's probably something to dig into in a future Rarities post.

Rarities - 2005 Red Ninja Viper Pre Production Color Variant

Back in the mid and late 2000's, there were tons of alternate figures coming from Asian sources.  Some were unpainted prototypes.  Others were color tests.  Some were early paint samples.  Some featured slightly different colors in specific areas.  And, others featured entirely different paint masks or parts from the production figure.  There were so many of them coming out, though, that documentation was sparse.  And, the fact that there was so much misinformation about the figures contributed to many people not wanting what was known about them to be published.  Lost in the Tiger Force Steel Brigade and Night Force Tracker figures, though, are obscure and often missed variants like this Red Ninja Viper.

Released in 2005 as part of a Comic Pack, the Red Ninja Viper used the 1988 Stormshadow mold that had been recently returned to Hasbro by Funskool.  Hasbro painted it red and meant it to represent the fan favorite Red Ninja who appeared in the infamous G.I.  Joe #21 issue.  The figure worked well enough.  But, the Joe world was so jaded by the time of its release that the figure didn't really make a splash in the collecting world.  The production figure features a pale, brown coloring on the mask and boots.  But, some of the early figures from Asia changed that color to black.  It's a small change.  But, it's probably better than then production brown.  You'll also note that the pre-production figure has a painted sash on his waist.  Again, this is a substantial upgrade over the production figure where this was left unpainted.  

It's an odd juxtaposition.  And, it suggests that Hasbro was cost cutting on paint applications for the 2005 figures.  (There is a pre-production variant of the Stormshadow from the pack that has painted sleeves instead of bare arms, too.)  But, Hasbro knew the line was in trouble by the time this pack debuted.  It saw a solid production run.  But, much of that run went to clearance and discount outlets where you could buy the retail pack for $5 for over a year after its release.

Most collectors missed this pre-production figure because the change was so slight and there were so many better and more drastic pre-production figures available from Asia at the time.  It's pretty likely that, if you bought cheap army builders from Asian sellers in the early 2000's, you could have some of these pre-production color variants interspersed among your production figures.  These more minor paint changes often went unnoticed and were overlooked in many cheap lots of the day.  And, since the black paint seems like a logical production choice over a light brown, you might not even realize that you're missing the production version since you have this one available.

Sadly, both the swarm of cheap army builder lots and stream of alternately colored figures have dried up.  While it's likely that there are still a lot of them in Asia, they're not readily available.  And, modern collectors who snatched up the bulk of them back in the mid 2000's are holding onto them.  You see some of the big hitters switch hands and even go on public sale with a bit of frequency.  But, the more obscure figures like this Red Ninja Viper are often ignored and are nearly impossible to find outside of a few, enterprising collectors of the day who managed to buy them in bulk when they were just a couple of bucks each.

Rarities - Remco Captain Impermeable

The various Remco action figure lines are full of lower quality toys that were meant to mimic more popular, and expensive, brands of the '80's.  They were a cheap alternative for the media driven icons of the decade.  Despite the poor quality, their 3 3/4 military inspired lines actually featured some really interesting ideas.  The pinnacle was their S.I.T. series of figures.  But, earlier Remco lines also featured some very interesting character designs that created figures with some merit.  As an example, we look at Captain Impermeable.

First off, Captain Impermeable is a fantastic name.  It's both an unheard of level of superhero cheesiness and a great moniker for a one off villain.  (Though, to be fair, this guy has no character.  So, him being a good guy or a bad guy was entirely up to the kid who owned him.)  The figure is black and silver and dons a full hazmat suit.  The figure's look is a weird combo of '80's fear mongering and World War II nostalgia.  The suit looks modern.  But, the ancient gas mask combo mish-mashes the look into something right out of a comic book.

To my knowledge, this figure is the first hazmat suit wearing 3 3/4" figure.  His 1986 release year predates anything Hasbro would do in G.I. Joe.  (The Toxo Viper wouldn't appear until 1988.)  And, appears to have beaten Lanard's hazmat themed figures to market, too.  The black and silver color scheme is also rather unique.  It wouldn't appear in the Joe line until the 1989 Snake Eyes.  The Hasbro team would have been knowledgeable of other competition in the marketplace.  But, we'll look at some other ideas they "borrowed" from Remco in next year's Rarities posts.

One aspect of play that Remco leaned into in their various military themed 3 3/4" lines was horror.  This isn't all that surprising since Remco released the classic 3 3/4", 5 POA monster figures at the start of the 1980's.  They had the classics of Wolf Man, Frankenstein, Dracula, the Mummy and the Creature from the Black Lagoon (among others.).  Remco later created their own Wolf Man character with a two-faced head for kids to mimic the transformation into the creature.  But, I see figures like Captain Impermeable in that same vein.  This guy looks like he crawled out of a crappy '80s slasher flick.  And, paired with some of the other Remco figures would have formed a creepy contingent of monsters and nightmares for the good guys to battle.  

Being a Remco figure, Captain Impermeable exists in a few different forms.  You can find his parts on other figures.  And, there are full repaints of the mold that are available.  I've seen them in both bright and olive green color schemes.  (This character was also sold under the name of Smokescreen.)  I'm not sure under which banners the repaints were released.  Remco is sparsely documented.  Which, makes it difficult to fully track down all uses of a figure's parts or even the universe of all the times the mold was repainted.

Back in the early days of online collecting, you'd often find lots of Joe figures that also included Remco and Lanard figures.  They were just mixed in because you were buying some kids' childhood toys.  Slowly, though, the knock-offs and discount lines were filtered out.  For many collectors, they all just went into a box or were sold off in large lots of non-Joe figures.  But, now, high quality Remco figures are pretty tough to find and they will cost you.  The poor quality of the original figures is part of this.  You'll often find Remco figures with broken parts (especially thumbs), heavily worn paint or missing accessories.  So, you'll pay a premium for mint specimens, especially if they happen to be interesting figures like this Captain Impermeable.

Rarities - European Action Force Taurus

Taurus is a boring figure.  He's the least popular of the Renegades and is the one you least often see in action.  The only really interesting thing about his figureis that, in Europe, he was released on a single card with new artwork.  All of the Renegades were released as single carded figures in various European markets.  There's no real explanation as to why this was.  Cobra La didn't receive similar treatment.  And, there were plenty of other '87 figures to fill out an international line.  

The card features unique artwork for Taurus. You can find the carded Taurus figures from various European markets that will feature different languages, too.  You'll note that G.I. Joe is the marketing focus for the toy.  But, there is still an Action Force subheader to tie the figure to the established European brand.

More than 20 years ago, a collector friend of mine who specialized in foreign variants believed that the European Renegades figures had slight coloring differences from their U.S. released counterparts.  He was unable to confirm this, though, as he didn't have known samples of the Euro figures in his possession at the time.  It's something I'd love to finally put to rest.  We know that many European figure releases did have slight variances from their North American counterparts...mostly just due to the fact that they were released in later years and not part of the initial run.  You'll see slight color variants all the way up to different dates stamps on some European versions of figures that, otherwise, are identical to the North American release.  Most of these are not documented and can be tough to verify.  So, if you have known samples of both releases of Taurus and see any differences, please post them up as I'd love to confirm/deny the rumors from the turn of the century.

The one thing about these figures that was of note to me is that they clearly showed which accessories were intended for which Renegade.  As a kid, I always put the black Footloose backpack on Taurus since it was a better color match.  The brown Recondo pack went to Mercer for the same reason.  While I've come around on the black Footloose pack belonging to Mercer, I can't reconcile this Recondo pack on Taurus.  Mostly, it's because I don't care about Taurus all that much.  But, seeing him with his correct backpack still looks odd to me.

There was a short time when these single carded figures were very desirable.  But, that ebbed away rather quickly.  The Renegades are rarely anyone's favorite figures.  And, Taurus and Red Dog are among the most obscure '80's figure releases.  Maybe they were dropped into the assortments to help recoup mold costs.  (The '87 Mercer was later released in Brazil and Red Dog has a famous, race changing Funskool release.)  Sadly, documentation on how European releases came to be is mostly non-existent.  Which is too bad as some of those decisions would be more interesting than getting made up stories from fading memories of the Hasbro line.

Rarities - 1993 G.I. Joe Complete the Mission Advertisement

So, this is more of an oddity than anything rare.  But, really, I just like the idea that there is a marketing piece out there that carried on the tradition of Kenner's old "Collect Them All" mentality that dates from 1993.  What is interesting to me, though, is the manner in which the text depicts the line.  

Initially, it implies that the 1993 Joes are "shipping out" and won't be available much longer.  While the 1993's only had the single production year, the reality is that fresh cases were still being sent to closeout retailers through, at least, late 1995.  So, Hasbro had plenty of stock left.  Seeing the "Supplies are limited" moniker seems awkward since it was the 1993 figures who lingered into 1995 and 1996 at retail chains while the lower production run 1994 figures sold out first.  This was one of those marketing attempts to drive what we'd later define as FOMO.  Disney used it to remarkable effect in their VHS vault concept.  So, you can't fault Hasbro for trying.

The other thing that stuck out to me is that the line is described as "Collectible".  This is a shift that began in the early 1990's.  Hasbro, especially on the G.I. Joe team, was recognizing that there was a new, burgeoning market for their legacy brands: adult collectors.  They, though, weren't interested in spring loaded gimmicks.  But, promoting something as "collectible" could draw them in.  Most of the focus on adults was on the 12" side of the Joe brand.  But, there was enough cross-over for them to port some of the messaging to 3 3/4", too.  In 1994, the Joe team went all in promoting the Joseph Colton mail away to adults...to great success.  In fact, the reason Joe Coltons are cheap and widely available, now, is because so many adult collectors back in 1994 hoarded extras with visions of future riches in  their heads.

The poster isn't really noteworthy for anything else.  All of the figures appear to be production level samples.  So, there's no weird colors or oddball accessories in there that I can spot.  You'll note a few absences, though.  Figures like Wild Bill appear on the checklist.  Even though the figure isn't pictured.  The Alley Viper and Beach Head, though, are completely absent from both the poster and the checklist.  

The Duke actor is prominently featured, too.  The 1993 live action sequences are best left forgotten.  The commercials were terrible.  But, Joe needed to try something.  And, by the early 1990's, live action was cheaper than high quality animation.  There used to be a bunch of interviews with the Duke actor that were out there.  If you look around, you might still find them and can hear his perspective on the production.

While the idea of a poster with checkboxes to notate the completeness of your collection seems quaint in 2025.  Hasbro was still putting out material like this through at least the late 2000's in some of their lines.  There are even G.I. Joe marketing materials showcasing figures through the end of the Venom Vs. Valor series.  (Spinmaster even used them with their Batman line in the early 2020's.)  So, the concept behind a piece like this is sound and something that's still part of a marketer's playbook.  There have been some great fan-created checklist posters for the Star Wars line.  And, a high concept poster would actually sell to collectors.  For now, though, I'm going to seek out late run ephemera like this poster as they give insight into the Joe line's final years.

Rarities - Auriken Grunt

In Mexico, the Auriken toy company released a small line of exclusive Joes.  There are a few different series.  The initial series, though, features all straight arm figures.  In fact, it features all of the straight arm figures that were also released in the U.S.  All nine Joes are available, as well as both the Cobra Trooper and Officer.  But, two of the figures featured some "updated" artwork.  One was Snake Eyes.  The other was Grunt.  Instead of the classic Grunt artwork on the packaging, the Auriken Grunt featured Footloose's artwork.  

Footloose matched Grunt's specialty of "Infantry Soldier".  So, it's  possible that the artwork got mixed up as it traveled around the world.  But, the proper Grunt artwork was used in Brazil and Argentina.  So, it getting mixed up when it went to Mexico seems less likely.  The Footloose figure was also released in both Brazil and Argentina.  He didn't see release by Auriken.  Though, all of the Auriken figures that were released were also released in Brazil.  It seems the line went straight from Brazil to Mexico for figure releases.  The mechanism and timeline of how that happened, though, is murky at best.

As a figure, Grunt sucks.  Footloose is awesome, though.  So, getting another crappy Grunt and missing out on another international Footloose release is disappointing.  But, the Auriken figures have kind of dried up and it would be unlikely that a Footloose release would be something I had been able to track down.  

The real story is the box, in general.  It is a unique way for Joes to be presented.  Each figure being affixed with a twist tie is also unique.  During the early days of collecting, when Auriken figures were a bit more common, many collectors gravitated towards them due to the unique packaging.  It's weird that the figure's filecard would be displayed if you folded the box flap over the figure's window.  The whole design seems rather inefficient.  Regardless, it's a good example of how Joes were sold around the world.

Rarities - 1989 Deep Six (Unproduced Diving Shoes)

The 1989 Deep Six is not a beloved figure.  He is, though, a pretty great figure for his specialty.  He was the perfect blend of 1989 modernity that defined the Joe line and old-timey diving suits that every kid in the '80's knew from the Fisher Price figure that came with the orange octopus.  Originally, though, the figure was supposed to include even more gear than he did.  Along with all his production pieces, Deep Six was also going to include two diving shoes that attached to his feet.  You can see them in the catalog image below.

It's certain that these shoes were removed for cost cutting reasons.  They really offered nothing to the figure.  And, Deep Six included a nice amount of gear, even without them.  And, no kid was making a purchase decision on Deep Six based on whether or not he included some weighted shoes.  They were small pieces that would have been easily lost.  So, much like Mainframe's computer stand from 1986, the accessories were entirely superfluous and didn't really affect the overall impression of the figure were they removed.

If you look very closely at Deep Six's card artwork, you can just barely see the shoes.  Hasbro was deft in their editing, though.  And, the bottom of Deep Six's feet are cut off by the edges of the card.  Knowing the shoes were axed and this would have just been a matter of cropping the photo slightly differently, it's tough to see the feet being so close to the edge as anything other than intentional.  

It's always interesting to see items like this.  We know that the cost to develop an accessory is the biggest part of the overall expense.  But, even in the late '80's, Hasbro was making at least 150,000-200,000 of their least popular figures.  So, saving a few pennies on a figure could add up across the whole line...even if Hasbro had incurred the cost to make the parts.  The shoes appearing in a promo catalog with production level figures, though, tells you they were a late strike from the figure's complement of gear.  While I would love for their to be a complicated back story as to why these pieces were chosen for elimination, the truth is that it is certain to be nothing more than financial.  And, decisions like that are both boring and depressing while also driving home that, to the Hasbro guys, the Joe line was, at the end of the day, a job.  

Rarities - Rubiplas Fang II (Venezuela)

There is a fairly direct line between exclusive G.I. Joe toys produced by the Plastirama toy company in Argentina in the 1980s and those also produced by the Rubiplas toy company in Venezuela.  Most collectors know about the Venezuelan Cobra Mortal exclusive who is all white instead of red, chrome and black like the Argentinian release.  But, Rubiplas produced a robust line of G.I. Joe figures and vehicles, all of which are exclusive to Venezuela.

Below is a FANG II produced by Rubiplas.  This toy was likely released in the early 1990's.  It's possible there was an accomopanying line of figures that are less known that accompanied this toy.  (For example, the 1989 Snake Eyes was also released by Rubiplas around this time.)  But, it is interesting to see an exclusive vehicle produced for the Venezuelan market.

Rubiplas releases are the most difficult foreign exclusives to acquire.  (Yes, there are individual items from other countries rarer than Rubiplas toys.  But, overall, you can get samples of Funskool, Estrela, Plastirama and even Nilco more easily than you can find Rubiplas items.)  For a brief window in the mid 2010's, there were a few avenues to acquire the items directly from Venezuela.  But, as Venezuela has faced political crises, many of those doors have closed.  As such, you'll pay a premium for any Rubiplas release.

Generally, the Rubiplas vehicles are based on the Hasbro color schemes.  (There are a couple of notable exceptions like the Thunder Machine.)  But, there are the traditional shading and hue differences in the plastic colors.  But, to most collectors, the differences on these vehicles are slight and would be difficult to notice.  So, these items are more interesting as an obscure something to have from a different continent.

Rarities - Mail Away 1983 Grand Slam, Hawk and Clutch

In the summer of 2001, a random seller posted a few bagged 1983 G.I. Joe figures who were packed with redback filecards.  They had a small stock of them.  They were offered at $5 and bought out instantly.  I managed to get a Clutch and Hawk, but missed out on the Grand Slam.  The seller said they had more.  But, due to the quick sell out, decided to do more research on the value of the items.  Within a few weeks, some additional bagged figures appeared.  They were higher priced, though still offered for sums that seem ridiculously cheap these days.  Some collectors bought a few.  But, mostly they sat around as the collecting world wasn't really interested in them.

Over the years, the supply of the figures never really dried up.  You could always find them.  But, there were never enough to really drop prices too far.  For a very long time, you could get the bagged versions for about the same price as a loose, mint and complete figure of the same character.  Grand Slam was usually higher priced, though, as he included the filecard from the Silver Pads Grand Slam.  And, in those early days, many collectors didn't make a distinction between the redback versions of filecards or those cut from a box.  

The reason for this is that a ton of overstock of these figures have been found.  You'll even see a "barn" find where entire cases of the figures were discovered and put into the collecting community.  During the years close to the finds, the figures would get cheap.  Now, they have gotten more expensive.  While there are plenty of them out there, they are still more scarce than standard loose figures.  And, many collectors in the early days simply opened the bags up because it was a cheaper option to get high quality vehicle drivers.

The most interesting aspect of the figures is that you get a red Grand Slam with a Silver Pads Grand Slam filecard.  The photo for the Silver Pads figure was all new and created as a JUMP exclusive when the figure was added in 1983.  So, it's not like they destroyed the original artwork.  So, the appearance of the Silver Pads art is weird.  But, it's likely that Hasbro had it more ready to go since it was newer.  As collectability goes, this filecard is the most noteworthy just because it has the juxtaposition of figure and artwork.

The reality is that these three figures are not rare.  There are tons of them out there due to the various finds over the years.  People still pay premiums for them.  But, usually, the prices for these three figures remain far below bagged samples of other 1983 mail away and catalog figures.  So, at least there's no inequity there.  Once upon a time, it was easier and about the same price to simply buy one of these bagged figures and open it to get a mint and complete with filecard figure of the three included in the set.  That's no longer the case.  

Rarities - Unproduced Brazilian Figures

While Estrela produced around 150 total figures in their exclusive Comandos Em Acao line, they  had intended for there to be more.  In the 1990's, Estrela showcased 5 figures in various forms that ended up never getting released.  These figures not only appeared as cross sells on various cardbacks, but even appeared in catalogs used to sell the products.  The 5 figures were all 1991 releases from Hasbro.  The figures were: Grunt, Crimson Guard Immortal, Mercer, Tracker and Cobra Commander.  (Their names in Brazil would have been Arsenal, Flagelo, Desertor, Correnteza and Tirano.)

Hasbro's 1991 figures were one of the rare years that didn't see a second year of release.  This was due to Hasbro trying to reboot the line in 1992 with familiar characters.  So, 1991 molds became common sights in later repaint lines and international releases.  You'll note that all of the figures that appear in the Estrela promotional material shown below are Hasbro made figures and not the Estrela figures.  So, this marketing propaganda was made prior to Estrela having their own wares to photograph.  

You'll often find international guides that list these figures as being available in Brazil.  But, many of these were from the early days of collecting before it was determined that these figures never saw production.  One early guide even features a few Hasbro figures in the placeholders for these names.  And, one thing that's constant in the Joe line is that mistakes and errors from the early collecting years are often repeated and rarely corrected.

Below are two promo photos.  One features just the 5 cancelled figures.  The other shows them interspersed with some other figures that were released in Brazil.  Seeing them all in one shot suggests to me that they were planned as a new wave at one point.  But, the entire wave was halted.  Maybe Hasbro didn't send the molds for whatever reason.  Or, it could have just been that Estrela determined they didn't want another wave.  These figures would have appeared closer to the end of the Comandos Em Acao line.  And, this was the time when Estrela was starting to move away from the standard carded figures that had defined their line and towards the themed subsets of figures that featured bigger cards and more gimmicks.

It's interesting to note that all 5 of these unproduced figures from Estrela did, later, appear as exclusive Funskool releases.  So, Hasbro did recoup more of their cost as they moved the molds around the world.  And, the molds weren't in an unusable state for Esrela.  But, the reasons for these figures being cancelled in Brazil remain lost.  

Rarities - Pre-Production 1987 Knockdown

BattleForce 2000 was a late 1987 release.  The figures were among the final ones I acquired when I was a kid.  But, the actual products were meant for wide release in 1988.  So, they first appeared in the 1988 Toy Fair catalog.  The figures in that publication, though, feature a lot of differences.  Knockdown is the most notable.  Below, you'll see some of the photos featuring the pre-production figure.  

You'll note an even more barrel torso with a rounded collar.  I'm not sure if the chest piece is just a repurposed piece from another figure like Payload.  (The Secto Viper in the 1988 catalog is just a repainted Payload.)  The effect when his helmet was fully affixed  made Knockdown's uniform look more like it was a single, unified piece instead of a helmet on top of a jumpsuit. 

In the photos, you can see paint wear on the front of Knockdown's helmet.  So, it wasn't anywhere near production level for these promos.  You can see the wear in both photos.  So, Hasbro reused this piece time and again.  It's doubtful anyone thought the photos could be blown up and scrutinized by someone at thirty five or more years in the future.  But, it's an interesting detail to see in official photography that was meant to sell the toys to retailers.

I actually like this pre-production design for Knockdown more than I do his actual production pieces.  The helmet seems more like a part of his overall uniform instead of just a head piece.  It gives the figure more cohesion than was present in the final form.   I'm not sure why he was changed.  But, it does appear that the figure underwent more refinement in the final months before his release.  And, we ended up with the production figure that had a very different look.