1993 Iceberg

Sometimes, a simple little change can be all the difference between a figure that is loved and one that is ignored.  The 1993 Iceberg isn't a figure you see all that often.  He's a definite downgrade from the 1986 character debut.  And, the figure's calling card of bright yellow highlights definitely hurt his appeal.  But, when you look at the original card art, you see that Iceberg was originally meant to look a bit different.  And, had those original coloring choices been followed, this version of Iceberg would be much more accepted in the collecting world today.  

If you look at Iceberg's card artwork, the figure should be amazing.  The details on the mold really pop.  His bullets are golden instead of yellow and all of his details are clearly visible.  The most important difference, though, is that the character's mask and gloves and details are green instead of bright yellow.  We can argue about whether green really works in the arctic.  But, the green highlights really look much better than the bright yellow. The figure on the card art would have some vehement fans.  The released figure, though, does not.  Many 1993 and 1994 figures seemed to have changes like this from the art colors.  Some may have been due to cost cutting and others may have been choices to brighten up a retail assortment.  But, in almost every case, the card art showcases a figures superior to the actual toy.

This is a shame as the yellow obfuscates a fairly decent Iceberg sculpt.  The chest has some heft to showcase the bulk of the cold weather coat and gear.  But, the sculpting of the ammo belt, powder horn, grenades, hoodie collar and fur accents on the gloves all show that Hasbro was still more than capable of making great toys in 1993.  Sadly, the yellow is a tough sell and really takes away from the quality of the mold.  It takes a figure that might be among the better 1993 releases and relegates him to near the bottom of that year's popularity.  Despite the classic character, solid gear and great sculpt, Iceberg languishes in obscurity: overshadowed by not only his original figure, but other cold weather figures like Snow Storm and Frostbite who were his contemporaries.  

My only real memory associated with this version of Iceberg comes from a random lot of figures I bought off Ebay back in 1999 or so.  In it was a figure with this Iceberg's head painted olive green atop a 1990 Big Ben body.  As lazy customs go, it wasn't bad.  My main takeaway, though, was how well the head was painted.  It was only after scratching at it a bit that I could tell the painting was done by a steady handed person instead of a factory.  I bought the lot because it was dirt cheap and included a bunch of accessories as well as a full Night Viper body with a Laser Viper head.  Back in those early collecting days, you could find lots like that no one wanted because they were "ruined" figures from later molds.  I still have the parts sitting in a box buried in a basement closet.  Someday, I might put the head to a different use.  

Aside from the yellow highlights, Iceberg also features some brown painted snowflake designs that are meant as cammo or just eye-filler.  I get the idea of snowflakes.  And, really, they kind of work as a means of breaking up the otherwise very brightly colored body.  They look, though, like the bullet hole stickers you'd see on model kits of the era.  So, when I look at the figure, I think he got shot up in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.  It makes me chuckle and prevents me from taking the figure too seriously.  But, if I put that association out of my head, you can see what the designers were going for.  And, they did succeed in making the figure more visually interesting than he would otherwise be.

Iceberg's gear is about as good as it gets for 1993.  As far as I know, Iceberg's weapon tree was unique to him.  It included resculpted versions of the 1988 Blizzard's rifle and pistol.  These were great throwbacks to earlier arctic themed figures.  Iceberg also included a machete from Muskrat and a knife from Hit and Run.  There is the requisite missile launcher, missiles and battle stand.  Iceberg also includes a snowboard.  This unique accessory puts him over the top for 1993 figures because Iceberg has something to interact with.  The "jet-powered" snowboard was an idea that Hasbro used often.  There's jet powered skis, missiles and snowboards throughout the line.  The absolute bonkers notion of such an item wasn't important to kids.  It was just fun.  The snowboard also has a variant where the G.I. Joe logon on the underside can be printed in both directions.  It's small, but something to look for. 

This Iceberg was also released in Brazil.  The Estrela made figure is named Pantano and is a nearly identical paint job to the Hasbro release.  Pantano is noteworthy for a couple of reasons.  Firstly, Pantano was also the name of the Python Patrol Copperhead that was released in Brazil.  The characters aren't related.  But, seeing the same name twice is fun.  Secondly, Pantano is a Cobra.  The masked face made for an easy affiliation swap.  And, Pantano joins many late run Brazilian figures who switched allegiances for their Estrela debuts.  Finally, Pantano's card artwork removes the green coloring from the figures's head and replaces it with yellow to more closely match the actual toy.  The artwork was also updated to remove the snowboard that wasn't included with Pantano.  The mold wasn't used again.  It's pretty likely that Hasbro had access to the mold in the 2000's.  And, while I'd have loved to have seen it in the Winter Operations set in 2005, the reality is that we're probably better off with the mold just having been used the two times.

Dealers will ask anywhere between $10 and $25 for mint and complete versions of this figure.  With the full set of accessories and filecard, the figure seems to be worth about $10.  Carded versions are higher priced than I would have thought, though.  They top out around $35...which seems high for an unliked figure from a late run year.  But, the once plentiful carded 1993 and 1994 Joes have heavily dried up.  So, you're paying a premium for low supply.  I'm not sure I'd drop $10 on this guy.  He's a neat look at what Hasbro was still capable of doing in 1993.  But, he's also a showcase of some wrong decisions from that era, too.  I've gotten out into the snow for some pics.  But, really, I'd much rather use the other cold weather figures from that era instead.  They just work better than the yellow highlights you see on this Iceberg.