1988 Skidmark

There are jokes in the Joe line that are subtle.  There are jokes that are not.  Then, there is Skidmark.  One some level, I can see some well meaning adults not getting the double entendre of this chosen code name.  But, knowing some of the juvenile antics behind some other Joe characters, there is just no way that the Joe team didn't know what they were doing when they submitted the name for clearance.  But, Skidmark was approved for release.  And, Joe collectors were given a 4th grade joke for all time.  

Released with the amazing Desert Fox in 1988, Skidmark appears, at first glance to be one of the many poorly designed late 1980's era vehicle drivers.  Just a figure that was dropped into an obscure and unimportant slot with little thought or care as to his design.  The bright orange juxtaposed against the dark and light greens tie him closely with terrible figures like Windmill.  Skidmark is just another in a run of drivers who no longer match the quality of their vehicles...or, does he?

So, here's the thing: Skidmark is a pretty great sculpt.  He's got multilayered texture and features ribbing on his arms that is unique to his design.  His torso is well detailed with clear purpose.  He's got a weird micro-shotgun molded onto his legs.  He even has dual throwing knives sculpted beneath his right wrist.  From a pure design standpoint, Skidmark might be the most detailed figure released in all of 1988.  All of that is lost, though, with the color choices.  So, you have this oddball that features sculpting on par with any of the classic, high quality vehicle drivers from '82 through '85 while also featuring colors that put him closer to bright '90's rehashes.

Skidmark's head is a bit non-descript.  The goggles hide his countenance and take away the individualism that is inherent for the Joe faction.  In a different world, Skidmark's head would make for a useful Cobra.  And, that's part of what dooms the figure.  Even those who can get past the colors often find the head to be limiting to greater purpose for Skidmark.  Joe fans love some masked good guys.  But, generally, guys who hide their faces are left to Cobra  It's only the scarcity of them on the Joe side that makes them interesting.  And, guys like Skidmark who hide behind opaque goggles seem less like renegade individuals and more like nameless posers whose death you don't mind.  When you toss in the crappy codename, you have a figure that's easy to leave behind.  

Skidmark's colors are both great and baffling.  Hasbro fell in love with orange in 1988.  Spearhead and Skystriker feature the color painted on.  But, Skidmark and Windmill both use orange plastic to create the color palette for their figures.  Orange often works on action figures.  But, when it's used to offset pea and hunter green colors, it can seem a bit out of place.  And, that's the thing with Skidmark.  His other colors are a deep, pine colored green that offsets the orange vest and a pea green on his legs that is almost identical to the green color used on Night Force figures.  In short, Skidmark should be a really great figure.  He just falls apart.  And, this coming from someone who really likes brightly colored Joes.  I think a big part of his failure is the orange helmet.  Were it a different color, the orange would be more confined to Skidmark's vest and would seem more realistic.   (You'll note that the helmet was yellow on the Desert Fox box artwork and on the pre-production figure.  I'm not sure that would have been an improvement.)  Through the years, Skidmark customs are one of the staples that many collectors undertake.  Most, though, still fall short.  So, the potential isn't as easy to realize as it would appear.

We had a Skidmark in 1988.  My younger brother got a Desert Fox at some point.  It is a great vehicle.  And, it joins the Bridge Layer as a vehicle who mysteriously disappeared from my collection.  I had no inclination to sell either of them.  And, I had nice, mint versions of both in the mid 2000's.  But, both are now gone with no trail of their fate.  I played a bit with the Desert Fox when no one else was home.  But, Skidmark wasn't a figure that mattered.  I didn't like him from the get go.  And, it wasn't just the colors that were a problem.  Something about him seemed off.  And, as such, I can recall with specificity some adventures featuring the Desert Fox.  But, Skidmark features in none of them.

While Skidmark was released just the one time by Hasbro, the mold did have another use.  Around 1997, the Skidmark mold was one of many acquired by Olmec Toys and released in their Bronze Bombers line.  There are two figures that use the Skidmark body.  One is cast in purple and the other in a very nice tan.  Both figures feature a solid black paint mask to accentuate the details on the mold.  They are a great example of different coloring saving a mold.  Sadly, they are tough to find and relatively expensive, now.  So, the notion of mix and matching the various releases to make the ultimate Skidmark isn't really feasible.  

Skidmarks are about $5 figures.  Even dealers have given up and will fail to sell them for $8.  There's just no interest in the figure.  And, to make matters worse, Skidmark is fairly common.  High numbers of Desert Foxes were produced.  And, tons of bubbled overstock Skidmark figures made their way into the collector market in the early 2000's.  So, if you want the figure or just want one to customize, the price is right to add one to your collection.  But, you'll note that my figure is badly worn.  I have no inclination to fix this...even at a low price.  I just can't muster up any enthusiasm to acquire a better copy.  On some level, I should get a nice and save this one to customize when I retire.  But, even that seems like time and money better spent on other pursuits.  Hopefully, your opinion of the figure is better and he has some relevance to you.  And, if he does, at least spares and duplicates are cheap.