1993 Mega Marines Gung Ho

I have few memories of buying Joes in 1993.  In fact, I'm not sure I have any.  In 1993, I wasn't around much.  I was busy at school in the first part of the year.  I went overseas for half the summer.  And, when I returned, I worked constantly to earn money for when I returned to school.  When I went back to school, I had little interest in anything beyond my school life.  I'm sure I went to Toys R Us over Christmas break in 1993.  But, I don't remember it: even though I had to have bought some figures.  My main memories of 1993 Joes, therefore, come not from their release year.  But, instead hunting them down as the dregs of the line remained at retail and shipped to offbeat retailers through 1995 and into 1996.  

In the summer of those two years, I'd go to Toys R Us several times per week.  I worked near the local TRU store.  And, if you wanted to have any chance at finding some of the new POTFII figures from the Star Wars line, you pretty much had to go to the stores multiple times per week.  But, also, during the week, I was bored to tears.  All my friends lived out of state.  So, I had nothing to do on most nights of the week.  So, a quick trip to TRU was a way to pass some time and, maybe, get lucky in finding a new figure or two.  

As I didn't have much money, I'd limit my purchases to a couple of figures per week, max.  As there was still a decent supply of figures, I'd wait to find new figures that I didn't already own instead of buying duplicates of figures already in my collection.  At the local TRU, there were lots of Ninja Force, Street Fighter, Armor Tech and Shadow Ninja figures.  The Battle Corps selection was usually sparse.  But, every now and again, a new case would show up.  Among the dregs of prior years that were left on the shevles, though, were a couple of Mega Marines: Clutch and Gung Ho.  Both figures were somewhat intriguing.  They were characters I had loved as a kid.  Both of them included black weapon trees with some of my favorite molds.  The colors were bright.  But, that didn't bother me.  What did stop me from buying them, though, was the price point.  $5 for a figure was just too much.  I could almost buy two Battle Corps figures for that price.  So, I let the figures linger for weeks.

On my trips to the store, they were always there.  There were at least 2 Gung Hos.  Probably 1 Clutch.  They never moved and stayed on their solitary peg.  After a few frustrating weeks where I had not found any new figures to buy, I decided I was going to bite the bullet and pay the premium price for a Mega Marine.  I'm pretty sure I landed on getting Gung Ho since he had a removable helmet.  So, I went to the Toys R Us, ready to overpay for a figure.  But, when I got there, the Mega Marines were gone!  After weeks of no movement, they had been purchased: just as I decided it was time to buy one.

This development amped up my frustration at finding Joes at retail.  But, it also changed my approach.  I no longer felt I could leave any new Joe behind.  (Well, to a point, I guess.  I still skipped Ninja Force, Street Fighter, Shadow Ninjas and Armor Tech.)  I'd never see the Mega Marines at retail, again.  And, it was not until 1999 that both Clutch and Gung Ho finally entered my collection.  As they were acquired at a time when I was amassing new figures at an alarming rate, I didn't really give them their due.  And, they were infrequent subjects of any photos.  I liked the figures.  But, they had disappeared into the sea of 1992 through 1994 figures that were expanding in my collection.

It was only in the past decade that I've really started photographing the Mega Marines.  It helps that the Monster Blaster APC is among my favorite vehicles.  So, Clutch and Gung Ho appear with it.  The bright colors on both Gung Ho and Clutch really pop in photos.  This visual cue usually makes the photos popular as people stop to check out the colors.  Outside of that, though, this Gung Ho doesn't have a lot of specific backstory.  Had I gotten him in the summer of 1995, he would have found a much more important role in my collection.  Just pushing him back a couple of years, though, drastically changed how important he was to me, though.  

Mega Marines definitely had a shorter production run than other 1993 figures.  Even back in the days when no one cared about 1993 figures, you'd find them with much less frequency than you'd find the Battle Corps series of figures.  That's resulted in them also being harder to find today.  They're not rare, by any means.  But, you won't find them with the ubiquity of the Battle Corps 1993 figures.  The higher retail price point didn't seem to have the popularity that the cheap vehicles of the line's early years had enjoyed.  

Mega Marines are a series of figures that were ideal candidates for repaints.  And, in 2002, Hasbro proved it when they released an amazing Mirage figure.  They then topped it off with an even better version later that same year.  Sadly, though, that figure was packed with a Viper.  And, as such, collectors hated the figure since they had to get so many of them to army build the Viper.  This hatred was misconstrued as backlash against later molds being used in the Joe line.  In fact, most collectors of the early 2000s really loved the Mirage repaints.  They just hated having to buy two dozen of them in order to also get the Viper army they wanted.  Hasbro didn't return to the Mega Marines well for any retail figures beyond even more Mirages.

The club, though, was a different story.  They did like the molds.  They used the Mega Viper to great effect in 2003.  And, in 2005, they repainted this Gung Ho in a dark grey and black motif.  Overall, the figure is...OK.  It's kind of too busy.  But, at the same time, it showed that the Mega Marines molds did have potential.  The upside is that the 2005 release of this mold didn't sell out at the show and remained cheap for many, many years.  So, it was attainable for collectors of that era.  And, for many, it was their introduction to the Mega Marines Gung Ho.  The club dusted off the Blast Off and Clutch molds for use on some of their kitbashes, too.  Unfortunately, none of these figures really took off among collectors.  Some of that was that the color schemes or characters that used the molds weren't great.  Part was that convention items were always passe after their release.  The biggest aspect, though, was that it takes a particular kind of repaint to really make these molds pop.  Overly dark base colors and poor accent color choices quickly render these molds mundane.  The reality is that many of the 1993 figures were sculpted with bright colors in mind.  So, taking that part of their development away actually brings out limitations in the mold.  It's a weird paradox.  But, one that played out with later uses of the Mega Marines.

Gung Ho included the classic weapon tree that became ubiquitous in 1993.  Fortunately, he came with one of the best trees and, it was colored black.  These black weapons alone were usually enough to get me to buy a figure.  But, Gung Ho's higher price point and the fact that I had the tree in black from other retail figures, deterred me.  I actually like the commonality of the black MP-5 inspired weapon of this era.  It gives the Joes a bit of uniformity.  Having grown up with diverse weapons for every figure, seeing several of my favorite new figures including the same weapon was actually kind of fun.  The only reason I didn't buy Gung Ho was his higher price point.  As a broke student, I economized as much as possible.  It's why I missed many figures as I just didn't have the money to buy more when I'd find a stash.  Eventually, I wore down, though.  And, I made up my mind that I was going to buy Gung Ho and Clutch.  I had seen them for so long I had justified the extra cost.  So, I went to my local TRU where I'd seen the figures hanging for months.  They had been there just a couple of days prior.  But, now that I'd decided to buy them, the figures sold out.  I found only empty pegs at the Toys R Us store. 

Thinking back, I wish I'd scoured the store for a closeout section.  Toys R Us didn't do that often during those days.  But, it's possible the stock was reduced and moved.  In later years, this disappearing act would also occur with Street Fighter, Shadow Ninja and even Armor Tech figures.  Maybe they were boxed up and sold off to close out stores.  I'll never know.  But, I've never forgotten that hesitation with the Mega Marines.  It lead me to more impulse purchases with the POTFII Star Wars line.  I didn't want to end up passing something by for a long time and then find out it finally sold on the day I decided to buy it.  

Gung Ho's helmet is the closest thing to a classic fireman's helmet that we'd see in the vintage Joe line.  This similarity, though, was never explored.  I felt you could easily make a classic BBQ using the helmet and some of the body molds that were around.  In fact, in my early collecting days, I managed to snag a lone Gung Ho helmet expressly for the purpose of customizing it into a fireman character.  I never did that.  In fact, that helmet still sits in a bag of extra helmets from 1982 through 1984.  A lone, neon reminder of unfulfilled ambition.  Maybe I'll get around to it when I retire.

The Hasbro Joe team was big on color theory.  Even starting from the first wave of Joe figures in 1982, they approached each year as a retail experience unto itself.  They mixed, matched and combined various colors to create an attractive display in the store.  Figures were given complementary colors so that parents felt they matched.  It was a subtle way to sell more figures.  It was also a way to quietly convey quality.  You may not have realized why Joes looked so good.  But, you did notice that the toys really seemed to tie together.  This practice continued through the line's demise.  And, within subsets, the same practice was applied.  

When you look at the Mega Marines as a team, they work.  When you look at the Cobras as an enemy, they also work.  You see many of the same colors used across he figures.  Gung Ho uses an olive green that's incorporated into his base.  Mirage uses a similar base.  Gung Ho's orange accents tie him to Clutch, Mirage and Blast Off.  His yellow makes him appear unique.  But, the other colors faintly tie him to the rest of his team.  You know they are coherent while maintaining their individuality.  You see this throughout the line's history.  And, it's why you can find near perfect Joe pairings among figures that were released a decade or more apart.  This approach died on o-ring figures after 1994.  But, Hasbro did utilize it to a lesser degree on their early waves of the JvC figures in 2002.  

One of the great things about the Joe world from about 2015 onwards was that the anti-neon crowd had mostly moved on.  The smaller collector base who remained tended to appreciate the neon figures.  By the early 2020's, neon figures were seeing a resurgence and had gotten actively expensive and desirable.  In the past year or so, though, you've started to see more takes of "neon ruined the line!".  Most of them are driven by click-chasers who are vying for attention.  You see some that are just older toy collectors who are dipping their toes back into Joes and think their tired '90's takes are still relevant.  It's an unfortunate development.  I hope it's a passing fad.  But, it's a facet of the online Joe world that's rearing its ugly head, again.  

Gung Ho's mold was used twice.  The Mega Marines figure saw release in 1993.  A dozen years later, in 2005, the figure was repainted for a convention attendee exclusive set.  That was the end.  Hasbro used the 1992 Gung Ho mold far too many times.  And, you really wonder if this 1993 mold would have worked in a TRU set during the repaint era.  If you painted this mold up in the blue that is similar to the 1983 Gung Ho, the sculpt would likely work.  I don't think I've ever seen anyone attempt a V1 Gung Ho color scheme on the Mega Marines mold.  I think it could work.

Pricing on these Gung Ho's is tough right now.  The market is cooling pretty fast for non-premium items.  So, you'll see some mint and complete with filecard figures sell for more than $35 while others will remain unsold for $20.  It seems the biggest draw to increased prices is the canister of playdoh.  And, as the playdoh is certainly a dried ball of compacted dust, it really makes no sense to pay a premium for a can that probably belongs in the garbage.  As a figure that, likely, exists in lower numbers than almost all of his retail contemporaries, this Gung Ho isn't a bad buy at $20.  But, he's better at $15.  For me, this figure conjures up college age memories.  So, I find value in him that others may not.  But, he is cool and makes for a can't miss display item.

SuperCop (Funskool Exclusive) - Around The Web

In 2001, a weird figure popped up.  It was a previously unknown toy that used G.I. Joe molds.  The figure was named SuperCop.  Using the head from Sgt. Slaughter and cast in all blue, the figure was a really nice representation of a law enforcement officer.  The figure was very expensive when compared to other Funskool figures of the era.  But, even with the high price, SuperCop proved popular and sold through rather quickly.  For a while, he'd appear in all sorts of content.  Slowly, though, that all disappeared.  Now, you see the figure very infrequently.  Few people have him these days.  And, those who do are rare to use him.

I've had this draft sitting around for about 5 years.  As such, there's a bunch of links form back then that don't even work any longer.  More ghosts of the Joe world that are just gone.  None of that detracts from the figure.  He's stupidly expensive these days.  There's tons of guys who haven't been active since the early 2000's who have no idea that those extra Super Cop vehicle sets they bought now command premium prices.  

I don't use this figure often enough, any more.  I just don't have the interest in him that I once did.  At some point, I should do more base photos with him and some Law army builders.  Until then, enjoy the content below.

SuperCop Profile

SuperCop Packaging

SuperCop at JoeADay.com

SuperCop by atwooddan

SuperCop by yojoeroadhouse

SuperCop at Action Force.dk

SuperCop Video Review

SuperCop at Leaky Suit Brigade

SuperCop Rescue Jeep

SuperCop by atwooddan

1988 IMP

While I didn't buy many Joes in 1988, my younger brothers still picked up quite a few toys.  When no one was around, I'd dig them out and play with them a bit to check them out.  As newness was always paramount to the the most used toys in our house on any given day, I found the fresh items to be the type of thing I wish I had owned just one year earlier.  It was how I stayed connected to the Joe line.  But, my brothers weren't as into G.I. Joe as I was.  And, when it came to vehicles, they didn't really push for any of the larger 1988  releases.  They did, though, get quite a few of the smaller vehicles that debuted that year.  Along with the AGP and Desert Fox was an oddball Cobra vehicle that had some callbacks to the classic Hiss Tank.  The Imp was one of Cobra's new vehicles for the year.  It wasn't overly impressive.  But, a deeper look finds it to be a pretty solid toy that's fun to have around.

1988 was a weird year when it came to vehicles.  You had these extremely grounded G.I. Joe vehicles like the Warthog, Mean Dog and Desert Fox that were juxtaposed by oddball Cobra items like the DEMON and Bugg.  The flagship toy of the year, the Rolling Thunder, was substantially less impressive or large as the mainline cornerstone pieces from 1985 through 1987.  You had the Battle Force 2000 vehicles that were meant to replicate the Transformers experience in G.I. Joe.  Cobra (and the Iron Grenadiers) got a submarine, boat, 3 aircraft and 3 ground vehicles.  The aforementioned DEMON was large and impressive.  The Adder was much smaller and mean as support.  This left the IMP as Cobra's only foray into a mid sized ground vehicle for the year.  And, as the 1987 line didn't have any Cobra tanks, either, 1988 was a weird year where Cobra itself only had a half hearted, mid sized missile launcher to battle your Joe vehicles.

This leaves the IMP in a weird position where it didn't really get a fair shake.  It was asked to be more than it could deliver in its release year.  But, when taken against the line as a whole, the IMP stands up better.  When it doesn't have to shoulder the burden of being Cobra's primary attack vehicle, you can find some serious value in its supporting role.  Imps could shoot down aircraft.  Or, they could block infantry to dust with the landmines that dropped from the missile shafts.  The rotating gun near the cockpit was useful in keeping pesky Joes away, too.  It had just enough play value to be useful.  For a relatively cheap toy, that was all you could ask.

I have a few fleeting memories of the Imp.  Being beyond my toy playing years, I mostly admired the vehicle.  In the rare times I'd play with it, the adventures were quick.  Usually, it was a one off where the missiles would bomb some crappy Joes into oblivion.  I do recall spilling the mines over figures on at least one occasion.  In the mid 1990s, though, the Imp was among the few vehicles that were lying around.  So, it would get picked up as a way to grind some newly acquired 1993 Joe army builder beneath its treads.  That was the extent of its use.  As a collector, though, I found some good use for the Imp.  It's fun to photograph and provides some diversity from Hiss Tanks or Stingers.  The idea of Cobra having long range missile launchers is kind of fun.  It makes Cobra so much more of a real threat as they can destroy massive civilian life and infrastructure from close proximity.  This means there are no countermeasures and cities would live in terror of the next attack.  For me, it was this fear that made Cobra powerful.  The Imp was a means to that end.

The Imp's colors are...OK.  The maroon body with the silver launcher is pretty strong.  The black treads work well, too.  But, the bright yellow gun is distracting.  Not because it's bright yellow.  The color is a high contrast against the maroon and can be visually distracting.  It's also tough to match figure colors to the Imp.  The box (and, therefore, 95% of collector photos!) shows the 1988 Toxo Viper manning the vehicle.  He's not a nice match.  Really, the Astro Viper is a better fit from a color perspective.  There aren't many other options from the depths of the line, either.  Maybe Gristle would be a nice match up.  I didn't think of that until my Imp was boxed up.  So, it will be on the list when I get around to an Around the Web post about the IMP in 2030 or so.

It's actually a shame that the IMP didn't get a repaint.  In Cobra blue, black or crimson, it would fit perfectly with a Cobra convoy of Stingers, Hiss Tanks and STUNS.  It even fills a purpose that those other vehicles really don't cover.  It could have been a cheap repaint in the 2000's that could have been used in one of those 3 figures/1 vehicle/1 towed battle station three packs that Hasbro really liked in 2004.  I daydream of a set with an Imp, a repainted Mountain Howitzer along with a Hiss Driver and two Cobra Troopers.  But, the mold was likely lost in India.  And, Hasbro lacked the creativity to make something fun like that happen.  And, let's be fair, collectors of the early 2000's would have vehemently complained had a vehicle like IMP been reused when the Stinger had not.

Speaking of India, the IMP had a decent life.  After its retail run through Hasbro, the mold was shipped off to Brazil.  Estrela released the Aniquilador.  The colors are very similar to the Hasbro version.  The red is a bit darker.  And, the body mold is stamped with an Estrela marking.  After that, the mold was to India.  The Funskool Imp is a brighter red color.  It was among the early imports of Funskool vehicles to American dealers in 2001/2002.  It wasn't a good seller.  And, vehicle imports were then limited.  So, it's kind of hard to find a Funskool Imp today.  Without the imports, it's tough to determine when Funskool ceased production on the Imp.  But, it's very unlikely that Hasbro ever got the mold back.  It could still be out there.  It's just not something anyone's ever going to endeavor to track down.

Imps are cheap.  Mint and complete versions can be had for between $10 and $20 depending upon how quickly you want it.  Despite the small mines, complete versions are common and easy to find.  So, there's no reason to not have an Imp or two in your collection.  It's a solid alternative to the staid Hiss Tank.  And, it makes a very nice backdrop for photos.  It's no more ridiculous than any other Cobra vehicle.  It doesn't even take up very much space.  Combine that with a cheap price and you have an entry to the Joe line that is useful and fun.  The Imp is never going to be as popular as the more traditional Cobra ground attack vehicles.  It has its place, though, and is worthy of being a part of any collection.

1991 Ozone - Around The Web

Ozone has the misfortune of being a member of two subsets that were very unpopular in the early days of the online collecting community.  That lead to his solid mold and cool helmet being mostly ignored for many years.  Fortunately, these days, Eco Warriors and Star Brigade are much better liked among the collector set.  That's lead to a bit of a reckoning for the characters that comprised those series of figures.

And, today, you can find some decent content featuring the original paint job on the mold.  The Eco Warriors Ozone is a panoply of solid colors.  Few figures in the line look like him.  And, that really makes him stand out.  There's content in the links below that spans back a decade.  There's creators who are long gone from the community.  But, their work lives on.  So, check it out.

Ozone Profile

Ozone at the Dragon Fortress

Ozone by doksewage

Ozone by Pegwarmers

Ozone by rumble alley toys

Ozone by actionforcedk

Ozone by fun_time_at_serpentorslair

Ozone by kiers.customs

Ozone by thedragonfortress

Ozone by misanthropic_git

Ozone by thedustinmccoy

Ozone by corpscommandercody

Ozone by kitbashjoe

Ozone by knowingthebattle

Ozone by slipstream80

2025 Imperial Armored Commando

It's been over 30 years since Star Wars figures returned to retail in 1995.  Thousands upon thousands of figures have been released in that time.  You have to mine the absolute, obscure depths of the Star Wars universe to find a character who is not immortalized in plastic.  And, one of the reasons why it's tough for fans to rally around a single desired product is because pretty much everything exists.  I might clamor for a "perfect" Boba Fett.  Yet, thousands of other collectors are finely satisfied with one or more of the dozens of Boba Fett figures that already exist.  The only aspect of Star Wars fandom that isn't over represented in toys is the new TV media.  But, even here, the roster is pretty good.

Everything I've ever known about Star Wars collecting generally comes down to a few truisms.  Major characters in their classic looks always sell way better than collectors want them to.  Weird aliens are never the retail hit that collectors think they will be.  And, army builders (especially Clones!) are a guaranteed hit.  But, in recent years, these have eroded a bit.  This Commando has one of the cooler designs we've seen in new Star Wars media.  And, he appeared in the popular Mandalorian universe which is the one property that's really been able to escape the manufactured drama of Star Wars fandom.  Despite that, the figure hit clearance all over the country.  Why?  Well, read on....

We'll just jump right to the meat of this figure.  He was priced at $32 when he was released.  $32!!!  The notion of a "deluxe" figure offering has been around since at least the '90's.  Companies got cute with gimmicks to raise the price of a standard figure by a couple of bucks.  The thing is, those gimmicks at least gave perceived value.  I don't care about a huge backpack with a sound chip in it.  But, there were lots of kids who got a figure that included one and loved it.  The extras justified the increased price.  

Now, look at this figure.  He comes on an oversized card.  This is supposed to give the appearance of value.  But, it's just more trash to recycle.  Supposedly, the selling point is the extra accessory complement.  The figure has a shield, baton, 2 guns and a knife.  That's it.  Truth be told, Vintage Collection Star Wars figures haven't included massive accessory complements.  Usually, it's one or two pieces with each figure.  But, that's offset by the inclusion of attached soft goods or other accoutrements like working holsters, bandoliers and other fun things that couldn't exist at 3 3/4" scale in the 20th century.  This Commando lacks those features aside from the sculpted holster belt.  So, the double price point was for a riot shield and baton.  When put in those terms, you can see why this figure struggled.  There's just nothing there to justify double the retail price of a Vintage Collection figure.  The deluxe figures have, generally, been easy clearance finds in the past few years.  Many have even made it to Ross at really cheap prices.  Yet, Hasbro is hell bent on continuing the concept.  So, they must sell enough to make the clearance worth it.  At some point, they'll break.  Until then, I'll take my clear conscience and cherry pick deluxe figures for 1/2 to 1/3 of retail at clearance.  

Since the Vintage Collection returned a few years ago, it's produced a good amount of amazing figures.  There are figures that I didn't think would ever get made all the way to redos of characters in a look that already has dozens of prior releases.  Somehow, the modern Vintage Collection is both one of the great runs of Star Wars figures and a huge disappointment at the same time.  Much of this, though, stems from the line's history.  I vacillate between two distinct eras as the greatest times to be a Star Wars figure collector.  The first would be the latter half of 1996 through the middle of 1998.  The second was between 2006 and 2009.  

Each of these eras have commonalities.  Both of them produced the best versions of characters that were available at the time.  Both balanced their lineups with: main characters, blink and you miss it minor aliens and droids, offbeat and collector oriented Expanded Universe entities and army builders galore.  Both eras saw massive availability, affordable offerings and a constant stream of new releases.  And, both eras ended with retail malaise setting in.  You can argue that a poor Hasbro decision was the cause of these runs fading away.  But, really, both were about three years long and that's about as long as anything can dominate pop culture without seeing some decline.  

My kids aren't huge Star Wars fans.  They like it.  But, it's more of a background show than anything they really dig into.  But, they are all excited to see the new Mandalorian movie in a couple of weeks.  Sadly, it's not tracking well and it's unlikely to resurrect the Star Wars theatre-going experience.  But, we're going to be there on the first weekend.  It will the first Star Wars movie I've been able to see in a theatre with them.  (They were too young for the others.)  So, it's going to be a great time: regardless of the film's quality.  

Sadly, the days of tracking down toys for them are over.  They've aged out.  I planned to give this figure to my youngest.  But, he said he had no interest.  I've got a bad of cheap Mandalorian universe characters that I've found on clearance in the past year.  And, no one wants them.  So, they're going to go into storage.  And, maybe they'll be something that, in a couple of decades, grandkids find fun.  It's kind of tough to realize that my boys are past their toy years.  It seems like it was just starting up.  Toys, to them, were always playthings.  A fun way to spend time.  But, most of it was spent with each other.  So, the toys were just background to the time they shared as siblings.  That's a vastly different toy experience than mine.  But, that's good.  I was always careful not to push anything too hard to them.  And, they did find their own interests.  It's a lot more fun to see them entering their teen years as fully formed people instead of the stunted mess that I was at their age.

At the end of the day, my Star Wars passion isn't going to die out.  I'll pick up figures here and there.  I'm really enjoying the Retro Collection and hope it finds legs for another hundred figures or so.  And, as cool designs show up, I'll snag one here and there.  I still watch the shows.  Mostly, though, I view the content with my kids.  We enjoy it together.  When they're not around, I'm unlikely to just fire up any movie or show.  Maybe, in a few years, that will change.  I still have my DVD's.  (Heck, I still have my set of original trilogy VHS tapes that were released before the Special Edition!)  So, I can watch it whenever.  Knowing it's there is sometimes the comfort you need, even if you have no plans to actually ever watch it, again.

As for the figure itself, it's cool.  The Commando is a neat design.  He's that bridge between the original trilogy and the sequel trilogy.  20 years ago, this would would have been worth triple his price on the secondary market.  Now, though, he's lost in a sea of Clones and advanced Stormtrooper designs that make him seem another in a large string.  There's nothing that makes him jump out and leapfrog any of the multitudes of cool army builders that have been pouring out of Hasbro since 2002.  If you like the Mando-verse, this guy is a worthwhile pickup if you find him cheap.  He's a good foil to the legions of Mandalorian figures that Hasbro's churned out while also being useful as a backdrop for main characters.  In short, he's fine.

This figure debuted at $32.  Die-hards bought him for that price.  But, generally, the figure hung around.  Around the holidays in 2025, Target started to clearance the figure out.  I found two of them for $12.50 at my  local store.  They dropped to at least $21 on Target's website. (They might have dropped further.  But, I didn't check every day.)  These sold out.  In spring of 2026, Wal Mart began their clearance.  My local store dropped their stock of 8 or so figures down to $16.50.  A week later, they were $11.  I haven't been  back since them to see if they dropped further.  It's just hard to justify much over $12 for a Star Wars figure.  Few figures really hit that sweet spot of nostalgia, absence from my collection and full on quality to get me to spring for one.  At $11, this guy did, though.

2005 Comic Pack Firefly

I'm at a point where revisiting figures is more necessary.  Mostly because I'm running out of figures to profile.  But, also, there are some figures whose status in the collecting community has drastically changed in the time since I first looked at them.  Back in 2008, the Comic Pack Firefly was still considered a peg warmer.  It had been heavily clearanced.  And, the Joe market of the time was saturated with them.  You could get them for a couple bucks with no issue.  In the time since then, though, the Comic Pack figures have taken on a new life.  Figures like this Firefly no longer seem such retail duds.  And, collectors have started to appreciate them for the quality releases they can be.

I'll just say it: this is the best vintage Firefly figure.  He's better than the 1984.  The new head is extremely well done and fits on the body. The updated digital pattern is a better look than the spottled 1984.  And, the grey color is lighter, allowing for more visual contrast.  The original Firefly has no painted details.  This version allows you to see all the things that made Firefly the second coolest Cobra released 21 years prior.  Upon this figure's release, no one wanted another Firefly.  But, Hasbro delivered the best take on the character, ever.  So, that carried the figure into a place of prominence.

It took a while.  Early 2000's collectors were still beholden to their beloved original figure.  Slowly, though, the pull of this 2005 Firefly was just too strong.  And, you began to see this 2005 figure appear among even other 1983 and 1984 Cobras.  More and more collectors found the value in having a great looking figure who also didn't have fragile thumbs or an easily breakable crotch.  And, this figure began to appear in more and more photos.  Slowly, the 1984 figure faded into the background.  If collectors wanted an offbeat Firefly, there were several options.  But, if they wanted to represent Firefly in his original incarnation, they were turning more and more to the 2005 figure instead of the original.

And, why not?  This Firefly has a pretty strong argument for being the best Comic Pack figure.  (The 2005 Stalker is my personal favorite, though.)  Hasbro was finally starting to dial in their heads...just in time for the entire Joe line to get cancelled.  It's weird that a figure that ranks so high would be a character who was entirely played out among collectors and also a direct homage to the figure's original look.  Rarely did these tributes surpass the originals.  But, this Firefly did so with such aplomb that the 1984 now looks quaint when posed against the sterner and more grizzled head.

It's no secret that Hasbro got lazy with accessories on ARAH style Joe repaints.  While the figure's original gear was a staple of 1997 through 2001 releases, Hasbro had mostly abandoned this by 2005 and mostly just released a large volume of random gear with their vintage redos.  Fortunately, Firefly was one of the figures who was not affected by this.  Hasbro released every Firefly mold usage with at least some of his original gear with the exception of the Gift Set Firefly.  This Comic Pack figure includes the classic machine gun, walkie talkie, backpack and socket wrench cover that is necessary for any Firefly figure.  They are all cast in black.  The upside being that Firefly's gear in black got very common in the 2000's so it's easy to find today.  And, the black looks great against the brighter grey base of the figure.  The green, 1984 weapons work well enough with the Comic Pack version.  But, they somewhat wash out with the lighter base.  You can now get Firefly's gun and walkie talkie in a variety of colors from various factory custom makers.  So, you can find a color combo that works if you have some spare time.

It's simply baffling as to what Hasbro would spend money to develop back in the 2000's.  They had a perfectly good Firefly mold available.  Though, it was starting to show signs of wear.  But, Hasbro created a brand new head when the original was beloved by collectors.  It's likely that the body is either an entirely new mold based on the original or it was substantially cleaned up to sharpen the details.  Hasbro paid more to do this.  They resculpted Scrap Iron, Mutt and Lady Jaye.  But, they never bothered to recreate the 1985 Snake Eyes or the 1983 Cobra Commander.  Hasbro would spend on the mundane or the unnecessary while leaving gaping holes of super desirable figures.  They never explained themselves.  So, we have half a dozen amazing Firefly repaints.  But, there was not a single helmeted Cobra Commander figure until 2022.

Comic Pack figures discolor.  This is just a truism at this point.  Hasbro's early 2000's plastics isn't holding up among Joes, Star Wars or Transformers.  This Firefly, though, has tended to do pretty well.  While his pack mate, Scrap Iron, is guaranteed to discolor, this Firefly has held out.  You'll see some tinges of yellow on a few figures.  And, you may see some slight upper arm discoloration.  In the realm of Comic Pack figures, that's pretty good.  And, keeps this Firefly relevant when other figures from his series have fallen off the popularity cliff due to their propensity for discoloration.  

The Firefly mold was used to death.  After the 1984 figure finished it's production  run, it disappeared for a little over a decade.  The mold was planned for use as the 1988 Tiger Force Sabretooth figure.  (More on him in Rarities Month in June!)  But, he was never released.  Instead, the mold spent some time in  India.  Firefly was among the figures released by Funskool and had a production window of a couple of years.  His body was used for a Complan Commandos figure, too.  Hasbro got the mold back ahead of the 1997 series as Firefly was painted up as a possible 1997 release.  That figure didn't make the cut, though.  And, it wasn't until 1998 that Firefly returned to the Hasbro line.  

The return was overkill, though.  Hasbro released the arctic Firefly in 1998.  A woodlands version was included in the first wave of the ARAHC in 2000.  In 2002, the figure appeared in the BJ's Gift Set. (There is also an unproduced version of this figure that's green instead of red.)  2003 was a banner year.  The mold was used for Wreckage in the 2003 Tiger Force set.  And, then, the club released two convention exclusive figures in  the summer of that year.  If that weren't enough, the amazing Urban Strike Firefly debuted in 2004.  Then, 2005 brought us a Crimson repaint of the mold in the Crimson Guard sets.  And, finally, this Comic Pack figure followed close on the Crimson figure's heels.  In short, there are MORE than enough Fireflies to keep you interested should you simply love the character or his design.

Pricing on this figure is way down over a couple of years ago.  For a while, this was a $25 to $40 figure.  And, you'd see carded samples sell between $50 and $70.  Now, though, the carded sets have settled into the $35-$40 range.  It's a pain to find loose figures, though.  The Serpentor has become the most desirable figure in the set.  So, a carded set is probably the best way to go if you want to acquire this Firefly.  As original Fireflies sell for way more, this figure is a cheaper alternative to a classic character.  Since he's also better, you get a double win for your collection.  

1994 Joseph Colton - Random Photos of the Day

Joseph Colton isn't a figure that should be great.  But, he's a guy who works.  There's not much to him.  But, it's enough to make him stand out and work with Joes from every era.  I get him out often enough.  And, he's relatively popular among photographers.  There was a time when this guy was the hottest figure in the hobby.  You don't see them as often, now, but back in the late 1990's, there were tons of carded 1993 and 1994 figures with cut UPC codes where adult collectors had purchased retail figures just to get the UPCs to mail away for the Joseph Colton figure.

But, since collectors were obsessive, tons and tons of Coltons went into the collecting world.  And, the figure is barely worth more now than  he was 30 years ago.  But, that's OK.  It's allowed newer collectors to get a high quality figure for their collections.

The Rankings - 1983 Original 13

Everybody loves rankings, right?  There's no better way to start a pointless argument than to rank items that hold unique, special places to each collector.  Once upon a time, I tried to write up a completely objective ranking of the original 13 Joe figures.  But, even with the stated goal of erasing childhood nostalgia from the equation, the list was pretty much my personal favorites with a few guys bumped up a spot or two.  So, why bother with any of that pretext?  Instead, I'm going with a straight ranking of my favorite figures: starting with the original 13.  I'm only using swivel arm versions as I don't collect straight arms.  And, I'll do the "new" 1983 figures some other time.  I'm not sure I'll get to every year because I'll get bored of it long before I would ever endeavor to slog through all the 1993 releases.  But, I'm going to start with the year that's sure to elicit some opinions.  

The thing is, there are no wrong opinions about these figures.  If Short Fuse holds dear, core memories for you, that's a story worth telling in the comments.  The point of this isn't to challenge your beliefs.  Instead, it's to memorialize mine and prompt a modicum of discussion.  So, on with the show....

#13 - Short Fuse

I just can't get into Short Fuse.  He was never a player in my collection.  He didn't have much of a characterization in the comic other than being an annoying hot head.  And, his weapon wasn't conducive to childhood play.  But, really, he's kind of boring.  His chests harness isn't the greatest design.  But, he's also in a green that's similar to other figures.  So, you don't really feel like you're getting anything special with this figure.  Zap is a better use of the mold.  Hawk is a better use of the head.  I know we had one when I was a kid.  But, mostly, I remember him from the fact that I noticed his mortar mold changed and it was also knocked off by, I think, Galoob for some of their action figure lines.  That's not much of a legacy.

#12 - Grunt

I'm not a Grunt fan.  Never have been.  I've always found him to be boring.  To be fair, I missed the silver knife on his chest...a feature that captivated me when we got a Tan Grunt in 1983.  But, I still see this guy as just a basic infantryman.  His M-16 never clicked with me, either.  It broke thumbs in 1982.  I did love his backpack.  I gave it to Clutch so I didn't waste it on Grunt.  There's not much too him and he lacks the skills to really set himself apart from his more specialized team mates.  At some point in late 1982 or early 1983, we buried a bunch of Joes behind some bricks that lined the stairs up the hill in our front yard.  I remember pulling a well worn Grunt and Stalker out of the space a few years later.  That's about the extent of his use.  He and Short Fuse remain my least used figures of the original series of Joes.

#11 - Hawk

Let's face two facts.  Visually, Grunt is a better figure than Hawk.  And, the debut figure of Joe's leader kind of sucks.  But, I give Hawk the edge over Grunt due to the silver trim dominating the figure.  It gives him a more commanding presence.  And, the over abundance of silver does give Hawk a defining look.  There's not much else going on here, though.  So, he ranks pretty low.  I snapped the thumb of my 1982 Hawk when I tried to give him a Battle Gear M-16.  After that, the character disappeared until the amazing 1986 upgrade came around.  Hawk looks good.  But, if I want to use Hawk, I'll almost never choose this figure.

#10 - Grand Slam

Grand Slam and Flash  share the same mold.  The darker green on Grand Slam is a definite downgrade over the brighter green that Flash uses.  As a kid, we only had a straight arm Grand Slam.  The Silver Pads version was my Grand Slam.  I used him as a derivative of Flash, though.  The lack of accessories drops Grand Slam down a bit.  But, this figure does get a lot more use from me now.  Mostly, that's due to the fact that Grand Slam has remained pretty obscure over the years.  And, he's a guy who holds a certain, undeserved reputation for being rarer than other figures.  This is a function of the Silver Pads version.  But, photos with this original Grand Slam tend to do well since people don't see him all that often.  I definitely use this guy more than this low ranking would suggest.

#09 - Breaker

Breaker was my first Joe.  It pains me to rank him this low.  But, Breaker kind of marks a point in the line where every figure from here on out is pretty strong.  I ended up ranking him lower because there's not a lot of paint on him and he lacks a firearm.  That's made up for by his strong accessories, though.  His communications headset might be my favorite single accessory from the original 13.  And, it was a staple of my Joe world: even long after Breaker had fallen apart.  He's a mainstay in my HQ: helming the computer console.  And, I even use him as the second passenger in the VAMP.  Breaker remains a nostalgic favorite.  And, his low rank is just indicative of how strong the first wave of Joes was.

#08 - Snake Eyes

Yeah, I get it.  The "all black" was a design choice.  But, it's also limiting on this figure.  And, the 1997 and later repaints that added just one or two paint applications showed that just a little bit of color would break this guy up and make for a better figure.  But, Snake Eyes also features some unique parts.  The bomb on his leg is a feature that's really ignored and speaks to the figure's intentions of being a commando instead of a super human ninja.  His gear was also pretty strong.  The Uzi is synonymous with Snake Eyes and remains a mainstay of the character to this day.  There is something about the all black appearance of the original design that is lost when you paint up some details.  But, were this figure not super popular and somewhat expensive, he'd have little reason to be used over the later repaints of this mold.

#07 - Zap

My youngest brother got a Zap when he went to visit my grandparents in early 1983.  Before the figure came home, both Zap's thumbs were broken.  So, Zap wasn't a part of our childhood collection.  But, he's a figure whose importance grew as an adult collector.  Very early on in my collecting journey, I got obsessed over Zap.  So, he was among the only early figures I sought out to add to my collection in 1999-2000.  He didn't disappoint.  His unique color and strong gear add up to a fun figure.  Were mine not suffering from a snapped o-ring and stuck back screw, I'd use him in photos much more often.  No later homage to this original Zap was able to live up to this original version. (Though, the Super Sonic Fighters Zap is among the better character upgrades Hasbro ever did.)  The swivel arm version remains expensive due to the ubiquity of snapped thumbs.  But, he's worth having around.

#06 - Steeler

If you were missing just one of the original 13 figures back in 1982 and 1983, it was probably Steeler.  Being the driver of the line's most expensive vehicle meant he was often absent from otherwise complete collections.  Steeler features a unique chest piece.  That alone makes him useful.  But, he's also a great match for the Mauler and Slugger, giving him some versatility among later vehicles that was often lacking from his contemporaries.  His binocular helmet attachment was neat and gave him more visual distinction.  And, he even included an Uzi, something also unique to him as a vehicle driver.  I use Steeler more than most of the other original 13 figures.  Though, that's also because I have a spare that's easily accessible.  But, he's deserving of his spot.

#05 - Scarlett

Scarlett's a tough one.  From a sheer design standpoint, she might be the second best figure in the original lineup.  Her sculpt is amazingly detailed.  And, that's often glossed over.  Her unique color really stood out among the sea of Green that was the original wave.  And, it allowed her to evolve with the line and remain complementary with figures that were released years later.  It's tough to find a Scarlett that hasn't discolored.  And, that really limits her.  And, the 2003 repaint of this mold was better.  Even the 1997 is strong, though, it's very different from the 1982 coloring.  So, her lower ranking here is a function of those later figures being more interesting than the first design.

#04 - Clutch

Clutch was my favorite Joe right from the get go.  His unique chest with the holstered pistol was a drawing point.  I gave him a visor, Stalker's gun and Grunt's backpack to make him the most badass fighter the Joes would ever see.  Years later, even a straight arm Clutch retained relevance in my collection because he was so well done.  He's at home when he's behind the wheel of any early Joe vehicle.  And, you can use him sans vehicle as well.  I still refer to this head sculpt as the "Clutch" head as I feel he owned the design the best and made it his own.

#03 - Stalker

Stalker stands out due to his cammo pattern.  It was a unique look among the original figures.  And, it gave him depth beyond the reuse of the standard grenade and knife torso.  His head also featured a sculpted head covering with his green beret.  It made the figure a quick favorite.  The prominence of the character in the comic helped hold him over and made Stalker among the more popular characters in the line.  Stalker had a ton of great character updates.  (I'll maintain the '89 Stalker is one of the best updates any character ever got.)  But, none of them treaded over this original version.  Even today, an original Stalker can intermingle with figures from all years and not look out of place.  I wish the Comic Pack versions had been better.  But, we have the 1997 figure, which might be even better than the 1983.  Any way you look at it, though, the combo of figure and character puts Stalker near the top.

#02 - Flash

Flash is the best designed figure of the original 13.  He features a nice shade of green on his base layer.  He is then accentuated by a brilliant red chest, leg and arm pads.  These give him a startling appearance among his peers.  Were that not enough, though, the entirety of the red is outlined by a silver trim.  All of these colors carry over to his back, too.  In short, the sculpting was miles ahead of what other toy lines were doing.  And, then, Hasbro gave us the real kicker: his accessories.  Flash got the standard helmet.  But, you really get the impression that the standard clear visor was actually designed for Flash first and then ported to other figures.  His backpack is an intricate mess of technology.  And, it all culminates in a laser rifle that can plug into the pack.  The combo of sculpting, color and gear makes Flash tough to beat.  In fact, he should be number 1.  But, he's beat out for one simple reason that you'll see next.

#01 - Rock and Roll

Rock and Roll isn't the best figure among the original 13.  But, he's the one I use the most.  Part of it is that his simplicity works for his specialty.  But, he also features a unique torso and an amazing weapon.  I happen like the character, too.  I remember Rock and Roll as the crazed madman from "Hot Potato" in the first issue of the comic.  But, he later became a bit more mellow.  And, this made him interesting.  He was supposed to be "replaced" by Roadblock.  But, he stayed on the team and remained an integral part of the story until the very end.  The gold bullets really make Rock and Roll stand out.  And, it gives him more bulk, even if he's the same size as the rest of his friends.  I use this figure constantly.  I bought a spare just so I could use him more often.  It happened to the mail away version, which was a nice surprise.  (Things like that used to happen all the time.)  So, Rock and Roll gets my top spot just because he's a guy who resonates with me and gets used all the time.  It's no more complicated than that.

So, there you have it.  That's my ranking of the first 13 G.I. Joe figures.  What are you thoughts?  The great theme of the Joe line is that was designed to appeal to every kid.  So, different parts grabbed then attention of different kids as the time.  I have plans to continue this series.  It won't be chronological.  But, you'll see them pop up and we can discuss some of the different years and how the figures stack up.

European Exclusive Mutt - Around The Web

Mutt is among my favorite figure sculpts and characters in the entire line.  I have a version of every figure ever released based on the vintage mold.  And, while Mutt was released many times, it is the European exclusive version that is the most distinct from his original look.  This orange haired figure is not Stanley Perlmutter.  But, instead, is of Scottish descent.  We don't know why this version was exclusive to Europe.  He and Spirit were this odd pair of matching figures who randomly appeared in early 1990's European Joe assortments.  

The figure is missing the signature chest insignia.  This was removed for the Brazilian release of Mutt.  And, it's still missing on this later, European release.  His accessories are a darker grey color that live about halfway between the light grey of the 1985 Battle Gear pack and the black of the 1984 Hasbro release.

There's a decent amount of content on this figure.  He was one of the first European figures of whom American collectors became aware.  And, there was a time when loose figures were fairly common.  Even today, you can find lots of Euro Mutts with broken crotches and thumbs.  He's one of the more available figures.  Though, finding a complete one with the correct accessories remains a fairly tough chore.

Sadly, this figure has not gotten so expensive that you don't often see newer collectors willing to take hi outside and get him dirty.  When it was $40 to replace him, that was one thing.  Now that it can go over $200, that an entirely different proposition.  For me, though, it's still behind the original 1984 figure in terms of the best Mutt.  I'd argue that the Brazilian Mastim figure is better, too.  But, the orange hair and offbeat color scheme makes him a worthwhile discussion piece for any collection.

European Mutt Profile

European Mutt by dreadnokdread

European Mutt at R.T.G. at ARAH Gallery

European Mutt by gijoeaction

European Mutt by Golden_Cobra_79

European Mutt by nightforcetunnelrat

European Mutt by gijoeaction

European Mutt by bruxovigo

European Mutt by gijoeaction

European Mutt by viper_space

European Mutt by gijoeaction

European  Mutt by Relinquished1979