1982 RAM

The RAM was my first G.I. Joe toy.  My younger brother had gotten most of the entire series for his birthday in October of 1982.  I desperately wanted some figures of my own.  I had to wait for two months before my birthday would come along and give me the chance.  However, I was to be mostly disappointed that day.  Instead of a full collection of Joe toys, I got just one: the RAM.  It was nice as we didn't actually have the RAM among my brother's birthday bonanza.  But, I also owned no figures to ride it.  Not really sure what to do with a motorcycle without a rider, I left the conundrum for another day.  That proved fortuitous, though.  The next day, after school, one friend who had been sick for my party the day before dropped by to give me my present.  It was a carded Breaker figure.  Now, I not only had a rider for my cycle, but I had THE rider for my cycle who appeared on the box artwork.  From that day one, I have been rather unable to separate Breaker and the RAM as a classic combo.

My childhood RAM suffered greatly.  This was due to the fact that it was well loved.  I played with it all the time.  This lead to it getting beat up.  The footpegs were the first to go.  Then, the kickstand was broken in half.  These were acceptable losses, though.  But, eventually, a catastrophic breakage occurred.  The sidecar pegs got broken off and the gatling cannon could no longer attach to the motorcycle.  With this loss, the RAM became less useful.  So, I tried to glue the pieces together.  I used rubber cement, though, and it melted the plastic together.  But, it wasn't strong enough and quickly broke again: now in an unrepairable fashion.

Sans weapon, the RAM kind of fell into disfavor.  When the Silver Mirage debuted in 1985, I brought out the ramshackle RAM as an accoutrement to the new cycle.  But, as the Silver Mirage proved to be a horrible piece of crap, the RAM was no longer needed.  It stuck around, though.  Mostly, the carcass lied in a pile of broken an unloved toys that made up our "debris field" where we'd have adventures.  We'd clean that mess up into a shallow box.  And, then, I'd dump it out on the floor the next time I wanted the debris to be available or I was looking for some obscure part that I thought might be in there.  (That box survived in my parents attic until the late 1990s when I finally pulled all the pieces out and added them to my personal collection.)  Sometimes, a lone assassin would ride it into a Joe base to shoot the place up.  Maybe, he'd have a bomb planted on it.  Usually, though, this rogue would get shot up well before he did real damage.  But, the RAM had moved from a key component of my main group of toys to an afterthought junk toy due to the breakage it had suffered.  I didn't really think much about that, though.  I had plenty of new Joe toys to take the RAM's place.  

Christmas of 1986, though, brought the RAM back to prominence.  Not due to its return to glory.  But, instead, due to a new, unexpected repaint that came to my collection: the Dreadnok Ground Assault RAM.  This new toy renewed the RAM and proved that its design had held up and was on par with later toy designs.  As the Dreadnok RAM was green, I adopted it for the Joes and it was never a Cobra vehicle.  This RAM remained a beloved part of my childhood play pattern until the end of 1987: when I packed all my toys away.  But, it made me realize that the RAM was something that was always going to be integral to my enjoyment of the Joe line.

Even today, in the display case next to my desk, Breaker rides the RAM.  It's just one of those images of childhood that I keep around.  As I've gotten older, I've grown to appreciate Joe toys are pneumonic devices moreso than playthings.  Mostly, that's due to the toys growing old and brittle.  But, just seeing Breaker on the RAM makes me 8 years old, again.  And, it is nice to have something around which can spark those feelings: especially when things are just a bit...too adult when bills are due, the school's calling and your boss decides he wants your role to change.  The RAM fills that need.

You'll see some criticism of the RAM for the lack of handle bars.  Hasbro, though, really promoted this when they added handles to the updated versions of the RAM in the 2000's.  As a kid, I liked the weird hand holds on the sides of the cycle and inside the front hood.  Sure, they made little sense.  But, considering the cycle was designed for straight arm figures, they worked well enough.  And, it allows for solid posing on the toy, too.  I'd often have the rider be able to hold onto the controls while shooting behind them at a follower.  

After Christmas in 1982, I had three Joe vehicles and 4 Joe figures.  They were the RAM, VAMP and MMS along with Clutch, Hawk, Snake Eyes and Breaker.  This meant that I didn't really have space on three vehicles for all four figures.  I could put Snake Eyes on the RAM, behind Breaker.  But, I Breaker had to wear his pack.  So, that meant that Snake Eyes couldn't sit behind him.  I could have had Snake Eyes drive.  But, I didn't like that.  So, instead, I'd try to sit Snake Eyes on the back of the VAMP with his legs straddling the gun.  Since that didn't really work, Snake Eyes was the odd man out.  This exclusion helped reinforce the notion of Snake Eyes being a bad guy.  It also helped that we had three of them.  So, this little army of Snake Eyes figures were my bad guys in the era before Cobras were really available.  

The RAM got releases all around the world.  Palitoy, Funskool and Estrela all released versions.  (There's probably more.  But, I've pretty much given up trying to document all the worldly vehicle releases since the information is so scattered and mostly absent.)  Hasbro released it twice.  And, during the Anniversary era, Hasbro remade the cycle with updated handle bars and more details.  There's also a model kit that is sometimes mistaken for a RAM variant.  I believe it's slightly smaller than the actual RAM.  But, you'll still see those out there from time to time.

RAMs are cheap.  Even though it has lots of small and brittle parts, mint and complete versions remain easy to find.  You can get really high quality samples in the $25 range.  But, just a little wear will cut that price in half.  Dealers still think it's 2021 and price RAMs at exorbitantly high prices.  But, unlike some other lofty dealer expectations, these high priced RAMs don't move.  So, you can acquire a nice RAM for less than pretty much any figure from its release era.  Joe vehicles ebb and flow, though.  There are times when you can't give them away and other times when they out pace figures in terms of pricing.  But, it's nice that early items like this RAM are still attainable.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rarities - Flash (Auriken Version from Mexico)

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

Auriken Flash - Mexico

The realm of international Joes can be both fun and exciting.  It can also be an exercise in frustration.  In the early 2000's, there was little info available on foreign released Joes.  There were a few trading with minimal info.  A few collectors tracked down some foreign items and they were posted in various newsletters or even to YoJoe.com.  But, those information stores were inadequate and terribly dated.  In the mid 2000's, the first real attempt to document "all" the foreign Joe variants were undertaken.  For the time, they are incredibly detailed and feature a host of figures that, to that point, had really not been previously known to or seen by the public.  In the 15 years since that, though, no one else has really undertaken a foreign Joe project of the same scale.  And, because of that, tons of information that has been learned since those early books is scattered or even lost in various unsearchable posts.  Foreign entities from Brazil, Argentina, Europe and even India, though, are well enough known that much of the new info exists in the general collecting conscious.  But, as you descend into more obscure foreign releases, the info is more opaque and difficult to find.  And, my search into the world of Auriken Joes from Mexico proved this point.

The calling card for this Auriken version of Flash is the figure's color.  I have talked about the "Brazilian Green" color that is common among Estrela accessories and figures.  It is a dark and distinctive hue of the color.  Auriken also created their own unique shade of green.  The cool thing, though, is that this color appears on many different Auriken figures and gives them a consistency that's missing even from the original 13 Hasbro figures.  The green is brighter and more pea-colored than any American release.  The closest figure in color to the Auriken Flash would be Zap.  But, even he's pretty far off from the Mexican hue.    

The timeline of foreign Joe straight arm releases is a bit tough to nail down.  It does seem, though, that the Auriken figures were likely acquired after the molds' usage by Estrela in Brazil.  There the figures were released in boxes rather than on cards.  Flash is available with in a box.  But, he was also packaged with the Skystriker.  I'm not sure if the figures have any differences.  Though, the Skystriker figure doesn't include any gear.  Without the unique green pack, Flash loses something.  But, the fact that this color scheme is wasted on straight arm figures makes the loss less worrisome.  It's an utter shame that no one has been able replicate the Estrela, Palitoy or Auriken greens on some swivel arm factory customs.  

On one hand, I've found it odd that there are no, more recent guides to international Joes.  But, authors of guides for American figures have reported that publishers have negligible interest in an edition focusing on foreign figures.  While it would certainly sell well among the hardcore collector crowd, it would have almost no interest in the general toy collecting world since no adults would connect with toys they had no childhood knowledge of.  A few collectors have done some extensive work on foreign Joes.  But, the info they have is not publicly posted anywhere.  If you know them to ask about something, they will gladly share.  If you're just looking to see what you can learn, though, the resources for may foreign Joe releases is pretty much unavailable.  Joe figures were released in Mexico through the 1994 series.  Many of the later items were likely Hasbro stock that was given unique cardbacks.  But, again, the info on these items is spotty at best.  

Flash was released all over the world.  The straight arm figure has unique releases in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.  The swivel arm version was planned for release in Europe as Bombadier: only to be a casualty of the Action Force line's cancellation.  But, he then disappeared.  Flash did not appear in any form after these 1980's worldwide releases.  Hasbro planned a repaint for 1997, but could not locate the mold.  It has only been factory custom makers who were able to resurrect the mold and bring around some Flash repaints.  But, even those, in my opinion, have fallen short.  We don't have a Night Force Flash, nor an Action Force Flash.  (Though, we do have nice Bombadier repaints, which are awesome to see.)  There is much that could be done with the mold.  Hell, I'd love a swivel version of this Mexican green.  It's not too late for some of those items to still happen in the factory custom world.  But, Hasbro really let collectors down with their updates of the Flash character.

Pricing for Auriken figures is tough.  There's not much to go on.  Flash doesn't seem overly rare.  Loose, poor quality samples seem to sell for around $30.  A mint and complete figure, though, would likely run around $100.  Fortunately, many Auriken figures fall under the radar and you can find some deals.  But, mint and complete figures are a tough find in general.  Even Mexican collectors report that the supply of Auriken Joes in their homeland has dried up and all the figures, once far more common, have become scarce.  Collectors are now willing to pay premiums for them since the Auriken figures are the last bastion of foreign holes in many collections.  If you're a sucker for repainted classics from your childhood, the Auriken series provides another outlet to satisfy your collecting goals.  But, they're not a line that's easy or cheap to complete.

1983 Grunt

I want to say that I hate Grunt.  However, that is unfair.  The reality is that I don't care about Grunt.  At all.  As a figure and as a character, Grunt has never been particularly relevant to me.  I'm not sure why this is.  While not the most interesting of the original 13 Joe figures, he's not the least interesting, either.  In fact, it his general blandness where he's neither great nor bad that is the cause of my indifference to the figure.  All of that, though, doesn't belie Grunt's place in Joe history and his importance to the fledgling line back in 1982.

My first encounter with Grunt was during my brother's infamous birthday in October of 1982.  He got most of the carded Joes along with the VAMP and HAL.  As the figures were opened and each kid took one to play with out in the front yard, the only thing I found interesting about Grunt was his backpack.  I quickly grabbed it, affixed it to Clutch's back and moved on.  It's likely that Grunt's thumb was quickly broken in those early days.  But, I have no real memories of Grunt at all beyond his pack being stolen for my "super" Clutch figure.  I can still recall the day that pretty much every original Joe character entered into my collection.  My only real recollection of Grunt was finding pieces of one buried behind bricks in our front yard after we had entombed him in 1982.

Grunt was so inconsequential to me that it wasn't until a year later when my brother acquired the Falcon Glider and the Tan Grunt that I paid any attention to the original figure.  I noticed the silver knife on the Tan Grunt's chest.  I loved this paint detail and it was enough to make the Tan Grunt interesting to me.  By that time, most of our 1982 straight arm Joes were broken and had been tossed in a box.  I thought there was no way I'd have missed the silver knife on the original Grunt or else I would have liked that figure better.  I dug the dirty and broken 1982 Grunt torso out of a box of broken and discarded Joes.  To my dismay, the original knife was silver, too.  I had just missed it.  But, even with this new bit of information, I didn't feel the need to go out and get a new swivel arm Grunt that was then available.  I just shrugged it off and largely forgot about Grunt for a long time.

In the comic, the Grunt character didn't begin as all that interesting, either.  His early runs are not memorable and he was overshadowed by Clutch, Rock and Roll and Hawk.  Heck, even Short Fuse got a few memorable lines.  But, this lack of defined story helped Larry Hama do something with Grunt.  He left the military to go to college.  He then aided the Joes in a few story lines and, ultimately, returned to the team.  (Though, his awful 1991 figure isn't really representative of his look during the transition.)  So, the Grunt character that I know is mostly based on the late 1980's story arc for Grunt and his interaction with characters from that time of the book.

My experience with Grunt, though, tends to be unique.  There are a great number of collectors out there who count Grunt as their introduction to the Joe line.  He was supposed to be the standard American fighting man and his appearance on Joe product packaging of the early '80's indicated this.  So, Grunt was often the figure chosen by adults for gifts or treats.  So, you'll see him occupy high slots on many collector lists.  While I'd rank Grunt firmly in the lower middle of the original releases, he remains a hugely important part of many people's collections.

Grunt's enduring legacy was that he was the "face" of G.I. Joe in 1982.  In fact, many kids assumed he was "G.I. Joe" himself.  Grunt's iconic artwork appeared on most of the Joe promotional material.  He was used as the background for merchandise that wasn't tied to Hasbro's 3 3/4 figure line.  Grunt represented the American fighting man.  And, his look was used to convey that fact.  And, that may be part of the reason that Grunt isn't all that interesting as a toy or character.  He was meant to represent the everyman.  And, everymen are bland by design.  Extreme character traits alienate them from their base.  So, they are just there.  Grunt provides a connection to soldiers from prior wars and allowed an entry point for parents and grandparents to introduce G.I. Joe to their kids.  So, he was hugely successful in that regard.

As a figure, though, Grunt is well done.  Not only does he feature more paint applications than most of the other carded 1982 designed Joes, he also has nice accessories.  The figure has brown, black, silver and green paint to accentuate the figure design.  (And, note the bright green pockets.  Neon was part of the Joe line since 1982.)  And, he includes a helmet, backpack and classic M-16 rifle.  If you were a kid in 1982 without the story that would come, there was little to differentiate Grunt from most of the other figures hanging on retail shelves.  But, for me, Grunt lacked the "it" factor.  Stalker, Snake Eyes, Rock and Roll and Flash were all must buys.  While I didn't much care for Scarlett, she was memorable.  Zap and Short Fuze were interchangeable and not all that interesting.  Breaker's gear pushed him ahead of Grunt.  When you add in vehicle drivers, Hawk is non-descript.  Clutch is awesome.  Steeler is right behind him.  And, if you like Flash, you kind of have to like Grand Slam.  Caught in the space between good and bad leaves Grunt as forgotten.

There is an interesting anecdote about Grunt.  At one time, there was a person who wanted to make a massive military diorama.  He would choose to only use 1983 Grunt and 1983 Tan Grunt figures to comprise the humans in this endeavor.  It never came to be, though.  And, in the mid 2000's, tons of Grunts who were still in their bubbles, but had the rest of the card torn away became available.  (A monstrous supply of Tan Grunts still in the bubble became available, too.)  It's not known if this person got the figures from Hasbro or just bought them at retail.  But, it's an interesting story and the reason why you'll still find bubbled Grunts on torn away cardbacks to this day.

As with all the original 13 Joes, Grunt was a world traveler.  The straight arm figure was released in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.  His parts were used for exclusives in Argentina, too.  The swivel arm figure was repainted in 1983 and appeared through the years in various mail aways, catalog premiums and promotions.  Hasbro reformed most of Grunt in 1997 for inclusion in the Stars and Stripes set.  But, after that, Grunt didn't really appear.  His shared chest appeared a in the 2000's in comic packs and convention sets.  But, a repainted Grunt character never did.  Grunt's comic pack release was a new head on a repainted 1994 Action Series body.  (It's a cool figure, but not an homage to this Grunt.)  While I don't really miss Grunt repaints, there's no reason he didn't appear later in different colors.  But, there's enough Grunt releases from outside the U.S. and U.S. releases repaints to keep the Grunt collector busy for quite a while.

As Joe prices have risen drastically since the fall of 2017, the early Joes have been heavily caught up in the tidal wave.  Beware figures with the incorrect rifle.  Grunt's rifle is unmistakable, but many dealers will still put an incorrect version with the figure to command a premium.  Mint and complete Grunt figures sell between $35 and $45 with some dealers even getting $70 with far too much frequency.  But, the figure is very prone to discoloration, paint wear and joint degradation.  This does mean, though, that you can get slightly off condition figures for cheaper prices.  But, we're long past the days of cheap Grunts making up a slew of greenshirts for a casual collector.  Grunt is still cheaper than many of the more popular members of the original 13.  But, I'd never pay those prices for one since the figure just doesn't resonate with me.

Rarities - JC Penny Breaker, Zap, Short Fuze 3 Pack

When the Joe line launched in 1982, catalog sales were still a dominant retail force.  For a toy line to maximize sales, it had to offer some form of product that was more conducive to mail away sales.  JC Penny picked up the Joe line for its Christmas catalog in 1982.  Below, you can see the catalog page with all the Joe offerings.  Here, the retailer offered several different three packs of figures.  The most famous it the set of Cobras due to the exclusive accessories.  But, there were Joe three packs, too.  Oddly, Stalker, Snake Eyes and Scarlett were offered together...long before we really knew about their connection.  But, in this case, here is the set that featured Breaker, Zap and Short Fuze.

The figures arrived in a box featuring the assortment number of 6195.  Each figure was individually bubbled and attached to their red back filecard.  The only way to remove the figure was to leave a scar from the bubble on the filecard back.  

The figures themselves are not distinguishable from the standard carded Joes of the day.  Zap does have an accessory variant, though, that will be discussed later.  The fact that the figures were packed with their gear in the bubbles made for a tight fit as both Zap and Short Fuze included the largest accessories in the original 13 lineup.

Of important note is that this Zap included either a B1 or a B2 bazooka.  The only other appearance of the B1 variant was in the JC Penny Cobra Trooper pack that was released in the same catalog.  This makes the B1 bazooka more common than the A1 exclusive in the Cobra set.  But, it's still a tough item to find.  And, it can be used to complete a legit JC Penney Zap figure.  Be sure to check out this list of Zap bazooka variants.

Below are the filecards for the figures.

There are a few items of note on the filecards.  First, is the assortment number.  It is 6195, which matches the assortment on the box and from the catalog.  This identifies the figures as being from the JC Penny set.  Second, you see that each filecard still included the flag point.

The JC Penny offerings are an interesting historical piece to remind us of the demise of the catalog sales model business.  The Internet has consumed all that business these days.  And, retailers like Penny's are just holding on for dear life and hoping that consumers still find value in a brick and mortar presence.  Finding Joes from these old mail away sets still in attached to their cards is nearly impossible these days.  And, even just the loose filecards with the flag points cut away will command substantial premiums.

1982 JUMP Jet Pack - Around The Web

Somehow, the inclusion of a self contained, single person jetpack has become accepted as "strict military realism" in the Joe line.  Even in 2022, you see collectors who deride when Joe went "sci-fi" and say the line got bad when that happened.  How they can accept something like the JUMP, HAL or Flash while deriding later concepts that were no further out there than these original ideas is beyond me.  So, I make it a point to focus on the sci-fi aspects of the Joe line that were introduced in 1982.

The JUMP, though, is a great toy and may be the single most useful single backpack ever released in the line's history.  Because of the generic name, it can be tough to find JUMP content.  Even though a lot of it exists.  But, you'll see some really strong content regarding the JUMP in the links below.  The names who appear are a who's who of Joe photographers: proving the JUMP is an essential part of every collection.

JUMP Profile

JUMP by Scarrviper

JUMP by Evilface

JUMP by Slipstream80

JUMP by doksewage

JUMP by jogunwarrior

JUMP by flatline54

JUMP at quietroomentertainment

JUMP by Flint

JUMP by Slipstream80

JUMP by atticagazette

JUMP by offworld.colony

JUMP by sparkasylum

JUMP by the.faceless.master

JUMP by Slipstream80

1982 VAMP

In October of 1982, the first G.I. Joe toys entered into my life.  My brother got about half the overall line for his birthday (with many duplicates).  Of the toys that he received, my favorite was the Clutch figure.  His overly detailed mold with the chest holster was enthralling.  I gave him Stalker's gun, Grunt's backpack and a visor and had him rule the day.  Of less interest to me was the vehicle which included Clutch, the VAMP.  Sure, it was cool.  But, I had mostly played with spaceships for several years and my ground play patterns were pretty much limited to figure only interactions.  In fact, I made Clutch fly because that was far more interesting than having him try to walk across our front yard.  As we got more Joes, though, and Star Wars fell more into the rear view window, the fun of ground vehicles started to become apparent.  And, the high quality construction of Joe toys quickly set them apart from many of their contemporaries.

After my brother got his spate of Joe toys in October, we had to wait until December for more.  In that time, though, my brother's VAMP took a beating.  Our front yard was bisected by a concrete sidewalk that ended in four or five stairs that lead to the public sidewalk that lined our street.  The VAMP would be revved up and driven over these stairs almost daily for two months.  It was usually the culmination of the adventure and the VAMP was either careening to its doom or escaping a disaster.  Often, the ending of the day's adventure would be determined by fate.  If the figures fell out of the jeep, they died.  If they remained inside, they lived.  So, you never knew how the day would end.  The VAMP held up very well to this rough play.  In time, pieces broke off and the roll cage cracked.  One trip over those stairs would turn any of my kids' 2022 toys to shards.  But, the VAMP took it for several weeks before the cold forced our toys inside.

For Christmas, though, I found my own VAMP under the tree.  Along with the MMS and Snake Eyes, it formed the group of presents that mattered the most to me.  They joined my RAM and Breaker to create the focus of my adventures for the next several months.  I kept my VAMP, though, in better condition.  It didn't get sent over the "waterfall" out front.  And, even by 1987, it was in pretty good condition (I had swapped out the bottom half of the VAMP for a Stinger's, though, as I liked the more advanced Stinger interior.) and I even still had all the pieces.  It began a pattern where I'd care for my toys while being less concerned about those of my younger brothers.  They would destroy their pieces.  So, I'd use theirs for dangerous maneuvers while keeping my samples in far better condition.

As a kid, I found the VAMP very frustrating.  I wanted it to be my favorite.  But, I found that the design was somewhat limiting.  If I wanted to move two figures around the battlefield, it was perfect.  If I wanted the passenger to be holding a rifle, that worked too.  You could even fit any of the 1982 backpacks into the cockpit if you wanted.  But, the bulkier gear that started to be included with figures starting in 1983 was problematic.  There simply wasn't room for them.  So, with no place to store the gear, I found the toy lacking.  I wanted my figures to carry all their accessories into battle.  If they weren't important, the figures would not have included them.  So, anything too small to accommodate them was of limited use.

The more frustrating aspect was that it could only hold two figures.  The comic and cartoon VAMPs seemed to grow or shrink based on the needs of the writers.  The toy was more constrained. I desperately wanted Rock and Roll or Flash to man the gun turret on the VAMP.  At various times, I attempted to attach the seat from a Whirlwind onto the back of the VAMP with rubber bands so that a third figure could sit by the gun.  These never worked as the bands would not hold.  And, the VAMP's gun is too low for a gunner to properly operate it.  So, my imagination was limited by the toy itself.  Eventually, my brother's VAMP's gun stripped off.  With it gone, that VAMP became more of a service vehicle that supported the fighting vehicles that still had their weapons.  Even years later, these service type vehicles were useful.  And, my youngest brother even turned my VAMP MK II into a cargo vehicle by cutting the off the back and making it removable so that you could access the cavity beneath the facade.

But, as my collection grew into the late 80's, the VAMP still served a valuable purpose.  It was small, light and fast.  It was Joe's only way to outrun a STUN (which was my Cobra's primary mechanized weapon).  The cannons that could swivel both 360 degrees as well as elevate gave the VAMP a field of fire that was really unmatched by other Joe vehicles.  It could shoot down Flight Pods and FANGs while still also tearing apart infantry who were on the ground.  The small machine gun on the vehicle's hood was another way for the VAMP to be deadly when it was both on the attack and fleeing from Cobra.  I never cared much about the steering wheel.  And, I removed the front roll bar and replaced it with the additional headlights from the VAMP Mark II as I thought it looked better.  The gas cans were fun as pursuing Cobras would shoot for them and, with luck, turn an escaping VAMP into a raging fireball.  I'd also remove them and use the carrier as a place for additional weapons or gear.  There's not much to the VAMP.  But, that simplicity is what allows it to excel.

There are few vehicles as iconic as the VAMP.  Released in the first year of the G.I. Joe line, it went on to become one of the hallmark vehicles that defined the toys for years.  The VAMP was the first vehicle to get reused when the VAMP Mark II was released in 1984.  And, even today, it's the iconic jeep for all Joes.  Collectors love VAMP re-releases and always seemed odd that Hasbro so underutilized the mold in the 2000's.  But, the body configuration they had for the Desert Striker had a lot of limitations and it was only when they retooled the original VAMP in the anniversary era that those who enjoyed later figures had an option to place inside Joe's classic fast attack vehicle.

1982 was a defining moment for me.  When the Joe line was released, I quickly abandoned Star Wars toys that had been the basis of my play since 1978.  The updated articulation and plethora of accessories that were interchangeable with every figure won me over.  And, as 1983 began, G.I. Joe were the only toys I wanted...until the late spring.  As Return of the Jedi came out, the toys that Kenner made to accompany it won the day again.  The updated accessories on the 1983 figures as well as plastic that didn't snap when the weapon was put into the hands too roughly pushed Joe to the background.    I left my small collection of 1982 Joes behind in the spring of 1983 and focused on all the new Return of the Jedi figures.  By the summer, I had all of the first wave of Jedi releases.  I didn't take any Joes with me when I visited relatives.  It was all Star Wars.  And, had Joe not made a major improvement in 1983, I'd have never gone back to it.  That will be the tale for next week's profile, though.

The VAMP is a constant of the Joe line from around the world.  Various configurations and constructions of the VAMP have appeared in Canada, Brazil, India, Europe and Japan.  If you want to spend $20 to get a VAMP, there are variants for that price.  If you want to spend $1000 on a VAMP, there are variants that will cost you that much, too.  Collectors who only focus on VAMP variants can still spend years and years tracking them all down.  In the past few years, more new variants have been discovered and new versions were even released in India.  In many ways, it feels like Hasbro could have done more with the VAMP mold.  While there are variants of it for Cobra, the desert, Tiger Force, the police, civilian racing and all shades of green, Hasbro could have pumped it out to match every Toys R Us exclusive set in the 2000's and collectors would have gobbled them all up.  It is my hope that the VAMP will return in some form in 2022 as part of the anniversary celebration.  Time will tell, I guess.

For my money, the VAMP is a classically iconic toy.  It is instantly recognizable as a G.I. Joe vehicle and stands on its own as one of the titans of the line.  The subsequent repaints did much to cement the vehicle's legacy.  Today, mint and complete VAMPs with the blueprints and Clutch will run you close to $100.  The steering wheel alone can cost $30.  But, there remain many cheap options available, too.  VAMPs missing the steering wheel and gas cans are still selling for under $25.  And, you can sometimes even get the gas cans in that price range.  There's tons of them available which helps sate demand and keep the prices more sane.  There's really no excuse to not own the classic VAMP.  It still looks good and works with most figures.  And, the multitude of factory customs in recent years have added to the spate of figures with whom the VAMP works well.  For me, the VAMP is the toy that helped launch my Joe obsession.

Arctic Assault - Action Force Exclusive

In the early 1980's, the European toy company, Palitoy, created a series of toys based on military adventure.  The fact that they coincided with G.I. Joe may have been insider industry knowledge or just pure coincidence.  But, the two lines debuted close enough together that the timing is a bit suspect.  The European line, though, featured 5 points of articulation, in the style of Star Wars figures that dominated the marketplace.  (And, coincidentally, were distributed in Europe by Palitoy.)  The line featured a fully integrated assortment of vehicles and playsets that augmented the figures.  And, in the second year, also featured a well thought out and developed bad guy.  In short, had G.I. Joe articulation (and Hasbro marketing muscle) not changed the landscape of action figures in 1982, it's possible that Action Force may have had a very different history.  But, Joe won the military action figure wars and the original Action Force line has become a bit of a cult favorite among Joe collectors.  For my look at Action Force in general, I chose the Arctic Assault figure as the subject of this profile.

Had I acquired this figure after August of 1983, I would have hated it.  At that point, G.I. Joe had taken hold and was now the only figure type that I really wanted to play with.  Prior to that, though, this figure would have found a tremendous home among my Star Wars figures.  Frankly, this figure is closer to the Hoth Rebel Commando that I always wanted than the vintage Star Wars figure is.  He would easily have joined my Hoth forces and fought against the AT-AT and Snow Troopers.  Now, he is also compatible with the current Star Wars figures that were available at retail just a few years ago (and, sometimes, still are!).  The 5 points of articulation figures that Hasbro has been peddling for the past couple of years are pretty much the same quality as Action Force figures.  Frankly, it would be kind of fun to see a 5POA line of Action Force inspired homages.  But, only if they retain the uniqueness of the originals and aren't a niche, kickstarter type thing.  You can see how the Arctic Assault figure stands up with a Hovertank Pilot released in 2017 below.  There's really nothing other than the '80's style eye paint that would tell you one figure is about 35 years older than the other.

The figure itself is very detailed.  The suit is bulky (befitting arctic insulation) and is adorned with pouches, pockets and a detailed belt.  The boots are solidly sculpted, too.  The head features a comm device that is sculpted to the face (one less little accessory to lose!) as well as sculpting showing a helmet with a skull cap/hood underneath that exposes the figures's face.  The design was substantially stronger than what Kenner was doing at the same time with their Star Wars figures.  And, the added paint applications and accessories would have really made Action Force stand out among toys on the pegs in 1982.

For me, the real value in Action Force figures are the accessories.  The early figures all featured weapons exclusive to the Palitoy line.  While the backpacks are over the shoulder harnesses in the mold of the Kenner Star Wars accessory packs, the guns look very similar to Hasbro weapons.  The weapons are excellently detailed and scaled to work with Joe figures.  As such, I find they are a great way to accessorize Joes with different weapons that you don't see all that often.  Action Force featured weapons in a few different colors, too.  So, you get additional diversity from those changes.  The later Action Force figures featured recolored G.I. Joe weapons.  While the light blue Uzis aren't all that interesting, the black Zap bazooka from the Red Shadows figure is.  The whole line features an array of gear that is an excellent supplement to the Joe line.  And, since the figures tend to be inexpensive, you can acquire the gear for cheap prices to outfit Joes.

The Arctic Assault figure includes a few different items.  The first is a silver version of the SA-80 rifle that was common in the Action Force line.  This is significant as silver is a logical color for weapons that is very distinctive.  One reason for that, though, is because Hasbro didn't use silver as the color of their weapons very often.  Silver accessories didn't appear in the Joe line until 1985.  And, it wasn't until the 1990's that it become even somewhat commonplace.  Seeing the color on an early weapon really brings distinction to it.  

Aside from the rifle, the figure also includes a white backpack and a white ladder.  The back is bulky and well detailed.  The fastening plastic straps are a design that works well, but also doesn't tend to withstand long childhood playtimes where they are taken off and put on again over and over.  They also hinder interchangeability as not all of them fit on all figures in the line.  The Hasbro design of the peg in back of figures allowed not only for greater uniformity and compatibility, but also lessened the wear on functional points of the accessories.  And, it was a solid step forward...even if the straps on this pack are more realistic.  The pack has a cargo slot into which fits a folding ladder.  I'm not sure of the intent of this piece of gear.  But, the fact that it folds up is pretty cool.  As a kid, things like toy ladders were necessary when playing on the stairs.  So, it's a cool addition to the line and the type of thing you don't really notice until you get one in hand.

Like most Palitoy offerings, this Arctic Assault figure's mold was used several times.  Aside from this white and blue winter offering, you can get the figure in desert camo or all white.  If you look on the package of the Arctic Assault, there is a version of the figure painted in green cammo carrying a black SA-80.  I can not find that this figure was ever released.  If you have knowledge of it, please let me know.  There are many variants in the Action Force line in terms of the way the faces are painted and even the cammo patterns.  So, keep your eyes open for those, too.  The head appears on a couple of other figures (notably the Naval Assault figure) as well.  There are lots of reused body parts in the Action Force line.  But, they experimented with different arm positions and such to a much greater extent than Kenner ever did with the Star Wars line.  And, you can find familiar pieces used in a variety of unique ways.

While Action Force does have it's pricey figures, the line is, in general, very inexpensive to collect.  (As long as you steer clear of the Hasbro G.I. Joe repaints, that is!)  Palitoy created a line for Western European children.  In 1982, the target populations for Palitoy's line in Europe and Hasbro's line in the U.S. were about the same.  So, this explains the large volume of toys that were made, sold and survive to this day.  Plus, Action Force only lasted for about three years before it, basically, became rebranded G.I. Joe.  So, the target market for Action Force childhood collectors is much smaller than that of G.I. Joe. As such, you can get mint and complete figures like this Arctic Assault figure for around $10.00.  Dealers will sometimes get $20.  But, incomplete figures are nearly worthless.  In lots, these go much cheaper and you're more likely to get the accessories.  You can usually find European collectors with spares, too, who might be willing to trade for Joes.  If this style of figures is something interesting to you, the cheap price makes them an attractive acquisition.  For me, they are fun additions to a collection.  But, they are not something I'm looking to complete.  But, getting a few spare accessories is a good way to arm some Joes with new weapons that look like they could be from the vintage line but definitely aren't.

1983 Hawk

When the Joe line debuted in 1982, the marketing was lead by Grunt.  His iconic pose dominated the Joe adjacent merchandise and he was the face of the brand.  Slowly, that changed.  But, it did not change to the leader of the G.I. Joe team.  As, rather than release him on a single card, Hasbro stuck the team's commanding officer as a pack in figure with one of the lesser vehicles of the 1982 run.  Hawk was paired with the MMS and really had nothing on the box other than his filecard to denote that he was the team's leader.  If you didn't read the comic at the time, the only real way to discern this info was by reading Hawk's rank.  But, as a colonel, Hawk was the team's highest ranking officer.  Despite his lowly form of release, Hawk commanded the team.  It seems somewhat disrespectful to hide Hawk in this way.  But, even the figure wasn't much as it was all recycled parts from the main carded line.  Despite all the strikes against him, though, I found Hawk as the leader of my fledgling team after Christmas in 1982.  

Of course, though, that changed rather quickly.  The reason for this was the acquisition of Battle Gear #1 in early 1983.  Now that I had plenty of weapons for the four figures in my collection, I needed to outfit them all.  I figured Grunt's M-16 would be the best fit for Hawk.  And, in my first attempt to slide it into his hand, I snapped the first thumb of my life.  Hawk's right hand was now useless.  And, with that, the figure was somewhat useless, too.  What good was a team leader who couldn't even hold a weapon?  So, Hawk fell away and I focused on Clutch, Snake Eyes and Breaker.  But, then, Return of the Jedi figures came out and G.I. Joe fell to the wayside.  When I found Airborne and swivel arm battle grip in the late summer of 1983, it was the swivel arm that drove me to Joe as my toy of choice.  So, all the old straight arm figures fell to the bottom of a box as new, swivel arm figures dominated my play.

In 1984, though, I started reading the Joe comic.  I subscribed to it the day I brought home my first issue from the local drug store.  By the fall, I was going to a local comic shop and finding back issues when they had them in stock.  From these stories, I grew to like the Hawk character even more.  He was the heroic leader that the team of my figures lacked.  But, the broken thumb, straight arm figure I owned simply would not do.  So, I went without a Hawk.  At some point in 1985, I found a pair of swivel arms from an original 13 figure.  It might have been Short Fuze, but I can't recall.  But, I put them onto my old Hawk body so I would have the figure.  This didn't do it for me, though.  The bland paint job of the 1982 figures simply could not match the better paint and more visually stimulating figures from the subsequent years.  So, this figure fell away, too.  I painted up a figure that I meant to be Hawk that used a Duke chest.  But, the easily chipped Testor's paint was frustrating and that figure didn't last, either.

Finally, in 1986, Hasbro released a Hawk that was true to the character.  It also celebrated Hawk's promotion to general.  For most collectors, the 1986 Hawk is the true representation of the character.  Sure, Hawk now had brown hair.  But, it was a small price to pay to get a figure that looked like the commander of an elite unit.  With this figure in tow, I had no need for the original Hawk figure and he was taken apart and his parts sacrificed to other figures.  It was only in the late 1990's that I went through my pieces and reassembled my early figure.  Hawk was back.  But, he was irrelevant.  The 1986 figure was forever Hawk and the original figure was reduced to nothing more than historical footnote in my collection.

The calling card of this Hawk is the silver trim.  In retrospect, the color could be meant to denote rank or importance.  But, it was more likely just a way to differentiate the figure using minimal paint masks.  Despite the silver details, Hawk's chest knife if not painted.  If it were, it would too closely match is straps.  So, this was the right aesthetic choice.  The silver paint, of course, wears with notorious ease.  Coupled with Hawk's painted hands and you have a figure that's really pretty brittle.  And, even as a kid, figures with heavily chipped paint were overlooked.  I'd make accommodations for paint wear on top figures like Flint.  But, an old figure like Hawk simply could not overcome any wear to remain relevant.  

Where Hawk did come back into play was in 1987.  By then, I was mostly done with G.I. Joe.  Sports and other pursuits were starting to overtake toys.  That summer, though, I had an idea to do a last hurrah.  I put together a "Bunker Cracking Team" that was all original 13 members and figures along with tons and tons of gear.  I loaded it all into an APC and this team was going to be my go to team for anything.  The APC had sandbags, grappling hooks, gas can, machine guns, radios, ammo boxes, barricades, grenades...anything that was remotely related to Joe was loaded into it.  I scoured the toy boxes of a few friends, salvaging their old, forgotten parts for my new team.  I got the APC loaded with all the figures and gear and....never used it.  The idea of the team with Hawk at the helm was lost in the haze of the summer and it was probably only taken outside once or twice.  It was a grand idea.  But, one that was doomed due to timing.  With that team's descent into the bottom of our toy room, so went Hawk's last real usage.

Even today, this Hawk isn't really a figure I appreciate.  He was my last of the original 13 figures to acquire.  And, that was only after I decided that I wanted a complete run of my childhood sweet spot years.  So, I bought a Hawk and actually forgot I owned him until I went to put the entire team together in a drawer for display.  But, I'm glad I have the figure.  The sleek silver is a neat look...even if not really essential.  I need Hawk, though, because the early team is incomplete without him.  Posing an '86 Hawk among other original 13 figures makes him stand out too much.  You need the original, bland uniform figure standing at the forefront to really get the effect of what it was like to play with Joe in 1982 and 1983.  That nostalgic value drives all my desire for Hawk.

Hawk had just two accessories: his helmet and visor.  With Hawk, the visor makes sense due to the MMS and the exhaust from the missiles.  His thumb breaking with the AP weapons was a sad event for me.  But, that gear offered kids of the era a chance to outfit Hawk with an Uzi, M-16 or M-60.  With one of these, he was a good companion to Grunt.  But, it would take until 1986 for Hawk to finally have gear befitting his position.  You'll note that in the photos below that Hawk and my other figures wear their visors upside down.  This is a leftover from childhood.  I liked the helmet being able to go up higher on the helmets when they were not in use.  The reverse position on the helmet allowed them to do so.  This configuration bothers a lot of people.  But, it's something that I carry over from playing with the figures as a kid and the figures look correct to me when displayed this way.  I don't want to lose that connection to my youth.  So, the visors will always stay wrong on my figures.

Hawk actually had an international release.  In India, Funskool released an MMS.  Early versions of this vehicle included a Hawk done in the light blue Indian plastic.  This figure is among the rarest in the world.  The plastic has not held up well and the few figures you can find are usually heavily discolored.  Despite the MMS appearing in various other countries, this Hawk did not travel with it outside of India.  The later Hawk versions got many foreign releases.  So, the character was well represented abroad.  This original figure, though, didn't see the international exposure that so many of the other original 13 figures received.  

Like all 1983 swivel arm versions of the original 13 Joes, Hawk is expensive.  Not as expensive as you'd think in the current market, though.  While dealers will get $75 and even $100 for a mint and complete version, he's about a $45 figure on the open market.  And, there's usually plenty of options available...some even including the MMS.  As Zap, Scarlett, Stalker and Snake Eyes have all gotten substantially more expensive in recent years, Hawk has held out.  That might just be that he hasn't taken off yet.  Or, it could be that the figure is kind of bland and there are far better Hawks out there to represent the character.  For me, the 1983 Hawk's value is as a member of the original 13.  So, I actually spent a good amount of time and money to get a good one a few years ago.  I don't really regret that decision, though, as it's unlikely that I'd ever pursue this figure again if completing the original characters were not a goal.

1983 Breaker - Random Photos Of The Day

 Breaker was my first Joe figure.  I got him the day after I had received the RAM for my birthday.  It was a fitting match considering Breaker was on the box art of the RAM and that bit of kismet foreshadowed how Joe would come to work out in my life.

The fact that Breaker didn't come with a weapon was a bit of a pain.  But, his communications gear more than made up for it.  And, once the 1983 Battle Gear set came out, I had plenty of weapons from which Breaker could choose.  (I always gave him one of the Uzis.)

Breaker doesn't see as much usage these days.  There are better communications troopers that came out later.  And, Breaker never got a real update.  (That 1997 figure doesn't count.)  So, he's pretty left to HQ fodder and random memories of the figure that started it all.

1982 MMS (Mobile Missile System)

From 1978 through 1982, I only cared about Star Wars toys.  From the minute I got my first C-3PO figure in 1978 through the latter waves of Empire Strikes Back figures, Star Wars toys dominated my childhood.  From time to time, other things would come into our house.  But, their value was 100% tied to how well they could integrate with Star Wars figures.  In October of 1982, though, that changed.  For the first time, G.I. Joe figures came into our play when my younger brother got most of the original lineup for his birthday that year.  In what was, likely, a perfect storm of malaise from Star Wars (waiting 3 years between movies was an ETERNITY...), Reagan era Cold War propaganda and the new possibilities opened by greater figure articulation, G.I. Joe figures grabbed me more powerfully than that first golden robot I'd bought 4 1/2 years earlier.  By the time December rolled around, my only interest was in new G.I. Joe figures and vehicles.  Alas, my birthday ended as a disappointment with only Breaker and the RAM become my first Joe toys.  But, shortly thereafter, at Christmas, things changed.  Under the tree, I found Snake Eyes, the VAMP and a new vehicle that we had yet to own any copy of: the MMS.

There is a reason we didn't already own an MMS.  My brother had gotten multiple VAMP's and HAL's for his birthday.  And, my mother forbid us to get the MOBAT since we never played with some crappy Radio Shack radio controlled motorized tanks from the year prior.  (They were out of scale and lame.)  Despite that, the MMS never really entered the picture.  The main reason being that it wasn't very exciting.  It didn't have guns.  It had no place for the operator to sit on it.  In short, it just stood there, fired three missiles and was instantly useless.  Looking at the MMS 38 years after its release, I see it through the lens of a collector who can appreciate the sculpting and details.  But, for a kid in 1982, the MMS was pretty much the most boring Joe toy you could find wrapped under the tree.

But, on Christmas morning, 1982, the MMS was pretty great.  I was able to hook it up to my VAMP and have Hawk and Clutch drive around with Breaker in tow on the RAM.  However, this left an odd man out: Snake Eyes.  Despite owning three vehicles and only 4 figures, I didn't have a place for Snake Eyes to go.  This lead to many odd attempts to later modify the VAMP to add a gunner seat, or somehow affix a figure to the MMS while it was in transit.  But, none worked.  As we had gotten three Snake Eyes figures by the end of Christmas morning, though, Snake Eyes found himself in a common position in the pre-Cobra Joe collections.  He was now the villain.

In the spring of 1983, Return of the Jedi was released.  As the toys flooded the market, I lost interest in Joe.  The 1982 figures were simply overwhelmed by the new Kenner figures.  Removable helmets, excellent monsters and cloth capes transcended the advances in accessories and articulation that Joe had made.  My Joes were relegated to the bottom of the toy box as I spent the spring and early summer acquiring and playing with every new Star Wars figure released.  Then, on a fateful day near the end of the summer, I discovered an Airborne figure that had been brought over to our house by one of my brother's friends.  The oversized backpack and swivel arm battle grip pulled me back to Joe.  And, from then on, G.I. Joe dominated my toy interests.  But, the straight armed 1982 figures now seemed passe.  The swivel arm battle grip was what persuaded me to Joe.  (And, is the reason I, to this day, don't collect straight arm figures!)  So, figures without it were left behind.

And, while the VAMP pulled forward and became a staple of my 1983 and onward adventures, the MMS did not.  It simply didn't have the cachet to warrant finding all the parts and bringing with me.  There were so many better options for towable vehicles in 1983.  And, the MMS' limited use was of little appeal.  It was left behind in the toy box where it would sit with other unloved toys for a few years.  In early 1986, though, I finally had reason to dig out the MMS.  For Chistmas in 1985, I had received the Sears Exclusive SMS.  This revived memories of the MMS and I fished out the old shell and parts that were on the bottom of a red caboose shaped toy box that dominated our toy room.  (I'll have to find occasion to talk about that some time, too.)  But, the toy still saw little use.  By the end of 1986, though, the SMS became central to a key story line.  When it was finally resolved, the Joes now had reason to use the MMS as a repaint of a captured Cobra SMS.  This was fun for about two minutes.  But, it did bring the MMS back for a short, final run as a childhood plaything.  

To this day, I see the MMS mold as, primarily, a Cobra weapon.  My association with the mold entirely stems from the SMS release of it in 1985 instead of the original.  I rarely will remember the MMS as part of the 1982 lineup until I also recall that Hawk was released with it.  So, it's rare for me to really take it out.  Since it can't hold a figure, it has little display value.  And, the play value is entirely exhausted once the missiles are spent.  The HAL is far larger and is better for hiding figures behind in a firefight.  But, the MMS can have a bit of value there.  In short, the MMS never proved to be a decent or fun toy and it's lot hasn't really improved in almost 40 years.

But, the toy is a neat little piece of engineering.  Aside from the tow hook that perfectly matched to the VAMP or MOBAT, the MMS was able to fold out to be a stand alone piece, too.  The front legs were movable legs that folded and locked into place when the MMS was ready for towing.  The back legs were one piece that both kept the legs in positional lockstep and ensured that no kid could lose just one without breaking it.  They folded nicely into the body of the MMS itself to also allow for towing.  The lone play feature on the base is a command center.  The computer is attached to the body with a nylon cord that was tough to break.  It has a stand that affixed to the bottom to allow for the controls to be figure height.  You can take the stand away, insert it into a space on the back, bottom of the MMS and it helps seal in the back legs.  The computer then perfectly fits into a slot over the tow hook.  Here, the controls are also figure height, ensuring that anyone who lost the stand could still use the controls.  Seeing those features shows how much care the designers took in their development of the MMS, even if it is otherwise lackluster.

The MMS got a fair bit of use.  Aside from the 1985 Sears excusive SMS, there is also an Action Force repaint in black and grey.  The most desirable release actually occurred in Canada where the MMS was repainted in all black and released as part of the MSV exclusive boxed set.  The next stop for the MMS was India.  There, Funskool released several variants of the MMS for many years.  There are versions that are similarly colored to the U.S. release.  But, there are also orange and yellow variants that sell for stupid prices (and included the blue Hawk repaint).  After that, the mold ran cold.  In the Anniversary era, Hasbro retooled and released the MMS mold as an SMS homage that was released in 2009.  With that, there's really nothing more that could be done with the mold.  Sadly, many of the best repaints of it are fairly rare and rather expensive to acquire today.  But, the original is done in classic military colors and really doesn't need any additional releases to be useful.  

Ostensibly, MMS's should be expensive.  It's a classic vehicle from Joe's first year that has one easily lost part and several easily broken parts.  Yet, it's not.  Dealers will sell mint and complete MMS's for around $30.  (Many will ask upwards of $50, but these rot and rot...unsold.)  Left to the open market, high quality samples sell in the $20 range.  And, if you're willing to deal with a broken missile fin or buy a sample along with other toys, that price falls even more.  The early Joe vehicles were sold in scale at the perfect price point for gifts, casual rewards or just a random purchase.  The massive quantities of them holds true today and vehicles like MMS which don't have much reward in owning multiples (unlike say, the VAMP) tend to be pretty cheap.  Even with the uptick in Joe pricing that has vaulted many of the 1982/1983 figures into three figure acquisitions, these vehicles remain priced at levels that are attainable to pretty much any collector.  The question is whether it's worth it.  The MMS isn't a great display piece and doesn't really interact with nor enhance the display of figures.  By 1983, G.I. Joe had better and more fun missile delivery vehicles and, also, better toys that could be towed by the primary armor in the line.  So, the MMS was kind of obsolete before it completed its retail cycle.