The Rankings - 1984

1984 is an interesting Joe year.  It's considered a classic with some of the best figures ever released.  But, the 1984 lineup is very transitional.  About half the figures are in line with 1983 releases while the other half take a leap forward and give us the precursors of what the line would become in 1985.  It's going to be a tough year to rank as it contains some of my personal favorites, consensus icons and, one of the worst releases Hasbro ever created.  So, we'll jump in 1984 and see where this ends up.

#20. Deep Six

Yeah, it couldn't be anyone else.  This Deep Six sucks.  But, to be fair, he features an original head (which was intended to be the Alpine Trooper head that was going to be used with the Scrap Iron body) and an ambitious action feature.  I'm not going to convince myself that Deep Six is a good figure or toy.  But, he has all the hallmarks of a G.I. Joe figure and had the same care put into his design as did Stormshadow.  He loses due to articulation.  But, there are elements of quality to him that keep him above some figures from later years.

#19. Clutch and Stinger Driver (tie)

It's unfair to really include these guys in the 1984 lineup since they were both repaints of earlier figures.  But, in the case of each figure, the repaint was amazing.  Both are substantially different from their original releases while still maintaining the overall quality of the earlier design.  You can argue that both the 1984 repaints are even better than the original paint jobs.  They appear this low, though, because they were earlier sculpts and the other 1984 figures also brought new colors to the line.  It's not fair they are so low.  But, that's a testament to the quality of the overall year.

#17. Duke

At his core, Duke is a 1983 figure design.  He uses the classic helmet, reuses gear from prior figures and even recycles parts from earlier releases.  Design wise, he fits with the 1983 Team.  Because of that, his overall rank suffers for 1984.  His release year contemporaries brought more to the table.  Duke seemed like a pure throwback instead of something new.  His colors are nice.  But, they were more muted when compared against the other 1984's.  Then, he's got the goofy head.  In reality, Duke works as a figure.  He's just not one of the stronger releases in his year.

#16. Hooded Cobra Commander

An iconic look ranked this low?  Well, yeah.  Cobra Commander suffers from a lot of what ails Duke, Clutch and the Stinger driver.  The new head and the darker blue color make for a fantastic figure.  He just didn't offer anything new or revolutionary to the 1984 lineup.  The low ranking is more a function of him being mostly a repaint instead of an all new figure. 

#15. Roadblock

Roadblock is another 1983 throwback.  His body is a little beefier.  And, the reused parts do limit him.  His accessories push him up the list.  The machine gun, tri-pod and backpack all work in concert to produce a great toy.  His colors are nice.  If taken against the line as a whole, Roadblock would perform well.  He just can't outperform his fellow class of 1984.

#14. Copperhead

I'm not really sure if Copperhead should be this high.  He gets solid marks for bringing so much color to the Joe line.  And, he features a bulkier sculpt to showcase his size, too.  The fact that the figure persevered and remains somewhat popular despite him not getting any characterization is a testament to this figure's overall design.  So, he gets ahead of Roadblock even though Roadblock is a lot more useful.

#13. Scrap Iron

Scrap Iron started his life as a Joe Alpine Trooper.  At some point, he was converted to Scrap Iron.  The colors are great.  But, the head is weak.  It really doesn't fit with the rest of the figure.  It being designed later in the process explains the difference.  He gets some higher marks, though, for his gear.  The missile table was inspired and gave Scrap Iron value over just his figure.

#12.Wild Weasel

I don't like the Wild Weasel figure.  The reason for that is that I saw the artistic rendition of him in the comics in the summer of 1984.  So, I had months of waiting for him and anticipating him before we got him in October of that year.  And, the figure just didn't live up.  I thought the helmet was too big and there was too much red.  But, in the 42 years since his release, he's grown on me.  And, the design as a pilot is pretty strong.  

#11.Cutter

So, this one photo from 2008 is the only time I can ever find that I used the 1984 Cutter.  Back in 2013, one of my sons crawled into a storage room and opened up a drawer of 1984 Joes and managed to break my Cutter's crotch.  So, I haven't had one to really use in more than a decade and a half.  Despite that, the original design is pretty good.  The life vest gave him added bulk without making him too big.  The sculpted baseball cap also worked really well and brought a new look to the Joe line.  His colors are strong and different.  So, he's right in the middle of the year's lineup.

#10. Firefly

The first controversy in the list.  How could Firefly, one  of the line's iconic figures, only be the 10th best figure from his release year?!?  The answer lies is two parts.  First, Firefly is another 1983 style figure.  His head is the perfect size for the classic helmets.  Secondly, though, is that Firefly doesn't get any paint details that accentuate the amazing sculpting that Hasbro did for his body.  While Firefly is still visually interesting, he also lacks something because his grenades, pouches and pistol all blend into a seamless see of two toned grey.  Firefly's cool as hell.  But, his overall design didn't do much to move the Joe line forwards.  

#09.  Ripcord

As a figure, Ripcord is kind of bland.  But, his cammo is more dramatic than Firefly's.  The rest of the figure doesn't have much going for it.  What it does have, though, is some of the best gear ever released.  No parachute rig that came after was able to live up to the innovation of Ripcord's parachute pack and airmask.  With his gear attached, he's an amazing figure.  I had mine wear his mask even on ground missions because it just looked so cool.  

#08. Thunder

Apparently, I'm a Thunder fan.  While he's very much a 1983 throwback, he works on many different levels.  He included new helmet gear that elevated the standard helmet.  The rest of him, though, is well sculpted.  I've always loved his chest sculpt.  They layers of brown, green and black work as a visual treat.  So, I find Thunder a better piece of design than some of the more iconic figures from this year.

#07. Recondo

Recondo isn't perfect.  But, he is a great looking jungle trooper.  His muted base color allows his painted details to stand out.  The green hat is a perfect topper, too.  Recondo features a strong face sculpt to boot.  He only includes two accessories.  His backpack is one of the better pieces from the line's early years.  It's big enough to showcase all the details while not being overbearing like many of the packs from 1987 and beyond.  His rifle can be tough to pose.  But, it does look really good with Recondo...to the point where Recondo looks weird with any other weapon.  Recondo showed what Hasbro could do now that they had a couple of years under their belt.

#06.  Spirit

Like Recondo, Spirit showed what the Joe line could be.  His stern face is an understated element of the figure that helps define his character.  The molded hair piece, though, was a leap forward in design.  It opened the doors to more variety for heads.  We wouldn't see it that often.  But, Spirit allowed the 1984 lineup to look quite different from the previous years.  On top of that, he included another new addition to 1984: an animal companion.  Freedom wasn't a terribly useful accessory.  But, he was an element that set the Joe line apart.  The rest of Spirit's gear really only works  for Spirit.  That's a double edged sword, for sure.  But, shows that accessory integration is essential for any successful action  figure line.

#05.Stormshadow

The top 5 is where it starts to get dicey.  It's very possible that, if I were to revisit these rankings in 2028, that Stormshadow might end up #2 on the list.  For now, though, he rests at number 5.  Really, though, that's only because those above him are so good.  As a figure, Stormshadow isn't all that groundbreaking.  Sure, he introduced the ninjas mythos to Joe.  But, his sculpt is somewhat basic and hearkens back to 1983.  He excels, though, in the accessory department.  His backpack is a masterclass of engineering.  It was, likely, the most intricate accessory that existed in the 3 3/4" scale at the time.  The complete package remains iconic.  

#04.Blowtorch

Blowtorch gets high marks for his striking colors and his amazing gear.  I've always kind of lumped Ripcord and Blowtorch together because they both had air masks.  But, it is Blowtorch's design, where his mask is integrated into the figure itself, that is more memorable to me.  It's a stronger feat of engineering and something that Hasbro hadn't fully worked out when they were taking promo photos of the 1984 figures.  In addition, Blowtorch proved that bright, vivid colors could work perfectly in the proper setting.  You can see the fiery yellow and red and instantly know Blowtorch's specialty.  On top of everything else, his flamethrower and backpack integrated, too.  His suit is full of small details.  He's just a figure that defines his year while expanding the look of Joe into new areas.

#03.Mutt

Mutt is overly high.  He's among my favorite figures and is a guy to whom I hold great deference.  But, as an action figure,  he's amazing.  Mutt showed that brighter, more powerful greens could still work on a G.I. Joe.  And, his accent colors give him visual depth.  He also brought the first, real animal character to the line.  Junkyard became a fan favorite.  And, there are still collectors who prefer the dog to the man.  The rest of Mutt's gear is also great.  He might have the best pistol Hasbro ever created.  And, his muzzle/helmet combo gave him a talking point.  Without the muzzle, Mutt features a riveting head sculpt...including unexplained scars: a rarity for a good guy.  Mutt is just a complete package of a figure and is one who's always going to rank high with me.

#02. Baroness

I'm surprised I ended up with Baroness this high.  But, she is light years ahead of Scarlett and, certainly, Cover Girl in terms of female sculpting.  Her separate hair piece was inspired and gave an excellent approximation of longer hair.  The eyeglasses were perfectly proportioned and gave her a distinct look.

The only bad thing about the Baroness is that Hasbro then went backwards in female figure design after her release.  Lady Jaye is a step down.  Zarana does an OK job of replicating the Baroness design aesthetic.  But, the bad face sculpts keep her lower than the Baroness.  Jinx didn't have a face at all.  And, then we didn't see another female figure until the 1993 Scarlett.

The Baroness seems passe, now.  We got tons of repaints of her in the 2000's and even factory customs.  But, she remains Hasbro's best work for a female figure.  Her only detriment is her terrible rifle.  But, that's inconsequential when the rest of the figure design is so well done.  For her, the lack of color works as the all black ensemble conveys her affiliation and allows to match up with any of Cobra hierarchy where she may choose to lay her allegiance.

#01. Zartan

This should not be a surprise.  Zartan brings so much to the Joe line that he has to hold the top spot on this list.  The color changing gimmick is the least interesting thing about Zartan.  But, it's a big part of my kids loved him.  The character is just, generally, bizarre.  And, with little explanation as to why, kid's imaginations could run wild.  The oddball chest armor that held a heat sensing sticker added to the mystique.  And, his hood was an extension of the hair pieces used for Spirit and Baroness.  

To top it off, Zartan included great accessories.  His backpack held an alternate face.  Today, action figures include alternate heads for collectors.  But, in 1984, we got to play with a bearded weirdo who was disguising the most visually distinctive villain in the G.I. Joe line.  If that wasn't enough, his pistol rivals Mutt's for the top spot in terms of Hasbro's efforts.  

Zartan showed what the Joe line could be and firmly cemented it as military fantasy.  The illusion of the line being about green army guys was forever shattered and there was a full decade of future releases that were a function of that early decision.  

All in all, the 1984 line has a strong case for the best year of Joe releases.  There's just so much here and it's all packed into just 20 figures.  I'm sure everyone's list differs just based on your personal experiences.  But, I'd love to hear about your top figures from this year and why they are important to you.

1984 Chameleon - Around The Web

The Chameleon is both a toy that is essential to Zartan and one that is completely inconsequential to your enjoyment of the Zartan figure.  It's something that's great to have and really completes Zartan as a toy.  But, Zartan is also so good that he can be an iconic collection piece, even if you don't have the swamp skier.  It's a weird juxtaposition.  

The upside is that there's lots of content on the Chameleon and Zartan out there.  Many people use them effectively and make some fun stuff.  

1984 Chameleon Profile

1984 Chameleon by backyardjoes

1984 Chameleon by cobra_rules_cybertron

1984 Chameleon by Prince Adam

1984 Chameleon by keithmccleary

1984 Chameleon by gijoe_nation

1984 Chameleon by cobra_rules_cybertron

1984 Chameleon by yotothejoe

1984 Chameleon by keithmccleary

1984 Chameleon by codename.steve

1984 Chameleon by cobra_rules_cybertron

1984 Chameleon by gijoe_for_fun

1984 Chameleon by viper_space

1984 Chameleon by codename.steve

Rarities - 1984 Blowtorch Pre-Production Images

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1984 MANTA - Around the Web

The MANTA is the most viewed page on this site.  It's not even close.  It's been viewed more than 5 times more often than the 2nd most popular post.  Even now, this profile consistently pops up in the top 5 of the week, 5 years since it was first published.  I have ZERO idea as to why this is.  Is the MANTA really that popular?  Or, is it just a weird coincidence where that post happens to have a couple of fans who use it as a launching pad into the site?  The reference data for the site offers no clues.  So, I can not explain why the MANTA gets so much traffic.

All this aside, the MANTA is one of those things that, as a kid, I hated.  It was kind of a crappy toy.  It looked neat.  But, when you tried to play with it, the thing fell apart if an eyelash brushed against it.  As an adult collector, though, it's impossible to look at the MANTA other than a singular feat of toy design and engineering.  The fact that that it could be broken down and put into a backpack is just amazing.  And, the combination of plastic and vinyl to create a reasonable looking sail is inspired.  

There's a lot of good content on the MANTA out there.  And, you'll notice a lot of different names among the creators this time around.  Hopefully, you'll discover someone new who does some cool stuff that you'll enjoy.  So, enjoy this MANTA content.  And, I'll continue to puzzle over why the MANTA is the single most popular spotlight I've ever done.

1984 MANTA Profile

1984 MANTA by RTG

1984 MANTA by gen_liederkranz

1984 MANTA by gijoe_c4_panama

1984 MANTA by clutch_rules

1984 MANTA by HCC788

1984 MANTA blueprints at Joe A Day.com

1984 MANTA by 80stoyattic

1984 MANTA by evilface

1984 MANTA by flatline 54

1984 MANTA by chaplainjoepod

1984 MANTA by matemylar

1984 MANTA by animalvaders

1984 MANTA by sintechness

1984 Slugger - Around The Web

The Slugger is one of the vehicles that really works well in photos.  It's small, but distinctive.  It has some fun details and can work with a variety of figures.  I use it quite frequently.  But, lots of others do, too.  I found a ton of Slugger content out there.  Sometimes its the subject of the photo and, other times, it's just a backdrop.  But, it works remarkably well in both settings.  So, take some time to check out all the guys who use the Slugger to great effect.

1984 Slugger Profile

1984 Slugger by atticagazette

1984 Slugger by CorpsCommanderCody

1984 Slugger by steelbrigade

1984 Slugger by jogunwarrior

1984 Slugger by thedustinmccoy

1984 Slugger by Slipstream80

1984 Slugger by steelbrigade

1984 Slugger by tituslester32

1984 Slugger by rnrhero

1984 Slugger by larebear_73

1984 Slugger by 3rd_wave_sabotage

1984 Slugger by joe_hunter73

1984 Slugger by steelbrigade

1984 Slugger by thedustinmccoy

1984 Slugger by 3rd_wave_sabotage

1984 Slugger by steelbrigade

1984 Slugger by mrmikevinthepit

1984 Copperhead

When I look back at my Joe collecting adventure of the late 1990's, I rarely find a figure that was really important to me back then that I don't also still use fairly frequently, today.  Sure, some of them aren't nearly as important as they were back then.  But, I usually still use them with enough frequency that they appear in a variety of settings.  One figure, though, that has fallen through the cracks is the 1984 Copperhead figure.  I have no idea why.  Really, Copperhead is the most brightly colored Cobra released before 1986.  So, I should love him and use him all the time.  But, the character rarely appears in my photos.  

Part of this is that I only one of them left.  The other, though, was that, aside from his Water Moccasin, there wasn't much in the line that really blended with Copperhead's look.  Copperhead's origins in the  swamp, though, lead to him often being tied to Zartan.  The Swamp Skier matched Copperhead's colors.  So, Zartan and Copperhead being besties seemed logical enough.  The next best option was the 1986 Swampfire or the hard to find Sears Dreadnok Ground Assault vehicles.  And, through these, many collectors reinforced the association between Copperhead and the Dreadnoks.  And, to this day, you'll often see Copperhead among Zartan's minions.  In fact, Copperhead has found a bit of a second life as a Dreadnok or Dreadnok adjacent character in many collections.

I, though, was never a huge Dreadnok fan.  Instead, I made Copperhead more of a swamp based bounty hunter.  He worked for Cobra.  But, was far more dangerous than a run of the mill swamp scavenger.  He carried a lot of gear that made him intimidating.  And, he saved a cabal of Cobras from capture on more than one occasion when he was able to devise some genius way out of a hopeless situation.  But, that was the extent of Copperhead's value.  He wasn't into political intrigue.  And, he didn't really get involved in the Cobra politics and allegiances of the day.  He was a guy hired to do a job.  He did it well.  And, he then disappeared back into the swamp while he awaited his next pay day.  

When I was a kid, I took advantage of Copperhead's lack of accessories and outfitted him with some junk weapons that I had lying around.  Instead of Joe weapons, though, I found an odd combination of accessories from other toy lines.  The first was one of the weird backpacks from the A-Team figures.  There was one pack that was perfect for Copperhead.  All the packs were cast in red plastic with black, hard plastic straps that went over the figure's shoulders and around his waist.  It was a unique design.  But, I found one mold that fit Copperhead, nicely.  It had three missiles, bullets and 5 grenades sculpted on it.  I thought the gear fit with Copperhead.  Along with that, I had an old holster from the Endor Princess Leia figure.  The latch end of the belt, though, had broken off.  I was able, though, to affix it behind the straps of the backpack so that it appeared as a chest holster for Copperhead.  I had the Leia's Endor pistol, too.  And, it looked great with Copperhead.  This allowed the chest holster to actually work and brought a huge sense of depth to the figure.  So, my Copperhead found quite a bit of use with these accessories that made him more combat ready.

My childhood Water Moccasin was a piece of junk.  It was rare to get a poor quality controlled G.I. Joe toy.  But, my Moccasin was one.  The pieces didn't fit in several places.  And, it broke very quickly.  As such, it didn't get much use.  So, Copperhead's role of the driver wasn't all that important.  That allowed me to explore the figure on his own and never tied Copperhead to his role as a driver.  Since he never appeared in the comic, Copperhead was an easy character to create on my own.  I had no pre-conceived notions about the character that I had to reconcile with the gear and role I had given him.

And, this is the main reason Copperhead has disappeared from my collection.  He didn't have much in the way of characterization.  (I'm still unclear as to if he even appeared in the Marvel comic run.)  Without depictions, Copperhead just wasn't going to stick around.  So, he fell off my radar.  And, in the past two decades has really become an afterthought.  Even as I enjoyed the "Dreadnok" colored Eels and Cobra Troopers, it never really occurred to me to match them up with Copperhead.  I didn't see him as a leader.  Maybe that will change now that I have some figures to match up with him.  

Copperhead was, originally, only available as the Water Moccasin driver.  But, he then found a second life as a staple of the mail away Joe premiums that were offered by Hasbro direct.  Here, bagged figures were offered for many years.  In fact, you could still get bagged Copperheads from Hasbro Canada through 1999.  So, the figure is far more ubiquitous than you'd otherwise think.  And, due to the late date of his mail away offers, it's not uncommon to find a nice Copperhead among lots of otherwise, all 1990's era figures.  

There are a lot of Copperhead figures.  There are three variants of the original figure.  Below is the green and blue version.  It is the best version.  But, also the most common.  There are two other variants where the bright green on the helmet is just the same color as the rest of his helmet.  There are two shades of color on this variant.  These were earlier versions that were fixed to look better.  The mold was then used for the Python Patrol series in 1989 before going off to Brazil where the Python Patrol Copperhead was released again, but with extremely slight color variants from the Brazilian paint and plastic.  The figure never appeared again.  There was probably at least one nice repaint left in the mold as we did see a grey Python Patrol design as well as a red dominant figure that were released in later iterations of Joe figures.

Copperheads are not expensive.  At least, the green striped helmet versions aren't expensive.  Even with some notoriously common paint rubs, mint figures are still fairly ubiquitous.  The mail aways really solved the supply side of the issue with this figure.  You can get nicely conditioned figures for well under $20.  Most of them will even include a filecard.  There aren't many 1984 releases who go that cheaply.  And, best of all, Copperhead is worth it for that price.  He's a neat figure who now has lots of companion pieces to help make him useful.

My Favorite Accessories - Part 1

I look at my collection in distinct stages.  The first, of course, is my childhood.  This covered 1982 through 1987.  The second phase is the pre-internet days of adult collecting.  For me, this was 1992 through 1997, give or take.  And, then the final phase is my adult collecting years that have occurred since I found the Stars & Stripes set in December of 1997.

As a kid, it was nearly impossible to get extras of specific weapons.  Your only options were to buy another figure or two to get the gear.  Or, really hope that a friend of yours happened to hate that particular item and you could trade him something you didn't really care for in exchange for the item you did want.  The notion of having several extras lying around was pretty much a pipe dream and impossible for all but the richest kid.  

During the mid 1990's, it was also somewhat difficult to just buy accessories.  You'd often find guys with grocery bags or shoeboxes full of Joes.  And, they'd say something along the lines of "it's too much work to figure out who gets what gear"  (there was no YoJoe.com back then).  But, at the same time, none of them would sell individual gear.  They were too afraid that you'd buy the one super rare item and they'd miss out on 4 extra bucks in later years.  1990's scalp culture was weird.  The thing those guys would do, though, was sell you the whole bag or box of figures for what, now, seems a really stupidly low price.  Sure, there'd be no female figures or Snake Eyes in the lot.  But, that was fine because you'd end up paying a dollar or two per figure.  So, you could get extra gear, but you'd get the figures to go with it, too.

The early days of internet collecting were nice as guys would pretty much trade any accessory straight up for another that they needed.  So, for a few years, you could easily trade a spare Alpine rope gun to get a Shipwreck pistol.  But, as the 2000's dawned, things like that mostly disappeared.  By then, collectors had realized which gear was the most desirable and hardest to find.  And, as the 2000's turned into the 2010's, you had the rise of online dealers who would sell individual accessories and Ebay stores that did the same.  Sure, you'd pay a premium for a 1982 Uzi.  But, they'd often sell very nice stuff from later years for cheap prices.  You could still get the charcoal Recoil rifles from later editions of the Steel Brigade for under $5 up through this time.  

Since then, the price of gear has steadily gone up.  Certain weapons that were once desired (like Snake Eyes' Uzi) did see demand tempered a bit as repaint era options became readily available. I didn't need to seek out extra 1983 weapons to arm my terrorist contingent because I could easily get 2000's era accessories that worked just as well and were a fraction of the price.  But, other gear got stupidly expensive.  Things like Flint's shotgun (that, really, were never hard to find) got really pricey as dealers flocked to the market and marked things up in the post 2018 Joe world.  Now, I'm glad that I have a lot of extra gear.  Because there is no way I'd accumulate my armory at today's prices.

For today, I'm going to focus on my childhood favorites.  There is a lot to read here.  So, I'm going to break this walk down memory lane into different parts so they are more manageable.  Here is part 1:

My Childhood Favorites:

1. Flint's Shotgun

There's just something about this weapon that always spoke to me.  It was an original design and unlike anything that had come before it in the line.  The notion of a shotgun toting badass hearkened back to the Westerns you'd see on weekend afternoon TV.  

On a boy scout trip, some of the adults were shooting skeet.  I gathered up a dozen or so spent shells and cut slits in them so that I could affix them to suspenders or a belt like Flint.  When we'd play guns in the neighborhood, I'd wear the shells over a vest.  It's amazing to think we used to run around the neighborhood, toting very real looking toy guns with real spent ammo on my chest and no one batted an eye.  This is probably the one thing that's most changed between my childhood and that of my kids.

As a kid, I lost Flint's shotgun all the time.  My original figure's disappeared at some point during his run.  In 1986, I replaced my original with a new one so I'd have the rifle, again.  That winter, we went to visit my grandparents.  We'd play in their basement.  The floor was cold, hard concrete.  But, they had about a dozen carpet sample sized rugs that we'd arrange as islands or somesuch and structure our adventures around these.  We were playing down there one afternoon and my younger brother somehow kicked Flint's shotgun off of one of these carpets.  I frantically searched for it for hours.  I picked up every carpet, got a flashlight to look under the cabinets and swept the floor with my hands. But, that Flint shotgun was gone.

A while later, my grandmother told me over the phone she had found a green gun in her basement.  She put it in her room, thinking it might be important to us.  I was sure it was Flint's shotgun.  But, when we saw her again, I was disappointed to find it was not.  Instead, it was a broken machine gun from one of my dad's old, cheap plastic soldiers.  So, the remaining years of my childhood Flint's life were spent with him wielding the weapon from the Night Landing Craft, a Snow Serpent's AK-47 or the Ripcord rifle from the Tactical Battle Platform.

When I started collecting, getting a complete Flint was a priority.  As Flint was super popular, though, he'd be in a ton of the lots I was acquiring in the late 1990s.  Usually, I'd get his gun, too.  Over time, I bought a bunch of loose Flints from online and local sellers.  I had up to 8 of them at one point.  Even after my collection  purge, though, I still have 5 originals plus at least 5 loose and 5 more carded Funskool versions.  What I can not do, though, is give Flint's shotgun  to another figure.  It just doesn't look right.  So, while I love Flint's shotgun, it is reserved for Flint and Flint alone.  

2. Alpine's SMG

What's interesting is that many of the weapons on my childhood list feature stories about me losing the weapon.  The reason for this is that the experience was traumatic since I loved the accessories so much and I often would no longer use a figure once his original gear was lost.  For Alpine, the main story is one of loss.  But, there are also two stories of redemption.  

Alpine was one of the earlier 1985 figures I acquired.  I remember that I already owned him by the time I got Snake Eyes in April.  And, I have cold weather, early spring memories of playing with him and the Eel on the front steps of my parents' home.  Being an early arrival, though, meant that I was less careful with him than I should have been.  In short order, I lost his pistol and broke his grappling gun.  As the figure was cool, though, I replaced my original Alpine some time in 1986 so I once again had a complete figure.

In the fall of 1986, we were playing with our Joes outside with some kids down the street.  We rarely played in their backyard as it was small and didn't have a ton of great places.  But, their dad had recently cleared out a small thicket of trees near their back fence that bordered the alley.  So, on this day, we set up an adventure there.  Among the figures I had was Alpine.  At some point, I took his gun out of the figure's hand and set it down on the soft, dry dirt.  The gun instantly disappeared.  It was gone.  I searched for quite a while, moving dirt, etc. to no avail.  My Alpine's gun was gone.

About a year later, we were playing soccer in their yard.  The ball went back into this thicket.  I went to retrieve it.  And, as I went to pick up the ball, I saw my Alpine's gun in the dirt!  By this time, we had given up toys.  But, I did show it to everyone and asked if they remembered when I had lost the gun.  I put the pistol into my pocket and added it to my stash of Joes when I got home.  Over the years, my youngest brother broke into these stashes and removed key figures.  During these thefts, my Alpine was taken and his pistol disappeared again.

In 1997, I was working a job post college and living at my parents' house until I moved to Arizona.  During this time, I dug out all my childhood toys and started displaying them on the shelves in my childhood room.  One night, as I was heading to bed, I happened to notice something weird about the SnowCat.  It seemed there was an asymmetry in the open spaces on the black underbody beneath the lights.  Upon inspection, the difference was that my Alpine's gun was wedged into the part!  No idea how it got there.  But, I had a complete Alpine, once again.  It was the same gun from the dirt thicket because the grooves of the weapon were still filled with the fine dust from a decade earlier.  With this recovery, my Alpine was again, complete.

Over the years, I've picked up one or two extra Alpine pistols.  It looks good with a variety of figures.  And, I'll often use it with other 1985 releases as a way to bring some visual diversity to a photo.  It's a weapon I still enjoy.  I wouldn't mind if I had another four or five of them.  But, I'm very happy with the number in my collection, today.  Each time I see it, I'm reminded of finding that dusty gun in the back of our friends' yard.  It's a great connection to the past.

 

3. Hawk's Pistol

I view this pistol as Hawk's.  It actually debuted with  the 1985 Keel Haul, though.  But, since I never had a Keel Haul, I had no idea that he came with a gun.  So, I view this weapon as Hawk's and Hawk's alone.  Originally, this Hawk figure first belonged to my younger brother.  And, while I did use him quite a bit, my brother was hard on the figure and lost his pistol.  This hurt as I loved the weapon and often used it with other figures.  I gave Hawk the M-203 from Leatherneck and made him a younger leader, more akin to the role meant for Duke, instead of the grizzled general.  This made the Hawk figure much more useful and kept him a key player in my collection.

Sometime in late 1987, I went to a local toy shop in my neighborhood.  It was a small, independent store that was mostly a hobby/model shop who also sold toys.  They were expensive.  But, it was just a few hundred feet away from the comic book store where I spent many, many hours of my youth.  I stopped in one afternoon and found they had marked their Joes down to $2.99 instead of the usual $3.99.  I didn't like paying that extra dollar.  Their entire stock was 1986 figures...including Hawk.  I didn't buy the figure that day.  For some reason, I felt I needed parental permission to buy a figure, even though I spent my lawn mowing money with impunity at the comic book store.  When I got home, I mentioned something about the figures being on sale to my mother.  She made a flippant comment about how it was my money and she didn't care how I spent it.  So, on my next trip to the comic book store, I dropped by Ed Shrock's Toy and Hobby and bought myself a new Hawk.

I kept this figure, though, as the younger character from before.  And, Hawk, once again, got the M-203.  I had 2 of these weapons.  (It's next on the list!)  So, that freed up Hawk's pistol to be used by other figures or in other situations.  Crankcase was the main recipient of the pistol.  But, I would also use it in specific scenarios.  So, if a Joe got caught without his weapon at the end of a firefight and he had a sculpted pistol on his leg or chest, Hawks' pistol would stand in for the sculpted weapon.  The Joe would just use it that once.  But, it allowed for me to finally put to practical use some of the sculpted details on my favorite figures.

Today, the weapon remains a favorite.  I have a couple.  I never felt the Hawk pistol was all that hard to get.  But, when I liquidated all my extra Hawks, I sold them complete with the pistol.  I think I kept one or two extras that are available.  Though, one is always with Crankcase.  Hasbro had the mold for the weapon in the 2000's.  It was included with the Convention Hardtop.  But, it never appeared again.  Instead, we got crappy new sculpt pistols in the Comic Packs that the figures couldn't hold and that were just too stubby to be any fun.  I only imagine what it would have been like to get a dozen or more extra Hawk pistols in that era.  I'd have kept them all.

4. Leatherneck's M-203

Leatherneck's rifle had a lot going for it.  It was a bit bigger than the weapons from prior years.  But, I liked that about it since it made the weapon appear more deadly.  The main  calling card, though, was the affixed grenade launcher under the barrel.  This gave the weapon more utilization possibilities and made Leatherneck effective against both infantry and Cobra vehicles.  I always wanted more of the weapons.  In the summer of 1986, though, I lost my original Leatherneck in the bushes in front of grandfather's house.  My cousin, who lived next door, never found the figure.  And, I went months with no Leatherneck.  At some point before the end of the year, I bought another Leatherneck figure.  My main reasoning was that when I returned to Buffalo and found my original figure, I'd have a spare gun to give to other figures.

When I went back to my grandfather's in the summer of 1987, though, my Leatherneck was no where to be found.  I know the bushes were evergreen.  But, the volume of snow they received could have left him shoveled away.  So, I wasn't to get that spare rifle.  But, fortunately, the end of 1986 and early 1987 gave me another avenue.  For Christmas of 1986, I got the Mission to Brazil set.  This included a desert themed Leatherneck with the same rifle as the original.  Naturally, I kept that accessory with the figure.  But, when I really wanted the 1986 Hawk to have the rifle, I'd equip the desert Leatherneck (now a Marine army builder) with the 1984 Battle Gear Zap Bazooka.  But, then, in 1987, a new Battle Gear set was released.  Frankly, this set sucked like the earlier sets with poor colors and missing gear.  But, it did include a brown version of the Leatherneck rifle...a color that perfectly matched the Mission to Brazil figure.  So, the army builder was given the Battle Gear accessory and I had a spare M-203 to give to other figures.

As an adult collector, I discovered that the weapon was later released in black, too.  But, I also found the weapon had fallen out of favor.  I didn't see it as a team standard any longer.  I did give a black one to Recoil for a bit.  But, once I had a charcoal Steel Brigade rifle, Recoil didn't need the M-203 any longer.  And, by the time superfluous weapons were included with repaint era figures in the 2000's, I ended up with a baggie full of extra M-203s that I don't use at all.  It's a precipitous fall for one of the top weapons of my childhood.  But, Hasbro made too many better weapons in subsequent years.

5. Mutt's Mac 11

Mutt belonged to my younger brother.  And, he didn't take care of him.  In short order we lost the mask, nightstick and pistol.  At one point, I found the Mutt figure in the bottom of an antique wardrobe that was in my brothers' room.  Since I had pulled the figure out when it was fairly dark, I always thought that Mutt's pistol must have been  lost in the bottom of that piece of furniture.  I searched it many times.  In fact, I searched it as recently as 2013 when my mother finally moved out of the house and was giving the piece away.  No Mutt's pistol.  There were a bunch of old Legos, though.

Having lost such a cool gun always made the weapon mythical to me.  Add to that the weapon's silencer and it was a perfect accessory for Dreadnoks, Cobra leaders or even just Snake Eyes.  In 1985, I finally got a bright green Mutt's pistol in the Battle Gear.  And, despite the color, I used this weapon extensively.  I'd give it to Zartan.  Or, some nameless bad guys would use it to assassinate Hawk.  I'd place the weapon in the cockpit of the Whale where either Cutter or Shipwreck could grab it as a backup to shoot boarding Eels. It had a ton of uses.

But, I never got another black version of the gun until I was an adult collector.  While I upgraded pretty much my entire 1985 figure collection, I didn't do the same with the 1984's.  Mostly, this was due to the fact that the '84's were pretty sparse at the retailers I frequented in 1986 when I was spending to upgrade my figures.  But, also, the '84's were somewhat old news by then.  I was more interested in getting some of the newer characters back into my collection since they were the staples of the comic and cartoon.  So, a complete Mutt didn't rejoin my collection for over a decade.

Now, I have just two Mutts: both with the pistol.  But, I also have Mutts from Europe and Brazil.  So, I've got several of the pistols.  I think I have a spare or two still hanging around.  You'll find photos of the pistol being used by Scarlett, Snake Eyes, Headman and others.  It's a fun weapon to use as an alternative pistol.  I still think the silencer adds a sinister element to the weapon.  

So, that's a look at the weapons that drove my childhood.  While I liked most Joe weapons of that era, these were the ones that most spoke to me.  They were the ones that were the subject of daydreams of bins of gear being available to me.  Now that I can do that, I've found that I still flock to many of these weapons and never pass them if they're offered cheaply.  (Which doesn't really happen any longer.)

I'll continue this series at some point.  It won't be next week.  But, probably this year.  This was a fun jog into the bowels of my formative Joe years.  It's good to dig into that well of memories every now and then as it helps keep some of the feelings fresh.  Let me know your childhood favorites in the comments below.

1984 Recondo - Random Photos of the Day

 Recondo is a classic Joe from one of the top years of the line.  He's a figure that wasn't my favorite when I was a kid.  I always wanted him to be something more than he was.  As a collector, though, I've really come to appreciate Recondo and I use him far more frequently now than I would have thought.  He's a great subject for photos and works in a variety of environments and with many different figures.  Below are a few photos  I've taken of him in the past couple of years.

1984 Baroness - Around The Web

Back in the mid 1990's, dealers convinced everyone that female figures were super rare and valuable.  Fortunately, Ebay proved that she was no more difficult to find than any other 1984 figure.  The market corrected and Baroness figures have never been hard to get.  But, Hasbro bought into the Baroness hype and produced nearly half a dozen versions of her over the years.  Some were good.  Some were bad.  Now, we have factory custom Baroness figures available, too.  So, if you're a Baroness fan, there's more than you could ever want from this original mold.

Being relatively popular leaves Baroness with a large amount of content out there.  So, check out the links below for your 1984 Baroness fix.

Baroness Profile

Baroness by thevintagetoylife

Baroness by strikeforce_codename

Baroness at JoeADay.com

Baroness by gi_joeisthere

Baroness by jonita_rodriguin

Baroness by steelbrigade

Baroness by yojoeonline

Baroness by gi_joeisthere

Baroness by incrediblebulk

Baroness by nostalkid

Baroness by viper_space

Baroness by u.n.i.t._gijoe

Baroness by viper_space

Rarities - Action Force Zartan

Zartan was one of Hasbro's most popular toys.  Something like 1.7 million were produced.  Despite that asinine number of toys available, Zartan remains one of the most popular and expensive vintage Joe figures.  The character was released all over the world.  And, while the single carded release from Japan is, arguably, the most sought after, there are Zartan packaging variants from many other places.  Below is one such release: the Action Force Zartan.

Zartan fell into an odd release window in Europe.  He was early enough to appear in original Action Force boxes.  Below, you'll see a sample of the early box where the selling point is the toy itself rather than the artwork that would appear later.  The most interesting part, though, is the early Cobra logo that was used on this Action Force packaging.  It's a highly stylized green snake wrapped a Cobra text bubble.  As an alternate way to promote the bad guys, it's kind of weird.  And, it didn't convey the size and capabilities of the Cobra organization like the printed Cobra logo did.

The figure and swamp skier are the same as those released in North America.  You will note that the Swamp Skier features alternate stickers.  Missing is the cool chameleon sticker that is the calling card of the North American Zartan.  Really, I wish this had become more of the logo of the dreadnoks than the later offerings that appeared in the 2000's.

Seeing the toy in action, though, would have been a big selling point for me as a kid.  I was never a huge fan of the artwork on the boxes or cards because they often didn't match the toy you were getting.  And, one of the lasting memories I have of the Action Force comic was that they included ads that featured the actual toys in action.  Back in the '80's, there was no such thing as action figure photography.  So, it was awesome to see some of the toys out of their boxes and set in actual play settings.

Here is a later Action Force box.  It is more in line with the Hasbro release in North America.  You will note, however, that this version features a grey filecard.  And, this is the much harder to find version of the filecard where the reference to Zartan being a "paranoid schizophrenic" has been Bowdlerized.