Rarities - Unproduced 1988 Tiger Force Figures

Since the early days of online collecting, we've known that the Tiger Force team underwent drastic changes between the time of it's retail solicitation and actual production.  Tiger Force Ripcord was a staple of late 1990's and early 2000's customizers.  And, even Hasbro got in on the action when  they released a Wreckage figure in 2003 that was an homage to the unproduced Sabretooth.

The reasons for some of the changes are almost certainly just a function of available molds.  Ripcord and Recondo were both in production in South America around 1988.  So, it's unlikely that Hasbro had the parts to make them.  Recondo ended up being produced by Estrela simply because he and the Tiger Fly mold were both in Brazil at the time.  

We'll start with the original concept for the single carded figure team.

Only three of the six figures shown ended up being released in the production set.  (Dusty, Lifeline and Duke)  The retail set would end up including 7 figures.  Instead of Sabretooth, Recondo and Ripcord, the set included Tripwire, Roadblock, Flint and Bazooka.  The Toy Fair solicitation explicitly mentions it's a 6-man squad.  So, the change to a 7 figure team is odd.  Especially since 7 would not divide equally into a case assortment.  I can't find details on how the actual Tiger Force figure cases broke down.  But, a figure (or figures!) were either overpacked or shortpacked in order to fit the 7 man team into a case.

Another interesting aspect is the gear shown with the figures.  Since the figures are hand painted mock ups, the gear is all from original figures.  Duke's is correct.  But, everyone else is holding some gear from one of the other figures in the set.  This is likely just a photographer either having fun or simply not knowing which gear went with whom and doing their best to match it up.  The oddballs, though, are Dusty & Ripcord.  Ripcord is holding Frostbite's rifle.  While Frostbite did end up in Tiger Force, he wasn't shown (nor was the Tiger Cat) in this Toy Fair catalog.  For some reason, Dusty is using Falcon's gear.  Falcon never appeared in Tiger Force and wasn't part of these designs.  So, how his gear ended up in the photo is anyone's guess.

In looking at the figures, themselves, Duke, Lifeline and Dusty ended with production figures that are starkly close to these early mock ups.  I'll argue that the production Tiger Force Recondo is better than this planned carded release with the brown shirt.  Sabretooth and Ripcord are the two, though, that are most interesting to me.  

First is just the fact that both are solid paint jobs.  Sabretooth is remarkably detailed.  And, the colors used on him are rich and vibrant.  You realize what a pale imitation Wreckage actually was when you see this mock up in better detail.  I can't help but wonder how fans would view Sabretooth had he been released.  While we associate that mold only with Firefly today, that is largely a function of the fact that Hasbro released it as Firefly at least 8 times in the repaint era.  Had Sabretooth been released, an entire generation of Joe fans who came of age in the late 1980's would only associate that mold with Sabretooth.  

Ripcord features a rich brown lower body and what appears to be an olive upper body.  His helmet features the paint job that was, eventually, used on the Tiger Force Roadblock helmet.  Had this Ripcord been released, it would be interesting to see which was preferred among collectors.  While the original Ripcord is an iconic look, this Tiger Force version was less Tiger Force and more just an alternate look for the character that used more color.  I'm not sure which would be my preferred look for the character.  But, there's no doubt this Tiger Force version would have been well loved by collectors.  It's a shame Hasbro wasn't able to get a version of him into the Pulse assortment since they had already recast the Ripcord mold.

There's another fun little appearance on the photo for the Tiger Shark.  While the Dusty figure appears in the turret, you'll see what appears to be a yellow painted Torpedo driving the vehicle.  This is the figure's only appearance.  The catalog is clear that "Figure sold separately."  So, there's barely even a reference to the figure's existence in his own time.  It's doubtful Torpedo made it this far in the process for Tiger Force.  But, it's possible that the Tiger Shark was, in its infancy, planned to include a figure just like the Water Moccasin from four years prior.  The appearance is one of those oddball cameos that would occur more frequently in later toy commercials but was very rare in pre-production solicitation and marketing material.

Here's a different angle of the original Recondo.  Flint ended up getting a color scheme that was reminiscent of this Recondo.  Though, the Flint uses a darker brown and a lighter green for his torso and legs, respectively.  I still prefer the production Recondo to this version.  But, the brown would have been an interesting take on a desert Recondo.  So, I wouldn't have hated this version had it come to be.

Next up is the Tiger Rat.  You can kind of see the figure that would become Skystriker in the cockpit.  It's notable that the accompanying text to the Tiger Rat says that it includes the pilot "Thunder".  Skystriker would use the Thunder head, helmet and headgear.  So, the original intent, at least, was not to create a new character for the Tiger Rat.

Lastly, we have the Tiger Fly.  Here, you can see the unproduced Tiger Force Wild Bill.  Wild Bill's omission is a function  of reverse mold availability.  While Ripcord was stuck in Brazil and couldn't be added to the carded assortment cases, Wild Bill was likely in Asia, unable to be packaged with the Brazilian made Tiger Fly.  So, the logistics dictated that Recondo become the Tiger Fly pilot.  (I guess both he and Wild Bill have mustaches and wear hats....)  The original color scheme for Recondo was changed to match up the color scheme that was planned for this Wild Bill.  

Aside from all the changes to this set and the various fun it's sparked from all the unproduced elements of it, Tiger Force also caused a fundamental change in how Joes were made in Brazil.  As my friend Attica Gazette points out, prior to the release of the Tiger Force Recondo, all the figures made in Brazil featured a more sunburnt skin tone.  It's a hallmark of the early Estrela line and makes the figures recognizable.  However, after Estrela had to make a Recondo with a skin tone that matched that of the other figures in the Tiger Force set, all of their subsequent figures used the skin tone that was more in line with Hasbro's colors.  It sucked one of the unique elements of the Estrela line away.  We don't know if Hasbro mandated this change on all new figures going forward.  Or, if Estrela simply went with it because the color was now readily available.  Regardless, that's one of the unintended legacies of Tiger Force.

1988 Tiger Force Dusty - Around The Web Part 2

This Tiger Force Dusty was one my first Around The Web features back in 2015.  Since then, there's a lot more content on him that's out there.  This version of Dusty is a nice alternate look for the character.  It's still desert enough that he's not limited into the Tiger Force theme.  And, you can use him in other environments, too.

This Dusty has gotten somewhat pricey in recent times.  A lower production run, easily broken thumbs and crotches and an easily lost bi-pod all add up to mint and complete specimens selling for a premium.  But, if you can find one, he's a useful figure to have around.  So, check the links below to see how others have used him in their collections.

1988 Tiger Force Dusty Profile

1988 Tiger Force Dusty Around The Web 2015

1988 Tiger Force Dusty by 00zxcvb

1988 Tiger Force Dusty by hobieshinobi

1988 Tiger Force Dusty by backyardjoes

1988 Tiger Force Dusty by G.I. Joe Idaho

1988 Tiger Force Dusty by backyardjoes

1988 IMP

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1988 Charbroil - Around The Web

There are figures that you would never guess have some popularity.  Charbroil is one of them.  To me, he is a mostly forgotten member of the relatively ignored class of 1988.  Yet, there's a ton of content about him out there.  I suspect some of this is just that his name is easily searched.  But, also, flamethrowers are a fun subset to photograph since they can do something or be in environments that are different than your classic guy in casual fatigues.

As you might have also surmised, I'm suffering from some writer's block.  I just haven't had time to really look at my collection or get any photographs.  I've also packed most of my vehicles away as I'm getting ready to move, again.  So, I'm going to use a few of the Around the Web and Random Photo posts that I have in my drafts.  I have over 450 of them.  So, there's plenty to hold me over until the bug bites me and I can churn out something worth saying.

The upside with finding hidden gems like Charbroil is that the roster of creators reads like a who's-who of ancient Joe posters.  Many of them are no longer active.  But, it doesn't mean their accounts aren't filled with amazing work from the glory years of G.I. Joe Instagram.  So, take some time to check the links and let me know your favorite in the comments below.

1988 Charbroil Profile

1988 Charbroil by evilface

1988 Charbroil by g.i._ussr

1988 Charbroil by joerizzo2025

1988 Charbroil by corpscommandercody

1988 Charbroil by thedustinmccoy

1988 Charbroil by HCC788

1988 Charbroil by silentinterlude

1988 Charbroil by evilface

1988 Charbroil by formbx257

1988 Charbroil by gijoe_c4_panama

1988 Charbroil by fun_time_at_serpentorslair

1988 Charbroil by nostalkid

1988 Charbroil by gi_jokers

1988 Charbroil by sparkysworkshop

1988 Charbroil by edwin_80s

1988 Charbroil by therealsuperman73

1988 Charbroil by kushviper

1988 Charbroil by backyardjoes

1988 Charbroil by heroeamericano

1988 Charbroil by viper_space

1988 Charbroil by plasticbattles

My Favorite Accessories - Part 2

Part 1 of this series looked at my favorite weapons from childhood.  This time around, I'll be looking at some of the gear that really drove my second phase of collecting.  This period, technically, covers 1988 through 1997.  During that time, I only was able to find a few figures.  So, you're going to see a cross section of accessories.  And, a few classic items will be missing because, while they were released during this period, I didn't acquire them until 1998 or later.  Some of these items appeared in my early teen years when I wasn't collecting or buying Joes, but my youngest brother still was.  So, the limited exposure to them made them loom larger than they otherwise might have.

Early Adult Favorites:

1. Duke/Stalker/Others MP-5 inspired rifle

As I returned to Joe collecting in the mid 1990's, I spent most of my time tracking down the remnants of the line at various retail stores.  Among the first figures I found was the 1993 Duke.  This is a solid figure.  But, the main source of interest in him was the "new" weapons on his tree.  While I was passingly familiar with Muskrat's shotgun (someday I'll tell that story...), the other weapons were ones I had never before seen.  As far as I was concerned, they were completely new sculpts.  It was the MP-5 inspired weapon that piqued my interest, though.  It looked great with Duke.  It was somehow both compact and large.  This was accomplished by having the overall footprint be small while giving the weapon a larger barrel.  I turned this into a story element.  These newer weapons became "Generation 4" weapons.  They were more powerful and could carry more ammo than earlier weapon designs.  As they were new, they were limited to only the highest ranking Joes.  Eventually, Cobra got some and gave them to elite troopers, too.  As I got more and more 1993 and 1994 figures, the weapons became less special.  And, with more colors in tow, the MP-5 like weapon became one of my favorite standards across my Joes.

Even today, this is my favorite weapon to use with 1993 and 1994 figures.  It exists in a plethora of colors...some rarer than others.  But, you can get it in black, gold, yellow, purple and other colors with a bit of looking around.  It remains one of my key weapons.  And, I'll always pick up a new one if the price is right.  I have unfulfilled plans of being able to outfit the entire 1993 carded lineup with these weapons for a photo at some point.  I'm not quite there on the right number of them in my collection, yet, though.

2. Annihilator Pistol

I first saw this weapon at the home of some family friends who had some younger children.  I remember it being awesome.  Around 1995 or 1996, I found my first Annihilator at a flea market in southern Ohio.  I picked him up for the rifle.  Once in hand, it reminded me of the awesome weapons from G.I. Joe #36 back in 1985.  In short order, I bought as many Annihilators as I could find.  The figure was "new" to me and I loved the portable helicopter.  I saw them as the airborne division of the Alley Vipers and they made up a key ingredient in my early notion of Cobra urban death squads.  With plenty of his weapons in hand, I had them available for use with any other figure I wanted.

And, with them in hand, my fascination with the weapon ended.  It was difficult to make the weapon look good with other figures.  And, it was a bit bigger than I had remembered.  It was less of a one handed pistol and more of a two handed weapon that switched up my notion of the weapon's versatility.  I still find it the necessary weapon for Annihilators.  But, I've long since sold off my army of that figure.  I have a couple of spares of the weapon, though, still hanging around.  I'll use them with another figure from time to time.  I do need to get a photo of it in the hands of a Fred to mimic that old comic.  

3. Hit & Run  Rifle

This one is a bit of a cheat.  I actually did own Hit and Run when I was a kid.  I bought three 1988 figures before I quit toys.  And, Hit and Run was one of them.  I immediately fell in love with his rifle.  But, I didn't to use it very often as I left  my Hit and Run hanging on a wall at my grandparents' house shortly after I got him.  Once the figure was recovered, though, my Joes were put away.  So, it was on rare occasion when I'd get them out.  Inevitably, Hit and Run would be among the figures chosen, though.  Part of it was the sheer quality of the figure.  Part was his amazing rope & grappling hook bag.  And, the final piece was his rifle.  Everything about it seemed perfect.  It had a long clip to store extra ammo.  It was compact enough to be used in close quarters.  And, the figures just held it perfectly.  I wanted to use it with pretty much every one of my favorite figures during this time.  But, I had just one sample with no way to acquire more.

That changed in the mid 1990's as weapon trees began to proliferate.  The real joy was finding extra samples of this rifle being included on weapon trees of 1993 and 1994 figures.  With this discovery, I was able to acquire an excellent rifle in a variety of colors.  As the weapon was my preferred rifle for the 1994 Shipwreck, I came to see it as a standard rifle used by all sorts of Joe themed army builders.  So, having it in cream with Snow Storm and even red with Outback allowed some consistency on the weapons used by the troops who supported the Joes.  Note that this weapon is often confused with the 1992 Shockwave rifle.  They are similar, but not the same.  Also, some late run 1994 figures featured the rifle but with a blocked out trigger guard.  Those aren't bad.  But, I do prefer the original design.

Now the rifle is ubiquitous.  And, I had so many of them that it's become a bit passe.  But, the early 2000's brought some weapons into the mainstream to a point where they started to get stale.  Hit and Run's weapon was one of them.  And, while I still love it, I don't see it as the staple for every figure as I once envisioned nearly 30 years ago.  But, I do still find uses for it and you'll see it being carried by other figures in some photos around the site.

4. Bullhorn's Mask

My youngest brother got a Bullhorn in 1990.  I believe he was  the only 1990 figure that we ever had.  While his rifle was amazing and everyone still goes ga-ga over his weapon case backpack, I found the real value in him was his gas mask.  I love gas masks.  And, as a kid, I lamented that the only ones you could get were either Ripcord's airmask or Lifeline's rescue mask.  I gave them to pilots, troopers navigating gassed caves and just to anyone I wanted to look cool.  But, they had limitations (like the hose you had to plug in for it to look good) and always left me wanting more.

Bullhorn's mask, though, solved this problem.  It was a self contained piece and was sculpted with the air filter right on it.  When placed on the figure's head, Bullhorn could be a faceless army builder.  I now had a way for more figures to be outfitted with protective masks.  Unfortunately, though, the specific design of Bullhorn's mask made it so that it was form fitted for Bullhorn's head.  And, that made it difficult or impossible to really use the mask with a variety of other figures.  And, this limited the mask's use.  But, the overall design still works.  I've since found Bullhorn to be a more boring figure than I'd remembered.  The mask, though, overcomes this and keeps the figure relevant to me.  I just wish it was a little more flexible for use on a wider variety of figures.

5. Spearhead's Rifle

I do not know how this weapon entered into our collection.  We never had a 1988 Spearhead.  But, at some point, his rifle appeared among our toys.  It was likely left by one of my brother's friends.  As soon as I saw it, though, the rifle simply enthralled me.  Mostly, this was because it was new.  But, also, the rifle featured a couple of key design elements that I found among the cooler features of Joe accessories.  First, it had a bayonet.  But, we'll talk more about this, later.  The second, and more important feature, was the strap.  I had long loved strapped weapons.  They allowed your figure to carry their weapon without having to always be holding it in their hand.  I never like my Joes climbing a rope if they didn't have a strap on their gun because it wasn't realistic to just have their weapon magically appear at the top if they didn't have a means to carry it.  It's weird what unrealistic elements bothered me when I was a kid and which didn't affect me at all.

Back to the bayonet, though.  While I really liked bayonets, the piece on Salvo's rifle made the weapons footprint rather large.  And, at some point in the early 1990's, I wanted a knife for some figure.  The bayonet on Salvo's rifle was of sufficient size to work as a knife for a figure.  So, since the weapon wasn't key to any complete figure in my collection, I snipped off the bayonet and gave the knife to someone.  The paired down rifle was then smaller and looked even better with the figures to whom I gave it.  At various points, I've found the snipped bayonet and wondered who's knife it was.  Usually, I then remember that I cut this off from the original weapon.  I'm 99% sure that the bayonet is still sitting in a plastic baggie of superfluous edged weapons stored in a shoebox in the basement closet.  And, you'll see the snipped version of the rifle in a photo below.

In the early 1990's, I gave this weapon that mysteriously appeared in our home to a figure who also had a similar origin: Salvo.  I don't know where Salvo came from.  And, our figure just had the helmet.  So, it was another likely leave behind from some unknown friend of my brother.  But, Salvo and Spearhead's gun just seemed to mesh.  And, without having Salvo's real accessories, it made sense for him to have this borrowed weapon.  So, between 1991, or so, and 1999, Salvo always carried Spearhead's rifle.  In fact, if you can find really old Salvo photos on the site, you'll see him carrying it.  To this day, I more associate Spearhead's rifle with Salvo than I do with Spearhead.  But, that's because Salvo is an awesome figure and Spearhead is...not.

Really, these were the dark days of Joe.  I didn't collect for several years.  And, when I got back into things, I was chasing the dregs of the line at retail while also scouring out the not ready for primetime flea market scene that define the pre-internet days.  You didn't find a lot of Joes back then.  And, those that you did find were often those from my childhood years.  Meaning they were figures I already owned.  So, it was hard to find items I didn't have already.  

There were many more, better accessories that were released in this time.  But, I didn't really acquire them until my collector phase began in earnest around 1998.  We'll explore those in the final installment in a few months.  Until then, though, what are some of your favorite accessories from this time?  Let me know in the comments below.

1988 Skidmark

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire - Around The Web

I wasn't quite prepared for the rabbit hole this figure lead me down.  But, there's just tons of content on him out there.  Tripwire is a character who's used quite a bit more than you'd ever think.  He's not a greatly popular character by any means.  But, something about his figures resonates with content creators and you see his various iterations appear in far more photographs than you'd think.

I think a big part of Tripwire's appeal to photographers is that he's a cool figure who can do something different than just stand around holding a rifle.  There's all sorts of ordinance and sapper things he can do.  Not to mention the great poses you can create with him sweeping for mines.  He looks good leading a team or a convoy.  And,it really breaks up the monotony of a line of guys all holding their rifles as they walk through some plants.

Check out the links below.  Some of these date back more than 8 years ago.  You'll see some names on this list who don't post any more.  But, when they did, they drove the hobby forward.  Looking back at some of these photos reminds me of how vibrant the Joe community used to be.  We've lost a lot in the past decade.  But, for now, there's still some reminders of the old days that you can find with a little work.  

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire Profile

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by thedustinmccoy

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by joesinphotos

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by viper_space

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by thevintagetoylife

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by dashiellrfairborne

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by thedustinmccoy

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by gijoeboss

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by backyardjoes

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by viper_space

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by badvoodoocollections

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by thevintagetoylife

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by thedustinmccoy

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by gen_liederkranz

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by mpjoes

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by actionfigurefotos

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by thedustinmccoy

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by cobra_florence

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by specialmissionforce

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by ironman3719

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by c3pestro

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by thedragonfortress

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by plasticbattles

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by clutch_rules

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by matemylar

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by gijoebarcelona

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by kushviper

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by wigramjoe

1988 Tiger Force Tripwire by jeremiecapitaine

1988 Swampmasher

I was done with Joe in 1988.  My younger brothers, though, still picked up a few items.   Mostly, it was figures.  But, they did acquire a few vehicles, too.  And, pretty much all of those vehicles felt like upgrades over my prior year purchases of 1987 vehicles.  The Desert Fox was everything I wished the VAMP had been.  The AGP had size and heft for an aircraft while also being small enough to play with.  Then, though, there were some smaller vehicles that shouldn't have been a lot of fun.  But, they ended up being really great toys.  Among these was the Swampmasher.  It's a ridiculous design in offbeat colors that works nearly perfectly as plaything.  

The Swampmasher is just a weird design.  At its base, the vehicle is relatively normal.  But, the wheels are all on three wheeled spinners.  The idea is that the vehicle can cover any terrain.  But, as a toy, it's just kind of bizarre.  But, that's also what makes it fun.  The central body is, at its core, a square platform.  But, Hasbro layered details on top of that added visual depth and play features.  A driver sits in the main seat and has controls that he can grip.  There's a missile launcher that can elevate to shoot down planes or remain level with the ground to eliminate Hiss Tanks.  The front features a bumper and a non-working winch.  The back showcases a massive engine that is exposed.  There is a spinning dual exhaust pipe to give the vehicle some elevation.  On the back is a platform that can hold two figures.  And, there is a handlebar for the figures to hold onto.

The siren song of the Swampmasher, for me, though, is the mounted gatling cannon.  I loved the idea of gunners.  And, a vehicle with a big gun that could be controlled by a figure standing behind it wasn't a common feature on G.I. Joe toys prior to 1988.  The fact that the cannon was huge and detailed made it compelling.  I imagined the devastation it would wreak on any Cobras.  It's placement on the vehicle also allows for you to imagine that the vehicle driver is operating the cannon.  Or, you can place a figure behind it to act as a gunner.  (This was my preferred configuration.)  With the gun, the Swampmasher could be pursuit vehicle, something being chased or, just a stationary position with a massive cannon.  The thing about the cannon is that it was the central feature of the vehicle.  But, all the other small details help the gun feel like it should be there and is a realistic weapon to be on such a vehicle.

The fact that the Swampmasher has no protection for the operator made it seem like a Cobra design.  But, it also allowed me to purpose the vehicle for specific missions.  The Swampmasher wasn't a first strike vehicle.  Instead, it was a scout vehicle to get a small team of Joes into a position.  Here, the elevating cannon could be devastating against Cobra aircraft as they took off from a secluded airstrip.  Or, it would be a surprise element that would wipe out Cobra infantry as they started to advance on a Joe base.  It could even be an escape vehicle used to flee an operation, with the 360 rotating cannon able to fire behind the vehicle to cover the escape.  The weird wheel design actually did allow you to use the vehicle in water, mud, sand or other kid-friendly play environments.  And, for some kids, the wheels could have been the vehicle's signature feature.  To, me, they were just a bonus to the gun.

I would sneak my brother's Swampmasher from time to time.  It was a good way to showcase the 1988 figures he had acquired that I had "outgrown".  Plus, it was fun to mess with since you could create a quick, self contained little scenario and showcase things like the gun or wheels.  I don't really have any specific memories of the Swampmasher.  But, due to its late addition to our collection, our original survived relatively intact.  And, early in my collecting days, I acquired another one.  Since the vehicle isn't covered, takes up a small footprint and can hold figures in an unobscured way, the Swampmasher has been a staple of my photographs since the early 2000s.  I liked it since the colors were bright and fun and they helped offset many of the later run figures who emphasized in my writings of those early days.  Even today, I use the Swampmasher way more than classic vehicles I grew up with because it is so good at showcasing figures.

The one hindrance to the Swampmasher is that it can be a pain to get a figure into the driver's seat.  And, some figures won't fit at all.  (Looking at you, 1991 Tracker!)  If a figure has too many details on his leg molds, it's unlikely that you'll get him to fit into the seat.  And, it gets more problematic with later years.  A ton of 1991 figures would look great in the Swampmasher, but they won't fit into the the narrow leg slots.  My photos ended up limited because I couldn't get several figures into the vehicle.  But, 1988 figures tend to work fairly well.

The Swampmasher is in a weird place in the line's history.  It was released in 1988: a year that most "super serious collectors" consider an acceptable year.  But, at the same time, it's a weird design that uses bright colors.  The 1988 line vacillated between bright, oddball designs and classically colored vehicles like the Warthog.  It's a very schizophrenic year.  I will die on the hill that the 1988 vehicle crop is better than the 1987 series.  It's probably better than the 1986 series, too.  But, childhood nostalgia dies hard and the earlier years getting showcased in the cartoon will give them the publicity boost to erase any useful discussion about the merits of each years' actual selection of toys.  But, no one can realistically argue that the LCV is a superior toy to the Swampmasher.  

The 1988 vehicles saw wide reuse in other G.I. Joe markets.  To the best of my knowledge, the Swampmasher was not released in Brazil.  It did, though, find a second life in India.  Funskool released the Swampmasher for many, many years.  In the early 2000's, it was among the vehicles that were heavily imported by American dealers.  But, that stock has all dried up.  The Funskool release is very similar to the Hasbro version.  So, there's no reason to have both.  The Swampmasher would have greatly benefitted from a repaint.  There are excellent customs of it out there where it's painted up in a Dreadnok Ground Assault paint job.  So, the mold had some life that could have been extended.

Swampmashers sell in the $20-$25 range for a mint and complete sample.  There's actually a lot of them out there, too.  So, there's really no issue tracking one down.  If you want to save some money, you can both find some cheaper from time to time and also put one together from parts for a discount.  So, there's options for budget minded collectors, too.  For the price it's really a no-brainer acquisition.  It looks great on a display shelf and it can hold a lot of figures in the space, too.  It's a vehicle that surprises me with its versatility and usefulness.  So, I often choose it for photos over other, more popular vehicles.  Once in hand, I think you'll find the green and purple are less of a hindrance than you'd have thought and the Swampmasher is fun to have around.

1988 Iron Grenadier

1987 was the swam song of my childhood collecting days.  I only bought a couple of figures in early 1988 before "growing up" and moving on with other parts of my life.  My younger brothers, though, still bought Joes.  And, slowly, they acquired most of the 1988 basic figure line.  When they brought home a new figure, I'd check it out.  And, in many cases, I found the new assortment of characters to be the type of figure I'd have simply loved were I still playing with toys.  Among the figures my younger brother acquired was the 1988 Iron Grenadier.

Upon his entry into our home, I found the Iron Grenadier fascinating.  First, I loved the name.  It conveyed strength and ability.  Second, the figure was amazing.  He looked like the a cross between the original Cobra Trooper and the later Cobra Viper.  Third, his Uzi was the type of weapon I always wanted Snake Eyes' Uzi to be.  It was bigger and bulkier and just seemed more substantial than the original version of the weapon.  Fourth, the figure's colors were great.  Black wasn't a common Cobra color for figures.  So, seeing it on a trooper was really different from the other figures that had been the staples of my childhood.  Finally, the figure included a sword.  Sure, it was kind of ornamental.  But, it was like the swords that Cylon Warriors from BattleStar Galactica had used.  They made no sense at all.  But, the mere presence of the sword was a cool visual and a constant reminder of quick death by a sharp blade.  

I felt that the details on the figure were just excellent.  They implied a ton of great uses.  The figure had the cool helmet and accessories.  But, he had a gas mask covering his face.  So, I could use the Iron Grenadier as an elite guard for Cobra's leadership.  Or, I could use him as a standard field commando who was better equipped than most of the Joes of that time.  So, he was an upgrade from the final Cobras who comprised my childhood collection.

During the rare occasion that I was home alone and could actually get my Joes out for one "final" battle, I'd use my brother's Iron Grenadier.  Usually, he was among the last survivors and had often taken out more than one Joe.  His newness afforded him this opportunity.  But, the overall quality of his mold pushed him over the top.  Really, though, I never felt like the adventures I created for the figure could live up to the coolness of the mold.  So, he ended up being a figure I'd appreciate from a visual perspective.  Though, had he been released in 1986, he's probably have been the backbone of my Cobra army.  I was just too old to really get the figure into the down and dirty adventures that cemented earlier figures as my favorites.

In the early 2000's, I had quite the Iron Grenadier army.  He was, for a time, the most common figure in my collection.  This wasn't due to anything other than the dynamics of the time, though.  I was among the few collectors who bought lots of 1988 and 1989 figures.  And, those lots always included an Iron Grenadier because even the army building sensitive collectors of the era wouldn't remove him from a collection to sell on his own.  So, just through acquisitions of bulk lots, I ended up with nearly a dozen Iron Grenadiers.  But, I really didn't do anything with them.  So, during my purge of the early 2010's, I sold off all but a lone Iron Grenadier.  And, while I have many regrets over the figures I liquidated at the time, the Iron Grenadier is not one of them.  I took one photo of them in 2000.  They didn't come out again until one photo shoot in 2007.  And, then, they don't appear again in any of my photos until I dusted one off for a shoot in 2023.  The figures just didn't matter to me and I didn't use them at all.  So, I'm glad someone else is able to enjoy that early army I had acquired.  

One of the things that plagues all long running IPs is bloat.  In order to keep things fresh, new concepts and characters have to be constantly added.  Over time, the IP becomes too large to manage.  And, you have to retcon certain aspects.  Or, just outright ignore significant events that occurred in the past.  That's how I view Iron Grenadiers.  While I enjoyed their introduction in the comic, there really wasn't any place for them to go.  Destro didn't work as a third faction in the story.  Him seeing himself as Cobra Commander's equal or better was a more interesting place to keep him.  But, eventually, the second in command has to make a play for leadership.  And, that's a fun story for a time.  In the real world, people like are killed.  In fiction, you don't waste a valuable character.  So, you figure out a way to put them back into their standard place and start all over again.  

This is where Joe found itself in the 1990's.  Hasbro started the decade with a slew of new characters and excellent toys.  But, by the following year, they were bringing back classic characters.  In the comic, the story was "getting the band back together" and heading towards a consolidation.  The upside is that kids of the '90's got to enjoy classic characters that were still appearing in old cartoon re-runs to go along with the new life that Hasbro was still breathing into the line.  The lost years are 1988 and, to a lesser extent, 1989.  Those figures and characters don't have the zealous following of the prior years and have not really found the later life that many of the brighter figures from the '90's have found as youngsters of that era have grown into adult collectors.  

So, the shelf life of the Iron Grenadier is short.  And, in reality, it was.  Hasbro released the bulk of their faction's items in 1988 with some updated toys in 1989.  There were a couple of figures in 1990.  But, then, the concept didn't really appear again.  Destro was brought back into the Cobra fold with his 1992 release and the Iron Grenadiers didn't show up until the early 2000's when Hasbro was mining the vintage line for any character they could find.  The entire idea of Destro being an army unto himself may have been re-examined in more modern fiction.  But, as I've grown to find the character of Destro to be overly problematic (there is no noble villain), my interest in Iron Grenadiers as whole has fallen away.

I do think that part of the reason for the relative short time that Iron Grenadiers appeared in the line was due to timing.  There was no cartoon in 1988.  So, there was no cross sell among kids of the day to get them interested in the toys.  Instead, kids of that era were treated to re-runs of the original series.  So, they are more likely to see Destro as a Cobra instead of this weird third faction that appeared on retail shelves.  The Iron Grenadiers as a concept were also meant to be a foil to BattleForce 2000.  Both had futuristic designs for their vehicles.  But, this idea was never fleshed out and it's difficult to even find relics of their past alignment among the toys that were released.  BattleForce 2000 fizzled as a concept, too.  Had there been a new cartoon in 1988 that focused on their antagonistic dynamic, the two sub teams would likely have near fanatical support among a group of fans who aged during their heyday.  Instead, we're left with some cool toys that don't really fit with the overall theme of G.I. Joe vs. Cobra.

In general, 1988 figures are pretty common.  Hasbro expected big things from the G.I. Joe Movie.  But, that didn't work out.  I've never been sure if my perception of the fate of 1988 figures was based on the fact that I happened to age out right when the movie failed.  But, in 1990, I could still find the entire 1988 Joe line at Kohl's stores around my city.  They had given up on Joe after 1989, likely due to the massive unsold stock that lined their shelves.  So, this has always left me thinking that Joe got a lot less popular starting in 1988.  But, a focus shift away from the core along with the end of the syndicated cartoon series both also contribute to my feeling this way.  As my local hobby shops still had pegs full of 1986 Joes on their shelves as late as 1988, I do think that my perception is just related to the kismet of me happening to age out of Joe right as the other things were happening.

The Iron Grenadier mold was used just twice.  The first was for this Iron Grenadier.  It was then sent down to Brazil and released in nearly identical colors as Terrork.  Terrork is a great name.  Even if the figure, itself, is just the standard Iron Grenadier.  The club wanted the mold for the 2005 convention set.  But, they didn't find it.  (Hasbro had it since Terrork's Brazilian contemporaries were all under Hasbro control at the time.)  They resculpted a new head to resemble the 1988 figure's and put it on a new body.  Around 2017, or so, a new factory custom maker named Letal Toys produced an Iron Grenadier mold.  The first wave included a green, tan, white and crimson versions.  Later, a light blue convention exclusive was released.  There were many more planned waves that included a Cobra Blue version and a classically colored version with more paint applications.  But, there were some mold shenanigans at the factory and no further Iron Grenadier factory customs were produced.  Black Major did resurrect the Uzi from the figure and included it with his Worms figures around 2020.  There's lots of life left in the mold.  And, a factory custom maker could make a go of it with the Iron Grenadier as his base.  But, those days are probably past.

Iron Grenadiers remain pretty easy to find.  It's tougher to find figures with perfect gold these days.  But, even that is doable as long as you're prepared to pay a premium.  High quality figures tend to run between $20 and $25, now.  Dealers will sell an appalling amount for $35, though.  There are bargains to be had, if you're willing to sacrifice the pistol and some of the gold paint.  But, the days of getting a few of them for three or four bucks each are long gone.  I don't think I'd pay a premium for this figure.  He was never important enough to me to justify a high price.  But, I also have a figure left over from my army building days.  So, I don't have to make a decision on a more expensive purchase.