1993 Robo Joe - Around The Web

I've owned a Robo Joe figure for a little over 6 years, now.  Despite him being a relatively new addition to my collection, I've only photographed him twice.  Once for his original profile.  And, then for this feature.  Despite my disinterest in the figure, though, Robo Joe seems to have a niche following among collectors.  As such, you'll find some solid content featuring the figure.  I suspect it's a combination of the figure's distinctive look and oddball character that endears him to some collectors.  So, it's fun to see what people can do with him.  Especially when you take the limitations of the Armor Tech articulation into consideration.

1993 Robo Joe Profile

1993 Robo Joe by corpscommandercody

1993 Robo Joe by Relena Warcraft

1993 Robo Joe the plasticeyeball

1993 Robo Joe by toysandtomfoolery

1993 Robo Joe by thedustinmccoy

1993 Robo Joe by toygalaxy

1993 Robo Joe by gijoe_c4_panama

1993 Robo Joe by toysandtomfoolery

1993 Robo Joe at HCC788

1993 Robo Joe by corpscommandercody

1993 Robo Joe at Joepedia

1993 Robo Joe by ronnie_trickshot

1993 Robo Joe by yo_joe_it

1993 Robo Joe by gijoe_c4_panama

1993 Robo Joe by phantomtroublemaker

1993 Robo Joe by el_customizador_marvel

1993 Outback - Around The Web

Do you ever accidentally learn something about yourself?  For instance, I've always liked the 1993 Outback figure.  He was part of my college era collection and was always a figure I found rather interesting.  Turns out, though, that I like this figure quite a bit.  I discovered that when I looked at how many different times I've taken him out for a photo shoot.  I use him way more often than the 1987 Outback.  And, he's even slightly ahead of the Tiger Force Outback.

I suspect it's the combination of vivid colors and his unique look.  There aren't too many hardhat wearing figures in the line.  So, it's a quirky fashion choice that makes the figure stand out even more than his orange suspenders do.  But, I also just like the total package that the figure offers.  I've always used him as a combat engineer rather than Outback the survivalist.  And, I often use as vehicular support.  But, the series of photos below, ranging back over the past 4 years, also feature him in his natural element.

I had to dig deep to find some of this content.  Outback is a popular photo choice.  But, it's always his 1987 or Tiger Force version that takes the spotlight.  But, the 1993 is easier to find than any photos of the 1988 Night Force version.  So, take some time and scroll through the pics to check out a figure who doesn't have any right to be as enjoyable as I, apparently, find him.

1993 Outback Profile

1993 Outback at Nekoman's Viper Pit

1993 Outback at atwooddan

1993 Outback by muaddibkwisatzhaderach

1993 Outback by bruxovigo

1993 Outback by thedustinmccoy

1993 Outback prototypes & pre-production at the Leaky Suit Brigade

1993 Outback at atwooddan

1993 Outback by ptytoys2021

1993 Outback by gen_liederkranz

1993 Outback by actionforcedk

1993 Outback by ronnie_trickshot

Rarities - 1993 G.I. Joe Complete the Mission Advertisement

So, this is more of an oddity than anything rare.  But, really, I just like the idea that there is a marketing piece out there that carried on the tradition of Kenner's old "Collect Them All" mentality that dates from 1993.  What is interesting to me, though, is the manner in which the text depicts the line.  

Initially, it implies that the 1993 Joes are "shipping out" and won't be available much longer.  While the 1993's only had the single production year, the reality is that fresh cases were still being sent to closeout retailers through, at least, late 1995.  So, Hasbro had plenty of stock left.  Seeing the "Supplies are limited" moniker seems awkward since it was the 1993 figures who lingered into 1995 and 1996 at retail chains while the lower production run 1994 figures sold out first.  This was one of those marketing attempts to drive what we'd later define as FOMO.  Disney used it to remarkable effect in their VHS vault concept.  So, you can't fault Hasbro for trying.

The other thing that stuck out to me is that the line is described as "Collectible".  This is a shift that began in the early 1990's.  Hasbro, especially on the G.I. Joe team, was recognizing that there was a new, burgeoning market for their legacy brands: adult collectors.  They, though, weren't interested in spring loaded gimmicks.  But, promoting something as "collectible" could draw them in.  Most of the focus on adults was on the 12" side of the Joe brand.  But, there was enough cross-over for them to port some of the messaging to 3 3/4", too.  In 1994, the Joe team went all in promoting the Joseph Colton mail away to adults...to great success.  In fact, the reason Joe Coltons are cheap and widely available, now, is because so many adult collectors back in 1994 hoarded extras with visions of future riches in  their heads.

The poster isn't really noteworthy for anything else.  All of the figures appear to be production level samples.  So, there's no weird colors or oddball accessories in there that I can spot.  You'll note a few absences, though.  Figures like Wild Bill appear on the checklist.  Even though the figure isn't pictured.  The Alley Viper and Beach Head, though, are completely absent from both the poster and the checklist.  

The Duke actor is prominently featured, too.  The 1993 live action sequences are best left forgotten.  The commercials were terrible.  But, Joe needed to try something.  And, by the early 1990's, live action was cheaper than high quality animation.  There used to be a bunch of interviews with the Duke actor that were out there.  If you look around, you might still find them and can hear his perspective on the production.

While the idea of a poster with checkboxes to notate the completeness of your collection seems quaint in 2025.  Hasbro was still putting out material like this through at least the late 2000's in some of their lines.  There are even G.I. Joe marketing materials showcasing figures through the end of the Venom Vs. Valor series.  (Spinmaster even used them with their Batman line in the early 2020's.)  So, the concept behind a piece like this is sound and something that's still part of a marketer's playbook.  There have been some great fan-created checklist posters for the Star Wars line.  And, a high concept poster would actually sell to collectors.  For now, though, I'm going to seek out late run ephemera like this poster as they give insight into the Joe line's final years.

Rarities - 1993 Night Creeper Unproduced Weapons

The 1993 Night Creeper figure is the only Ninja Force figure that I actually bought at retail.  I didn't, though, buy him for his weapons.  I just bought him because I was desperate to add something to my collection after several failed trips to Toys R Us.  And, he looked the most palatable of all the bad options.

What I did not notice, though, was that the weapons on his card artwork did not match the weapon tree that was included with the figure.  Instead, the Night Creeper is drawn with weapons that ultimately released with the 1993 Slice figure.  No real mention of this change is made.  In fact, both weapons are called out on the Night Creeper's filecard.  Oddly, there is also a cape mentioned.  Meaning, this figure had a cape pretty far into his design process.  But, it was eliminated even before his Toy Fair debut.

Below you will see photos from the 1993 Toy Fair catalog and the 1993 Ninja Force toy commercial that featured the upcoming Ninja Force figures.  The Night Creeper is clearly photographed holding the light blue versions of the Slice accessories.  They match the two in his hands on the card artwork.  It is notable because the tree that included these weapons was fairly uncommon.  So, you don't often see these weapons used with Ninja Force figures even though they are among the best accessories that sub-line produced.

The change in accessories kind of makes sense.  While I'd have loved for the Night Creeper to include the Slice weapons, this is a function of the fact that I army build the figure and the Slice gear looks better in photos.  Upon their introduction in 1990, the Night Creeper were sold as archers.  The original figure included an awesome crossbow.  So, switching the Night Creeper over to a weapon tree with a bow to match their original release at least makes some kind of sense.  

In the Toy Fair catalog, Ninja Force is noted as including 7 figures in the wave.  The photo, though, only shows 6.  A seventh, Stormshadow, appears atop the Ninja Lightning motorcycle...likely as a placeholder for the T'Gin Tzu that  would use his mold.  The missing figure is Slice.  So, it's probable that Slice was the final addition to the 1993 Ninja Force lineup.  (He is numbered 7 in the set and the only repaint released in the 1993 carded series.)  And, when looking for something to make Slice more memorable, giving him the more distinctive weapon tree made some logical sense.  

It's pretty likely that someone out there has copies of the unproduced Night  Creeper weapon trees.  There may even be some people who picked up Hasbro overstock who have a bunch of alternate trees sitting in a box in their basement: not realizing what's actually there.  But, they are a fairly lost element of the late run line.  

1993 General Flagg - Around The Web

 General Flagg isn't a figure you see all that often in Joe content.  But, when you do find him used, it's almost always the 1992 version of the figure.  Or, it's his 2004 Comic Pack figure.  The 1993 variant wearing the black coat is a rare sight in Joe photography.  This is partly due to the fact that the figure is fairly obscure.  And, it's also partly due to the fact that General Flagg is, generally, considered an early Joe character.  So, his bulkier sculpt figure from 1992 and 1993 just doesn't mesh well with 1982 and 1983 figures.  The mismatching brown hat against the black coat doesn't serve him well, either.

While I like this figure a lot, the reality is that I struggle to take good photos of him.  And, in my multiple attempts at writing about him, I usually fall short in making any significant point.  The figure, in the end, is just kind of there.  He's really neat to own.  But, he's tough to integrate into a story or make the focal point of a photo.  So, there's not a ton of content on him out there.  But, enjoy what I could find.

1993 General Flagg Profile

1993 General Flagg by TitusLester

1993 General Flagg by thedailyscoop1989

1993 General Flagg by gen_liederkranz

1993 General Flagg by viper_space

1993 General Flagg by gijoeaction

1993 General Flagg at action-force.dk

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.

1992 Flak Viper vs. 1993 Night Creeper - Brothers in Design

A few years ago, I was cataloging some new acquisitions.  I spread the figures out on a white plastic lid and take pictures to document them before they join the rest of my figures in various drawers that are segregated by year and affiliation.  Two figures in the bunch, though, drew my eye.  I happened to place one above the other.  At first, I noticed how their accessories were the same color.  But, upon closer inspection I found that these two figures shared more than just common hues of their gear.  At first glance, the 1992 Flak Viper and the 1993 Night Creeper could not be more different figures.  But, they share quite a bit of common design.

One of the hallmarks of the Joe line is compatibility.  Not only were things like accessories and vehicles designed to work with any figure, but the figures themselves were designed to complement each other in terms of the colors chosen.  This is why you'll see instances where figures released years apart use plastic of exactly the same color.  This trend started with the line's initial release year and carried over through 1994.  Most collectors lose sight of this compatibility as the line progressed.  But, it's still there.  And, the similarities between the Flak Viper and Night Creeper showcase that the designers reused color combos and sculpting elements that worked well.

The most visual clue to the figure's similarities is the blue base used for each.  The blue color is identical.  The color matches on the figures as well as on the accessories.  As such, you can interchange their weapons and still retain the same visual appeal.  Each incorporates the blue into the main figure coloring, too.  In fact, the blue forms the accent color for both figures.  Really, the only difference in color between the figures is the green on the Flak Viper and the purple on the Night Creeper.  

Going deeper than the blue, though, you see that both figures utilize the same shade of grey as well.  While it's more prevalent on the Flak Viper, the same hue is used to mute the Night Creeper's purple and blue.  The crazy part, though, is the Night Creepers lower arms.  The grey there is broken up by lines.  These lines perfectly match those used on the Flak Vipers vest.  Were is possible to swap the Night Creeper's lower arms with those of the Flak Viper, the Flak Viper would appear as if he were designed with the Night Creeper's arms.

There are a few other design similarities as well.  First, both figures feature a massive chest that is crossed by a strap.  For the Flak Viper, it's his overalls.  For the Night Creeper, it's a bandolier.  But, both start at the bottom right and cover the left shoulder.  Both of their arms feature short sleeves over a grey undershirt.  And, both have elaborate gloves on their hands.

In addition, you will note that both figures feature details on the upper arm, right above the swivel joint.  These adornments are unnecessary.  But, help to hide the joint and give both figures more bulk in their arms.  The construction of the arms on both figures is remarkably similar.  It makes both figures appear more bulky and adds details to break up the mold and make it appear more substantial.

The final point of similarity is in the helmets.  While this one is a bit more far fetched, both helmets are blue with a visor of a different color.  (Black for the Flak Viper, red for the Night Creeper.)  Each helmet has a design in the center with smoother lines on both sides of it.  While the helmets are definitely different.  You see some of the same design elements on each.  Hasbro knew how to make an action figure look cool.  And, they could incorporate artistic creativity inside standard templates that they knew would translate to a toy kids would love.  

Having noticed these similarities, I now want a Flak Viper in 1993 Night Creeper colors and a Night Creeper in 1992 Flak Viper colors.  Both would make for excellent toys and would complement each other very well.  I'm probably the only person who would want this.  But, the fact that these figures are so similarly colored really makes me want to see each figure in the other's color scheme.  

I'm sure there are more examples in the line of figures who, at first sight, appear totally different but who are, actually, very similar in their design.  It was a bit of kismet that lead me to see these two figures and how similar they were.  So, if you have some other examples (The Interrogator and Sonic Dial Tone are another.), please post them up in the comments.

1993 Mutt

Hasbro originally planned for the DEF sub series to carry over into 1993.  It was going to include several newly sculpted characters as well as some repaints of the 1992 series.  For some reason, though, the DEF concept was retired and the figures who were planned for the subset were released under the standard Battle Corps umbrella.  This was a likely function of the 1992 figures not being strong sellers (they had a much higher retail price point) and 1993 already having 3 other large cardback format subsets.  (Mega Marines, Armor Tech and Street Fighter)  While the new sculpts planned for DEF continued the strong tradition of the 1992's, the repaints were a bit more brazen.  Gone were the muted colors of the originals: replaced with bright, eye catching colors to attract the kids of the day.  The repaint of Mutt stands out.  His dark vest is now bright orange.  Despite that fact, the figure still works and is a nice match up for his contemporaries of the day.

As I hunted down the dregs of the Joe line at  retail in 1995 and 1996, the DEF figures haunted me from the cardbacks of other figures.  The Headhunter and Headhunter Stormtrooper were simply figures I was never going to find.  But, seeing Mutt among the characters also intrigued me.  Mutt was a childhood favorite character.  So, getting a new version would have been a nostalgic treat.  But, no DEF figures were to be found.  Even as I'd find representatives of all the other figures on the cardbacks of 1993 and 1994 figures, I never found Mutt or his casemates.  I did find a Gristle or two at out of the way outlets.  But, I never bought him as I didn't like the figure.  A friend of mine did manage to find Muskrat and Mace hidden on old endcap of his local K-Mart.  And, those were the only two DEF figures I'd manage to track down.

As I got more serious about collecting in the late '90's and early '00's, I spent an inordinate amount of time chasing down lots of loose 1990's era figures.  They weren't easy to find as it was the '80's figures who were ubiquitous at toy shows, flea markets and online marketplaces.  But, I did manage to get quite an assortment of figures from the line's later years.  But, the DEF figures were rarely among them.  I went on a quest to find this Mutt at some point.  All of my avenues, though, turned up empty.  Eventually, I found a seller in Malaysia who a carded Mutt and some Funskool figures for sale for a good price.  I bought them, paid and waited a month for a box to arrive at my house.  Inside was my first Mutt and my first real foray into Funskool.  (Just two months later, YoJoe would start importing cheap Funskool in February of 2001: making them much more accessible than they had ever been before.)  I didn't actually get around to opening Mutt, though, until either 2001 or 2002.  And, even with a loose sample in hand, I rarely used the figure.  The 1992 version was just so much better.

When I emerged from my dark period of collecting in the early to mid '10's, I had a new appreciation of this Mutt.  I found that he photographed well.  And, there was a contingent of younger collectors who had grown up with the 1990's Joes and considered them the classics.  So, this Mutt started getting more use.  In fact, he ended up surpassing the 1992 figure as my go-to coloring when I wanted this Mutt version to appear.  In recent years, I've used him nearly exclusively when I want a Mutt who will blend with other '90's figures.  I've really grown to appreciate the different colors.  I'm at a point where uniquely colored figures are more interesting to me than multiple figures all in the same color scheme. That's not an opinion shared by many collectors.  But, it's how I find value in offbeat figures like this Mutt. 

The one detail I love and hate about this Mutt are the dog biscuits that are sculpted onto his vest.  On one hand, it's a fun little detail that shows Mutt's devotion to his K-9 pal.  On another level, it's a bit of cheesiness that makes the figure into a borderline joke.  (Kind of like the 1993 Bazooka's fishing gear ensemble.)  I waffle between the two.  The treats likely kept this torso from being considered for other characters at any point in the line's history.  So, that's a nice way to keep Mutt unique.  It also takes away from the seriousness of the figure.  Though, you can kind of see a law enforcement type taunting some poor sap with the dog biscuit in an attempt to dehumanize them.  So, there's that.

The 1993 Mutt and 1992 Mutt share similar green colors on the figure's undershirt and arms and similar browns on the wrist and boot protectors.  After that, they differ, starkly.  The 1993 version uses the bright orangish-red vest.  I call it orange.  Though, others my describe it as more red.  His pants are also a brighter blue that is just a shade lighter than the 1992 figure's vest.  Somewhere, there's a weird custom of the 1992 torso on 1993 legs.  The 1992 version is a nice match up to the 1989 Slaughter's Marauders color scheme.  The 1993 stands more on it's own.  Both are visually appealing.  I prefer the 1993 as a crew member on the Shark 9000.  But, I also gravitate towards him most other settings, too, since the brighter colors are more photogenic.

The 1993 Mutt's accessories are fairly different from the 1992 release.  He does include a cool, small pistol that debuted with the 1992 figure.  It's a solid look for the figure and remains my default choice for his use.  There is also the requisite Junkyard dog.   The amazing net launcher from the 1992 figure is gone, though.  It is replaced with a solid red, spring loaded missile launcher and a gold missile.  The 1993 DEF figures got paired down spring loaded weapons: likely a function of their standard retail price point for 1993.  So, the launcher is a downgrade.  The final accessory, though, was a surprise to me when I opened a 1993 Mutt off the card back in 2001 or 2002.  He also includes the golden rifle from Headman.  As Headman was missing form the 1993 assortment, you can read whatever you want into Mutt's possession  of the rifle.  (Especially in light of the Headman dying in the cartoon.)  But, I was surprised to find it included with the figure.  And, it's not uncommon to find dealers missing this accessory with loose Mutts just because it's so out of place and forgotten.

When it comes to this Mutt, the figure got three uses.  The 1992 original figure is the best.  This 1993 repaint is fun.  And, there is a 2004 Convention Tiger Force release that's interesting.  None of them, though, have taken off in the collecting world.  If you're a carded variant hunter, this Mutt was released on a real DEF cardback in Australia.  These were once the darlings of the collecting world.  But, now, they're more of a footnote.  There are several existing examples of this figure on a Hasbro DEF card, too.  Those were never actually released.  But, many of them survived and now exist in private collections.  It remains a shame that this figure didn't get at least one other use in the repaint era of the early 2000's.  It would have been great as an inclusion in a Toys R Us exclusive 6 pack.  The mold has some potential.  But, alas, it went unfulfilled.

Many of the 1993 repaints, especially those who were planned for the 1993 DEF series, are kind of hard to find.  These days, left to the open market, a mint and complete version of this Mutt will run up to $30.  Carded figures, though, don't sell for much more than that.  And, if you avoid professional sellers or are willing to sacrifice an accessory or two, the figure falls pretty precipitously in price.  But, it's always taken me a while to find a sample of this figure.  And, none of the DEF figures from 1993 tend to be overly common.  So, maybe the price is justified.  But, as supply loosens, this is an unlikely figure to retail his lofty pricetag.  The real question is whether you can wait out the market or just want one now.

1993 Star Brigade Invader - Around The Web

The Invader isn't a great vehicle.  But, it's about the only Cobra space vehicle that is easy to photograph.  So, despite being something no one talks about, it finds itself getting quite a bit of use. So, traipse through the links below to see some cool interpretations of the Invader and good ways for it to be useful to a collection.

1993 Star Brigade Invader

1993 Star Brigade Invader by gen_liederkranz

1993 Star Brigade Invader by mpjoes

1993 Star Brigade Invader by thedragonfortress

1993 Star Brigade Invader by gijoeboss

1993 Star Brigade Invader by slipstream80

1993 Star Brigade Invader by yojoe_collectibles

1993 Star Brigade Invader by gen_liederkranz

1993 Star Brigade Invader by Dragon Fortress

1993 Star Brigade Invader by yojoe_collectibles

1993 Star Brigade Invader by thedustinmccoy

1993 Star Brigade Invader by gijoeboss

1993 Star Brigade Invader by relena_warcraft

1993 Iceberg

Sometimes, a simple little change can be all the difference between a figure that is loved and one that is ignored.  The 1993 Iceberg isn't a figure you see all that often.  He's a definite downgrade from the 1986 character debut.  And, the figure's calling card of bright yellow highlights definitely hurt his appeal.  But, when you look at the original card art, you see that Iceberg was originally meant to look a bit different.  And, had those original coloring choices been followed, this version of Iceberg would be much more accepted in the collecting world today.  

If you look at Iceberg's card artwork, the figure should be amazing.  The details on the mold really pop.  His bullets are golden instead of yellow and all of his details are clearly visible.  The most important difference, though, is that the character's mask and gloves and details are green instead of bright yellow.  We can argue about whether green really works in the arctic.  But, the green highlights really look much better than the bright yellow. The figure on the card art would have some vehement fans.  The released figure, though, does not.  Many 1993 and 1994 figures seemed to have changes like this from the art colors.  Some may have been due to cost cutting and others may have been choices to brighten up a retail assortment.  But, in almost every case, the card art showcases a figures superior to the actual toy.

This is a shame as the yellow obfuscates a fairly decent Iceberg sculpt.  The chest has some heft to showcase the bulk of the cold weather coat and gear.  But, the sculpting of the ammo belt, powder horn, grenades, hoodie collar and fur accents on the gloves all show that Hasbro was still more than capable of making great toys in 1993.  Sadly, the yellow is a tough sell and really takes away from the quality of the mold.  It takes a figure that might be among the better 1993 releases and relegates him to near the bottom of that year's popularity.  Despite the classic character, solid gear and great sculpt, Iceberg languishes in obscurity: overshadowed by not only his original figure, but other cold weather figures like Snow Storm and Frostbite who were his contemporaries.  

My only real memory associated with this version of Iceberg comes from a random lot of figures I bought off Ebay back in 1999 or so.  In it was a figure with this Iceberg's head painted olive green atop a 1990 Big Ben body.  As lazy customs go, it wasn't bad.  My main takeaway, though, was how well the head was painted.  It was only after scratching at it a bit that I could tell the painting was done by a steady handed person instead of a factory.  I bought the lot because it was dirt cheap and included a bunch of accessories as well as a full Night Viper body with a Laser Viper head.  Back in those early collecting days, you could find lots like that no one wanted because they were "ruined" figures from later molds.  I still have the parts sitting in a box buried in a basement closet.  Someday, I might put the head to a different use.  

Aside from the yellow highlights, Iceberg also features some brown painted snowflake designs that are meant as cammo or just eye-filler.  I get the idea of snowflakes.  And, really, they kind of work as a means of breaking up the otherwise very brightly colored body.  They look, though, like the bullet hole stickers you'd see on model kits of the era.  So, when I look at the figure, I think he got shot up in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.  It makes me chuckle and prevents me from taking the figure too seriously.  But, if I put that association out of my head, you can see what the designers were going for.  And, they did succeed in making the figure more visually interesting than he would otherwise be.

Iceberg's gear is about as good as it gets for 1993.  As far as I know, Iceberg's weapon tree was unique to him.  It included resculpted versions of the 1988 Blizzard's rifle and pistol.  These were great throwbacks to earlier arctic themed figures.  Iceberg also included a machete from Muskrat and a knife from Hit and Run.  There is the requisite missile launcher, missiles and battle stand.  Iceberg also includes a snowboard.  This unique accessory puts him over the top for 1993 figures because Iceberg has something to interact with.  The "jet-powered" snowboard was an idea that Hasbro used often.  There's jet powered skis, missiles and snowboards throughout the line.  The absolute bonkers notion of such an item wasn't important to kids.  It was just fun.  The snowboard also has a variant where the G.I. Joe logon on the underside can be printed in both directions.  It's small, but something to look for. 

This Iceberg was also released in Brazil.  The Estrela made figure is named Pantano and is a nearly identical paint job to the Hasbro release.  Pantano is noteworthy for a couple of reasons.  Firstly, Pantano was also the name of the Python Patrol Copperhead that was released in Brazil.  The characters aren't related.  But, seeing the same name twice is fun.  Secondly, Pantano is a Cobra.  The masked face made for an easy affiliation swap.  And, Pantano joins many late run Brazilian figures who switched allegiances for their Estrela debuts.  Finally, Pantano's card artwork removes the green coloring from the figures's head and replaces it with yellow to more closely match the actual toy.  The artwork was also updated to remove the snowboard that wasn't included with Pantano.  The mold wasn't used again.  It's pretty likely that Hasbro had access to the mold in the 2000's.  And, while I'd have loved to have seen it in the Winter Operations set in 2005, the reality is that we're probably better off with the mold just having been used the two times.

Dealers will ask anywhere between $10 and $25 for mint and complete versions of this figure.  With the full set of accessories and filecard, the figure seems to be worth about $10.  Carded versions are higher priced than I would have thought, though.  They top out around $35...which seems high for an unliked figure from a late run year.  But, the once plentiful carded 1993 and 1994 Joes have heavily dried up.  So, you're paying a premium for low supply.  I'm not sure I'd drop $10 on this guy.  He's a neat look at what Hasbro was still capable of doing in 1993.  But, he's also a showcase of some wrong decisions from that era, too.  I've gotten out into the snow for some pics.  But, really, I'd much rather use the other cold weather figures from that era instead.  They just work better than the yellow highlights you see on this Iceberg.

1993 Alley Viper

This week, we're doing a tag team profile with the Attica Gazette.  Someone mentioned the 1993 Alley Viper somewhere and RTG came up with the idea to both look at this figure at the same time.  So, check out his review of the 1993 Alley Viper.  

There are 36 single carded Battle Corps G.I. Joe figures that were released in 1993.  (Plus some variants.)  Of those, I found half of them at retail between 1995 and 1996.  Those I never saw fall into two categories: repaints of 1992 figures and Cobra army builders.  The repaints make sense as the ensuing 25 years have proven out that they exist in smaller quantities than the rest of the figures.  The army builders, though, were popular.  As someone who had grown up with Joes, this seemed odd to me.  As a kid, Cobras were no more difficult to find than Joes.  And, I always picked a figure based on how cool he was overall.  Affiliation be damned.  (I bought Airtight over the Crimson Guard in February of 1985!)  So, the idea of buying a bad guy just because he was a villain was foreign to me.  But, at the same time, I was starting to get the army building bug from the Star Wars line.  And, as such, I hoped to find the missing Cobras at some point.  But, the search proved fruitless.  Staring at me from the cardbacks of the figures I did find were the Flak Viper, Eel, Headhunter and the subject of this profile, the 1993 Alley Viper.

I never had Alley Viper's as a kid.  They debuted in 1989 and both I and my brothers were done with Joe at that point.  I did encounter the figure that summer when our family went to visit some friends who had younger children.  But, that was fleeting.  My real introduction to the Alley Viper came in 1997 when I found an original at a local comic shop.  From there, I began to army build the character when I could.  This 1993 version, though, again proved elusive.  I managed to acquired one or two in large lots of 1993 figures that I was prone to buy.  But, that was it.  Complete, high quality figures were a tough find and you rarely saw them for sale.  By the time the figure started to become available, I was out of the Joe buying game.  Even today, the figure is under-represented in my 1993 army builder collection.  He's outnumbered by Cyber Vipers, Eels, Snow Serpents, Flak Vipers and even Headhunters. 

Back in the late 1990's, the general consensus was that the Joe line "ended" in 1987.  And, anything released after that magical year was suspect.  There were exceptions, though.  Shockwave, Hit and Run and the Iron Grenadier were all acceptable figures to own for the "real" collector.  Bright colors, though, were to be avoided at all costs...except for the original Alley Viper.  You'd have people lamenting the "neon" releases of 1993 in some forum post while espousing the virtues of the 1989 Alley Viper in another.  But, people do not, generally, recognize their own contradictory statements in any aspect of their life.  Regardless, the Alley Viper was a character who was acceptable in bright colors.  And, by extension, any later Alley Viper was also "OK" in bright colors since he original  paved the way.  This same courtesy was not afforded other figures, of course.  But, the Alley Viper character has always gotten a pass when it came to bright coloring.

And, with the shackles of "neon" cast off the character, many army building obsessed collectors of the early 2000's were welcoming of the bumble bee colored Alley Viper as a cool alternative army.  While you didn't see dozens of them in rows on a metal shelf in someone's dingy basement, you did see guys with 2-6 of them who would use them to draw attention to an otherwise mundane story.  Even as excellently colored Alley Vipers saturated retail stores and even hit clearance, you'd still see some photographers turn to the 1993 Alley Vipers as an alternative to the retail homogeny.  The figures were much cheaper than 1989 Alley Vipers.  And, they carried the "vintage" cachet that many people craved in order to give their collections authenticity.  So, the 1993 Alley Viper became one of the only acceptable army builders released that year.

Personally, the original Alley Viper was the character's entry point to my collection.  I was able to get a couple of mint and complete 1989 Alley Vipers early in my adult collecting days.  Along with the Range Viper and Annihilator, they made up my Cobra army.  The Alley Vipers were the infantry in the urban death squads that Cobra used to terrorize little towns in middle America.  In 1997, Cobra saw these towns as a way to instill fear in an American government who they could not, otherwise defeat.  In 2025, Cobra would find these towns a hotbed of recruitment for its cause.  But, back then, the Alley Vipers would mow down innocents as Cobra just eliminated thousands of people in short order.  They were ruthless, efficient and well equipped for mass slaughter.

Due to the quick strike nature of the Cobra attacks, bright colors were justified.  The Alley Vipers were trained to pretty much kill anything that moved.  So, Cobra gave them bright orange uniforms so that they'd hesitate when they saw that color so as to reduce friendly fire casualties.  Cobra didn't want to leave any evidence of their attack behind.  So, dead Cobras were a major liability since they had to be carried out of the scene.  The orange uniforms helped to mitigate the casualties for the Cobra attacks.  (Hapless, pre-9/11 rural police forces weren't going to kill any military grade attackers.)  As the 1993 figure entered my collection, he filled the same role.  The yellow was just another variation on the Alley Viper theme and didn't hold any special significance.  You'd often see collectors attempt to rank their Cobra armies by color.  There were some times when I'd somewhat see the 1993 Alley Vipers as a small, specialized team within the larger Alley Viper corps.  But, that made little sense since the character is already so specialized.  So, these killer bees were just an alternate look for Alley Vipers as their reigned terror upon rural America.

As my Cobra army expanded, so did the intricacy of the urban attacks.  HEAT Vipers, Incinerators, Frag Vipers and even Crimson Guard Immortals were added to handle different elements of the attack.  And, as the idea began to snowball out of control, I pretty much dropped the entire idea from my imaginary world.  By the time I had a small army of 1993 Alley Vipers in my collection, their main purpose was passe.  So, instead, they were just a cool visual to toss into a photo or something.  Only, I never really did that.  Looking back through 25 years worth of photos shows that I've never really used this figure.  I took one photo in 2017.  But, he never even appeared in the background prior to that.  This is surprising to me since I've always liked the figure.  When it came time to choose an Alley Viper for photos, though, the 1989, 1994 and even the 1997 were always the go-to choices.

So, what do you do with this figure?  I have a couple of them.  But, I'm past the point of actively trying to build an army of them.  So, instead, I'll have to be content to pull them out on a rare occasion and use them as some brightly colored background filler.  The figure is visually distinctive and is fun to have around.  But, as Alley Vipers go, I'll take some other versions as my preferred look for the characters.  And, that seems to be the figure's general place in the collecting world.  Everyone seems to kind of like this coloring for the Alley Viper.  But, no one actually uses it.  Instead, you'll see 1989's, 2002's and even, occasionally, some 1994's.  The 1993 remains unrepresented among the Alley Viper content.

The Alley Viper's gear is spectacular.  It's great because the gear is black in color, it's plentiful and, the mask, backpack and primary rifle all hearken back to the 1989 release of the character: tying the two together. The superfluous spring loaded launcher, missiles and stand are just filler for the Alley Viper.  What really makes him pop are the new, fang inspired mask, his rifles, the backpack and a new riot shield that is shaped like a Cobra, but is more compact than the 1989 shield.  The Alley Viper includes a black version of Dial Tone's rifle.  It's an extra, but makes it easier to outfit extra figures.  The main rifle and backpack are almost direct copies of the 1989 Alley Viper's gear.  The rifle, though, is a new mold that features a blocky front stock instead of the round peg from the 1989 figure.  The backpack is different, too in that the grappling hook is not removable.  It's a small detail.  But, now that collectors have co-mingled armies and accessories for decades, you do find the wrong gear with the wrong figure from time to time.

This Alley Viper features just three colors on the body: yellow, black and gold.  The yellow and black is a visual contrast that makes the figure stand out.  The golden highlights, though, add a bit more life to the mold and make the Alley Viper appear to be a more thoughtful release than a figure like the 1993 HEAT Viper.  You'll note the black stripes on the leg.  This the paint mask that was used and then not used on the two 1994 Alley Viper variants.  There is no doubt that Hasbro was saving money on paint masks with the 1993 Alley Viper.  His arm insignias aren't painted.  And, his lower legs are cast in black plastic and feature no paint applications: a notorious cost cutting measure that plagued the Joe line of the 2000's and again in the 2020's.  But, on this mold, the sparse coloring works.  The yellow and black are stark contrasts that make the figure pop.  It is tough to match him up to vehicles or playsets.  But, the overall look of the figure is strong enough to find a place.

It's important to also note that the Alley Viper's crotch is notoriously brittle.  This is a figure you'll often see with a broken waist piece.  Which is a real buzz kill when you find an otherwise excellent figure that's plagued by this major affliction.  His thumbs can be problematic, too, just due to his rifle and the way kids would force it into his hands.  In all my years of seeking out 1993 army builders, the Alley Viper is the one figure most prone to breakage.  So, be sure to check for stress points should you come across a good looking figure when you're out and about.

This exact Alley Viper configuration appeared twice.  There is this 1993 bumblebee release and the orange 1994 repaint (which has a striped leg and non-striped leg variant)  The Brazilian Mortifero figure that is nearly identical to this 1993 Alley Viper paint job features most of the mold but different legs.  After that, the figure was given legs from the 1984 Duke figure and then released in 1997, 2002, 2002 again, 2003 and 2004.  The dark blue 1997 version is my favorite, but was only available with the Rage.  The first 2002 version, in lighter blue, is the most common and is an excellent update to this mold that was widely available and was hoarded by collectors of the day.  The Red 2002 repaint was shortpacked in his case, but was both easy to find and unpopular and remains so today.  The almost Estrela blue version from 2003 was packed with a repainted Viper in the infamous Wave 7.75 (dubbed the "Army Builder Wave") from 2003.  It saw a short shipping window, but was easy to find for about a month or so.  Again, collectors amassed huge numbers of them.  The 2004 all black version is probably the second best (I'll accept arguments that it's the best, though.) coloring.  It was only available in a Toys R Us 6 figure pack that included two other army builders and three characters.  Due to this release vehicle, many collectors bought a few of this version, but not the large numbers of the two-pack figures from prior years.  All of these later repaints are probably better than the 1993 figure and are fairly common.  For an army builder, they are the way to go.  

Black Major even made his own version of the 1993 Alley Viper mold.  You can get the figure in a panoply of colors.  But, oddly, many vintage Alley Vipers are cheaper than the Black Major figures.  But, there's some solid paint jobs among the factory customs that are worth exploring.

Pricing on this figure is all over the place.  In general, you can routinely get a mint and complete figure for $20-$25.  But, for some reason, you also see mint and complete figures in the $10-$15 range, too.  And, you'll see figures sell within a day of each other at each price point.  The Alley Viper is certainly more common than my 1990's era frustration would attest to.  And, the figure is relatively available: probably to a greater degree than most of the other 1993 army builders aside from the HEAT Viper.  But, the fact that this mold was, basically, repainted in far better colors many, many times during the collector heavy repaint era has also helped temper demand.  It's one thing to pay a premium for a Cyber Viper that never appeared again and another to break the bank for an offbeat coloring of a great mold when the better repaints are far cheaper.