1998 Cobra Trooper - Random Photos of the Day

 These 1998 figures are so old that they are, technically, vintage.  (At least in antique terms....)  But, to me, they are still relatively "new".  Mostly, that's because they entered my collection when I was an adult.  So, they have always seemed more like a collectible than a toy.

The 1998 Cobra Infantry Team is the single best army builder set that Hasbro ever produced.  You got three nearly perfect army building figures for $10.  The figures featured classic colors, plenty of paint masks and a cadre of well placed accessories.  No other set that Hasbro ever did could live up to all those amenities and be offered at a price point that was actually conducive to multiple purchases.

And, purchase multiples, I did.  There were at least three separate production runs of these figures: in the fall of 1998, the summer of 1999 and the holidays of 1999, again.  So, there were several chances to acquire some sets.  And, I bought a couple in each round.  At the time, I thought I had bought too many because I didn't see a way to ever get 18 or 20 of any other figure.  But, it turns out I didn't buy enough.  Between late 2002 and mid 2004, I traded several carded sets of these to collectors based in Brazil and Europe.  In exchange, I got many of my earliest international exclusive Joes.  

Now, I don't get these guys out as often as I should.  Not really sure why, though.  I still think these are great figures and they are conducive to photos with a great many post 1984 figures.  Maybe this will get me to break these guys out more often.  They work so well with classic vehicles and figures.  It's just too bad Hasbro wasn't able to capture this magic more often during the repaint era.

1998 Volga - Around the Web

In 1998, there were no Oktober Guard figures.  So, the news that Hasbro was going to release one was welcomed with open arms by collectors.  When the set appeared, though, all was not well.  The only character from the original Oktober Guard team was Col. Brekhov.  And, that figure was a straight repaint of the 1991 Red Star.  The other figures were Lt. Gorky (which is a great figure, just not a classic Oktober Guard character) and Volga.  Volga was an all new character who didn't make much sense when Daina, an original team member, was there for the taking.  

It seems that Volga was meant to be Daina.  The hand painted mock up for the figure included blonde hair.  And, it was meant to be Daina.  But, for some reason, Hasbro changed up the figure.  They gave the figure red hair and created Volga.  

The headsculpt on the figure isn't great.  And, the Lady Jaye body and gear really make her seem like a Lady Jaye knock off.  But, her paint applications are strong and the camo pattern is really unique.  You'd think there would be more Volga content out there.  But, she seems to have fallen away in the past 24 years.

1998 Volga Profile

1998 Volga by corpscommandercody

1998 Volga at JoeADay.com

1998 Volga by tonegunsrevisited

1998 Volga by gi_joeisthere

1998 Volga by corpscommandercody

1998 Volga by Slipstream80

1998 Volga by Flint

1998 Volga by tonegunsrevisted

1998 Volga by fosilru

1998 Ace - Around The Web

Ace was the Joe Team's original fighter pilot.  His white and red uniform defines the character.  But, in 1998, Hasbro updated the figure with a darker color palette and the result is a release that has since become rather sought after.  The grey and black 1998 Ace is a perfect Night Force pilot.  But, he's also so well done with intricate paint applications and colors that he works better than the original figure in all but a handful of use cases.  Here's the best of the 1998 Ace from around the web.

1998 Ace Profile

1998 Ace by Slipstream80

1998 Ace by yotothejoe

1998 Ace by ironman3719

1998 Ace at JoeADay.com

1998 Ace by Slipstream80 02

1998 Ace by yotothejoe 02

1998 Wet Suit

There are over 1000 posts on this site.  The truth of that number is that I'm also running out of figures to showcase.  I only collect vintage style Joes.  And, while there are far in excess of 1000 different figures in this style from all over the world, the reality is that many of them are insanely similar in coloring.  Those that aren't tend to be rare and have gotten pricey.  And, while the repaint era of 1997 through 2006 brought us hundreds of new figures, most of them were repaints of existing figures.  And, in many cases, those repaints were repainted again and again.  This forces me to mine the depths of the line for obscure releases that I haven't looked at, specifically.  But, in most cases, I have profiled more popular colorings of the figure.  Such is the case in today's profile of the 1998 Wet Suit.  I've looked at this mold three other times.  (Though, it's been over a decade and a half since the last!)  I would suggest that all three are better figures than this version.  But, the 1998 is still interesting as its colors remain unique and the circumstances of his release are fond memories for me.

In the fall of 1997, I was mostly interested in Star Wars figures.  I had my first full time job with plenty of both time and disposable income to track down the steady stream of new Star Wars releases that year.  My online presence was mostly found in Star Wars groups where I kept up with the store reports and wave releases in the pre social media days.  One one of my trips to Toys R Us, though, I was shocked to find the 1997 Stars and Stripes set sitting on the shelves near the Star Wars figures.  The last remnants of the vintage Joe line had just disappeared in the last year.  But, here were new Joes.  I quickly snatched up the set since Joe had been real childhood love.  But, these figures didn't click with me.  A few were cool.  But, I was not compelled to pick up any of the remaining figure packs.  The beginning of 1998 brought an onslaught of new Star Wars releases.  So, I focused my attention strictly to those and ignored the Joes.  Though, I had now joined online Joe groups, too, to keep up on the news of future releases.

In December of 1998, the new series of Joes were released.  While I joined everyone else in anticipation of the Oktober Guard and Cobra army builder sets, I was also over-joyed at new divers.  One of the last great adventures of my childhood involved divers and underwater adventures.  The divers would be tasked to rescue a pilot trapped in his cockpit of a downed aircraft: his oxygen running out.  They would take Cobra prisoners to a secret underwater prison where they condemned were left to wait out their life in a cold, dark shell deep underwater where no one knew they even existed.  Or, they would sabotage Cobra ships, either setting explosives on the hull to scuttle them or boarding the ships and taking out the sparse crews of Cobra cargo transports.  These were quick stories where I could play in the few minutes before bed or after school.  Finding the 1994 Shipwreck when I returned to buying retail Joes just hammered home those old stories as I found him the perfect figure for all these scenarios.

So, I viewed the Navy Seal pack as an essential release.  In fact, I bought more of them than I did Cobra Polar Assault sets at first.  (The snow themed Cobras would surpass them by the summer of 1999, though.)  The figures didn't disappoint me.  While some collectors of the day weren't thrilled with the color scheme, I found the aqua blue trimmed black uniforms to be quite compelling.  The black was a darker base color than I had for Shipwreck or Wet Suit.  And, the Torpedo figure using the 1992 Wet Suit mold was actually a new figure to me since I had neither the 1992 or 1993 Wet Suit figures at the time.  Shortly after this figure's release, I purchased my first house.  Scattered around the site are old photos that I took there.  They are few and far between.  But, the 1998 divers appear in many of them since I took my newer figures into the pool for some photos with an underwater camera.

But, this hits on the real reason why I like this figure so much.  This figure's release coincides with many personal life milestones outside of collecting.  The day I bought these figures, I took them home to a new apartment.  (We took a break from moving due to a thunderstorm that prevented us from carrying anything from one place to the other and went to Toys R Us.)  Within a year and half of this guys' release, I had joined a startup, bought a house and moved in with the future mother of my children.  So, this guy kind of coincides with all that and therefore gets a childlike pass in the actual figure design department because he has associated memories with him that are far greater than just pressing a button and buying a figure online.

While this figure is a 1998 release, it should be noted that Hasbro actually shipped them more frequently in 1999 than they did 1998.  The 1998 series first showed up in early December of that year.  The figures shipped for a couple of weeks and sold well enough through the holidays.  But, after that, the pegs went bare aside from a few straggling Oktober Guard and Navy Seal three packs.  (The 1998's shipped in cases of 6 sets: 2 Navy Assault sets, 2 Oktober Guard sets and 1 each of the Cobra Infantry and Polar Assault sets.)  In early 1999, the Star Wars juggernaut was in full swing.  Hasbro rebooted the line ahead of Episode I to get classic characters onto the shelves and to help the saturation of obscure aliens and humans that had clogged the pegs since the summer of the prior year.  Then, the onslaught of Episode I figures hit.  You really can't look at the toy events of the Disney era Star Wars films and compare them to the insanity that was 1999.  The figures were everywhere.  By the summer, though, the frenzy was abating.  And, around July, Hasbro shipped new cases of the 1998 Joes to Toys R Us stores around the country.  Collectors rejoiced at building more armies and being able to find other figures that had mostly dried up.  Again, Oktober Guard and Navy Seal packs lingered, but not in alarming numbers.  Then, just ahead of Christmas in 1999, Hasbro shipped more cases and Toys R Us stores around the U.S. restocked 1998 Joes once again.  For army builders, this was the final boon to acquire as many Cobra Troopers as they wanted.  But, it was also enough overstock to back up Toys R Us and leave Navy Seal sets available at Toys R Us stores well into 2001.

This figure's gear is the same as the vintage figures' with the lone exception of the flippers.  Yes, this Wet Suit does not include flippers.  He has a black light, black pack, black sled and hose that define the Wet Suit character.  But, without the flippers, he feels incomplete.  The upside is that vintage Wet Suit flippers are common to find and are colored black.  So, they work perfectly with this Wet Suit repaint.  But, it seemed a simple mistake for Hasbro to skip such an important piece of gear.  At the time, the Navy Seal set was maligned for this omission and collectors found the lack of weapons and brighter coloring to be a major turn off to this group of three figures.

In 1998, the paint masks on the figure releases was just normal.  Within a few years, though, we would come to call it convention quality since retail releases were often lacking paint applications and convention figures often overdid them.  But, the 1998's feature tremendous paint detail.  This Wet Suit includes two shades of grey, aqua blue, black, red, yellow and silver paint.  He is easily on par with the vintage Wet Suit releases and shows that Hasbro could still make quality figures.  And, at three figures for $10 in 1998, the figure was a bargain.

This Wet Suit mold was used five times.  And, really, there are no badly colored versions of it.  The 1986 is classic and the Mission to Brazil has become the most expensive version of the mold.  The 2002 Gift set release is, basically, this 1998 in slightly darker colors.  And, the 2001 ARAHC version is heavy on greys and blacks.  You have a Wet Suit for every occasion and every budget.  That's nice since it gives fans of the character something to track down while also giving every collector a shot at a good Wet Suit repaint.  While you can make a case for other Wet Suit repaints, I'm content with what we got.

Today, dealers will get around $20 for a loose, mint and complete with filecard version of this figure.  Sans filecard, though, you can get them for $10.  Here's the thing, though.  If you have enough patience, you can still get carded sets for around $25.  That way, you get all three figures and the filecards.  You have to beware of carded 1998 figures, though, as the glue Hasbro used to seal the cards is not holding up well.  I have several carded sets where the glue simply gave way and I now have untouched figures in a bubble, separated from the cardback.  Many other collectors report the same.  But, seeing the disparity in price between a carded set and a loose, complete with filecard figure, it's still the way to go.  I find this diver set one of the last "fun" sets that Hasbro released during the collector era.  And, as the quality is top notch, this Wet Suit is a no-brainer acquisition for me.

Rarities - Unproduced 1998 "Chocolate Chip" Dial Tone

In 1998, Hasbro planned to release a repainted 1983 G.I. Joe Headquarters.  It would be in a desert color scheme and would have been the flagship item in the 1998 Toys R Us exclusive line.  The HQ was slated to include 5 figures: Outback, Dusty, Law, Pathfinder and Dial Tone.  Hasbro, though, was unable to procure the HQ mold.  And, the showcase item for 1998 could not happen.  It seems, though, that Hasbro tried to resurrect at least three of the figures from this set in Dial Tone, Outback and Pathfinder.  They may have been for a planned 5th 3 pack of figures.  If this were the case, it is possible that the case logistics for 1998 would have been too skewed.  (The three packs shipped in 6 set cases with 2 each of the Oktober Guard and G.I. Joe Divers and one each of the Cobra Infantry and Cobra Polar Assault.)  Whatever, the reason, the figures were cancelled and a very few samples of the unproduced items made their way into the collecting world.

Of the three figures in the set, Dial Tone remains the rarest.  But, since you can count the number of each figure on your hands, rarity is relative.  But, you can see the intricacy of the Dial Tone design in the photos below.  Dial Tone is full of intricate paint masks, even if the colors are somewhat obscured by the camo pattern. (I'd have preferred some of the straps and pads on the figure to be black so they better stood out against the pale tan of the figure's base.)  The camo pattern is unlike anything we'd seen up to that point.  If you compare these figures to the 1993 Duke (a recent desert figure) you can see the upgrade in paint technology that Hasbro employed on these figures.

The Dial Tone would have included a black version of his gun and a black version of Firefly's walkie talkie.  In some ways, this makes sense.  Dial Tone should have his gun.  But, when the figure finally showed up in 2000, Dial Tone's original rifle was gone and replaced by a 1991 Dusty weapon.  His packmate, General Tomahawk, though, included a silver version of the Dial Tone rifle.  It was a shame the figure didn't include the signature backpack.  But, none of the future releases included it, either.  So, it's possible the mold was lost or damaged.

Collectors really missed out by these figures not being released.  Aside from the fact that Outback never returned to retail, the entire set featured a look that would never appear again in the Joe line.  (The 2004 Desert Patrol had some similar figures and the Stalker would have been a great companion to this set.)  While Hasbro did release all of the characters except for Outback in the 2000's (and, the mold was sort of used on the awful Big Brawler character) none of them were in a paint scheme as intricate or unique as these unproduced "Chocolate Chip" versions.  While I love all the 1998 3 figure pack figures, I'd gladly trade either the Oktober Guard or Joe Divers for these three figures.  And, I think collectors would have, too.  The two retail packs lingered at Toys R Us stores well into 2001.  It's hard to imagine that this unproduced pack would have suffered the same fate.  But, we'll never know.

If you can find a version of this Dial Tone, you'll probably drop a couple of grand on him.  The figure is incredibly rare and has always been pricey.  A complete three figure set would set you back $5,000 in 2007.  I can only imagine what such a set would command today.  This figure is far, far rarer than the Pimp Daddy Destro.  He's so rare that his unavailability works against him.  No one knows he exists because there are so few of them out there. It's a cool figure because there is nothing else really like him in the history of the line.  So, he stands apart from many other post vintage unproduced repaints for that reason alone.  Of all the figures we didn't get in the repaint era, this version of Dial Tone and his packmates are the ones I lament the most.

1998 Thunderwing - Around the Web

The 1998 Thunderwing is a fairly obscure release.  He was unpopular in his time and was even more unpopular when he was repackaged for release in 2000.  But, the figure is very well done.  The odd hue of green is unique among Joe figures and helps him stand apart from other, early molds.  Plus, the paint details are convention level.  He's turned into one of my personal highlights from the post vintage eras of Joe.  Here's the best of him from around the web.

Thunderwing Profile

Thunderwing Dio 1

Thunderwing at Half the Battle

Thunderwing Dio 2

Thunderwing and MOBAT Video Review

Thunderwing Dio 3

Thunderwing on Instagram 01

Thunderwing by Roboid

Diorama - Arctic Cobras

Firefly leads some Cobra in the snow.

1998 Snow Serpent

The last 4 months of 1998 were some of the best in my life.  Basically, everything that people consider to be major achievements in life other than having a child happened to me in those 4 months.  As such, I hold even minor events of that period in high esteem if only because they were made that much sweeter by the big things that happened, too.  Toys were just part of the overall ensemble of awesomeness that defined that period.

Star Wars toys were very frustrating.  The carded line had stagnated in May and several waves of figures simply never saw retail.  However, due to professional growth, I had the income to acquire these toys through the various retail avenues that were available.  Paying a buck or two more per figure wasn't a huge price to own something that I simply couldn't find.  But, with Star Wars malaise setting in, my attention was turned to Joe.  I had discovered Ebay and my G.I. Joe collection was growing every week.  In turn, Hasbro released a new series of Joes that started hitting retail in early December of 1998.  This series was higher quality than the 1997 releases and featured a collector friendly lineup of the Oktober Guard, an army building three pack of Viper repaints and a set of arctic Cobras with two army builders and the hugely popular Firefly figure.  It is from this pack that I take the subject of this profile, the 1998 Snow Serpent.

To tell a story of how different the times were in 1998, when I found the first cases of new Joes, it was this arctic pack that had sold out, not the 3 pack of Viper repaints.  Getting a new Firefly for the first time in 14 years was a greater draw than three of the best army builder repaints that were ever released.  It seems quaint now.  But, the arctic 3 pack was, initially, the fastest seller.  (1998 was still a time when a collector who happened upon a freshly stocked case might only be able to buy one or two of the new toys rather than them all.)  This quickly changed, though, and in the weeks before Christmas, all of the Joe packs became plentiful and were readily available.  And, I set out to build an arctic army.

The 1985 Snow Serpent is classic.  It is about the perfect arctic trooper.  However, the figure is wearing bulky, heavy clothes and carries massive amounts of gear.  If you were going to lay siege to Chicago in January, you'd want an army of 1985 Snow Serpents.  This, though, didn't fit my vision of Cobra.  To me, Cobra was a swift strike outfit.  They wanted to hit you and get out.  As such, a more mobile and nimble force made sense.  Enter the 1991 Snow Serpent.  This figure retained much of the idea and practicality of the 1985 figure, but make him sleeker.  It gave him a snowboard that would be much more conducive to swift arctic combat rather than long, drawn out campaigns.  The mold of the new Snow Serpent was also excellent.  He still had tons and tons of gear.  But, he looked more dynamic than his predecessor.  In short, this new Snow Serpent was a perfect upgrade that kept the integrity of the character without impugning the original version.  It's a tight line to walk, but Hasbro pulled it off with the Snow Serpent.

The 1998 figure took this mold and colored it in a scheme that's very complimentary of the 1985 figure.  Included with him were all of the 1991 accessories.  The guns were still in white but the snowboard was cast in a bluish grey that better matched the figure than the gnarly early 1990's purple.  The pack was now black, too.  Against the white figure, the black pack is a bit of a contrast.  But, it's also more realistic than earlier versions.  In short, the accessories were as good as or better than the 1991 figure's.

Using the 1991 gear also allows the figure a great deal of spectacular design.  The Hasbro designers were still on top of their game in 1991 and the Snow Serpent showcases that.  The guns are wrapped in cloth to keep them warm.  The figure's sleek head has a molded tie on the back that extends down to the figure's torso.  The fur vest and ear warmers are excellently detailed and showcase the character's need for warmth.  The pack is full of details and includes both a hose to connect to the guns and a slot to hold the snowboard.  It's a great accompaniment of gear that enhances the figure into the realm of the 1985 version for the best rendition of the character.

By the first weeks of January in 1999, I had bought a few of these sets.  I was not enamored with the Night Creeper (though I now see it for the awesome figure it is!) and my plans to army build Firefly figures were somewhat curtailed after I had a couple and I found the practicality of him as an army builder was far less fun than the idea of stockpiling him.  So, the sets faded from retail.  In July of 1999, though, Hasbro shipped another allotment of the 1998 Joes to Toys R Us stores in the lull of Episode I figures.  I think I bought 1 set at this time, but kept it carded.  Again, the figures sold out.  But, at Christmas of 1999, Hasbro shipped the third run of these figures and gave me a chance to pick up a few more.  I got one or two extras, but also kept them carded with plans to open them later.

However, I never got around to opening them.  They sat in a box.  As 2000 turned to 2001, though, I saw the prices on sealed Arctic Team and Viper Team sets climbing.  Rather than open them for more army builders, I discovered that the carded sets were extremely attractive trade bait with European and Brazilian G.I. Joe collectors.  In the latter half of 2001 and through 2002, I traded off all of my carded Polar Assault Teams and most of my carded Infantry Teams in exchange for European and Brazilian exclusive figures.  My Abutre Negro carded figure was acquired, along with Gatilho and Letal, for a package of one of these Arctic sets and 2 Cobra Infantry sets.  At the time, I wasn't sure that I came out all that well.  Taken in context of 2017, though, that deal turned out fabulously for me.  But, at the time, the Toys R Us figures were very expensive and few collectors had extras to send overseas.  Simultaneously, especially in Brazil, the foreign Joes were very available and hadn't attracted the collector eye that has raised prices on them in the past 15 years.

I've really only gotten to use this figure in the snow one or two times.  My favorite was the Saturday it snowed and I was able to get a full cadre of Cobras out into the weather.  But, the showcase of that photo shoot was the army of 1993 Snow Serpents and these 1998 versions were mostly filler.  After that, these figures never really got another chance to see snow and that has greatly limited their visibility among my Cobra army builder figures.  Even below, you will see one of the figures standing near a baby palm tree.  The visual just isn't right.  But, that doesn't keep me from enjoying the figure's design.  I only have a few of them, though, and their lack of numbers is largely a function of the fact that I have basically no occasion to use them.

This mold was used three times.  There is not a bad figure in the bunch.  Arctic figures are tough to design without staying true to a base of white color.  Unless you make that base arctic ice blue.  And, that's what Hasbro did in 1993 with the mail away Snow Serpent.  The blue is a nice separation from the 1991 while still staying true to the figure's purpose.  It is an excellent repaint and might even be better than the '91.  The Snow Serpent was also planned for release in 1995.  There are hand painted samples of the figure out there.  It's similar to the 1993 version, but with more color.  It, likely, would be the worst use of the mold and collectors really didn't lose out on it being cancelled.  This 1998 repaint, to me, is the best release of the figure.  You get a solid base without too much superfluous colors along with the full range of original accessories.  (Minus the spring loaded launcher.)  It's just about the perfect winter army builder.

Oddly, Hasbro did not pull the mold out again after 1998.  They found the 1985 mold for the Flaming Moth set in 2005.  You can't really knock that choice since it hadn't been seen on an arctic figure in two decades.  Hasbro really didn't have any slots into which this mold would have fit after 1998.  The only winter figures were Joes.  (Though, knowing Hasbro had the Wolf available is a bummer as a release of that with an Ice Viper and a repainted Snow Serpent would have been awesome.)  As all three versions of this figure are excellent, though, I don't think collectors missed out.  This is really a case where Hasbro delivered on the potential of the mold and you don't have great lament over what could have been.

In the early 2000's, at the height of the army building craze, carded Cobra Polar Assaults would fetch nearly $50.  Individually, the figures would sell for close to $20 if they were complete with filecards.  Loose figures, though, were very hard to find.  But, time evened that out.  By the early 2010's, 1998 Snow Serpents were easier to find and a lot cheaper.  Now, prices have stabilized.  Dealers will offer the figures in the $17 - $20 range with little success.  You can find loose, mint and complete with filecard figures for around $11 with regularity.  It might take you a year to build an army of 25 to 30 figures, but they are out there.  That price isn't bad, especially when you consider that the production numbers on these figures were likely lower than those of the 1991 Snow Serpent which sells for around the same price.  It's tough for me to wrap my brain around spending more for this figure now than I spent to buy sets at retail.  But, that was also almost twenty years ago.  So, I have to call myself out for being cheap.

None of that takes away from the sheer quality of this figure, though.  He remains one of my favorite cold weather figures and is always a welcome addition to my collection.  Were I to cull my winter forces to just one mold, this would be the choice.  The solid paint scheme, excellent quality, plethora of accessories and general solid design all add up to the pinnacle of snow themed Cobras.

Diorama - Colton in the Woods

Back in the spring of 2002, I took these photos out in my yard.  That was 4 houses and two states ago.  But, here's another look back at a different time in the Joe world.

1998 Vypra - Around the Web

For a character that's gained a bit of popularity, I was surprised at how little material there is out there on Vypra.  Here's what I found:

Rarities - 1998 "Chocolate Chip" Unproduced Figures (Pathfinder, Outback & Dial Tone)

In 1998, Hasbro planned to release a desert repaint of the 1983 G.I. Joe HQ.  This would have been the flagship toy of the 1998 Joe line and was planned to include an amazing 5 figures: Outback, Dusty, Pathfinder, Law and Dial Tone.

Hasbro, though, discovered that the HQ mold was gone or unusable very early in the process.  And, as such, the HQ was cancelled.  Three figures that were rumored in the set, though, did turn up in very small quantities from Hasbro sources.  Pathfinder, Dial Tone and Outback are all available as full production figures in the 1998 color scheme.  It is possible that they were saved from the HQ and planned for a 5th three pack in 1998.  But, that did not come to be.

Below, you can see the figures planned.  They feature intricate paint masks that were the hallmark of the 1998 releases.  There are several points of note:

1. Dial Tone includes the gear that later turned up in his 2000 release.
2. Outback has the same gear that later appeared on the 2001 Big Brawler figure
3. Pathfinder's full gear did show up in 2004 in the same colors and the figure first reappeared in 2001.
4. Outback featured white/grey hair reminiscent of the European exclusive Tiger Force Outback rather than his traditional orange flock.

Why these figures were cancelled and the paint masks never used makes no sense.  Hasbro never did release an Outback figure in the repaint era and he remained one of the most requested figures until his mold was shipped to India in 2003.  While both Pathfinder and Dial Tone were released multiple times in the 2000's, none of those figures featured the wealth of paint applications and details that you see in these figures below.  Hasbro incurred the expense of developing these intricate paint masks.  And, as those are, usually, one of the priciest parts of the figure creation process, Hasbro letting them die without a full production use seems very odd.  Not even Master Collector resurrected the paint masks and they ignored the Outback character in the repaint era as well.

These three figures are likely the rarest G.I. Joe figures in the world.  They have been confirmed to exist in quantities between 4 and 12 each.  Dial Tone appears to be rarer than the other two, but this just may be due to the secretive nature of these figures.  Usually, the figures price out at over $2,000 each.  The limited supply and fact that they originated with Hasbro sources rather than Asian resellers will keep them at the top of the rarity ranking for some time.  

These figures are very busy, but also very detailed.  Had they been released, they would have been the standard bearers for all future desert themed figures.  This is definitely a case of collector regret.  I'd have gladly traded both the 1998 Oktober Guard or Navy Seal 3 pack to get this desert set at retail.  Neither of those have the cachet you see demonstrated on these figures.  Due to the rarity and expense it takes to get these figures, it's likely that photos like these are the only way collectors will ever get to see what they missed in 1998.  That's really too bad as these figures are definitely something that collectors would have enjoyed had they seen release.

1998 Torpedo

For vintage Joe collectors, there are two eras that define collecting: the vintage era from 1982 - 1994 and the repaint era that stretched from 1997 through 2006.  (The Post 2006 convention releases are included in the repaint era, but they were so small that they are afterthoughts rather than part of a full release.)  While both have their highs and lows, you'd be hard pressed to find any collector who would rank the repaints over the originals: in general.  Specifically, though, the late 1990's and early 2000's did see Hasbro revisit some molds who had suffered from lousy color choices in the vintage run.  While Hasbro didn't do this often enough, they did start right from the beginning in 1997 by choosing a later Alley Viper and Destro mold.  In 1998, Hasbro outdid themselves.  While the overall 1998 line was smaller, each figure was well done with solid accessories and exceptional paint masks.  While collectors have long focused on the Cobras and Oktober Guard from this year, it is from the underappreciated Navy Seal pack that find the focus of this profile: the 1998 Torpedo figure.

In 1992, Hasbro brought back the Wet Suit character.  He featured a sleek, militaristic appearance that was in line with the figure styling of the time.  It was a solid mold that was accentuated by the black base used for the figure.  Unfortunately, Hasbro chose to accent that black with bright orange.  While the figure is striking, it is also a bit gaudy.  As bright colors were a thing in the early 1990's, though, Hasbro followed up on the orange 1992 figure with a bright yellow repaint in 1993.  Neither are bad figures.  But, they are a product of their time.  The true value of the figure, though, was that it introduced a removable helmet that showcased a solid head underneath.  While Wet Suit has a mullet, you have to remember that he was likely sculpted in 1990 or 1991 and that you can only tell when you look at the figure from behind.  Finally, a classic character had a face that was not obscured by a helmet.

To this point, though, this profile is about Wet Suit.  But, the character profile is Torpedo.  The reason for that is one of the great introductions of the 1998 line was molds being renamed.  Thunderwing is the most obvious example.  But, this figure mold originally used for Wet Suit became Torpedo.  In 1997, the original Torpedo was released with a repainted Cobra Night Landing.  For the 1998 Navy Seal set, Hasbro wanted the big three divers in the vintage line.  Shipwreck was released as a repaint of his under-rated 1994 mold.  Wet Suit, deservedly, was released with his original mold.  This left Torpedo.  As 1997's were still on the shelf when this wave was rolling out, using the same mold as the prior year made little sense.  So, Hasbro commandeered the 1992 Wet Suit and renamed him Torpedo for this set.

While the 1997 figures have a lesser reputation among collectors for their quality, the 1998 line does not.  It seems Hasbro learned a bit and produced a higher quality product without having to raise their prices.  The highlight of the 1998 figures, though, is the intricacy of the paint masks.  If you look at the original releases of the molds that Hasbro dusted off in 1998, most of them had fairly basic paint applications.  The original uses of this body mold featured just one paint application on the body and are among the most basic figures you can find in the line.  Hasbro created at least one additional mask for the Street Fighter line.  But, that was still a fairly simple overall design.  For this 1998 version, though, Hasbro pulled out all the stops.  Not only did they paint up the details, but they also painted details within the details.  The figure's black base is accentuated with aqua blue, grey, silver and a dark bluish/grey color.  The result is a figure that showcases everything that's great about the mold.  And, while the aqua blue is a somewhat audacious color, it's limited use helps to highlight the figure without overpower the overall ensemble.

When I first learned about the 1998 Joes, it was this Navy Seal pack that most interested me.  I loved the 1994 Shipwreck figure and even bought two of them in the mid 1990's as Joe was fading from retail.  As these sets came out, I bought some extras for army building.  I liked the base figures and accessories and molds were enough to get me to come back.  In total, I think I bought three sets that I opened and a 4th that I kept carded.  While this number was still lower than the overall number of Cobra sets I bought from that year, it was substantially more than the Oktober Guard.  I quickly realized, though, that I was likely the only collector who liked this set.  And, even I had to admit that the Mission to Brazil Wet Suit and the 1994 Shipwreck were better figures than the repaints of those molds released in this set.  The same could not be said of this Torpedo figure.  Somewhere, I have photos of this figure in the pool from my first house that I took in the summer of 2000.  It was this Torpedo who got taken out and used.  While I liked the idea of the other two figures, the actuality was that there were better versions readily available to me.  So, to me, this figure is always Torpedo and remains the highlight of the Navy Seal set...even though I like the other two molds more.

This mold had a fairly decent life.  It had the yellow and orange releases of the Wet Suit in 1992 and 1993.  In 1995 or so, the body was used for the Navy Seal Guile figure in the Street Fighter movie line of toys.  This Torpedo appeared in 1998.  In 2004, the figure's head was used on the high quality VAMP Chief Torpedo figure.  After that, the mold disappeared.  The black highlight variant of the Navy Seal Guile and this 1998 Torpedo are probably the best uses of the overall body mold.  While it might have been nice to see something a little different in terms of base colors, you can't say the mold was under-utilized.  And, this Torpedo figure was about the best way possible for the mold to fade into obscurity.

In late 2000, G.I. Joe's popularity amped up drastically.  Collectors discovered the newly released A Real American Hero Collection and started returning to vintage collecting in droves.  While both the 1997 and 1998 Toys R Us sets had been well received, they also hung around retail for quite a while.  As the new blood of 2000 and 2001 rushed in, though, these sets began to disappear and rise in price.  The Navy Seal set, though, was not part of this.  While the 1998 Cobras had long disappeared from retail and were fetching $50+ on the secondary market in 2001, Navy Seal packs still hung from Toys R Us shelves around the nation.  The set was stuck due to it being packed 2 per case (the Cobras were 1 per case) and it being divers with an aqua blue highlight package.  In short, the figures were duds.

18 years later, not much has changed.  While collectors do appreciate these figures a bit more, they are still not overly popular.  Mint and complete with filecard sets of the Seals can be had for $15.  Finding the individuals sold separately is a bit harder.  Dealers will sell this figure mint and complete for $10-$12, but you find no takers at that price.  If you can find out on his own, he shouldn't cost more than $4 or $5.  But, it's much easier to find all three figures together.  For the price, the figure is worth owning.  He's a solid update to the mold: whether you want to call him Torpedo or Wet Suit.  He's cheap to pick up.  And, you're not going to see another repaint of him ever again.  So, Torpedo has a lot going for him, even if he's not the type of figure you would otherwise seek out.

1998 Lt. Gorky

The 1998 Oktober Guard 3 figure pack was not well received by collectors of the time. As a Toys R Us exclusive, the set lingered on the shelves for years. While collectors had long clamored for the Oktober Guard to be released in the Joe line, the actual execution of the figures left much to be desired. It was not that the three molds in the pack were bad. They just were neither the characters nor the renditions that collectors really wanted to see. The dream was to see Daina, Horrorshow and a Brekhov that wasn't just a Red Star repaint. The reality was Volga, Lt. Gorky and the Red Star repaint we had hoped to avoid. That, coupled with the fact that the Cobra Infantry Team and the Cobra Polar Assault were excellent figure packs, caused the Oktober Guard set to be judged relatively unfairly at the time of its release. In retrospect, the set certainly has highlights and this Lt. Gorky is one of them.

To say this figure is tremendous is an understatement. Unfortunately, much of Hasbro's greatest work in the repaint era went into figures and characters that are not collector favorites. The upside, though, is that gems like Gorky can be discovered and re-appreciated later. The figure uses a light grey base to provide the primary color. There are few figures in the entire line who use this color, so it is very distinctive. If you look closely, though, there are additional hues of darker grey that are used to accentuate the details on the mold. Gorky's straps and boots use these colors to bring depth. Then, the figure rounds out the ensemble with flashes of black, silver and red to showcase the intricacies of the mold. Gorky even features a pasty skin tone that both coincides with his red hair, but also the fact that he is likely stationed in a place that is cold and doesn't get much sun.

When I first acquired this figure in December of 1998, my first notion was to make him a Russian army builder. The excellent gear and general obscurity of the character were a good fit for a non-descript character who could die off rather easily. However, I simply never got around to buying more Oktober Guard packs at retail. Usually, I would talk myself out of them, or buy up another Diver, Infantry or Polar pack instead. Before too long, I focused my army building efforts on the 1992 Big Bear figure since I often acquired him in lots of '91 and '92 figures that were my main source of purchases at the time. So, Gorky became a de facto officer for the "greenshirts" that were the Big Bear figures. This idea, though, died off quickly. Between Joe army builders, Cobra army builders and Iron Grenadiers, I had enough to chase down without trying to create another faction, especially when you considered that, at the time, the main Oktober Guard characters were non-existent.

That lead the figure to a life of obscurity. So much so, that this figure is, basically, buried in the bottom of a plastic tub out in the garage. But, the fact that the 1998 figures are a small subset and that this figure is very well done, have helped this figure find some life. From time to time, as I change out the figures who are displayed in a case, this figure will get selected for a short time in the spotlight. Usually, I tire of him rather quickly. But, the colors are distinct enough that the figure also provides a nice contrast in many of the photos I use for the site. It was in this capacity that I found the figure and determined him to be a good profile candidate. You will see him lurking in the background of a few other profiles. This gives him exposure over many other figures in my collection and is, likely, a good fate for the figure.

Gorky uses the entire body of the 1992 Big Bear figure. The huge color difference between the green 1992 Big Bear, the dark brown 1993 mail away Big Bear and the greys of this Gorky, though, allow for him to be used as a different figure. (Though, Big Bear is obscure enough that you could use this figure as a replacement for that characters as well and no one would really recognize the difference.) The mold was never re-used after this figure appeared. (Though a complete redesign of the character was released in 2006.) It's unfortunate as the figure's arms, legs and chest could be used for a host of amalgamated figures (His head and waist have a Russian star on them and would be harder to use, though details like that didn't seem to phase Hasbro during the 2000's.) and would have been a slight respite from the Big Ben/Red Star parts that were so popular. But, collectors are left with three distinct, and all strong colorings of this mold and that is more than can be said for many other releases from this time period.

One of the great strengths of the 1997 and 1998 repaint sets was the accessories. Most of the figures released during this time either included most of all of their original gear, or accessories that were good enough replacements that the missing originals was forgivable. Gorky is no exception. While his gear is not overly abundant, it is relevant to the figure. Included with the character are a well sculpted rifle with strap. The gun is small, compact and greatly detailed. The figure also included a backpack that was sized just about right and was detailed enough to give the impression that Gorky could be out in the field for a great deal of time. The pack was later used to death by Hasbro during the 2000's and even the rifle made a few appearances outside of this mold. That was somewhat nice since it allowed those collecting at the time to acquire some decent, extraneous accessories. But, the pack and, especially, the rifle always seemed very tied to the Big Bear/Gorky mold to me. So, despite having some extras, I've found I don't use them since they look out of place with any mold other than this one.

Lt. Gorky figures are not that popular. The Oktober Guard 3 pack was a remarkable pegwarmer that was available at retail well into 2001. On top of that, Gorky is a later edition to the Oktober Guard pantheon and is not considered, by many collectors, to be an integral part of the team. So, the result is that Gorky figures remain cheap. $4 to $6 is all a mint, complete with filecard version will run you. The issue is finding one. The figure is obscure and, as such, can take a little while to find. But, no one really cares about him since many collectors got one at retail in the '90's and haven't thought about the figure since. Considering the quality of the figure, this is a paltry price to pay. Even with Gorky being a lesser character, there is no reason to not have him among the Oktober Guard displays since his coloring, mold and accessories certainly fit right in. Time has allowed me to more greatly appreciate figures like Gorky, even if I overlooked him at the time of his release. Given a chance, I think many collectors would feel the same.

Lt. Gorky on the Web:

Lt. Gorky at Joeaday.com
Lt. Gorky at YoJoe.com

1998 Volga - Oktober Guard

In 1997, Hasbro decided to bring back a small run of collector targeted G.I. Joe figures to celebrate the line's 15th anniversary. After selling the concept to Toys R Us, Hasbro realized that many of the people who had worked on the vintage Joe line were gone. So, they turned to some collectors in order to help them choose the characters, design the paint schemes and even update the filecards. The 1997 Joe line was a modest hit for Toys R Us, even though collectors were not overly enamored with the figure quality, mold choices and many paint schemes. But, the sales numbers were enough to warrant another set of figures in 1998. The 1998 figures followed the same template with collector input, but the second year offerings were more generally accepted by collectors due to the inclusion of some well designed army builders and a long missing element from the vintage Joe line: the Oktober Guard.

Was Volga meant to be Daina? Possibly. Based on the custom figure that was submitted by collector Thomas Wheeler, it was intended for Volga to be Daina. But, for reasons unknown, Hasbro changed her with a new head, new hair color and hew name. This is probably for the best as Volga's head would have been a poor representation of the Daina character. This also allowed Hasbro to make the very well done Daina in 2005 and not have it be too much of a retread. But, if I can only use one female Oktober Guard figure based on Lady Jaye, it's going to be Daina and not Volga.

Volga uses the standard Lady Jaye body, but has a newly sculpted head. This was the first head Hasbro sculpted since 1994 and the lack of experience shows. The head has...issues with an overly large nose and imperfect proportions to the rest of the body. Plus, there was no reason to sculpt a hat onto the figure as it made Volga too similar to Lady Jaye. But, there remains a charm to the figure where it is so bad that it has some cachet. The pasty skin tone and red hair really gives Volga a look that is distinctive. It's not a great look, but it can be used as part of her character.

From a paint application standpoint, though, Volga is nothing short of excellent. Her uniform is fully decked out in an array of fall cammo colors with green, brown, grey and cream all offset by the dazzling silver of her zippers, buckles and belt. It is a paint job on par or better than those seen on convention figures. But, in some ways, this makes the head more troublesome as this is a great figure until you get above the neck. The colors are distinctive, the paint applications are crisp and the overall colors blend near perfectly together to create an aesthetically pleasing figure. She fits with the other Oktober Guard of her time

Volga included the full assortment of Lady Jaye accessories. Done in all black, the spear gun, pack and camera had all been released the year before with Lady Jaye. As such, it made Volga appear even more like a last minute knock off. Had Hasbro attempted at least some different accessories, Volga might have been more interesting and garnered more collector attention. But, with the same gear as the Lady Jaye figure that was still pegwarming at the time of her release and the sculpted hat, Volga was just too similar to Lady Jaye to really take off in the collecting world.

The Oktober Guard set was an incredible pegwarmer. For some reason, Hasbro packed 2 Oktober Guard and Diver sets per case with only one Cobra Polar Assault and Cobra Infantry Team. With three separate production runs (late 1998, summer 1999 and winter 1999), the overpacked sets lingered at retail well into 2001 in many markets. As such, collectors generally were able to acquire all the Volgas they wanted. For many years, the 1997 Lady Jaye figure hovered at a $15 price tag while Volga would sell for 1/2 that. Today, the Lady Jaye figure has fallen while Volga has remained about the same. While she tends to be cheap to acquire, though, the figure has gotten somewhat hard to find. Not too many collectors stockpiled extra Oktober Guard sets since they were so common at retail. So, Volgas aren't as easy to find as they once were. But, for the price, she's a worthwhile pickup.