1992 Barbecue Profile
Showing posts with label Barbecue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barbecue. Show all posts
Saturday, July 12, 2025
1992 Eco Warriors Barbecue - Around The Web
While I really enjoy this Eco Warriors Barbecue figure, I've never been able to really capture his essence in a photograph. You won't find that issue in many of the photos below, though. Others are quite good at showing off this figure. So, scroll through the links and leave a comment for the creators who are able to make this figure really work.
1992 Barbecue Profile
1992 Barbecue Profile
Saturday, December 11, 2021
Funskool Barbecue - Around The Web
The Funskool BBQ is one of Funskool's better repaints. The brighter colors work on the character and the Funskool color palette is very eye pleasing. Of course, there's little on the figure out there since he's become a forgotten member of the early 2000's Funskool imports. But, there's enough to realize that this figure is a solid release and can find a home in any collection.
Funskool BBQ by DragonFortress
Funskool BBQ by MrMikeVinthePit
Russian Funskool BBQ By DragonFortress
Funskool BBQ At Nekoman's Viper Pit
Saturday, July 4, 2020
The Zeros - Mark V
Once again, for your 4th of July boredom, I present the Zeros. These are the least popular posts of the past year. I see a bit of a theme this year. And, seeing what's really popular kind of reinforces my theory. Obscure releases and foreign figures seem to be waning a bit in popularity. While simultaneously, stuff that's relatively common seems to get big traffic. I suspect it's a function of the influx of new collectors who are drastically overpaying for the common stuff they remember from childhood. They like stuff they're familiar with, but aren't yet going into the depths that Joe collecting offers. We'll see how that trend holds up through the the rest of the year.
Without further ado, here are the least popular posts from the past 12 months:
Everyone loves Blowtorch. Estrela figures from Brazil tend to be very popular. Put them together and you get a dud of a profile that no one cared about. I think this figure is cool. But, he's also pretty much indistinguishable from the US release.
A somewhat obscure and hard to find army builder who's repainted in a classic way? Check. A profile ignored? Check. Not sure why no one liked this write up. But, it's overall engagement was very low. Generally, classic Cobra army builders do well, regardless of the color scheme. But, this high quality figure flew under the radar.
As unproduced figs go, this one is pretty lame. The yellow gloves make no sense. And, the 2004 figure of Steeler is generally unloved, too. So, I get this guy's low numbers.
Neon 1990's figures have finally found their popularity in recent years. The releases from this time have gotten harder to find, substantially more expensive and appear far more frequently in fan created content. Despite that, this Eco Warriors BBQ figure was ignored. Few people stopped by to read about him. I guess not all brightly colored 1990's figs can be popular at the same time.
Dreadnoks tend to be popular. And, Buzzer is probably the best done of the crew. But, this Funskool repaint didn't garner any attention at all. In some ways, early Dreadnoks have become passe. And, common Funskool figures don't get much love these days. So, this profile amounted to a big dud.
Looking ahead to the rest of 2020, I have a lot more in store.
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
1992 Eco Warriors Barbecue
One of the earliest figures I looked at on this site was the 1993 Payload figure. That release was one of my first collecting purchases in the mid 1990's and held a special place in my collection at the time. The mold was good. The colors were strong. And, the figure just, generally, felt in tune with the figures from the '80's that had been part of my childhood. As figure resources came online in the subsequent years, I learned that the 1993 Payload was actually a repaint of a 1992 release. The original use of the mold was an update of a character I had loved as a kid. He featured colors that worked for his specialty and also worked very well with the new sculpting. On top of all that, he was a Eco Warrior: a subset I really enjoyed. Despite all that, it's taken more than 20 years for the 1992 Eco Warriors Barbecue figure to show up as a profile subject.
As a kid, Barbecue filled a very specific purpose. While the Joe team, generally, needed a firefighter around, I found the figure's best use was a required crew member on the Whale. While Cutter and Shipwreck would, usually, man the cockpit, Barbecue would be seated behind them. Here, he was would await a call when he might have to put out a fire that threatened the missile launchers, main controls, bridge or depth charges. Barbecue's heroics saved the Whale more than a few times. Though, there were situations where other firefighters (in more on off stories) would die after failing to control the fires that broke out. Or, the firefighter would be killed by a skilled Moray gunner and then the Whale would explode after a fire got to the depth charges.
Paint wise, this Barbecue is pretty basic. The body is red, yellow and black. That's it. For a vintage figure, that's pretty basic. Not even the pistol molded onto his right leg is painted black. It's the same yellow as his holster. In some ways, Barbecue seems like a figure where Hasbro cut some costs. The basic three colors, though, really work. There's enough color that Barbecue doesn't feel skimpy. (Especially when compared to the 3 color figures that would debut in the 2000's.) The less is more approach works for Barbecue. The bright colors work, too. Red and yellow are a natural fit for a firefighter. And, while the 1985 release was a bit more muted, he was also bright for the time.
Barbecue's accessories are not great. He carries over the squirting water gimmick from the 1991 Eco Warriors series. This time, though, the pack is red and yellow with an bright yellow launcher. For a firefighter, this gear can actually work and I find it more acceptable for Barbecue than I do any other figure which whom it is also included. But, there's a cool little hack for giving this figure better gear. The once ubiquitous Funskool Barbecue figure includes classic 1985 gear but in colors that exactly match this 1992 Eco Warrior figure. So, you can slap a spare set of the famous firefighting gear on this 1992 figure for a much improved look. In the days when Funskool Barbecues were $4, this was easier to do. But, carded Funskool Barbecues remain available in the $20 range today and this additional use of the gear helps to justify that price. I posted my first photo of this figure wearing the Funskool gear back in May of 2002. 17 years later, it's still my preferred way to use the 1992 Barbecue figure.
It was rare for G.I. Joe figures to feature accessories on the card artwork that didn't make their way into the actual figure release. Mainframe's computer stand is probably the most famous. Barbecue, though, is shown on his card artwork using a zip line. I'm not aware of any real evidence that suggests that Barbecue was originally intended to include the rope and a zip handle. But, he is the only Eco Warrior Joe who does not include any gear other than the water squirting pack. (Toxo Zombie also got the shaft in 1992 and only included the water cannon with no other gear.) I'm not sure of any reason why Barbecue would have gotten the rope. But, I was a sucker for ropes as a kid and would have liked this figure to include a zip line accessory set just because I'd have found it fun.
Eco Warriors have a fun/irritating gimmick. They change color when differently temperatured water is sprayed on them. The color change was meant to denote "battle damage". For a young kid in 1992, this was probably a neat feature that was used once or twice. For a collector in current times, it's a blight upon the figure's veneer. Most of the color change spots have now permanently changed color. So, most Barbecue figures now feature dark spots all over the figure's torso. It takes away from the figure's appearance. So, finding a unblemished figure is worth the extra time (and, sometimes, extra expense) it takes to acquire one.
As Joe prices rose at unsustainable rates in 2018 and 2019, this Barbecue got caught up in the hype. The 1992 Eco Warriors do not exist in the same numbers as standard 1992 carded figures. But, even with the lower production run, they aren't as difficult to find as they sometimes appear. After flirting with $30+ prices for a bit, this Barbecue is now more affordable. We're starting to see Joe prices soften on many of the less popular, non army building figures of the 1990's. And, Barbecue is an example. While dealers will still sell a few figures for $25, you can get mint and complete with filecard versions for $15 or so without too much trouble. That's probably a fair price for the figure. Though, I would expect that to fall as Joe's popularity begins to sag. If you sacrifice the filecard or the water cannon, the price falls further.
I find the price worth it for a figure of this Barbecue's quality. But, the bright colors and late design year are off-putting to many old school collectors, too. If I could only have one representation of the Barbecue character in my collection, I'd take the 1985 version and let this mold be Payload. But, the overall quality of the sculpting means that some coloring of this figure mold belongs in every collection.
As a kid, Barbecue filled a very specific purpose. While the Joe team, generally, needed a firefighter around, I found the figure's best use was a required crew member on the Whale. While Cutter and Shipwreck would, usually, man the cockpit, Barbecue would be seated behind them. Here, he was would await a call when he might have to put out a fire that threatened the missile launchers, main controls, bridge or depth charges. Barbecue's heroics saved the Whale more than a few times. Though, there were situations where other firefighters (in more on off stories) would die after failing to control the fires that broke out. Or, the firefighter would be killed by a skilled Moray gunner and then the Whale would explode after a fire got to the depth charges.
Paint wise, this Barbecue is pretty basic. The body is red, yellow and black. That's it. For a vintage figure, that's pretty basic. Not even the pistol molded onto his right leg is painted black. It's the same yellow as his holster. In some ways, Barbecue seems like a figure where Hasbro cut some costs. The basic three colors, though, really work. There's enough color that Barbecue doesn't feel skimpy. (Especially when compared to the 3 color figures that would debut in the 2000's.) The less is more approach works for Barbecue. The bright colors work, too. Red and yellow are a natural fit for a firefighter. And, while the 1985 release was a bit more muted, he was also bright for the time.
Barbecue's accessories are not great. He carries over the squirting water gimmick from the 1991 Eco Warriors series. This time, though, the pack is red and yellow with an bright yellow launcher. For a firefighter, this gear can actually work and I find it more acceptable for Barbecue than I do any other figure which whom it is also included. But, there's a cool little hack for giving this figure better gear. The once ubiquitous Funskool Barbecue figure includes classic 1985 gear but in colors that exactly match this 1992 Eco Warrior figure. So, you can slap a spare set of the famous firefighting gear on this 1992 figure for a much improved look. In the days when Funskool Barbecues were $4, this was easier to do. But, carded Funskool Barbecues remain available in the $20 range today and this additional use of the gear helps to justify that price. I posted my first photo of this figure wearing the Funskool gear back in May of 2002. 17 years later, it's still my preferred way to use the 1992 Barbecue figure.
It was rare for G.I. Joe figures to feature accessories on the card artwork that didn't make their way into the actual figure release. Mainframe's computer stand is probably the most famous. Barbecue, though, is shown on his card artwork using a zip line. I'm not aware of any real evidence that suggests that Barbecue was originally intended to include the rope and a zip handle. But, he is the only Eco Warrior Joe who does not include any gear other than the water squirting pack. (Toxo Zombie also got the shaft in 1992 and only included the water cannon with no other gear.) I'm not sure of any reason why Barbecue would have gotten the rope. But, I was a sucker for ropes as a kid and would have liked this figure to include a zip line accessory set just because I'd have found it fun.
Eco Warriors have a fun/irritating gimmick. They change color when differently temperatured water is sprayed on them. The color change was meant to denote "battle damage". For a young kid in 1992, this was probably a neat feature that was used once or twice. For a collector in current times, it's a blight upon the figure's veneer. Most of the color change spots have now permanently changed color. So, most Barbecue figures now feature dark spots all over the figure's torso. It takes away from the figure's appearance. So, finding a unblemished figure is worth the extra time (and, sometimes, extra expense) it takes to acquire one.
As Joe prices rose at unsustainable rates in 2018 and 2019, this Barbecue got caught up in the hype. The 1992 Eco Warriors do not exist in the same numbers as standard 1992 carded figures. But, even with the lower production run, they aren't as difficult to find as they sometimes appear. After flirting with $30+ prices for a bit, this Barbecue is now more affordable. We're starting to see Joe prices soften on many of the less popular, non army building figures of the 1990's. And, Barbecue is an example. While dealers will still sell a few figures for $25, you can get mint and complete with filecard versions for $15 or so without too much trouble. That's probably a fair price for the figure. Though, I would expect that to fall as Joe's popularity begins to sag. If you sacrifice the filecard or the water cannon, the price falls further.
I find the price worth it for a figure of this Barbecue's quality. But, the bright colors and late design year are off-putting to many old school collectors, too. If I could only have one representation of the Barbecue character in my collection, I'd take the 1985 version and let this mold be Payload. But, the overall quality of the sculpting means that some coloring of this figure mold belongs in every collection.
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