2002 Big Ben - Around the Web

This is the time of year where figures like Big Ben thrive.  The cold weather reminds me of his design.  And, seeing the figure in his element is always nice.  This 2002 version of the figure is one of the nice 2000's era repaints that was ruined by his inclusion with an Alley Viper.  Collectors got too many of them and started to hate Big Ben.  So, a good figure was simply despised.

More than 20 years later, though, some of the hatred has subsided.  Now, you can find the figure showcased every so often.  There's plenty of content on him out there.  So, stop by and check out some cool 2002 Big Ben photos.

2002 Big Ben Profile

2002 Big Ben at The Attica Gazette

2002 Big Ben by Joesandtoys

2002 Big Ben by viper_space

2002 Big Ben by gen_liederkranz

2002 Big Ben by corpscommandercody

2002 Big Ben by thebackyardcommando

2002 Big Ben by themexicangriswolds

2002 Big Ben by viper_space

2002 Big Ben at Generals Joes Reborn

Rarities - Unproduced 1995 Big Ben & Snow Serpent

The 1995 Joe line would have been pretty great.  Had it come to be, many of the items would be held in the same regard as precious items from the line's heyday in the 1980's.  And, with the lower production runs of the line's final year, many of the items would likely be super expensive to acquire today.  While the line featured a solid array of new figures, it was also going to include many repaints of earlier releases.  Two of these would have been the figures included in the planned 1995 repaint of the Tactical Battle Platform which would have been called the Battle Station.  For some reason, this set piece was going to include repaints of Big Ben and the Snow Serpent.

You can tell from the photos that both of these figures are hand painted prototypes that were used the 1993 mail away figures as their bases.  As such, you see production colors on the legs.  It's unlikely that the final figures would have matched these concepts, exactly.  But, they'd have been close enough.  So, you get the general idea of what the designers were trying to do.

Oddly, the concept art for the Battle Station doesn't actually feature the figures who would have been included with it.  Instead, it is a smorgasbord of unreleased 1995 figures and likely reissues of 1994 releases.  This would imply that the figures included with the set were more ways to just use molds that were available rather than really spice up the design.  But, the Battle Station concept art also showcases many of the figures in the cardart poses with positioning that suggests placeholder design.  So, it's likely that they box art would have changed upon release and probably featured the figures included with it.

I find it interesting that concepts from both of these figures did, eventually, see release.  The 1998 Snow Serpent borrows elements from this unproduced 1995 figure.  And, the 2001 Big Ben was an arctic repaint in the vein of this unreleased Big Ben.  So, it's nice that some of the work was eventually used...even if it was by a different team looking to save a few bucks rather than an homage to the founders of the brand.  

Seeing current prices of the 1993 mail versions of these two characters makes me shudder at what these 1995 figures would cost today had they seen release.  Being in a low production, high dollar playset would have made acquisition unlikely for many kids...meaning fewer figures going into the secondary market.  I take solace, though, knowing I'd have forked over the money for a Battle Station had it been released...just because it included these two figures.  I had a rule that I'd buy vehicles with figures included.  And, Big Ben was one of my earliest grail figures.  So, the Battle Station would have called my collection home.

Sure, it would now be yellowed and decaying in a box in the closet.  But, I'd have these figures and enjoy them for what they were.  I still maintain that collectors would hold the 1995 line in high regard had it seen production.  But, there were forces at work that were far beyond the G.I. Joe brand.  So, we're left with tidbits of what might have been.  Repaints like this aren't nearly as interesting as newly designed, unproduced pieces.  But, they would have been an important supporting cast for the planned new figures.  I'd still love to know if any of the 1994 molds that debuted that year would have gotten updated paint jobs for 1995: as was Hasbro's habit at the time.  I'm sure some would have been cool and others would have been...less so.  But, more figures are better than fewer.  And, we really missed out with the line's cancellation occurring in 1994.  

2001 ARAHC Big Ben

This arctic Big Ben is the figure that killed the ARAHC line.  It was released just before Christmas in 2000.  But, within just a few months, this Big Ben and his pack-mate, White Out, would ruin what had been an incredibly promising start to a Joe resurgence at retail.  It's not this figure's fault, though.  The reality is that he is an amazing update to a a character who was incredibly obscure at the turn of the century.  But, things conspired against him and a series of bad decisions by Hasbro turned this promising repaint into one of the greatest pegwarmers of all time.

In 2000, collectors fell into two camps: those who felt the line ended after 1985 and those who felt it ended after 1987.  It was nearly impossible to find loose figures made after 1989 as the kids who collected them had yet to really come online.  As such, figures from 1990 and beyond were all but unknown.  One of the reasons I started my site in late 1999 was because I felt that figures from the final years of the line deserved a place that would spotlight them so more collectors would become aware of their quality.  So, when Hasbro pulled out some molds from the 1990's as repaints for the new line of Joe figures at retail, it was, for many collectors, the first time they'd really paid any attention to the figure molds or characters.  And, in the case of Big Ben, they found a decent sculpt with great gear and a useful character.  And, loose 1990 Big Bens weren't exactly common at the time.  So, for many collectors of the day, the ARAHC repaints would be their first interactions with these molds.  While there was some grumbling by the most militant of Joe collectors about the later mold inclusions, they were, generally, welcomed by the community since they seemed like new figures instead of just a standard repaint.

Now, we get to the meat of why this figure destroyed Joe's chances at retail.  In 2000, the first wave of the ARAHC figures saw a modest launch.  They were sold at Toys R Us, KB Toys, and Wal Mart.  I do not recall if K-Mart picked up the first wave.  But, Target definitely did not.  However, the first wave sold relatively well.  While it was never hard to find from October through December of 2000, it also didn't back up very much with the exception of the Cobra Commander/Chameleon two pack.  

The reason those Cobras backlogged, though, was because they were 3 to a case.  So, their overabundance was the result of a deliberate choice by Hasbro to try and help stave off demand.  Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow were also 3 per case, but they sold more quickly.  The remaining figure packs were all 2 per case.  As the waves sold through, the Cobra Commander and Chameleon pack was the only real pegwarmer.  But, if you hit a few Wal Marts or Toys R Us stores in a given day, you'd find every pack from the wave.  

The strong sales both got other retailers (most importantly, Target) to start carrying the line and also expand the retail space allotted for the figures.  So, Wave 2 (it should be noted that Hasbro named the waves with Roman Numerals.  So, from here on out, I'll refer to them by that nomenclature.  This only slightly matters because there were nearly two Wave 5's released in 2002.) quickly started hitting retailers.  And, it hit in force.  Stores got shipment after shipment of them.  And, for a while, they sold pretty well.  But, here's where two fatal flaws in Hasbro's logic converged to kill the line.

In 2001, interest in G.I. Joe surged.  The combination of greater internet access, more children of the '80's coming online, a new comic and even the broader acceptance of buying online at places like Ebay lead to an uptick in interest that still hasn't been matched by the 2007 Anniversary figures or even the Classified 6" series of figures.  Hundreds of new collectors came online every month.  And, they were eager to buy up the memories of their childhood.  Hasbro, was all too willing to meet the demand for these new figures.  The problem was, though, that Hasbro stopped making Wave I cases.  And, as such, only shipped Wave II cases in 2001.  And, the Wave II case breakdown was pretty bad.  It had three new 2 packs: Duke and Sidetrack, Major Bludd and the Rock Viper and Big Ben and White Out (a 1983 Snow Job repaint.)  The figures were all fine.  The case was rounded out with the carry overs of Snake Eyes/Stormshadow and Dusty/Law.  To get to 12 figure packs per case, Hasbro decided to include 4 Big Ben/White Out packs per case.  No other figure pack saw this case ratio.  And, it was baffling.  Sure, Snow Job was popular.  But, in 2001, mint and complete Snow Jobs that were pristine white were still cheap and plentiful.  And, no one really cared about Big Ben.  So, the fact that they got the massive overpacks instead of the army builder was an odd choice.

And, it quickly proved disastrous.  After a couple of months, Big Ben/White Out packs were falling off the shelves of most retail stores.  While the other figures in the case weren't hard to find, you'd often only find a couple of them.  They weren't pegwarming that badly.  Just the extra Big Ben/White Outs were the problem.   But, here's where everything compounds.  For whatever reason, Hasbro didn't have a Wave III ready to go.  So, Wave II cases shipped for 6 months.  With nothing to take their place, the mountains of Big Ben/White Outs grew and grew.  Only, now they were joined by all the other figures in the case, too.  After months of not finding anything new, many casual buyers moved on.  And, the pegwarmers got worse.  By the time Wave III finally shipped in June of 2001, its production run was reduced as there wasn't room at the stores for too many new figures.  Wave III sold well enough.  But, it also wasn't around for very long.  Hasbro dumped Wave IV to discount retailers just a couple of months later and the ARAHC was scrapped.  Wave V was cancelled at retail and became online only.  (At least one pack was cancelled out of this wave.  And, while gate keeping dickheads liked to decry the rumor of a Crimson Viper, the fact that one appeared in a Convention set in 2002 lends credence to the theory that the figure had retail origins.)  

Wave II cases started appearing at regional and overstock retailers.  And, by early 2002, you could still buy all of the figures you wanted from Wave II for about $5/pack all over the US.  But, as hard as it is to believe, the situation in Canada was actually worse.  Canadian retailers got the same case ratios.  But, the figures pegwarmed even harder there than they did in lower latitudes.  Collectors did their best: many buying dozens of Rock Vipers they didn't even really want.  But, the avalanche of Big Ben/White Out figures was simply too much.  Retailers lost faith in the brand.  And, more importantly, they completely lost faith in vintage style Joe repaints.  They felt something new was necessary and that the old molds simply didn't have any more retail life in them.

Looking back, one simple tweak could have saved Hasbro from much of this.  Hasbro had three packs that were out of production in 2001.  And, at the time, the Firefly/Undertow pack would rise as high as $75 on the aftermarket.  General Tomahawk/Dialtone easily fetched $35.  There was huge unmet demand for the discontinued packs since so many new collectors had joined the community after they had disappeared from retail.  (The 3 per case of Cobra Commander/Chameleon helped keep their demand lower.  But, even tossing in 1 of them would have solved a lot of backup.)  Had Hasbro just updated the case ratios to include 2 each of those figures instead of Big Ben/White Out, we likely have a very different history of retail Joe releases in the early 2000's.  But, we also know that Hasbro had plans to scrap the vintage style figures very early on.  And, the retail failure may have given them cover they desired to ensure the transition from vintage figures to the JvC went more smoothly.  (It didn't.)

It was an unjust fate for this figure, though.  I'll argue that this Big Ben repaint is one of the more sensical and useful repaints that Hasbro produced in the 2000's.  Big Ben's sculpt was always bulky.  And, it looks like he's wearing a cold weather jacket.  So, painting in white for use in snowy environments was a natural progression and showed a bit of insight by the Hasbro team of the time.  The gloves on his hand are about the only flaw as they are colored in a way that you can call them gloves.  But, at the same time, they are close in color to Big Ben's face.  So, it also kind of looks like he's bare handed.  But, that's a small quibble with an otherwise strong color scheme.

The coloring on this figure is difficult to determine.  He was always more of a creamy, off white color than a pure white figure like most of the vintage Arctic figures were.  His pack and satchel, though, are bright white.  As the 2000's plastic is discoloring at an alarming rate, it's difficult to determine just how off white this Big Ben should be.  One of the photos below was taken in 2002.  In it, he looks whiter than the figure is today.  But, this could be a function of the overexposed flash that I used when I took the photo two decades ago.  So, be mindful of the coloring on this figure when you look to acquire one.  The upper arms are going to be the first to go and you can see a slight difference between them and the rest of the figure in the newer photos below.  But, the figure always had a cream-ish hue and was never pure white.

One other oddity on this Big Ben is that he features an AT logo on his arm.  This is an homage to Adventure Team.  Except, there's nothing documenting that fact.  So, there's no real reason for this to appear on the figure aside from the Hasbro executive at the time desperately trying to tie the 3 3/4" line to the 12" line of his youth.  It was a hail Mary to attract 40-something aged collectors who had grown up with the 12" line instead of exclusively catering to the burgeoning 20-something collecting demographic that was quickly dominating any Joe online forum.  It's an interesting anachronism.  But, it's also a vivid example of why vintage Joes never made a proper comeback.  They were always made to appeal to everyone except the kids who grew up with them and made the brand so powerful in the 1980's.

Early photos of carded sets featuring this Big Ben showed him including a bi-pod for his rifle.  However, this accessory was removed late in the process and never shipped with any Big Ben that was produced in the 2000's.  This is unfortunate.  As, in my view, the bi-pod fundamentally changes the visual representation of this rifle.  It really made no sense why this wasn't included.  Especially, since 2002 Big Bens included an XMLR rifle that more than offset the cost savings of the bi-pod's exclusion.  It seems the photos of the carded sets with the bi-pod have been lost to time.  Otherwise, Big Ben included all the gear of the vintage figure: a rifle, huge backpack, satchel and grenades.

For me, this figure remains bittersweet.  I was so excited to find one at Christmas in 2000.  I even wanted to take him to snow in the mountains to get some photos of him.  But, just a few months later, the figure was just the bane of my existence as it was everywhere.  And, it was just painful to see the hatred the figure got from a frustrated collecting community when, pegwarming notwithstanding, the figure was actually a spectacular repaint of one of Hasbro's premier designs from the '90's.  This figure was also further diminished when Hasbro released two more decent Big Ben repaints in 2002 and yet another one in 2003 and continued to use his chest and other parts on figures through 2005.  Big Ben overkill helped bury this figure.  And, after two decades, some of that stink still persists despite the actual figure's overall quality.

Dealers now try to sell this figure for up to $30 or more.  You'll see them selling carded versions in the $40 range.  But, on the open market, the carded set is about $20.  If you can find complete figures, they are likely in the $10-$12 range, which seems high.  For a figure that pegwarmed for so long as as hard as it did, these prices seem out of whack.  But, this Big Ben is also a pretty strong figure.  So, some collector interest also makes sense.  If you're a fan of arctic Joes, you need this Big Ben as it's a solid addition to a winter team.  His history as a retail disaster is behind him and for younger collectors who don't recall piles of him at every store, you can look at the figure on his own and appreciate it for the quality repaint it is.

2002 Big Ben - Wave 2

In 2002, Hasbro had a massive plan to bring G.I. Joe back to retail.  The figures were re-designed into a more modern aesthetic and were given a marketing overhaul to usher in a third generation of kids to the G.I. Joe mythos.  But, on the way to glory and riches, Hasbro hit a little snag.  It turns out that a vocal group of adult collectors were not 100% on board with the new direction the figures were taking.  At the time, companies still didn't know how to properly gauge internet outrage.  But, they were wary of it.  And, a few Star Wars missteps had given Hasbro a blueprint on how to handle adult collectors.  So, interspersed among the new figure styles were a smattering of repainted vintage Joe figures.  These repaints helped lower the costs of the retail line while keeping collectors engaged.  However, you could easily argue the efficacy of their efforts as the repaints quickly turned into repetitive figure releases done in oddball colors.  One figure that best showcases the blending of old paint mask costs versus the blase design was the 2002 Big Ben.

Big Ben was released twice in 2002.  (Which made less sense when you realize that Big Ben/Whiteout 2 packs from the early 2001 figure waves were still collecting dust at stores around the U.S. and Canada.)  The first release was a very solid tan and green design who meshed well with General Tomahawk and Sure Fire from the Wave 1.5 releases.  This wave was a bone thrown to vintage Joe collectors to sate their appetite for classic molds while also buying Hasbro time to update the sculpting on the Wave 2 "new sculpt" figures to now include the iconic o-ring.  The wave was well done, but massively overproduced.  Even the two highly desired army builders were abundantly available.  The second Big Ben, though, was included as a shortpack in the Wave 2 cases.  Again, Big Ben, Alley Viper, Mirage and the Cobra Viper were perks for long time vintage Joe collectors.  Collectors were given new army builder repaints while also getting updated paint jobs on some solid Joe molds.  The second Big Ben, though, featured an odd color scheme that makes him stand out in both good and bad ways.

This figure uses some of the same colors and paint masks as the Wave 1.5 figure.  The greens are compatible (which actually helps if you army built both figures) and the bullets feature a rich golden color that's better offset by a black bandolier.  Big Ben's head, though, is one solid color.  If you mix and match heads, you can get some more interesting combos of Big Ben.  But, both 2002 releases feature paint masks missing on the other.  It's kind of weird.  His pants are a fairly ugly brown.  But, they don't really clash with the blue coat.  So, it kind or works.  Big Ben's hands are meant to be gloved.  And, all the releases prior to 2002 featured gloved hands.  Hasbro went with flesh hands on both 2002 releases and it doesn't really work.

What do you do with a figure who's primary color is baby blue?  Big Ben's arctic type design works in his favor in regards to the color choice.  There is a surplus of blue ice in many arctic environments.  So, Big Ben could blend into the background in locations like that.  Otherwise, the color is one of many in the history of the Joe line that make little sense but are kind of fun to look at.  But, that's the reason I like him.  The early 2000's vintage Joe repaints were heavy on green and brown and all kind of blended together.  A figure like this Big Ben stood out for how different it was.  Sure, that difference means it's completely forgotten today.  But, it also broke up otherwise banal releases of that era.  The vintage Joe line was a panoply of color.  Many collectors choose to not remember it that way.  But, looking at carded figures arranged by year proves that figures like this Big Ben were the norm from the beginning.

The soft plastic used on the early 2000's era Joes is turning out to be somewhat problematic.  Many figures from this era, even properly stored, are starting to discolor.  Whites are starting to tinge yellow.  (Star Wars figures from that time used similar plastic and Stormtroopers and Clones from that time are starting to drastically yellow.  It's sad to see mighty Imperial armies fade away due to shoddy materials.)  But, light blues are proving to be especially hard hit.  Figures like the Comic Pack Scarlett, Scrap Iron and Thrasher all discolor with slight provocation.  And, collectors are starting to find that even figs packed away in dry basements are starting to turn.  This Big Ben uses the same colors and you see many samples where fading has already kicked in.  It's probably inevitable that these figures will turn in time.  You can only take measures to postpone the degradation.  But, you see lots of Big Bens where the arms or chest are losing their original color and it's only going to get worse.

The 2002 Big Ben figures include the same gear.  But, the colors are slightly different.  This blue Big Ben includes his classic rifle, satchel and two grenades.  Hasbro included a bonus Snow Job rifle with the figure to make up for the missing bi-pod and backpack.  The absence of the pack is a nuisance.  But, the Gift Set Dial Tone from the same year (and Recondo that was released in 2003) both include black versions of the original Big Ben pack that work perfectly with this blue release.  It should be noted that Big Ben's weapons and grenades are a unique, graphite color.  They have a bit of a sheen to them that makes them distinct.  (This color was used on the weapons included with the Alley Viper, Viper and Mirage, too.)  Black versions of Big Ben's gear are more common and many collectors who tossed gear into bins during this era are likely to think the two Big Ben's have the same weapons.  So, when buying this Big Ben, be sure to confirm the weapon color to ensure you're getting the correct versions.

This Big Ben figure was only packed one per case in Wave 2 of the 2002 G.I. Joe vs. Cobra line.  Despite the shortpacking and his inclusion with an all powerful army builder, this figure was fairly easy to find.  G.I. Joe had a huge retail push in 2002 and stores received plenty of cases.  Brisk sales also ensured that stock was replenished.  I was still finding this figure at retail into the early months of 2003.  But, the shortpacking has somewhat caught up with this figure and you do not see him with anywhere near the frequency that you can find his far more common Wave 1.5 brethren.  But, since this is a very undesirable look for the character, you can still get mint and complete with filecard versions for $4 - $6.  In this day of stupid Joe prices, that's a relative bargain.  But, better Big Ben figures are just as cheap.  So, outside of the oddity of this figure's color scheme, there's no real reason to track him down.  But, I'm a sucker for $4 Joes.  So, that alone makes him a worthwhile pick up.

1991 Big Ben - Around The Web

The first time I saw Big Ben was when a kid down the street had one.  I was out of Joes, but was enthralled by the look of the figure.  Big Ben would appear in the comic and it was cool to see him there.  Years later, when I returned to collecting Joe, Big Ben was among the first figures I wanted to acquire.  I was not disappointed in him.  Sadly, the mold was used to death by Hasbro in the 2000's and that dulled the lustre of this original figure.  Here's the best of him from around the web.

1991 Big Ben Profile

Big Ben at Joe A Day

Big Ben by Vader9900

Big Ben by Wizard of X

Big Ben by Slipstream80

Big Ben at Joepedia

Big Ben by ToneGunsRevisited

Diorama - Snow Blind

In early 2003, we got a lot of snow.  One Sunday evening, I took some Joes out to get some snow pics.  It was late in the evening, so I had to use the flash.  But, I liked how the flash photos looked.  This photo set was planned to be the showcase for the 2001 Big Ben figure.  But, he didn't come out well enough in the photos and this was the last real snow I saw before I moved back to the desert.

2002 Big Ben

The repaint era of Joes had more than its share of duds from a figure perspective.  Every now than then, though, Hasbro really got a repaint right.  In some cases, collectors love the figure and hold it in high esteem even today.  More likely, though, is that the figure is relatively forgotten.  Usually, this is due to the fact that the figure was released at a time when there were many other high quality figures available, the figure was released in a set with better figures, or, the figure was released with an army builder that caused collectors to over dose on the mold and turned a good figure bad.  This was the case with the surprisingly high quality 2002 Big Ben figure.

When this figure was released, collectors hated it.  It had nothing to really do with the figure itself.  There were two driving factors behind the backlash:

1.  Big Ben was part of the epic pegwarmer Big Ben/Whiteout pack that was still around at retail.
2.  Big Ben was included with the army building Alley Viper.

It's easy to forget now just how strong the army building urge among collectors was during 2002.  Cobra armies were more popular than anything else in the hobby.  Really, collectors could not restrain themselves.  If they found 27 samples of a figure at retail, they bought all 27.  High quality Cobra army builders were fetching very high prices on the secondary market and collectors were desperate for a retail alternative to the online auction.  At the time, though, Hasbro only released Cobra army builders in 2 packs.  At first, the army builder was paired with a Cobra named character.  But, in 2002, this practice was abandoned for the Joe Vs. Cobra angle which required one Cobra and one Joe in every 2 pack.  The result was that collectors who stocked up on the Alley Viper figures ended up with dozens, or even hundreds!, of Big Ben figures.  This was incredibly frustrating to collectors of the time and they tended to take out their frustrations by disliking the Joe figures who were always included with the more desirable army builders. Despite the fact that this Big Ben and his companion, Mirage, were exceptionally well done, collectors could not stomach any more of them since they ended up army building the Joes along with the Cobras of the time.

As this figure multiplied like rabbits in collections around the country, collectors tried a variety of ways to make use of the surplus Big Bens. Many people tried to use the figures as Joe army builders. Since Big Ben wasn't an iconic character, this worked. But, after a time, even this was too much. Some collectors tried to trade off their extra figures to customizers. But, the parts quickly became far too common and the mold didn't have tons of customizing life in it. With few outlets to either offload or reuse the parts from this figure, the animosity towards it grew and grew in the collecting world. Hasbro compounded the problem by repainting the figure and releasing it with another army builder repaint only a few months after this figure's release. The disdain for Big Ben far outweighed what the mold, in and of itself, warranted. But, sometimes, other circumstances intercede and ruin what would have been great figure. And, that was certainly the case with this Big Ben.

I consider this the third best Big Ben figure behind the 1991 and the 2001 Arctic version. That may not seem a ringing endorsement of the figure. It is, though, a testament of how well done those other two versions of Big Ben were. The colors of this figure, though, are visually appealing and well worth the acquisition. I find the combination of green and tan to be a solid color palette that lends itself to more use than most of the other colors attempted during this time. The painted accents bring the figure to life and make him more dimensional than many of the later repaints that were released. The modern plastic is more pliable than that on the vintage figure, though not too much so to be trouble.

As a character, Big Ben was introduced to me around 1990 or 1991. I was out of Joes and not buying or keeping up on the figures outside of the comic. I would babysit some younger kids down the street occasionally, though, and they were still buying Joes. One of them had Big Ben. When I saw the figure for the first time, I was enthralled. It was a great figure with awesome accessories. When I started buying Joes in the late 1990's on the secondary market, Big Ben was high on my list of figures to acquire. Once I had one, he became a staple of my photos and displays. I was excited to see the 2001 Arctic repaint and actually army built a few of them in the first few weeks. Even after that figure collected dust around the country and, ultimately, lead to the demise of the A Real American Hero Collection series, I was happy to see this figure in 2002. It was still a great mold with great accessories and the colors were very cool. After that, my enthusiasm for additional Big Ben figures waned. There was no reason for the second repaint in 2002 nor the vehicle driver figure in 2003. This figure, though, still holds up. It can stand among vintage figures. But, it works best among the highest quality figures from the 1997 - 2006 era.

For a figure as much maligned as Big Ben, it is surprising to see just how high quality the figure actually is. The base colors of tan and green had not been seen on any Joe figures until this figure wave. (The General Tomahawk and Surefire figures basically use the same hues.) The only real detriment to the figure is that the gloved hands are painted flesh. This wouldn't be a huge problem, except that Big Ben's gloves were sculpted onto the mold. So, seeing these details in flesh coloring makes the figure appear to have some sort of skin disease. That and the G.I. Joe logo on the figure's leg, though, are the only real downsides to the figure. The paint masks are convention quality with grey fur on his had, an olive undershirt, golden bullets held in place by tan straps and tan and black boots. He is an excellent combination of strong, common colors detailed with accents that enhance the mold.

In the fall of 2000, the first carded image of a Big Ben/Whiteout pack was shown. Included in the sample was the bi-pod to Big Ben's rifle. When the first figures appeared on the shelves, though, the bi-pod was absent. Hasbro never saw fit to release the bi-pod again. That is the only small nitpick that can be levied against this version of Big Ben's accessory complement. He includes his original rifle, huge pack, soft plastic satchel with working lid and two grenades that fit inside. To make up for the missing bi-pod, Hasbro threw in a version of Snow Job's classic rifle. (At the time, these were not as common as they would become so it was a nice addition to the figure.) Basically, the figure was outfitted the same as the vintage version. For most figures during this release period, Hasbro skimped on accessories. (It got especially bad in 2004.) But, when they were able to include the full complement of original accessories with a repainted figure, the release was made that much better for it.

The Big Ben mold should be dead. It was used for the original figure in 1991, a hard to find mail away repaint in 1993 and then appeared in 2001, twice in 2002, partially in 2003 and then became the staple of the comic pack figures where he was used for figures like Kwinn, Schrage and Rock and Roll. Basically, collectors never wanted to see Big Ben again. And, there really is no need to. The figure exists in his classic green, an interesting brown, the requisite Arctic repaint and then this figure with an odd, blue version thrown in for the oddball repaint every good figure mold needs. This was a case of a mold where Hasbro got all the mileage they could from it and collectors have plenty of high quality options to choose from for the character.

Wave 1.5, of which this figure is a member, was one of the most overproduced waves of the repaint era. It was a stop gap wave between Wave 1 of the new sculpt figures and Wave 2 that were retrofitted with O-Ring construction to appease Joe fans. At first, collectors salivated over the wave with its inclusion of the Viper and Alley Viper. As the wave trickled out in the spring of 2002, collectors gobbled up the army builders with gusto that was pretty much unprecedented. Within a few weeks, though, the figures kept shipping and shipping. Collectors who were afraid they would never find the army builders at retail discovered that the figures were available just about everywhere. For months after the initial shipments, more and more Wave 1.5 kept showing up. As the year wore on, Hasbro sold more overstock to dollar and discount stores. So, into 2003, it was possible to find these figures at retail. It took until the summer of 2004, when Dollar General stores reduced the figure two packs to $1.00 each that collectors finally absorbed the U.S. based overstock. However, it also appears that Hasbro liquidated large quantities of the figures overseas as dealers from other countries contacted many American collectors about bulk purchases of these figures at drastically reduced prices. But, the sheer volume of figures had lead to collector apathy for even the army builders and most of these offers were refused since the figures had become somewhat unsellable to the collector market since demand had been completely sated.

Today, these Big Ben figures are basically worthless. You can get them for around $3. As the Alley Viper's popularity has dipped, though, even carded figures won't cost you more than $10. Considering that you get a great repaint of a high quality mold with almost his entire original accessory complement, that's a pretty good price. The character of Big Ben was overused by Hasbro during the repaint era and the mold was overused more so. This has left many collectors overlooking the actual quality of this figure. It is a great combination of mold, color, character and accessories that was rare to find during this time of Joe releases. Throw in a cheap price and you can find an overlooked figure that's worth far more than the price he will cost to acquire.

1990 Big Ben

In 1990, I was out of Joes. My youngest brother was still buying an occasional figure (See 1990 Bullhorn), but we were mostly done with Joes. I babysat to supplement my meagre income. The cool thing about this was that I got to play with the kids' toys. There were two joes that really stuck out in my mind, Recoil, and Big Ben. I just thought this guy was awesome. He had a great mold, fantastic accessories, and an interesting background. Joe had finally expanded into international territory and had started including foreign members in its ranks. When the figures were like Big Ben, they were a very welcome addition.

This figure has a great mold. Bullet straps are always a popular feature with me, and this guy uses them to perfection. Other than that, though, the mold is very plain. Like Crankcase, this guy uses simplicity to create complexity. The mold is plain, but suggests functionality that made this a very realistic figure. The fact that he comes with a gun that has a removable bi-pod as well as a pouch that actually carries removable grenades is simply an afterthought. The figure is good enough to stand on its own. When the accessories are added in, this guy's lack of popularity among Joe collectors is baffling. He has everything they claim to like. Perhaps the fact that he is from England was enough to turn some people away. It is unfortunate, though, but does provide enterprising collectors an opportunity to easily acquire one of the line's top quality figures.

One of the very first mint complete figures I went after when I first returned to Joe collecting was a Big Ben. I just wanted to finally have one. Unlike most of the figures I really want, though, this guy was not a disappointment once he was in my collection. He quickly became one of my most used infantry troops. It is a distinction he still holds today. He just fits in with any strike force you put together. Tunnel Rat used to be my light machine gunner. Now, Big Ben is the man. Tunnel Rat still goes on some missions, but Big Ben is always the primary. He works in the jungle, the forest, and even Arctic conditions. Big Ben is the epitome of what Hasbro was capable of during the Joe line. He is just a remarkable figure that looks cool and plays well. (I have often found that many of the sharpest looking figures are just too cool to use. They look great, but aren't much fun to play with. Snake Eyes is often the greatest example of this.)

I use Big Ben as both an individual figure and as an army builder. He often is the heavy machine gunner that accompanies a platoon of Recoils or Salvos. He is the light fire support troop that keeps the grunts from being outgunned. As such, this figure gets a lot of use in my collection. He is just a great figure to have around. The awesome accessories make him perfect for a variety of situations and his gun isn't so big (like Roadblock's!) as to prevent from being involved in light infantry and infiltration missions. I often use him in the back of my CORPS! hummers. He blends perfectly with the green cammo pattern. Big Ben works great as both vehicular support, a helicopter insertion team member, or just a plain old run of the mill infantryman. That is the beauty of this figure. He is very simple but still has many uses.

Back in May of 2000 when I first wrote this profile, I had no idea that Big Ben would become such a hated part of Joe lore. That really isn't any fault of his, though. The simple fact is that Hasbro produced three distinct Big Ben figures in under 18 months. The first of these was the high quality but overproduced arctic Big Ben. This was a great figure and a perfect repaint of this mold: but it was packed 4 per case and became the ultimate pegwarmer throughout the U.S. and Canada. About the time that stores finally cleared that retail dud off the shelves, though, Hasbro put out the Wave 1.5 Big Ben figure. Again, this figure featured solid paint schemes and his original accessories. However, Hasbro packed him with an Alley Viper and overproduced the wave. As such, many collectors ended up with 6, 8, 12 or even 25 extra Big Ben figures which they couldn't give away. It gave the figure a further bad name even though the actual figure was really well done. Finally, Hasbro packed a baby blue Big Ben repaint into the harder to find Wave 2, 2002 cases. This figure was again packed with an Alley Viper, but this Alley Viper was red, packed one per case and wasn't as desired by collectors who had gotten their fill of the superior blue Alley's from a wave prior. As such, even though this was the worst Big Ben ever offered, it didn't garner collector ire like the first two figures. After that, Hasbro reused the head on a 2003 Big Ben and then re-used Big Ben parts throughout the comic packs. The result is that the mold is just overly used and almost cliched at this point.

At this point, I, and most other collectors, are Big Ben'ed out. The reality is that the figure has been overdone. In 2000, I thought an arctic repaint of the mold would be perfect. We got that and I can't complain. The Wave 1.5 figure is true to this original figure, but is different enough to stand on it's own. Beyond that, we really don't need another version of the figure ever again. Really, Hasbro started off right by repainting Big Ben at a time when most collectors weren't too interested in any figure produced after 1989. But, they simply went too far and made some poor packing decisions that have forever sullied the legacy of this once desirable mold.

Big Bens are easy to find. He does have lots of tiny accessories, though, and is often found incomplete. Still, mint, complete specimens are very readily available. This is a guy, though, that I use as an army builder. He also makes for excellent custom fodder. His accessories also work great on many figures. As such, the supply of Big Ben figures may not always be so ample. I, for one, have three of this guy. I will add to my armies as well, if the price is right. Now, it seems that it usually is. Over time, though, more collectors will discover this guy and his many uses. When they do, Big Bens may not be so easy to find.

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