The Rankings - 1984

1984 is an interesting Joe year.  It's considered a classic with some of the best figures ever released.  But, the 1984 lineup is very transitional.  About half the figures are in line with 1983 releases while the other half take a leap forward and give us the precursors of what the line would become in 1985.  It's going to be a tough year to rank as it contains some of my personal favorites, consensus icons and, one of the worst releases Hasbro ever created.  So, we'll jump in 1984 and see where this ends up.

#20. Deep Six

Yeah, it couldn't be anyone else.  This Deep Six sucks.  But, to be fair, he features an original head (which was intended to be the Alpine Trooper head that was going to be used with the Scrap Iron body) and an ambitious action feature.  I'm not going to convince myself that Deep Six is a good figure or toy.  But, he has all the hallmarks of a G.I. Joe figure and had the same care put into his design as did Stormshadow.  He loses due to articulation.  But, there are elements of quality to him that keep him above some figures from later years.

#19. Clutch and Stinger Driver (tie)

It's unfair to really include these guys in the 1984 lineup since they were both repaints of earlier figures.  But, in the case of each figure, the repaint was amazing.  Both are substantially different from their original releases while still maintaining the overall quality of the earlier design.  You can argue that both the 1984 repaints are even better than the original paint jobs.  They appear this low, though, because they were earlier sculpts and the other 1984 figures also brought new colors to the line.  It's not fair they are so low.  But, that's a testament to the quality of the overall year.

#17. Duke

At his core, Duke is a 1983 figure design.  He uses the classic helmet, reuses gear from prior figures and even recycles parts from earlier releases.  Design wise, he fits with the 1983 Team.  Because of that, his overall rank suffers for 1984.  His release year contemporaries brought more to the table.  Duke seemed like a pure throwback instead of something new.  His colors are nice.  But, they were more muted when compared against the other 1984's.  Then, he's got the goofy head.  In reality, Duke works as a figure.  He's just not one of the stronger releases in his year.

#16. Hooded Cobra Commander

An iconic look ranked this low?  Well, yeah.  Cobra Commander suffers from a lot of what ails Duke, Clutch and the Stinger driver.  The new head and the darker blue color make for a fantastic figure.  He just didn't offer anything new or revolutionary to the 1984 lineup.  The low ranking is more a function of him being mostly a repaint instead of an all new figure. 

#15. Roadblock

Roadblock is another 1983 throwback.  His body is a little beefier.  And, the reused parts do limit him.  His accessories push him up the list.  The machine gun, tri-pod and backpack all work in concert to produce a great toy.  His colors are nice.  If taken against the line as a whole, Roadblock would perform well.  He just can't outperform his fellow class of 1984.

#14. Copperhead

I'm not really sure if Copperhead should be this high.  He gets solid marks for bringing so much color to the Joe line.  And, he features a bulkier sculpt to showcase his size, too.  The fact that the figure persevered and remains somewhat popular despite him not getting any characterization is a testament to this figure's overall design.  So, he gets ahead of Roadblock even though Roadblock is a lot more useful.

#13. Scrap Iron

Scrap Iron started his life as a Joe Alpine Trooper.  At some point, he was converted to Scrap Iron.  The colors are great.  But, the head is weak.  It really doesn't fit with the rest of the figure.  It being designed later in the process explains the difference.  He gets some higher marks, though, for his gear.  The missile table was inspired and gave Scrap Iron value over just his figure.

#12.Wild Weasel

I don't like the Wild Weasel figure.  The reason for that is that I saw the artistic rendition of him in the comics in the summer of 1984.  So, I had months of waiting for him and anticipating him before we got him in October of that year.  And, the figure just didn't live up.  I thought the helmet was too big and there was too much red.  But, in the 42 years since his release, he's grown on me.  And, the design as a pilot is pretty strong.  

#11.Cutter

So, this one photo from 2008 is the only time I can ever find that I used the 1984 Cutter.  Back in 2013, one of my sons crawled into a storage room and opened up a drawer of 1984 Joes and managed to break my Cutter's crotch.  So, I haven't had one to really use in more than a decade and a half.  Despite that, the original design is pretty good.  The life vest gave him added bulk without making him too big.  The sculpted baseball cap also worked really well and brought a new look to the Joe line.  His colors are strong and different.  So, he's right in the middle of the year's lineup.

#10. Firefly

The first controversy in the list.  How could Firefly, one  of the line's iconic figures, only be the 10th best figure from his release year?!?  The answer lies is two parts.  First, Firefly is another 1983 style figure.  His head is the perfect size for the classic helmets.  Secondly, though, is that Firefly doesn't get any paint details that accentuate the amazing sculpting that Hasbro did for his body.  While Firefly is still visually interesting, he also lacks something because his grenades, pouches and pistol all blend into a seamless see of two toned grey.  Firefly's cool as hell.  But, his overall design didn't do much to move the Joe line forwards.  

#09.  Ripcord

As a figure, Ripcord is kind of bland.  But, his cammo is more dramatic than Firefly's.  The rest of the figure doesn't have much going for it.  What it does have, though, is some of the best gear ever released.  No parachute rig that came after was able to live up to the innovation of Ripcord's parachute pack and airmask.  With his gear attached, he's an amazing figure.  I had mine wear his mask even on ground missions because it just looked so cool.  

#08. Thunder

Apparently, I'm a Thunder fan.  While he's very much a 1983 throwback, he works on many different levels.  He included new helmet gear that elevated the standard helmet.  The rest of him, though, is well sculpted.  I've always loved his chest sculpt.  They layers of brown, green and black work as a visual treat.  So, I find Thunder a better piece of design than some of the more iconic figures from this year.

#07. Recondo

Recondo isn't perfect.  But, he is a great looking jungle trooper.  His muted base color allows his painted details to stand out.  The green hat is a perfect topper, too.  Recondo features a strong face sculpt to boot.  He only includes two accessories.  His backpack is one of the better pieces from the line's early years.  It's big enough to showcase all the details while not being overbearing like many of the packs from 1987 and beyond.  His rifle can be tough to pose.  But, it does look really good with Recondo...to the point where Recondo looks weird with any other weapon.  Recondo showed what Hasbro could do now that they had a couple of years under their belt.

#06.  Spirit

Like Recondo, Spirit showed what the Joe line could be.  His stern face is an understated element of the figure that helps define his character.  The molded hair piece, though, was a leap forward in design.  It opened the doors to more variety for heads.  We wouldn't see it that often.  But, Spirit allowed the 1984 lineup to look quite different from the previous years.  On top of that, he included another new addition to 1984: an animal companion.  Freedom wasn't a terribly useful accessory.  But, he was an element that set the Joe line apart.  The rest of Spirit's gear really only works  for Spirit.  That's a double edged sword, for sure.  But, shows that accessory integration is essential for any successful action  figure line.

#05.Stormshadow

The top 5 is where it starts to get dicey.  It's very possible that, if I were to revisit these rankings in 2028, that Stormshadow might end up #2 on the list.  For now, though, he rests at number 5.  Really, though, that's only because those above him are so good.  As a figure, Stormshadow isn't all that groundbreaking.  Sure, he introduced the ninjas mythos to Joe.  But, his sculpt is somewhat basic and hearkens back to 1983.  He excels, though, in the accessory department.  His backpack is a masterclass of engineering.  It was, likely, the most intricate accessory that existed in the 3 3/4" scale at the time.  The complete package remains iconic.  

#04.Blowtorch

Blowtorch gets high marks for his striking colors and his amazing gear.  I've always kind of lumped Ripcord and Blowtorch together because they both had air masks.  But, it is Blowtorch's design, where his mask is integrated into the figure itself, that is more memorable to me.  It's a stronger feat of engineering and something that Hasbro hadn't fully worked out when they were taking promo photos of the 1984 figures.  In addition, Blowtorch proved that bright, vivid colors could work perfectly in the proper setting.  You can see the fiery yellow and red and instantly know Blowtorch's specialty.  On top of everything else, his flamethrower and backpack integrated, too.  His suit is full of small details.  He's just a figure that defines his year while expanding the look of Joe into new areas.

#03.Mutt

Mutt is overly high.  He's among my favorite figures and is a guy to whom I hold great deference.  But, as an action figure,  he's amazing.  Mutt showed that brighter, more powerful greens could still work on a G.I. Joe.  And, his accent colors give him visual depth.  He also brought the first, real animal character to the line.  Junkyard became a fan favorite.  And, there are still collectors who prefer the dog to the man.  The rest of Mutt's gear is also great.  He might have the best pistol Hasbro ever created.  And, his muzzle/helmet combo gave him a talking point.  Without the muzzle, Mutt features a riveting head sculpt...including unexplained scars: a rarity for a good guy.  Mutt is just a complete package of a figure and is one who's always going to rank high with me.

#02. Baroness

I'm surprised I ended up with Baroness this high.  But, she is light years ahead of Scarlett and, certainly, Cover Girl in terms of female sculpting.  Her separate hair piece was inspired and gave an excellent approximation of longer hair.  The eyeglasses were perfectly proportioned and gave her a distinct look.

The only bad thing about the Baroness is that Hasbro then went backwards in female figure design after her release.  Lady Jaye is a step down.  Zarana does an OK job of replicating the Baroness design aesthetic.  But, the bad face sculpts keep her lower than the Baroness.  Jinx didn't have a face at all.  And, then we didn't see another female figure until the 1993 Scarlett.

The Baroness seems passe, now.  We got tons of repaints of her in the 2000's and even factory customs.  But, she remains Hasbro's best work for a female figure.  Her only detriment is her terrible rifle.  But, that's inconsequential when the rest of the figure design is so well done.  For her, the lack of color works as the all black ensemble conveys her affiliation and allows to match up with any of Cobra hierarchy where she may choose to lay her allegiance.

#01. Zartan

This should not be a surprise.  Zartan brings so much to the Joe line that he has to hold the top spot on this list.  The color changing gimmick is the least interesting thing about Zartan.  But, it's a big part of my kids loved him.  The character is just, generally, bizarre.  And, with little explanation as to why, kid's imaginations could run wild.  The oddball chest armor that held a heat sensing sticker added to the mystique.  And, his hood was an extension of the hair pieces used for Spirit and Baroness.  

To top it off, Zartan included great accessories.  His backpack held an alternate face.  Today, action figures include alternate heads for collectors.  But, in 1984, we got to play with a bearded weirdo who was disguising the most visually distinctive villain in the G.I. Joe line.  If that wasn't enough, his pistol rivals Mutt's for the top spot in terms of Hasbro's efforts.  

Zartan showed what the Joe line could be and firmly cemented it as military fantasy.  The illusion of the line being about green army guys was forever shattered and there was a full decade of future releases that were a function of that early decision.  

All in all, the 1984 line has a strong case for the best year of Joe releases.  There's just so much here and it's all packed into just 20 figures.  I'm sure everyone's list differs just based on your personal experiences.  But, I'd love to hear about your top figures from this year and why they are important to you.

Rarities - 1984 Blowtorch Pre-Production Images

The 1984 Blowtorch is one of my favorite figures.  His gear just made him so much fun to play with.  Sadly, my childhood figure quickly fell apart from overuse.  So, I've long lived with the lament of not being able to use him to his full potential when I was a kid.  I've attempted to compensate by tracking down all the Blowtorch variants from around the world.  But, even that won't solve the disappointment from the mid 1980's when Blowtorch's mask and flamethrower ripped apart.

That being said, the real story of Blowtorch is how the figure changed from his marketing designs to the production figure.  Originally, Blowtorch's accessories were going to be a bit different.  And, they give some insight into Hasbro's evolution from wires that were simply part of the accessory's design (like Flash's laser rifle) to the separate black hose pieces that would debut with the Dreadnoks in late 1984.  

Here is the best image I can get of an early Blowtorch.  You'll see what appears to be some parts differences on the arms.  The biggest difference, though, is the mask.  You'll note that this early version has open eye holes.  And, then, instead of a yellow wire to plug into the figure's body, you'll see a black hose.  This is very different from the solid piece mask that was released on the production figure.  The final difference is the black hose that is attached to the flamethrower.  The production figure has the hose molded as part of the weapon as one, solid piece.  Here, it's a separate hose to run between the weapon and the backpack.  This image, below, is a screenshot from a 1984 toy commercial.

But, the same figure was also showcased in the 1984 marketing catalog that was included with every vehicle and playset.  You can see Blowtorch still has the open eyes and the black hoses.  More interestingly, though, you can see that the hoses were intended to attach to Blowtorch's backpack instead of having the air mask hose plug into his body.  

Hasbro changed the hoses, though, to be solid pieces that were part of the mask and weapon.  In late 1984, though, Ripper would be the first figure released to include black hoses that connected two accessories.  These black hoses would remain the Joe staple for the remainder of the line until they were phased out after 1991.  It's likely that Hasbro realized the limitations of attaching plastic hoses that were part of an accessory mold to a backpack.  Even back in 1983, it was common for Flash's laser rifle or Breaker's headset to have broken wires.  In their quest to always be improving, the separate hoses were a novel way to solve this problem.  While they may have explored the idea on the 1984 Blowtorch, they must not have been ready to get it into production.  So, they made Blowtorch in a more traditional format and delayed the black hoses until the 1985 series.

The eye holes on the mask, though, make more sense.  I can see these being problematic.  They would have been a likely source of plastic flashing.  So, many pieces would have been opaque, anyways, as excess plastic leeched into the small spaces.  And, the top part of the eyes would have been extremely thin.  It would have easily ripped and torn; especially as kids stretched it out when they affixed the mask to the figure's helmet.  Hasbro was concerned about making quality toys back in 1984.  So, making a solid piece that was more sturdy made sense.

Personally, I'm a bit torn on this.  I do like the color continuity between the flamethrower and mask and their hoses.  But, at the same time, the addition of the black coloring adds a new dimension to Blowtorch's look.  I'd have loved for my childhood Blowtorch to have not torn.  But, the hoses would have only solved for the flamethrower as it was the connection pieces that wrapped the mask around Blowtorch's helmet that ripped on my childhood figure.  I'd have likely gotten frustrated that the hoses got lost, too.

Still, it's interesting to see how the figure evolved prior to release.  And, it shows how methodical the Hasbro team was in getting things right before they moved them into production.  But, when you know you have a hit toy that's going to run for years, you can be a bit more cautious in your approach to innovation.  I'll leave you with a final commercial screenshot.  You can see the the figure more clearly since he's not wearing all his gear.  He looks like more of a kitbash.  But, really, I'm putting it out there because I have idea what's going on with Cutter's head in this photo.  But, that's probably something to dig into in a future Rarities post.

1985 Battle Gear #3

In very early 1983, I found the first G.I. Joe Battle Gear on a peg at a toy store in Buffalo, New York.  The weapons were similarly colored to the guns included with the carded figures.  But, the helmets and backpacks were drastically different.  In 1984, a new set was released.  This filled in the gaps from the prior year with the inclusion of Zap's bazooka and Short Fuse's mortar.  As 1985 dawned, I was excited for the Battle Gear pack that would surely be released.  The 1984 series of figures were amazing.  And, through heavy play, I had lost gear to Mutt, Firefly, Scrap Iron and Blowtorch, broken gear for Roadblock and simply wanted more Ripcord parachute packs and masks.  The Battle Gear would solve many of my desires for a reasonable price.  Then, though, I found the actual pack that was released.  Looking at the list of figures above, you can imagine my disappointment.  None of the gear I actually needed or wanted was included.  Despite this, we had at least three of the sets in my childhood collection.  And, when reviewed outside the context of my childhood disappointment, this set has some redeeming factors.

The 1985 Battle Gear includes a lot of 1984 gear.  It is also missing quite a bit.  The first Battle Gear pack did not include three pieces: Zap's bazooka and Short Fuse's mortar and stand.  The 1984 release was missing Tripwire's mine detector and all of Torpedo's gear.  1985, though, omitted quite a few pieces of gear.  Included in the set was red versions of: Baroness' rifle, Firefly's rifle and walkie talkie and Scrap Iron's pistol.  There were tan versions of Recondo's backpack and rifle, Spirit's rifle and pack, Roadblock's pack and ammo box as well as Blowtorch's backpack.  There were 4 grey helmets: Mutt's, Blowtorch's, Ripcord's and a standard 1982 style helmet for use with Duke or Roadblock.  There were 2 green battle stands.  And, finally, a deep, rich green array of weapons and gear that include Mutt's pistol, Torpedo's spear gun, Blowtorch's flamethrower, Ripcord's rifle, Zartan's pistol, Duke's binoculars, Thunder's monocular and two new visors.  The visors were not opaque versions of the classic 1982 release.  They featured a nose notch like the goggles included with Thunder.  But, Thunder's piece required his earmuffs and their elongated pegs to affix the visor to the helmet.  These visors were stand alone.  The black version of them is similar to the one included with Starduster.  But, the design debuted in this 1985 Battle Gear set and never appeared again.

What's missing from the set, though, is more notable.  Thunder's earmuff's and visor are absent.  There are no Cobra backpacks at all.  So, Baroness, Firefly, Scrap Iron and Zartan are left unaccessorized.  No animals were included: nixing Freedom and Junkyard.  None of Duke's gear aside from the binoculars (and helmet) is included.  None of the masks included with Mutt, Ripcord or Blowtorch are present.  Roadblock's machine and tri-pod are absent: despite the inclusion of his backpack.  Ripcord's parachute pack is a no-show, as is Mutt's nightstick.  But, the most glaring omission is that there is no repainted Stormshadow gear in the entire set.  In 1985, edged weapons for Joes were nearly impossible to track down.  Getting a repainted Stormshadow sword or two would have been great.  Everyone lost or broke Stormshadow's bow.  But, it's not here.  (It's my guess that Stormshadow was popular enough that kids would get parents to replace that figure entirely so his accessories weren't wanted in Battle Gear that might blow another figure sale.)  It's an appalling amount of missing gear for a set and it started a trend that would continue through the rest of the Battle Gear's retail life.  This was a likely function of the fact that 1984 figures started including more gear and many pieces that were far more intricate than anything that had come before.  But, it was an unfortunate shift for kids of the time.

As 1985 began, I had lost my Zartan's pistol.  Firefly's walkie talkie and backpack cover were long gone.  Mutt's mask and night stick were distant memories.  Roadblock's pack peg was broken, a stand was broken away from his tri-pod and his machine gun had been snapped in two.  A friend I was outgrowing had stolen my Scrap Iron's missile table.  And, Blowtorch's air mask had ripped and was no longer usable.  Of the 10 items I needed to rehabilitate my 1984 Joes, this Battle Gear pack included just 3.

What was great, though, was that the set did include some pieces that were useful.  I loved Recondo's backpack.  I wanted more of my figures to wear packs that carried more supplies.  The neutral color of the pack make it more useful for many other figures.  (It's also still commonly mistaken for Recondo's real gear by dealers who aren't Joe specific since the colors of the pack and the Recondo figure match up.)  Having a few additional walkie talkies was fun since it gave all my figures ways to communicate.  The long range sight devices were another useful inclusion since advance teams always needed them.  (The binoculars also became standard issue in the cockpit of the Whale for Cutter to use at any time.)  Additional Mutt and Zartan pistols were also nice since the color wasn't terrible and small pistols were always getting lost.

The biggest value of this set, though, was realized when I started to take apart my old, broken Joes and frankenstein together some new figures.  At first, Battle Gear helped to simply flesh out figures who had no other gear.  But, as 1985 moved into the summer, I began to paint many of my creations into new designs.  Along with this, I painted accessories.  I didn't want to waste "real" gear on this endeavor.  So, Battle Gear was the logical choice.  My favorite was a Ripcord helmet painted blue with white "fur" lining the edges.  As I used cheap paint, the helmet quickly chipped.  But, this became part of the character of the commander who wore it.  Slowly, that character turned into the leader of the Joes and became the character that is represented by the General Flagg figure today.  I actually still have 2 pieces that I painted as a kid, including that Ripcord helmet that you can see below.

In the days when slightly off condition Joe figures were cheap and plentiful, Battle Gear weapons were far more useful.  Customizers abounded and they were always in search of cheap gear they could paint, cut apart or combine into new pieces.  Battle Gear was a cheap and easy way for the customizers of the early 2000's to build out and re-accessorize their creations.  Now, they are weird colored items that take up space and cross an item off a list.  In this era of factory custom figures, though, things like the helmets, visors and even weapons will match up with some of the figures we've seen.  That has given these sets a new niche in which they have value.  But, there's still so many of them that even new uses does little to move the large surplus of these items that are still out there.

While some individual items from this Battle Gear pack are more desirable than others, the truth is that the entire set is not overly expensive.  You can still get complete sets for around $10.  Duke's binoculars, Zartan's pistol and the green visors are, far and away, the most expensive and desirable items.  And, they are often the pieces most often missing from sets.  But, the non-standard colors and general ubiquity of the gear has left it an undesired piece of Joe collecting.  If you bought collections of figures at any time in the past twenty years, you have plenty of Battle Gear weapons lying around.  I still find the deep green a fun visual treat.  But, they don't really work with any figures.  The childhood disappointment still clouds my vision of this set: 35 years later.  But, you have to give Hasbro credit for understanding that kids lost gear and trying to give them a way to fix that.

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:

Tocha - Brazilian Blowtorch

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.  

2002 Convention Exclusive Crimson Viper

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.

Rarities - Unproduced Yellow Gloves Steeler

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.

1992 Eco Warriors BBQ

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.

Funskool Buzzer

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.  

Rarities - Plastirama Filecards

In the mid 2010's, I tried to set up an international filecard archive with scans and translations of every foreign filecard I owned.  For a time, it was up and I finished translating all the Plastirama filecards from Argentina.  Then, I lost the file....

So, I thought I'd put up the scans of the old filecards and, over time, maybe retranslate them.  Most of the text isn't all that interesting.  But, below, you can see most of the more common Plastirama filecards.  There's a few gems like the Cobra De Hielo being a new character and Sgto. Slaughter's name being Alan Heavy.  But, for the most part, the filecards aren't all that great.  But, they are a fun piece of the line's history.

Tocha - Brazilian Blowtorch

The 1984 Blowtorch is one of my favorite molds.  I have tracked down any and all international variants I can find.  There's something about both his specialty and gear that just capture my attention.  So, when I had a chance to pick up a Brazilian release of the character, I jumped at it: despite the fact that the figure is nearly identical to his American release.  Each new Blowtorch variant I own takes me back to a spring day in 1984 when my friend bought one at the local Children's Palace.  For the life of me, I can't remember which figure I bought that day.  But, my friend got Blowtorch and, from then on, I wished I had gotten one.  So, to this day, I try to fill that void with obscure releases like the Brazilian Tocha figure.

The biggest difference of the Tocha figure versus the Blowtorch figure is the skin tone on the head.  Tocha has a slightly darker complexion than Blowtorch.  His skin is more sun burned looking.  It's common on many Brazilian figures.  But, it helps to differentiate the South American figure from the American release.  Aside from that, the figures are very similar.  There are subtle differences in the red/orange paint the color of his leg pistol.  But, that's about it.  Basically, Tocha is Blowtorch and vice versa.  Owning one or the other really brings nothing new to the character other than subtlety that is often overlooked in photos of a popular character.  

The notion of Blowtorch's specialty is somewhat interesting.  By the time of Blowtorch's release, the United States military hadn't used flamethrowers in more than half a decade.  Blowtorch's specialty was obsolete before the Joe line was even an idea.  But, Blowtorch wasn't about being up on current military hardware.  Instead, Blowtorch was a throwback to the grandfathers who were veterans of World War II and Korea and even the fathers who served in Vietnam.  They had seen flamethrowers.  So, seeing a toy on the shelf would be a nostalgic trip for them to introduce their sons to military toys.  Blowtorch wasn't alone in this.  Zap's specialty was with a weapon that was almost 20 years out of service when he came to be.  But, both of these figures triggered memories for those who would most likely buy the toys and get their sons hooked.

This juxtaposition of the Joe line being both a nostalgic throwback with roots in World War II and also a modern, technological military force is interesting.  You had both a bazooka trooper and a laser rifle wielding trooper in the first wave of figures.  Blowtorch's contemporaries, though, featured less of this.  The rest of the 1984 series is pretty traditional military fare in terms of specialties even if the actual appearance of the figures is out of the realm of realism.  It was not until 1986 that the line went with more technology and less of the romantic idea of a foot soldier that was mostly obsolete after the early 1970's.  

My fascination with Blowtorch is heavily tied to my memory of the original figure from 1984.  Aside from my friend's acquisition of him, my main memory of him is that my youngest brother was the one in our family who got one.  And, that meant that the figure was not long for the world.  Within short order, Blowtorch's mask was ripped and his flamethrower destroyed.  Without those two pieces, the figure lost value.  Fortunately, the flamethrower appeared in the 1985 Battle Gear pack.  The mask, though, did not.  Somewhere, I still have a Blowtorch helmet that's streaked with black residue from electrical tape where I tried to take the mask on to the helmet.  Obviously, it didn't work.  But, that lasting feeling of not being able to enjoy a nice, complete figure from childhood continues to color my feelings of this figure to this day.  And, I have half a dozen variants of Blowtorch in my collection for this reason.

Tocha includes most of the gear from the 1984 Blowtorch figure.  The mask and backpack are, basically, identical to the U.S. versions.  The flamethrower is a darker green than the U.S. version and matches the "Brazilian Green" that's seen on most of the Estrela figures from the same era.  (See Spirit, Recondo and Ripcord.)  The biggest difference is the helmet.  Tocha includes a yellow version of the 1982 helmet.  Personally, I prefer the Blowtorch helmet since it's designed to better hold the mask and gives the figure's head an appearance of more girth.  It's weird to see the classic helmet in a bright, vibrant yellow.  But, it works on Tocha and, with the mask affixed, isn't all that different in appearance from Blowtorch.  At some point, I need to put an 1982 visor on the helmet for a completely different look for Blowtorch.

Blowtorch saw release in a few different countries.  While the Hasbro release did show up in Europe, it was the same as the US figure.  The international variants start with this Brazilian release.  The mold then appeared in Mexico where Auriken also released an exclusive Blowtorch.  It is similar to the Brazilian release, but is noticeably different when compared side by side.  The final releases occurred in Argentina.  There, Plastirama released Antorcha: which was a similar release to the American Blowtorch.  There were then two significant repaints of the mold.  The first was TNT which is done in blue, silver and yellow.  The second was Backstop which featured green highlights and a silver mask.  The mold then disappeared.  I'd love for factory custom makers to take up this mold as it could be done in various Action Force themes as well as some homages to post 2001 Blowtorch colors.  It's doubtful that will happen.  But, this mold has a lot of potential left in it.

Pricing on Tochas varies greatly.  There isn't a huge supply and most of the figures still originate in Brazil where shipping prices add a great deal to the overall price.  With patience, you can find really nice versions in the U.S.  But, you'll easily pay $50-$80 for a nice, complete version.  If you're not an international Joe fan, there's no reason to really own this figure.  You get everything you need from the American Blowtorch at a fraction of the cost and with higher quality.  For me, though, I really enjoy the Blowtorch mold and feel it was heavily underutilized.  So, having a chance for a figure that has even slight differences is worth the extra price.  But, that's unlikely to be a popular sentiment.