Diorama - Swamp Base

At my old house in Indiana, there was a ditch behind the fence that would pool water after rainstorms.  In the early spring, one of the rains left a nice puddle of clear water.  It was there for a couple of days, so the grass got waterlogged and the leftover fall leaves gave the whole scene a swampy look.  I went out for a pretty elaborate set up.  But, it was very cold that day.  My fingers froze in the cold water as I set up the figures.

I had plans for this to be the beginning of a dio story.  But, I didn't get all the photos I wanted due to the temperature and I never had another chance to get out before I moved that fall.  This was one of the few times that I was able to get the Mega and Cyber Viper out and into dios.  The focal point was supposed to be the Bronze Bombers Firebomb figure (a Secto Viper repaint) but I ended up looking at the Secto Viper instead.

This General shell was really beat up.  I ended up throwing it into the trash rather than moving it.  I did strip all the pieces, which I still have.  I kind of wish I had kept the body.  But, it was massive and broken in ways that couldn't be fixed.  The Moray in the pics below got pretty beat up through my various moves and is in nowhere as good of condition as you see below.  In all, it was a fun setup with lots of obscure and bright Cobras.

Bronze Bomber Darklon (Crazeblaze)

Darklon isn't a character most people care about. At worst, he is an oddity that was the prelude to the weirdness that affected the Joe line in the '90's. At best, he is an obscure villain colored in a way that renders him useless to most collectors. As a mold, though, Darklon does have promise. And, had he been colored more sanely, I think many more collectors would warm to the character. Alas, Darklon was only produced in the one color scheme by Hasbro and never appeared as a G.I. Joe figure anywhere else in the world. But, there is still hope. In 1997, Hasbro sold a group of old vehicle driver molds to the Olmec toy company. Among these molds was Darklon. Olmec put the molds into a set of figures named the Bronze Bombers. While the Darklon mold doesn't have a lot of detail, the base coloring redeems the figure mold and actually makes Darklon a character that can be relevant to the modern Joe collection.

In the Bronze Bomber set, this figure is actually named Crazeblaze. Not a bad name for the figure and no less humorous than Darklon. On the surface, this figure appears to be black. In actuality, the figure is a deep, dark purple color. As it is so dark, though, it's hard to identify it as purple. There really isn't another Joe figure I can think of that is similarly colored. The purple is offset by a nice dark beige. The contrast is stark and offsets some of the mold detail. But, as far as color goes, that's it. This is a 2 color figure. He has a base color and 1 paint application. Typically, even the blandest Joe figures from modern times have at least 4 colors on them. The best figures have 7 or 8. So, this isn't a highly detailed version that shows all of the trappings of the Darklon mold. Instead, it is a rather basic offering. But, it works. The simple colors are different enough that they appear more textured than they really are. Plus, the overall look of the figure is so different from the Hasbro version that you are drawn to the difference, not the lack of detail. As a stand alone example, this simplistic approach works. I wouldn't want a dozen different figures that only featured 2 colors. But, in rare cases, it can be effectively used to give us something different.

Ahh, what to do with Darklon? I've never been overly fond of Darklon's character in the comic. In fact, I had so little interest in the character that I only have 1 Darklon figure in my collection and it is in poor shape. I never had any interest to find a nice one since I really didn't care about the character. Now, though, this figure has given me a chance to add another Cobra leader to my mix. I don't really like him aligned with Destro since Destro already has some field generals. I have enough South American Cobras as well. As such, I see Darklon joining the ranks of those loyal to the new Cobra Commander. He will join with the characters portrayed by the Agent Faces figure. But, I see Darklon being more of a military commander. While I would like to have my new Commander be vulnerable, the reality is that he would never have risen to power without some military might behind him. The Crimson Guard provided some of that, but the Commander needs more rank and file troops, too. I foresee Darklon filling that role. A military commander of the masses who is young and ambitious. He has no sights on the Commander's job...yet. But is putting himself into positions where he can learn all he will need to know to someday take the Commander's job.

Overall, I really like this figure. Sure, it could have more painted detail. But, the overall look is nice for a Cobra leader and it does show the potential of the Darklon mold. Plus, the figure is obscure enough that when people see it, they usually mistake it for a custom or foreign exclusive. I tend to like lesser known figures like this as they add great depth to a collection. You can put together a diorama and have a figure like this milling in the background and that will generate more discussion than the main action of the picture. As a whole, I think the collecting community likes to see figures that don't get the spotlight. They don't, necessarily, want to see them in starring roles. But, as background fodder or minor players, these figures are the type of thing that distinguishes a collection from its peers. While some might take that as arrogance or bragging, I see it only as a measure of individual preference. For me, having what everyone else does takes the fun out of it. Seeing something new that I hadn't previously paid attention to keeps the hobby interesting for me.

The Darklon mold was only used by Hasbro for the original figure and then by Olmec. So, there aren't a lot of options for Darklon fans. The nice thing was that the Bronze Bomber set actually used the Darklon mold twice. The second figure is a Bronze Bomber that features an Olmec exclusive head with a grey body accentuated by dark blue highlights. Frankly, this body would work with either the original Darklon head or the one from the Crazeblaze figure and give you yet another option for the Darklon character. Of course, if you can't find the Crazeblaze, it's not likely you'll find the other Bronze Bomber who uses the Darklon mold, either. The sad reality is that the molds used by Olmec are gone. Olmec had issues with the federal government and is defunct. The molds they were sold are gone and there is little hope we will ever see any of the molds from the set resurrected in any format. It's a shame as there are some great molds in the Bronze Bombers set. But, most of them have decent Hasbro figures and some that don't, like Darklon, were done well enough by the Bronze Bombers that collectors have a nice variety to add to their collections.

If you want this figure, it is not easy to find. When you do see them for sale, they will easily fetch $25-$30. But, there is hope. Most toy dealers who have a passing interest in Joe will occasionally find Bronze Bomber figures. Usually, they will not know what they are and will either mislabel them (often as Funskool figures) or toss them into bargain bins. If these dealers do know what the figures are, they rarely realize how much Joe collectors are willing to pay for individual figures: especially the Cobra molds. I found this figure in a bargain bin at a toy dealer for $3. In the past 2 years, I've found 2 Bronze Bomber figures like this. So, it can happen. It's not likely that it will happen to you tomorrow, but usually, in time, you can get just about anything for a fair price. This is the best version of Darklon. But, it's Darklon. If a Bronze Bomber were the best version of Stormshadow, Cobra Commander or Snake Eyes, then I've have no issue with paying the high price tag. But, my collection is complete without a Darklon. Granted, it's more complete with him. But most collectors wouldn't consider Darklon to be one of their essential characters. As such, for most collectors, it's worth waiting to find this guy on the cheap. This figure was well worth the price I paid for him, but I know that I wouldn't have paid much more just to get him.

1997 Scorch - Bronze Bomber Motor Viper

Some time around 1997 a small toy company called Olmec acquired some G.I. Joe molds from Hasbro and produce a set of figures called the Bronze Bombers. These figures were themed for an African-American audience and offered Joe collectors something different than they had previously seen. While the molds were mostly obscure vehicle drivers recolored with neon paint, the set was fairly well received by collectors. Now, it enjoys occasional outbursts of interest but remains, for the most part, a rather obscure footnote to Joe history. But, some of the figures were very well done and do fit with the notions of Joe that have taken hold of modern collectors. One such figure is the repainted Motor Viper.

The Bronze Bombers were released in a 12 figure pack that was sold exclusively at Toys R Us. The original price was $14.99 which really isn't bad for a 12 figure set that included a few accessories. The figures used Joe vehicle driver molds from the late '80's. (Interestingly enough, many of the contemporary vehicle driver molds to these figures were subsequently produced or scheduled for production in India. It seems that Hasbro needed to recoup some development cost for these molds and made them more widely available than their other, more mainstream molds.) The basic figure molds were: 1988 Skidmark, 1986 Strato Viper, 1988 Darklon, 1989 Track Viper, 1988 Secto Viper, 1989 Wild Boar and the 1986 Motor Viper. Darklon along with the Secto, Motor, and Strato Viper was released as a straight repaint. These figures comprised "Pyro's Band of Thugs" and were the "bad" guys of the set. Each was individually named with the Motor Viper called "Scorch". The 8 good guys all featured new African American head sculpts and were given various names. It is difficult at best to pinpoint exactly which figure is which, but all 8 were given code names. Many of the good guy figures are more sanely colored than their villainous counterparts (some are even in better colors than the original use of the mold by Hasbro!) and make excellent additions to any Joe team roster. The bad guys are a bit more oddly colored, but are still very useful in rounding out your Cobra army.

As the Bronze Bomber figures were not Hasbro produced, they are not Hasbro quality. I have found them to be most similar to Brazilian Joe figures in terms of plastic quality. This means that they are decent, but are prone to easy thumb and crotch breakage. So, you have to be a bit careful with them when you use them. The paint masks on the figures tend to be tight, though not really all that complex. Most figures are 2 or 3 colors which was done to reduce the manufacturing costs. Few of them have painted details and the paint applications remind me of many of the 1994 Hasbro Joe offerings in that respect. In many cases, though, these minimal applications work and provide Joe collectors with some attractive alternatives to popular and unpopular molds.

Scorch is actually colored quite well. His body is a deep, dark blue combined with powerful green highlights. His face mask and pistol handles are dark baby blue and are really the only downside to the figure. He is bright and striking, there is no denying that. But, in his context, the colors work for him. The dark blue and green complement each other very well and help minimize the effect of the baby blue. (Though, the baby blue is only a shade darker than the baby blue used on the original Hasbro figure!) It's not clear which accessories from the set would belong to Scorch, but that really doesn't matter since all of the accessories are fairly weak in terms of coloring and this is a vehicle driver so accessories are less important.

In my collection, the Bronze Bomber figures have simply been specialized sub-units of their Hasbro/Cobra counterparts. The Secto Viper is just a more specialized version of the standard bright yellow Bugg drivers. This Motor Viper is now just a regular Motor Viper who happens to pilot certain missions. For a long time, I really didn't have any particular vehicle in mind for this Motor Viper but the 2004 Convention changed that. This figure would fit perfectly with the Dreadnok Stun released at that Convention. While that Stun is rather pricey on the second hand market, that also kind of fits into the notion of this figure. It is much more difficult to find Bronze Bomber Motor Vipers than it is to find standard Motor Vipers. So, having them man one lone (expensive!) Stun makes them rather elite. While this is a jump from my previous vision of this figure, it does give him more importance in my collection and allow him to be used in a way that pays more homage to his non-Hasbro roots.

It is likely that the molds used for the Bronze Bomber figures are gone. Olmec ran into some trouble with the government and the founder of the company went on the run. As such, any claim to these molds that Hasbro might have had will now be tied up in legal wrangling. As Hasbro wouldn't be able to recoup a ton of money from these molds, it's doubtful they would ever spend the time, money or effort to re-acquire these molds. That's not really a terrible thing since the Cobra molds in the set were mostly very well done the first time around and wouldn't greatly benefit from a repaint. Plus, it leaves these figures as more unique since we know we have probably seen the last of them.

While I would hesitate to call the Bronze Bomber figures outright rare, they are actually rather difficult to find. Original distribution on the set was spotty at best. Some Toys R Us stores had tons of stock while others never got any at all. (The distribution appears to have been heavily dependent upon the racial demographics of individual TRU stores.) Plus, the Internet was still in its infancy at the time and many Joe fans were simply not aware that this set existed at all. This means we are now left with a very nice set of figures that are difficult for the modern collector to acquire cheaply. However, it can be done. A properly titled sale for a Bronze Bomber Cobra will tend to draw lots of attention and many times the individual figures sell for over $15. But, many auctions that include Bronze Bombers are not properly labeled and you can still find bargains from time to time. Many dealers who come across the figures simply don't know what they are and tend to think of them as bootlegs or foreign variants. So, you can luck out there, too. I have found these figures to be a great addition to my collection. They are the type of thing that allows a collection to stand apart from others, if even only a little bit.