1994 Star Brigade - Carded Set

In the second half of 1998, I really started to look to G.I. Joe collecting as my hobby of choice.  I had dabbled a bit in a Joe resurgence for a while.  But, the retail stream of new Star Wars figures consumed not only most of my money, but also my time.  However, by the summer of 1998, the Star Wars market was over-saturated.  The huge volume of shipments and new waves that included carry over figures from earlier releases had caused a pegwarming backup that was unprecedented.  While the early part of 1998 had been a great time of constant new figures and refreshed army builders, Hasbro had made too much and the waves planned for later in the year could not get out to retail.  This resulted in a some waves being cancelled, others only showing up in obscure retailers and the complete reboot of the line in early 1999.  To me, though, the retail frustration of Star Wars, coupled with my first major promotion in my adult career lead me down another path along which I could spend my money.  All of this, of course, coincided with the emergence of Ebay as a means to purchase items that were not available from local toy dealers or second hand shops.  As I shifted my collecting priorities, I first focused on a few items from the Joe line that I had long wanted.  Among them were a Hammer, the 1989 Rock and Roll and, at least one Lunartix Alien.

In 1998, the alien figures, MOC, fetched about $15 on the secondary market.  This seems low, but was a princely sum back then.  You could get lesser character 1985 figures MOC for that price at the time.  So, it was a large purchase when I bit the bullet and got a Lobotomaxx figure.  When he arrived, I realized how cool the overall card presentation was.  I liked the colors and look of Star Brigade.  And, I had a connection to the 1993 series that I had found at KB Toys liquidation stores a few years prior.  As I surveyed the other 1994 Star Brigade offerings, I was enthralled by the designs and colors.  At the time, the figures were relatively hard to find, especially if you wanted them loose.  However, you could find them carded: and they were cheap when you did.  So, I put together my first complete series of carded figures: the 1994 Star Brigade.

The '94 Star Brigade line was divided into two distinct series.  The first wave consisted of Cobra Commander, Cobra Blackstar, Sci Fi, Payload, Space Shot, Duke and Roadblock.  The second wave contained Ozone, Countdown, Effects, Lobotomaxx, Predacon and Carcass.  This left an unlucky 13 figures in the retail, single carded line.  But, the overall presentation remained.  Gone were the generic pink cards from 1993 and in was a visual delight of black, blue and purple with a clean G.I. Joe logo running up the card's left edge, culminating in a bright Star Brigade logo at the card's top.  Each character got his own, unique card art along with a yellow "gimmick" tag that touted some feature of each figure.  In short, they were a crisp, clean look for the last unique retail wave of figures to hit stores.

Wave 1 showcased Hasbro's commitment to the line.  5 of the 7 figures featured either mostly new parts, or all new parts.  On top of this, the characters all included a wide array of feature rich accessories that were essential for retail success at the time.  Hasbro did skimp on the overall paint applications, though.  Most of the figures only have three or four minor paint masks.  And, Duke and the variant Roadblock only featured one paint mask on their entire body.  This Roadblock and the Payload figure were repaints of Star Brigade molds that had been released in 1993.  Which, in turn, were mostly repaints of prior years' retail release figures.  So, the line spent money wisely in terms of bringing something new to the market.

1994 Star Brigade Wave 1: Duke, Sci Fi, Space Shot and Cobra Commander

1994 Mexican Exclusive Star Brigade Carcass - Lunartix Alien

Fans of this page know that I'm a Star Brigade junkie. I've profiled several astronauts, both Joe and Cobra. It's been a while, though, since I graced the Forgotten Figures section with a Star Brigade figure. I've been wanting to showcase the one area of Star Brigade that I've been missing, the Lunartix empire, but have not had the loose figures of which to take pictures. I've said before that I've got a complete set of carded '94 Star Brigade figures, but I only had Carcass loose. However, a couple of weeks ago, I got a chance to add this much less seldom seen version of Carcass to my collection. It is from Mexico, and one of two exclusive color schemes done to Lunartix figures that were only available down there. While the Mexican Predacon is cool, I like the American one better. That is not the case with the figure you see below. While both versions of Carcass leave something to be desired as figures, it is the exclusive Mexican variation that is much, much cooler to see.

I'll just get one thing out in the open right now. Most Joe collectors are not too happy about the inclusion of space aliens into their beloved line. Personally, I don't think it was the direction the line needed to go in order to perpetuate itself. However, I do believe that Hasbro had its reasons for doing this. Also, the fact remains, these three Lunartix aliens are part of the G.I. Joe line. To some people that's about as appealing as the fact that Street Fighter is a part of the line is to me. The point is, the debate about Star Brigade, its place in the line, and whether or not it destroyed Joe has been done to death. Of course, this is my web site so I get to spout off about my opinions. If you don't want to hear them, just skip the next paragraph.

Personally, I think that Star Brigade and G.I. Joe were going to take two different paths in 1995. From all indications, Hasbro was going full tilt into the Star Brigade concept. Several concepts and prototypes for the proposed 1995 line have survived to this day. They show a continuation of the traditional Star Brigade concept, more Lunartix aliens, the infamous Manimals, and a new concept called the Replicators that would have made the Manimals seem plausible. Add to that the fact that the Star Brigade logo was becoming more prominent on the packaging and there is a lot of evidence that makes me think that had Joe survived into 1995, Star Brigade would have become its cousin rather than its brother. The 1995 Battle Rangers line was taking Joe back to its military core. I think that line would have kept going under the G.I. Joe banner while the Star Brigade stuff would have become a more distant cousin that just shared a few old characters until the newly developed characters who were just for Star Brigade had a chance to be established. I will say that the only evidence I have of this is my own observation. However, I would like to hear different interpretations. Email me with any comments or commentary you might have about your opinions of where the line may have gone. Please don't email me just to say, "Star Brigade sucks." At least show some originality. ;->

Frankly, I like these aliens. Their place in the Joe universe is suspect, but they are very cool figures. Of the three, Carcass is the weakest. His arms are just a "poseable" mess of rubber. You can do much with them beyond what you see in the photo below. Aesthetically, this guy is cool. The black body with the colored organs inside the translucent chest piece is a start contrast that shows off the level of detail given these figures. Hasbro spent some bucks to design these guys. It's a shame that so few people have them, or even know about them, now. This Mexican variant showcases the figure's features in a way the American version can't. The red American Carcass simply all blends together and doesn't really make you stand up and notice him. The Mexican version is the most visibly striking of all 5 variants of the Lunartix figures. It's just a shame that the arms take away so much of the playability.

The thing about all the '94 Star Brigade figures is the colors. As you can see in the picture below, these guys utilize some color schemes that are both pleasing to the eye and visually bold and striking at the same time. The vibrant oranges, reds, greens, and blues set against subtle hues of black and grey give these guys a unique appearance that is not found on any other set of figures. On astronauts, you can get away with that. I think that's the single most important reason of why I so like the '94 Star Brigade figures. They look great out on display. It's also why I couldn't, even after I had made up my mind otherwise, bring myself to open my carded set. The visual effect of them all together is just much stronger than any other group of carded figures in Joe's history.

Updated 4/26/07

Modern collectors have since learned a lot more about the origins of these Mexican exclusive aliens. It seems that the Mexican exclusive figures were the first figures produced for the Lunartix line. However, these colors that came back from the factory were so different than the card art, Hasbro nixed them, went back to the factory and got the colors right. However, there were enough of these figures made that they warranted release. So, Hasbro dumped them wherever they could. All of the Mexican figures are on American cardbacks. Hasbro simply taped a Spanish language sticker over the essential parts and sent the figures off to Mexico where they sold as overstock.

One other thing has happened in the nearly 6 years since I first visited this figure. Mexican Lunartix figures have gotten expensive! Recent sales of the Mexican Predacon put a carded figure well over $100 and a mint, complete loose figures near $60. Carcass trails a bit behind but carded Mexican Carcass figures now fetch over $60 and loose, mint complete figures will break $30. The reality is that these figures probably saw a VERY small production run. It was surely a fraction of the American Lunartix and it is generally accepted that they were limited to 10,000 pieces. As such, you are going to pay a bit more of a premium to add these figures to your collection today.

End 4/26/07 Update

This figure isn't too tough to find. He usually appears for sale every other month or so. He can easily be purchased MOC for under $20. I know that the American Carcass was shipped 3 per case in his initial run, making him the most common series 2 Star Brigade figure. I don't know if the Mexican assortments kept the same ratios. At any rate, this guy is Star Brigade and Star Brigade means cheap. No one really likes these aliens (Just look at how the Manimals now clog the pegs. Ouch!) and so there are very few people looking for them. In fact, most toy dealers who have these guys aren't really Joe dealers and have no idea of what they have. I've gotten Mexican carded Star Brigade figures mixed in with American Star Brigade figures on more than one occasion. To be honest, I think most of these guys, like the Chinese exclusive figures, are now in America. That's nice since it allows you to pick up some different versions of obscure figures with relative ease and inexpense. Those are the types of foreign figures I like. They are unique and eye catching, but they won't ruin your budget. Now, if I could only get some Brazilian figures the same way!

I like this guy, but have the only one I want. If you have a Mexican Predacon that you want to get rid of, let me know.