2021 Black Major Cobalt Guard (Gold Trim)

Back in the early 2000's, I was vocal that Hasbro should release a repaint of their updated Crimson Guard mold in Cobra blue.  I was hassled for this by collectors hung up on the "Crimson" part of their name.  When the Shadow Guard were released in mid 2005, I was adamant that the set should have included at least one Cobra blue figure to lead the new legions of black clad Siegies.  More people came around on the idea.  But, Hasbro was done and new repaints of their Crimson Guard mold were not to be.  In the early 2010's, though, Black Major released his first Crimson Guards.  These figures, though, were not as ubiquitous as the Cobra Troopers and Invasors had been.  The cheap lots of 4 to 6 figures were no more.  And, when he released a Cobra blue version, I was pretty much out of the Joe world.  Around 2016, I managed to get one of the blue Black Major figures off of Ebay for a few bucks.  In short order, the figures would get very expensive: too expensive for army building.  But, in 2021, Black Major brought back the Crimson Guards with a new mold.  This time, the figure included additional heads and a Viper rifle.  Among his color offerings were a few takes on Cobra blue.  Sold under the Cobalt Guard header, these blue Crimson Guards finally gave me a chance to build a blue Siegie army that I had wanted for a decade and a half.

The Crimson Guard was one of the most requested army builders from the early 2000's.  He was the third or fourth most requested figure behind the Viper, BAT and Cobra Trooper.  Eventually, Hasbro relented and resculpted a new Crimson Guard figure.  The figure wasn't bad.  But, it reused some existing parts, didn't have the classic gear and only included heads with removable helmets.  In short, they were fine.  But, they didn't really scratch the itch for collectors who loved the original mold.  In the early 2010's, though, Black Major made his first round of Crimson Guard figures.  These featured a multitude of color options and included the original gear.  But, these figures were made in lower quantities than the Cobra Troopers of that era.  And, while plenty of guys did army build a few flavors, they really didn't permeate the collecting community to the degree that some of the other factory customs from those early days had done.  Finally, about a decade later, Black Major's second run of Crimson Guard figures were released.  Done up in even more colors, these figures were well received by the dwindling collector base of the time.  Since there isn't much content being created these days, the figures don't appear with the frequency that you'd expect.  But, that's more about the dwindling creative collector and less about the figures themselves.

For me, as a kid, the Crimson Guards really were Cobra's elite troopers.  To me, the red uniform was combat ready.  The Siegies were just so good that they could wear red into battle with little concern.  The best of the best would then become Eels (I still swear that, somewhere, I read that CG's became Eels.  But, this appears to be youthful exaggeration on my part rather than any official canon.)  who could then become Snow Serpents.  (Who were the pinnacle of the Cobra army and equal to most Joes.)  But, as I got older, I saw this as a less likely use for the character.  Instead, they slowly became guards for Cobra Commander and other Cobra hierarchy.  They were still elite fighters.  But, they were reserved for protecting Cobra's top leaders.  The dressy uniform was still cool.  But, I didn't see it as combat ready...especially now that I had far more army builders available to me.

It is from this protector role that the CG's evolved.  One of the main events in my Joe world was the Crimson Guard Rebellion.  The group tried to take over Cobra in the mid 2000's.  The end result was that the elite unit was mostly broken up.  Those who remained are still entrenched in Cobra leadership: a powder keg of potential unrest just waiting to be lit.  But, mostly, they keep their heads down after they saw so many of their brethren be unceremoniously executed by Cobra Commander when he defeated them.  

One of the humiliations that the Commander bestowed upon the Crimson Guardsmen was that he allowed for their uniform to be worn in different colors.  Most of the younger elites choose blue to show their loyalty to the Commander.  Elders often wear black to denote their status.  But, some choose to wear red.  Mostly, it's done as a troll to the remaining rabble of rebellious guardsmen who see the youngers wearing red as an insult.  But, the Commander prefers blue and his personal guards always wear the blue uniforms as a means of confirming their loyalty to him.  The golden trim, though, is reserved for the officers among the Commander's entourage.  A special notation fitting of their status.  And, the blue and gold motif matches the Commander's dress uniform: implying the leaders have access to the Commander when he's at his least guarded moments.

My main draw to the gold trimmed figure is just how exquisite it looks.  For some reason, the color combo of the lighter blue and bright gold really clicked.  Not so much in that I wanted a dozen of them.  But, it worked as the leader of a large unit of figures.  As you can see in the photos below,  the blue is a bit lighter than standard Cobra blue.  But, it's not quite the Soldado blue.  It works for me.  Especially now that there are several other figures that have similar hues that are available from factory custom makers.  For this figure, the paint masks are tight and  the figure quality is really nice.  The golden paint really makes the fine details on the CG mold pop.  It's great to get Crimson Guard rifles.  And, you get an extra Viper rifle with every figure.  (Which is kind of handy when you have a couple dozen 2006 Viper Pit figures sitting around.)  Even now, where I'm in a phase of hyper-criticality on anything Joe, I still find this figure aesthetically pleasing.  Which keeps it relevant to me.

It is likely that this gold trimmed figure exists in smaller numbers than the other blue Crimson Guard flavors that were made.  For those who pre-ordered a set, a single gold trim figure was included along with nine of the silver trim figures.  (You could choose red Cobra logos or silver Cobra logos for the 9 other figures.  I went with silver.)  What this means is anyone's guess.  On the one hand, lower run figures tend to do well if people can't get them.  But, at the same time, the obscure nature of their differences combined with the massive amount of new figures released all at once tends to leave the figures the odd men out.  We'll see how it plays out with this figure.  But, I'm glad I have one as he's a visual treat that really helps provide more depth to the Crimson Guard brigades.

You can get the gold trimmed Cobalt Guardsman for about $22.  This is a far cry from the pre-order pricing.  But, in line with the retail cost when single figures were made available.  In general, Crimson Guard flavors from that era sell in the $15-$20 range.  So, the gold figure has a slight premium.  But, that's also likely due to reduced options for acquisition.  In the end, the gold and blue is a striking combination that makes for a visually pleasing figure.  But, you have lots of options for visually pleasing figures these days.  I go with what speaks, specifically, to me.  This golden trimmed Guardsman did just that.  So, he's a fun addition to my collection.  I just need to use him a bit more often.

Rarities - 1985 CAT Tank (Sears Exclusive)

The MOBAT sucks.  It's important to start out with that as a statement.  It was, easily, the worst toy to debut in the line in 1982.  And, it was never compelling.  Sure, it was cool in the comic and cartoon.  But, there, you got to see characters interacting with it in a way that was simply not possible with the actual toy.  So, Hasbro recoloring the tank in black and red for release as a Sears exclusive in 1985 didn't really solve any of the limitations of the toy.  But, the Crimson Attack Tank (CAT) exists and remains a prized piece for collectors: even if it's undeserved.

It's tough to remember that Sears was the king of retailers as the '80's dawned.  The catalog sales model was a proven way to reach massive amounts of consumers who didn't have access to a physical Sears store.  But, Sears was also pretty effective at getting stores into even small towns.  (The small town where my cousins grew up had a stand alone Sears store.  It was about the size that a Dollar Store is today.  But, it was clean and efficient.  It stocked a few items.  But, mostly, it was a place where customers could come in and order from the catalog.)  So, them being able to afford an exclusive run of toys made a lot of sense.  And, starting in 1982, Sears carried their first exclusive Joe toy, the craptastic Cobra Missile Command.  

In other profiles, I've written about how my dad was a Sears junkie.  He could go in and look at the tools for just as long as I would look at the toys.  And, as they were near each other in our local store, I'd often find myself free to wander the ample toy section while he browsed the hardware.  Really, my only memories of spending time looking at toy lines I didn't collect was in Sears.  My time in Toys R Us or Children's Palace was always Joe focused with little time to spend browsing around.  I recall looking at He-Man and Sectaurs at that Sears store on the north side of Indianapolis.  In these sessions, though, I also discovered the CAT and the SMS.  I distinctly recall both of them being on the end of an aisle and the boxes were neatly stacked on the floor.  The display was huge and the stock was more than ample.  The following year, I found the Dreadnok exclusives in similar format.  Since my dad liked Sears, we found these toys under the tree.  Except, that is, for the CAT.

For Christmas of 1981 or 1982, my dad's best friend bought my brothers and I, each, a remote controlled tank.  They were undersized for Joes and not really meant for action figures.  We played with them for a day or two.  Once home, though, they got tossed into the toy box where they'd stay.  They were too big to match the grocery store plastic soldiers that every kid in the early '80's had in spades.  And, they were too small for Joes or Star Wars figures.  So, they weren't that fun.  Because we had these, though, my mother was adamantly against us getting any more motorized tanks.  I asked for the MOBAT once because I wanted Steeler.  The tone of my mother's "no" ensured I didn't ask again.  

Aside from Steeler, though, I don't think we really missed anything.  Our friend around the block had a MOBAT.  And, no one every played with it.  It was big, didn't interact well with figures, and, you couldn't roll it into battle like you could the toys with free-rolling wheels.  

To this day, I do not own any incarnation of the MOBAT.  Through the years, I've had the original and the 1998 versions.  But, I sold them all off as they are bad toys and worse display pieces.  I've never owned either CAT.  And, I've never had any inclination to do so.  It makes no sense to pay a premium for a vehicle that I don't like and would never, ever use.  But, the CAT is a relatively hard to find item, especially complete with the gun cap.  And, for that reason, it's always been popular with collectors.  The 1985 version has always commanded a premium price, even when alternative versions were getting clearanced from KB Toys' website for a couple of bucks each.  

At its core, the CAT is just a MOBAT colored in black and red.  If the MOBAT were a good toy, this recolor would be an awesome addition to the Cobra army.  But, since it's not, the CAT is just a big hunk of black plastic that takes up huge amounts of space in photos and can't hold any figures.  In Canada, an all black MOBAT was released.  I actually prefer the two-tone CAT, though.  While both toys are rare (the Canadian being substantially more so) they both are heavily limited by the MOBAT design.

Today, with a bit of perseverance, you can find an open sale of the tank for about $250.  But, this is an  item that dealers always pick out.  So, there is consistently plenty of stock available.  The tanks are just sold in the $350-$400 range.  And, lots of people pay that price since the tanks are there for the taking and $100 is worth not having to wait for a year or more to get one at a real market price.  

2005 Crimson Firefly - Around the Web

This 2005 Firefly has no reason to exist.  It occupies this weird space between the excellent 2004 Urban Strike Firefly and the even better 2005 Comic Pack Firefly.  It's not better than either of those figures.  And, with them in such close proximity of this Crimson figure's release window, the Toys R Us exclusive should be overlooked.  But, surprisingly, I found a lot of good content on this figure out there.  He looks great in photos and, did not the better paint jobs exist, he might have been the best Firefly ever released.  

There's lots of fun content below.  It ranges from articles written upon the figure's release: nearly two decades ago, to more recent uses.  All this shows the figure's popularity remains strong.  

2005 Crimson Firefly Profile

2005 Crimson Firefly at the Attica Gazette

2005 Crimson Firefly by relena_warcraft

2005 Crimson Firefly by instachampa

2005 Crimson Firefly at JoeBattleLines.com

2005 Crimson Firefly by elevatemetoahigherhumanform

2005 Crimson Firefly by gen_liederkranz

2005 Crimson Firefly by mikesjoetography

2005 Crimson Firefly by instachampa

2005 Crimson Firefly by slaughters_free_time

2005 Crimson Firefly at Generals Joes Reborn

2005 Crimson Firefly by relena_warcraft

2005 Crimson Firefly by instachampa

2005 Crimson Firefly by elevatemetoahigherhumanform

2005 Crimson Firefly by mikesjoetography

2005 Crimson Firefly by yojoe_collectibles

2005 Crimson Firefly by gen_liederkranz

2005 Crimson Firefly by viper space

2005 Crimson Firefly by yotothejoe

2005 Crimson Guard

In 2003, Hasbro showcased brand new Crimson Guard bodies that were supposed to debut on both the Agent Faces mail away figure as well as the Cobra Island Infiltrate set.  At the time, collectors were desperate for new, cheap Crimson Guards.  Despite the Infiltrate set's cancellation, collectors found Agent Faces enough of a acquisition to sate their desire for bigger and better armies.  In late 2004, Hasbro released Operation Crimson Sabotage: a boxed set of two vehicles that also included three new Crimson Guard figures.  This set was primed to explode on the secondary market.  But, just as it started to take off, rumors of a coming 2005 Crimson Guard set were confirmed.  Collectors backed off the Sabotage sets and geared up for the coming 6 pack.  And, it did not disappoint...too much.  Hasbro released a set with four Crimson Guard figures.  They included decent enough gear.  Hasbro even went so far as to break up Tomax and Xamot so that there were, technically, two sets and collectors could get more army builders for their money.  (Oddly, though, each set also included a Firefly which negated the savings on the Tomax/Xamot split....)  The figures themselves were repaints of the 2004 Crimson Guards and were replete with all the benefits and detriments of the existing figures.

As a figure, this Crimson Guard is OK.  Considering that vintage CG's at the time of this set's release were $20-$25 figures, collectors were fine with getting an inferior version since the cost per figure was under $3.50 each.  The figure's body and legs are fine.  But, the arms can be problematic.  The 1992 Duke arms were meant to have super weird and short sleeves.  On the CG, the design just looks a bit bizarre.  The arms also don't fit flush at the figure's side.  So, they flail out a bit and make the CG look like an overzealous body builder.  The bare heads are fine.  They are rather non-descript.  But, they work in that context.  As they are a 2000's era sculpt, they lack the details and personality of vintage designs.  But, it's a masked bad guy so the countenance doesn't require that much attention to distinct facial features.  With the helmet on, the figure's flesh colored neck is exposed...kind of ruining the overall aesthetic of the character.  Were the mask fully painted down the figure's neck, this would be solved and the appearance would be more in line with the 1985 figure.

The paint details on the figure are well done.  The cords on the figure's right arm are painted gold and the other insignia on the figure's chest have a burnished silver color.  The brighter silver from Agent Faces on these details are much better.  Each figure in this set uses the same head.  The figure has an odd red hair.  There are variant heads available in the Sabotage set.  And, even the Shadow Guard heads can be used to give the figs some diversity.  The Cobra logo is somewhat understated. The figure lacks the arm insignia from the Operation Crimson Sabotage figures.  But, features plenty of silver and black details that would have made mint figures impossible to find had it been a vintage figure.  CG's, in general, don't require too much paint.  Their red color is their calling card.  But, the vintage silver Cobra logo pops on the figure.  They faded yellow logo on these 2005 CG's lacks that distinctive flair.

Collector reaction to these figures was generally positive.  But, it was also understated.  In 2003, collectors were army builder obsessed.  In 2004, though, some of that desire started to sate.  By the time these figures showed up in 2005, Crimson Guard fatigue was setting in.  Collectors had ample opportunities to get similar figures in 2004.  So, the pent up demand that had met the Cobra Infantry no longer existed for the CGs.  Collectors liked the figures.  But, with their helmets on, the CG's lost some of their mystique.  Many collectors opted to leave the helmets off altogether since the figures looks good without it, too.  But, while many collectors of the era bought double digit Cobra Infantry sets, they reduced their purchase of the CG's.  Many collectors reported only two to four sets in their collections.  The fact that Hasbro released army building "Greenshits" as the Joe companion set to the CG's also sucked away a bit of the army building dollars.  But, the set really didn't offer anything that collectors couldn't get elsewhere.  And, quite a few collectors skipped the set and just picked up a spare Tomax/Xamot set from one of the army builders who was looking to recoup some costs.

The Crimson Guard figures all included accessories that were OK.  All four figures in the set included the same gear.  This was both helpful from an army standpoint but also frustrating in that there was no diversification among the figures.  What was odd, though, was that Hasbro outfitted the CG's in infantry style gear: gear that was far better suited to the 2004 Cobra Infantry set which had featured awful weapons.  Each figure got a black version of the 1991 Dusty's pack as well as the AR-15 inspired rifle that had debuted in the JvC series of figures.  This gear is nice and the rifles fit with the CG figures.  But, I've never figured out how "elite" troopers wearing bright red uniforms would have use for long term field mission gear.  The figures also included a removable helmet.  While neat in theory, the practical effects of the helmet is that the figure's head is overly large when wearing it and looks disproportional.  It would have been great had Hasbro resculpted the original CG head (they had already redone the body...) and used it on at least 2 of the guardsmen in the set.  While they were at it, redoing the original CG rifle seems like a small request.  And, I'd have gladly sacrificed the packs to get a better homage to the original rifle.  But, considering it was 2005, I'm glad the gear somewhat works for the figures as it was far better than what subsequent sets would see in terms of accessories.

Toys R Us initially ordered ~25,000 units of their ARAH style Joe sets.  However, slow sales on the Tiger Force and Python Patrol set got them to reduce the orders to ~20,000 units per set starting in 2004.  Again, though, the Joe sets sold slowly and they were further reduced to ~16,000 units before the end of the year.  The Cobras, though, remained at the 20,000 set level.  So, we know that there were 20,000 Crimson Guard sets produced.  What we're not 100% sure of, though, is if Hasbro produced 20,000 of both the Tomax set and the Xamot set.  Or, if they produced 20,000 total sets.  Based on the shelves at the time and the availability of figures today, it seems far more likely that there were just the 20,000 total sets made: 10,000 sets for each twin.  But, with 4 Crimson Guards per set, that's still 80,000 Crimson Guards that were produced and is why the figure remains relatively available and affordable even in the 2022 marketplace.

Hasbro got almost all they could from this Crimson Guard remake.  It was released as Faces in 2003, Crimson Guards in 2004 and 2005 and as the Crimson Shadow Guard in the late summer of 2005.  Despite these four uses, though, three were in nearly identical red and the fourth featured six figures all in black.  Hasbro missed the totally obvious and easy blue repaint.  Had the Firefly in the Crimson Guard set been replaced with a blue CG, it would not have lingered at retail for months.  But, Hasbro wasn't able to get decent Cobra Trooper/Officer repaints to collectors and failed with the CG's as well.  In the early 2010's, factory custom makers redid the 1985 Crimson Guard and finally filled in some of the coloring gaps.  But, these figures saw lower production runs and aren't really all that common any more.  Fortunately, new CG runs were released in 2021 and many colors have become much more available.

In 2005, the Joe world had considerably slowed.  And, as such, the Crimson Guards lingered at retail.  You could still find sets well into the summer of that year.  Online sets, though, sold out relatively quickly.  Collectors liked the figures.  But, the general malaise of the collecting world combined with the earlier releases of Faces and Operation Crimson Sabotage helped temper demand and keep the CG's as very attainable for quite a while.  These days, Tomax, Xamot and even Firefly are relatively desirable and command a premium.  But, individual CG figures do not.  However, here's what I wrote in 2017 when I started this profile:

While boxed sets fetch around $40 and the dealers will get around $10 for a mint and complete figure, the Crimson Guards sell for under $5 each when left to the open market.  

Even in the rapidly cooling collectible market of 2022, though, these figures are a lot more expensive.  Loose, mint and complete Crimson Guards sell in the $11-$13 range depending upon buying them in lots or individually.  Boxed sets run around $100.  Dealers tend to get around $20, though, for the same figure.  But, those prices are falling and you're seeing many of them starting to sit at that level.  

There are so many options for figures like this and there are better Crimson Guards available.  So, that leaves these figures rather undesirable and something that the modern collector can still army build on a budget.  There's not many figures left like that.  But, you can find them.  Personally, I'd wait out the market a bit before paying $13 for a sample.  But, you never know which figures will stand tall against the dropping prices and hold up.  The main thing is that this figures are OK.  If you can find 2021 factory customs for similar or lower prices, they're probably a better option.

1989 Python Patrol Crimson Guard - Around the Web

Sometimes, a repaint just makes no sense.  And, when the color of the uniform you wear is part of your name, changing that color seems like a bad idea.  And, for the Python Patrol Crimson Guard, it was.  Despite the odd colors, though, the figure has some merit.  The CG mold is strong.  And, Hasbro only used it twice in the vintage line.  There's some nice content on the figure out there, though.  So, browse away at the Python Patrol Crimson Guard around the web.

Python Patrol Crimson Guard Profile

Python Patrol Crimson Guard by atticagazette

Python Patrol Crimson Guard by davaflavaprime

Python Patrol Crimson Guard by plasticbattles

Python Patrol Crimson Guard by yotothejoe

Python Patrol Crimson Guard by thekidcustoms

Python Patrol Crimson Guard by callsign_charlie.mike

Python Patrol Crimson Guard by gijoeshtuff

Python Patrol Crimson Guard by action_1982

Python Patrol Crimson Guard by atwooddan

Python Patrol Crimson Guard by Serpentor's Lair

Python Patrol Crimson Guard by dashiellerfairborne

Python Patrol Crimson Guard by gi_jokers

1985 SMS - Around The Web

I got the Sears exclusive SMS for Christmas in 1985.  At the time, it was a bit disappointing since I didn't get a USS Flagg.  But, very quickly, the SMS proved its value.  And, in time, the Crimson repaints of classic vehicles came to be an integral part of my collection.  And, the missile system became one of the key elements that drove my imaginative Joe world through 1987.  

I still have my original SMS.  It's one of the few toys from my childhood that I never upgraded.  I still like it for photos today as the red and black makes a great backdrop for many early Cobra figures.  Due to the rarity, there's not a ton of SMS content out there.  Here's the little I could find around the web on the SMS.

SMS Profile

SMS by badgerscratch

SMS by HCC788

SMS at G.I. Joe Pit

SMS by dreadnokdread

2005 Crimson Firefly

In the final months of 2004, collectors were being inundated with both massive amounts of information about the Joe line and also an influx of unproduced figures from Asia.  At times, it was difficult to discern between the two.  And, as new figures would appear from Asian sellers, collectors struggled to determine if they were unreleased figures or if they were paint schemes that would appear in upcoming retail releases.  Sometimes, it was easy as figures like the Wal Mart Sky Patrol figures were known to be cancelled.  Other times, it was tougher.  In the fall of 2004, an odd Firefly appeared for sale.  It featured the exact same paints masks as the 2004 Urban Strike Firefly.  But, the blue was replaced with red.  At the same time, collectors were pretty sure that there would be a Crimson Guard Toys R Us set released in early 2005.  But, there was no way that Hasbro would be dumb enough to include Firefly in an army building set.  And, there was also no way that Hasbro would ever release a figure in the same paint masks in such close proximity.  But, in late 2004, collectors didn't really know how close the retail Joe line was to cancellation.  And, in one release, two truths that collectors believed about Hasbro were shattered and the first warning shot of the line's demise was quietly given when this Crimson Firefly appeared in the 2005 Toys R Us Crimson Guard sets.

Looking at that information now, it seems obvious that the Firefly would be part of the Crimson Guard set.  We knew the Crimson set was coming and we knew this Firefly in red appeared right before the set's official announcement.  Marrying the two seems elementary.  But, again, collectors still (despite all the evidence to the contrary) held Hasbro in high regard and didn't think there was any way that the slowly becoming hated Firefly mold would be released another time so close to the 2004 version.  But, that's exactly what happened.  

In the early 2000's, Hasbro decided that every Cobra figure could use a red repaint.  And, while collectors made fun of the red divers, armor troopers and ninjas, we also bought them up in spades.  Collectors of the era amassed every red army builder and loved the painted characters to accompany them.  So, finally seeing Firefly in some semblance of the color was both expected and relatively normal for that time.  Unfortunately, this color scheme didn't really match many of the brighter red figures who had been previously released.  So, while good, this Firefly didn't match up with many existing figures.  

In 2005, I lamented that Firefly's inclusion in the Crimson Guard set made no sense.  And, all these years later, it still doesn't.  Hasbro deliberately split up Tomax and Xamot so that collectors could army build the sets.  There was no other reason for it.  But, despite that collector friendly move, they then included Firefly.  In 2005, Firefly had already been done to death.  And, there was another version on the way.  So, Firefly, even in a good color scheme, was a detriment to the set.  The sets would have been relatively cheap to make since one figure mold was included 4 times.  (There weren't even rank or skin color variants like we'd seen on the Operation Crimson Sabotage or the Cobra Infantry Set.)  And, even though Firefly reused paint masks, those masks were intricate and would have been expensive to duplicate.  So, why, then, did Firefly appear?  Hasbro has never given us a good explanation.  My theory remains that Firefly was a last minute addition to the set when the club decided to use the Crimson Guard Immortal body mold for the 2005 Convention Destro.  (Meaning that figure screwed collectors twice!)  But, this is pure speculation based on the mold's appearance in the same year, Hasbro's willingness to appease the club and the club's general lack of caring about their ill effects on the collecting community.

In the second half of 2003, G.I. Joe could not stay on the shelves.  Retailers sold out and Hasbro had to pull extra stock marked for online dealers and smaller retailers to fulfill the orders coming from Wal Mart, Toys R Us and Target.  In January of 2004, though, the retail boom suddenly ended.  The first wave of Venom vs. Valor instantly backed up around the country.  This was likely a storm of overproduction combined with post holiday fatigue.  As 2004 wore on, interest picked back up and Joe sold well enough.  But, not well enough to really sustain the line.  The 2005 theme, Robot Rebellion, was abandoned and Hasbro let the line trickle out before pulling the plug in the summer of that year.  Through this, though, the Toys R Us 6 packs usually performed differently than the retail line.  Strong collector interest and lower production runs really helped those.  But, even with this, the 2005 sets lingered.  Both the Crimson sets and the Greenshirts were available in Toys R Us stores well into the fall.  It turned out that collectors didn't really need 100 Crimson Guards.  Instead, they were often content with the 8 that it took to get one Tomax and one Xamot set.  But, even these small amounts meant leftover Fireflies.  And, this Firefly was a common figure, often discarded for peanuts to customizers or kids during the mid 2000's.

If you look at this figure, the paint details are amazing.  The Urban Firefly had seven colors combined into convention level paint masks.  This Crimson Firefly has the same.  Lost in the sea of red and black are splashes of green on the grenades and some details on the figure's legs.  The reality is that this figure doesn't have the full level of color that the 2004 version did.  But, the intricacy of the cammo pattern and the more visually distinctive colors help to obscure that he's missing little bands of silver.  And, the pattern is distinctive enough that many people don't even realize that the paint masks are the same as the 2004 figure that was barely six months old when this Crimson version was released.

The figure included the standard Firefly gear of: rifle, pack, tool case, battle stand and walkie talkie.  I can't really call Firefly's communications device a cell phone considering it was designed prior to 1984.  But, walkie talkie is clunky.  So, I use phone or walkie talkie interchangeably with Firefly.  The accessories in the Crimson Guard set weren't bad and made sense for the figures.  That was a rarity in the TRU sets.  The fact that Firefly almost always got his original gear was a rarity in the 2000's, too.  Few figures saw multiple releases with their full array of gear.  And, figure's that had been recalled from India (like the Firefly mold) almost always had new accessories instead of their classic inclusions.  One thing that has helped all the Fireflies of this time retain some relevance is that they didn't get the generic accessory allotments that were so common.  It makes Firefly feel more connected to his vintage roots: back when a figure's gear was as much a part of the character as the figure itself.  

As for this figure, he's rather obscure in my collection.  In looking for photos of him, I found some from around the time of his retail release.  But, few others.  The Urban Firefly and the Comic Pack version are just too well done.  They take up the Firefly appearances in photos.  And, as Crimson Cobras aren't a thing I tend to do too often, there's rarely occasion to break this figure out.  But, the truth is that this figure has held up well.  Now that we're 15 years since his release, the pain of seeing constant Firefly repaints has passed.  And, we're really seeing which figures from the repaint era have staying power.  This isn't the best Firefly repaint from that time.  But, even (arguably) the third best version of the character from the era is better than a lot of other figures released contemporarily.

Having someone like Firefly in crimson is nice since you can use him in different ways.  He can work with the Baroness from 2002.  Though, matching him to the Imperial Processional is tough to do.  The figure, obviously, works with Crimson Guards.  And, as I have helmetless CG's with "Fred" heads and Faces heads to act as high ranking Cobra officials, Firefly melds with them, too.  In short, this is a useful Firefly, but not an essential Firefly.  If you're tracking down the character, there are other releases to snag for your collection first.  But, getting this figure does more than just check a box for a complete collection.  It offers you something useful and, even, a bit fun.  Had this figure seen a different avenue of release, it would have been held in better regard at the time.  But, the fact that it's found some popularity today speaks to the solid design.

Firefly had too many uses to get into.  There's the original version, the 1998 winter release, the 2000 woodlands figures, the eye gougingly bright 2002 BJ's figure, the Tiger Force Wreckage, 2 convention releases, the Urban figure, this one and then the 2005 Comic Pack release.  If that's not enough, there's a Funskool version from India and his parts were used on a Complan Commandos figure, too.  His torso was to have been used for a Steel Brigade figure in the 2000's.  But, that never got to full production.  There's even an alternate, green Firefly from the unproduced version of the BJ's set.  In short, there's a Firefly for every season except the desert.  Collectors were sick of the mold before 2005 and Hasbro used it twice more that year.  So, it not appearing again wasn't an issue.  Now, I'm sure some fun things could be done with the mold in terms of coloring.  But, I'd take hundreds of other factory custom parts before I'd want to see Firefly return.

For many years, this Firefly was worthless.  But, the influx of new collectors in recent years have driven prices of common sets through the roof.  Now, dealers can get $22-$25 for this figure.  And, with few for sale, open market prices are pretty much the same.  But, here's the thing.  You can still get boxed Crimson Guard sets for around $60.  The 4 Crimson Guard figures tend to sell for around $10 each.  And, either Tomax or Xamot is $15.  So, buying a boxed set and opening it up is, far and away, the better option to get this figure.  If I had to track this guy down today, I just wouldn't.  The Urban Strike and the 2005 Comic Pack figure are far better.  And, for weirdness, the 2002 BJ's Firefly is better, too.  But, like all the Firefly figures out there, the paint job works.  He's not a great figure.  But, he's different, doesn't appear all that often and showcases the quality of one of the line's iconic figure sculpts.  It sucked to get him as a toss in that was included with an army builder in lieu of a Crimson Guard Immortal.  But, 15 years later, the figure holds up well enough.

2005 Crimson Shadow Guard - Around The Web

As a figure, the Crimson Shadow Guard is kind of cool.  The CG uniform looks pretty good in black.  But, as a 6 pack of the same figure with crappy weapons, the Crimson Shadow Guard set was lame and heavily clearanced in 2005 and 2006.  Today, the figures are more popular.  Though, I still find the greatest value in them by giving a Fred head to one and an Agent Faces head to another.  These guys make for high ranking Cobras who haven't, yet, earned the rank of a code name.  Despite that, I still have a ton of loose figures left over from clearance purchases.  They're not bad, but don't see much use.  A look around found a nice mix of review's of the figure from when he was released as well as some more modern takes.  Here's the best of the Crimson Shadow Guard from around the web.

Crimson Shadow Guard Profile

Crimson Shadow Guard by yotothejoe

Crimson Shadow Guard at Nekoman's Viper Pit

Crimson Shadow Guard at GeneralsJoes.com

Crimson Shadow Guard at JoeBattleLines.com

Crimson Shadow Guard by RelenaWarcraft

Crimson Shadow Guard at HalftheBattle

Crimson Shadow Guard by Flint

Crimson Shadow Guard by Otto the Otter

1989 Python Patrol Crimson Guard

There are many good repaints in the Joe line.  In many cases, a figure has a repaint that is either equal to or, sometimes, better than the original figure.  There are many bad repaints, too.  It's hard to say which more dominate the Joe line.  Mostly, the domain of badly repainted figures is defined by 1993, 1994 and the 2000's as the release years.  To be fair, there were few repaints prior to those years.  And, those that did appear tended to be in themed subsets.  In these subsets, though, you could find a poor repaint.  In the case of the 1989 Python Patrol Crimson Guard, the remake of a classic figure did not translate.  We are now left with a figure that doesn't make much sense, even if you can make a case for his inclusion in the popular Cobra theme.

In the pantheon of Cobra army building figures, the Crimson Guard vies for one of the top spots.  It's hard to see him overtaking Vipers or classic blue Cobra soliders and officers.  But, he is probably of similar popularity to the BAT.  You don't see the massive vintage Crimson Guard armies like you used to.  But, this is a function of both the fact that Hasbro offered decent enough CG repaints in the 2000's and that many collectors are content with smaller numbers of "elite" troopers and use that to offset the quantities of other army builders they acquire.  But, there is no denying the character's popularity.  So, the inclusion of a Crimson Guard in the Python Patrol makes sense.  By 1989, the figure had been away from retail for 3 years.  And, it was likely that most kids playing with Joes were aware of the character from the cartoon or other media, but did not have his figure.  So, the repaint was born.

In 1989, I was out of Joe.  I didn't buy the figures or vehicles.  Even my youngest brother was mostly done with the toys and there were maybe one or two figures who found their way into our home.  So, I didn't have much exposure to the 1989 line aside from the comic.  It was here that I found out about Python Patrol.  But, as the toys were far out of mind, I just found it an amusing sub plot in the comic.  I never really knew that there were figures of these designs, though I assumed they would not have been in the comic did they not exist in some format.  It wasn't until I started collecting again as a adult that the first Python Patrol figures entered into my collection.  The Viper became a favorite as there were few options for the mold back then.  The rest weren't really interesting.  As the years wore on, though, the Viper lost his luster and the Python Officer became the only Python Patrol figure to hold my interest.

In the early days of Joe collecting, Python Patrol were considered rarer than the original Cobra figures.  In the late 1990's, it was fairly hard to find mint and complete Python Patrol figures.  The only thing that kept down their prices was the fact that most collectors had zero interest in any figure made after 1987.  As the Joe collecting world exploded in the early 2000's, the supply of figures that were found at garage sales, in basements or comic shops helped to saturate the market with figures.  Army builders kept prices high.  But, you could find as many Python Patrol figures as you wanted.  As collectors began to soak up all the more desirable figures, it again became evident that Python Patrol didn't exist in the same numbers as the other, excellent, 1989 army builders.  So, you saw prices rise, especially as Hasbro revisited the idea a few times.  But, the subset nature of Python Patrol has always kept this team as more a group of specialists than the backbone of a Cobra army.  And, that keeps the figures more available than they probably should be...even to this day.

But, of the figures released under the Python Patrol banner, I find this Crimson Guard to be the worst.  Truthfully, the design isn't any better or worse than most of the other figures in the set.  But, since the Crimson Guard was released during the height of my childhood, I always felt they were truly elite.  As a kid, Crimson Guards were the equivalent of most Joes and could beat the Joes in battle.  The red color was a calling card and badge of honor.  With that view of the Siegies embedded in my psyche, any rendition of the mold that was anything less than perfect was going to be viewed as flawed. 

So, for this Python Patrol Crimson Guard, the yellow chest and unfinished grey face simply don't hold up.  The figure is non-descript when the original boldly redefined red as a Cobra color.  And, with no Cobra sigil on the figure, there's nothing to tie him to the iconic first version or even the Cobra organization.  So, this figure fails to really mean anything to me.  I've had this version you see in the photos since he came in a lot I acquired in the late 1990's.  I've never gotten another one as this one version is all I'd ever need.  The upside is that you could use him to get another Crimson Guard rifle if you lost the version from your original.  (The black pack is useful on Crimson Shadow Guards, too.)  But, that's about the extent of his use and I have yet to find this figure as anything other than a box checker towards a complete collection.

The Crimson Guard mold did not fare all that well.  It was used in 1985 and then for this 1989 repaint.  The mold then went to Brazil.  Estrela released a version of the Python Patrol Crimson Guard there as a figure named Tocaia.  This figure featured the upper arms of Copperhead.  But, it is otherwise very similar to the American figure.  The mold then died.  Most of the Brazilian releases contemporary to the Crimson Guard also never re-appeared.  They could have gone to India or been returned to Hasbro warehouses in Asia where they disappeared forever.  Hasbro was so kind as to remake the Crimson Guard body in 2003.  This mold was released several times.  But, it lacked the vintage head and was only repainted in red and black.  Factory custom makers entered the Crimson Guard arena in the early 2010's.  This finally brought Cobra blue and black Crimson Guards into the community.  (Along with some other flavors.)  But, these figures saw low production runs and have mostly disappeared.  In some ways, the Crimson Guard being held mostly true to his roots helps to maintain the mystique of the character.  Though, I'd be lying if I said I would not have built an army of blue CG's had Hasbro released them in the 2000's.

Python Crimson Guards have a pretty big price range.  You can get mint and complete figures for around $15.  But, due to low supply, dealers will often get $30 or so for them.  Building an army can be done without breaking the bank.  But, it will take a long time to do it.  The question, though, is who wants to?  A lone CG makes for a good Python Patrol commander (a role never defined) and allows collectors to maintain just one or two in their collections.  The preponderance of yellow color limits the figure's usefulness and he's not a great choice for vehicles or the Terrordrome.  But, as he's the only Crimson Guard repaint that's really available, the figure has value.  And, with the now large quantities of Python Patrol figures that are available, it makes sense to have this CG.

Rarities - Unproduced Cobra Island Infiltrate 3 Pack

At the 2003 G.I. Joe convention, Hasbro gave collectors a collective heart attack at their booth.  Aside from the early samples of the figures upcoming in the regular retail line, Hasbro also showcased their planned army building sets that would round out late 2003 and early 2004.  Collectors were agape at newly constructed Crimson Guards, Cobra Troopers and Cobra Officers.  There was no limit to the excitement as banners thanking Hasbro were created in the zeal of them finally listening to what collectors wanted.  One of the upcoming sets was the Cobra Island Infiltrate set.

The premise was that three Joes dressed as Crimson Guards were going to infiltrate Cobra Island.  The set included the infiltration raft and three figures: Gung Ho, Duke and Snake Eyes.  The selling point, of course, was that each figure included a removable helmet that would allow collectors to simply buy the sets en masse and use the figures as helmeted Crimson Guard army builders.  (The early set showed a Thunder head, but the test shots of the actual figures later included the Duke head.)  The catch, though, was that the figures would not be sold at mass retail.  They would, instead, go to a designation of retailers known as "Market 6".  This meant that Wal Mart, Target and Toys R Us would not stock the set.  In their stead, non traditional retailers such as Walgreens and smaller, regional retailers would have access to the product.  This also meant that online G.I. Joe sellers would also be able to offer the product and sell it.  Joe dealers having access to the set quickly ignited the dealer world and most quickly put up pre-orders for the set and began to collect money in anticipation of coming sales.

Lost in all this enthusiasm for the new army builders, though, were a couple of troubling signs.  First, the BAT pack from earlier in 2003 had been a retail dud.  They didn't sell like Hasbro was hoping and Hasbro ended up having to clearance them out discount and overstock retail stores.  Even online Joe dealers, who were dialed in to the online army building community were sitting on thousands of unsold BAT 6 figure sets.  Simultaneously, Toys R Us was reducing their orders on the 6 figure packs from 25,000 units to 20,000 units after Tiger Force and Python Patrol sold somewhat slowly.  On the flipside, Joes were flying off of retail shelves and Hasbro could not keep up with the demand for Waves 7.5 (the army builder wave) and Wave 8.  So, there were mixed signals.

As 2003 wound to a close, collectors began to grumble about the timing of the Cobra Island Infiltrate set.  It wasn't showing up, even while all of the other toys shown for release in the same time frame were.  Collectors got worried that it would come out over Christmas and they wouldn't have enough money to buy all they wanted.  Still, though, there was no word on the set.  Then, quietly, Hasbro cancelled the set.  Dealers got notice and communicated to their customers and the collecting world in general.  Collectors were extremely disappointed.  But, the coming waves of army builders in early 2004 quickly diverted attention away from the Infiltrate set's cancellation.

The aftermath of this set's cancellation hit on a few levels.  For most collectors, the failure of this set to garner any retail support was the first real sign that the G.I. Joe renaissance of the early 2000's was far more fragile than they believed.  Within a year of this set's failure acknowledgement, the Joe line was cancelled.  The other reality is that this set bankrupted several online G.I. Joe dealers.  In some ways, this was bad.  But, it had some good side effects.

A few dealers had pre-charged people and collected money on this set.  They used that money for the $10,000 retainer with Hasbro to secure their order.  However, Hasbro had the right to keep that money and allocate it for other merchandise if specific items were cancelled.  So, when the set was cancelled, the dealers did not get their money back from Hasbro, but they had to refund it to their customers.  For most of the dealers who were part timers, this was too much of a financial burden and they went bankrupt.  A few managed to work out credits with their customers.  But, the items that collectors most desired were not available to these small sellers and the whole situation left the selling world smaller.

This wasn't a terrible thing, though.  From the ashes rose stronger and larger dealers.  While they weren't Joe specific, they had the financial wherewithal to weather blips like the Infiltrate set.  Also gone are the days where you pre-order something and pay up front.  That's good for consumers and creates a healthier market.  So, that is a positive legacy for this set.

At the time, not getting this set at retail seemed like a huge missed opportunity for collectors.  While Agent Faces was around to get some cheap Crimson Guards, this set would have been a quick hit for many of the deepest pocketed collectors to quickly build large armies.  But, in late 2004, Hasbro released the Operation Crimson Sabotage set that gave collectors three legit army builders.  That was followed in early 2005 with a Toys R Us exclusive Crimson Guard set that featured 4 Crimson Guards.  So, collectors ended up with many, better ways to get modern Crimson Guards into their collections.

This set made it very far into the production process.  But, not as far as some other abandoned concepts.  Full body, unpainted figures exist for Gung Ho, Duke and Snake Eyes.  So, Hasbro had the molds ready to go.  But, there are no factory painted examples out there.  So, it's unlikely they made it to a pre-production run.  (The samples below are hand painted proto types and kitbashes.)  Hasbro made packaging mock ups to showcase to prospective buyers.  So, they committed some decent resources to this set and fully expected it to take off.  Had this set happened today, it's likely that an online dealer or two would have been able to bankroll the run and get an exclusive.  But, in 2003, dealers didn't yet have that wherewithal and Hasbro still didn't believe in giving low production run items to non traditional retailers.

When taken against the later releases, the value of this set greatly diminishes.  Agent Faces was a cool novelty to have a Joe in Cobra disguise.  But, getting a bunch of Joes in Cobra uniforms seemed like a lazy headswap...especially since the Duke and Gung Ho heads had recently been used.  The real loss was the V1 inspired Snake Eyes head with a ball joint.  Hasbro got this head to pre production level.  But, it was never used.  It could have been used to create an awesome amalgamated figure using some of the swivel arm Snake Eyes bodies that Hasbro had in the 2000's.  This is another of those baffling choices that Hasbro made during that time.  Collectors were given Snake Eyes figures to death.  Yet, Hasbro had something new that actually would have pleased said collectors available, but then chose to not use it.  It's just odd.

At a proposed retail price of 9.99, this set would have been a huge bargain.  (Though, it's likely that no store would have actually charged that low since these were non traditional toy retailers.)  Three figures and a raft would have been a good deal even at a marked up price.  But, considering the releases that Hasbro did give to retailers in the subsequent years, collectors aren't really missing anything from this set's cancellation.  Sure, more figures are better than fewer and I would have loved a few extra Snake Eyes heads.  But, that's about the extent of the set's value.  It is certainly an interesting look into what could have been.  But, collectors didn't really lose anything too unique or interesting by not seeing this set released to retail.

2004 Operation Crimson Sabotage

I have never profiled an entire set of toys at once.  I've touched on individual figures or separate parts of vehicles.  But, I have never looked at a set as a whole.  The reason for Operation Crimson Sabotage being the first is the remarkable presentation and price that set offers.  Three army building figures, a classic Cobra vehicle repaint and a towed vehicle that had not been seen at retail in 15 years for $20 was beyond comprehension at the time.  Of course, collectors anticipated the set with a fervor that had been originally reserved for the Cobra Infantry from January of the same year.  And, the set did not disappoint.

The Crimson Sabotage set included three army building Crimson Guards, a red Hiss Tank and a Crimson ASP gun emplacement.  All of this was thrown into a nice window box and sold at KB Toy stores for a whopping price of $20.  In 1998, three figures sold for $10 at Toys R Us.  In 2001, a repainted Hiss Tank with driver also sold for $10 at Toys R us.  So, 3 years later, collectors got the tank, three figures and an ASP for the same total price.  (You basically substituted the Hiss Driver for an ASP.  While army builders may have wanted a 4th figure, not too many complained about what amounted to, basically, a free ASP.)  Naturally, collector interest was high.  But, delays in release and the confirmation of a Toys R Us set with more Crimson Guards somewhat tempered the set's release.  But, that doesn't diminish the set's quality at all.

The Crimson Guard figures in the set were based on the body mold first used for Agent Faces and planned for the cancelled Infiltrate Cobra Island set that was supposed to to include Snake Eyes, Duke and Gung Ho disguised as Crimson Guards.  This time around, though, the figure was given a new head.  The upside to the Sabotage set was that each of the three figures were slightly different.  One had red hair.  One had black hair.  The final figure featured an African American skin tone.  So, for army builders, the set offered the diversity that made the figures less homogeneous.  Of course, though, these figures were often displayed with helmets affixed which rendered the differences moot.

In 2005, Hasbro released the red haired figure again in the Toys R Us exclusive Crimson Guard set.  This set just included 4 of these figures.  The Sabotage figures, though, were slightly different.  Below is a comparison photo:

The first figure is the mail away Agent Faces.  Aside from the unique head, Faces has a yellow Cobra sigil, dark cords and silver medallions.  The next three figures are from the Crimson Sabotage set.  These figures also feature yellow sigils and dark cords.  The medallions, though, are also a dark, metallic copper color.  The biggest difference is that the Crimson Sabotage figures all feature a Crimson Sabotage insignia on their right arms.  The final figure is the Toys R Us exclusive figure.  You see the red hair is the same as the Sabotage figure.  But, the Toys R Us figure features a golden Cobra sigil.  The shoulder cords are significantly lighter as are the medallions.  With helmets on, the 5 unique figures are very similar.  But, they are different enough to build an army with different ranks or just different units.  These subtle differences are nice.

The three figures included the standard CG helmet and a newly sculpted shotgun.  The shotgun didn't make much sense and isn't a weapon that's all that useful.  Really, the figures suffer for it.  While there were a lot of complaints about the infantry themed gear in the TRU set, it at least looked good with the figure.  The shotgun does not and is a disappointment.  But, army building accessories in the 2000's were notoriously awful.  As such, third party weapons makers were able to fill a massive demand by offering weapons for the awe inspiring army builders of the day that were better suited for the figures.

The Hiss and ASP were the centerpiece of the set.  The vehicles were a throwback to the 1985 SMS set.  (KB also got a Crimson MOBAT based on the CAT Tank for release the same year.  It had a similarly sordid release tale, too, that I'll someday get around to.)  The Hiss and ASP combo, though, were a bit better.  First, they were both classic Cobra vehicles.  Secondly, they were colored in line with the Crimson theme.  Thirdly, they featured some intricate paint applications that made them more than just red and black.  Finally, they featured a strong sticker application that tied the set to it's origins, but also set them apart from some of the other Crimson sets that had been tried in the past.

The result is a vehicle complement for the Crimson Guards that made them the best equipped Cobra faction of the modern era.  The 2001 Hiss III tank was done in a purple hue.  As such, it's generally the forgotten member of the Hiss family: especially since original Hiss Tanks remain so cheap on the second hand market.  This set was great, though, and showed that Hasbro had the means to produce cheap vehicle sets and pairing them with a nice cadre of figures ensured their retail success.  Yet, for whatever reason, Hasbro rarely took advantage of this market.  We know that Hasbro had access to the Hiss II mold, the Warthog, the Stun and many other vehicle molds.  Yet, Hasbro mostly relegated those molds to limited Convention releases.  While I wouldn't trade this set for many others, it would have been nice for Hasbro to have given collectors a few more vehicle choices.

The Hiss and ASP are about as iconic Cobra as you can get.  They don't require much exposition since pretty much every collector has at least one version of each in their collection.  The bi colored vehicles, though, are an excellent way to bring some life to the molds.  The black seat of the ASP and the black parts of the Hiss Tank set the molds off nicely and are good updates to the vintage pieces.  Paired with the SMS and vintage Crimson Hiss makes for a great Crimson convoy.  It's an impressive array of hardware for an elite unit.  But, in absence of anything else, it was nice to get such an amazing set of vehicles and figures for such a cheap price.

When the Sabotage set was released, collectors were extremely excited.  Online forums were full of boasts of buying out every set that was found.  KB Toys' online set offered pre-orders for the set.  But, in the weeks leading to the set's release, these orders were cancelled.  The story was that the entire stock had been moved to the brick and mortar stores.  While many collectors were worried about finding the sets before, these cancellations set off wholesale panic.  Toy collector magazines began naming the set a good "investment" and likely to quickly appreciate on the second hand market.  Forums were full of pleas from collectors who lived no where near a KB for someone to help them acquire sets at cost plus shipping.  The collecting world braced for a storm.  When reports of the first sets found at retail hit, the collecting community went into overdrive.  Initial sets sold on Ebay for close to $60 each, even as they were actively shipping.  It looked like all the irrational fears of shortages were about to come true.

But, a few things then happened.  First, many collectors were not fully attuned to the army building fatigue that was finally settling.  While collectors still wanted army builders over all other figures, the reality was that from the latter half of 2003 through the end of 2004, Hasbro had been very good at getting army builders into collector hands.  The Python Patrol, Cobra Infantry, Urban Strike, Army Builder Wave and the Comic Packs had all combined to suck up collector's money and slowly siphon off some of the pent up demand for Cobras.  The second thing that happened, actually happened in late 2003.  Hasbro released Agent Faces as a mail away.  For $2.99 and 12 flag or battle points, collectors could get two Faces figures.  With the helmets on, those figures were almost the same as the Crimson Guards from this set.  Most collectors of the time had several, if not several dozen, Agent Faces figures by the time the Crimson Sabotage Set was released.  The third, and most important thing that happened was that news of a Toys R Us exclusive Crimson Guard 6 figure pack surfaced and were confirmed during the initial waves of the Sabotage set shipping.  Collectors now knew they could fill up on Crimson Guard figures without having to store tons of extra vehicles.

All of this left the Sabotage sets lingering at retail.  While some stores had sold through initial shipments in minutes, these later shipments sat for a while.  To add insult, stacks upon stacks of unsold Crimson Sabotage sets started to appear at KB Toy Liquidators stores.  While they still carried the original $20 price tag, it was evidence that the sets had either been over ordered, or had simply not been all that popular.  While all this was going on, Toys R Us released a set with 3 Joe figures, a VAMP and a Whirlwind.  If you had asked anyone which set would be more popular, you would have gotten zero votes for the VAMP.  Yet, by early 2005, the VAMP sets were gone from Toys R Us while KB was struggling to give away the last of the Crimson Sabotage sets.  It is known the Toys R Us ordered around 16,000 VAMP sets.  But, the KB numbers for Crimson Sabotage were not generally available.  It might have been a much higher number.  Or, it might have been the same and the difference was just the lower traffic that KB stores received.  Regardless, the set was widely available for a long time and anyone who had access to a KB during the release window had ample opportunities to acquire a set, in some cases, even on clearance.

The result of all this was that Operation Crimson Sabotage sets were very cheap for a long time.  Even into 2009 and 2010, you could get them for under retail.  (Shipping would kill you, though.)  Now, though, the sets have become harder to find.  Boxed sets sell in the $40 range.  Loose, complete with filecard sets sell between $25 and $30.  If you sacrifice the filecard, you can get a set cheaper.  But, oddly, buying the individual parts of the set is substantially more expensive.  Being almost 12 years removed from the set's release, the pricing is probably a bit high.  But, the set is nothing short of excellent and no Crimson army is complete without at least one.  But, there are a lot of Crimson Hiss tanks out there vying for collector attention.  But, this is the only way to get an ASP and the coloring is well worth the acquisition of the entire set: especially since all the component pieces were so well done.