Rarities - 2009 Funskool Carded Figures

Funskool stopped producing Joe figures in 2004.  Sales had been slipping for a while.  So, the line was cancelled even though Funskool had some additional new figures slated to appear later that year.  However, in 2009, Funskool fired up the molds again in an attempt to cash in on the G.I. Joe movie.  They re-introduced several figures from molds they still had in their possession.  While there were no "new" figures produced, they did create several more minor variants of their existing paint schemes.  On top of the oddball figure and accessory changes, each figure featured a new cardback with an explosion more akin to the pre-1986 version on Hasbro cards.

These figures were not heavily imported to the US.  Dealers didn't really bother with them as, at the time, most of the figures in the assortments were still pretty common.  And, many US dealers were still dealing with overstock from their Funskool buys more than 5 years earlier.  As there were no "new" figures in the assortment, there wasn't much incentive for anyone to really track them down.  A few people did import some cases.  And, those are the source of most of these figures today.  In 2009, no on really thought that Trip Wire would become a $200 figure.  But, the Funskool market of the 2020's has proven to have a short memory of what were once common and pegwarming figures. 

The assortment that was released doesn't really have a theme beyond the molds that Funskool still had.  We had a pretty good idea of which molds Funskool returned to Hasbro in 2003 just due to the last production run of bagged figures that Funskool ran.  But, seeing Scrap Iron in here was a surprise.  But, we've long known that the 2004 Hasbro Scrap Iron was a brand new sculpt.  So, maybe his retention by Funskool shouldn't have been so unexpected.

The cardbacks were updated to show the new figures that were put into production.  Some feature just 11 figures.  While others feature 17.  There are 18 total figures in the series.  The one figure difference is because Funskool did not put the actual character who you were buying onto the cardback.  So, Scrap Iron doesn't appear on the Scrap Iron cardback while Blaster does.  But, on the Blaster cardback, Scrap Iron does appear but Blaster does not.

Desert Scorpion

Back in February of 2001, the Funskool Desert Scorpion was among the first cheap Funskool figures I ever bought.  The Desert Scorpion is another figure that doesn't have many variants.  It's also a figure that's gotten somewhat expensive in recent years.  This later release doesn't appear to be materially different from the earlier figures, though.  This figure features the 11 back card.

Budo:

Budo has a variety of subtle coloring variants.  He also has an upper arm variant.  You'll note the very dark hair on this version and that his upper arms do not have the red pockets.

Scrap Iron:

In 2004, it was somewhat assumed that Scrap Iron was returned to Funskool.  However, when the 2004 Scrap Iron figure was released by Hasbro, it was obvious that they had made an all new mold for the character.  Funskool kept the figure.  Scrap Iron was among the first Funskool figures to appear in the 1990's.  After he was taken out of production, he appeared again in 2002.  Now, he's also appeared in the 2009/2010 timeline.  

Blaster:

Blaster is one of the biggest and easiest variants to notice.  The Roadblock machine gun has been removed and replaced with a black version of Mercer's rifle.  It makes you wonder if Funskool returned the 1992 Roadblock gun mold to Hasbro when they returned the figure mold.  And, if that's the case, it really makes you wonder why Hasbro didn't release it with either of the 1992 Roadblock repaints they released in 2004 and 2005.

Deep Six:

There's no obvious differences between this Deep Six and those made earlier.  Surely, though, there are slight shading differences.

Dialtone: 

The original Funskool Dialtone has an upper arm variant.  There are color shading differences on his chest, too.  As the Tunnel Rat mold was returned to Hasbro, this 2009 version features different upper arms than the most common early 2000's era figures.

Tripwire:

Tripwire is probably the most desirable figure from the 2009/2010 releases.  While he was always interesting, the figure has taken on a spectacular aftermarket appreciation in recent years.  This late version features the new explosion back but also has a variant filecard.  The 2003 era figures have a more closely cropped picture of Tripwire on the filecard.  The figure itself does have variations on the "Bomb Squad" text on his chest.

General Hawk:

There are many variants on General Hawk's red/orange highlights.  So, it's likely these are different than the earlier releases.  As General Hawk debuted in 2001, most of his figures tend to be of very poor quality and feature bad paint masks and construction issues.  I do need to pick up one of these General Hawks and see if the quality is improved.

Mainframe:

Continuing the theme, Mainframe is pretty similar to his earlier releases.  Funskool Mainframe's are one of the few figures that's not known for its variants.  But, with just grey, black and silver, there's not a lot of color matching to create noticeable differences.

Wild Bill:

Wild Bill also debuted in 2001.  And, there are two main variants as the figure can have either black or silver sunglasses.  For the 2009 releases, all of them I've seen have featured the black glasses.  This is another figure, though, I'd like to compare to my earlier samples to find any other changes.

Croc Master:

Croc Master features quite a few shading differences among his figures.  It appears that the wrist guard on his right arm is a darker grey than earlier figures.  And, his upper arms appear to be changed, too.

Cobra Commander:

The Funskool Cobra Commander figure never really got popular.  That's likely due to the fact that the collectors who knew this mold as the character didn't really come of age until after the era of cheap Funskool was long over.  The original Funskool figure isn't know for variants.  And, this figure appears very similar to the original.

Sci Fi:

Sci Fi is known for his belt color variations.  This version would have to be checked against the earlier figures.  But, it's likely there's another variant in the later production run.

Lifeline:

Lifeline is another once common Funskool figure that has seen a sharp upturn in popularity and pricing in recent years.  I'm not sure why.  This version features yellow arms with a green chest.  I got this same combo back in 2001.  But, this 2009 version likely has color shading differences on his green plastic parts as well as the painted highlights.

Psyche Out:

The Funskool Psyche Out is great because it's an easy and still somewhat cheap way to get a complete version of this figure mold.  The Hasbro version has gotten expensive.  But, the Funskool has stayed affordable.  Sadly, though, the figures made in the early 2000's are starting to badly discolor, even if they've been taken care of.  Hopefully, the 2009 plastic is different.

Dodger:

The Funskool Dodger is fairly obscure.  Even during the Funskool heyday, you didn't see him often.  His face paint looks a bit different than the earlier figures.

Blocker:

Blocker doesn't appear all that different from his original release.  His card art features a weird dart coming out of his gun with some bubbles around it.  There are likely color shading differences between this figure and the earlier releases, though.

Quick Kick:

The Quick Kick mold has been around forever.  And, the Funskool variants have a ton of sash and belt color variants.  

There's the 18 figures that comprise the later run of Funskool figures.  At this point, Funskool could still have these molds and make more figures in the future.  Or, the molds could be gone.  We're not sure.  The fact that classic Joes didn't appear to coincide with the Snake Eyes movie in India, though, implies that there probably isn't a domestic market for these figures any longer.  Though, I wouldn't mind if Hasbro got a couple of these molds back and put them into production.  But, that will never, ever happen.

1987 Dodger - Around The Web

I'm still not a huge fan of Battle Force 2000.  Dodger remains one of the highlights of the set and is a figure that can find uses outside of his subset.  These days, he's about the only BF2000 member who sees any time in my collection.  Here's the best of him from around the web.

1987 Dodger Profile

1987 Dodger by thedustinmccoy

Dodger by formbx257

Dodger at JoeBattleLines.com

Dodger at Toys and Bacon

Dodger at JoeADay.com

Diorama - The Trojan BAT

Hot Seat picks up the latest supply crate and enlists Fast Draw and Dodger to unload it.

But, the crate comes to life as a hidden BAT explodes from the box.

Hot Seat is quickly taken out.

Fast Draw fails as the BAT moves on to Dodger.

Mutt hears the commotion and arrives just in time.

The BAT is dispatched.

1987 Dodger

Battle Force 2000 were some of the final figures to enter my collection.  I found them at the local Toys R Us in December of 1987.  I bought two figures: Blaster and Knockdown.  My youngest brother bought himself a Maverick and my middle brother bought a Dodger.  In retrospect, I have no idea why I chose Knockdown over Dodger or Blocker.  Maybe I liked the helmet.  Regardless, my two figures became a large part of the final days of my collection.  The other two figures were around, but never got the characterization that was reserved for toys I owned: rather than those of my brothers.  Dodger, though, is a pretty strong figure.  He has some flaws.  But, they are forgivable due to his generally strong color and mold design.

I have only one real memory of Dodger.  In late 1987, I put together a small team of Joes who were the crew on a truck carrying the SLAM.  The truck was an in scale, dime store special plastic military drab dump truck.  But, it held the SLAM perfectly and you could fit figures inside the cab and on the steps leading to the doors (which were molded and did not open).  The premise was simple.  The Joes had this truck carrying cargo in addition to the SLAM.  Cobra wanted the cargo and would attack.  However, in order to keep Cobra from cutting in on the Joe communications network and learning how the team was functioning, the Joes instituted a "modular" communications network in the truck.  Each member of the team had to wear a communications device in order to speak with their cohorts.  The system was closed and not intercept-able.  So, the figures chosen for the mission had to have comms gear as part of their mold.  Sneak Peek, Lift Ticket, Dial Tone and Fast Draw were mainstays as this scenario played out.  With his microphone, Dodger was an integral part of the team.

This mission saw variations played out for a few weeks as my time playing with toys came to end.  Often, the truck's cargo were the plans to defeat Cobra once and for all.  Ultimately, though, this final battle never came to be.  I simply packed up my toys and put them away for several years.  But, I was left with a memory of a figure that was otherwise inconsequential to me.  Dodger was a valuable crew member, often driving the truck.  There were times he was the first to die.  But, in others, he made it to the end.  His comm device made him useful.  In later years, a rough conditioned Dodger did find time as a Joe affiliated army builder.  He was the nameless minion of the army who would battle Cobra legions, only to fall before the Joes would arrive to save the day.  But, after that, Dodger simply faded away.  In my years buying up lots of 1986 - 1990 figures, Battle Force 2000 guys were few and far between.  The only Blaster I've ever owned is the one I bought in 1987.  I had to actively acquire Blocker.  They just didn't show up in the figures lots of the time.  The figures, though, are readily available.  But, they just eluded me.  And, that aided in their irrelevance.

Dodger only included a gun.  All of the Battle Force 2000 were skimpy on accessories.  That may be a function of them being planned as a lower production sub set of the main line.  Or, Hasbro may have wanted to limit their gear to make them more attractive as pilots for the vehicles.  But, Dodger just has a single weapon.  (The microphone comes off, but not without some work.  It's fairly sturdy.)  The rifle is a science fiction themed photon launcher. It's fairly terrible.  But, the figure is so common with the weapon that it's hard to see Dodger with any other gun.  Sadly, Hasbro liked this weapon and it later appeared with both the mail away Create a Cobra and the Chinese Major Bludd.  The gun mold was also used in Brazil for various figures, including a black version offered with the Cobra Black Vulture (Abutre Negro) figure.

Battle Force 2000 represented a departure for the G.I. Joe line.  Originally, the figure line was conceived as a way to entice kids to buy the more expensive (and profitable!) vehicles.  Those vehicles, though, tended to include drivers as value added pack ins.  Battle Force 2000 was the first wave of Joes that were sold specifically to be the drivers of separately sold vehicles.  While driverless vehicles were sold with characters from the current year on the box art, the figures, the figures were never listed as specifically being the driver of a vehicle.  It was a logical extension of the original concept of vehicles.  And, had the Joe line gone this route through it's history, some of the great vehicle drivers would have been much more available.  But, how would our perceptions of vehicles changed had the drivers for them not been packed in with them and available through no other means?  The line starts to look very different.

Dodger was first released on single cards in late 1987.  In 1988, he was packaged with Knockdown in special 2 figure packs that were designed to sell the BattleForce 2000 concept.  In 1990, Hasbro repainted Dodger and released a new version in the Sonic Fighters line.  After that, the mold went to Brazil where Estrela released the mold as Kaptor.  This single carded figure was designed after the American figure, but features slightly different green and brown hues.  The mold then showed up in India where Funskool released it for many years.  The Funskool Dodger is based on the Sonic Fighters coloring scheme, but features the obligatory Funskool splash of unnecessarily bright blue and yellow.  But, this is an interesting take on the character.  The result is that collectors have 4 figures to track down, but they are based on the two color schemes.  The mold is likely still in India as Funskool last used it around 2010 and could reappear at some point in the future should the G.I. Joe concept once again become viable at Indian retail.

Dodger figures are cheap.  While you do see some sell in the $15 range, these are usually to impatient buyers.  Mint and complete figures can be easily had for $5, though the filecard will add a couple of bucks to the price.  Oddly, you can get carded European Dodger figures for around $22 and they seem readily available.  So, that's another route to take.  There is a persistence in the Joe dealer world that any figure with a removable microphone is rare to find complete.  Dodger's mic, though, was sturdily transfixed to his helmet and is not hard to find at all.  So, don't buy into the marketing hype.  As a cheap acquisition, Dodger is worthwhile.  He fits into the team outside of Battle Force 2000.  So, that gives him a purpose beyond his stated sub group.  He's a figure I enjoy, but not one that will ever gain any additional importance than what he has today.