1992 Talking Battle Commanders General Hawk

The 1996-1998 G.I. Joe community was made up, almost exclusively, of guys whose childhood Joe years were 1982 through 1985.  You'd see collectors of that era expand their notion of Joe until about 1987.  But, that was a clear demarcation line.  The only time you'd see figures made after this date was for a slate of standard customs.  You'd see a couple of later figures used to make the Oktober Guard.  You'd see a Street Fighter figure used to make the khaki shorts Kwinn.  And, you'd see the Talking Battle Commander Hawk head used to make some, usually villainous general who was looking to take the Joes down from the inside.

The reason this trope was ubiquitous was due to the overall design and quality of the figure's head sculpt.  Aside from the obscuring sunglasses, Hawk's head has a stern look that doesn't denote experience as much as it implies that the person behind the countenance is a huge dick.  More importantly, to collectors of that early era, Hawk was only defined by his 1986 figure.  There were no future Hawk figures to any of those guys.  So, breaking the 1992 figure apart to make up some fictional take on the "Jugglers" was the only acceptable acknowledgement that Hasbro had kept the character in circulation in the 1990's.  

The singular calling card of this General Hawk is his skin tone.  Hasbro went with a sunburnt face and hands for the fleshtone.  It is the only figure in the vintage line with this skin tone.  There's no explanation as to why Hasbro modified their standard flesh colors.  But, it makes this Hawk stand out among his peers.  The skin color is a match for the maroon and tan that comprises the bulk of the figure's color.  It still, though, stands out and makes you wonder what happened to the Hawk character instead of just blending with the rest of the uniform coloring.  It's an odd feature for the figure and is really the most famous discussion point around him.

The figure's base colors are also seldom seen in the Joe line.  The combination of a maroon jacket with golden highlights is a bold choice.  Pairing it with tan pants and offsetting it with some black details wasn't something you'd think would work.  But, the colors are complementary and do create a memorable visual of the figure.  I do think the colors allow this Hawk to blend into the background too easily.  And, he's difficult to pair with other figures who also accentuate his color palette.  More often, Hawk clashes with figures that are both his contemporaries and precedents.  The golden highlights and gear are meant as a way to make the figure appear to be a leader.  But, the gold doesn't improve the figure's regal standing and leaves Hawk as more of an odd man out than the leader that was denoted by his 1986 and, even, 1991 figures.

The overall sculpting of this figure is interesting.  As a standalone piece, the parts fit together, perfectly.  The puffy jacket, tall boots and rectangular head all work together to form a symmetric representation of a person.  When you compare this guy to other figures of his time, though, you start to see that he appears to be a bit out of proportion.  This was accentuated when Hasbro started using his pieces in conjunction with earlier sculpted parts during the 2000's.  It became apparent that this Hawk's legs were too long and his upper body too bulky.  It allows the figure to work on his own.  But, makes him harder to set up with other figures in the line.  His oversized accessories (especially the pistol!) exacerbate this.  And, when you take the weird skin, offbeat base colors, the elongated parts and the comical weapons, you're left with a figure that's never caught on with the collector base.

The Talking Battle Commanders were another gimmick in Hasbro's ever expanding arsenal as the line limped towards cancellation.  The oversized backpacks and electronics were a way to drive up the retail price and put a G.I. Joe item into the $5-$10 price category.  Historically, this level was where you found small vehicles that defined the line.  Many collector favorites exist due to this desired price point.  By the early 1990's, though, vehicles were passe.  And, Hasbro needed something that appeared to be special to justify the higher price tag.  The TBC figures seemed to sell in the $6-$8 range at various retail stores.  They weren't great sellers and the concept was discontinued for 1993.  Large quantities of them made their way to overstock stores of the era for around a $5 price tag.  All of these were high for what you got.  As I was an adult by the time these appeared at retail, the sway of electronic components in a G.I. Joe figure was lost on me.  I'd be curious to hear from younger collectors, though, to see if it was a salient selling point for them and made them want figures like this over the standard retail line that was about 1/2 the price.

The TBC Hawk included some solid accessories.  There is, of course, the massive electronic backpack.  There is a golden antenna that attaches to the top of it.  The talking backpack is screwed on with more fasteners than are worth removing.  They are annoying.  But, once the pack is taken off, you can get down to the essentials.  The figure also includes two golden weapons.  Gold is a rare accessory color.  In some contexts, it worked great.  For Hawk, though, the gold is somewhat distracting.  The color meshes with the figure, though.  It just makes the gear more difficult to port to other figures.  There is an oversized revolver that has a sight on top.  Somehow, the size works with this Hawk, though.  It is the only weapon I tend to use with this mold.  There is also a rifle.  I actually really enjoy this rifle.  It was released ad naseum in silver during the early 2000's and remains my de facto weapon for the 2000 Dusty and all the Mirage repaints from 2002 and 2003.  

This mold ended up with a good life. After the vintage release, it made a surprise appearance in 2000.  Hasbro then released it again in 2002, after they could not find the 1986 Hawk mold but still wanted to release the character.  In 2004, the mold was used for two of the three figures in a convention "Changing Zartan" set.  It was just weird and remains an obscure and unpopular release.  Starting in 2004, Hawks legs started to get used on comic pack figures including Clayton Abernathy and Stalker.  In 2005, the legs and arms were used along with some newly sculpted 1986 Hawk parts to make another Comic Pack Hawk.  Hasbro's infatuation with the parts in the 2000's further soured collectors on the mold.  And, it's taken nearly 25 years for you to start seeing sentiment that the various flavors of this General Hawk are worthwhile figures.

It's recently been discovered that this mold was also planned for a 1994 release.  It would have been included with a machine gun nest that ended up being released as the Battle Bunker in the Sgt. Savage line.  The figure would have used a grey base color and featured bright green highlights.  It would have been a solid repaint.  We don't know if Hasbro would have sculpted a new back piece for the figure or not.  But, grey Joes are few and far between.  So, had this figure been released, it would have been somewhat distinctive.  Personally, I'd still hold the 2002 color scheme as the best release of the mold...even if the 1994 repaint had happened.  But, it's interesting to know that Hasbro wanted to get more use from this mold during the vintage era.

In the end, I want to tell you that I like this figure.  On paper, I should.  He's bizarre enough and obscure enough to be the type of guy that's right up my alley.  But, he's not.  This is a figure that I only acquired because a fellow collector was liquidating his collection and happened to have his cheap as a toss in with a group of figures I actually wanted.  I've only ever taken photos of him, deliberately.  He doesn't work with other figures well enough to warrant appearances outside of shots meant to showcase him.  And, if I want to use the look of this character, both the 2000 and 2002 figures are far better ways to get the head sculpt into a photo.  I simply don't see this guy as Hawk.  His introduction to me as the nameless, shadowy general who has authority over the Joe team is the characterization of him that's stuck with me.  The figure just doesn't have the overall quality to overcome that early association and stand on its own.

The Talking Battle Commander Hawk is not popular.  As such, he remains an incredibly cheap figure to acquire.  While dealers will sell mint and complete figures in the $15 range, you can actually still get carded figures for under $20.  You can still find high quality figures on the open market and can buy them for about $8.  These days, that's about as cheap as you find any vintage Joe.  For that price, it's worth it to have a version of the figure lying around.  The later repaints are better.  But, when you can find something cheap like this Hawk is, you take advantage and add him.  The weird color scheme is well worth the paltry price and gives your collection a weird example of the Joe team's leader.

1986 General Hawk - Random Photos of the Day

I've recently been thinking about the 1986 Hawk.  He might be my favorite 1986 release.  There's a few other figures in that year that I really like.  But, the marriage of Hawk's character and a cool figure update for him resonates with me...moreso than even childhood favorites like Dial Tone.  In looking at the total year of 1986, I was surprised in that the class lacks a really amazing, iconic figure.  Instead, pretty much everyone released that year is above average.  (With some exceptions, of course!)  So, it's a great year where the 20th best figure and the 3rd best figure are pretty close in quality.  And, there's no clear cut number 1.  

As a kid, though, this Hawk was essential.  My Joe team finally had a leader who was worthy of fighting with them out in the field.  As I loved Hawk's pistol for other figures, I'd often give him Leatherneck's M-203.  I'd also remove his helmet as I didn't much like it back in 1986.  And, this figure was a younger, more dynamic Hawk who was capable of leading the Joes right into any firefight.  When I tired of that, Hawk could retreat to the HQ: where he was equally at home giving commands to the Joes still out in the bush.  So, the figure got a lot of use.

Today, that still stands.  I enjoy getting Hawk out for photo shoots.  I don't do it as often as I should because my nice one is put away and my spare has a loose o-ring that I really need to repair one of these days.  None of this figure's later homages were able to surpass the original.  So, I still turn to the 1986 figure when I want to use the Joe team's leader.  I was hoping a 2025/2026 repaint that was long rumoured might finally give my original figure some well earned retirement.  But, it looks like that product is dead.

Enjoy the photos below.  If you have another contender for top figure of 1986 (that isn't the BAT....), let me know in the comments below.

Rarities - Mail Away 1983 Grand Slam, Hawk and Clutch

In the summer of 2001, a random seller posted a few bagged 1983 G.I. Joe figures who were packed with redback filecards.  They had a small stock of them.  They were offered at $5 and bought out instantly.  I managed to get a Clutch and Hawk, but missed out on the Grand Slam.  The seller said they had more.  But, due to the quick sell out, decided to do more research on the value of the items.  Within a few weeks, some additional bagged figures appeared.  They were higher priced, though still offered for sums that seem ridiculously cheap these days.  Some collectors bought a few.  But, mostly they sat around as the collecting world wasn't really interested in them.

Over the years, the supply of the figures never really dried up.  You could always find them.  But, there were never enough to really drop prices too far.  For a very long time, you could get the bagged versions for about the same price as a loose, mint and complete figure of the same character.  Grand Slam was usually higher priced, though, as he included the filecard from the Silver Pads Grand Slam.  And, in those early days, many collectors didn't make a distinction between the redback versions of filecards or those cut from a box.  

The reason for this is that a ton of overstock of these figures have been found.  You'll even see a "barn" find where entire cases of the figures were discovered and put into the collecting community.  During the years close to the finds, the figures would get cheap.  Now, they have gotten more expensive.  While there are plenty of them out there, they are still more scarce than standard loose figures.  And, many collectors in the early days simply opened the bags up because it was a cheaper option to get high quality vehicle drivers.

The most interesting aspect of the figures is that you get a red Grand Slam with a Silver Pads Grand Slam filecard.  The photo for the Silver Pads figure was all new and created as a JUMP exclusive when the figure was added in 1983.  So, it's not like they destroyed the original artwork.  So, the appearance of the Silver Pads art is weird.  But, it's likely that Hasbro had it more ready to go since it was newer.  As collectability goes, this filecard is the most noteworthy just because it has the juxtaposition of figure and artwork.

The reality is that these three figures are not rare.  There are tons of them out there due to the various finds over the years.  People still pay premiums for them.  But, usually, the prices for these three figures remain far below bagged samples of other 1983 mail away and catalog figures.  So, at least there's no inequity there.  Once upon a time, it was easier and about the same price to simply buy one of these bagged figures and open it to get a mint and complete with filecard figure of the three included in the set.  That's no longer the case.  

1983 Hawk - Around The Web

It's been a sparse month of profiles, so far.  Last week, my dog ate a bunch of accessories.  This week, the other dog got sprayed by a skunk.  I spent two full days getting the stink out of the house.  So, I'm digging deep into the reserves for something that's ready enough to keep the content flowing.  

Here's some 1983 Hawk content from around the web.  This figure is surprisingly popular and appears way more than I would have thought.  In fact, he's easier to find than many of the other original 13 Joe figures.  There's some good stuff here.  So, check the links and let the creators know you appreciate their work.

1983 Hawk Profile

1982 MMS Profile

1983 Hawk by joenationpete

1983 Hawk by R.T.G.

1983 Hawk by Slipstream80

1983 Hawk by Roland da Thompson Gunner

1983 Hawk at JoeADay.com

1983 Hawk by General Jones

1983 Hawk by Slipstream80

1983 Hawk by Roland da Thompson Gunner

1983 Hawk by Slipstream80

1983 Hawk by evilface

1983 Hawk by still_a_big_kid

1983 Hawk by thedustinmccoy

1983 Hawk by JoeRizzo2025

1983 Hawk by Gen_Liederkraz

My Favorite Accessories - Part 1

I look at my collection in distinct stages.  The first, of course, is my childhood.  This covered 1982 through 1987.  The second phase is the pre-internet days of adult collecting.  For me, this was 1992 through 1997, give or take.  And, then the final phase is my adult collecting years that have occurred since I found the Stars & Stripes set in December of 1997.

As a kid, it was nearly impossible to get extras of specific weapons.  Your only options were to buy another figure or two to get the gear.  Or, really hope that a friend of yours happened to hate that particular item and you could trade him something you didn't really care for in exchange for the item you did want.  The notion of having several extras lying around was pretty much a pipe dream and impossible for all but the richest kid.  

During the mid 1990's, it was also somewhat difficult to just buy accessories.  You'd often find guys with grocery bags or shoeboxes full of Joes.  And, they'd say something along the lines of "it's too much work to figure out who gets what gear"  (there was no YoJoe.com back then).  But, at the same time, none of them would sell individual gear.  They were too afraid that you'd buy the one super rare item and they'd miss out on 4 extra bucks in later years.  1990's scalp culture was weird.  The thing those guys would do, though, was sell you the whole bag or box of figures for what, now, seems a really stupidly low price.  Sure, there'd be no female figures or Snake Eyes in the lot.  But, that was fine because you'd end up paying a dollar or two per figure.  So, you could get extra gear, but you'd get the figures to go with it, too.

The early days of internet collecting were nice as guys would pretty much trade any accessory straight up for another that they needed.  So, for a few years, you could easily trade a spare Alpine rope gun to get a Shipwreck pistol.  But, as the 2000's dawned, things like that mostly disappeared.  By then, collectors had realized which gear was the most desirable and hardest to find.  And, as the 2000's turned into the 2010's, you had the rise of online dealers who would sell individual accessories and Ebay stores that did the same.  Sure, you'd pay a premium for a 1982 Uzi.  But, they'd often sell very nice stuff from later years for cheap prices.  You could still get the charcoal Recoil rifles from later editions of the Steel Brigade for under $5 up through this time.  

Since then, the price of gear has steadily gone up.  Certain weapons that were once desired (like Snake Eyes' Uzi) did see demand tempered a bit as repaint era options became readily available. I didn't need to seek out extra 1983 weapons to arm my terrorist contingent because I could easily get 2000's era accessories that worked just as well and were a fraction of the price.  But, other gear got stupidly expensive.  Things like Flint's shotgun (that, really, were never hard to find) got really pricey as dealers flocked to the market and marked things up in the post 2018 Joe world.  Now, I'm glad that I have a lot of extra gear.  Because there is no way I'd accumulate my armory at today's prices.

For today, I'm going to focus on my childhood favorites.  There is a lot to read here.  So, I'm going to break this walk down memory lane into different parts so they are more manageable.  Here is part 1:

My Childhood Favorites:

1. Flint's Shotgun

There's just something about this weapon that always spoke to me.  It was an original design and unlike anything that had come before it in the line.  The notion of a shotgun toting badass hearkened back to the Westerns you'd see on weekend afternoon TV.  

On a boy scout trip, some of the adults were shooting skeet.  I gathered up a dozen or so spent shells and cut slits in them so that I could affix them to suspenders or a belt like Flint.  When we'd play guns in the neighborhood, I'd wear the shells over a vest.  It's amazing to think we used to run around the neighborhood, toting very real looking toy guns with real spent ammo on my chest and no one batted an eye.  This is probably the one thing that's most changed between my childhood and that of my kids.

As a kid, I lost Flint's shotgun all the time.  My original figure's disappeared at some point during his run.  In 1986, I replaced my original with a new one so I'd have the rifle, again.  That winter, we went to visit my grandparents.  We'd play in their basement.  The floor was cold, hard concrete.  But, they had about a dozen carpet sample sized rugs that we'd arrange as islands or somesuch and structure our adventures around these.  We were playing down there one afternoon and my younger brother somehow kicked Flint's shotgun off of one of these carpets.  I frantically searched for it for hours.  I picked up every carpet, got a flashlight to look under the cabinets and swept the floor with my hands. But, that Flint shotgun was gone.

A while later, my grandmother told me over the phone she had found a green gun in her basement.  She put it in her room, thinking it might be important to us.  I was sure it was Flint's shotgun.  But, when we saw her again, I was disappointed to find it was not.  Instead, it was a broken machine gun from one of my dad's old, cheap plastic soldiers.  So, the remaining years of my childhood Flint's life were spent with him wielding the weapon from the Night Landing Craft, a Snow Serpent's AK-47 or the Ripcord rifle from the Tactical Battle Platform.

When I started collecting, getting a complete Flint was a priority.  As Flint was super popular, though, he'd be in a ton of the lots I was acquiring in the late 1990s.  Usually, I'd get his gun, too.  Over time, I bought a bunch of loose Flints from online and local sellers.  I had up to 8 of them at one point.  Even after my collection  purge, though, I still have 5 originals plus at least 5 loose and 5 more carded Funskool versions.  What I can not do, though, is give Flint's shotgun  to another figure.  It just doesn't look right.  So, while I love Flint's shotgun, it is reserved for Flint and Flint alone.  

2. Alpine's SMG

What's interesting is that many of the weapons on my childhood list feature stories about me losing the weapon.  The reason for this is that the experience was traumatic since I loved the accessories so much and I often would no longer use a figure once his original gear was lost.  For Alpine, the main story is one of loss.  But, there are also two stories of redemption.  

Alpine was one of the earlier 1985 figures I acquired.  I remember that I already owned him by the time I got Snake Eyes in April.  And, I have cold weather, early spring memories of playing with him and the Eel on the front steps of my parents' home.  Being an early arrival, though, meant that I was less careful with him than I should have been.  In short order, I lost his pistol and broke his grappling gun.  As the figure was cool, though, I replaced my original Alpine some time in 1986 so I once again had a complete figure.

In the fall of 1986, we were playing with our Joes outside with some kids down the street.  We rarely played in their backyard as it was small and didn't have a ton of great places.  But, their dad had recently cleared out a small thicket of trees near their back fence that bordered the alley.  So, on this day, we set up an adventure there.  Among the figures I had was Alpine.  At some point, I took his gun out of the figure's hand and set it down on the soft, dry dirt.  The gun instantly disappeared.  It was gone.  I searched for quite a while, moving dirt, etc. to no avail.  My Alpine's gun was gone.

About a year later, we were playing soccer in their yard.  The ball went back into this thicket.  I went to retrieve it.  And, as I went to pick up the ball, I saw my Alpine's gun in the dirt!  By this time, we had given up toys.  But, I did show it to everyone and asked if they remembered when I had lost the gun.  I put the pistol into my pocket and added it to my stash of Joes when I got home.  Over the years, my youngest brother broke into these stashes and removed key figures.  During these thefts, my Alpine was taken and his pistol disappeared again.

In 1997, I was working a job post college and living at my parents' house until I moved to Arizona.  During this time, I dug out all my childhood toys and started displaying them on the shelves in my childhood room.  One night, as I was heading to bed, I happened to notice something weird about the SnowCat.  It seemed there was an asymmetry in the open spaces on the black underbody beneath the lights.  Upon inspection, the difference was that my Alpine's gun was wedged into the part!  No idea how it got there.  But, I had a complete Alpine, once again.  It was the same gun from the dirt thicket because the grooves of the weapon were still filled with the fine dust from a decade earlier.  With this recovery, my Alpine was again, complete.

Over the years, I've picked up one or two extra Alpine pistols.  It looks good with a variety of figures.  And, I'll often use it with other 1985 releases as a way to bring some visual diversity to a photo.  It's a weapon I still enjoy.  I wouldn't mind if I had another four or five of them.  But, I'm very happy with the number in my collection, today.  Each time I see it, I'm reminded of finding that dusty gun in the back of our friends' yard.  It's a great connection to the past.

 

3. Hawk's Pistol

I view this pistol as Hawk's.  It actually debuted with  the 1985 Keel Haul, though.  But, since I never had a Keel Haul, I had no idea that he came with a gun.  So, I view this weapon as Hawk's and Hawk's alone.  Originally, this Hawk figure first belonged to my younger brother.  And, while I did use him quite a bit, my brother was hard on the figure and lost his pistol.  This hurt as I loved the weapon and often used it with other figures.  I gave Hawk the M-203 from Leatherneck and made him a younger leader, more akin to the role meant for Duke, instead of the grizzled general.  This made the Hawk figure much more useful and kept him a key player in my collection.

Sometime in late 1987, I went to a local toy shop in my neighborhood.  It was a small, independent store that was mostly a hobby/model shop who also sold toys.  They were expensive.  But, it was just a few hundred feet away from the comic book store where I spent many, many hours of my youth.  I stopped in one afternoon and found they had marked their Joes down to $2.99 instead of the usual $3.99.  I didn't like paying that extra dollar.  Their entire stock was 1986 figures...including Hawk.  I didn't buy the figure that day.  For some reason, I felt I needed parental permission to buy a figure, even though I spent my lawn mowing money with impunity at the comic book store.  When I got home, I mentioned something about the figures being on sale to my mother.  She made a flippant comment about how it was my money and she didn't care how I spent it.  So, on my next trip to the comic book store, I dropped by Ed Shrock's Toy and Hobby and bought myself a new Hawk.

I kept this figure, though, as the younger character from before.  And, Hawk, once again, got the M-203.  I had 2 of these weapons.  (It's next on the list!)  So, that freed up Hawk's pistol to be used by other figures or in other situations.  Crankcase was the main recipient of the pistol.  But, I would also use it in specific scenarios.  So, if a Joe got caught without his weapon at the end of a firefight and he had a sculpted pistol on his leg or chest, Hawks' pistol would stand in for the sculpted weapon.  The Joe would just use it that once.  But, it allowed for me to finally put to practical use some of the sculpted details on my favorite figures.

Today, the weapon remains a favorite.  I have a couple.  I never felt the Hawk pistol was all that hard to get.  But, when I liquidated all my extra Hawks, I sold them complete with the pistol.  I think I kept one or two extras that are available.  Though, one is always with Crankcase.  Hasbro had the mold for the weapon in the 2000's.  It was included with the Convention Hardtop.  But, it never appeared again.  Instead, we got crappy new sculpt pistols in the Comic Packs that the figures couldn't hold and that were just too stubby to be any fun.  I only imagine what it would have been like to get a dozen or more extra Hawk pistols in that era.  I'd have kept them all.

4. Leatherneck's M-203

Leatherneck's rifle had a lot going for it.  It was a bit bigger than the weapons from prior years.  But, I liked that about it since it made the weapon appear more deadly.  The main  calling card, though, was the affixed grenade launcher under the barrel.  This gave the weapon more utilization possibilities and made Leatherneck effective against both infantry and Cobra vehicles.  I always wanted more of the weapons.  In the summer of 1986, though, I lost my original Leatherneck in the bushes in front of grandfather's house.  My cousin, who lived next door, never found the figure.  And, I went months with no Leatherneck.  At some point before the end of the year, I bought another Leatherneck figure.  My main reasoning was that when I returned to Buffalo and found my original figure, I'd have a spare gun to give to other figures.

When I went back to my grandfather's in the summer of 1987, though, my Leatherneck was no where to be found.  I know the bushes were evergreen.  But, the volume of snow they received could have left him shoveled away.  So, I wasn't to get that spare rifle.  But, fortunately, the end of 1986 and early 1987 gave me another avenue.  For Christmas of 1986, I got the Mission to Brazil set.  This included a desert themed Leatherneck with the same rifle as the original.  Naturally, I kept that accessory with the figure.  But, when I really wanted the 1986 Hawk to have the rifle, I'd equip the desert Leatherneck (now a Marine army builder) with the 1984 Battle Gear Zap Bazooka.  But, then, in 1987, a new Battle Gear set was released.  Frankly, this set sucked like the earlier sets with poor colors and missing gear.  But, it did include a brown version of the Leatherneck rifle...a color that perfectly matched the Mission to Brazil figure.  So, the army builder was given the Battle Gear accessory and I had a spare M-203 to give to other figures.

As an adult collector, I discovered that the weapon was later released in black, too.  But, I also found the weapon had fallen out of favor.  I didn't see it as a team standard any longer.  I did give a black one to Recoil for a bit.  But, once I had a charcoal Steel Brigade rifle, Recoil didn't need the M-203 any longer.  And, by the time superfluous weapons were included with repaint era figures in the 2000's, I ended up with a baggie full of extra M-203s that I don't use at all.  It's a precipitous fall for one of the top weapons of my childhood.  But, Hasbro made too many better weapons in subsequent years.

5. Mutt's Mac 11

Mutt belonged to my younger brother.  And, he didn't take care of him.  In short order we lost the mask, nightstick and pistol.  At one point, I found the Mutt figure in the bottom of an antique wardrobe that was in my brothers' room.  Since I had pulled the figure out when it was fairly dark, I always thought that Mutt's pistol must have been  lost in the bottom of that piece of furniture.  I searched it many times.  In fact, I searched it as recently as 2013 when my mother finally moved out of the house and was giving the piece away.  No Mutt's pistol.  There were a bunch of old Legos, though.

Having lost such a cool gun always made the weapon mythical to me.  Add to that the weapon's silencer and it was a perfect accessory for Dreadnoks, Cobra leaders or even just Snake Eyes.  In 1985, I finally got a bright green Mutt's pistol in the Battle Gear.  And, despite the color, I used this weapon extensively.  I'd give it to Zartan.  Or, some nameless bad guys would use it to assassinate Hawk.  I'd place the weapon in the cockpit of the Whale where either Cutter or Shipwreck could grab it as a backup to shoot boarding Eels. It had a ton of uses.

But, I never got another black version of the gun until I was an adult collector.  While I upgraded pretty much my entire 1985 figure collection, I didn't do the same with the 1984's.  Mostly, this was due to the fact that the '84's were pretty sparse at the retailers I frequented in 1986 when I was spending to upgrade my figures.  But, also, the '84's were somewhat old news by then.  I was more interested in getting some of the newer characters back into my collection since they were the staples of the comic and cartoon.  So, a complete Mutt didn't rejoin my collection for over a decade.

Now, I have just two Mutts: both with the pistol.  But, I also have Mutts from Europe and Brazil.  So, I've got several of the pistols.  I think I have a spare or two still hanging around.  You'll find photos of the pistol being used by Scarlett, Snake Eyes, Headman and others.  It's a fun weapon to use as an alternative pistol.  I still think the silencer adds a sinister element to the weapon.  

So, that's a look at the weapons that drove my childhood.  While I liked most Joe weapons of that era, these were the ones that most spoke to me.  They were the ones that were the subject of daydreams of bins of gear being available to me.  Now that I can do that, I've found that I still flock to many of these weapons and never pass them if they're offered cheaply.  (Which doesn't really happen any longer.)

I'll continue this series at some point.  It won't be next week.  But, probably this year.  This was a fun jog into the bowels of my formative Joe years.  It's good to dig into that well of memories every now and then as it helps keep some of the feelings fresh.  Let me know your childhood favorites in the comments below.

2005 General Hawk (Comic Pack General Abernathy)

The Comic Packs were an inspired idea that lacked proper execution.  That's a thesis statement that I've held true for 20 years.  Because, yes, the first Comic Packs debuted in the summer of 2004: 20 years ago.  And, this poses the fundamental issue with figures like this Hawk that debuted a year later in 2005.  If you were around upon his release, this figure doesn't feel anywhere near as old as vintage Joes felt back during that time.  So, despite the advanced age of this figure, he still feels new enough that his flaws are accentuated and his attributes are left behind.  So, with fresh eyes, I took a look at this figure because the 1986 Hawk was a childhood staple and this updated look for the Joe general seemed like it should have been a great figure.

One of the issues I have with all Comic Pack figures is the heads.  While I appreciate the attempt to update the heads to better match their comic appearances, the heads didn't quite match up to the bodies of the figures with which they were matched.  The more modern sculpting done on the Comic Pack heads was in too great of a contrast to the figure bodies on which they were placed.  So, you have a hyper detailed, stern Hawk face set against the softer details of a sculpt that was done with technology of 20 years prior.  It's one of the reasons most Comic Pack figures feel just a bit "off" to me.  The early 2000's Hasbro wasn't so much interested in creating a perfectly aligned figure.  They were just about smashing together whatever was good enough to quell backlash and sell some toys to desperate collectors flush with their first real money in their lives.  And, the result are heads that, on their own, look nice.  But, they really stick out when posed among vintage Joes.

And, that's how you get this Hawk.  From afar, this mold amalgamation looks ok.  But, when in hand, many of the limitations become apparent.  The Talking Battle Commander waist and legs are long.  They seem too long for the resculpted 1986 Hawk chest.  (We'll talk about that, later.)  The TBC arms are also too puffy for the torso.  So, the whole figure looks improperly proportioned.  While all Joe parts are interchangeable, they are not always aesthetically compatible.  This Hawk proves that out.  The new head is well detailed...too detailed to match the sculpting appearance of the rest of the figure.  But, the blonde flat top is a great look for Hawk and finally gave collectors a figure that featured Hawk's signature look from the comics.  Hawk also features blue eyes.  There are not many other figures in the line with blue eyes.  But, it's a super subtle detail on the figure that most people will miss.  Beyond that, the colors are nice and the details are painted.  The green and brown are much brighter than those of the original 1986 figure on which this is based.  But, the colors work and do create a stark visual when the figure is photographed.

The biggest issue with the figure, though, is just the overall quality.  Many figures from this era will  have legs that stick out and waists that don't align.  Hawk is a perfect example of this.  It can be difficult to get the figure to stand up on his own just due to the poor materials used for the o-rings and t-hooks.  O-rings from the early 2000's are notoriously breakage prone, even if you never remove the figure from the package.  Some of the wonky legs might be fixed with better o-rings.  But, that seems a lot for a figure like this when you could just get a 1986 figure at the time for about the price of the comic 3 pack.  These Hawks aren't as prone to discoloration as many of his contemporaries.  But, you will see arms and torsos whose coloring doesn't always match.  This was a factory mismatch during production, though, and not later discoloration.  Overall, though, the plastic used in this era was not good and your vintage figures will likely age better than these 2000's releases in the coming years.

In 1997, Hasbro reused the entire 1986 General Hawk mold for release in the A-10.  This well painted figure is fairly obscure.  But, Hasbro had the full mold and made a cool figure with it.  In 2002, the mold was planned for the collector-friendly Wave 1.5.  However, for some reason, Hasbro could not locate the mold, despite it being used just 5 years earlier.  So, instead, the Talking Battle Commander mold was used instead.  That lead Hasbro to, in 2005, resculpt the 1986 Hawk torso.  This was common practice by this time.  But, there was no rhyme or reason to which figures got newly sculpted parts.  Hasbro made new molds for this Hawk, Lady Jaye (despite the mold being used sans issue in 2003), Scrap Iron (whose mold was in use in India at the time) and Mutt: among others.  Missing from this list, though, are fan favorite molds like the V1 Cobra Commander, 1985 Snake Eyes, Shipwreck and even Destro.  I will give Hasbro credit for re-doing the Cobra Trooper, Officer and Crimson Guard.  But, you can't help but wonder why so much of the vintage Joe budget went to remaking 2nd tier characters or molds that were recently used instead of hitting just a couple of the missing classics.  A V1 Cobra Commander could have been repainted 10 times with minimal collector pushback.  Instead, we got the Talking Battle Commander mold (flat back and all!) multiple times.  At least factory customs have finally filled some of those gaping holes.

One item of note is the figure's name.  While I call him General Hawk, the official name is General Abernathy.  Hasbro's name copyrights of the early 2000's were all over the place.  And, the Comic Packs are full of oddball naming conventions where you see some characters released under their original code names, some given additional qualifiers to their old name (Double Clutch) and lots of figures released under the character's file name: like this General Abernathy.  To me, he's just Hawk.  And, that's how most will refer to him.  But, the official name is General Abernathy which is much less of a mouthful than Lonzo R. Wilkinson.

Comic Pack accessories weren't great.  They were too generic to the later figures.  Hawk is no exception.  He includes a newly sculpted M-16 rifle that debuted in 2004.  It's a nicely designed weapon that does work well with many other figures from that era.  And, while, as a kid, I have the 1986 Hawk the M-203 from Leatherneck, I just don't see this M-16 rifle as a good fit for Hawk.  It is nice, though, to have a few extras lying around.  He then includes a pistol that's oversized and has a grip that is so wide it will permanently disfigure Hawk's hands and a knife that, again, is OK even though it's out of character.  Hasbro did sculpt a new helmet for Hawk.  It's skinny and narrow and barely fits over Hawk's hair.  And, on the figure, it makes his head look squished.  It's very soft.  So, it won't rub paint when applied to the figure.  It was a noble attempt.  But, the execution was lacking.

Hawk was released in the first wave of Direct to Consumer sales.  This meant that collectors were initially excited by his release.  But, they quickly moved on and the entire comic pack was available at clearance prices for a long time.  I bought several extras for gear and custom parts because, even after shipping, you were paying under $2 per figure.  You'll find some flattering reviews of this figure from the time.  But, the lack of photography of the figure and it's relative absence among collector usage today is a telling sign that the figure fell pretty flat in the collecting world.  The blonde hair was universally lauded.  But, the rest of the design just didn't resonate.  The figure wasn't an upgrade over the original and simply couldn't overtake the vintage design.

It has long been rumored that there will be an updated 1986 style Hawk figure that will be released by Hasbro at some point as part of their Transformers Cross Over line.  So far, the figures in that line have been disappointing because they tread no new ground and don't really offer cheaper alternatives to now expensive vintage Joe figures.  So, while I'm not really in favor of Hasbro releasing any more o-ring Joes, I will hope that, if the Hawk figure comes to be, that Hasbro takes a cue from this Hawk and finally brings a proper 1986 style Hawk to collectors.  While I'd love a black jacket figure from issue #50 of the comic, I'll take just a 1986 Hawk homage with blonde hair.  That little detail will be enough to make a new Hawk figure worthwhile.  

The 1986 Hawk mold was released by Hasbro in 1986 and 1987.  There is a very rare mail away General Hawk from 1992 or 1993 that includes the golden rifle from the 1991 Cobra Commander.  It's one of the more difficult bagged figures in the line to find.  The entire figure was then released in Brazil and India.  Both the Estrela and Funskool figures are very similar to the Hasbro releases with the Brazilian figure featuring darker green and the more common Funskool versions featuring lighter green.  Hasbro got the mold back and released a repainted figure in 1997.  The full Talking Battle Commander Hawk was released in 2000 and 2002 before the parts were cannibalized for this 2005 Comic Pack figure.  This newly sculpted head and torso, though, never appeared again.  There is an alternate Asian variant of the figure that features a completely green torso.  But, that was the end of this Hawk mold.

All the Comic Pack figures got caught up in the market hype of the pandemic collectible world.  Now, you will still see high prices for individual figures and carded sets just due to incredibly low supply.  Collectors are holding their items, hoping the prices continue to rise.  But, they have not only leveled off, but actively fallen on more common and less desirable items...like this Hawk.  While dealers will still ask $40+ for a loose, complete figure and over $70 for a carded set, the reality is that the figure sits unsold for $20.  Carded sets are worth between $35 and $45.  You can argue over Flint or Hawk being the top figure in the set.  But, really, they're both about the same level of usefulness.  So, don't fall for the dealer hype and overpay for this figure.  In hand, he's kind of disappointing.  For a couple of bucks, that's OK.  But, for dealer prices, you'll feel cheated.

Rarities - 1986 Promotion Image (Pre-Production Figures)

Every year, Hasbro would go to the New York Toy Fair.  Here, they would showcase a catalog of their upcoming year's worth of toys.  As the Fair was early in the year, the catalog would often feature early designs and pre-production figures from various toy lines.  Below is not the 1986 catalog.  I'm not actually unsure of the origin of this image.  But, it's not from the official Toy Fair catalog.  But, in this promotional image, you can see several pre-production figures from the 1986 line.  The 1985 figures are all production level.  But, there are lots of 1986 goodies to explore.

The most interesting thing, of course, is that Mainframe still includes the little stands that were meant for his computer.  The holes into which these would have been inserted did manage to survive on Mainframe's production computer.  But, the stand was never released.  It is likely this was done to save cost as the stand didn't really add any additional play value.  But, the artifacts of it's early existence are proved out by its appearance in this photo.

Most people viewing this will likely focus on the BAT that is in the front and center of the presentation.  You'll notice that it has a different chest hologram as well as a different head.  This head appears squatter and fatter than the sleek head on the production figure.  I think the production figure looks better.  But, your mileage may vary.

Hawk also features an additional paint application on his helmet.  The goggles are painted black.  It's a very nice additional detail.  And, while it would have been great to see it at retail, it's also not enough of a change to really notice it's missing.

Several of the figures feature alternate heads.  The BAT and Dial Tone's heads are the most jarringly different from their production counterparts.  There are also lots of subtle paint differences, too.  Some of these figures might have been hand painted samples.  The awkward posing on the 1986 figures suggests that they were not production level at the time the photo was taken.  

You'll notice that Iceberg, Leatherneck, Low-Light, Monkeywrench, Zandar, Zarana and Roadblock are all missing from this display.  I'm not sure why.  I can see Zandar and Zarana being later releases while they finished up the color changing.  (Zarana is noted in some material as featuring a color changing "mohawk" which never came to be.)  All of these figures, though, do appear in  the official Toy Fair catalog for 1986...with a few pre-production oddities of their own.  By the time of the Toy Fair catalog, though, all of the pre-production figures from this photo (except the BAT)  had been replaced with production figures: even while the missing figures remained pre-production in that later photo

Stormshadow was also carried over into 1986.  This makes sense for one of the most popular G.I. Joe figures ever released.  There was a time when I was hell-bent on finding a grey Stormshadow filecard that would denote his 1986 release.  I can't recall if I ever succeeded in doing so or not.  But, check out that 6109 assortment that included Stormshadow.  You got Stormshadow, the 1985 Snake Eyes, Crimson Guard, Flint and the BAT in one case.  By Toy Fair, though, the assortment was modified to drop the Crimson Guard, but add the Eel, Low Light and Leatherneck.  That would have been a dream assortment to find hanging on the shelf at your local stores.

These old catalogs are a treasure trove of early designs and pre-production kitbashes.  In later years, Hasbro got better at including more production level figures in their materials.  At least until 1993 and 1994.  But, we'll talk about those at a later time.

1997 Hawk - Random Photos of the Day

This week, we learned there is a General Hawk coming.  I'm not excited.  The reasons for that is that this new Hawk is not going to be better than the 1986 figure.  He's not going to feature at least an attempt at a different look like this 1997 figure.  And, he might not even be better than the 2005 Comic Pack figure.  Hasbro's re-makes of Joes have gotten steadily worse since they were debuted.  And, that's a near certainty to continue since we, as collectors, don't punish bad products.  So, Hasbro learns they can give us crap and we'll gratefully gobble it up.

Which really takes me back to this 1997 General Hawk.  The 1997 figures were the 15th Anniversary figures from the beginning of the vintage line.  Now, they are 26 years old and all us old, adult collectors recall finding them as adults.  And, at the time, we vilified these figures.  Sadly, we didn't know how good we had it.  The 1997 series is full of fun repaints that have aged quite well.  Even figures like Hawk, which didn't deviate too far from the original figure's colors, is still a very nice update to the mold and gives collectors something different to add to their collections.  

The main reason I enjoy this figure is that the colors are subtle.  Even in photos, it can be difficult to catch all the various colors that comprise this figure.  Lost in the dark jacket are some rich greens, subtle browns and some black.  The grey pants help offset the upper body and are a nice diversion from the green camo of the 1986 figure.  And, the details that are painted on the figure are convention level quality.  To think, we got figures like this for $3 each.  This Hawk, a completely repainted A-10 and an excellent Ace figure were sold for 1/4 of the price that two figures and a smaller vehicle cost today.  

While the sunburnt skin isn't my favorite, it's light years ahead of the pale, painted faces of the 2022 and 2023 releases.  It also gives some diversity to the skin tones of the Joe team.  That and the figure's accessories are the only main complaints. The Battle Gear 1986 helmet works for this figure, though.  And, back in 1997, it was both cheap and easy to find 1986 Hawk pistols.  So, it was a lot easier to outfit this figure in other accessories than it is today.

Back in 1997, I wasn't too high on that year's figure releases.  And, I passed most of them by to focus on vintage collections and POTFII Star Wars figures.  But, in short time, that changed.  And, in the ensuing decades, the year has grown on me and I now consider 1997 and 1998 to be among the best Joe years Hasbro ever produced.  They are full of great character repaints, main and obscure characters and lots of nice army builders.  It's unfortunate that the formula for success was never repeated.  I just wish some of the lessons learned from the late 1990's could be applied to the Joe line today.  But, that's just a pipe dream at this point.

2002 General Tomahawk - Random Photos of the Day

So, the other night, I heard my dog chomping on something.  I got up to see what it was.  But, I didn't find anything in her mouth.  As I returned to bed, though, I saw something on the floor in the dark.  Turns out, it was this General Tomahawk figure.  I have no idea where she got it.  I think my boys had the figure out and must have left it somewhere the dog could find it.

So, now, this figure is a flesh colored stump atop a torso that has just shoulders and upper arms.  His legs no longer have feet.  I tossed what was left of the figure into my custom fodder box.  I don't really know why.  I have put all my spare pieces into this box since at least 1986.  And, I have never done anything with them.  The box is massive and there's everything in their from my childhood straight arm pieces to old CORPS! figures and, now, what remains of this Tomahawk.  My plan is that I'll retire in the next 25 to 30 years.  And, when I do, customizing Joes will be something I do in my copious spare time.  So, stop by in the 2050's and see if I follow through.

Time was, I had a couple of these figures.  But, I'm not sure if I had more than 1 these days.  So, the days of this General Tomahawk appearing in photos could be over.  I hope I find a spare in the 2002 drawer.  But, I don't care enough to actually look.  Maybe sometime next week.  But, this is a figure that's worth having.  It's better than the 2000 version and is the type of figure that's nice background fodder in many photos.  

Rarities - 2004 Comic Pack Hawk - Unproduced Head

In 2004, Hasbro came up with the idea of Comic Packs.  This alternate selling method would offer consumers three vintage style Joe figures with a comic book featuring those characters for the whopping price of $9.99.  It seemed like a great idea that was certain to pave the way for the future of retail action figure sales.  And, for a short time, it kind of was.  But, as was common with alternate G.I. Joe retail products, the Comic Packs quickly stalled out at retail and were gone just a year later.  While they offered a nice variety of relatively unimpressive or memorable figures, the Comic Packs also had a few pre-production pieces that featured some oddball coloring.  One such example is this 2004 General Hawk.

If you're a fan of this site, you've seen this head before.  It's the head I put on a 2004 Comic Pack Cobra Officer body for my character Skeres.  I thought the head was distinctive enough to create a new character.  So, this set was the first of the alternate Asian figures that I tracked down.  Originally, the figures were sold as a set of three figures and accessories: all still in their tray from the Comic Pack.  I paid about $33 to have the three figures shipped from China.  Quite a stretch from prices today.

There are no other major changes to the figure aside from the head.  But, the head's distinctive coloring was what made it stand out.  And, even as more and more uproduced figures from Asia began to appear, this Hawk kept his status.  But, he did lose his popularity.  With many more figures that collectors desired, these early oddballs like Hawk fell into obscurity.  And, as alternate Anti Venom and unproduced Wal Mart figures became common in standard collections, this Hawk never appeared.  

It's very unlikely that this figure is anything more than a plastic test.  Since the Stalker in the pack featured pale, white plastic for the skin on the head, it could be that a run got the plastic colors for each mold wrong.  Regardless of how this figure came to be, it's a fun piece of Joe history that was a member of one of the hallmarks of the early 2000's Joe community.