Action Force Z Cycle (Rapid Fire Motorcycle)

I received my first G.I. Joe toy for my birthday in December of 1982.  It was the RAM motorcycle.  I didn't get my first figure until the next day when Breaker joined my collection.  This seemed kismet since it was Breaker who was drawn as the rider on the RAM box art.  The two of them became inseparable.  Breaker was, pretty much, the only figure who got to ride the RAM and it was a perfect extension for him since the figure didn't include a weapon.  I came to view the Ram as Breaker's just as much as the VAMP belonged to Clutch.  If you lived in Europe, though, your first exposure to the RAM as a toy brought with a completely different character association.  Because, unlike in the U.S., the first European release of the RAM mold included a driver: Quarrel.  With this, the association between the Action Force Z-Cycle and Quarrel is probably more powerful than the RAM/Breaker connection.  The Action Force coloring of the toy, though, also creates a starkly different appearance for the RAM that makes it my favorite palette for the toy.

As a kid, the RAM suffered greatly due to its popularity.  My RAM went on many adventures: most of which it could not survive.  The leg pegs broke off.  The saddle bags were lost.  The kickstand snapped when I flicked it to simulate a figure kicking it down.  And, as the final nail in the RAM's coffin, the pegs that held the gatling cannon to the cycle broke and I was left with two pieces that could not be re-connected.  I glued and glued the RAM.  So much so that the plastic began to melt under the increasing in strength adhesives I applied in an attempt to make the toy whole.  Finally, it was no use.  The RAM found its way into the final resting place of many of my childhood toys: a box of broken and mismatched parts that I would cast onto the floor of our toyroom to simulate a debris field where battles or chases could take place.  For a toy, though, my original RAM couldn't have asked for much more as it was used to death.  Sadly, the great disappointment with the Silver Mirage soured me on Joe motorcycles in general and the RAM didn't return to my collection until the late summer of 2000.

This timing is interesting because two things happened in my collection at this time.  First, I acquired a massive original collection that contained pretty much all the figures and vehicles released between 1983 and 1985.  Oh, I also got this collection for free.  I just had to pay shipping.  But, while I reveled in my fortune, I also took an important step as a Joe collector as I acquired my first two international figures: Chinese Major Bludd and the Tiger Force Outback.  With this, the world of international Joes was opened to me and they quickly became my primary area of focus.  As the early 2000's slogged on, my international collection grew.  At the time, you could trade recent Toys R Us exclusive Joes pretty much straight up for many European and Brazilian releases.  As I had those in spades, I was able to pick up many figures even though I wasn't able to spend much money on my collection.  

One such acquisition was Quarrel.  At the time, Quarrel was one of the more popular international releases.  Despite the fact that she's relatively common, she was commanding prices similar to Red Jackal and Red Laser.  As with female figures from the U.S., though, the increased popularity of the character among collectors was outstripped by the figure's availability.  And, with that, Quarrel prices began to fall.  Despite this, I never really explored the possibility of adding Quarrel's missing motorcycle.  At the time, I was a figure collector and vehicles seemed like unnecessary purchases when there were so many figures I still wanted.  In the early 2010's, this changed.  I decided that I was going to hold key pieces in my collection.  And, if something made the cut to remain in my possession, it was going to mint and complete.  So, I spent a small sum of money on a complete with Z Cycle Quarrel figure.  

Once in my collection, the Action Force green color of the vehicle was a welcome respite from the sea of similarly colored vehicles that comprised the bulk of my holdings at the time.  The main thing that stood out, though, was how much the extra colors and additional stickers enhanced the Z Cycle over the RAM.  The side gun being black really helped to offset the green color and make the entire vehicle look more complex.  The red stickers also pop against the green background.  It's a dramatic shift from the 1982 RAM and brings much more life to the Z Cycle.  (I call it the Z Cycle as it's an easier name.  It's really the Rapid Fire Motorcycle.  But, that sucks to say.  Frankly, if people can make up asinine rhymes like "Argen 7" that make no sense, I can call this Z Cycle.)

For me, this alternate version of the RAM is a great toy to pair up with a variety of figures.  I enjoy the RAM mold because it has a relatively small footprint, but can also display figures, nicely.  And, everything from Funskool to Hasbro figures look good atop the Action Force green cycle.  Oddly, it's rare for Quarrel to use her native bike.  Instead, I farm it out to Lady Jaye.  I have some ideas to use it with Sightline, too.  When I find the box that holds my cycle, I'll get some pics of it with the most famous factory custom figure of all.

One of Action Force's great introductions to the Joe line was the color of green that Palitoy used for the Z Force figures and vehicles.  It is deep, rich and visually interesting.  It remains true enough to military roots to be believable.  But, it is also something that is a perfect supplement for the more drab and flat colors that Hasbro used so often.  Sadly, the color died out with Palitoy.  Neither Hasbro nor the club was able to resurrect the color.  (The club's odd fixation with drab colors affected even their Action Force homage figures in 2010 and they are not the right color of green.)  Even factory custom makers steered clear of the color until 2017 when it appeared on a couple of Red Laser's Army releases.  Even then, though, the homages were not a 100% color match.  Hopefully, it will continue to show up.  I'd love a 1985 Snake Eyes in Action Force green with black and silver details.  I'm sure others would, too.  

The RAM was a world traveler.  It was used in the US for both the original toy and then the 1986 Sears Exclusive Dreadnok Ground Assault.  You then have this Palitoy release.  From there, the RAM took a tour of South America where it was released in Brazil.  It finally ended up in India.  Funskool produced the RAM for several years and with several major variants.  (Some of which are ridiculously rare and expensive.)  The final use of the RAM was with the Funskool Street Hawk figure (which included an all black RAM motorcycle, but did not include the side gun) which Funskool produced until 2003.  RAM collectors have nearly as many items to track down as VAMP collectors.  But, most of the best colors remain relatively cheap and available.  So, pretty much anyone can at least get a sample RAM in their collection.

Like all toys these days, Z Cycles have gotten more expensive.  As Quarrel now tends to be a $150 figure, you see lots of combos of the figure and cycle for sale in the $200 range.  On it's own, the cycle goes for under $40 when it's complete.  Dealers, though, will ask two to three times that.  And, they'll get it more often than they should.  Toys like this Z Cycle were pretty common as recently as 2017.  So, their disappearance from the market seems to be more about an increase in demand.  But, there are plenty of mint and complete versions out there.  You just have to wait a lot longer for one to come along at the right price.

Rarities - Action Force Vehicle Drivers (Bubbled Figures)

Today, Action Force exclusive figures are, once again, hot commodities in the collector world.  Some of the exclusives now command premium pricing that places them among the most expensive figures in the world.  That wasn't always the case, though.  In the late '90's and early 2000's, a London based toy dealer had a massive amount of Palitoy overstock.  Among that stash was a tantalizing amount of bubbled vehicle drivers for the Pality Action Force line.  Aside from the bubbles that made them unique, these figures also included repainted G.I. Joe accessories that had not been available with the exclusive figures in their initial releases.  The dealer sold these figures for cheap for many years.  Around 2001, they realized that they had something more desirable than they had initially thought and the cheap buy it now prices on their figures disappeared and the market began to drive up the prices of the figures.  Now, the bubbled vehicle drivers command massive prices.  

Blades

Blades is a Tripwire repaint.  He's a great figure with super fragile paint.  This bubbled version includes exclusive black versions of his pack and mines.  The detector may be exclusive, too, but I'm not sure.

Red Jackal

This Destro repaint has Destro's gear.  

Red Laser

Red Laser is a Cobra Commander repaint.  The bubbled figure includes Cobra Commander's pistol.

Jammer

In a fun twist of names and molds that consterns collectors to this day, the Stalker mold was released in the Action Force line as Jammer while the Snake Eyes mold was released as Stalker.  That's still fun to sort through.

Gaucho

Gaucho is a Gung Ho repaint.  This figure features an exclusively colored backpack that matches the color of his pants.  This gear is probably the most famous exclusively colored driver gear.

Hunter

Hunter is a Cobra Officer repaint who is now a good guy.  As if that's not odd enough, he now includes his AK-47 as a member of the SAS.

Steeler:

Steeler always included his exclusive red helmet and binoculars headset.

Other figures were available in bubbles, too.  All of the figures above were relatively available with Jammer and Gaucho selling out first with the Cobra molds as fast followers.  Now, high quality Action Force drivers are tough to find in general.  But, getting the exclusive gear loose is darn near impossible.

Action Force Quarrel - Around the Web

Quarrel is the European exclusive repaint of the classic V1 Scarlett mold.  The blonde hair makes her a stark difference from Scarlett.  There was a time when she was the most popular foreign female figure.  But, she has since been eclipsed by Glenda.  There's less out there on her than I would have expected.  But, here's what I can find of her online.

Quarrel Profile

Quarrel at JoeDios.com

Quarrel by relena_warcraft

Quarrel at Toys and Bacon

Quarrel at figurerealm

Quarrel (Action Force Exclusive) - AKA Undercover Scarlett

To many, the V1 Scarlett mold has now been overused. We've seen it many times and it no longer carries the impact that it once did. This was not always the case, though. While most collectors do not feel the original Scarlett figure is adequate to her character, they do associate it with Scarlett. There just aren't enough females in the line to make the differentiation. However, there is another variation on the Scarlett mold that is certainly not Scarlett. It is a unique character to the European Action Force continuity. I've found, though, that Quarrel makes for a great addition into my Joe world.

Most of you familiar with this site know of my stance on female figures. In the case of Quarrel, I still feel that the figure is not all that great. It is an interesting repaint of a classic mold and is done in a way that disassociates the mold with all the American versions. Beyond that, though, the mold still has limitations. What has make the Quarrel figure interesting to me, though, is the character I created for her. Like so many other Action Force exclusive figures, Quarrel is pretty much a blank slate who exists without much supporting characterization. As such, her character can be created in any direction one would please. This is where her strength lies.

Most of you know that I have my own Joe continuity. In it, Joe is lead by a new character represented by the General Flagg figure. (Cobra is still lead by Cobra Commander though other factions are lead by newer figures and personally created characters.) The Flagg character is a flinty old soldier who served in many operations that are too secret to imagine. In his days of international espionage, he routinely worked with a British female operative. She was known for her unconventional ways of achieving results, but was respected for her work. She was the envy of most of her male counterparts and felt that most of them were beneath her. She and the Flagg character got along, though, as they kept their relationship professional and never allowed any hint of personal feelings to interfere with their mutual work. Naturally, this British female is Quarrel.

Quarrel is not named Quarrel in my world. Well, at least that's not the main name she goes by. During the time she spent tracking down Red Laser and stopping him from forming the European arm of Cobra, she was known as Quarrel. When she worked as a spy inside the former Soviet Union, she went by a different name. When she tracked down eco-terrorists in Brazil in the mid-90's, she went by something else. Her character is a master of disguise and dialect. While her natural hair color is blonde, there are many men inside foreign counter-intelligence agencies who would only recognize her with a different hair color and style. In fact, many of them would be surprised to know that she was British as she can pass for native of most South American, European and former British colonial countries.

I've taken to referring to the Quarrel character as the "British Witch" or Britch for short. That is the name the Flagg character calls her by, though she will knock unconscious any other man who refers to her by that name. Her personality just will not allow her to be on level terms with anyone who hasn't earned her respect. I think she could best be described as equal parts Margaret Thatcher, Princess Diana and Koo Stark with a little bit of Ma Joad thrown in. She is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish her mission and had the attributes to pull it off. Of course, this has caused many people to look down upon her, but this character's sense of duty overrides all else and she will do what has to be done for the greater good.

While Quarrel was only available at retail in Europe in the mid to late '80's, she was also available at a G.I. Joe Convention in the U.S. in the mid '90's. Here, she was called "Undercover Scarlett" rather than Quarrel. In 2003, there was going to be an exclusive Quarrel/Stalker 2 pack (Stalker being the European name for the Snake Eyes mold) that would have been packaged the same as the Toy Fare exclusive 2 pack of Snake Eyes and Scarlett. However, this product was nixed in the midst of the 2003 product shuffling and collectors were deprived, once again, of easy access to the Quarrel character.

As Action Force exclusive figures go, Quarrel is about the easiest one to find. She was included with a lower price point repaint of the RAM motorcycle and probably saw a much greater production run than many of the other exclusively repainted Action Force figures. Still, that does not mean she is easy to find. A couple of years ago, European exclusive figures were very easy to track down. At the same time, South American exclusive figures were very hard to find. Now, the opposite is true. Brazilian and Argentine figures are relatively easy to find while nicely conditioned European exclusives are seldom seen. I don't really know the reason for this. It could be cyclical or it could be that most old guard collectors have had the chance to pick up the Euro figs and no longer spend the time to bring additional samples to the U.S. Whatever the reason, it will take some time to track down a Quarrel figure.

When you find one, though, they aren't too expensive. Nicely conditioned ones sell for under $50 and can be had as low as $30 if you look around. To me, that's a bit much for this figure. To others, though, it could very well be quite a bargain. I'll just say that collectors value figures like this very differently. That's what makes collecting fun. Either way, I'm glad I have Quarrel in my collection. Her character has made her a neat little element to add to my Joe world. A little creativity can make even the blandest figure very interesting.

I'm set for original Quarrel figures. However, as the character has been resurrected at this point, I would definitely like to see her introduced into the new Joe canon via a new sculpt figure. How about you?