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.  

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

1986 Dreadnok RAM - Sears Exclusive

My dad was a Sears junkie.  He would go to the store and browse the various aisles like I peruse toy web sites today.  He had no real intentions of buying most of the items he saw.  But, I'm sure part of him thought that if he won the lottery, he'd buy up every tool, yard gadget and electronic device in the store and those items would somehow provide him with a modicum of satisfaction...even if he never used them.  The upside to this was that when the family was at the mall, my dad would take my brothers and I to Sears while my mother would shop in the other department stores.  In our local store, the toys were located right next to the tools.  So, he could wander those aisles while we would drool over the toys.  My main memories of spending my time at Sears are not only looking at off Joe brand toys like Rambo, Sectaurs and even the Temple of Doom toy line but also seeing the Sears G.I. Joe exclusives and holding the boxes, memorizing the details of toys I didn't really have hope that I would own.

All that longing, though, paid off.  In 1985, I found the Sears SMS under the Christmas Tree.  It quickly became one of the staples of my Joe adventures and survives, to this day, in relatively good shape.  In 1986, my younger brother opened the Dreadnok Air Assault.  I had seen this at the store, but wasn't overly fond of it.  (I had hated the FANG as a kid.)  Within a few presents, though, I discovered the Dreadnok Ground Assault as one of my flagship gifts.  This was something I had wanted since my 1986 era Cobras were wanting for additional ground vehicles.  It was quickly opened up and joined my collection as one of the few new pieces that arrived in the 1986 holiday season.

The Dreadnok RAM, though, didn't find use in the Cobra arsenal.  By late 1986 and early 1987, my original RAM was long relegated to a super glued mess that no longer worked at all.  The Silver Mirage sat in a junk pile due to the low quality and general frustrations I had when playing with it.  So, a mostly green RAM seemed like a better fit for the Joes than the Dreadnoks: characters I didn't really use any longer.  At the time, I had a slew of custom characters that I had cobbled together from parts of broken 1984, 1985 and 1986 figures.  One of these was a combo of Flint's head, Footloose's torso and Snake Eyes' legs.  (I forget the arms.  I think they actually changed a few times as I snapped thumbs.)  This character, named Thunderbolt (how original...) was the principle warrior in my collection.  He wore Flint's backpack but carried the Ripcord rifle from the Tactical Battle Platform.  His primary specialty was fast attack and his signature move was riding a motorcycle with reckless abandon into a battle.  His cycle of choice?  The Dreadnok RAM.

Perched atop the RAM, Thunderbolt would ride into the fray to save the day for the Joes time and time again.  He would both use the gatling gun sidecar and exclude it, firing his weapon with one hand while he drove the cycle with the other.  This personal transport became as much a part of the character as the figure, his rifle and the ammo he found at the bottom of the "waterfall" that was my grandfather's concrete front steps on his Buffalo, NY home.  In very short order, the Dreadnok RAM became his and his alone.  I kept pretty good care of my toys in 1986 and 1987.  But, this RAM had some pieces break due to heavy usage.  It shows how important the cycle was to one of the most integral toys in my collection.  When it came time to pack my toys away in early 1988, the Dreadnok RAM was packed with the Thunderbolt figure and kept safe while the Stinger was tossed in a box and left to the exposure in the attic of my parents' home.

Today, though, Thunderbolt is long gone...dispatched to simple memories.  The Dreadnok RAM has, instead, found itself the primary ride of the Brazilian Relampago figure.  The greens of the RAM and Stinger mesh nicely with the vintage Python Patrol figures.  Python Troopers and Officers are the right match of mold year for the Stinger and man it very well.  Relampago is a motorcycle rider.  So, his assignment to the RAM is a natural fit.  And, having a relatively rare figure ride a relatively rare motorcycle seems like an additional bonus.  But, due to the fragility and rarity of both the cycle and the jeep, I rarely use these items any longer.  It's just too dangerous to take them outside and risk breaking a three figure part on the toys just to get a photo that will get a few likes and then disappear forever.  So, this RAM and the Stinger remain boxed up and rarely venture out into the wild.  I hope to someday change that and get a nice set of photos fully showcasing the Python Patrol's symmetry with this set.

One of the calling cards of the Dreadnok exclusives was that they changed color.  For a kid in 1986, this seemed really cool and fun.  Once you owned the vehicles, though, you realized that the reality of the color changing ability was limited.  If you didn't take the toys outside, you wouldn't know they changed color.  And, if you did take them out, they would change into the other color and stay there for quite a bit of time before slowly fading back.  In short, it was a dumb gimmick, but it sold toys.  What it also did, though, was leave a legacy of super brittle and easily discolored plastic.  Dreadnok vehicles that are stored relatively well will still have broken parts due to the fragility of the aging plastic.  The color changing parts will turn dark if you're lucky.  But, more commonly, they take on a yellowish brown hue that renders the vehicles useless.  Supposedly, there is a variant on the RAM where parts can be in different colors.  I still believe that much of this is a function of plastic deterioration.  But, the variants are officially listed, legit and are something for the truly sadistic collector to track down.

Every Joe collector who grew up in the '80's has a favorite retailer story.  There is an entire subset of collectors who track down vintage cardbacks with specific price tags that denote the retailer of origin.  I recall peg after peg of figures at department stores, specialty retailers, hardware stores, mom-and-pop shops, niche providers and the multitude of chain and independent toy stores that used to dot American malls.  If you had asked people back then to forecast the retail environment 30+ years out, it's doubtful that anyone would come close to the apocalyptic space that is 2020's retail stores.  All of the small, regional, local and even national stores have long since been consolidated, merged or forced out of business due to changing consumer habits.  Old price tags and retailer exclusives like this RAM are memories of different times.  While I doubt we'll ever see a toy renaissance like the 1980's again, the reality is that today's retail simply couldn't support it.  In the '80's, there were dozens, if not hundreds of outlets in which your ideas could be sold.  Today, if Wal Mart and Amazon pass on your product, you're left with either a really cheap product that can be sold at discount stores or a really expensive niche product that's marketed to a small, affluent group.  Neither of these will ever lead to the mass adoption of a toy line and we'll never again see the culture of a youthful generation defined by hugely popular toys.

As I think back about those trips to Sears with my father, I wonder what memories my kids are forging now that they are entering the same age brackets as I was when Star Wars and G.I. Joe dominated my experience.  I also now better understand why my dad would not mind sitting in Sears for an hour or two, the kids safe, nearby on a Saturday afternoon.  There are days I'm happy to buy the week's groceries, just to get out of the house for an hour's peace.  I'm saddened that there are no longer toy stores where I can take my boys to look and browse for new playthings.  But, that experience was a big part of my childhood.  They will have a chance to experience something different.  And, I'm sure that there's some activity we do today that I consider innocuous that will burn deep memories in them and be their happy nostalgia at some point in the future.  I only hope that they're able to share those thoughts with me so we can relive them together.

I was prepared to talk about how expensive Dreadnok RAMs are.  However, I was not prepared for exactly HOW expensive they are.  Mint and complete motorcycles will sell for over $200 with most reaching $250.  Just the cycle with a broken kickstand will run you well over $100.  Simply put, that's insane for something like this.  Sure, the toy is relatively rare and time hasn't tended to be kind to the brittle and discoloring plastic.  But, the toy is also limited and not something that is essential for a collection.  But, the Dreadnoks are popular.  The RAM is popular.  And, collectors are gladly overpaying for harder to find vintage toys these days.  Personally, I'd never pay anywhere near that for this cycle.  But, I have the luxury of having both one from childhood and one from a pre-insanity priced adult collector purchase.  So, that certainly colors my view of the current pricing.  Having the toy as a kid certainly has left this item as a vehicle that I'm glad to have...just for the nostalgia.  Without that, it's value would be limited to me.

Rarities - Sears Red Back Straight Arm Cobra Commander and Snake Eyes

From the beginning, Hasbro had a good relationship with Sears.  And, why not?  In the early 1980's, Sears was America's largest retailer.  No company who made retail products could get large without selling their wares through Sears.  And, the backbone of Sears's retail might was it's catalog business.

Long before the internet, if you didn't live in a place with retail stores, you had to resort to shopping and ordering goods from catalogs.  This wasn't just for hermits and those who were heavily isolated.  Even into the early 1980's, towns of 20,000 to 50,000 people would have limited retail options.  So, stores like Sears had huge swaths of the American population who were dependent upon them for ordering many items.

So, Hasbro got into bed with Sears rather quickly.  The downside to the catalog business, though, was shipping and handling.  The extra space for full figure cardbacks were a detriment for the shipping costs.  So, Hasbro and Sears came up with a solution.  Instead of putting the figures on full cardbacks, they packaged them into bubbles that were affixed to a reproduction of the figure's filecard.  This smaller size lent itself to mailing.  It also created a subset of collecting that contains some of the hardest to find items in the entire Joe line.

Below you will Sears catalog figures for the 1982 Snake Eyes and 1982 Cobra Commander.  The Commander is noteworthy because he is not the Mickey Mouse version.  But, he is the straight arm version.  This configuration of figure was available from Sears in the Missile Command set and this mail away.  I got two of them from the mail away offer in early 1983, as well.

You'll also note that the accessories are package right with the figure.  This was the standard for vehicle drivers and would appear again with JC Penny's catalog figures as well as bubbled overstock vehicle drivers from the Action Force line in Europe.

The figures were attached to a filecard that included a flagpoint.  It was a way to keep the characterization with the figure and still give the recipient of the toy an idea of the card art without incurring the additional hassle of superfluous packaging.

Figures still attached to their bubbles on these filecards are extremely rare and expensive.  Even the filecards alone (with the bubble marks on the red side) can command hundreds of dollars.  While Sears ordered enough product to make it worth Hasbro's while to create alternate packaging, the production numbers would have been substantially smaller than the standard carded figures.  Loose, the figures are indistinguishable from their retail counterparts.  But, the cards and evidence of the catalog origins remain grail type items for many collectors.

1986 Dreadnok Stinger - Sears Exclusive

As a kid, I was very fortunate to have acquired the 1985 Sears exclusive SMS set. My dad was a fan of Sears and would go there often. As such, I was able to spend time reviewing the toy aisle since it was right next to the tools section. I spent many hours in 1985 staring at the SMS. Once I got it, it became one of my favorite toys. So, as 1986 drew to a close, I was hopeful that Sears would offer another exclusive toy offering. I was not disappointed when I found the Dreadnok Ground Assault and Dreadnok Air Assault sets. Both were repainted vehicles, but looked very cool. While the Dreadnoks weren't really major players in my collection anymore, the opportunity to acquire the vehicles was simply too good to pass up. On Christmas morning in 1986, my brother opened a Dreadnok Air Assault set. Within a few presents, I found the Dreadnok Ground Assault set with my name on it.

The Dreadnok Stinger quickly became part of my standard Cobra arsenal. Our standard Cobra Stinger had long been broken. So, having a distinct Cobra attack jeep was a welcome addition to Cobra's arsenal. However, this role was short lived. Within a few months of my acquisition of the Dreadnok Stinger, it began to fall apart. First, a door snapped when I tried to open it and it caught on the roof. Then the brush guard broke off. In it's more dilapidated condition, the Dreadnok Stinger slowly morphed into a civilian vehicle. It became the go to transportation for random terrorists, militants and criminals who would terrorize Joe or Cobra bases. Along with an A Team van, random figures would attack one of the main factions in the Joe world. It was a way for me to expand the standard Joe vs. Cobra conflict and also have Cobra act in the role of protector when their possessions were attacked.

In time, the jeep became nothing more than the shell. When I packed all my Joe toys up and put them into a storage space in our house in 1988, the Dreadnok Stinger went into a box where it would stay for almost a decade. In 1997, I dug out all my old toys. The Stinger was dirty and stripped down. But, a search of boxes of random Joe parts in storage quickly yielded most of the original parts back. With that, I put my Dreadnok Stinger back together and found a place for display. Buzzer, Ripper and Torch adorned the jeep for a while. But, when I moved to Arizona and started acquiring many figures I had not owned as a child, the role of the Dreadnok Stinger changed again.

As an adult collector, I have found the Ground Assault set to be a great match for Python Patrol figures. The green and blue jeep is a decent match for the Python Officer and Trooper. Plus, it is a contemporary match for those figures within the context of the Stinger and the original Cobra Trooper and Officer. The best part, though, is the addition of Gatilho and Relampago to the Python Patrol ranks. These named characters fit within the design years of the original Stinger, are a perfect match for American Python Patrol figures and are excellent fits with the Ground Assault set. (Especially since Relampago was a motorcycle rider.) The only reason I have Dreadnok vehicles like these in my collection these days is due to the Python Patrol connection. It is a great display and gives these toys more usefulness in my collection. (The jeep is also a near perfect match for the Bronze Bomber Scorch figure, which is a blue and green Motor Viper repaint. If you can find a few of them, they are another great crew for this vehicle.)


The Dreadnok Stinger has very brittle parts, especially the doors, brush guard and handles. The reason these are so brittle is because they were designed to change color in sunlight. The vehicle follows the trend of Zartan, Zandar and Zarana in that it will change to different shade of green when exposed to unfiltered UV rays. As a kid, this was a neat idea. But, the practicality of it is pretty minor in terms of realism. For the modern collector, the brittle nature of the plastic has made the Dreadnok Sears vehicles that much more difficult to find in mint condition.

The Dreadnok Stinger was just released by Sears in the US. The Stinger mold, though, saw use all around the world. However, this version was the only real repaint available anywhere as the International Stingers were, essentially, the same as the American version. Sadly, Hasbro really never took advantage of the Stinger's potential. While there is the black repaint from 1998, it is very similar to the standard version. Missing the Stinger in Cobra blue, red, grey or white is a sad hole in the vintage Joe line. It's likely that a Stinger repaint would have sold like crazy during the army building era of 2002 - 2005. But, that didn't happen and collectors are left with few options for Stinger variants.

Mint and complete Dreadnok Stingers are very expensive. In recent years, perfect samples have climbed close to $200. This is a combination of the vehicle's rarity, collector interest in anything Dreadnok and the general upsurge in pricing for any vehicle that is derivative of the original VAMP. The reality, though, is that the vehicles were not produced in great quantities and the plastic used for them is very brittle and tends to discolor. The doors, brush guard, steering wheel and hand rails will break with little usage. (The brush guard and steering wheel are hard enough to find on their own rights!) So, mint specimens are not easy to track down. Years ago, the Joe market was not overly efficient and deals could be had on items like this. These days, though, collectors have largely caught up and most are looking for the same missing pieces. Items like the Dreadnok Stinger that are cool, rare and easily broken tend to be highly sought after. Whether time will ease or exacerbate this remains to be seen. I'm glad I have these items and have had them since childhood. Without that connection, it's unlikely that they would be part of my collection today.

1985 SMS - Sears Exclusive

It is hard to remember now, but there was a time when Sears was the go to retailer for toys. They were world's largest retailer and used that clout to secure holiday exclusives that they could sell both in their stores and from their catalogs. Hasbro, wisely, worked with Sears from the beginning on their Joe line and produced a cardboard base that was exclusive to Sears in 1982. This "Missile Headquarters" wasn't much of a toy, though. In 1984, Sears was able to secure some of the 1985 Joe toys early for release during the '84 holiday shopping season. In 1985, though, Sears took on a whole new element when they produced exclusive repaints of existing Joe toys. There were two sets that year: the C.A.T. (a repainted MOBAT) and the S.M.S (a repainted HISS and MMS) that shared a common, Crimson theme. Most collectors know these items as expensive aftermarket acquisitions made as adults. I, though, was a lucky kid who found the SMS under our tree on Christmas morning in 1985. As such, this item was a special part of my childhood collection and remains one of my few nostalgic pieces that I own today.

During the holidays in '85, my parents frequently took us to the mall. It's likely this was due to the fact that it was a cheap way to keep us occupied during the cold winter. They would simply drop us into the toy aisle of various stores and let us browse while they shopped for whatever it was they needed that day. (Odd that writing that statement in 2008 makes me think my parents were irresponsible. But, in 1985, such a thing was not only commonplace, but it was both accepted and safe.) As such, my brothers and I spent hours scanning over the toy aisles, looking at all the awesome new toys we wanted for Christmas. To this day, I know that I visited other aisles while I was browsing. But, my only detailed memories are of the G.I. Joe toys that lined the shelves. The items that always absorbed the most of my attention were things I did not own. That year, it was the Moray and, of course, the USS Flagg. But, also on the shelves were two toys that were somewhat odd: the CAT and SMS. These items were not available in any other store and featured box backs that were drawings rather than the full color photos that were the standard of the reverses of Joe vehicle packaging of the day.

Of these two, the SMS was the more intriguing item to me. I had always hated the MOBAT and had no interest in it with new colors of red and black. The SMS, though, looked kind of fun. It was a red Hiss Tank and a red and black version of the MMS. The MMS had been one of two vehicles I had received for Christmas in 1982. At the time, I had not appreciated it as it was towed behind my VAMP (the other vehicle I got that year) but could not hold a figure. So, though I had three vehicles and only four figures as I entered 1983, I did not have enough room on my vehicles to hold all four members of my Joe team. So, this had soured the 9 year old me on the MMS. Now, at 12 years old, though, the usefulness of a mobile missile launcher was much more apparent to me. I saw the tank as an elite HISS tank that was more powerful and faster than the standard, black version. But, more importantly, I saw the SMS as a way for Cobra to level the playing field against the Joes.

The SMS started as simply a mobile missile system that Cobra would cart around. They would, occasionally, shoot down Skystrikers or Dragonflies. But, that was about it. As 1986 progressed, though, Cobra took to missiles to a different level. They became a secret weapon that could be unleashed against Joe bases from short ranges: but outside the scope of the standard Joe base security. They were fast and hard to shoot down with the limited weaponry that was attached to the Joe HQ. By the end of 1986, these missiles were now Cobra's most powerful weapon. They were used with great affect against many Joe bases and had even managed to kill a few Joes. At this point, the Joes got desperate. They needed to find a way to shut down the missiles without have to surround their bases with tons and tons of stationary defenses. (This occurred anyways, though, as things like the SLAM and the LAW became standard installations around my Joe base.) By accident, Mainframe discovered that the missiles had deactivation codes. If the Joes could find the right numerical code, it would shut down the missiles in mid flight. But, due to the proximity from which Cobra could launch the missiles and the short time it took for them to reach their target, this wasn't a great solution as it was improbable that the right numerical code would be broadcast before the missile struck.

The Joes were thus forced to set out and find a missile station before the missiles had been launched and the onboard computers destroyed. There were a few close calls, but the Joes always found the launchers after they had self destructed. Finally, though, a hasty mission using unnamed Joe recruits (These were the repaints from the Mission to Brazil set. I used them as unnamed army builders who specialties mimicked those of their mold counterparts.) managed to capture a launch station. Cobra valiantly tried to defend the station and destroy the base. But, the Joes held them off long enough for the Science Officer (aka, Mission to Brazil Mainframe) to download all the codes. With this, the Joes rendered the missile stations useless. Anytime a missile went up, the codes were broadcast and it came right down: unarmed and harmless. The side effect of this was that I managed to render my SMS toy useless, too. So, it got packed away and forgotten about for a few years. Around 1988, I pulled all the pieces out of a box of junk and put the entire SMS away. Here it sat for many years until I pulled it out and brought it back to my collection. Today, it remains one of the few vehicles that are part of my use collection.

The SMS you see pictured below is my original. By late 1985, I was able to keep most of my Joe toys in very good condition. Despite the amount of use it got, the SMS didn't get worn down like some of the other high profile vehicles in my collection at the time. As such, it has survived, relatively intact, to today. Really, the 2nd half of 1985 was my line of demarcation. Anything that I purchased during that summer or later survived in pretty good shape into my adult collection. The figures I purchased in the first half of the year, though, did not. I guess it was a maturation process, but that seems to be the point where my collection became something important to me and I kept my items in much better shape. That isn't to say that I didn't still use them roughly or leave stuff outside for days on end. But, on the whole, I was much more cautious with my toys as the year wore on. There are precious few items from 1986 and forward that I lost from my childhood collection. And, most of those items can be traced to specific instances where my younger brothers or their friends got into my Joes and lost accessories when I was not around.

As a kid, though, items like the SMS were among my favorites. The main reason was that not everyone had them. While that statement comes off a bit snobbish these days, the reality is that it was the distinct items that made my collection different from that of the kids down the street. The fact that I had items like the SMS, the Dreadnok exclusives and the Mission to Brazil set allowed me to have some items that were unique to my childhood experience. As such, I didn't have to stay within the confines of Snake Eyes and Flint. I had some options. Frankly, I think that's why Joe still stays with me today. Joe was something that set me apart from many other kids. We all had toys, but I only had Joes. (Well, up through the first part of 1983, I did have Star Wars, too. But, those were all but gone by 1984 and totally replaced by Joes.) If you wanted to play with some toys that not everyone had, you came to my house. It's odd to think something like the SMS was that kind of draw. But, when everyone had the same toys, even something that was a different color was enough to be a draw. To this day, the items that most interest me are the ones that set a collection apart. It's not the rarity or the value, it's the distinction that comes from having something that not everyone owns. It has lead to a greater appreciation of the line's nuances and is a large part of why I still collect today.

The MMS mold had quite a history. After the original green version was discontinued in 1983, the mold appeared in Europe as part of the Action Force line. There, it was released in a combo of black and grey. Hasbro then used the mold for this exclusive in 1985. Sometime around here, Hasbro also produced the M.S.V. exclusively for the Canadian market. This item featured an all black MMS. (In fact, the base, missile bracket and legs for the MSV are identical to those of the SMS. Only the missiles are a different color.) The MMS mold then seems to have died in India. Funskool produced an MMS for a very short time and it is one of the rarest Funskool vehicles today. This MMS was similar in color to the American version. But, there are rumours of Funskool also making oddly colored MMS's that may or may not have been part of their Joe line. As Funskool discontinued the MMS rather early in their history, it is not known if the mold still exists. It would make an excellent add on as part of a larger vehicle set (like the ASP in the Crimson Sabotage set) but would likely not work as well on it's own. At this point, though, collectors can get an MMS in enough colors to satisfy them. The prices might be higher than most collectors would like, but there are nice, alternate MMS options out there.

When you look back at the vintage Joe line, there were precious few exclusive items that were ever offered. You would think that the toy market of the time would have lent itself to many exclusives since just about every retailer sold toys and most of them sold them year round and would not have to discount any leftover Christmas stock. But, as modern collectors, we are probably fortunate that these exclusives were so uncommon. Today, the priciest pieces from the vintage line are exclusive figures like Night Force and vehicles like these Sears pieces. Imagine if the line was also littered with other exclusives that were only available at a regional retailer, through a catalog or by attendance at a specific event. The result would be many more items that would likely carry price tags that would trump even these Sears pieces. If you look at the exclusives that collectors deal with today, it is unfathomable how, if the toy market were to be the same with a large, new generation of collectors coming on in another decade, anyone would keep up. Fortunately, the modern toy market is heavily geared towards collectors so this won't be an issue. But, we are equally fortunate that the toy buyers of the mid '80's were not more aggressive in their pursuit of exclusive toys. Lest, the Joe line would be dramatically different today.

The SMS is fairly pricey. Being a retailer exclusive, it saw a severely truncated production run. On top of that, it's a fairly distinct toy and one that most collectors would like to have in their collections. The legs for the missile base and stand for the control panel are easily lost and the actual spinning missile bracket breaks frequently. To top it all off, the missile are fragile and the tips are easily broken. A nicely conditioned version, with the Hiss Tank will run you close to $100. You can get the missile launcher separately, but it is often substantially higher priced than the Hiss Tank. Even at those prices, you won't see too many of these at any given time. Personally, if not for my childhood piece, I would not likely own the SMS. As an adult acquired item, it would have some cachet, but little value beyond monetary. As this was an important piece in my childhood, though, I still hold the SMS in high regard and can not imagine my collection without it. For others, the mileage may vary on this piece. It is expensive. But, it also has an inherent exclusivity to it that might make a high dollar purchase worthwhile.