Rarities - European Action Force Taurus

Taurus is a boring figure.  He's the least popular of the Renegades and is the one you least often see in action.  The only really interesting thing about his figureis that, in Europe, he was released on a single card with new artwork.  All of the Renegades were released as single carded figures in various European markets.  There's no real explanation as to why this was.  Cobra La didn't receive similar treatment.  And, there were plenty of other '87 figures to fill out an international line.  

The card features unique artwork for Taurus. You can find the carded Taurus figures from various European markets that will feature different languages, too.  You'll note that G.I. Joe is the marketing focus for the toy.  But, there is still an Action Force subheader to tie the figure to the established European brand.

More than 20 years ago, a collector friend of mine who specialized in foreign variants believed that the European Renegades figures had slight coloring differences from their U.S. released counterparts.  He was unable to confirm this, though, as he didn't have known samples of the Euro figures in his possession at the time.  It's something I'd love to finally put to rest.  We know that many European figure releases did have slight variances from their North American counterparts...mostly just due to the fact that they were released in later years and not part of the initial run.  You'll see slight color variants all the way up to different dates stamps on some European versions of figures that, otherwise, are identical to the North American release.  Most of these are not documented and can be tough to verify.  So, if you have known samples of both releases of Taurus and see any differences, please post them up as I'd love to confirm/deny the rumors from the turn of the century.

The one thing about these figures that was of note to me is that they clearly showed which accessories were intended for which Renegade.  As a kid, I always put the black Footloose backpack on Taurus since it was a better color match.  The brown Recondo pack went to Mercer for the same reason.  While I've come around on the black Footloose pack belonging to Mercer, I can't reconcile this Recondo pack on Taurus.  Mostly, it's because I don't care about Taurus all that much.  But, seeing him with his correct backpack still looks odd to me.

There was a short time when these single carded figures were very desirable.  But, that ebbed away rather quickly.  The Renegades are rarely anyone's favorite figures.  And, Taurus and Red Dog are among the most obscure '80's figure releases.  Maybe they were dropped into the assortments to help recoup mold costs.  (The '87 Mercer was later released in Brazil and Red Dog has a famous, race changing Funskool release.)  Sadly, documentation on how European releases came to be is mostly non-existent.  Which is too bad as some of those decisions would be more interesting than getting made up stories from fading memories of the Hasbro line.

1991 Mercer - Around The Web

I was very surprised to find this is the first content I've made on the 1991 Mercer figure in 20 years.  He's a figure I greatly enjoy.  And, I thought I used him quite a bit.  But, it turns out that he's mostly in the background of photos.  He's rarely the focal point.  I probably need to change that.  The figure's colors and mold are easy to match up with vehicles and other figures.  So, he can be used in a variety of ways.  I just need to explore it a little more.

The upside is that lots of other people use to great effect.  So, check out all the links below to see some fun stuff utilizing one of the better 1991 figure releases.

1991 Mercer Profile

1991 Mercer at Nekoman's Viper Pit

1991 Mercer by thedustinmccoy

1991 Mercer at JoeBattleLines.com

1991 Mercer by gi_joeisthere

1991 Mercer by andrey_collector

1991 Mercer by JoeADay.com

1991 Mercer by gijoe_pty

1991 Mercer by u.n.i.t._gijoe

1991 Mercer by yotothejoe

1987 Taurus

When I first saw the 1987 catalog, it was full of toys I wanted.  Two oddball items stuck out to me, though.  The first, obviously, was Cobra La.  I wasn't sure what the hell that was supposed to be.  So, the companion three figure set also seemed weird.  At some point in the summer of 1987, I found the two three packs at the local Toys R Us.  There was no way I was buying the Cobra La set.  So, I bought the Slaughter's Renegades set while my younger brother purchased the Cobra La figures.  Once opened, I still didn't really understand the Renegades.  Taurus and Red Dog seemed out of place in the line.  Mercer, though, quickly found heavy use.  Though, I didn't really follow his ex-Viper background.

As the year progressed, the Renegades didn't appear in the comic.  This was rare for the age as even Crystal Ball showed up in an issue of Special Missions.  When our friends from down the street tried to describe the G.I. Joe Movie to me, they made no mention of the Renegades as the bizarre fate for Cobra Commander and the celebrity voices were the extent of the highlights.  So, the Renegades, and their purpose, remained a mystery to me.  So, I found uses for the two "lesser" figures in the set.  Red Dog's main value came from his pistol.  Taurus, though, never really found grounds for existence and was one of the very rare 1987 figures who I didn't fully characterize.  

Taurus's head is well sculpted.  Really, it might be one of the best sculpted heads in the entire line.  It is distinctive, unique and it conveys a sense of consternation and experience that is difficult to convey with a small, plastic countenance.  The bushy red beard and eyebrows offsetting the bald head and large ears leave you with a lasting impression of the figure.  You know what they sculptors were trying to convey and it came through very well.  It is still flummoxing to me that even  modern sculptors have struggled so mightily to match the sculpting of vintage Joe heads.  Especially when you see how much variety there was in the line.  Heck, Falcon and Taurus were sculpted in the same year and offer two extremes of head design.  Yet, to this day, people have yet to really mimic the overall aesthetic of vintage Hasbro heads.

Taurus's colors are interesting.  He was just the fourth figure in the line to use yellow as a primary body color.  (Blowtorch, Airtight and Claymore)  His legs are a pea green that are a near match for the green that would define the Night Force subset starting in 1988.  I feel this is an overlooked detail that would allow for Taurus parts to appear on more Night Force customs.  The colors aren't a bad match, though.  And, Taurus is visually interesting.  It's just that the super short sleeves, dramatically exposed chest and red facial hair offset the yellow and somewhat ruin the overall appearance of the figure.  The more I look at him, now, though, I find more value in Taurus's appearance.  Really, he's one of the most visually distinctive Joes in both colors and sculpt.  And, re-evaluating him more than 35 years later has left me with a very different opinion of the figure than I had as a kid back in 1987.  

As a kid, I didn't find much use for Taurus.  Often, he'd be relegated to the role of a nameless villain who would pop out of the A-Team van and kill a bunch of civilians: causing the Joe team to hunt him down.  In one of the Special Missions issues, Larry Hama created a radical named Horst.  He was a brainwashed zealot who blew himself to bits: thinking it would lead to eternal glory.  Instead, his comrades didn't even remember his name.  I used Taurus as a stand in for a Horst like character.  Though, it was far more often that the Joes (and, sometimes, Cobras) would kill him before he could suicide them all away.  Taurus had no name or characterization beyond being a terrorist who could offer some divergent adventures from the standard Joe vs. Cobra scenarios.

As I've grown to appreciate this figure more, though, I don't have many regrets over my childhood treatment of the toy.  Really, Taurus got every chance to capture my imagination.  He just failed to do so in any meaningful way.  As I had a pretty much full collection of Joes, though, Taurus as going to have a tough time breaking out.  He appeared near the very end of my childhood acquisitions.  And, his bizarre release vehicle to which I lacked context didn't endear him to me.  I was just confused as to why the entire Renegades team existed.  So, that left Taurus to stand on his own without the benefit of a comic book appearance.  But, one of the benefits of adult collecting is that you can reconsider figures like Taurus who didn't matter in my childhood collection.  And, in Taurus's case, he's a rare occasion where I've found him more valuable as an adult collection piece than I ever did as childhood plaything.

Taurus' gear, well, sucks.  He has the worst weapon in the three pack.  It is silver, which wasn't common for the time.  But, it's not quite a pistol.  And, also too small to be a rifle.  It doesn't really work with any figure and just always looks awkward.  He also includes a brown version of Recondo's backpack.  As a kid, I matched the black Footloose pack with Taurus as I thought the brown Recondo pack better fit with Mercer's color scheme and the black pack was a better match for Taurus.  The card artwork didn't offer any clues for the pack/figure matches.  So, I kept the Recondo pack meant for Taurus with my Mercer figure for years.  In fact, if you scroll through photos on this site from 2008 or earlier, you'll always see Mercer wearing Taurus's pack.  Now, though, we have plenty of evidence that this pack was meant for Taurus and I've evolved to using Mercer's proper backpack with his figure.

Taurus is the only one of the three Renegades figures who doesn't really have a foreign exclusive repaint.  Red Dog got a Funskool repaint in 2001.  And, Mercer saw release in Brazil about a decade earlier.  However, all three Renegades did get exclusive single carded releases in various European countries.  All of these cards feature unique artwork that wasn't available in the U.S.  Many years ago, a collector friend of mine mentioned that he thought there were extremely slight coloring differences between the U.S. and European releases of the Renegades: Taurus in particular.  But, he never confirmed it.  So, this is one of the rumored Euro exclusive releases that I'd love to someday validate.

Taurus is one of the cheaper figures in the entire line.  He is the least popular renegade and doesn't match with Mercer or Red Dog.  The yellow shirt isn't a color people much care for.  And, as such, you can still get nicely conditioned and complete Taurus figures for under $10.  Dealers do sell a lot in the $15 range.  And, the highly fragile gold paint will often drive that price point.  All of the Renegades seem pretty common.  1987 saw a high production run to coincide with the G.I. Joe Movie...which then ended up as a straight to video release.  So, the less popular figures from this year really tend to show up a lot and remain extremely cheap.  It's a just fate for Taurus as he's really not that good of a figure.  But, I do appreciate his sculpting and colors more as an adult collector than I did as a kid in the final days of childhood.

1989 Slaughter's Marauders Spirit - Around The Web

Surprisingly, there's a lot of content out there that features the 1989 Slaughter's Marauders Spirit.  As it's kind of tough to find one in good condition and the figure is notoriously brittle, even when in mint condition, I didn't expect to see it used to often.  But, there's tons of great content featuring him out there.  So, check out the links!

Slaughter's Marauders Spirit Profile

Slaughter's Marauder Spirit by Purple Cobra 75

Slaughter's Marauders Spirit by MrMikeVinthePit

Slaughter's Marauders Spirit by Hit and Run

Slaughter's Marauder Spirit by Purple Cobra 75

Slaughter's Marauders Spirit by emike

Slaughter's Marauders Spirit by thevintagetoylife

Slaughter's Marauder Spirit by Purple_Cobra 75

Slaughter's Marauders Spirit by yotothejoe

Slaughter's Marauders by gijoe_rama

Slaughter's Marauders Spirit by el_main_man

Slaughter's Marauders Spirit by buxovigo

Slaughter's Marauders Spirit by Purple_Cobra_75

Slaughter's Marauders Spirit by thedustinmccoy

Slaughter's Marauders Spirit by dashiellrfairborne

Rarities - Brazilian Mercer

While collectors focus on the Brazilian figures who feature drastically different paint jobs or new construction that was not available in the Hasbro line, the reality is that the majority of the releases in Brazil fall into a different category.  The bulk of the Estrela line features figures that are mostly based on their Hasbro paint job.  But, as the figures were made in Brazilian factories, there are always differences among them.  Most of these, though, are ignored by all but a subset of collectors.

Below is the Brazilian Mercer figure.  This release retains the Hasbro codename as well as the standard look for the character.  Side by side, you'd notice small differences on the Brazilian release vs. the Hasbro release.  But, that's about it.  He features the same blue pants, orange vest and black and silver highlights.  The only major variant is that his iconic weapon is now silver instead of the standard off-white for the Hasbro figure.

In the U.S., the Renegades were only released as a three pack.  However, in Europe, all three members of the set were released as single carded figures.  Then, this Mercer appeared in Brazil.  Red Dog made a surprise appearance in India in 2001.  And, it's likely that all the Renegade molds ended up there.  But, Funskool had no need for another Mercer figure since they had the character's 1991 mold still in production.  

The card artwork is not good.  But, it is also unique to this release.  The European single carded figures use larger artwork based on the combined art that appears on the US packaging.  It features Mercer with a raised right fist instead of the two handed weapon pose you see below.

As collectibles, figures like this Mercer are a fun way to expand a collection.  But, as interesting pieces, they fall somewhat flat.  Most collectors wouldn't notice a Brazilian Mercer in a photo aside from the alternate gun color.  And, most would even gloss over that.  It's not a criticism, though.  This figure isn't all that special when taken against the original release.  But, for people who like small differences that aren't really noticeable upon first glance, Brazilian figures like this Mercer are a great way to keep collecting.

1987 Mercer

1987 is the year of the G.I. Joe Movie.  Not knowing that was going to be a thing, though, left the year with some oddball releases.  The weirdest was Cobra La.  The three figures simply made no sense in the context of G.I. Joe.  But, their case mates were more traditional.  The Slaughter's Renegades were three new characters who were supposedly aligned with Sgt. Slaughter.  They were a ragtag outfit cast with misfits.  When I found the set, I had to buy it right away.  Though, this was, probably, a function of the fact that I already had all of the 1987 carded figures.  Upon opening, I found Taurus and Red Dog difficult to use.  I wasn't overly fond of their figures.  But, Mercer had no such limitations.  For some reason, I gravitated to the figure.  And, quickly, Mercer became one of the most used figures in my collection.

Mercer features some odd design choices.  You can forgive the random silver armband on his right bicep.  But, some others are less so.  His pistol on his chest features a massive handle.  Yet, the rest of the weapon is comically small.  It's like a Looney Tunes mockery in reverse.  He's then also wearing two belts.  Now, often you can get away with this as one is a holster.  But, Mercer's are both around his waist and don't appear to have any function other than just adding a detail for detail's sake.  He features bare arms and bright blue pants.  His design is very emblematic of 1987 as that was a year where Joe was both traditional military and outlandish superhero/villain at the same time.  

Mercer's gear is solid.  He includes a black version of Footloose's backpack.  As a kid, I always gave him the brown Recondo pack.  I felt that pack was too contrasting to Taurus to actually be his gear.  Since the color better matched Mercer, I gave it to him.  In recent years, though, I've come to appreciate the black on Mercer.  It does blend well with him.  Mercer's gun was one of my childhood favorites.  It's a massively overlong pistol with a silencer.  I saw this as a super powerful weapon when I used Mercer in my final Joe playing days.  His weapon needed the silencer since it was so loud from the extra powder needed to generate the power of the weapon.  I often had Mercer use the weapon two-handed for this reason.

Mercer did not get much use.  He was released in the Renegades three pack.  Then, a short while later, he was released on a single card in Europe.  The upside is that this release proved the right gear for Mercer.  After that, Mercer never appeared again.  As Red Dog showed up in India in 2001, it's possible Mercer was there, too.  The club remolded a new Mercer head based on the 1987 figure in 2006.  It's not as nice as the original.  On one hand, it would have been cool to get a Mercer repaint.  But, at the same time, some of Mercer's charm is that he's an odd duck who's never appeared in any form other than this color scheme.  

1987 was a weird Joe year for me.  I knew I was starting to age out of buying toys.  But, at the same time, I was full bore into buying them as I had a lot of money from mowing lawns and free time to play with them.  When I found the Renegades in the summer, I had already bought all of the single carded figures for the year.  So, I didn't really hesitate in picking them up.  They had the Cobra La set, too.  But, I had no idea what the heck it was.  The G.I. Joe Movie didn't air in my market in early 1987.  In fact, it was only at Christmas time that year that the kids down the street said they had seen it and it included celebrity voices, etc.  They described Cobra La and I simply didn't believe them that there was a movie.  What they said was simply too ridiculous to be true.  At some point in 1988, though, I became aware of the movie either on a local station or through some other means.  All my friends had told me was true.  And, I was glad to have moved on from the cartoon for that reason.

1987 was also my final year playing with toys as a kid.  I bought 3 figures in early 1988 and was done.  I probably hung on too long.  While most every kid in my class played with Joes in 1985, it was down to myself and about four others in 1986.  By the end of the year, they were all gone, moved on to other things.  So, I spent many lonely afternoons in my room, listening to the radio while I came up with complex stories for my figures.  (To this day, I'll hear some deep cut of 1987 pop on an oldies station and it will trigger old memories of that room and the adventures I had.)  Really, the year of 1987 is one long soap opera that lead to a massive battle.  In the fall of that year, I put my toys away.  A few key figures would stay under my bed for a bit.  But, after some of my friends happened to see the shoebox in which they were stored, I was done with Joe.  My figures went into plastic baggies and were stuffed into a solid, red Lego container that we had.  I then buried that in my closet.  I then focused on more "acceptable" collectibles like sports cards.  I approached that with the same gusto as G.I. Joe.  But, Joe wouldn't leave.  I still bought the comic.  And, I'd sneak a glance at the toy aisle to see the new Joes every now and again.  But, I wouldn't actively collect G.I. Joe again for another 6 years.

When I started up again, though, I had my original Mercer available.  He was one of a handful of figures stored in a shoebox.  As he was complete, though, I found him useful.  And, I paired him with the 1992 Wild Bill as well as a beat up 1990 Stretcher I found for $1 at the Trader's World flea market in Dayton, Ohio around 1995.  This trio made up a crime force that was wanted by both Cobra and the Joes.  In the end, only poor Mercer wasn't actually working for the Joes.  So, he got the shaft while his partners in crime ended up working with the Joes on their most lucrative assignments for many years.  As these were my early collecting years, I have nearly forgotten that Mercer was part of the trio.  And, the value of having just a handful of figures has been lost as my collection has grown.  It's nice to look back to simpler times and the fun you could have with limited resources.

Mercer figures are not rare.  And, as he's the only Renegade to not feature gold paint, he's less prone to wear than his packmates.  Still, though, you often find him with scuffs on the massive silver pistol handle as well as wear to his hair and silver elements.  Dealers sell mint and complete with filecard figures in the $30 range.  If you are willing to sacrifice the filecard and wait a bit, though, you can actually buy all three Renegades for about the same price.  Left to the market, Mercer is about a $15 figure.  But, again, you can often buy sets of all the Renegades for less.  So, shop around.  1987 was a massive Joe year and figures were produced in huge quantities.  So, there are lots of options to acquire a Mercer before you spend double his value from a dealer.

2019 Slaughter's Marauders Snake Eyes - Around The Web

If you liked Snake Eyes, there weren't many options for him in the vintage line.  Sure, you had a lot of different figuers.  But, he, for the most part, was done in various shades of black.  And, the iconic 1985 figure never got a repaint.  In 2018, though, Black Major rectified this by releasing a multitude of 1985 Snake Eyes figures in a wide variety of colors.  He released additional repaints in 2019 and 2020.  Among the more desired 2019 releases is this version based on the Slaughter's Marauders color scheme.  Snake Eyes was notably absent from the vintage repaint series.  So, giving him a way to incorporate into some of the more popular Joe subsets was well received.  You can tell by the amount of content out there on this figure that people continue to enjoy him.

2019 Slaughter's Marauders Snake Eyes Profile

2019 Slaughter's Marauders Snake Eyes by thedustinmccoy

2019 Slaughter's Marauders Snake Eyes by theatticagazette

2019 Slaughter's Marauders Snake Eyes by relena_warcraft

2019 Slaughter's Marauders Snake Eyes by battlearmordad1

2019 Slaughter's Marauders Snake Eyes by funtimeatserpentorslair

2019 Slaughter's Marauders Snake Eyes by gijoe_for_fun

2019 Slaughter's Marauders Snake Eyes by Slipstream80

2019 Slaughter's Marauders Snake Eyes by gen_liederkranz

2019 Slaughter's Marauders Snake Eyes by ironman3719

2019 Slaughter's Marauders Snake Eyes by fosilru

2019 Slaughter's Marauders Snake Eyes by thedustinmccoy

2019 Slaughter's Marauders Snake Eyes by gen_liederkranz

2019 Slaughter's Marauders Snake Eyes by fosilru

2019 Slaughter's Marauders Snake Eyes by gen_liederkranz

1989 Slaughter's Marauders Spirit

In all the time I have been reviewing G.I. Joe figures, I have only looked at two members of the Slaughter's Marauders subset that was released in 1989.  Part of this is that there were only 6 members of the team released in the U.S. and only two real international variants of the figures that exist.  (Both of which are very similar to the U.S. releases.)  Another part is that the figures are relatively obscure, break easily and are not significant upgrades over the figures' original designs.  The penultimate part is that Slaughter's Marauders has not really taken off in the collecting community like Tiger Force or even Sky Patrol have.  The final element is that while the paint jobs on the Slaughter's Marauders have merit, they quickly blend together and lack the complementary cohesion of a Tiger Force or Python Patrol.  All of this isn't to say that the figures are bad.  In fact, they have a lot of merit and can be extremely useful in many situations.  In cases like this Spirit, they are drastic departures from the figure's original paint job and give collectors a diverse way to use the character.

All of the Slaughter's Marauders figures were made by Estrela in Brazil.  Hasbro did this due to the molds being in Brazil.  But, also to test additional production capacity should they ever need it.  The result, though, is that the Slaughter's Marauders figures have extremely brittle plastic.  (They match with the quality of all the Estrela releases and are a great way for a modern collector to experience Brazilian quality prior to taking the plunge into Estrela exclusive figures.)  You see an extremely high frequency of broken thumbs and crotches on Slaughter's Marauders figures...even if the rest of the figure shows almost no wear.  Spirit is a notoriously brittle release, though.  His rifle's large handle and the thinness of his crotch piece make him even more susceptible to breakage.  Three decades removed from his release, this has manifested in a figure that has become tough to find and even tougher to accessorize and pose due to fears of his thumbs snapping from just giving him his rifle to hold.

The Slaughter's Marauders color scheme is very close to being the perfect forest team.  Their base colors of brown, black, dark green and light green are an excellent way for them to blend into forested environments.  Alas, there is an outlier, though, as the final color in their palette was a unique blue.  The color isn't Cobra blue, but is odd enough that it takes away from the figure's realism.  Fortunately, Spirit joins Footloose and Low Light as the figures with the least amount of the color and its appearance on the figure's accents help keep this Spirit fairly militaristic.  The blue gloves, boots and undershirt can be a bit off-putting.  But, the figure's general color tones are well done and rarely otherwise seen in the vintage line outside of the Marauders subset.

Spirit features all new paint masks from the original figure.  The multi-tonal shirt and pants give the figure some depth...even if the reality of the clothes is a bit odd.  The biggest change, though, is that Spirit is missing his eyebrows!  I'm not really sure how a paint mask like this could be overlooked.  But, it happened.  And, it gives this figure an eerie face that doesn't seem quite right.  (Sadly, this missing paint mask was also carried forward to the European Spirit figure.)  It's the main detraction on this figure and it takes what would, otherwise, be a top notch repaint and knocks it down a few pegs.

The other difference is Spirit's skin tone.  The Olhos de Fenix figure that was originally released in Brazil featured a more sunburnt skin tone.  (The same tone was seen on other figures, too.)  This Slaughter's Marauders figure has pasty white skin...a stark difference from the mold's prior use in Brazil.  But, it's also more in line with the skin tone that was used on the American release in 1984.  Making Spirit's skin so blanched is an odd choice for a character who wears clothing so tied to his heritage.  It's not likely that this was anything more than a function of the plastic mixture since all of the Marauders figures with exposed skin have matching flesh tones.

The Slaughter's Marauders Spirit has a few interesting packaging differences from the 1984 original.  First, the card art is reversed.  Instead of holding his rifle in his right hand like he is on the 1984 card, the 1989 release shows him holding it in his left hand.  The artwork is just a mirror image.  What's interesting, though, is that this reversed image is unique to the Slaughter's Marauders Spirit.  The Ohlos de Fenix figure, also released in Brazil, features the original orientation.  And, the subsequently released European Spirit also matches the positioning of the 1984 figure.  Barbecue, Footloose and Mutt also feature reversed card art.  While Low Light's orientation matches his original release.

In addition to this, Spirit's filecard was changed.  Gone are the references to how poor Spirit was when he grew up.  Instead, his Marauders card refers to the beauty of his homeland.  It's an odd omission and one that somewhat changes your view of the character's upbringing.  Also gone is the reference to Spirit being a Shaman.  He is now a tough warrior.  This change fits with the Hasbro narrative.  As the line progressed, every character needed to be the toughest, baddest or best trained good guy or the most evil, vile and terrible villain.  Characters were pushed to the extremes to make them appear larger than life and fit with the hero and villain narrative.  But, the filecard differences paint two different pictures of the same character.

The Slaughter's Marauders Spirit includes all of the gear from the original Spirit, but in different colors.  The rifle and pack are now black.  However, as they are made in Brazil, they are not the same as the black accessories that accompanied the European Exclusive Spirit figure.  So, be aware of that.  The loincloth is now black with brown paint to better match the updated paint masks.  And, Freedom again makes an appearance.  Once again, though, the Freedom is different from the more common 1984 Freedom due to his manufacture in Brazil. The rifle and backpack are a pair that really require each other due to the ammunition in the pack matching that which appears in Spirit's rifle.  But, the full complement of gear is necessary for Spirit and makes the figure feel far more useful than just a loose figure with no weapons would.

When I took my Spirit out of his bag, though, I found yet another example of the inferior Brazilian plastic.  Back in 2001, I wrote about how the soft plastic used for Escorpiao Voador's helmet was "melting" inside the still carded figure's package.  To this day, it has an oily residue on it.  I've found the same residue on my Slaughter's Marauders Junkyard.  And, I have now found it on Spirit's loincloth.  These figures have been stored in moderate temperatures and away from sunlight for many years.  But, the plastic is still degrading.  I now have to keep the loincloth separate from the figure to prevent it from damaging any other parts.  This is just the beginning.  Spirit's loincloth is over 30 years old, now.  And, these toys were never intended for such long use.  But, if you haven't checked your Marauders figures in a while, it's probably a good idea to look over the softer accessories and see if this degradation is happening to you, too.

Spirit traveled around the world.  Aside from the U.S. release, he was also released in Brazil and Mexico.  Both of these figures are similar in coloring to the 1984 Hasbro version.  Estrela produced the Slaughter's Marauders figures in Brazil for Hasbro.  But, Spirit was not among the Brazilian releases of the Marauders figures.  (Sgt. Slaughter, BBQ and Low Light were the only three released on Brazilian cards.)  Spirit did appear on the cardbacks of late run Plastirama packaging in Argentina.  But, he was never actually released there.  In the early 1990's, Spirit, Mutt and Low Light were all given back to Hasbro and were put into production in the European market.  Low Light kept the Slaughter's Marauders theme, though has exclusive to Europe coloring.  Mutt and Spirit, though, were given radical redesigns.  The Euro Spirit is black and red, but uses the same paint masks as the Slaughter's Marauders version...right down to the missing eyebrows.  It's very likely that Hasbro had access to Spirit in the 2000's but either never looked for him, or didn't care enough to produce a new version.  It's unfortunate as the mold could have been given at least one more really nice repaint.  But, Spirit collectors have three major paint variants and two additional country of origin variants to sate their Spirit appetite.

Mint and complete Slaughter's Marauders Spirit figures run about $40 these days.  Dealers will charge up to $60 and even get it from time to time.  (Especially if the figure has the filecard.)  In the case with this Spirit, the value is in an unbroken figure as the brittle plastic makes intact thumbs and crotches a tough find.  You can get most of the accessories (aside from Freedom) relatively cheaply.  The Slaughter's Marauders figures, in general, have taken off in price in the past few years as the frequency of broken figures and general lower production runs of the figures have become more evident.  The coloring of this figure works for a more militaristic version of Spirit.  But, the look isn't as iconic as the 1984 original.  As a Spirit fan, though, I find a great deal of value in both versions.  They serve different purposes and are different enough to warrant owning both.  And, with all versions of Spirit now being fairly expensive, the only reason to choose one over the another is personal preference.  I find value in having different looks for classic characters.  And, the Slaughter's Marauders paint job on Spirit is a nice way to have a solid look for the character that is less often seen than his more famous original design.

2019 Slaughters Marauders Snake Eyes - Black Major Exclusive

Of the vintage sub sets, Slaughter's Marauders is the least represented on my site.  I didn't get around to the first member (Mutt) until 2008.  In 2014, I took a quick look at the European exclusive Low Light figure.  But, that's it.  Part of the reason for that is that I got rid of most of the figures years ago.  Another part of the reason is that every Marauders figure was a character and mold I had looked at in their original forms.  So, the need to look at the Marauders version was limited.  And, finally, Slaughter's Marauders came out in 1989...when I was totally out of Joe.  I have no real connection to them in any way.  As the years have gone by, though, things like that become less impactful in a collection.  Yet, I've never felt all that compelled to complete my Marauders team.  While Tiger Force got a solid cadre of characters as members, Slaughter's Marauders pretty much got Sarge and a few cast offs.  30 years later, though, this was finally remedied when Black Major introduced his factory custom Slaughters Marauders inspired Snake Eyes figure.

The first disclaimer, of course, is that the Slaughter's Marauders colors on this Snake Eyes do not match to the Hasbro figures from 1989.  It's brighter and more eye catching.  But, it's not going to match with your 1989 team.  On some level, that renders him less useful.  But, it also lets the figure stand more on it's own.  You can use him with the Marauders or just as an alternate coloring for Snake Eyes.  Snake Eyes being a lone wolf helps justify the color differences from the other Marauders.  But, it's important to note the difference.

This Snake Eyes is well painted and high quality.  It has two shades of green, blue black and brown.  The painted grenades help them stand out (something missing on the original figure) and give the figure details that help offset the color differences.  The green and blue base is not a color scheme that's traditionally associated with Snake Eyes and it's nice to get a bit of Snake Eyes diversity.  Sure, he needs to have his iconic black on most of his releases.  But, seeing some different colors for the mold gives you a chance to have some fun in photos and dioramas.

Slaughter's Marauders as a whole is an odd subset.  The colors look like they could be used in a temperate forest.  But, even there, the blue is just out of place.  But, the greens are a fun shade and the browns help the characters blend into certain terrain.  The subset's vehicles are the real calling card and the best part of the Marauders idea.  Hasbro never returned to the Marauders' color scheme in the 2000's on ARAH figure, even as Tiger Force and Python Patrol got their own themed sets.  I assume this was mainly due to Hasbro not wanting to pay Sgt. Slaughter for his likeness to appear.  But, the figures were also unpopular at the time and it's only been in the past decade that they have started to become staples of most every collection.

I don't know what you do with bright blue accessories.  They are very 1990's.  But, that's OK.  Factory customs have morphed from cheap army builders to artistic collectibles.  The blue weapons fit with the aesthetic of the Snake Eyes paint job.  At least you get the full complement of gear, too.  There's the Uzi, classic pack and iconic sword.  There's even a Timber.  I've said before how Timber means nothing to me and I've never cared for him.  For others, the Timber paint jobs are the selling point for the Snake Eyes repaints.  So, having him is a nice bonus.  The blue gear matches the figure, even if it makes no sense.  And, it makes spending around twenty bucks to get the figure more palatable as you feel the gear was matched to the figure rather than grabbed out of a vat of leftover weapons from previous runs.

The 1985 Snake Eyes figure had only two releases in the vintage line: the Hasbro version and an exclusive version released in Brazil.  The mold did not appear again for three decades.  Then, Black Major made the mold happen and we now have at least 20 new interpretations of this mold.  Most of them are Cobra affiliated.  But, it's fun to have a cornucopia of colors from which to choose of the Joe line's most famous character.  The most appealing aspect of the Slaughter's Marauders paint job was that there was no Cobra sigil and this was really Snake Eyes rather than the Cobra Invasor or Mortal.  It's relatively easy to remove the logos from the Cobra themed figures.  But, I'm loathe to modify figures that I collect and the Snake Eyes variants are too expensive for me to buy extras for customizing at this time.

This figure is available right now for $18.  Collectors have odd tastes and you never know which factory custom paint jobs are going to catch aftermarket fire and which will just fade into obscurity.  But, I suspect this paint job of Snake Eyes will remain one that's sought after: just because he fills a hole in a vintage subset.  But, I thought that about the Ghost Mortal, too.  And, he's faded into obscurity.  I'm glad to have this figure, though.  I've never been a Slaughter's Marauders fan.  But, having Joe's most famous character in his most popular costume as a member of the team gives it a bit more credibility.  We'll see where this figure is in a couple of years.  But, for now, he's one of my favorites of the new batch of paint colors.

1987 Red Dog

In the mid 1980's a ritual in the first couple of months of the year was to find and spend hours pouring over the new yearly G.I. Joe catalog that was included with the vehicles.  1984 was full of amazing new figures and the awesome Whale.  1985's figures were somewhat known, but the surprise of the USS Flagg was amazing.  1986 brought more character replacements, but in awesome new characters who could stand on their own.  And, 1987 introduced the Defiant.  What was missing from the 1987 catalog, though, was any indication of the G.I. Joe movie.  Except, buried in a small photo in the middle of the catalog was a special three pack of figures: Sgt. Slaughter's Renegades.  They figures didn't get much attention (their photo is the same size as the the photo of the motorized battle packs) and seemed an afterthought of the 1987 releases.  When I found the pack at retail, I bought the figures in the zeal of newness.  Mercer quickly became the only figure from the set who found a home in my collection.  But, through the years, I have come to appreciate a second member of the Renegades: Red Dog.

As a kid, Red Dog could not find a place in my collection.  He and his pack mate, Taurus, simply never worked as Joes for me.  They were too far out there to be Cobras.  And, they didn't really fit with the Dreadnoks.  So, I ended up using them in various civilian, criminal and terrorist roles.  Here, they could die with impunity and I didn't have to burn a good Cobra or Joe figure in the process.  Their gear was the type of oddball stuff I'd associate with an ill funded foreign terrorist organization.  And, Taurus would later remind me of the character "Horst" from the Special Missions comics.  So, Red Dog received no special characterization from me and simply became a lost figure in my Joe room.  He would fill various roles as I needed someone.  But, the greatest value of the figure was his pistol.  Beyond that, I paid the figure little attention.

In late 2001, though, that changed.  Funskool released their version of Red Dog at this time.  Their albino version of the character brought Red Dog to life and he became a vital part of my collection.  With him, though, I really had no use for the original version.  The two figures were distinct enough that they could co-exist.  But, with the cool, villainous Funskool Red Dog in hand, the need for another version of the figure dissipated.  So, Red Dog went MIA in my collection for many years.  It's only been recently that he's returned.  And, that was mostly just to complete my collection and, to take photos for this profile.

But, I've found that the figure isn't as terrible as my 1987 self thought.  Red Dog is full of personality.  His head is well detailed and distinctive.  While the football uniform is kind of lame, it does bring a different vibe to the character.  The clothes look like hand me downs or something rescued from a dump of unsellable merchandise.  To me, this makes Red Dog a better character.  Instead of having a professional athlete background, he is more of a scavenger who grew up poor and now takes on military jobs as they pay well and appear to a sense of danger.  The rest of the mold is also well detailed and gives Red Dog a much greater appeal than when he was just another random guy in a 3 pack.

Oddly, Red Dog was Hasbro's "person of color" release for 1987.  Stalker was released in 1982.  Doc in 1983.  Roadblock filled the role in 1984 with Alpine following in 1985.  A new Roadblock and Iceberg were released in 1986 and Hardball was released in 1988.  Every year of the vintage line other than 1987 featured at least one African-American character who was sold on a single card.  Technically, the Fridge was released in 1987.  But, only as a mail away.  This left Red Dog as the one non-caucasian figure released at retail that year.  Red Dog's Samoan heritage is overdone.  But, it was nice to see some additional skin tones added to the Joe line beyond the white and black faces that dominated the team's racial makeup.

Red Dog's gear isn't great.  He includes just a pistol and backpack.  The backpack is a recolored release from the 1985 Dusty figure.  The color works with Red Dog well enough.  He also includes a pistol.  The pistol is larger than most of the pistols of his era.  This is nice as it isn't as easily lost as the weapon from the 1986 General Hawk or 1987 Chuckles.  The weapon is detailed enough.  As a kid, I used it as super powerful pistol since it was so large.  I see the weapon as Red Dog's, exclusively.  For some reason, it's just too tied to the Red Dog figure for me to use it with anyone else. The pistol worked with my function for Red Dog.  It was unlikely that a random terrorist would have access to military weapons.  So, a powerful pistol worked much better when he would get close and take a shot at Duke or Flint.  But, the lack of distinctive gear also hurts the figure.  Just a repainted pack and small gun aren't enough to overcome the other issues with the Red Dog mold.

The Red Dog mold didn't see much use. After the American figure's release window closed in 1988, the figure showed up in Europe on an Action Force card.  This is noteworthy since Red Dog was sold as a single carded figure.  Through the years, I've heard there are very subtle color differences between the American and European release Renegades.  I've never compared known country of origin samples to confirm or deny that, though.  After this release, Red Dog disappeared until 2001 when he appeared in India.  Funskool produced him for a few years.  There is no evidence that Funskool returned him to Hasbro in the early 2000's and they may still have the mold.  There are a couple of Funskool variants (most notably flesh or white colored elbows) for collectors to track down.  In 2006, the club recast a Red Dog head and released it as part of a convention attendee set.  The head was painted and was, generally, poorly received.  Even today, this figure is incredibly cheap for a convention attendee release.  The character was revived in the Anniversary era for a release, too.  So, Red Dog fans have a decent array of options for the figure.

If you're looking for a Red Dog figure, he's pretty easy to find.  Usually, though, he is sold along with his Renegades team mates.  In recent years, large quantities of lower quality carded Renegades sets have shown up.  So, you'll see people pay up to $40 for a mint and complete set of the three Renegades with carded versions selling for only $50.  On his own, Red Dog isn't expensive.  However, it is getting increasingly difficult to find a sample with no paint rubs.  The notoriously fragile gold paint on his head, neck, belt and, especially, arms is usually flaked or rubbed.  Decent versions with the filecard tend to sell in the $10 to $12 range.  But, the filecard is the expensive piece.  Just a complete figure will run you $7 or $8 with incomplete figures easily available for $5 or less, depending on paint wear.  There is a huge supply of the figures available (the benefits of being released in 1987) and once that's combined with a low demand, you get a cheap figure.

For the price, there's no reason to not own the figure...especially now that the Funskool version has gotten a lot harder and more expensive to find.  For me, Red Dog is used to complete that childhood collection that ended in 1987.  But, other than that, he has little use.  He does look nice when posed with Mercer.  But, the oddball of Taurus limits the notion of the three of the figures as a team.  So, the Funskool figure (who I use as a bad guy) remains my Red Dog of choice.  For those who grew up on the animated movie, though, this figure may have substantially more significance.

1989 Slaughter's Marauders Mutt - Around the Web

Mutt is a personal favorite of mine.  The mold is great and the character is fun.  His appearance in the Slaughter's Marauders was a great way to get him into the hands of a new generation of collectors.  The figure is solid, if a little odd.

You might be wondering how he fits into International Joe Month.  But, this figure was actually produced by Estrela in Brazil.  Hasbro then imported them to the U.S. for release.  So, technically, you can make an argument that he's a Brazilian figure.  Though, you'd probably lose that argument.  Here's the best on the figure from around the web:

Slaughter's Marauders Mutt Profile

Pre-Production Slaughter's Marauders Mutt at YoJoe.com

Mutt - Comparison of all Releases from Around the World

Mutt at 3dJoes.com

Mutt at JoeaDay.com

Mutt Custom at JoeCustoms.com

Mutt at JoeDios.com

Mutt - Where In The World

The Mutt mold's history is extremely interesting to me.  First, it's one of my favorite vintage molds.  I like both the character and the figure.  Secondly, Mutt had a major alteration done to his mold in Brazil that allows us to confirm that the same mold moved around quite a bit and there were not multiple instances of the mold.  As a figure, Mutt was produced by Hasbro, Estrela, Auriken and then Hasbro again.  In 2004, Hasbro resculpted Mutt for a retail release.  But, this just adds complication to the story.  So, we'll start at the beginning.

In 1984, Hasbro released the Mutt figure.  He was part of the first lineup that really benefited from the line's success.  The 1984 series showcased more in depth sculpting, especially on the figures' heads.  The real hallmark, though, was the bounty of accessories that the 1984 series offered.  Mutt was one of the greats: featuring a silenced pistol, nightstick, helmet, face muzzle, a dog leash and his signature, the dog Junkyard.

1984 Hasbro Mutt

The character was featured in both the cartoon and the comic.  While Mutt never achieved major character status, he was a secondary player who was able to garner a bit of popularity.  Among my peers, Mutt was well liked, mostly due to the inclusion of his dog, Junkyard.  That feature upped his popularity, even if he didn't have as much media exposure as Duke or Roadblock.

After Mutt was discontinued at retail in 1985, the mold was sent to Brazil.  This is where Mutt's history gets a little odd.  Estrela toys released the figure as Mastim around 1986 or so.  However, they modified the mold.  For some reason, they removed the insignia on Mutt's chest.  This seems a random and unnecessary change.  The insignia was part of the chest mold and didn't have any paint masks.  Ostensibly, there was no reason to remove it.  Anecdotally, I've hear from a Brazilian collector that the patch was somewhat reminiscent of symbols worn by Brazil's dictatorship government and it may have been removed to avoid any associated with them.  It makes for an interesting story.  But, one that's completely impossible to verify and should be taken for what it is: speculation.  Aside from the patch, Mutt's colors are generally darker than the American figure's and he has a darker skin tone.  The figure also features an accessory change as he now includes a black 1982 style helmet rather than the American helmet with the molded goggles.

Mastim - Brazil Mutt Release

After Estrela released the mold, Mutt surfaced for a brief time in Mexico where Auriken released the figure using the Estrela mold.  (Estrela licensed the molds they had to Auriken which is why the Mexican figures so resemble the Brazilian lineup in terms of characters.)  The Mexican figures didn't deviate too much from their American designs.  Mutt has some slight color differences, but we'll look at those more later.

Auriken Mutt - Mexican Release

In 1989, Estrela released the Mutt mold again.  This time, the figure was repainted and was released in the United States.  This new Mutt was known to American collectors as the Slaughter's Marauders Mutt.

1989 Slaughters Marauders Mutt

Around 1991, Hasbro got the Mutt mold back from Estrela.  It appears that they reclaimed several molds at the time.  It's not really apparent as to why.  However, it may be that there was a mold exchange and Hasbro sent large volumes of newer molds to Estrela in exchange for getting older ones back.  We don't really know the details of Hasbro's international mold sharing agreements and they are one of the few remaining, truly unexplored facets of the vintage Joe line.

With the Mutt mold in hand, Hasbro produced an exclusive version that was only released in Europe.  This Irish character was not Stanley Perlmutter, but an Scotsman named Andrew Macenzie and featured a flock of orange hair.  It's noteworthy that the gun, Junkyard and nightstick released with this figure are actually dark grey.  It's hard to note the differences in photos and, can even be tricky in hand.  But, there is a difference in color to the Euro exclusive gear.  Also of note, Mutt's original helmet returned with the European release without explanation as to its absence.

European Exclusive Mutt

Below, you can see a visual comparison of all the worldwide Mutt releases.  (You can click on the image for larger versions that better show the detail.)

Mutts From Around the World

The top row are the three Mutt releases based on the American color scheme.  The first is the Hasbro Mutt released in the US and Europe.  The second figure is the Brazilian Mastim figure.  You can see the vastly different skin tone.  Aside from this, the patch is removed.  The general color scheme features a brighter green body and darker brown vest.  The third figure is the Mexican release by the Auriken toy company.  The skin tone is pastier and the green body is darker, but the brown vest is brighter.  You will notice the patch is missing here, too.

Note the similarity in blue color between the Slaughter's Marauders figure and the European exclusive figure.  This may be just coincidence.  But, the Euro figure features an exclusive paint mask on the figure's chest knife, too.  The paint masks were similar to the vintage figure rather than similar to the Marauders figure.  This is also odd.  In 2003, Hasbro planned a series of Wal Mart exclusive figures.  Among them was the V1 Low Light.  That figure featured the same paint masks as the Slaughter's Marauders figure from 1989.  It's possible that this was just a function of the fact that the Marauders Low Light also has a European exclusive release.  But, it appears that paint masks may have become available and then unavailable at various points in the lives of molds.

Interestingly, in 1990, Spirit and Mutt were paired together by Larry Hama for a story line beginning in issue #100 of the Marvel comics series.  It was an odd pairing at the time as the characters had never really interacted much.  It might have been a way for Hasbro to get the characters into some media after their 1989 Slaughter's Marauders release.  But, then, you would have expected some of the other members to reappear, too.  Or, at least for the characters to appear in their Marauders uniforms.  It may have been that Hasbro planned for the two exclusive repaints of these characters to have a worldwide release.  But, they couldn't find a slot for them in the American line and they became European exclusives instead.

In 2004, Hasbro decided that Mutt would make a return to retail.  However, instead of finding the old mold, Hasbro resculpted the character's head and chest.  On this resculpt, the chest insignia returns.  The mold was just used one time for the Anti Venom Mutt.  But, there are also two unreleased variants of the figure.

Unproduced Anti Venom Mutt - Light Blue

Hasbro's decision to recast the mold is odd in light of the fact that the Low Light mold was in Hasbro's possession.  Of the Slaughter's Marauders molds, BBQ and Sgt. Slaughter ended up in India.  Footloose has never appeared again.  Three figures, Spirit, Mutt and Low Light, though, were released in Europe.  Hasbro still had the Low Light mold.  It would stand to reason that they still had Mutt and Spirit, too.  So, why did they recast?  Maybe it was cheaper than searching for the original mold.  Maybe the original wasn't usable, but was useful enough to get a cheap recast.  Maybe Hasbro was just lazy.  Collectors would have loved a re-release of both Spirit and Mutt in the 2000's.  Both figures were popular and people would have bought them, especially with their original gear.

Junkyard also has variants unique to the various figure releases.  The 1984 Hasbro Junkyard features a brown belly paint mask that you can see below.  Both the Brazilian and Mexican Junkyards also have this paint mask.  The brown paint was removed for the 1989 Slaughter's Marauders release.  The European, grey, Junkyard also has no paint masks.  For the three that do have paint mask, telling them apart is very difficult.  The Mexican version appears to have a bit of  a shine to it.  But, that's a small sample size and could just be wear.  As the three Junkyards were made in different places, they should be different.  But, telling them apart is very difficult.

The rest of Mutt's gear also has slight differences.  The Estrela and Auriken versions included a black 1982 helmet instead of Mutt's standard head gear.  The 1989 Slaughter's Marauders version also included this helmet.  The European Mutt brought the helmet back, though.  Mutt's muzzle has some differences, too.  The Estrela version I have is a more rigid plastic.  Again, though, small sample sizes may be at play.  The 1989 mask, though, is a much softer plastic.  I have found that this version tends to feel oily to the touch as the plastic isn't holding up as well as collectors would like.  Mutt's leash, Mac-11 and nightstick are tough to tell apart.  There are slight differences in the plastic composition.  But, they are tough to discern on such small pieces.  The biggest difference in the European Mutt that includes very dark grey versions of the helmet, gun and nightstick.  Again, the differences are difficult to see.  In hand, the comparison is easier to spot.  But, on a cursory glance, it's easy to confuse American Mutt accessories with the European gear and many "complete" European figures actually include American guns or nightsticks.

You can see some of the accessory differences in the photos below.

Mutt Accessory Comparison

Mutt Helmet Comparison

Mutt has 5 versions of the original figure for collectors to track down.  Three of them, though, are based on the American version.  There are three versions of the resculpted Mutt, too.  So, there's a lot out there for the Mutt collector.  But, there was a lot that could have been done with the mold.  If Hasbro had it, along with his original gear, he would have been great in Night Force, Tiger Force or even in an arctic theme.  But, that never happened.  So, we have what we have.  The Auriken and Estrela Mutt figures are not overly common.  But, they are not rare, either.  Finding them mint and complete can be a challenge, though.  The Euro Mutt is also tough to find.  But, again, he's not impossible.  And, prices on the Euro figures have fallen in the past 5 years or so.

The main Mutt mystery is why Estrela removed the chest patch.  But, the greater question is the ultimate Fate of Mutt.  Did he get shuffled off to India and is still rotting in a Funskool warehouse?  Or, did Hasbro have him and just fail to either realize that collectors would welcome him or understand that they had the mold at all?  Regardless, collectors got a decent run of Mutt figures from around the world.  There isn't a great deal of diversity in them, but he got more releases than many other figures.  An important part of my enjoyment of the Joe line comes from the international takes on the classic figures from my youth.  I get a chance to enjoy the figures again and get something a little different in my collection.  Hopefully, this piece gives collectors more information so they can make the best decisions for them when diving into foreign Joe collecting.