1985 Frostbite

While I got my first Joes in 1982, my real heyday of Joe toys was actually 1984-1986.  During the time, Joe was the main part of my social interaction with my friends.  And, pretty much every boy in my class at school played with them in some capacity.  1985 was the sweet spot, though.  It was the high point of everyone still playing with toys and finding them socially acceptable.  By the end of the year, the cool kids had aged out.  And, by the spring of 1986, most of the other kids had followed.  By 1987, toys were taboo and my obsession with them was a secret kept from my peers.  But, the memories from 1985 remain strong.  But, the biggest of them was finding something new before my friends.  When this happened, the new item stood out and everyone would flock to the lucky kid's house to see the new acquisition.  Over the summer, though, this happened less as my friends were often out of town.  So, when I found the Snowcat in the summer of 1985, there was no one to fawn over its release.  But, a winter vehicle found in the dead of summer was also out of place.  Still, I found a way for it to work.  The biggest surprise, though, was the quality of the Snowcat's driver: Frostbite.

When Frostbite was released, there was just one other arctic figure: Snow Job.  Snow Job's design and gear, though, were top notch.  Had Frostbite been a carded release, he'd have been in trouble.  But, as a vehicle driver, there were less expectations of him.  And, the figure was able to deliver a solid follow up for the Joe's cold climate team.  He was a very different figure from Snow Job.  But, that was OK since he a distinctly different role as a vehicle driver.

Frostbite's sculpt is relatively simple.  He doesn't have tons of details.  But, that's what makes him appealing.  Frostbite isn't overdone.  His pants have no details.  His chest features just a couple of pockets, a chest holster and a fur collar.  That isn't much.  But, it's enough to make Frostbite work.  The early arctic figures were fairly minimal in their mold details.  In 1986, Iceberg began a trend of more complexly uniformed cold weather fighters.  Frostbite, though, is a good bridge between Snow Job in Iceberg.  While those two figures can appear out of place when posed together, either of them looks good when paired with Frostbite.  He's a small evolution in the design of the winter characters that allowed the line to progress without appearing to move too quickly.  

The big surprise with the 1985 vehicle drivers was that they included accessories.  Frostbite was gifted an exclusive rifle.  Frostbite's rifle seems a bit oversized in 2023.  But, in 1985, it was an amazing upgrade over the M-16 that came with Grunt.  The size gave it significance.  And, the large scope was a detail that gave the weapon much more depth.  While the weapon was used with Frostbite for a while, my real desire for it was to replicate the weapon that Stalker used is his Vietnam era comic drawings.  I hounded my Grandmother for a Stalker and spent a week at her home over the summer searching out every toy store in Dayton, Ohio until I found one.  Once in hand, this Stalker got a brown version of Duke's backpack from the Battle Gear set and Frostbite's rifle.  It meant that I could not use Stalker and Frostbite together.  But, the value the weapon brought to Stalker made Frostbite more than worthwhile.

As my childhood play universe progressed, Frostbite moved from a typical Joe to more of a command role.  By 1987, Frostbite and Iceberg were the two highest ranking leaders from a cold weather faction that was aligned with the Joes.  Their weapons were special items capable of killing Cobras at incredibly long ranges.  Usually, they stayed in the cockpit of their Snowcat.  They disliked warm weather.  And, stayed in the climate controlled vehicle for their own comfort.  Frostbite conferred directly with Hawk and Flint.  I don't recall exactly how he grew into this role.  But, it was the final characterization that was given to the Frostbite figure.

Now, I just enjoy the figure for what he is.  Frostbite is another in the string of 1985 supporting characters that really augmented the Joe line.  He's not essential to a collection.  But, he's also cool enough and useful enough that he's worth tracking down.  So much of the Joe line is figures like this.  Frostbite doesn't need to be the best cold weather figure or character.  But, he's good enough that you want him and will use him in the proper situations.  That diversity was what gave the Joe brand its staying power.  Kids could have different crops of figures for different seasons or environments.  If Frostbite stayed in the toy box for 9 months, that was OK.  Because, once it began to snow, he was dug out and put into action.  Modern toy lines focus on main character saturation.  But, the vintage Joe line proved how the supporting cast could be instrumental in keeping Joes at the top of every kids' play patterns.

Frostbite's mold did not have a long life.  He got just two releases: this 1985 figure and the Tiger Force repaint in 1988.  However, as Frostbite was a mail away option for many years, there are variants of both this 1985 version and the later Tiger Force release.  Most of them relate to Frostbite's beard.  It can be thicker or thinner based on the time of release.  His fur that covers his shoulders also has a slight coloring difference on the later releases.  Both of these variations are subtle and not something that really makes them sought after.  But, it's something to be aware of.  The Tiger Force Frostbite figure was released in the Auriken Tiger Cat that was sold in Mexico.  It's possible this is a foreign variant of the Tiger Force Frostbite.  But, I'm not sure if the figure was Hasbro's release that was included with the Mexican vehicle or a totally separate production run done by Auriken.  If you have more info on the later year runs of Auriken releases, please let me know.

Frostbites are actually somewhat cheap.  Dealers will get $15 to $20 for a complete Frostbite.  But, you can get one for $10 without too much trouble.  Incomplete figures will run $5.  This is surprising for a 1985 figure.  But, Frostbite was available for many years.  So, there are plenty of them out there.  And, at his price, he's a figure that everyone should have.  The Snowcat remains one of the best cold weather vehicles.  And, you really need to have Frostbite at the helm.  He's one of those obscure figures that really works for his intended purpose.  And, he's affordable enough to always justify his acquisition.

20th Anniversary Key Moments - 1985 Snow Cat

In early 2003, I decided to look at the first vehicle on the site.  At the time, I was running low on figures to talk about.  And, as I had managed to get a few pictures out in the snow, I thought something like the Snow Cat made for a great way to show off some of the weather inspired photos I had managed to get. The Snow Cat was also a favorite vehicle from my childhood that survived relatively unscathed.  So, I did a little write up on it and vehicles were now part of the items I reviewed on the site.

But, the notion of vehicles was short-lived.  In the early years, I only looked a few.  And, in pretty much every case, I was not satisfied with the work I had done and felt the profiles were lacking.  As all my collection was boxed up in late 2003 and didn't get opened until 2005, vehicles fell the wayside and there were very few of them for a long time.

As a kid, vehicles were fun.  But, while Hasbro and many kids felt that vehicles were the driver of the line, I felt that they were a nice supplement to the figures.  While I'd play with vehicles inside, it was rare to take more than one outside.  And, even when I did, it was the figures who got the use and the vehicle became more of a piece of the landscape than a driver of the action.  I recall taking a box of vehicles to my grandparents' house and not playing with any of them since it was more fun to hide figures in their various gardens.  So, while vehicles were important, they were also secondary to the characters and actions of the figures.

In recent years, though, I've grown to appreciate vehicles more.  For a very long time, they were dirt cheap.  In many cases, you'd pay more for shipping a vehicle than you would for the toy itself.  (There were exceptions, of course.)  So, that made some of the vehicles I'd long neglected more attractive.  And, as I've added them, I've had more occasion to write about them on the site.  In the past few years, I've profiled more vehicles than ever before.  And, I've been more satisfied with the results, too.

Now, though, my vehicles are boxed up, again.  And, once again, I have no real indication of how long they will simply be cardboard prisoners in my garage.  I have a few that I want to review.  And, at some point in the next two years I'll get to the long awaited BUGG profile.  But, for now, I'll try to find some time to look at whatever's at the top of a box that I can get out for a quick photo shoot.  The Joe line is so diverse in vehicle offerings in terms of purpose and size that they are a line unto themselves.  

1985 Snow Cat

Maybe it's the fact that 48 of the past 49 days have had snow on the ground. Or, it could be that I was recently waxing nostalgic for the old days. Or, it could be the recently re-released version of this vehicle that is a Toys R Us Exclusive. Whatever the reason, I've been wanting to pull out my old Snow Cat.

The Snow Cat was the second Joe arctic vehicle to be released. Unlike the Polar Battle Bear, though, the Snow Cat was designed to be a major arctic force. The toy itself fell into the mid-range Joe vehicles at the time when those showcased far more detail and playability than their price point would at first indicate. As such, this toy is full of the type features that have made it a fan favorite. The "ski-pedos" remain a nostalgic favorite among many fans. Their simple concept created a play feature that even those who haven't seen a Snow Cat for many years can still remember. Aside from those, the vehicle featured a cockpit that could hold two figures. You could then arm it with at least 4 more troops on the outside foot pegs. (10 if you removed the ski-pedos.) The vehicle is nicely detailed and features many other smaller attributes that make it very realistic and fun to use.

The Snow Cat also continued the tradition of cool Joe vehicle drivers. Frostbite was a nicely detailed figure who perfectly fit with the Snow Cat. He also came with a unique rifle that was one of the coolest accessories produced in the line up to that point. It was this guy alone that fueled my interest in Frostbite. Over the years, I acquired extra Frostbite figures for the sole purpose of having spare examples of his gun. Going forward, this is a strategy that would be good for Hasbro to remember. One of the great features of the vintage Joe line was the vehicle drivers. The new vehicle drivers don't have anywhere near the coolness factor those old figures showcased.

From the minute I first acquired this vehicle, I felt it had a fundamental design flaw: the vehicle has no guns. For many collectors, this simply isn't a problem. For me, though, a vehicle without guns was simply not something I could really enjoy. I'm not much of a vehicle person. I prefer figures. As such, even as a child, when I did use a vehicle, it was usually in conjunction with several figures. As such, vehicles usually squared off against infantry troops rather than wheeled entities. A vehicle without guns was simply at too great a disadvantage. The later Cobra Wolf addressed this glaring need with the very cool gun turret that it sported behind the cockpits. The Snow Cat, though, just seems too poorly armed for me to use it as a stand alone entity. It has always needed either another vehicle that was properly armed with guns or a contingent of heavily armed Snow figures. In my estimation, though, that is the only area where the Snow Cat fails.

The Snow Cat suffers from 4 common trouble spots. First off, the steering wheel is often missing. Second, the windshield wiper is also commonly lost. (Plus, the nook that holds it to the canopy tends to break on more "played with" examples.) On top of that, the vehicle's signature ski torpedos are often also missing. If you manage to find a Snow Cat with all of those items intact, you still have to check the missile turret. The four pegs that attach the launcher to the shaft are VERY brittle and tend to break. As such, finding a mint, complete Snow Cat can get problematic. You will also pay quite a bit more for a mint, complete Snow Cat for these reasons.

The Snow Cat mold was re-used several times. It was released in 1988 as part of the Tiger Force subset. It was also released again as part of the Street Fighter line. The changes made to the mold for that release have been inherited by the new Snow Cat. Seeing a vehicle mold four times in less than 20 years is a testament to the Snow Cat's popularity. I still like to have my original as I don't have an arctic Joe vehicle (aside from the mighty Blockbuster tank!) that I like better. Seeing as how collectors seem to be enjoying this new Snow Cat, I don't think I'm alone in enjoying this mold.


Do you like the new Snow Cat? Let me know.