2018 Cobra Starduster - Black Major

When Starduster variants first showed up in 2017, I picked up a couple of them.  They made for great figures.  But, as more repaints appeared, I had less interest in them as I was rushing to catch up on the Steel Brigade, Cobra Trooper, Alley Viper and Night Viper repaints.  By the time I got around to chasing down the Stardusters, they seemed like old news.  In late 2020, though, Nekoman showcased a Red Shadows Starduster as part of his Laser Exterminator profile.  Not to be outdone, RTG at the Attica Gazette then showcased the figure in its full glory on his site.  With these, my interest in the figure was piqued.  And, at that time, you could still get a few of the late 2010's Black Major figures for cheap prices.  

When I thought about it, Starduster makes more sense as a villain.  His jet pack is very much a super villain weapon.  His visor hides his face well enough.  And, he's obscure enough that switching the affiliation of a repaint doesn't really hurt any Joe mythos.  Shortly after reading these other blogs about the figure, a red Starduster popped up for $12.  I quickly snagged it.  Mine, though, is not the Red Shadows version.  Instead, it's a Cobra version of Starduster cast in all red.  But, it still works for my intended purpose.  And, it's a damn fine example of the work Black Major can do.

Black Major released a massive amount of Starduster repaints.  Some were Starduster.  Others were marketed as Cobras.  And, there were Red Shadows versions, too.  Quickly, collectors who were pigeonholed into Starduster's intended role were freed to actually do something with the character.  I've never really clicked with Starduster as a character.  To me, the most interesting thing about him is that he was named Hedge-Hopper in a preview issue of Marvel Age.  That's not much on which to base a character, though.  So, having the figure in a definitely Cobra color and Cobra markings was an interesting way to re-envision the character.  

The calling card of the figure is the red color.  It is a deep and vibrant red: fitting for a Cobra.  The camo pants are in oddball choice that shouldn't matter.  But, they add depth to the look of the figure and give him some visual interest.  The black details and silver highlights stand out against the red backdrop.  Really, there's not a ton of paint applications.  But, when you have a powerful base against which accent colors can pop, small amounts of paint can go a long way.  And, with this Starduster, they do.

I'm not really sure what to do with a Cobra Starduster.  Just having a jetpack guy isn't all that much fun after a few interactions.  It's why I had jetpack troopers when I was a kid.  They were useful in spurts.  But, not enough upon which to base a character.  But, every villainous organization requires some B-level bad guys who can be beaten by the good guys but not be so important that their capture would compromise the bad guys or their plans.  So, this Starduster fits that role well enough.  He'll show up from time to time.  But, usually, it's for a short time and a limited role.  But, with thousands of figures now available in the vintage Joe style, some have to be intended for bit parts.  

The Starduster era Black Major figures are very well done.  From a quality perspective, the joints are solid, they will hold a pose and the paint masks are vibrant and sharp.  You'll see some paint wear on the figure's visor in the photo below.  The translucent plastic of the visor doesn't hold paint all that well.  But, some other colors seem to better maintain their paint.  The grenade launcher is also painted.  So, it can wear if you use it frequently.  Beyond that, though, the jetpack is awesome: equal of a Hasbro release.  And, the helmet fits nicely onto the head.  You'll note the reversed rivets in the figure below.  A function of the time when these figures were released.  You can find them with proper rivets, too.  So, there's plenty of little things to look out for when chasing this figure.  

Depending upon when you bought this figure, you got a variety of different pieces.  Early figures included both a Duke chest and a Recondo chest so you could make an imitation of either major Starduster variant figures.  The figure should always have a helmet, visor, jetpack and grenade launcher.  Some will have the weapon and hose from the JUMP, too.  As time has gone on, many of the figures made available have become separated from some of the superfluous pieces.  But, you'll see variants of the chest and weapons among various figures that you can acquire.  

This Starduster is tough to price.  You see them offered at $40 or $50.  But, they don't seem to sell at that point.  You'll see some sell around $30.  But, those seem to be outliers, too.  Contemporary Starduster variants that were released at the same time as this Cobra version seem to run between $20 and $30.  So, that's probably the sweet spot.  There's a lot of people who try to oversell this figure just due to the association with Starduster.  But, the original, Hasbro Starduster is one of the most over-hyped figures in all of collectordom and isn't nearly as popular or rare as his price suggests.  So, don't overpay for the Black Major figures just due to a false sense of rarity associated with the Hasbro release.

2017 Tiger Force Starduster (Black Major) - Around The Web

The Black Major Starduster figures were well done.  They offered collectors a chance to both own a cheap version of the original Starduster, but also in a variety of different colors, many of them homages to classic Joe subteams.  My favorite of this bunch is the Tiger Force Starduster figure.  To me, this looks like the type of thing that Hasbro might have done back in the '80's.  Plus, his helmet is a perfect match for the Red Laser Army The General figure.  Here's the best of this figure from around the web.

Tiger Force Starduster Profile

Tiger Force Starduster by Dreadnok Dread

Tiger Force Starduster by badgerscratch

Tiger Force Starduster by mondotoybox

Tiger Force Starduster by specialmissionforce

Tiger Force Starduster by badgerscratch 02

2017 Tiger Force Starduster - Factory Custom

Starduster is one of those odd figures who should not work.  But, he does.  When you sum his distinctive appearance with his rarity, though, you get one of the most expensive figures in the entire vintage line.  Had he been released in 1992, no one would care about the figure.  But, the early release year and classic construction combine to make a figure that collectors enjoy.  The character did not appear again until 2007 when he was included in a convention set.  For those who like the character and the figure's design, there was little to track down beyond hard to find and expensive variants that are, basically, the same figure.  In 2017, though, collectors were offered some new Starduster factory custom figures.  Among the rainbow of flavors of Starduster was a Tiger Force version.

This figure has a lot going on.  The black shirt is a great juxtaposition against the yellow pants.  Yes, yellow pants.  But, you don't really notice them because of the black stripes and detailed holster on the figure's legs.  The silver grenade and insignia pin give him some additional color.  The brown bandoleer and gloves, though, are a nice leathery color and provide the final color swash to the figure.  The figure works well with classic Tiger Force figures.  But, it can also be used by itself.  The black torso isn't something you saw often in the vintage Joe line and it works on this figure as it does in most of its appearances.

Starduster includes not just the jetpack, grenade launcher, helmet and visor based on the originals, but also a recolored JUMP gun and cord that connects it to the launcher.  There are some notes on the figure's gear.  First, the jetpack and gun are a deep blue color.  They aren't quite Cobra blue, though.  But, they work with the figure's colors.  The helmet is yellow with the star.  It looks great on the General figure from Red Laser's Army.  The visor is black like the original figure, but is of different plastic and easy to differentiate from an original.  The grenade launcher is somewhat controversial.  It, though, is a much shinier silver than a vintage Starduster launcher.  But, if that isn't obvious enough, the gun has a different handle from the original mold.  There really isn't any way to confuse a vintage Starduster gun from the Black Major versions and the fear around these weapons is massively overblown.

The figure is also available with both Starduster torsos.  You can get both the Duke chest and the earlier Recondo variant chest.  What's odd to me is that I find different colors of the figure to work better with different chest pieces.  For the Tiger Force variant, I prefer the Duke chest.  Things like this are completely subjective.  But, it's nice to have options for the figure construction as it gives you slightly different looks for various occasions.  The figure also has brown hair instead of the black hair from the vintage figure.  Since Starduster wears a helmet, this doesn't bother me all that much.  But, it allows you to use the figure as a different character should you so choose.

The key to this figure is that you get a way to use Starduster in different settings.  I find the earliest Joes to remain among my favorites since they formed a large part of my childhood memories.  Having a chance to add some additional characters and paint jobs in this construction style is great.  I like that so many new figures in the classic swivel head design have come out in recent years.  They allow for far more diverse set ups and have brought some remarkable new color schemes to what is actually a relatively small subset of Joe figures.  While I have found that too many repaints can make a mold stale, there are usually two or three color variants that hold my attention.  For Cobra Troopers, it is the Soldado.  For Cobra Mortal, it is the blue version.  And, for Starduster, it's this Tiger Force version.  For others, that's likely to vary.  But, for some reason, the notion of a Tiger Force Starduster resonated with me.

These Tiger Force Starduster variants remain available for original price.  You can get them between $10 and $15 depending upon how many different figures you order, how much you pay for shipping and if you take advantage of various sales and promotions.  Your mileage from this figure may vary based on the price you pay.  For me, getting a Starduster in a slightly different configuration is a fun way to add him to more photos and scenarios.  Pricing on vintage Stardusters is getting to the point where I don't want to take my original figure out for photos for fear of damage.  These factory customs help solve that dilemma and allow me to use the character in more diverse arrangements.  I can't ask for much more from a custom figure in this day and age.

Rarities - DeSimone Convention Figures

In the 1990's, there were G.I. Joe conventions.  They were, largely, the bastion of 12' Joe collectors.  But, Hasbro was often in attendance and offered merchandise to help support the endeavors.  One such promotion was the DeSimone convention figures.  James DeSimone was a prominent collector of the day who is best known for his guidebooks on 3 3/4 Joes that were released in the '90's.  At one point, he created some convention "exclusive" figures for sale at the various 1990's era conventions.

Hasbro offered DeSimone overstock of a few mail away figures which DeSimone then handpainted with store bought materials to create some exclusive figures.  His first two endeavors were the Police Officer and Race Car Ace.

Race Car Ace is nothing more than a repainted 1983 Ace figure.  He came with a handcrafted race car.  The idea was definitely rooted in the exploits of the 12' Joe mythos when he became less military and more adventurer.  The Ace figure isn't particularly noteworthy and modern customizers would cringe at the quality as you can see in the photo below.

The second figure was the Police Officer.  This figure is noteworthy because DeSimone used overstock Starduster figures to make his customs.  Seeing high quality Stardusters selling for over $100 in modern times makes it hard to fathom that there was once overstock of the figures.  But, DeSimone got some and painted them up.  The result, like the Ace, isn't stellar.  But, it was something different for the time.

The most famous figure, though, is the convention Infiltrate Jinx.  This figure is popular as DeSimone included it in his guidebooks.  Jinx stepped up the production in that she included a card.  Hasbro "sanctioned" the figure, for what that's worth.  But, it is also known that if you were willing to pay market price, you could still have an "official" convention Jinx made by DeSimone himself after the conventions.  Jinx has two variants, a blue Cobra logo or a black Cobra logo.  The logo colors differentiated when you acquired the figure.  Collectors don't seem to place any particular desirability of one color over the other any more, though.

Today, these figures are expensive.  They can command a few hundred dollars.  But, authentication is tough as anyone could make one with relative ease and there is no way to verify that any figure is the real deal or a later reproduction.  So, buyer beware with these items.  In the end, they are glorified customs.  (As are all non Hasbro produced convention "exclusives".)  So, you're paying a lot for something that's easily forged.  The figures are part of Joe history.  But, they are too sketchy for me to ever spend any money on.

1987 Mail Away Starduster

In the late '80's, Hasbro was offering many, many figures via mail order. The vast majority of these were simply reissues of figure molds that had been "retired" from retail. Others, like the Hooded Cobra Commander were never available via retail outlets. Joe was flying high in popularity, and corporate support. As part of the plan to keep the Joe empire ever expanding, Hasbro licensed a cereal based on G.I. Joe. To get kids to eat this tripe, they offered an exclusive mail in figure that was only available if you bought the cereal: Starduster.

I never had a Starduster. Apparently, I was not alone in this. The G.I. Joe cereal was short lived. The mail in promotion for Starduster was even shorter lived. However, he did come back several other times as a mail in available from Hasbro Direct. The thing was, as a kid, I wasn't interested in this guy. He was in powder blue. What kind of hard core soldier wears powder blue?!? (Of course, as a child, I never went to the fact that it was to blend into the sky. Perfect cover for a jet pack trooper who would be seen by looking against the blue sky background.) Because of this alone, Starduster was nothing more than an afterthought to me. Much like the Steel Brigade and Joseph Colton, the pictures of the figure were not enough to entice me to the offer, even if the figure was one that would never be available via any other avenue.

Now, though, Starduster has a kitsch about him that makes me like the figure. The soft, pastel blue is actually easy on the eyes and offers some welcome relief when he is displayed among most of his contemporary Joes. His helmet and dark visor are nice touches that proved the original Joes could be improved upon. (The black visor is also highly reminiscent of the prototype Joe photos that appeared in the very first insert catalog back in '82. All the visored Joes had dark black visors that are nearly identical to Starduster's. Were Starduster's visor not so problematic to find, I think it would be very cool to put together a set of these original Joes outfitted as they were back in '82. Now, if I could only find those concept Cobras they put in there as well!) The silver version of Gung-Ho's grenade launcher is also nice. It is not so out of whack that you could dismiss totally. Also, the very fact that he comes with just the jet pack from the JUMP is enough to make me now wish I had actually picked up a couple of these guys back in the '80's. That accessory is enough to make this guy someone that would have seen some use. Though it probably would have been as an officer as other, more suitable, figures would have actually donned the jet pack.

There is something very interesting about Starduster. Back in late 1985, a comic Marvel produced entitled Marvel Age had a special issue on G.I. Joe. This "comic" was kind of an insider magazine that gave the reader a preview of the comics Marvel released that month, but it also allowed them to spotlight whatever property it was they wanted to promote. In issue #34, it was Joe. Here, they profiled many of the new Joes who would join the team and have toys made of them in 1986. The original art that had some off colors is interesting in itself, as was the mis named character named Hot Spot who later became Sci Fi in the actual assortment. The most interesting profile they offered, though, was of a new character named Hedge-Hopper. Hedge-Hopper had no art affiliated with him, but he was supposed to a jet pack trooper. This made sense as only the recolored Silver Pads Grand Slam had already had a specialty anything close to this. For whatever reason, though, Hedge-Hopper was not to be. The figure was never released and the character never came to light in any Joe arena. However, in 1987, Starduster was released. While the two could be entirely separate entities, the coincidences are too great. Most likely, Hedge-Hopper was a placeholder name that was used to identify the jet pack trooper. Due to some unknown circumstance, the character never panned out. Perhaps they felt the notion wouldn't be enough to carry a figure at retail. It might also be that they had the G.I. Joe cereal promotion planned and wanted to use a throwaway character on it. Whatever the circumstances were, though, Hedge-Hopper is an interesting footnote to Joe history of which not too many people are aware and adds more obscurity to the Starduster character.

Like Super Trooper, Starduster only appeared in Joedom as a figure. However, his earliest versions came with some mini comics that were supposed to give kids some sort of background they could apply to him. Hasbro, though, always wanted the mainstream comic and cartoon to push what was for sale on the shelves. Upon reading his filecard you quickly realize that there wasn't a whole lot of thought put into this guy's characterization. Being an obscure mail in, there was no way he was ever going to have any credibility among the Joe creative team. For that reason, it reinforces my opinion that this guy was just a cast off concept that could never get out of the creative strategy meetings in Rhode Island. The fact that he did make it to a figure, though, makes you realize that there must have been some other concepts bandied about that were truly terrible. (Look no further than the supposed "Chef" concept art. {shudder}) It's too bad, though, because the notion of a jet pack trooper was something that I think kids would have gotten into. Of course, he would have needed to be a much cooler figure than Starduster, but I think that a singularly carded jet pack trooper would have experience retail success.

Many collectors have been lead to believe there are three distinct versions of Starduster. However, in recent years, many hard core collectors of substantial resources have been trying to prove the existence of the Version "B" Starduster figure. In the past 6 years in which I have kept track of such things, no one has found any conclusive proof that the Version "B" figure actually exists as a legit variant. There are loose ones out there, but they are almost certainly Frankensteins of broken Version "A"s and Version "C"s. Until a solid amount of bagged version "B" Stardusters are found, I think it is safe for collectors to consider their collection complete if they only have the Version "A" and Version "C".

Stardusters are a bear to find. The first version from the cereal that uses the Recondo chest is the toughest and is usually rated by serious collectors as one of the 5 most difficult figures to find in the entire line. Even the more "common" variations of Starduster, like the one below, are seldom seen. Because of this, mint and complete versions are very, very pricey. Bagged versions of the Recondo chest Starduster can easily get into the $80-$100 range. Even loose, mint, complete specimens of the most common versions will set you back $30! The thing that makes Starduster hard to find is that he was only available as a mail in and he was just a repaint of a swivel head mold in a time when the ball headed molds made the figures so much better. He is also prone to heavy discolorations and finding mint Stardusters can be very frustrating. I have found many Stardusters who have been subjected to cigarette smoke and are now permanently ruined. His lack of popularity in his own day has manifested itself by making this figure among the rarest American Joes today. Fortunately, the powder blue takes away from the figure and keeps this guy from being at a price point where he would rival such things as the Mickey Mouse Cobra Commander in value. Personally, I've found this figure to be only useful as he is required for the completion of my collection. Aside from that, he seldom, if ever, sees any use. His specialty is cool, but there were so many other figures released whose molds lend themselves to something like this so much better, like the 91 General Hawk, that I haven't found him to a vital part of my collection. Perhaps, someday, that will change. For now, though, Starduster is one of those frustrating figures that I can't acquire for a cheap enough price for me to justify additional variations.

The version of Starduster you see below is the only one I have. Of course, I have two separate figures for that version. If you have a different version, or his visor, email me.