1993 Wet Suit

There were a few 1993 figures that I never found at retail.  Mostly, they were Cobra army builders.  But, a few other subsets were notable for their retail scarcity, too.  I found none of the 1993 repaints of 1992 figures at retail.  Even now, 31 years later, the 1992 repaints released in 1993 do not appear with the same frequency as the new figures released that year.  Ostensibly, this seems normal as the repaints could be profitable with fewer units made.  But, it created a consternation for my young self as I vainly searched for figures that I simply could no longer find.

This Wet Suit wasn't one of my most wanted figures that haunted me from the 1992 and 1993 cardbacks that I kept from my sparse retail purchases.  It was the missing Cobras that most interested me.  And, figures like Barricade captured my attention.  Wet Suit looked interesting.  However, by that time, I had found the 1994 Shipwreck figure.  That figure sated any desires for diver figures since he was perfect.  So, I didn't have the burning desire to find this Wet Suit like I did for guys  like the Flak Viper or Cobra Commander.

But, my first real foray into buying collections was heavily focused on figures from the 1990's.  As I acquired a few of them, this Wet Suit made his way into my collection.  Once in hand, I found the removable helmet to be exactly the type of thing I'd have loved as a kid.  But, I was more enamored with the multitudes of other figures in the various lots.  So, this Wet Suit was relegated to his drawer.  By the time I had a swimming pool in which to photograph figures, the 1998 repaint of this mold had come out and it found itself manning the turrets of the Whale on its maiden voyage.  In fact, this figure never got a photo in the early days of my collecting adventure.  

Which isn't to say that he's a bad figure.  Quite the opposite.  The wetsuit that Wet Suit wears is nicely detailed.  He features an array of dials and instruments on his chest.  And, there's even a sculpted hose  to denote that the figure does have an underwater air supply available to him.  The figure's helmet is well done.  But, like the figure itself, it does suffer from lack of color.  The orange works great.  But, having some other colors to denote the light and slits on the mask would have made a world of difference.  The head that is underneath the helmet is a weird combo of nice sculpting and odd design choices.  Wet Suit looks like he has a mullet.  And, being a 1992 sculpt, it wouldn't be an ironic mullet.  But, aside from that, the face is nicely done and the head fits underneath the helmet nicely without too much concern for paint wear.

Wet Suit features some solid gear that is both new and an homage to his original 1986 gear.  First, he includes an orange helmet.  It fits tightly.  That makes it work very well, though.  His orange rifle is large.  It works well with  the figure and does fit with his aesthetic.  The rifle was going to be included with the unproduced 1995 Dr. Mindbender.  And, there's a blue release that I still can't place.  The centerpiece of Wet Suit's gear is his underwater sled.  In 1986, Wet Suit included a small, hand held sled type thing.  So, getting one that the figure could ride is much more useful.  You'll probably snap the figure's thumbs trying to affix both hands.  But, its still a neat piece of gear.  The three missiles on it also give Wet Suit far more firepower.  He ends with the orange flippers.  The only thing that you could want would be some air tanks.  But, that might make the whole package for the figure too bulky.

Some times, less is more.  With this Wet Suit, there are just two colors on the body: the black base plastic and the orange painted details.  The paint masks are the same as the yellow figure from 1992.  But, there are no painted details or accents in any color other than black and orange.  Normally, this would be a detriment.  But, on a diver wearing a wetsuit, they work.  The simplicity of the figure makes him pop.  You don't really notice the lack of secondary colors.  The 1998 figure did prove that the mold could be made spectacular with more paint details.  But, this 1993 coloring remains strong and is a pretty perfect look for a diver.  (In fact, Hasbro recycled the colors on the 30th Anniversary Action Sailor figure just a year later.)

This Wet Suit mold was used almost too many times.  There is the yellow version from 1992.  Then, this orange version was released.  Hasbro then used the body for the Navy Seal Guile in the Street Fighter Movie figure line.  There are two variations of this figure, too.  In 1998, Hasbro repainted the mold in black, grey and aqua blue.  It's my personal favorite coloring of the mold.  That was 5 uses in 6 years.  But, then, the mold disappeared aside from a use of the head on the 2004 Wet Suit figure that came with the VAMP.  The 1986 Wetsuit mold, the 1994 Shipwreck mold and the 1983 Torpedo mold became Hasbro's go to for Joe diver figures.  This probably isn't bad, though.  Hasbro got a lot of life out of the mold.  And, you'd have to go with something really specific (like a white, arctic diver motif) to extract much more collector value from the colorings.  

During the pandemic fueled market mania of 2020 and 2021, this figure got expensive.  Now, you'll find dealers offering mint and complete figures anywhere from $15 to $30.  You'll see some sell in the $22 range.  But, left to the open market, this Wet Suit still seems to command $15.  So, if you find one from a dealer for that price, it's not terrible.  But, this Wet Suit is also the type of figure whose floor is lower than the current pricing should you want to wait out the free fall.  I find the orange and black to be superior to the yellow and black.  But, that's likely just personal preference and others will have their favorites reversed.  Regardless, this figure is a worthwhile pickup just because he's fun to have around.

1986 Mission to Brazil Wet Suit - Around The Web

Despite this figure being the best Wet Suit version that's available, much of the content that's available on him is relatively new.  But, the orange and blue Wet Suit figure is more photogenic.  And, the orange accessories do clash with this silver figure.  So, it kind of makes sense that this version was ignored for many years.  I had this figure as a kid and wish I had more photos of him as he's a great version.  I just don't have much occasion to get divers out into the water.  I keep waiting for a rainy day when I also have time to get a photo.  It will happen at some point.  Until then, enjoy the best of the 1986 Mission to Brazil Wet Suit from around the web.

1986 Mission to Brazil Wet Suit Profile

Mission to Brazil Wet Suit by wigramjoe

Mission to Brazil Wet Suit by thevintagetoylife

Mission to Brazil Wet Suit by thedustinmccoy

Mission to Brazil Wet Suit by wigramjoe

Mission to Brazil Wet Suit by thevintagetoylife

Mission to Brazil Wet Suit by purplecobra75

Mission to Brazil Wet Suite by Bodie Collection

Mission to Brazil Wet Suit by the.faceless.master

1998 Wet Suit

There are over 1000 posts on this site.  The truth of that number is that I'm also running out of figures to showcase.  I only collect vintage style Joes.  And, while there are far in excess of 1000 different figures in this style from all over the world, the reality is that many of them are insanely similar in coloring.  Those that aren't tend to be rare and have gotten pricey.  And, while the repaint era of 1997 through 2006 brought us hundreds of new figures, most of them were repaints of existing figures.  And, in many cases, those repaints were repainted again and again.  This forces me to mine the depths of the line for obscure releases that I haven't looked at, specifically.  But, in most cases, I have profiled more popular colorings of the figure.  Such is the case in today's profile of the 1998 Wet Suit.  I've looked at this mold three other times.  (Though, it's been over a decade and a half since the last!)  I would suggest that all three are better figures than this version.  But, the 1998 is still interesting as its colors remain unique and the circumstances of his release are fond memories for me.

In the fall of 1997, I was mostly interested in Star Wars figures.  I had my first full time job with plenty of both time and disposable income to track down the steady stream of new Star Wars releases that year.  My online presence was mostly found in Star Wars groups where I kept up with the store reports and wave releases in the pre social media days.  One one of my trips to Toys R Us, though, I was shocked to find the 1997 Stars and Stripes set sitting on the shelves near the Star Wars figures.  The last remnants of the vintage Joe line had just disappeared in the last year.  But, here were new Joes.  I quickly snatched up the set since Joe had been real childhood love.  But, these figures didn't click with me.  A few were cool.  But, I was not compelled to pick up any of the remaining figure packs.  The beginning of 1998 brought an onslaught of new Star Wars releases.  So, I focused my attention strictly to those and ignored the Joes.  Though, I had now joined online Joe groups, too, to keep up on the news of future releases.

In December of 1998, the new series of Joes were released.  While I joined everyone else in anticipation of the Oktober Guard and Cobra army builder sets, I was also over-joyed at new divers.  One of the last great adventures of my childhood involved divers and underwater adventures.  The divers would be tasked to rescue a pilot trapped in his cockpit of a downed aircraft: his oxygen running out.  They would take Cobra prisoners to a secret underwater prison where they condemned were left to wait out their life in a cold, dark shell deep underwater where no one knew they even existed.  Or, they would sabotage Cobra ships, either setting explosives on the hull to scuttle them or boarding the ships and taking out the sparse crews of Cobra cargo transports.  These were quick stories where I could play in the few minutes before bed or after school.  Finding the 1994 Shipwreck when I returned to buying retail Joes just hammered home those old stories as I found him the perfect figure for all these scenarios.

So, I viewed the Navy Seal pack as an essential release.  In fact, I bought more of them than I did Cobra Polar Assault sets at first.  (The snow themed Cobras would surpass them by the summer of 1999, though.)  The figures didn't disappoint me.  While some collectors of the day weren't thrilled with the color scheme, I found the aqua blue trimmed black uniforms to be quite compelling.  The black was a darker base color than I had for Shipwreck or Wet Suit.  And, the Torpedo figure using the 1992 Wet Suit mold was actually a new figure to me since I had neither the 1992 or 1993 Wet Suit figures at the time.  Shortly after this figure's release, I purchased my first house.  Scattered around the site are old photos that I took there.  They are few and far between.  But, the 1998 divers appear in many of them since I took my newer figures into the pool for some photos with an underwater camera.

But, this hits on the real reason why I like this figure so much.  This figure's release coincides with many personal life milestones outside of collecting.  The day I bought these figures, I took them home to a new apartment.  (We took a break from moving due to a thunderstorm that prevented us from carrying anything from one place to the other and went to Toys R Us.)  Within a year and half of this guys' release, I had joined a startup, bought a house and moved in with the future mother of my children.  So, this guy kind of coincides with all that and therefore gets a childlike pass in the actual figure design department because he has associated memories with him that are far greater than just pressing a button and buying a figure online.

While this figure is a 1998 release, it should be noted that Hasbro actually shipped them more frequently in 1999 than they did 1998.  The 1998 series first showed up in early December of that year.  The figures shipped for a couple of weeks and sold well enough through the holidays.  But, after that, the pegs went bare aside from a few straggling Oktober Guard and Navy Seal three packs.  (The 1998's shipped in cases of 6 sets: 2 Navy Assault sets, 2 Oktober Guard sets and 1 each of the Cobra Infantry and Polar Assault sets.)  In early 1999, the Star Wars juggernaut was in full swing.  Hasbro rebooted the line ahead of Episode I to get classic characters onto the shelves and to help the saturation of obscure aliens and humans that had clogged the pegs since the summer of the prior year.  Then, the onslaught of Episode I figures hit.  You really can't look at the toy events of the Disney era Star Wars films and compare them to the insanity that was 1999.  The figures were everywhere.  By the summer, though, the frenzy was abating.  And, around July, Hasbro shipped new cases of the 1998 Joes to Toys R Us stores around the country.  Collectors rejoiced at building more armies and being able to find other figures that had mostly dried up.  Again, Oktober Guard and Navy Seal packs lingered, but not in alarming numbers.  Then, just ahead of Christmas in 1999, Hasbro shipped more cases and Toys R Us stores around the U.S. restocked 1998 Joes once again.  For army builders, this was the final boon to acquire as many Cobra Troopers as they wanted.  But, it was also enough overstock to back up Toys R Us and leave Navy Seal sets available at Toys R Us stores well into 2001.

This figure's gear is the same as the vintage figures' with the lone exception of the flippers.  Yes, this Wet Suit does not include flippers.  He has a black light, black pack, black sled and hose that define the Wet Suit character.  But, without the flippers, he feels incomplete.  The upside is that vintage Wet Suit flippers are common to find and are colored black.  So, they work perfectly with this Wet Suit repaint.  But, it seemed a simple mistake for Hasbro to skip such an important piece of gear.  At the time, the Navy Seal set was maligned for this omission and collectors found the lack of weapons and brighter coloring to be a major turn off to this group of three figures.

In 1998, the paint masks on the figure releases was just normal.  Within a few years, though, we would come to call it convention quality since retail releases were often lacking paint applications and convention figures often overdid them.  But, the 1998's feature tremendous paint detail.  This Wet Suit includes two shades of grey, aqua blue, black, red, yellow and silver paint.  He is easily on par with the vintage Wet Suit releases and shows that Hasbro could still make quality figures.  And, at three figures for $10 in 1998, the figure was a bargain.

This Wet Suit mold was used five times.  And, really, there are no badly colored versions of it.  The 1986 is classic and the Mission to Brazil has become the most expensive version of the mold.  The 2002 Gift set release is, basically, this 1998 in slightly darker colors.  And, the 2001 ARAHC version is heavy on greys and blacks.  You have a Wet Suit for every occasion and every budget.  That's nice since it gives fans of the character something to track down while also giving every collector a shot at a good Wet Suit repaint.  While you can make a case for other Wet Suit repaints, I'm content with what we got.

Today, dealers will get around $20 for a loose, mint and complete with filecard version of this figure.  Sans filecard, though, you can get them for $10.  Here's the thing, though.  If you have enough patience, you can still get carded sets for around $25.  That way, you get all three figures and the filecards.  You have to beware of carded 1998 figures, though, as the glue Hasbro used to seal the cards is not holding up well.  I have several carded sets where the glue simply gave way and I now have untouched figures in a bubble, separated from the cardback.  Many other collectors report the same.  But, seeing the disparity in price between a carded set and a loose, complete with filecard figure, it's still the way to go.  I find this diver set one of the last "fun" sets that Hasbro released during the collector era.  And, as the quality is top notch, this Wet Suit is a no-brainer acquisition for me.

1986 Wet Suit - Around the Web

The 1986 Wet Suit mold has been used a great many times in the history of the Joe line.  However, it's been 15 years since I've looked at the mold. The original remains the classic view of the Wet Suit character.  Even though many of the later colorings of this mold were probably better.  He's fairly popular among collectors.  Here's the best I found of him from around the web.

1986 Wet Suit Profile

Wet Suit at JoeBattleLines.com

Wet Suit Card Art at JoeADay.com

Wet Suit Video Profile 1

Wet Suit Dio

Wet Suit at JoePedia

Wet Suit Video Profile 2

Wet Suit by Beach Head 6686

1986 Joe Review at IceBreakers HQ

2002 Wet-Suit (Gift Pack Exclusive)

I've already profiled two other versions of the Wet-Suit character and this mold. However, those profiles were done in close proximity back in the site's earliest days. As such, I thought I would take an opportunity to profile one of the more recent interpretations of the original Wet-Suit mold. The fact that the repaint is done in great colors and finally gives the mold the final color scheme it needed is just an added bonus.

This Wet-Suit mold is classic. Made during the height of Joe's original popularity, it features all of the experience from the first 4 years of the line coupled with the availability of resources that were present when Joe was the toy king. As such, we are left with a timeless figure. What past incarnations of the Wet-Suit have lacked, though, has been proper coloring. While never bad, the bright orange and teal from the '86 and '98 versions kept the figure from being just about perfect. (The Mission to Brazil Wet-Suit fixed this but came with bright orange accessories.) This figure solves most of those problems. The figure is cast in a basic black with grey highlights. Rather than use bright colors for his secondary hue, though, this Wet-Suit has a dark blue chest. The result is a figure that finally looks like a combat diver.

Not that this figure is without its flaws. For one thing, the paint details are lacking. While not like the '94 figures who were simply painted in 2 colors, this figure does not have all the details that his earlier versions have enjoyed. This is most noticeable on his head. The piece is solid black with the only break the exposed skin around Wet-Suit's eyes. While not bad, you lose some appreciation for the mold's detail when points that were previously accentuated by differently colored paint are now melded into the figure's overall color appearance. It is a minor point, but something you notice when you compare this figure to previous uses of the Wet-Suit mold.

For me, though, this is about the perfect Wet-Suit figure. I've long used the original as a rescue and exploratory diver. He hasn't really seen the depth of combat that other, more suitable colored divers have experienced. The Mission to Brazil Wet-Suit filled this void when I was a child. Now, though, the expense of acquiring multiples along with the less than subtle accessories have made me look elsewhere. This figure will be able to act both as deep sea support as well as back up my S.E.A.L commandos in more shallow water based operations. His colors make him perfect for rising out of a murky depth and surprising a passing Cobra contingent.

This figure, like just about all the figures in gift-pack, suffers from a fatal flaw: his accessories. Wet-Suit is a diver. On top of that, he is a diver whose mold was designed to be used with his specific accessories. His head has the pegs for his breathing hose molded into it. However, the gift-pack did not include the proper accessories with the figures. Instead, each figure got the complement of accessories that was originally given to the original figures that comprised Wave 2 of the 2002 new Joe releases. While in some cases (Dial-Tone) the choices were okay, it left figures like Undertow and Wet-Suit with terrible choices of accessories like chainsaws and field packs. Wet-Suit includes a silver flare gun (from the 1994 Lifeline) a silver sound attack version of Tunnel Rat's gun, and a black backpack. None of these are the type of accessories that you would associate with a diver! He has no air tanks, breathing hose or fins. The lack of accessories leaves this figure almost useless in his intended capacity. Fortunately, if you can find them, the pack and hose from the '98 Wet-Suit figure, they perfectly match this color scheme and help make this figure useful. (You can see them on the figure in the pictures below.)

If you wanted to acquire the 8-figure Joe gift-pack of which this Wet-Suit was a member at retail and you live in the Midwestern United States, you were completely out of luck. The set simply was not made available to stores outside of the East and West Coasts. While this (apparent) lack of availability got one toy magazine to name this set as a good potential "investment", it frustrated many Joe fans who knew they weren't going to be able to find this set locally. Fortunately, many online Joe dealers were able to pick up some stock from Hasbro and offer the sets online. While this allowed many collectors who were geographically cut out of the availability for this set to actually acquire it, it did not really endear the entire situation to a great segment of the Joe collecting world. (The set was poorly boxed in a way that made it very expensive to ship for just 8 figures.) To add insult to injury, many BJ's warehouses got overstock gift pack sets after the Christmas holiday. As they don't like to stock toys during the non-holiday buying time, they clearanced the sets out. Many collectors got extremely lucky when they came across caches of the sets with a clearance price of $10-$12 each.

While this thwarted many of the non-Joe collecting speculators out there who were hoping to cash in on the set, it only further infuriated those who could not acquire it as they heard stories of people finding these sets for ridiculously cheap and passing them by. The only good thing about these clearances was that a few dealers were able to pick up loose figures for very reasonable prices. As such, you can now get a loose Wet-Suit figure for about $4. However, despite the figure's lack of accessories, at that price, they tend to sell out quickly. Many dealers still have the Snake Eyes figure and an army builder or two from the set but do not have Wet-Suit. This strikes me as a bit odd (especially considering how collectors flock to anything army builder these days) but speaks to the quality of the figure. Personally, I've long army built Wet-Suit figures and would like to be able to add a few more of this guy to my collection. He is the best colors of this mold that are not too expensive to drop into a mud hole and actually use. If you can find the right accessories to accompany him, I think your collection will welcome this version of Wet-Suit as well.

I'm well set for the gift-pack figures. Would you like for Hasbro to produce another set of this type for 2003? Let me know.

1986 Mission to Brazil Wet Suit

We've already discussed the infamous Mission to Brazil set when I profiled Claymore. While I wasn't too impressed with that figure, I thought it time to showcase the one figure that made me want the entire set, the Wetsuit. The original Wetsuit was awesome. This guy, though, was off the charts. They had finally cast a diver in colors that were perfect for military operations. I was always hesitant to use the original figure in combat situations was I thought his orange highlights could be a bit detrimental if he were trying to sneak up on someone. This figure kind of solved that. The only problem with him was that they included the original Wetsuit's accessories! You now had a dark silver diver with bright orange tanks. I managed to somewhat fix this by giving him a pack from a spare Eel. It worked, but wasn't the best solution. I had to wait until 1998 before Hasbro finally released these accessories in black. Since the Navy Seal Teams are still ubiquitous at all my area Toys R Us stores, you should be able to get some of them before they disappear as well.

This guy was one of my most used figures. For most of 1986 and early 1987, I had a running sea based story line going. This figure was the common diver troop who did most of the fighting against Eels. Since the color scheme matched, they worked perfectly together. The original Wetsuit was the sometimes leader, but this guy got most of the use. (You can still see his battle scars in the worn paint on the face of this specimen.) I used all of the Mission to Brazil set as specialty troopers. It made it fun to actually allow Cobra to kill off good guy cannon fodder. It kind of evened things out. The dark silver wetsuit with the black and olive drab highlights were very realistic. At least once, I swapped this guy's head and made a custom figure that was a diver after he boarded a ship, discarded his helmet, and was using his assault rifle. This guy, like the Eel, has such a good color combination that you just want to find excuses to use him.

When I first saw the Mission to Brazil set, I kind of wanted it. Claymore looked kind of cool. This guy was awesome. The Leatherneck had uses and I wanted another Mainframe for my headquarters. The Dialtone had a great upper body, but his red pants kind of killed him. As weeks wore on and I went to TRU more and more, the set began to wear on me. I always looked at it, but could never decide if I wanted it or not. Since I was very up on all the figures and had completed the 1986 series much, much earlier in the year, I didn't have much of anything to look forward to at Christmas. (My parents had already made it very clear that the Shuttle was out of reach. There were no other medium to large vehicles that came out that year.) I finally broke down and asked for this set. Of course, Hasbro released many of the 1987 figures in time for Christmas of 1986 and I would have gotten some figures anyways. At least this worked out, though, as I got the set I wanted. Once I had it, it was a decision I never regretted. I used the MTB figures more than I used their original counterparts. For whatever reason, I just wanted to have some common figures that weren't already characterized. The Wetsuit character already had a figure. With this guy, I got a free figure to use as I wanted. What resulted were some of the best memories I have of my entire Joe collection.

The Wet Suit mold is a Hasbro favorite. It was used twice in 1986, in 1998, 2001 and 2002. His arms were used in 2004 on the Anti-Venom Mutt The character has continued to appear in more modern Joe lines, too. Wet Suit does not have any foreign variants (which is probably why his mold was so commonly used by Hasbro in the first few years of the line) and was only released with Hasbro created figures. Of all the colorings of this mold, though, I still hold this version to be the best. He does look a lot better when you give him the black accessories from 1998 or 2001. But, the overall figure is probably the strongest of the Wet Suit versions. At this point, there isn't much need for additional renditions of this mold. It has been done well enough through the vintage and modern years to satisfy most collectors.

These guys, like all of the Mission to Brazil figures, are pretty tough to find. While this guy isn't nearly as expensive as Claymore, he is still pricey. (I really don't get the dramatic difference in prices of the MTB figures. They were only available as a set. While Claymore is the only original figure, I, and many other collectors, consider the Wetsuit to be the far and away best figure in the set. He is usually the second most expensive figure, but is still about three of four times less than Claymore.) This guy is worth the money. He is an awesome figure that makes an excellent army builder. Unfortunately, his price is a bit prohibitive of my doing so. Nonetheless, this is a figure of which I would like to have a couple more. The Navy Seal Team helped me a bit, but this guy has sentimentality attached to him and that keeps him as my all time favorite Joe diver.

If you have any questions, comments, or not so constructive criticism, email me.

1986 Wet Suit

After the remarkable figures that came out in 1985, it was going to be nearly impossible for Hasbro to top itself. Rather than do this, though, they decided to reinvent the Joe team. 1986 was the beginning of the replacement figures. Many 1986's had similar or exact same specialties as earlier characters who had been removed from the shelves. This was the first year where the real turnover occurred. Many of the figures they produced, however, were excellent. The 1986 Wetsuit is no exception. While Torpedo was a great figure, Wetsuit added new accessories that made him every bit as much fun to have as the Eels are.

I loved this figure. He was my favorite diver, until I got the Mission to Brazil version the next year. Still, though, this guy is pretty high on my list. I was especially pleased that Hasbro included him in the 1998 Navy Seal Team set. I loved setting him against my Eels and the Cobra Hydrofoil. I had too many adventures to even try and recall with Wetsuit, Torpedo, the Hovercraft and the Hydrofoil. Even without a pool in my backyard, I managed to get extended use of all the divers and boats that were in the line.

Wetsuit's uniform is pretty good, though he seems like more of a tropical diver. (You'll have to forgive me for the quality of this scan. I was experimenting at the time and, as you can see, this particular experiment didn't turn out so well.) I'm always a sucker for figures with hoses that attach to both the figure and a pack. In my opinion, this was a feature that wasn't used on enough figures in the line. Those that did have it, tend to exist in multitude in my collection. The orange accessories work with this version of the figure, though he also looks good with the black versions from 1998. Had Wetsuit come with a gun of some type, he would have been off the charts. Fortunately, I used the Torpedo's gun from an accessory kit with him. It looks kind of funky, but will grow on you in time.

The Wet Suit mold has only been used by Hasbro. After the 2 vintage releases, it was dusted off in 1998, 2001 and 2002. At this point, we have pretty much all the Wet Suit figures we need. Still, it would be kind of nice to see the character brought back in land based military attire (like the underrated and hard to find '04 Torpedo figure from the VAMP). It would be a good way to bring some versatility to the character without using the limiting, original design.

Wetsuits aren't too tough to find, but they can cost a little more than the average figure, especially if they are complete. 1986 was still during Joes peak popularity and all the figures from this year are very plentiful. Some dealers will use the "it's an old figure" routine to try and secure a higher price. Don't be fooled. These figures exist in abundance. With minimal effort and expense, you can add this guy to your collection.