A few weeks before Christmas in 1986, I went to my local Toys R Us. To my surprise and delight, they had a slew of new, 1987 Joe figures available. In the sensory overload, I managed to pick out Cobra Commander and Falcon as the two I had to buy. I've never regretted that decision since Falcon might be one of the best figures ever released in the Joe line. Here's the best of his content around the web:
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
1983 Stalker
The original 13 Joes were an amazing example of how to create something new and exciting from very few base parts. It was a formula that was tried by other, derivative toy lines many times in the 1980's. But, as Joe had largely moved away from reusing parts save for rare instances after the initial wave of figures, these other lines appeared cheap. But, Hasbro's original cost saving foray into 3 3/4 figures was nothing short of remarkable. While the figures retain a uniqueness to each individual character, the overall team was still somewhat unified. There was a cohesion that stood out from other retail offerings while still bringing characters that showcased the effort that Hasbro put into their product.
In the fall of 1982, my younger brother got at least 2 straight arm Stalker figures for his birthday. I know that by new year's day of 1983, we had at least 3 of them in the house. (Stalker was not, though, part of my 4 man Joe army of Clutch, Snake Eyes, Hawk and Breaker.) I have a few memories of playing with the figures in the front yard of my parent's home. But, nothing overly memorable other than finding a very dirty and broken figure behind a paving brick when my Dad re-landscaped the vegetation restrictions that lined the concrete stairs that divided the hill in the front yard at some point in the early 1990's. In fact, I didn't think of Stalker all that much and his figure really wan't all that important to me.
But, in the summer of 1984, I began to read the Joe comic book. Here, Stalker's prominence lead to a greater appreciation of the figure. Not enough to get me to track down a new version, but to at least realize he was probably the third most important Joe behind Snake Eyes and Hawk. In the summer of 1985, though, my desire for a Stalker figure was sparked. The catalyst behind it was something that, on the surface was completely unrelated: my acquisition of the 1985 Snow Cat vehicle. The Snow Cat should be unrelated to Stalker in general. But, Frostbite, the driver of the vehicle, included a large, scoped rifle that immediately reminded me of Stalker's appearance in the LRRP flashbacks from issues 26 and 27 of the comic. I now wanted a Stalker figure and he became a more important addition to my collection than the few 1985 figures I had yet to buy at retail.
Fortunately, the Snow Cat's entry into my life immediately preceded a two week stay at my grandparent's home. My grandparents spoiled me rotten. They were comfortably retired and we spent our days going to various retail stores to look for and buy me toys. For some reason, this was something they only did with me. My younger brothers rarely spent any time with my grandparents without me. And, after my younger brother's first week alone with them, the entire practice stopped. There were some odd family dynamics at play and my mother has been more forthcoming with them in recent years. It was her opposition to the arrangement (and the fact that my grandparents were so over the top in their gift giving) that ultimately ended it. Yet, now, she is repeating the behavior she so disliked with her own grandchildren. Go figure.
I announced my desire to find a Stalker upon my arrival and my grandparents set out over the next few days to find me one. Store after store, though, was completely devoid of the 1983 figures. I'd spend copious amounts of time flipping through every figure in every row to see if Stalker was buried somewhere in the back. (In those days, retail Joe displays were dozens or hundreds of figures, so it took a while to search at every store. And, there were a lot more stores, too. K Mart, Children's Palace, Best, Sears, Service Merchandise and even department stores all had huge toy departments with chances to find my unicorn.) After several days, we had exhausted all avenues. While I had pretty much completed my run of 1985 figures through these travels, I was still missing the one figure I wanted. Near the end of my stay, my grandmother recalled seeing a large display of G.I. Joe toys at a local Kroger store. I had never seen toys at the grocery, but she assured me she had. We went to the out of the way Kroger. In the back of the store, this particular location sold a variety of hard goods to supplement their grocery. Among them was an entire wall of G.I. Joe figures.
These were not, though, the recently shipped cases of 1985 figures I found at all the standard retailers. No, these were older stock. Tons of 1983 and 1984 releases bulged from the pegs: cascading down onto a blanket on the floor. I'm sure there were untold treasures in that pile. But, I cared about one figure and one figure only: Stalker. And, sure enough, he was in the mix. I found him and bought him: my mission complete. I recall the happiness of that moment still today because the figure was something I wanted and searched for. The culmination of my effort (well, my grandparents' effort!) was tremendous satisfaction. I got my Stalker back to their house, armed him Frostbite's rifle and an Airborne backpack from the 1984 Battle Gear set and promptly elevated Stalker to be among my most important figures.
For the remainder of the time that I played with toys, this Stalker was at the forefront. He retained his popularity through 1986 and even into 1987: despite the massive influx of newly released characters. I had acquired him late enough in 1985 that I took good care of the figure. (It's odd that 1985 seemed the turning point. My early year 1985 acquisitions got beat up and broken. But, anything bought after the spring survived pretty well into my adult collection.) Since he remained intact, he also remained a vital character who was on par with Flint in terms of importance. At some point in the mid 1990's, though, I got the figure out to display. When I put Frostbite's rifle in his hand, the fingers snapped off. Not the commonly brittle thumb, but the rest of his hand. It was a tough loss: but a testament to the good life the figure lived.
I've since added a new Stalker to my collection. But, these days, he and the rest of the original 13 swivel arms lay in a felt lined drawer of an antique tool box my father gave me for Christmas almost 15 years ago. Occasionally, I'll get a few of those originals out for a photo shoot. But, those are increasingly rare. I sense a general fragility with these older figures and don't want to push my luck would one drop into rocks or concrete. Plus, most of the characters were redone in the late 1990's or early 2000's in designs that are good enough facsimiles of the originals to satisfy the photo requirements. But, most days I'm in the Joe closet looking for something, I'll pull open the 1983 drawer and take a quick look at the 16 figures (I keep a swivel Cobra Trooper, Officer and Commander in there with the 13 Joes.) that pretty much started it all. They are a reminder of why I still collect these toys so many years later. The memories and emotions attached to them are as much a part of my reasons as the enjoyment of a product well designed.
While Stalker was a mainstay of the vintage Joe line, he didn't become so until 1989. Stalker waited 7 years to be revisited, but then promptly saw a new figure in 1992, 1993 and 1994. This version remaining the default helped to cement this look for Stalker. It also helped him bridge the changes in construction and sculpting that occurred through the 1980's. Stalker appears, to me, less out of character among later year figures. This is likely just perception. But, it is perception forged from the years of seeing him with newer characters in the comic.
But, Stalker's figure also had more depth. He was the only original Joe to actually feature a cammo pattern. So, while his body was shared with many other figures and the base color isn't too far from some of the other original figures, the dark green color streaks make the figure stand out. Having a unique head distinguished him quite a bit. Stalker's personal M-32 was also a way to distinguish him. The weapon always felt more substantial than Grunt's M-16 and was my default go to weapon for my Clutch figure. But, that was short lived and I came to view the M-32 as belonging only to Stalker and, to this day, can't see it in the hands of other, American figures. (I'm more forgiving of TNT, though, just due to the overall oddity of the character.)
The Stalker mold was a world traveler. The straight arm figure saw exclusive releases in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. (The mold was also repainted as a Caucasian for the Plastirama Manleh figure in Argentina, too.) The swivel arm mold, though, also saw great use. The figure was released in Japan, Australia and Europe. Palitoy used it for the Action Force Jammer character and Funskool then released several Stalker variants for many years. (Again, some were actually Caucasian.) In 1997, Hasbro got the mold back from India and released the solid 1997 repaint. Hasbro created a new head for the character in the 2004 Comic Book pack release and repainted it in more vintage colors the next year. They then brought the head back on the high quality 2006 Lonzo Wilkinson figure. Stalker was re-imagined multiple times in the vintage line, the new sculpt era and the anniversary style line, too. So, there are ample ways to get the character. But, this is the figure from which they all are derived and is, to me, the essential Stalker figure.
High quality swivel arm Stalker figures can be had for around $18. You will see many dealers, however, offering them in the $30 range: with many selling. Open market sales tend to be lower, but are less frequent than they used to be. Considering the figure's high quality and the character's importance to the line, he's worth the money. Sure, you can get some later Stalker versions for much cheaper. (And, the 1997 version is probably a better overall figure.) But the original Stalker is too important to the line's legacy to be left out of any collection. Stalker's value as a character and a toy design are essential parts of line's endurance and should be part of every collection.
In the fall of 1982, my younger brother got at least 2 straight arm Stalker figures for his birthday. I know that by new year's day of 1983, we had at least 3 of them in the house. (Stalker was not, though, part of my 4 man Joe army of Clutch, Snake Eyes, Hawk and Breaker.) I have a few memories of playing with the figures in the front yard of my parent's home. But, nothing overly memorable other than finding a very dirty and broken figure behind a paving brick when my Dad re-landscaped the vegetation restrictions that lined the concrete stairs that divided the hill in the front yard at some point in the early 1990's. In fact, I didn't think of Stalker all that much and his figure really wan't all that important to me.
But, in the summer of 1984, I began to read the Joe comic book. Here, Stalker's prominence lead to a greater appreciation of the figure. Not enough to get me to track down a new version, but to at least realize he was probably the third most important Joe behind Snake Eyes and Hawk. In the summer of 1985, though, my desire for a Stalker figure was sparked. The catalyst behind it was something that, on the surface was completely unrelated: my acquisition of the 1985 Snow Cat vehicle. The Snow Cat should be unrelated to Stalker in general. But, Frostbite, the driver of the vehicle, included a large, scoped rifle that immediately reminded me of Stalker's appearance in the LRRP flashbacks from issues 26 and 27 of the comic. I now wanted a Stalker figure and he became a more important addition to my collection than the few 1985 figures I had yet to buy at retail.
Fortunately, the Snow Cat's entry into my life immediately preceded a two week stay at my grandparent's home. My grandparents spoiled me rotten. They were comfortably retired and we spent our days going to various retail stores to look for and buy me toys. For some reason, this was something they only did with me. My younger brothers rarely spent any time with my grandparents without me. And, after my younger brother's first week alone with them, the entire practice stopped. There were some odd family dynamics at play and my mother has been more forthcoming with them in recent years. It was her opposition to the arrangement (and the fact that my grandparents were so over the top in their gift giving) that ultimately ended it. Yet, now, she is repeating the behavior she so disliked with her own grandchildren. Go figure.
I announced my desire to find a Stalker upon my arrival and my grandparents set out over the next few days to find me one. Store after store, though, was completely devoid of the 1983 figures. I'd spend copious amounts of time flipping through every figure in every row to see if Stalker was buried somewhere in the back. (In those days, retail Joe displays were dozens or hundreds of figures, so it took a while to search at every store. And, there were a lot more stores, too. K Mart, Children's Palace, Best, Sears, Service Merchandise and even department stores all had huge toy departments with chances to find my unicorn.) After several days, we had exhausted all avenues. While I had pretty much completed my run of 1985 figures through these travels, I was still missing the one figure I wanted. Near the end of my stay, my grandmother recalled seeing a large display of G.I. Joe toys at a local Kroger store. I had never seen toys at the grocery, but she assured me she had. We went to the out of the way Kroger. In the back of the store, this particular location sold a variety of hard goods to supplement their grocery. Among them was an entire wall of G.I. Joe figures.
These were not, though, the recently shipped cases of 1985 figures I found at all the standard retailers. No, these were older stock. Tons of 1983 and 1984 releases bulged from the pegs: cascading down onto a blanket on the floor. I'm sure there were untold treasures in that pile. But, I cared about one figure and one figure only: Stalker. And, sure enough, he was in the mix. I found him and bought him: my mission complete. I recall the happiness of that moment still today because the figure was something I wanted and searched for. The culmination of my effort (well, my grandparents' effort!) was tremendous satisfaction. I got my Stalker back to their house, armed him Frostbite's rifle and an Airborne backpack from the 1984 Battle Gear set and promptly elevated Stalker to be among my most important figures.
For the remainder of the time that I played with toys, this Stalker was at the forefront. He retained his popularity through 1986 and even into 1987: despite the massive influx of newly released characters. I had acquired him late enough in 1985 that I took good care of the figure. (It's odd that 1985 seemed the turning point. My early year 1985 acquisitions got beat up and broken. But, anything bought after the spring survived pretty well into my adult collection.) Since he remained intact, he also remained a vital character who was on par with Flint in terms of importance. At some point in the mid 1990's, though, I got the figure out to display. When I put Frostbite's rifle in his hand, the fingers snapped off. Not the commonly brittle thumb, but the rest of his hand. It was a tough loss: but a testament to the good life the figure lived.
I've since added a new Stalker to my collection. But, these days, he and the rest of the original 13 swivel arms lay in a felt lined drawer of an antique tool box my father gave me for Christmas almost 15 years ago. Occasionally, I'll get a few of those originals out for a photo shoot. But, those are increasingly rare. I sense a general fragility with these older figures and don't want to push my luck would one drop into rocks or concrete. Plus, most of the characters were redone in the late 1990's or early 2000's in designs that are good enough facsimiles of the originals to satisfy the photo requirements. But, most days I'm in the Joe closet looking for something, I'll pull open the 1983 drawer and take a quick look at the 16 figures (I keep a swivel Cobra Trooper, Officer and Commander in there with the 13 Joes.) that pretty much started it all. They are a reminder of why I still collect these toys so many years later. The memories and emotions attached to them are as much a part of my reasons as the enjoyment of a product well designed.
While Stalker was a mainstay of the vintage Joe line, he didn't become so until 1989. Stalker waited 7 years to be revisited, but then promptly saw a new figure in 1992, 1993 and 1994. This version remaining the default helped to cement this look for Stalker. It also helped him bridge the changes in construction and sculpting that occurred through the 1980's. Stalker appears, to me, less out of character among later year figures. This is likely just perception. But, it is perception forged from the years of seeing him with newer characters in the comic.
But, Stalker's figure also had more depth. He was the only original Joe to actually feature a cammo pattern. So, while his body was shared with many other figures and the base color isn't too far from some of the other original figures, the dark green color streaks make the figure stand out. Having a unique head distinguished him quite a bit. Stalker's personal M-32 was also a way to distinguish him. The weapon always felt more substantial than Grunt's M-16 and was my default go to weapon for my Clutch figure. But, that was short lived and I came to view the M-32 as belonging only to Stalker and, to this day, can't see it in the hands of other, American figures. (I'm more forgiving of TNT, though, just due to the overall oddity of the character.)
The Stalker mold was a world traveler. The straight arm figure saw exclusive releases in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. (The mold was also repainted as a Caucasian for the Plastirama Manleh figure in Argentina, too.) The swivel arm mold, though, also saw great use. The figure was released in Japan, Australia and Europe. Palitoy used it for the Action Force Jammer character and Funskool then released several Stalker variants for many years. (Again, some were actually Caucasian.) In 1997, Hasbro got the mold back from India and released the solid 1997 repaint. Hasbro created a new head for the character in the 2004 Comic Book pack release and repainted it in more vintage colors the next year. They then brought the head back on the high quality 2006 Lonzo Wilkinson figure. Stalker was re-imagined multiple times in the vintage line, the new sculpt era and the anniversary style line, too. So, there are ample ways to get the character. But, this is the figure from which they all are derived and is, to me, the essential Stalker figure.
High quality swivel arm Stalker figures can be had for around $18. You will see many dealers, however, offering them in the $30 range: with many selling. Open market sales tend to be lower, but are less frequent than they used to be. Considering the figure's high quality and the character's importance to the line, he's worth the money. Sure, you can get some later Stalker versions for much cheaper. (And, the 1997 version is probably a better overall figure.) But the original Stalker is too important to the line's legacy to be left out of any collection. Stalker's value as a character and a toy design are essential parts of line's endurance and should be part of every collection.
Saturday, September 24, 2016
1989 Recoil - Around the Web
Recoil is a figure I like so much that I've profiled him twice. The baby blue weapons are the real negative to him. But, there are lots of black M-203's from the 2000's era Joes that outfit him nicely. And, if you can find a cheap Steel Brigade figure, you can get his gun in charcoal as well. (Good luck with that these days, though.) Here's the best of the character around the web.
Thursday, September 22, 2016
1994 Star Brigade - Carded Set
In the second half of 1998, I really started to look to G.I. Joe collecting as my hobby of choice. I had dabbled a bit in a Joe resurgence for a while. But, the retail stream of new Star Wars figures consumed not only most of my money, but also my time. However, by the summer of 1998, the Star Wars market was over-saturated. The huge volume of shipments and new waves that included carry over figures from earlier releases had caused a pegwarming backup that was unprecedented. While the early part of 1998 had been a great time of constant new figures and refreshed army builders, Hasbro had made too much and the waves planned for later in the year could not get out to retail. This resulted in a some waves being cancelled, others only showing up in obscure retailers and the complete reboot of the line in early 1999. To me, though, the retail frustration of Star Wars, coupled with my first major promotion in my adult career lead me down another path along which I could spend my money. All of this, of course, coincided with the emergence of Ebay as a means to purchase items that were not available from local toy dealers or second hand shops. As I shifted my collecting priorities, I first focused on a few items from the Joe line that I had long wanted. Among them were a Hammer, the 1989 Rock and Roll and, at least one Lunartix Alien.
In 1998, the alien figures, MOC, fetched about $15 on the secondary market. This seems low, but was a princely sum back then. You could get lesser character 1985 figures MOC for that price at the time. So, it was a large purchase when I bit the bullet and got a Lobotomaxx figure. When he arrived, I realized how cool the overall card presentation was. I liked the colors and look of Star Brigade. And, I had a connection to the 1993 series that I had found at KB Toys liquidation stores a few years prior. As I surveyed the other 1994 Star Brigade offerings, I was enthralled by the designs and colors. At the time, the figures were relatively hard to find, especially if you wanted them loose. However, you could find them carded: and they were cheap when you did. So, I put together my first complete series of carded figures: the 1994 Star Brigade.
The '94 Star Brigade line was divided into two distinct series. The first wave consisted of Cobra Commander, Cobra Blackstar, Sci Fi, Payload, Space Shot, Duke and Roadblock. The second wave contained Ozone, Countdown, Effects, Lobotomaxx, Predacon and Carcass. This left an unlucky 13 figures in the retail, single carded line. But, the overall presentation remained. Gone were the generic pink cards from 1993 and in was a visual delight of black, blue and purple with a clean G.I. Joe logo running up the card's left edge, culminating in a bright Star Brigade logo at the card's top. Each character got his own, unique card art along with a yellow "gimmick" tag that touted some feature of each figure. In short, they were a crisp, clean look for the last unique retail wave of figures to hit stores.
Wave 1 showcased Hasbro's commitment to the line. 5 of the 7 figures featured either mostly new parts, or all new parts. On top of this, the characters all included a wide array of feature rich accessories that were essential for retail success at the time. Hasbro did skimp on the overall paint applications, though. Most of the figures only have three or four minor paint masks. And, Duke and the variant Roadblock only featured one paint mask on their entire body. This Roadblock and the Payload figure were repaints of Star Brigade molds that had been released in 1993. Which, in turn, were mostly repaints of prior years' retail release figures. So, the line spent money wisely in terms of bringing something new to the market.
In 1998, the alien figures, MOC, fetched about $15 on the secondary market. This seems low, but was a princely sum back then. You could get lesser character 1985 figures MOC for that price at the time. So, it was a large purchase when I bit the bullet and got a Lobotomaxx figure. When he arrived, I realized how cool the overall card presentation was. I liked the colors and look of Star Brigade. And, I had a connection to the 1993 series that I had found at KB Toys liquidation stores a few years prior. As I surveyed the other 1994 Star Brigade offerings, I was enthralled by the designs and colors. At the time, the figures were relatively hard to find, especially if you wanted them loose. However, you could find them carded: and they were cheap when you did. So, I put together my first complete series of carded figures: the 1994 Star Brigade.
The '94 Star Brigade line was divided into two distinct series. The first wave consisted of Cobra Commander, Cobra Blackstar, Sci Fi, Payload, Space Shot, Duke and Roadblock. The second wave contained Ozone, Countdown, Effects, Lobotomaxx, Predacon and Carcass. This left an unlucky 13 figures in the retail, single carded line. But, the overall presentation remained. Gone were the generic pink cards from 1993 and in was a visual delight of black, blue and purple with a clean G.I. Joe logo running up the card's left edge, culminating in a bright Star Brigade logo at the card's top. Each character got his own, unique card art along with a yellow "gimmick" tag that touted some feature of each figure. In short, they were a crisp, clean look for the last unique retail wave of figures to hit stores.
Wave 1 showcased Hasbro's commitment to the line. 5 of the 7 figures featured either mostly new parts, or all new parts. On top of this, the characters all included a wide array of feature rich accessories that were essential for retail success at the time. Hasbro did skimp on the overall paint applications, though. Most of the figures only have three or four minor paint masks. And, Duke and the variant Roadblock only featured one paint mask on their entire body. This Roadblock and the Payload figure were repaints of Star Brigade molds that had been released in 1993. Which, in turn, were mostly repaints of prior years' retail release figures. So, the line spent money wisely in terms of bringing something new to the market.
 |
| 1994 Star Brigade Wave 1: Duke, Sci Fi, Space Shot and Cobra Commander |
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
2004 Comic Pack Scarlett
G.I. Joe #2 was one of the earlier back issues I acquired in late 1984/early 1985. My local comic shop usually didn't have a ton of G.I. Joe back issues in those days, but I got lucky and found a #2 for $3: which was a princely sum back then. I sucked it up and bought it and then marveled as the book climbed to nearly $50 on the secondary market in fairly short order. To me, though, the value of the comic was the story inside. The second issue and third adventure of G.I. Joe was really a great precursor for the later Special Missions title. It featured a team of 4 Joes battling against a new enemy, the Eskimo Kwinn. It remains one of my favorite Joe stories to this day.
When it was announced in 2004 that this comic would be in the first wave of Hasbro's new comic pack products, I was excited to see what figures would accompany it. When the images popped up, my initial reaction was one of great anticipation for the toys. But, after I got the pack, my enthusiasm was tempered. Snake Eyes was cool, but the colors weren't great. Kwinn was good to see: but still flawed. The third figure in the pack, Scarlett, was one I categorically dismissed. Getting the character's head on a white Jinx body to emulate an appearance on one page of the comic wasn't that exciting. But now, 12 years later, this figure holds up a bit better.
In the comic, Scarlett appears in the outfit on which this figure is based for 2 panels. 2 panels. But, frankly, that's the type of obscurity I preferred that Hasbro mine when looking for figures to populate the comic packs. The artistic comic renderings of the Joes, in general, were based on the toy appearances of most of the characters in the early issues. So, finding an alternate appearance to give collectors something different was a strategy I appreciated. What I did not appreciate, though, was the quality of the newly sculpted heads. Most of them had issues and appeared to be out of place on the bodies with which they were paired. Scarlett is a notorious offender. Her head is the size of a pin and is woefully small for even the relatively dainty Jinx body. She looks like the reverse of those old cartoons where the character goes into the steam bath and comes out with a shrunken body but normal head. She is swimming in her collar. If the uniform had a generally baggy appearance, this might have been less noticeable. But, this tiny head atop fully stout set of shoulders and arms is a bit silly.
If you look at some of the unproduced comic pack figures, you see that sizing the heads was a problem for Hasbro. Most of the early heads exist in two sizes: both of which are often flawed in different ways. The comic packs were an experiment and it's likely that the budgets for design were eaten up on the heads in general. Spending more to make them perfect was probably not an option once the two sizes were production tested. As the line progressed, the new heads got better and culminated in the 2005 Firefly head which is just about perfection in terms of fitting with the vintage mold while improving upon the 21 year old design.
Getting past the design limitations, though, the figure is about as good a representation of Scarlett as Hasbro could have done. The Jinx body for this figure is a good choice. Though, the shoes are a departure from the bare feet of the comic. The white color is so different from the vintage red, Vypra black and Tiger Force green that it appears much newer and less overused than many of the Joe molds that later dominated the comic packs. The figure included the standard Scarlett crossbow as well as a new sculpt era rifle. The are unnecessary accessories, but nice to have and give the figure more useful possibilities.
As a toy, the figure is fairly basic. You get the new head. I'm sure the pony tail piece was quite expensive for Hasbro to design, paint and produce. That said, though, the figure only has a black belt, white shoes, a grey leg cuff and flesh colored hands and ankles as additional details. It's very basic. But, the outfit was very basic on the comic and the Jinx mold itself doesn't have a lot of flash. This is a rare case where simplicity rules. You get a major character in an off hand appearance that, while not overly useful, is different and true to the media from which she was drawn.
For that reason, I appreciate this figure. As a character, Scarlett appeared quite frequently in the repaint era. But, each and every one of those figures with the exception of this one used the 1982 body in different colors. As such, you had a bit of chromatic diversity that was lost due to the mold's overuse. Seeing the character in a different configuration was nice and gives collectors a way to use Scarlett differently. All that said, though, the figure has its issues. The Jinx body works well enough. But, the head does not fit onto it all that well and the overall appearance is that it's too small. On top of that, while the look is different, it is also boring. It makes for a good sparring Scarlett for your dojo dioramas. But, this figure's use elsewhere is rather limited. But, with an appalling lack of female figure parts available, Hasbro can be forgiven for using what they had in a more creative way than just repainting the V1 figure in white and calling her an "arctic" version.
Like many later edition figures, Scarlett's pricing is all over the place. Left to her own devices, the figure can sell for under $2. However, you see many more selling for $8 or so. Kwinn sells in the same range. The Snake Eyes figure sells between $4 and $6. Or, you can just buy a carded set consistently for $15. The point is that if you want the figure right now, there are lots of affordable carded versions available. If you want to economize, you can wait it out and likely get the figure for next to nothing. Either way, this is a decent version of Scarlett and something very different for her character. It's a way to incorporate her later "ninja" theme without having to resort to the awful 1993 figure. In a sea of green comic banality, this figure does stand out. That and the head make the figure worth owning. And, the cheap price makes it easier to accept the figure's flaws, too.
When it was announced in 2004 that this comic would be in the first wave of Hasbro's new comic pack products, I was excited to see what figures would accompany it. When the images popped up, my initial reaction was one of great anticipation for the toys. But, after I got the pack, my enthusiasm was tempered. Snake Eyes was cool, but the colors weren't great. Kwinn was good to see: but still flawed. The third figure in the pack, Scarlett, was one I categorically dismissed. Getting the character's head on a white Jinx body to emulate an appearance on one page of the comic wasn't that exciting. But now, 12 years later, this figure holds up a bit better.
In the comic, Scarlett appears in the outfit on which this figure is based for 2 panels. 2 panels. But, frankly, that's the type of obscurity I preferred that Hasbro mine when looking for figures to populate the comic packs. The artistic comic renderings of the Joes, in general, were based on the toy appearances of most of the characters in the early issues. So, finding an alternate appearance to give collectors something different was a strategy I appreciated. What I did not appreciate, though, was the quality of the newly sculpted heads. Most of them had issues and appeared to be out of place on the bodies with which they were paired. Scarlett is a notorious offender. Her head is the size of a pin and is woefully small for even the relatively dainty Jinx body. She looks like the reverse of those old cartoons where the character goes into the steam bath and comes out with a shrunken body but normal head. She is swimming in her collar. If the uniform had a generally baggy appearance, this might have been less noticeable. But, this tiny head atop fully stout set of shoulders and arms is a bit silly.
If you look at some of the unproduced comic pack figures, you see that sizing the heads was a problem for Hasbro. Most of the early heads exist in two sizes: both of which are often flawed in different ways. The comic packs were an experiment and it's likely that the budgets for design were eaten up on the heads in general. Spending more to make them perfect was probably not an option once the two sizes were production tested. As the line progressed, the new heads got better and culminated in the 2005 Firefly head which is just about perfection in terms of fitting with the vintage mold while improving upon the 21 year old design.
Getting past the design limitations, though, the figure is about as good a representation of Scarlett as Hasbro could have done. The Jinx body for this figure is a good choice. Though, the shoes are a departure from the bare feet of the comic. The white color is so different from the vintage red, Vypra black and Tiger Force green that it appears much newer and less overused than many of the Joe molds that later dominated the comic packs. The figure included the standard Scarlett crossbow as well as a new sculpt era rifle. The are unnecessary accessories, but nice to have and give the figure more useful possibilities.
As a toy, the figure is fairly basic. You get the new head. I'm sure the pony tail piece was quite expensive for Hasbro to design, paint and produce. That said, though, the figure only has a black belt, white shoes, a grey leg cuff and flesh colored hands and ankles as additional details. It's very basic. But, the outfit was very basic on the comic and the Jinx mold itself doesn't have a lot of flash. This is a rare case where simplicity rules. You get a major character in an off hand appearance that, while not overly useful, is different and true to the media from which she was drawn.
For that reason, I appreciate this figure. As a character, Scarlett appeared quite frequently in the repaint era. But, each and every one of those figures with the exception of this one used the 1982 body in different colors. As such, you had a bit of chromatic diversity that was lost due to the mold's overuse. Seeing the character in a different configuration was nice and gives collectors a way to use Scarlett differently. All that said, though, the figure has its issues. The Jinx body works well enough. But, the head does not fit onto it all that well and the overall appearance is that it's too small. On top of that, while the look is different, it is also boring. It makes for a good sparring Scarlett for your dojo dioramas. But, this figure's use elsewhere is rather limited. But, with an appalling lack of female figure parts available, Hasbro can be forgiven for using what they had in a more creative way than just repainting the V1 figure in white and calling her an "arctic" version.
Like many later edition figures, Scarlett's pricing is all over the place. Left to her own devices, the figure can sell for under $2. However, you see many more selling for $8 or so. Kwinn sells in the same range. The Snake Eyes figure sells between $4 and $6. Or, you can just buy a carded set consistently for $15. The point is that if you want the figure right now, there are lots of affordable carded versions available. If you want to economize, you can wait it out and likely get the figure for next to nothing. Either way, this is a decent version of Scarlett and something very different for her character. It's a way to incorporate her later "ninja" theme without having to resort to the awful 1993 figure. In a sea of green comic banality, this figure does stand out. That and the head make the figure worth owning. And, the cheap price makes it easier to accept the figure's flaws, too.
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