20th Anniversary Key Moments - European Force

 In 2016, I offered my first ever Rarities Month.  This showcase of rare and oddball items from the Joe world was a huge hit.  And, the most popular post of that figure year was of the European Force knock off figures.  I had first discovered these figures in the early 2000's.  And, in 2016, I was surprised to find that over a decade later, there still wasn't much information on them out there.  With the publication of my first European Force article, though, more information came to light.  I found more photos of them.  And, within a couple of years, discovered that a select few European collectors were hoarding them and not sharing photos so that they could buy up the European stock for cheap and sell it privately to American collectors at a huge mark up.  Seems Joeluminati shit isn't limited to American collectors.  Now, I've done a European Force write up four out of five of my Rarities Months.  And, each year, they are very popular and I get messages from collectors remarking how they had never seen these figures before.

And, with this post, I'm done with my 20th Anniversary retrospective.  This has been a weird year.  G.I. Joe returned to retail.  But, even a "retro" offering was nothing more than a disappointment to vintage Joe fans.  Despite that, you could make a case that the Classified series is the hottest collectible of the year.  The movie is delayed.  But, it also seems no one cares about that.  Prices are up, but they're also down.  You can get deals and also quadruple your money with a lucky retail find.  So, in short, I have no idea where the community is going.   I suspect 2021 will bring more clarity.  Until then, I soldier on....

2004 Desert Patrol Stalker

From 2003 through 2005, Hasbro produced exclusive packs of vintage style Joe figures for Toys R Us.  These packs were 6 figures (aside from the first set) and were priced at $20 per set.  They were designed to appeal to collectors, but also be interesting to casual consumers who were looking for a gift at a targeted price point.  I am both an ardent supporter and harsh critic of these figure releases.  I loved that we got vintage style Joes.  But, in almost every case, the actual figures that were released left something to be desired.  In looking back a the sets now, I see that many of them had one or two great figures.  But, those were offset by an equal number of terrible figures.  This dichotomy lead to me overlooking many of the figures in these sets from a review standpoint.  In the 16 years since these sets started shipping, I've looked many members of these sets: mostly Cobras, though.  For the Joes, I usually hit one or two sample and then move on.  For the Desert Patrol set from 2004, I've only reviewed the Snake Eyes figure.  And, that was a half hearted pseudo profile.  The highlight of the Desert Patrol has had to wait more than 15 years to get a moment in the spotlight.  But, the Stalker figure from this set is one of the best toys that Hasbro produced during the repaint era and deserves some praise.

It's not 100% true that this figure has waited so long to appear on this site.  In late 2005, the unproduced version of this figure (with white skin and blonde hair) was one of my entries.  That profile was mostly about the rare oddity of the figure, though.  It didn't touch on the overall quality of the Hasbro release.  When looking at this Stalker, though, it really only has a single flaw: the unpainted mustache.  Hasbro was terrible at painting facial hair.  I suppose this was a function of them either attempting to make the figure distinct, or just trying to save a fraction of a penny.  The upside is that a missed mustache is easily fixable.  But, I'm not someone who enjoys altering things on a figure that should have been done right the first time.  But, the rest of the figure is such high quality that I will overlook a small flaw.

The Desert Patrol set was released in a flurry of Joe activity.  Starting in 2002 and continuing through 2004, Hasbro flooded the second half of the year with heavy releases.  They would release two figure waves in the first six months of the year and then bombard the market with three or four additional waves, exclusives and vehicles in the 3rd and 4th quarters of the year.  This made sense from a retail perspective since holiday purchases drove toy sales and Joe, at the time, was geared towards kids and their parents.  For collectors, though, this left some choices.  In the final months of 2004, collectors had not only retail two pack army builders that were released, but a TRU exclusive VAMP set with three vintage style figures, the KB Toys exclusive Operation Crimson Sabotage, but also a TRU exclusive Ninja Strike set that brought about the long awaited return of the 1984 Stormshadow mold.  In short, if you had a limited budget, the Desert Patrol set was the most likely candidate to skip.

And skip the set many collectors did.  The allure of army building cheap Crimson Guard, Hiss Tank and Red Ninja armies was simply too much.  Many collectors pinned their hopes that the Desert Patrol sets would be sitting around well into 2005 and they could acquire them at their leisure.  But, that didn't really happen.  While 2004 saw a slowdown in Joe sales overall with the Venom Vs. Valor theme, the product moved very well over the Christmas holidays.  As 2005 dawned, most of the Desert Patrol sets were sold out at Toys R Us stores and many collectors were left either without the set or scrambling to find a trading partner who had a spare they'd give up for army builders.  This left the sets as rather sparse items on the secondary market.  And, the Snake Eyes figure and this Stalker quickly began to command premium pricing, even as the other figures in the set were mostly worthless.

Stalker himself, though, is well worth the hype.  The figure uses the 1992 Duke body with the 1989 Stalker head.  It's a combo that works wonders.  The 1992 Duke body is excellently made.  But, the details of it were heavily lost in the tan and gold combo.  On Stalker, the raised details are painted in a darker brown/grey color that heavily offset against the light tan base.  The pistol is a nice black that showcases it on the figure's chest.  The grenades are painted in silver and green to also bring out the details that were always present but not always highlighted on earlier uses of the mold.  The cammo pattern is intricate and well done.  The 1992 Duke arms used to have super short sleeves that really kind of ruined him.  Stalker abandons that theme and has bare arms with these odd silver rings around them.  They are somewhat bizarre.  But, far superior to the super short sleeves from 1992.  Stalker also features a yellow tattoo on his right arm.  It's somewhat disconcerting and the figure would be better without it.  Especially when you consider that tight paint applications like that tattoo probably cost more to make than an additional weapon or backpack per figure.  I'd have much rather foregone the tattoo and gotten more accessories.

The Toys R Us sets featured terrible accessory choices.  Of the sets, only Python Patrol and the Anti Venom set really featured any of the figures' original gear.  The remaining sets contained a hodge-podge of common weapons that Hasbro used with many other figures.  The Desert Patrol set is among the worst gear offenders.  It contains no backpacks, no weapons originally included with the figures and a few weapons that were mostly released with Cobras of the time.  Other sets at least included a ton of superfluous gear.  So, while the weapons weren't great, there were a lot of them.  The Desert Patrol just included a handful of weapons.  This Stalker only includes one rifle.  It is a remake of the 1992 Shockwave rifle.  So, it is an excellent weapon and it looks great with this figure.  It's rare that a figure including just one rifle would have the best gear from an entire set.  But, that's the case with this Stalker.  Fortunately, it was easy to get spare black backpacks at the time that could be given to the figure.  Many found other weapons for the top figures in this set.  But, I appreciate the rifle that was included and use it as Stalker's only weapon to this day.

The legacy of the Toys R Us figure sets is complicated.  Looking back, there were more misses than hits.  But, when Hasbro did get it right, they really produced a great figure.  This Stalker, to me, is the highlight of the repaint era.  There are few figures who can stand up to his combination of different parts, paint applications and quality.  (Most who do are also convention releases...with a higher bar.)  But, this figure doesn't look like the 1992 Duke, even though they share the same base color.  The amazing paint applications help distinguish this figure from his predecessors.  And, it shows that just slight changes to a parts and excellent paint could make for amazing figures.  Sadly, though, Hasbro didn't do this often enough.  So, figures like this Stalker are the exception rather than the norm for the 2000's era Joes.

Desert Patrol Stalkers are somewhat tough to find.  The set only saw production of around 16,000 units.  Dealers will routinely sell mint and complete figures in the $13-$18 range just due to lack of other options.  But, left to his own devices, you can still get the figures for around $5.  You may have to wait for several months, though.  In my opinion, though, the figure is worth the higher price.  It's an excellent version of Stalker.  But, it's just a great figure in general and may be the best desert figure Hasbro ever made.  I'm very glad I picked him up and have him to this day.  The rest of the set isn't that important.  But, this Stalker is one of the highlights of the 1997-2010 repaint timeframe.

1983 Breaker - Random Photos Of The Day

 Breaker was my first Joe figure.  I got him the day after I had received the RAM for my birthday.  It was a fitting match considering Breaker was on the box art of the RAM and that bit of kismet foreshadowed how Joe would come to work out in my life.

The fact that Breaker didn't come with a weapon was a bit of a pain.  But, his communications gear more than made up for it.  And, once the 1983 Battle Gear set came out, I had plenty of weapons from which Breaker could choose.  (I always gave him one of the Uzis.)

Breaker doesn't see as much usage these days.  There are better communications troopers that came out later.  And, Breaker never got a real update.  (That 1997 figure doesn't count.)  So, he's pretty left to HQ fodder and random memories of the figure that started it all.

1991 Incinerator - Around The Web

The Incinerator is one of those figures that everyone needs one of.  After a single figure, though, the value of additional figures diminishes.  He looks great and the orange and red are visually striking.  But, you don't really need more than one once you have him.  The notion of a bad guy flamethrower makes more sense than it does as a Joe specialty.  And, this figure screams flamethrower.  The Funskool version is also pretty good.  I found a surprising amount of content out there on this figure.  So, here's the best of the 1991 Incinerator from around the web.

1991 Incinerator Profile

1991 Incinerator by nostalkid

1991 Cobras at the Dragon Fortress

1991 Incinerator by jogunwarrior

1991 Incinerator by Outrider 01

1991 Incinerator at JoeBattleLines.com

1991 Incinerator by Stormer

1991 Incinerator by JoeADay.com

1991 Incinerator by Outrider 02

1991 Incinerator by Danish Dude

1991 Incinerator by HCC788

1987 Persuader

Many collectors like to pretend that G.I. Joe is about realistic military operations.  It's not.  G.I. Joe is just a comic book with super heros and super villains that happens to be set in a military unit.  From the beginning, Joe contained sci-fi elements and was far more than the traditional green army men who were cheap, WWII homages that kids got as gifts at the grocery store.  Joe dipped heavily into science fiction from the beginning.  And, that only continued through the rest of the line's run.  Right smack in the middle of it all sits the Persuader.  It's a tank with laser cannons.  But, G.I. Joe is realistic military!  Just look at the olive drab!  But, that was the genius of Joe.  It combined traditional military with science fiction fantasy and wrapped it around a group of super villains.

That aside, though, the Persuader is a toy that has some limitations.  But, it's still a lot of fun.  The Persuader gets a pass from me because of its release date.  1987 was my final year playing with Joe toys as a kid.  So, the new releases from that year got both special attention since they were new, but also retained their relevance since they were the final memories that were packed away.  The Persuader filled the role of utility vehicle.  At the time, Havocs were the Joe's heavy weapons that were most effective against Cobra.  But, they had limitations such as non-swiveling weapons and their tracks made them slower than the ultra fast Cobra STUNS.  So, the Persuader was the answer.  It was lighter and quicker than Havocs.  And, the turret could track and destroy the fleet STUNs.  

The Persuader, though, had other value.  I saw a mine sweeper on the front of the tank.  So, the Persuader often lead any Joe convoy to sniff out any explosive booby traps Cobra might have buried on the road.  The Persuader's driver (always Backstop!) was also relatively protected as exposed vehicle drivers go.  So, taking the point made a lot of sense.  The missiles were rarely used and tended to be more for battlefield disruption and chaos than any actual targeted destruction.  It was the cannon that did in most STUNs.  And, the smaller cannon above the driver was effective against Dreadnok Trikes that made up the remainder of my Cobra mechanized cavalry.  

As 1987 progressed, though, I found limitations in the Persuader.  The heavier cannons made it less effective against Cobra infantry.  Even the smaller cannon didn't really make sense for this purpose.  I found myself wanting something with different weapons.  I drew up pictures of a Persuader inspired tank that, instead of large lasers, featured heavy machine guns on the turret.  The design was intended for anti infantry use.  And, after I had that vision in my head, the real Persuader seemed a disappointment.  But, before the Persuader could disappear from my collection, my youthful days of playing with Joe ended.  At the end of 1987, I packed all my toys away and never played with them in any meaningful way again.

As a design piece, the Persuader is a substantial step below the similar price point vehicles from prior years.  First off, the cannon on the turret is bigger than the cannon on the Mauler.  It seems silly for this to be the case.  And, that poor proportion throws off the entire tank.  Beyond that, though, the Persuader is plain.  Earlier vehicles always included little things like removable panels, superfluous accessories or super details that make them jump to life.  The Persuader lacks all those things.  In 1983 and 1985, Hasbro made vehicles that included tow ropes.  For the Persuader, the tow rope is a molded detail on the tank's body.  Little things like this make the Persuader feel cheap.  It lacks the panache of earlier vehicles and definitely seems a bit out of place among its peers.  

The Persuader pictured below is mine from my childhood.  I've never upgraded the toy as I've never had reason to.  This one sat in my parents' attic for years.  But, survived relatively well.  The only real issue is the broken tow hook.  I still remember the incident that lead to this damage.  I had attached the Road Toad to the Persuader's hook.  I had a few figures and was going to take the whole setup to a different room.  As I didn't have enough hands, I picked up the Persuader and found that the tension on the Road Toad's hitch was enough to hold it in place.  So, I held the Persuader with the Road Toad locked onto the tow hook.  As I walked, the hook snapped, the Road Toad fell to the floor and my Persuader was permanently damaged.  Oddly, I wasn't too broken up over it.  Usually, such breakage on a Joe vehicle doomed that toy to the bottom of our toy box.  But, the Persuader hung around after that trauma and continued to serve in the final convoy adventure that my friends and I had before I packed up my Joes permanently and didn't really play with them again.

The Persuader was reissued as part of the Night Force subset.  The black body seems cool.  The orange accouterments certainly diminish it a bit.  There are some international releases, too.  The most famous is the Plastirama release from Argentina.  This release isn't popular due to any significant variation.  It was just widely available in the early 2000's when large quantities of Plastirama overstock were imported to the U.S.  Through 2002, it was easier and cheaper to buy a MIB Plastirama Persuader than it was to buy a mint and complete with Backstop Hasbro Persuader.  The market has ironed out those inefficiencies in the past 17 years, though.  There's really no reason for the vehicle to return.  It's fun enough.  But, the coloring of the original is fine and the mold's limitations are with the giant cannons, not the palette.

You can mint and complete Persuaders for about $20.  Many of those will even include a mint and complete Backstop.  In this era of dumb Joe pricing, the Persuader remains the rare bargain.  But, that's heavily a testament to the vehicle's lack of popularity and overabundant release year.  The Persuader isn't a great G.I. Joe toy.  But, for the price, it is good enough to serve a purpose.  Talented customizers can do a lot with the vehicle and they remain cheap enough to cut one up and see what can happen.  It's good that there's still a few affordable G.I. Joe toys.  And, of them, the Persuader is probably one of the best of those that remain.