I received my first G.I. Joe toy for my birthday in December of
1982. It was the RAM motorcycle. I didn't get my first figure until
the next day when Breaker joined my collection. This seemed kismet
since it was Breaker who was drawn as the rider on the RAM box art. The
two of them became inseparable. Breaker was, pretty much, the only
figure who got to ride the RAM and it was a perfect extension for him
since the figure didn't include a weapon. I came to view the Ram as
Breaker's just as much as the VAMP belonged to Clutch. If you lived in
Europe, though, your first exposure to the RAM as a toy brought with a
completely different character association. Because, unlike in the
U.S., the first European release of the RAM mold included a driver:
Quarrel. With this, the association between the Action Force Z-Cycle
and Quarrel is probably more powerful than the RAM/Breaker connection.
The Action Force coloring of the toy, though, also creates a starkly
different appearance for the RAM that makes it my favorite palette for
the toy.
As a kid, the RAM suffered greatly due
to its popularity. My RAM went on many adventures: most of which it
could not survive. The leg pegs broke off. The saddle bags were lost.
The kickstand snapped when I flicked it to simulate a figure kicking it
down. And, as the final nail in the RAM's coffin, the pegs that held
the gatling cannon to the cycle broke and I was left with two pieces
that could not be re-connected. I glued and glued the RAM. So much so
that the plastic began to melt under the increasing in strength
adhesives I applied in an attempt to make the toy whole. Finally, it
was no use. The RAM found its way into the final resting place of many
of my childhood toys: a box of broken and mismatched parts that I would
cast onto the floor of our toyroom to simulate a debris field where
battles or chases could take place. For a toy, though, my original RAM
couldn't have asked for much more as it was used to death. Sadly, the
great disappointment with the Silver Mirage soured me on Joe motorcycles
in general and the RAM didn't return to my collection until the late
summer of 2000.
This timing is interesting
because two things happened in my collection at this time. First, I
acquired a massive original collection that contained pretty much all
the figures and vehicles released between 1983 and 1985. Oh, I also got
this collection for free. I just had to pay shipping. But, while I
reveled in my fortune, I also took an important step as a Joe collector
as I acquired my first two international figures: Chinese Major Bludd
and the Tiger Force Outback. With this, the world of international Joes
was opened to me and they quickly became my primary area of focus. As
the early 2000's slogged on, my international collection grew. At the
time, you could trade recent Toys R Us exclusive Joes pretty much
straight up for many European and Brazilian releases. As I had those in
spades, I was able to pick up many figures even though I wasn't able to
spend much money on my collection.
One such
acquisition was Quarrel. At the time, Quarrel was one of the more
popular international releases. Despite the fact that she's relatively
common, she was commanding prices similar to Red Jackal and Red Laser.
As with female figures from the U.S., though, the increased popularity
of the character among collectors was outstripped by the figure's
availability. And, with that, Quarrel prices began to fall. Despite
this, I never really explored the possibility of adding Quarrel's
missing motorcycle. At the time, I was a figure collector and vehicles
seemed like unnecessary purchases when there were so many figures I
still wanted. In the early 2010's, this changed. I decided that I was
going to hold key pieces in my collection. And, if something made the
cut to remain in my possession, it was going to mint and complete. So, I
spent a small sum of money on a complete with Z Cycle Quarrel figure.
Once
in my collection, the Action Force green color of the vehicle was a
welcome respite from the sea of similarly colored vehicles that
comprised the bulk of my holdings at the time. The main thing that
stood out, though, was how much the extra colors and additional stickers
enhanced the Z Cycle over the RAM. The side gun being black really helped to offset the green color and make the entire vehicle look more complex. The red stickers also pop against the green background. It's a dramatic shift from the 1982 RAM and brings much more life to the Z Cycle. (I call it the Z Cycle as it's an easier name. It's really the Rapid Fire Motorcycle. But, that sucks to say. Frankly, if people can make up asinine rhymes like "Argen 7" that make no sense, I can call this Z Cycle.)
For me, this alternate version of the RAM is a great toy to pair up with a variety of figures. I enjoy the RAM mold because it has a relatively small footprint, but can also display figures, nicely. And, everything from Funskool to Hasbro figures look good atop the Action Force green cycle. Oddly, it's rare for Quarrel to use her native bike. Instead, I farm it out to Lady Jaye. I have some ideas to use it with Sightline, too. When I find the box that holds my cycle, I'll get some pics of it with the most famous factory custom figure of all.
One of
Action Force's great introductions to the Joe line was the color of
green that Palitoy used for the Z Force figures and vehicles. It is
deep, rich and visually interesting. It remains true enough to military
roots to be believable. But, it is also something that is a perfect
supplement for the more drab and flat colors that Hasbro used so often.
Sadly, the color died out with Palitoy. Neither Hasbro nor the club
was able to resurrect the color. (The club's odd fixation with drab
colors affected even their Action Force homage figures in 2010 and they
are not the right color of green.) Even factory custom makers steered
clear of the color until 2017 when it appeared on a couple of Red
Laser's Army releases. Even then, though, the homages were not a 100% color match. Hopefully, it will continue to show up. I'd
love a 1985 Snake Eyes in Action Force green with black and silver
details. I'm sure others would, too.
The RAM
was a world traveler. It was used in the US for both the original toy and then the 1986 Sears Exclusive Dreadnok Ground Assault. You
then have this Palitoy release. From there, the RAM took a tour of
South America where it was released in Brazil. It finally ended up in India.
Funskool produced the RAM for several years and with several major
variants. (Some of which are ridiculously rare and expensive.) The
final use of the RAM was with the Funskool Street Hawk figure (which
included an all black RAM motorcycle, but did not include the side gun)
which Funskool produced until 2003. RAM collectors have nearly as many items to track down as VAMP collectors. But, most of the best colors remain relatively cheap and available. So, pretty much anyone can at least get a sample RAM in their collection.
Like all toys these days, Z Cycles have gotten more expensive. As Quarrel now tends to be a $150 figure, you see lots of combos of the figure and cycle for sale in the $200 range. On it's own, the cycle goes for under $40 when it's complete. Dealers, though, will ask two to three times that. And, they'll get it more often than they should. Toys like this Z Cycle were pretty common as recently as 2017. So, their disappearance from the market seems to be more about an increase in demand. But, there are plenty of mint and complete versions out there. You just have to wait a lot longer for one to come along at the right price.
