Rarities - Action Force Zartan

Zartan was one of Hasbro's most popular toys.  Something like 1.7 million were produced.  Despite that asinine number of toys available, Zartan remains one of the most popular and expensive vintage Joe figures.  The character was released all over the world.  And, while the single carded release from Japan is, arguably, the most sought after, there are Zartan packaging variants from many other places.  Below is one such release: the Action Force Zartan.

Zartan fell into an odd release window in Europe.  He was early enough to appear in original Action Force boxes.  Below, you'll see a sample of the early box where the selling point is the toy itself rather than the artwork that would appear later.  The most interesting part, though, is the early Cobra logo that was used on this Action Force packaging.  It's a highly stylized green snake wrapped a Cobra text bubble.  As an alternate way to promote the bad guys, it's kind of weird.  And, it didn't convey the size and capabilities of the Cobra organization like the printed Cobra logo did.

The figure and swamp skier are the same as those released in North America.  You will note that the Swamp Skier features alternate stickers.  Missing is the cool chameleon sticker that is the calling card of the North American Zartan.  Really, I wish this had become more of the logo of the dreadnoks than the later offerings that appeared in the 2000's.

Seeing the toy in action, though, would have been a big selling point for me as a kid.  I was never a huge fan of the artwork on the boxes or cards because they often didn't match the toy you were getting.  And, one of the lasting memories I have of the Action Force comic was that they included ads that featured the actual toys in action.  Back in the '80's, there was no such thing as action figure photography.  So, it was awesome to see some of the toys out of their boxes and set in actual play settings.

Here is a later Action Force box.  It is more in line with the Hasbro release in North America.  You will note, however, that this version features a grey filecard.  And, this is the much harder to find version of the filecard where the reference to Zartan being a "paranoid schizophrenic" has been Bowdlerized.

Rarities - Italian Jet Man (Slipstream) Bootleg

The Italian Jet Man figure was one of those things that was long rumoured, but never really confirmed for a long time.  In the past decade or so, though, the figure has finally come out of hiding with loose and boxed versions actually being available.  As to how or why an Italian toy company got to release a red version of Slipstream, though,  remains an absolute mystery.  But, this figure exists and is one of those bizarre oddities that dot the periphery of the collecting landscape.

To me, this figure very much looks like the body of a A-Wing fighter pilot from the Star Wars line.  The colors really show how close the pilot mold is to that of the original Star Wars designs.  Were this guy in orange, he's be a dead ringer for X-Wing pilots, too.  So, I guess the coloring of the original Slipstream is a testament to how overt copyright infringement can be avoided.

There are other European bootlegs that are based on Slipstream.  So, I don't know if this company got access to the Hasbro mold for Slipstream.  Or, if they just copied it.  You can see a cheapness to the figure's face.  But, that may just be the paint masks that were used.

The figure includes a red rifle that originated in one of the Joe knock lines of the mid 1980's.  I think it was Galoob who first produced it.  But, I may be mistaken on that.  Regardless, as a kid, I didn't much care for this rifle at all.  For some reason, it just looked cheap and I always associated it with lazy rip offs of official G.I. Joe weapons.

Jet Man is one of those weird items whose existence is baffling.  How did such an obscure company get ahold of such an obscure mold to use for a toy?  And, if they made their own mold, why did they choose Slipstream?  The upside is that this is an incredibly oddball release for collectors to track down.

Rarities - B.A. Baracus (Glasslite - Brazil)

We all know about the Estrela toy company from Brazil.  They were Hasbro's partner to release licensed G.I. Joe figures in their native market.  But, if you are a Star Wars collector, you are more likely to be familiar with another Brazilian toy company of the era: Glasslite.  

Most famously, Glasslite made the only production Vlix figure from the Droids line.  While not as rare as they once were, Vlixes are still holy grails among vintage Star Wars collectors.  But, Glasslite also made action figures under other licenses.  Among them were MacGyver, Airwolf and the A-Team.

Below you will see some images of the Glasslite B.A. Baracus figure that was based on the breakout character from the TV show who was played by Mr. T.  The card artwork is gorgeous.  And, the figure is drastically different from the B.A. figures released in the U.S.  

The U.S. BA is wearing a green jumpsuit.  While there are a few variant figures depending upon whether the figure was carded, boxed or a vehicle pack in, I'm not aware of any U.S. A-Team figure using the double bandolier chest that the Glasslite figures use.  (There are, though, plenty of uses of it in other knock off lines.)  The red color of the Brazilian release is more eye-catching.  And, while not anywhere near Mr. T's signature look from the show, is more flamboyant and in line with the B.A. Baracus character.

Sadly, the Galoob molds used for the A-Team figures were bad.  The heads all feature poor paint applications and creepy smiles that were likely a way to soften the fact that you were buying figures of vigilante terrorists who were wanted criminals.  And, the team's signature weapons were replaced with standard weapons that were recycled from other lines.  The Glasslite figure suffers the same fate.  While the colors and mold are better than the Galoob figures, they still are poor representations of the characters from the show.  You wonder what a company like Hasbro could have done with them.  

As a kid, we had the A-Team figures.  We watched the A-Team every week, at least for the first couple of seasons.  We had the van.  We also had one of the big boxed sets that included the repainted General Patch tank as well as a plethora of crappy accessories.  It was this gear, though, where I found value.  The A-Team figures were straight arms that were released in a swivel arm world.  They never had a chance.  But, the vehicles were relatively compatible with Joe.  And, for many years, my 1984 Copperhead figure wore one of the red backpacks from the A-Team set.  Stuck into the straps of the pack was the holster from the Endor Princess Leia figure.  And, Copperhead used her pistol for a long time.  I miss that type of imagination.  I was able to make Copperhead very important to my childhood play since he had that extra gear.  Now, I only use him as a color match when showcasing new Black Major figures.  

As an aside, a random memory I have of the A-Team is actually from the summer of 1993.  At the time, I was in Barcelona for a few weeks.  Every night, a TV station in the city played A-Team reruns, dubbed in Spanish, during prime time.  It was weird to see a nearly decade old show playing in such premium time in another country.  I watched an episode, just for nostalgia.  But, the shows are bad and even in 1993, they didn't hold up well at all.  I haven't watched an episode since.  I'd rather remember the cool factor of the original airing during my childhood than confirm the cheesiness of '80's TV that the series actually is.

Hasbro has recently announced a 4 figure pack of Ghostbusters characters that are made in vintage Joe format.  The absolute dreamer in me sees something like that and starts a reverie about Hasbro dropping oddball o-ring releases of things like Indiana Jones, the West Coast Avengers and, even, the A-Team.  The A-Team is the one most certain to not ever exist.  But, it's also the one that has the most potential cross over with Joe.  It was contemporary to Joe.  And, both Mr. T and Sgt. Slaughter were professional wrestlers.  But, things like that won't ever happen.  I'm left with silly musings about how my childhood would have been better had things like that existed in the 1980's.  

In the early 2000's, many Brazilian G.I. Joe sellers would also have A-Team, MacGuyver and Airwolf toys available.  But, they'd try to sell them for the same premiums that figures like the Cobra De-Aco would command.  So, few people bit on them.  Now, you don't see the toys all that often.  But, that's likely a function of the brands lacking enough cachet to bring high prices.  As a collectible, though, the Glasslite A-Team figures are a small and cool subset to collect.  I think they're better than the Galoob figures.  Just, good luck finding them.

Rarities - Action Force Persuader

On of the most ignored facets of the worldwide Joe line is that a huge number of vehicles that were released in Europe actually feature some pretty drastic color differences from their North American counterparts.  Usually, the colors are darker and richer.  It's very noticeable when you have both the North American and European versions next to each other.  

There's no real reason why the colors were changed.  All of these vehicles were made by Hasbro in the same factories as the North American releases.  It would be one thing if just, say, the green plastic was changed.  But, you see different hues of brown, red and orange, too.  So, the color changes were deliberate and occurred over multiple years.

Below you will see an Action Force Persuader.  The vehicle features a darker green base.  As something different, the green is kind of nice.  It's a little dark.  So, it would be tougher to see in photos.  But, as part of a convoy, the different color would add some depth to the display.

There's many Action Force vehicles that feature these type of color differences.  The documentation on them is sparse and difficult to dig up.  But, the communal reference resources for the toy line haven't been updated in over a decade and it's really caught up with the community.  And, now, minor differences like these alternately colored vehicles are mostly undocumented.

Rarities - 1985 CAT Tank (Sears Exclusive)

The MOBAT sucks.  It's important to start out with that as a statement.  It was, easily, the worst toy to debut in the line in 1982.  And, it was never compelling.  Sure, it was cool in the comic and cartoon.  But, there, you got to see characters interacting with it in a way that was simply not possible with the actual toy.  So, Hasbro recoloring the tank in black and red for release as a Sears exclusive in 1985 didn't really solve any of the limitations of the toy.  But, the Crimson Attack Tank (CAT) exists and remains a prized piece for collectors: even if it's undeserved.

It's tough to remember that Sears was the king of retailers as the '80's dawned.  The catalog sales model was a proven way to reach massive amounts of consumers who didn't have access to a physical Sears store.  But, Sears was also pretty effective at getting stores into even small towns.  (The small town where my cousins grew up had a stand alone Sears store.  It was about the size that a Dollar Store is today.  But, it was clean and efficient.  It stocked a few items.  But, mostly, it was a place where customers could come in and order from the catalog.)  So, them being able to afford an exclusive run of toys made a lot of sense.  And, starting in 1982, Sears carried their first exclusive Joe toy, the craptastic Cobra Missile Command.  

In other profiles, I've written about how my dad was a Sears junkie.  He could go in and look at the tools for just as long as I would look at the toys.  And, as they were near each other in our local store, I'd often find myself free to wander the ample toy section while he browsed the hardware.  Really, my only memories of spending time looking at toy lines I didn't collect was in Sears.  My time in Toys R Us or Children's Palace was always Joe focused with little time to spend browsing around.  I recall looking at He-Man and Sectaurs at that Sears store on the north side of Indianapolis.  In these sessions, though, I also discovered the CAT and the SMS.  I distinctly recall both of them being on the end of an aisle and the boxes were neatly stacked on the floor.  The display was huge and the stock was more than ample.  The following year, I found the Dreadnok exclusives in similar format.  Since my dad liked Sears, we found these toys under the tree.  Except, that is, for the CAT.

For Christmas of 1981 or 1982, my dad's best friend bought my brothers and I, each, a remote controlled tank.  They were undersized for Joes and not really meant for action figures.  We played with them for a day or two.  Once home, though, they got tossed into the toy box where they'd stay.  They were too big to match the grocery store plastic soldiers that every kid in the early '80's had in spades.  And, they were too small for Joes or Star Wars figures.  So, they weren't that fun.  Because we had these, though, my mother was adamantly against us getting any more motorized tanks.  I asked for the MOBAT once because I wanted Steeler.  The tone of my mother's "no" ensured I didn't ask again.  

Aside from Steeler, though, I don't think we really missed anything.  Our friend around the block had a MOBAT.  And, no one every played with it.  It was big, didn't interact well with figures, and, you couldn't roll it into battle like you could the toys with free-rolling wheels.  

To this day, I do not own any incarnation of the MOBAT.  Through the years, I've had the original and the 1998 versions.  But, I sold them all off as they are bad toys and worse display pieces.  I've never owned either CAT.  And, I've never had any inclination to do so.  It makes no sense to pay a premium for a vehicle that I don't like and would never, ever use.  But, the CAT is a relatively hard to find item, especially complete with the gun cap.  And, for that reason, it's always been popular with collectors.  The 1985 version has always commanded a premium price, even when alternative versions were getting clearanced from KB Toys' website for a couple of bucks each.  

At its core, the CAT is just a MOBAT colored in black and red.  If the MOBAT were a good toy, this recolor would be an awesome addition to the Cobra army.  But, since it's not, the CAT is just a big hunk of black plastic that takes up huge amounts of space in photos and can't hold any figures.  In Canada, an all black MOBAT was released.  I actually prefer the two-tone CAT, though.  While both toys are rare (the Canadian being substantially more so) they both are heavily limited by the MOBAT design.

Today, with a bit of perseverance, you can find an open sale of the tank for about $250.  But, this is an  item that dealers always pick out.  So, there is consistently plenty of stock available.  The tanks are just sold in the $350-$400 range.  And, lots of people pay that price since the tanks are there for the taking and $100 is worth not having to wait for a year or more to get one at a real market price.