1992 Flak Viper vs. 1993 Night Creeper - Brothers in Design

A few years ago, I was cataloging some new acquisitions.  I spread the figures out on a white plastic lid and take pictures to document them before they join the rest of my figures in various drawers that are segregated by year and affiliation.  Two figures in the bunch, though, drew my eye.  I happened to place one above the other.  At first, I noticed how their accessories were the same color.  But, upon closer inspection I found that these two figures shared more than just common hues of their gear.  At first glance, the 1992 Flak Viper and the 1993 Night Creeper could not be more different figures.  But, they share quite a bit of common design.

One of the hallmarks of the Joe line is compatibility.  Not only were things like accessories and vehicles designed to work with any figure, but the figures themselves were designed to complement each other in terms of the colors chosen.  This is why you'll see instances where figures released years apart use plastic of exactly the same color.  This trend started with the line's initial release year and carried over through 1994.  Most collectors lose sight of this compatibility as the line progressed.  But, it's still there.  And, the similarities between the Flak Viper and Night Creeper showcase that the designers reused color combos and sculpting elements that worked well.

The most visual clue to the figure's similarities is the blue base used for each.  The blue color is identical.  The color matches on the figures as well as on the accessories.  As such, you can interchange their weapons and still retain the same visual appeal.  Each incorporates the blue into the main figure coloring, too.  In fact, the blue forms the accent color for both figures.  Really, the only difference in color between the figures is the green on the Flak Viper and the purple on the Night Creeper.  

Going deeper than the blue, though, you see that both figures utilize the same shade of grey as well.  While it's more prevalent on the Flak Viper, the same hue is used to mute the Night Creeper's purple and blue.  The crazy part, though, is the Night Creepers lower arms.  The grey there is broken up by lines.  These lines perfectly match those used on the Flak Vipers vest.  Were is possible to swap the Night Creeper's lower arms with those of the Flak Viper, the Flak Viper would appear as if he were designed with the Night Creeper's arms.

There are a few other design similarities as well.  First, both figures feature a massive chest that is crossed by a strap.  For the Flak Viper, it's his overalls.  For the Night Creeper, it's a bandolier.  But, both start at the bottom right and cover the left shoulder.  Both of their arms feature short sleeves over a grey undershirt.  And, both have elaborate gloves on their hands.

In addition, you will note that both figures feature details on the upper arm, right above the swivel joint.  These adornments are unnecessary.  But, help to hide the joint and give both figures more bulk in their arms.  The construction of the arms on both figures is remarkably similar.  It makes both figures appear more bulky and adds details to break up the mold and make it appear more substantial.

The final point of similarity is in the helmets.  While this one is a bit more far fetched, both helmets are blue with a visor of a different color.  (Black for the Flak Viper, red for the Night Creeper.)  Each helmet has a design in the center with smoother lines on both sides of it.  While the helmets are definitely different.  You see some of the same design elements on each.  Hasbro knew how to make an action figure look cool.  And, they could incorporate artistic creativity inside standard templates that they knew would translate to a toy kids would love.  

Having noticed these similarities, I now want a Flak Viper in 1993 Night Creeper colors and a Night Creeper in 1992 Flak Viper colors.  Both would make for excellent toys and would complement each other very well.  I'm probably the only person who would want this.  But, the fact that these figures are so similarly colored really makes me want to see each figure in the other's color scheme.  

I'm sure there are more examples in the line of figures who, at first sight, appear totally different but who are, actually, very similar in their design.  It was a bit of kismet that lead me to see these two figures and how similar they were.  So, if you have some other examples (The Interrogator and Sonic Dial Tone are another.), please post them up in the comments.

2004 Urban Strike Scrap Iron - Random Photos of the Day

This is another figure that's now over 20 years old.  I still remember this set being released.  Collectors were torn on it since it had three really awesome army builders, but also three characters.  It did help that Firefly, Scrap Iron and Stormshadow all had amazing paint jobs...even if the Stormshadow mold choice left something to be desired.  I bought my standard 7 sets at the time and thought I had a nice little army.  My local Toys R Us store, though, partook in a nationwide promotion on this set and offered it for $15 in the store for a few weeks.  At the time, I had enough.  In retrospect, I should have grabbed a couple of extra sets.

I'll now argue that the Urban Assault set was the best TRU exclusive 6 pack.  (Python Patrol is a strong challenger, though.)  While the accessories weren't spectacular, the figure choice and overall coloring was.  The dark, Cobra blue combined with black and leathery brown all made for great figures that have stood the test of time better than most of the other sets that were released.  

As Scrap Iron goes, I tend to ebb and flow with interest in him.  I'll pretty much forget about the character and his figures for a long time.  Then, I'll see someone use him in a great photo and my interest is peaked.  I then try to capture the cool essence of the figure that drew me to him in the first place.  But, I almost always fail to do so.  So, Scrap Iron goes back into his drawer until my interest is sparked once again.

But, I am pleased with the selection of photos I've gotten of the Urban Assault Scrap Iron.  I saw someone pair him up with the Battle Gear missile launcher.  So, I stole that look and have really enjoyed what it's brought to the figure.  In good lighting, you can see just how much detail was painted on this Scrap Iron figure.  And, there's an argument to be made that he might be a better visual than even the vintage figure from 1984.  

Here's some of my favorite photos I've taken of this guy in recent years.  I'll probably continue to get more because he does photograph well and classic Cobras are always popular photo subjects.

1993 Mutt

Hasbro originally planned for the DEF sub series to carry over into 1993.  It was going to include several newly sculpted characters as well as some repaints of the 1992 series.  For some reason, though, the DEF concept was retired and the figures who were planned for the subset were released under the standard Battle Corps umbrella.  This was a likely function of the 1992 figures not being strong sellers (they had a much higher retail price point) and 1993 already having 3 other large cardback format subsets.  (Mega Marines, Armor Tech and Street Fighter)  While the new sculpts planned for DEF continued the strong tradition of the 1992's, the repaints were a bit more brazen.  Gone were the muted colors of the originals: replaced with bright, eye catching colors to attract the kids of the day.  The repaint of Mutt stands out.  His dark vest is now bright orange.  Despite that fact, the figure still works and is a nice match up for his contemporaries of the day.

As I hunted down the dregs of the Joe line at  retail in 1995 and 1996, the DEF figures haunted me from the cardbacks of other figures.  The Headhunter and Headhunter Stormtrooper were simply figures I was never going to find.  But, seeing Mutt among the characters also intrigued me.  Mutt was a childhood favorite character.  So, getting a new version would have been a nostalgic treat.  But, no DEF figures were to be found.  Even as I'd find representatives of all the other figures on the cardbacks of 1993 and 1994 figures, I never found Mutt or his casemates.  I did find a Gristle or two at out of the way outlets.  But, I never bought him as I didn't like the figure.  A friend of mine did manage to find Muskrat and Mace hidden on old endcap of his local K-Mart.  And, those were the only two DEF figures I'd manage to track down.

As I got more serious about collecting in the late '90's and early '00's, I spent an inordinate amount of time chasing down lots of loose 1990's era figures.  They weren't easy to find as it was the '80's figures who were ubiquitous at toy shows, flea markets and online marketplaces.  But, I did manage to get quite an assortment of figures from the line's later years.  But, the DEF figures were rarely among them.  I went on a quest to find this Mutt at some point.  All of my avenues, though, turned up empty.  Eventually, I found a seller in Malaysia who a carded Mutt and some Funskool figures for sale for a good price.  I bought them, paid and waited a month for a box to arrive at my house.  Inside was my first Mutt and my first real foray into Funskool.  (Just two months later, YoJoe would start importing cheap Funskool in February of 2001: making them much more accessible than they had ever been before.)  I didn't actually get around to opening Mutt, though, until either 2001 or 2002.  And, even with a loose sample in hand, I rarely used the figure.  The 1992 version was just so much better.

When I emerged from my dark period of collecting in the early to mid '10's, I had a new appreciation of this Mutt.  I found that he photographed well.  And, there was a contingent of younger collectors who had grown up with the 1990's Joes and considered them the classics.  So, this Mutt started getting more use.  In fact, he ended up surpassing the 1992 figure as my go-to coloring when I wanted this Mutt version to appear.  In recent years, I've used him nearly exclusively when I want a Mutt who will blend with other '90's figures.  I've really grown to appreciate the different colors.  I'm at a point where uniquely colored figures are more interesting to me than multiple figures all in the same color scheme. That's not an opinion shared by many collectors.  But, it's how I find value in offbeat figures like this Mutt. 

The one detail I love and hate about this Mutt are the dog biscuits that are sculpted onto his vest.  On one hand, it's a fun little detail that shows Mutt's devotion to his K-9 pal.  On another level, it's a bit of cheesiness that makes the figure into a borderline joke.  (Kind of like the 1993 Bazooka's fishing gear ensemble.)  I waffle between the two.  The treats likely kept this torso from being considered for other characters at any point in the line's history.  So, that's a nice way to keep Mutt unique.  It also takes away from the seriousness of the figure.  Though, you can kind of see a law enforcement type taunting some poor sap with the dog biscuit in an attempt to dehumanize them.  So, there's that.

The 1993 Mutt and 1992 Mutt share similar green colors on the figure's undershirt and arms and similar browns on the wrist and boot protectors.  After that, they differ, starkly.  The 1993 version uses the bright orangish-red vest.  I call it orange.  Though, others my describe it as more red.  His pants are also a brighter blue that is just a shade lighter than the 1992 figure's vest.  Somewhere, there's a weird custom of the 1992 torso on 1993 legs.  The 1992 version is a nice match up to the 1989 Slaughter's Marauders color scheme.  The 1993 stands more on it's own.  Both are visually appealing.  I prefer the 1993 as a crew member on the Shark 9000.  But, I also gravitate towards him most other settings, too, since the brighter colors are more photogenic.

The 1993 Mutt's accessories are fairly different from the 1992 release.  He does include a cool, small pistol that debuted with the 1992 figure.  It's a solid look for the figure and remains my default choice for his use.  There is also the requisite Junkyard dog.   The amazing net launcher from the 1992 figure is gone, though.  It is replaced with a solid red, spring loaded missile launcher and a gold missile.  The 1993 DEF figures got paired down spring loaded weapons: likely a function of their standard retail price point for 1993.  So, the launcher is a downgrade.  The final accessory, though, was a surprise to me when I opened a 1993 Mutt off the card back in 2001 or 2002.  He also includes the golden rifle from Headman.  As Headman was missing form the 1993 assortment, you can read whatever you want into Mutt's possession  of the rifle.  (Especially in light of the Headman dying in the cartoon.)  But, I was surprised to find it included with the figure.  And, it's not uncommon to find dealers missing this accessory with loose Mutts just because it's so out of place and forgotten.

When it comes to this Mutt, the figure got three uses.  The 1992 original figure is the best.  This 1993 repaint is fun.  And, there is a 2004 Convention Tiger Force release that's interesting.  None of them, though, have taken off in the collecting world.  If you're a carded variant hunter, this Mutt was released on a real DEF cardback in Australia.  These were once the darlings of the collecting world.  But, now, they're more of a footnote.  There are several existing examples of this figure on a Hasbro DEF card, too.  Those were never actually released.  But, many of them survived and now exist in private collections.  It remains a shame that this figure didn't get at least one other use in the repaint era of the early 2000's.  It would have been great as an inclusion in a Toys R Us exclusive 6 pack.  The mold has some potential.  But, alas, it went unfulfilled.

Many of the 1993 repaints, especially those who were planned for the 1993 DEF series, are kind of hard to find.  These days, left to the open market, a mint and complete version of this Mutt will run up to $30.  Carded figures, though, don't sell for much more than that.  And, if you avoid professional sellers or are willing to sacrifice an accessory or two, the figure falls pretty precipitously in price.  But, it's always taken me a while to find a sample of this figure.  And, none of the DEF figures from 1993 tend to be overly common.  So, maybe the price is justified.  But, as supply loosens, this is an unlikely figure to retail his lofty pricetag.  The real question is whether you can wait out the market or just want one now.

1998 Cobra Trooper - Random Photos of the Day

 These 1998 figures are so old that they are, technically, vintage.  (At least in antique terms....)  But, to me, they are still relatively "new".  Mostly, that's because they entered my collection when I was an adult.  So, they have always seemed more like a collectible than a toy.

The 1998 Cobra Infantry Team is the single best army builder set that Hasbro ever produced.  You got three nearly perfect army building figures for $10.  The figures featured classic colors, plenty of paint masks and a cadre of well placed accessories.  No other set that Hasbro ever did could live up to all those amenities and be offered at a price point that was actually conducive to multiple purchases.

And, purchase multiples, I did.  There were at least three separate production runs of these figures: in the fall of 1998, the summer of 1999 and the holidays of 1999, again.  So, there were several chances to acquire some sets.  And, I bought a couple in each round.  At the time, I thought I had bought too many because I didn't see a way to ever get 18 or 20 of any other figure.  But, it turns out I didn't buy enough.  Between late 2002 and mid 2004, I traded several carded sets of these to collectors based in Brazil and Europe.  In exchange, I got many of my earliest international exclusive Joes.  

Now, I don't get these guys out as often as I should.  Not really sure why, though.  I still think these are great figures and they are conducive to photos with a great many post 1984 figures.  Maybe this will get me to break these guys out more often.  They work so well with classic vehicles and figures.  It's just too bad Hasbro wasn't able to capture this magic more often during the repaint era.

1988 Skidmark

There are jokes in the Joe line that are subtle.  There are jokes that are not.  Then, there is Skidmark.  One some level, I can see some well meaning adults not getting the double entendre of this chosen code name.  But, knowing some of the juvenile antics behind some other Joe characters, there is just no way that the Joe team didn't know what they were doing when they submitted the name for clearance.  But, Skidmark was approved for release.  And, Joe collectors were given a 4th grade joke for all time.  

Released with the amazing Desert Fox in 1988, Skidmark appears, at first glance to be one of the many poorly designed late 1980's era vehicle drivers.  Just a figure that was dropped into an obscure and unimportant slot with little thought or care as to his design.  The bright orange juxtaposed against the dark and light greens tie him closely with terrible figures like Windmill.  Skidmark is just another in a run of drivers who no longer match the quality of their vehicles...or, does he?

So, here's the thing: Skidmark is a pretty great sculpt.  He's got multilayered texture and features ribbing on his arms that is unique to his design.  His torso is well detailed with clear purpose.  He's got a weird micro-shotgun molded onto his legs.  He even has dual throwing knives sculpted beneath his right wrist.  From a pure design standpoint, Skidmark might be the most detailed figure released in all of 1988.  All of that is lost, though, with the color choices.  So, you have this oddball that features sculpting on par with any of the classic, high quality vehicle drivers from '82 through '85 while also featuring colors that put him closer to bright '90's rehashes.

Skidmark's head is a bit non-descript.  The goggles hide his countenance and take away the individualism that is inherent for the Joe faction.  In a different world, Skidmark's head would make for a useful Cobra.  And, that's part of what dooms the figure.  Even those who can get past the colors often find the head to be limiting to greater purpose for Skidmark.  Joe fans love some masked good guys.  But, generally, guys who hide their faces are left to Cobra  It's only the scarcity of them on the Joe side that makes them interesting.  And, guys like Skidmark who hide behind opaque goggles seem less like renegade individuals and more like nameless posers whose death you don't mind.  When you toss in the crappy codename, you have a figure that's easy to leave behind.  

Skidmark's colors are both great and baffling.  Hasbro fell in love with orange in 1988.  Spearhead and Skystriker feature the color painted on.  But, Skidmark and Windmill both use orange plastic to create the color palette for their figures.  Orange often works on action figures.  But, when it's used to offset pea and hunter green colors, it can seem a bit out of place.  And, that's the thing with Skidmark.  His other colors are a deep, pine colored green that offsets the orange vest and a pea green on his legs that is almost identical to the green color used on Night Force figures.  In short, Skidmark should be a really great figure.  He just falls apart.  And, this coming from someone who really likes brightly colored Joes.  I think a big part of his failure is the orange helmet.  Were it a different color, the orange would be more confined to Skidmark's vest and would seem more realistic.   (You'll note that the helmet was yellow on the Desert Fox box artwork and on the pre-production figure.  I'm not sure that would have been an improvement.)  Through the years, Skidmark customs are one of the staples that many collectors undertake.  Most, though, still fall short.  So, the potential isn't as easy to realize as it would appear.

We had a Skidmark in 1988.  My younger brother got a Desert Fox at some point.  It is a great vehicle.  And, it joins the Bridge Layer as a vehicle who mysteriously disappeared from my collection.  I had no inclination to sell either of them.  And, I had nice, mint versions of both in the mid 2000's.  But, both are now gone with no trail of their fate.  I played a bit with the Desert Fox when no one else was home.  But, Skidmark wasn't a figure that mattered.  I didn't like him from the get go.  And, it wasn't just the colors that were a problem.  Something about him seemed off.  And, as such, I can recall with specificity some adventures featuring the Desert Fox.  But, Skidmark features in none of them.

While Skidmark was released just the one time by Hasbro, the mold did have another use.  Around 1997, the Skidmark mold was one of many acquired by Olmec Toys and released in their Bronze Bombers line.  There are two figures that use the Skidmark body.  One is cast in purple and the other in a very nice tan.  Both figures feature a solid black paint mask to accentuate the details on the mold.  They are a great example of different coloring saving a mold.  Sadly, they are tough to find and relatively expensive, now.  So, the notion of mix and matching the various releases to make the ultimate Skidmark isn't really feasible.  

Skidmarks are about $5 figures.  Even dealers have given up and will fail to sell them for $8.  There's just no interest in the figure.  And, to make matters worse, Skidmark is fairly common.  High numbers of Desert Foxes were produced.  And, tons of bubbled overstock Skidmark figures made their way into the collector market in the early 2000's.  So, if you want the figure or just want one to customize, the price is right to add one to your collection.  But, you'll note that my figure is badly worn.  I have no inclination to fix this...even at a low price.  I just can't muster up any enthusiasm to acquire a better copy.  On some level, I should get a nice and save this one to customize when I retire.  But, even that seems like time and money better spent on other pursuits.  Hopefully, your opinion of the figure is better and he has some relevance to you.  And, if he does, at least spares and duplicates are cheap.