1988 Shockwave

As a release year, 1988 had quite a few advantages over 1987.  While the 1987 Joes have some of the most iconic characters in the line, the 1988 Joes stand with them toe to toe in terms of figure design, coloration and accessories.  The 1988 Cobras still have their issues.  But, they are substantially ahead of the 1987 Cobra characters.  1987 obviously wins out in terms of media exposure and that alone made 1987 the line of demarcation in the Joe line for many years.  Figures made through 1987 were "awesome" and those made after were much less so.  Time, though, has faded much of the early year bias in the Joe line and many collectors have come to realize the exceptional figures produced throughout the lifespan of the Joe line.  High quality figures from all years have seen upticks in popularity in the collecting world and have become figures by which collectors define a base collection.  One such figure is the 1988 Shockwave.

If you want to look for one simple reason for the vintage Joe line's success it was the diversion from military only into a more diverse grouping.  Joes weren't all grunts wearing green fatigues.  The colors that were added gave the figures more character.  But, some more civilian specialties were added to the ranks as a way to continue the diversity of the line.  (Unfortunately, the line followed this through reductio ad absurdum with the ultimate inclusion of space aliens, cyborgs and bright neon colors.)  Figures like Shockwave with his SWAT specialty deviate from the traditional notion of military toys, but are still closely related enough that it's not a stretch to see a figure like this in a line named G.I. Joe.

The Shockwave mold is incredibly detailed.  His body armor, mask and general design are intricately detailed.  The sad part, though, is that Hasbro didn't bring out these details with paint masks.  At his core, the figure is two toned in multiple shades of blue with a few splashes of yellow cammo.  The handguns, knives, buckles and other details from the figure are left in the base colors.  Really, the figure appears to have paint masks more in line with releases from the line's final year than it does his 1988 contemporaries.  But, even with this lack of paint, the figure works.  The mold is still strong enough and the colors done right enough that the missing details can be forgiven.

My main memory of Shockwave as a character comes from the issue of G.I. Joe Special Missions where he was introduced.  My recollection is not of Shockwave, though, as much as it is of the story and father with the rictus.  But, that tells the story of Shockwave in a nutshell: he is relatively undeveloped.  You have a character wearing a badass uniform with wicked accessories who can pretty much be anyone you want him to be.  Or, as is the case in my collection, who you don't want him to be.  To this day, I view Shockwave as more of an army builder type figure than an actual Joe character.  The faceless mask and law enforcement background make him more of a nameless support character who may bite the dust when faced with a den of Cobras.  It gives the figure more use, even though the character is undeveloped.

Shockwave's accessories are nearly perfect.  His blue backpack is large and detailed.  The side, though, features a working sheath for Shockwave's knife.  The blade is designed in silver and is an imposing addition to the Shockwave character.  He also includes a terrible blue handgun that doesn't really fit into his hand.  The handle is too broad and the design is somewhat bulky.  The sad reality is that this handgun saw massive reuse in the '90's as a staple of the weapon trees.  Shockwave's main weapon, though, is the blue, suppressed sub machine gun with stock.  While the weapon is well detailed and sturdy, it still plays out as a compact urban assault weapon.  It really works perfectly with the figure.  Of course, the main issue with all of Shockwave's weapons is that they are blue to match the figure.  When used with Shockwave, the blue is forgivable since it matches the figure.  But, it makes it pretty much impossible to share Shockwave's gear with other figures.  The upside is that his machine gun was available in black with the hard to find Night Force Shockwave, but also with the easier to track down 1992 Ace, so collectors have a cheap way to acquire one for use with other figures.

The Shockwave mold was used in 1988 and again in 1989 as part of the Night Force subset.  The legs appeared in 1993 for Beach Head.  (They, though, died in Brazil after they were used on the Armadilha figure.)  After that, the mold disappeared for many years.  In 2008, the head, chest and arms finally reappeared for a convention release.  Collectors were deprived of the mold in 2002 when Hasbro could not find it for the Wave 1.5 release.  There is much that could have been done with this mold.  Collectors would have loved to have seen it in multiple colors in various repaint sets.  But, that never happened and collectors are left with another mold full of unfulfilled potential.

Shockwave figures are rather popular.  He is a character that collectors enjoy and desire to be part of their collections.  As such, mint and complete with filecard versions are among the more expensive 1988 standard release figures.  The figure is very prone to discoloration, cracked elbows and paint wear.  So, finding a mint version can be a bit of a challenge.  But, Shockwave is well worth the acquisition.  Many collectors prefer the Night Force version or the Convention version.  But, the original is much cheaper, easier to find and as useful as those rarer figures.

1989 Night Force Lightfoot

Night Force is probably the most popular vintage subset of figures.  (You might make a case for Sky Patrol, but it is close.)  The two year Toys R Us exclusive theme always featured repaints of figures from the prior year.  Most of the characters were just straight out of the molds Hasbro had recently used.  But, redone in Night Force colors, many of the figures took on new life.  The trend continued in 1989 with series two of the Night Force group.  This year featured some figures in drastically new takes on a mold's coloring.  None was more different than Lightfoot.  Gone was the bright yellow base of the uniform.  It was replaced by muted browns and blacks.  Suddenly, a solid mold with terrible colors was fixed and Lightfoot had a place of usefullness in any Joe collection.

The Lightfoot mold is well done. It features intricate details and is bulky to the point where you know he is armoured, but not to the point where he is overdone. The Night Force colors accentuate the mold in a way that the bright yellow of the original never did. The muted brown offset with black and grey highlights make the figure useful in ways that no other figure with Lightfoot's specialty is. The black helmet with red eyes is the perfect capper and makes this figure everything that the vintage Trip Wire should aspire to be were he redone.

My interactions with the original Lightfoot figure were minimal. By 1988, I was out of Joe and only bought 2 figures in February of that year. But, as the year progressed, my youngest brother still bought new Joe figures from time to time. As such, I do recall figures such as Repeater and Lightfoot being around on the rare occasion when I'd pick up a figure or two. I do recall Lightfoot, though, due to the helmet. I liked the look of the helmet and desperately wanted it to be cooler than it was. But, my main memory of it was the fact that I accidentally sucked it up with the vacuum one day. Rather than let the helmet die a horrid death in a landfill, though, I took out the vacuum bag (remember those?) and pulled out months' worth of dust, lint and dirt to find the helmet. I did find it, washed it off, and the vintage Lightfoot was useful again.

In the times when I did use the figure, I liked Lightfoot's mold. But, unlike Airtight, I simply could not justify the bright yellow color. By the time this Night Force version was released in 1989, though, I was truly done with Joes and had no idea the figure existed. (Now, I'm sure that had I know of the figure, I still would not have bought it.) When I returned to Joe collecting as a adult, the Night Force Lightfoot was one of the few Night Force figures that really intrigued me. It was a figure that was capable of making a good mold relevant again. However, even in those early days, Night Force Lightfoot figures were hard to find and rather expensive. (I distinctly remember balking at paying $15 for a mint, complete with filecard version in 1998 as I could buy 7 or 8 other figures in similar completeness and condition that I did not have for the same amount.) As such, I delayed the acquisition of the figure for many years. By the time I did acquire one, it was after the point where a figure like this would get great use. As such, this figure's fate is probably to be stored away in a closet, in a box where he will wait for the off chance that someday I will have the desire to display him in a place of prominence.

While not overly used, Lightfoot's mold did have a bit of a history. After he was released in the US in 1988 and again as this Night Force repaint in 1989, the mold was shipped off to Brazil. There, the figure was released in colors very similar to the original Lightfoot and named Desarmer. After that, there is no trace of the mold. Two of Lightfoot's Brazilian contemporaries: Spearhead and Tracker, both later appeared in India. But, the other contemporary, Sci-Fi, did not appear anywhere else except for in the later series of Brazilian Eco Warriors. As such, it is impossible to know where the Lightfoot mold is today. It could have died in Brazil, been lost in India or sitting on a Hasbro shelf over in Asia just waiting for someone to say they want another Lightfoot figure.

Lightfoot's accessories are bulky, detailed, and an essential part of the figure. But, they are also largely useless. He does not include a weapon of any kind. That alone sunk him in the eyes of kids during his retail run. (Well, that and the bright yellow....) The backpack is large, but is well engineered as it can hold his explosives detector and the hose plugs into a socket on one of the arms. The robot is actually a realistic piece of detail that makes the character more effective. But, the hologram that represents the controls of the robot also date the accessory more than I would like. The helmet, of course, if the coups de gras. It fits the head well and, combined with the other gear, gives the figure an appearance that befits his specialty. Without the helmet, the head is very well sculpted. But, the figure loses most of his usefulness without that one accessory.

Lightfoot is probably the hardest Night Force figure to find: especially if you want him mint and complete. As such, he is also among the most expensive. Mint, complete with filecard Night Force Lightfoot figures will easily sell for over $50 and often get as high as $70. Even if you sacrifice the filecard and one of the accessories, though, the figure will sell for more than $40. For the character, that's probably a bit high. But, for a figure as cool as this one is and that is this hard to find, though, that is right in line with other figures of similar circumstances. This is easily the best version of the Lightfoot character. But, that's not saying much, either. I've found the figure to be a useful part of my collection. And, were this figure as plentiful and cheap as the original, full retail Lightfoot, I think that more collectors would use him in their dios and photos.

Bootleg Crimson Cobra Trooper

In the history of the vintage Joe line, there are a few glaring holes.  Some of these (like Kwinn) were plugged in the repaint era.  But, others were conspicuously absent.  While a character like Dr. Venom can be forgiven as he would have required a combination of new parts and frankensteining existing molds, many of the other missing figures are simply baffling.  Most of these fall into the category of obvious, obligatory army builder repaints.  In the late 2000's, collectors were able to pick up where Hasbro failed and bootleg Cobra Troopers started to appear on the market.  At first, they were straight up retreads of the 1983 Trooper.  In time, though, more colors started to appear and many of the gaps were filled in.  Among the first of these new colors to appear was this Crimson Trooper.

Hasbro proved that they had a nice cadre of classic army building molds available to them during the 1997 - 2006 time frame.  But, rather than focusing on what would be new, the spent their energy recreating slightly new takes on figures that were already plentiful.  As such, collectors were treated to the classic Cobra Trooper in two shades of blue and one of gray.  But, we were never treated to an obvious collector friendly repaint such as a Crimson Trooper.  In the late '00's, collectors filled this gap.  A series of bootleg Cobra Trooper molds were created and collectors started pumping out the variety of Cobra Troopers that collectors had been craving.  Among these were the long awaited Crimson Cobra Troopers.

There are now dozens of Cobra Trooper bootleg variants.  The range from the obvious like this Crimson version, to obscure like an off green figure with an Interrogator logo.  All are of around the same quality and all bring something unique and different to a collection.  In time, bootleg Crimson Guards, Snake Eyes (Used for Cobra Mortals and Cobra Invasors.), Grand Slam (Used for Cobra De Aco figures.) and BATS have appeared.  There are actually two types of Crimson Troopers.  One is made by a collector named the Black Major.  The others were created for a small group of collectors.  The figures are slightly different when compared directly.  The most glaring difference the figure's weapon.  The Black Major figures feature a dark black gun while the other release has a weapon that is more charcoal colored.  Both being bootlegs, it is a minor point.  But, something to consider if you are looking for the figures.

It is important to note that these figures are not Hasbro quality.  The plastic is inferior and somewhat brittle.  Crotches can snap easily.  The molds themselves are actually slightly smaller than true production figures.  (This is the easiest way to differentiate the Cobra blue bootlegs that came out first.)  Side by side with a production figure, the differences are hard to spot.  But, these figures can not wear vintage backpacks as their back hole is too small.  Their feet will not fit on vintage vehicle footpegs.  So, that can limit their use.

Crimson Cobra Troopers were such an obvious addition to the Cobra hierarchy, that's it is insane Hasbro never came through.  From 2001 - 2005, they repainted pretty much every Cobra they could into the Crimson theme with varying degrees of success.  This version of the trooper, though, shows that the Crimson theme works perfectly with the classic mold.  These figures are the perfect companion to Crimson Guards.  They can man Crimson Hiss Tanks, ASPs or SMS's.  They fill a void in any Joe collection and are a nice way to enhance vintage figure ranks now that Hasbro is done with them.

When these figures first showed up, some dealers tried to pass them off as vintage prototypes of unproduced Cobra Trooper variants.  This has had a lingering affect and even today, you will find people who believe the differently colored Cobras are legitimate Hasbro releases.  When in the market for any of the flavors of these figures, be aware of this and don't overpay.  While these figures do not exist in huge numbers, there are a lot of them out there and they are all concentrated in the collector market.  So, they are not as scarce as some sellers will want you to believe.

At first, these figures were very rare and nearly impossible to get.  Then, they were very easy and cheap to acquire.  But, slowly, the supply of the Crimson Troopers has dried up.  With that prices have risen.  However, risen is relative.  Originally, the figures cost around $6-$8 depending upon the source.  Today, you might pay upwards of $12 for a version.  For what the figure is, that's not terrible.  But, it may be a bit much to ask to army build when you consider that these figures are well done customs at best and full on bootlegs at worst.

1993 Outback - Eco Warriors Variant

Outback remains of one the vintage line's most collector friendly characters.  He is widely liked by collectors and his initial design is appreciated in all it's releases.  There was, though, another Outback design in the vintage Joe line.  In 1993, Hasbro revisited the character.  This figure is not well liked by collectors and is rarely remembered when discussing the Outback character.  The reason for the indifference to this mold is that is does not have a decent coloring and is a remarkable departure from Outback's classic appearance.  But, the 1993 Outback figure actually has a better mold than most people realize and can find a niche in a collection.

Eco Warriors seems like a failure to the modern collector.  However, it must have been a good enough seller for Hasbro in the early '90's as it featured figures in both 1991 and 1992.  In 1993, Hasbro planned for series 3 of the Eco Warriors figures.  However, the idea was either played out, or Hasbro had enough other subsets to sell.  As such, the subset was cancelled.  However, Hasbro had already drawn up two new figures for the line: Snow Storm and Outback.  Instead of scrapping the brightly colored figures, Hasbro put them into the main Battle Corps line.  Rumored to be limited to 10,000 pieces, though, the figures were quickly replaced at retail by differently colored Battle Corps versions.  As such, the Eco Warriors versions of Outback and Snow Storm can be somewhat difficult to track down.

As a mold, this figure is excellent.  Take off the sunglasses needed to see through all the bright colors and you find that the figure is intricately detailed.  The face sculpt easily could be Outback and is true to the character.  The molded helmet is in scale with the head and is features molded electronics on one side.  The figure's chest follows the survival motif and showcases a large knife, canteen and grenade.  The pants are somewhat non-descript, but include molded pouches for some detail.  The figure's forearms are wrapped in cloth with gloved hands.  Properly painted, this could have been a really excellent update to Outback.

Accessory wise, this figure is no better off than the base mold's paint colors.  While the weapon molds are strong, they are colored bright red.  There is no playing off red guns.  The result is that the figure suffers as the red (if you can believe it) clashes with the other bright colors and just makes the figure appear worse than it is.  Replacing the red weapons with black versions that were available with other 1993 figures, though, makes a large difference and can salvage the figure to a degree.  Outback also includes the requisite spring loaded weapon from that time period.  The poor quality of the accessories, though, makes it easier to just pick up a loose figure and outfit him with better colored weapons from other figures.

I first acquired the '93 Outback in either 1994 or 1995.  At that time, it was relatively easy to find Battle Corps figures hanging around in most stores that sold toys.  I couldn't use the figure as Outback since the Version 1 was that character.  At the time, though, I was more into converting Joe figures into nameless army builders who could fight Cobra.  The named Joes were still around.  But, they had huge support squads who aided them against the Cobra legions.  Using this model, I often pigeon-holed figures into specialties...much like the many flavors of Vipers.  Outback became a combat engineer.  The mold and helmet reminded me of a construction worker and I found a need for battlefield engineers who could build emplacements or even repair vehicles all while under heavy fire.

For a few years, the figure saw use in that capacity.  I could get past the gaudy colors since so many other figures from the time had similar constraints.  By the late 1990's, though, my collection was growing with figures from 1988 through 1991 that I had never previously owned.  The superior colors and accessories on these figures slowly pushed the brightly colored 1993's and 1994's out of my display rotation.  Outback fell into disfavor and has never really come back.  (In looking through 15 years worth of Joe photos, I can only find the figure in two pictures I've taken.  That's a small amount for something that, at one time, saw some decent use.)  For Outback, there are better choices using the original mold.  And, the figure's colors don't lend themselves to display in many of the classic vehicles and playsets.  So, the Outback has become a forgotten stepchild of my Joe collection who gets this last moment in the sun.

The Outback mold was used for the two variant figures in 1993.  It was not repainted in 1994.  However, the mold was shipped to Brazil and released there by Estrela as Marfim.  This is notable as the Marfim figure is far and away the best version of this mold.  Colored in a muted green, Marfim is superior in every way to the two American releases.  Alas, Marfim figures have all but disappeared from the market.  Easy to find in the late 1990's and into the early 2000's, Marfims seem to have vanished into thin air.  There used to be carded and even loose Marfim figures available from Brazilian and American sellers.  (Col. Coragem was the same way.)  But, they have dried up and I have not seen a Marfim figure for sale in years.  If you can find one, though, it is the best version of the mold and definitely worth acquiring as a new, different version of Outback.

It is likely that this figure is rather rare for the vintage line.  There are probably fewer of him than there are extremely expensive figures like Star Duster or AVAC.  But, the late release date, poor colors and unpopular mold drive down demand.  So, even today, the figure is very inexpensive when you can find one.  As an oddity, the figure is useful.  He actually fits with the Eco Warriors subset and can work as a member of their team.  The marbleized pants are an interesting anomaly and are something that definitely ties the figure to his era.  Beyond that, though, the Battle Corps version of the figure is substantially better and more worth tracking down.  But, if you want something bright and obscure to dominate a photo, this Eco Warriors Outback is as good a choice as any.

2003 Scarlett - Toy Fare Exclusive

In the 1990's, the Internet was nascent.  So, if you wanted to find up to date information about toy collecting, you went to your local bookstore once a month and bought a copy of Lee's or Toy Fare magazine.  In these, you would find the latest pictures of upcoming toys, articles about rare or obscure toy lines and speculative articles about what the next hot toy would be.  Slowly, the Internet changed all this and information and pictures about collector themed toy lines would be broken online and discussed to death long before a printed publication could catch up.  Today, printed toy magazines are all but dead: a relic of a prior era.  But, the toy industry didn't go into the future without a fight.

While toy magazines had long offered toys as an incentive to subscribe to their publication, it was mostly limited to factory overstock.  (Lee's toy magazine was still offering 1993 G.I. Joe mail away figures as their subscription bonus into the 2000's.)  As the Internet made them more and more obsolete, though, the magazines went a different route.  Using their connections to the toy manufacturers, the magazines were able to procure exclusive toys that they could sell through a retail arm.  The upside to collectors was that the toy magazines were company independent and could, theoretically, develop an exclusive from any toy line in the marketplace.  Toy Fare produced exclusives for the Masters of the Universe and Simpsons lines that were well received.  In 2003, they decided to foray into G.I. Joe as an attempt to capitalize on the line's burgeoning popularity.  (While many collectors think the 25th Anniversary was the beginning of a Joe resurgence, the reality is that the 2002 relaunch brought many more collectors into the fold and really was the golden age of Joe online interest.)  The result was a two pack of figures that were comprised of repaints of iconic Joe characters: Snake Eyes and Scarlett.

As a character, you don't get much bigger than Scarlett.  She is one of the top ten or so most popular characters in the entire Joe mythos.  Despite that, the character only had two figures in the line's original run: the 1982 original and a 1993 Ninja Force redesign.  This mismatch between the importance of character and few retail figures was resolved in the repaint era.  Since 1997, Scarlett has had no fewer than 16 versions of the character released.  (Which is still a surprisingly small number when you consider that both Duke and Snake Eyes have seen over 60 versions of figure releases.)  The problem with Scarlett as a toy, though, is that the only ARAH style molds of her are either dated or limited by archaic gimmicks.  But, those limitations didn't really stop Hasbro from exploiting other figures during that era.  The real limitation was that despite collector demand for Scarlett, Hasbro maintained the perception that female figures did not sell during the 2000's.  So, slots allocated for Scarlett were few and far between.  This left ARAH style Joe collectors with precious few takes on the Scarlett mold to represent the character in their collections.

As a mold from the first days of Joe, Scarlett is nothing short of amazing.  While Hasbro reused most of the parts from the original 13 where ever they could so save money, they took no such shortcuts on a figure they knew would have limited reuse and limited retail appeal.  Scarlett has textured padding on her shoulder, just like the Flash mold.  In addition, her arms are decked out with throwing stars on her left gauntlet and her back-up pistol molded under her right.  (A detail that was perfectly fleshed out in the short story "Hot Potato" in Marvel's first issue of G.I. Joe.)  Her lower body showcases a knife, what appears to be an explosive device and a slingshot all molded onto the figure.  It is a level of detail that was rarely present during the line's first year and shows the dedication the Joe team had to quality when you consider they spent that amount of expense to develop a figure who was sure to be their poorest seller.

As a figure, this version of Scarlett is excellently done.  The figure features a full eight colors: silver, red, green, tan, white, purple, flesh and black.  It really is convention level quality in terms of the paint masks.  Every detail on Scarlett is painted.  Her gloves are two toned with a small ring of white separating the tan and the purple arm.  Her belt is painted between the loops and has a differently colored buckle.  All of the gear on her lower body is highlighted and even the pouches on her boots are done in purple to offset them from the black footwear.  The color palette in general is relatively pleasing.  Scarlett keeps her tan base which is true to the original character, but uses a purple undercoat to tie her to the 1997 offering.

But, this is the main problem with the figure.  Really, this Scarlett is two homages in one: both the 1983 original and the 1997 repaint.  So, while the overall detail is remarkable and the colors are decent, the whole thing feels like its been done before.  There is nothing overly original about the paint scheme that gives a new take on Scarlett.  Collectors saw the purple and tan Scarlett and the brown details Snake Eyes and thought: "Hey, I already have a tan Scarlett.  I already have a purple Scarlett.  I already have several Snake Eyes figures with painted details.  (The 2003 DVD Snake Eyes uses the same paint masks as the Toy Fare Snake Eyes, but used a purple body to match the cartoon.  The result is something new for Snake Eyes and an example of what could have been done.)  Why should I buy this set to get two figures that are basically the same as what I already have?"  Instead of doing something new, like giving Snake Eyes the camo pants from the concept art and doing Scarlett in a matching motif, Toy Fare went with something safe.  Their hope was that non Joe collectors would see the homages and buy them.  But, the result was that Joe fans were alienated at a time when there was a huge amount of product hitting the market.  So, this set was relatively ignored and quickly faded into obscurity.

Scarlett's accessories are abundant.  In addition to her iconic crossbow, Scarlett also included the ubiquitous black version of the 1991 Dusty's backpack.  She also included two swords.  These are a great theoretical addition to a Scarlett release.  Tying to her Ninja Force days and link to Snake Eyes, it made sense to have her add swordswoman to her pedigree.  The reality, though, was that Hasbro used two swords from the Ninja Force era with the figure.  The weapons designed with the larger 1992 figure molds in mind are not a great match for the 1982 era Scarlett mold.  More contemporary swords like Stormshadow's Katanas would have been a better fit.  So, while Scarlett has the swords, they look awkward when used with the figure.  But, at it was a good attempt.

The Scarlett mold was probably overused around the world.  The straight armed mold was released in the U.S., Argentina and Brazil.  In Argentina, Plastirama reused the mold as the exclusive Glenda figure.  Estrela used the mold for a white jumpsuit Scarlett named Athena.  The swivel arm mold also got good use.  After the U.S. release, it was used for Quarrel in the European Action Force line.  After that, the mold lay dormant until 1997.  Hasbro used it then, again in 2003 for this figure and finally in 2006, though with a new head.  The issue is that there isn't much diversity in the American Scarlett releases.  Though they had many molds from the 1983 series of Joes available to them, Hasbro didn't do much with them.  Much of the repaint era is the story of unfulfilled potential on the repaints that were offered.  While many figures weren't bad, the reality is that they could have been so much better.  There has been more creativity with repainting molds in the modern line.  But, collectors during the repaint era were largely short-changed with the quality of the releases Hasbro developed.

In 2003, an online toy dealer approached Hasbro about repainting this set for an exclusive distribution.  Hasbro agreed in principle to the set.  The premise was to repaint the Toy Fare figures in Action Force homage themes.  So, in lieu of Scarlett and Snake Eyes, the set would include Action Force Stalker and Quarrel.  (Copyright issues would have prevented those names and it would likely have been Undercover Scarlett and Agent Stalker.)  The figures would have been close in color to the Action Force originals.  But, with some new details and highlights to differentiate them.  However, the deal could not get closed in time.  So, the set never saw the light of day.  But, it would have been a nice addition to the repaints from that time period.

The reality is that the Toy Fare set sold very poorly.  While some Toy Fare exclusives, notably from the Simpsons line, had seen huge aftermarket increases in value,  (Along with questionable distribution practices.) the Joe set mostly languished.  It is likely a combination of overestimation of the Joe collector market along with higher production numbers that doomed the set.  (The fact that the Snake Eyes and Scarlett figures weren't as popular in 2003 than they had been in 1998 and 1999 also played a part.)  Demand was low and unsold sets were still around for years.  Speculators who bought the sets in droves quickly found them worth less than retail price and many of the sets were dumped at a loss.  Today, you can still buy sealed, boxed sets for under $10.  Individual figures, if you can find them, rarely top out at $4.00.  It is a notably cheap price for a figure of this quality and allows every collector to get a great version of Scarlett for basically nothing.