1994 Joseph Colton - Around the Web

The final mail away of the vintage line was the first character who established the G.I. Joe universe: Joseph Colton.  At the time, this figure was highly sought after and quickly became a favorite of 12" Joe collectors who wanted the character in all his forms.  Since then, the demand for this figure was sated with the massive amounts of overstock that were left over from the original mail away.  But, the figure still holds a cachet.  The fact that it's a high quality mold certainly helps it out.  He's a decently popular character.  Here's the best of him from around the web.

Joseph Colton Profile

Joseph Colton Mail Away Insert

Joseph Colton Diorama

Joseph Colton Video Review

Joseph Colton at JoeADay.com

Joseph Colton at 3DJoes.com

Joseph Colton at Retro Reaction

2004 Vypra (Version 2) - Ninja Strike

In the early 2000's, army building was all the rage.  Collectors army built any figure with "Viper" in the name and pretty much everything else that had a Cobra logo, too.  By 2004, though, Hasbro had finally started to catch up with army building demands of the collecting community.  By the 2nd half of the year, collectors had seen cheap Bats, a nice Python Patrol set, retail army building two pack, a Crimson Guard body mail away, the long awaited and insanely popular Cobra Infantry and a nice pack of Urban army builders and characters.  There were also ridiculous amount of army building figures, two packs and single carded figures for those who preferred the Joe vs. Cobra sculpts, too.  The calvacade of troopers didn't end as Hasbro ended the year with a Cobra themed ninja pack.  In the set were 5 army builders: 3 repaints of the V1 Stormshadow and 2 repaints of Jinx, named Vypra.

In 1998, Hasbro released the first Vypra figure.  She was a radically different repaint of Jinx and wasn't hated by the collecting world.  (The notion of Jinx as a Cobra had been inserted into the Joe mythos with an early 90's DeSimone Convention figure, too.)  She collected dust at Toys R Us stores into 2000.  By 2001, though, Vypra had taken on a new life through fan fiction, dio-stories and other medium.  The 1998 figure had gotten stupidly expensive and hard to find.  For many collectors, Vypra was annoying since they had passed her by dozens of times at retail, only to now see the figure selling for insane amounts.  No doubt, Hasbro saw this too and took advantage of a chance to get a similar character back out to retail.

As a character, though, this Vypra has no relevance to the original figure.  This character is one of a set of twins who guard the Arashikage mystic sword forge.  All but the last line of the filecard is about the swordmaster and his amazing swords.  Vypra and her sister guard the forge.  There is no mention of why they work for Cobra and wear Cobra sigils on their uniforms.  The entirety of the figure's filecard rehashes a comic book arc from about 15 years prior to the figure's release and doesn't bother to explain why these sisters share a name with another Cobra nor why Cobra owns the swordsmithery.  The sisters are also not, technically, army builders.  They are unique characters who have an army of two.  But, with as horrible as the 2000's era filecards were, there was little chance that collectors were going to head them and be content with just the two figures.

Really, the who thing is kind of silly.  But, the explanation is that it was 2004 and Hasbro was starting to give up on G.I. Joe.  The brand managers of the time hated vintage style figures and wished they would go away.  Meanwhile, the new sculpts for 2004 had backed up at retail and pretty much everyone knew the line's second coming was nearing its end.  You can see the lack of effort the team put into the products as you follow the chronology.  The 2003 Toys R Us offerings were pretty great.  The first four 6 figure pack exclusives for 2004 had great figures, but relatively poor weapon choices.  By the time these Ninjas and the Desert Strike set were released, the figures were getting as lazy as the accessories.  In 2005, the sets turned into an embarrassing mess that not even Hasbro would admit to.  So, we're left with these figures without a decent explanation of who they are or why they affiliate with Cobra.

As for the Vypra figure...I'm of mixed opinions.  At her core, seeing the mold in colors so similar to Jinx seems highly derivative and unimaginative.  Both figures could have been done in Cobra blue, all black or even white to make them more distinctive than the original character for which the mold was created.  The artistic prints on the figures, though, are fairly well done.  The masks are intricate, voluminous and in line with the character.  But, we know that paint masks comprised a huge part of every set's expense during the 2000's.  (It was actually second behind packaging costs.)  So, all of the Ninja Strike's budget went into these paint masks.  This meant that there was less money to improve Stormshadow or even include some more interesting accessories like a new set of 1984 Stormshadow gear with any of the three V1 Stormshadow molded figures in the set.

While I can appreciate the paints masks on this figure, I feel that the money could have been better spent making the whole set more appealing and enduring.  15 years later, the Stormshadow figures are all but forgotten: replaced by better factory custom figures that were free of Hasbro's limitations.  The 1988 Stormshadow isn't a release most collectors would even recall.  It was a terrible design for Stormshadow and the colors fell flat.  Had the set made a few key improvements in paint applications and included better gear, it could be held in regard with things like the Anti-Venom set where collectors still appreciate the entire effort since it was mostly done right.

One big issue with the Ninja Strike set in general is the figure quality.  For some reason, the quality slipped a bit with this set.  The figures feature tight joints, easily rubbed paint and will have frozen rivets hindering movement.  It's very noticable when you compare a figure from this set with a figure from the Urban Strike, Desert Patrol or Anti-Venom sets which produced around the same time.  Collectors of the day noticed right away.  And, more than one collector stopped buying their army since they had no desire to acquire tons of poor quality figures.  At the time, you could accomplish that far better figure releases from Funskool.

Vypra's accessories are somewhat lame.  Her weapons are a black version of the 1989 Snake Eyes sword and a pair of nunchuks from the Ninja Force era of figures.  While you can't disparage the fact that she includes ninja type weapons, the complement of gear seems haphazard and lazy.  Despite two Jinx molds in the mix, the set did not include any of Jinx's original gear.  And, since they had used her gear in 2003, we know it was available to Hasbro.  She also includes a long skirt.  Here, the paint masks really come out.  The visual of the figure wearing it helps differentiate her from Jinx.  But, the skirt is very rigid plastic and greatly hinders the figure's movement.  It's a situation where appearance reigns over function.

In the early 2000's, female figures were still seen as collector bait.  As the Joe line was short on overall female figure options, all the females that Hasbro had available saw re-release after re-release.  The Jinx mold was no different.  After the 1998 Vypra release, Jinx returned as a member of Tiger Force in 2003.  In the summer of 2004, Jinx's body was used for the Comic Pack Scarlett.  These two Vypra releases finished off the mold and Jinx never appeared again.  (For Jinx fans, though, there is also the vintage version from 1987 and two variants of Sonya Blade that use Jinx's body, but a new head and different feet on the movie version.)  While there was always more that could have been done with a vintage figure mold, Hasbro got their money from Jinx and fans of the mold have far more to collect than exists with other characters of Jinx's release year.

It's hard to get a gauge on this Vypra's pricing.  It seems you can get loose, mint and complete Ninja Strike sets sell in the $40 range.  Yet, the 2 Vypras alone will often set you back $30.  This version, alone, seems to sell in the $13-$15 range if she is complete and has the filecard.  Since the Red Ninja Vipers aren't bad and the Black Dragon Ninja has some uses, too, it seems that its far more economical to just buy a full, loose set.  Hasbro made around 20,000 of these sets.  And, while they sold out at retail during the 2004 holiday season, they were never hard to find and any collector who wanted a set or six could easily find them both in stores and online.

For me, this figure is rather insignificant.  Jinx has never really resonated with me.  And, this figure just looks like Jinx with a paint job that ate up all the development money from this set and cost me decent Stormshadow gear for the better figures.  If I want to use a Vypra, I'll use the 1998 figure since it's something different.  But, lots of collectors love this figure.  That's why they still sell for a decent premium today.  The paint masks are intricate and show what Hasbro was capable of doing when they actually tried.  But, Joe interest was dying off as 2004 turned to 2005 and sets like this Ninja Strike were part of the reason why.  The set seemed so great and then delivered so little when it actually was released to collectors.

2008 SDCC Cobra Commander - Around The Web

With San Diego Comic Con going on this weekend, it was a perfect time to look back at the time, ten years ago, when Hasbro dropped an awesome G.I. Joe exclusive at the show.  While this figure's body was from an Indiana Jones figure, the overall look for the early Cobra Commander worked out pretty well.

This figure isn't nearly as popular now as it was upon its release.  So, there isn't that much content on him left out there.  But, here's the best of him from around the web.

SDCC Cobra Commander Profile

SDCC Cobra Commander at JoeADay.com

SDCC Cobra Commander at CoolToyReview

SDCC Cobra Commander at HissTank.com

2000 Law - Around the Web

When Hasbro released the ARAHC figures in 2000, collectors were ecstatic to see Joe return to retail.  The first wave featured almost all excellent repaints of figures that collectors wanted to see.  The Law repaint is a substantially different look for the character.  I won't say it's better than the 1987 version since that release is iconic.  But, it probably is.

Here's the little of him from around the web.

2000 Law Profile

Law Dio 1

Law at GeneralsJoes.com

Law Dio 2

1992 Eco Warriors Deep Six

It's finally fashionable in the collecting world to like the Eco Warriors.  The neon colored darlings that attracted all the collector hate in the 2000's have finally come of age where a good portion of the collecting world appreciates them for what they were.  But, despite this newfound status, the 1991 figures remain worthless, even if the designs are cool.  In 1992, though, Hasbro continued the series.  This newer wave of Eco Warrior members were just as brightly colored and equally well designed as the first series.  In recent years, zombie-mania has afflicted popular culture.  With that, the Joe world has seen great interest in the 1992 Toxo Zombie figure: despite his bright colors.  But, in a case where it appears that a rising tide lifts all boats, the other 1992 Eco Warriors figures have found themselves both harder to find and more expensive in recent years.  The 1992 Eco Warriors Deep Six is a prime example.

Absent of any packaging or media to tell me otherwise, I could see this Deep Six as a Cobra.  He wears deep blue with highlights similar to the Toxo Zombie and his face is covered by a full mask.  In short, he fits Cobra's motif.  But, this is simply a new color scheme for a Joe.  The 1992 Eco Warriors featured bright highlights, but more muted base colors.  This leads to a much more subdued look for the team and helps make the 1992 characters more useful outside of their Eco Warrior motif.  This Deep Six is darker and more detailed than even the 1989 figure.  But, he does feature an odd array of colors in addition to the dark blue.  The lime green highlights are a different choice for a figure.  But, the color works in juxtaposition to the dark blue.  It's the final color that is the most problematic.  The figure also features bright pink/purple highlights.  I'll call them pink for descriptive purposes.  Though, the color is not quite pink and has some purplish hues.  Absent this color, Deep Six is a perfectly acceptable figure.  But, with it, he has been the source of collector ridicule for two and a half decades.

Deep Six has always been a deep sea diver.  The 1984 and 1989 versions both retained this specialty.  With the 1984 figure sucks, the 1989 is one of the best redesigns of an existing character that Hasbro ever pulled off.  This 1992 Eco Warriors figure, though, doesn't fit the character's original skill set.  I see this figure as more of a shallow water/landing type figure.  The sleek suit and less bulky survival gear suggest this is a way for Deep Six to take part in the action that takes place above 5,000 fathoms under the sea.  The fact that the figure lacks an air pack or sculpted air tanks also suggests that he's not destined to remain under water for long periods of time.  (The filecard states that Deep Six wears a liquid oxygen vest to supply his breathing air.  I suppose this works.  But, it leaves the figure still too self contained to see him a long term diver who spends hours under water at a time.)

Deep Six included terrible accessories.  He features bright pink flippers.  While they can work as a part of this figure, they are also ridiculous.  For a weapon, he only includes a repainted version of the 1989 Deep Six gun: now in black.  There is a battle stand, which was a welcome addition in 1992.  The final accessory is a huge, grey dolphin.  The gimmick is that it squirts water.  So, instead of the ubiquitous water firing packs that were staples of the other Eco Warriors figures, Deep Six gets a spitting dolphin.  For a figure and character like Deep Six, I guess the gear complement isn't terrible.  But, a pack and better gun could have gone a long way towards improving the figure overall.

Originally, Deep Six's dolphin was going to be black.  A few black dolphins were carded and leaked into the market.  These "Killer Whale Deep Six" figures can fetch a pretty penny: easily over $1,000.  Really, though, the black dolphin isn't a variant: it's a pre-production piece.  But, dealers hear "variant" and instantly jump to the conclusions that any version of this figure is rare and desirable.  That's not the case.  The standard figure was fully released and is very available.  But, in the extremely unlikely event you stumble across a carded Deep Six with a black dolphin, be aware that such an item exists and is highly desirable.

While the 1989 Deep Six figure mold saw a nice run of reuses, this 1992 version never reappeared.  The Eco Warriors are a mixed bag of reuse.  Ozone and BBQ both found themselves used multiple more times in the Star Brigade subset.  The rest of the figures, though, did not reappear.  And, while a couple of Eco Warrior molds did show up again in the 2000's repaint era, this Deep Six was not among them.  It's likely that Hasbro had the mold.  But, collector disdain for Eco Warriors and the fact that both Torpedo and Wet Suit were more popular diver molds that were available likely killed any chance of a Deep Six redux.  It's too bad since the mold has a lot of potential and could have been reused in Star Brigade or as a more appropriately colored combat diver.  We'll never get to see any takes on the mold, though, and we're left with this lone example of Deep Six.

Pricing on this figure is tough.  Dealers really try to play him like it's a rare figure and you'll see complete figures offered in the $50 - $60 range all the time.  But, very few of them sell.  It seems, the real value of the figure is the dolphin.  A mint with filecard figure that's only missing the dolphin will only sell in the $5-$7 range on the open market.  That's a far cry from the dealer price.  But, a complete figure will sell in the $25 - $30 range.  So, you're basically paying $20 for a stupid plastic dolphin.  (You should note that carded figures sell around $40 and they are surprisingly easy to find, too.)  The problem is that it might take a few months to find the figure on the open market.  If money's no object, then spending big from a dealer will get you the figure today.  I prefer to wait as patience usually yields much better deals.

Personally, I don't give two craps about the dolphin.  I find the value in the figure: neon pink highlights and all.  But, seeing as how this figure has so gaudy, non traditional colors, few collectors will join me in my sentiment.  For most, he's simply a box to check once a complete figure is acquired.  I see him as a product of his era.  And, I'm far more forgiving of bright colors on characters whose specialities are underwater, piloting aircraft or astronauts.  So, this version of Deep Six works for me.  He's a sleeker version of the character who is useful in different situations than the 1989 figure.  I actually like this Deep Six better as a crewman on the Whale than I do the earlier Deep Six releases.  But, I'm often alone in this sentiment.  If you can find a cheap Deep Six, though, I recommend picking him up.  It's a fun release that offers something different that's not often found in the vintage line.  So, that's worth the acquisition alone.