1990 Range Viper - Around the Web

The Range Viper is one of the first figures I ever reviewed.  He was also one of the first figures that I never had as a kid who captured my attention.  Like many of these early collector age figures, though, the Range Viper's profile fell after a few years: his spot taken by newer figures.  Plus, Hasbro kind of ruined the uniqueness of the mold by repainting it so often in the 2000's.  But, the Range Viper is still a very solid release and remains an enemy I enjoy having around.  There's a good amount of content on the Range Viper from around the web:

1990 Range Viper Profile

European Spring Loaded Weapon Exclusives

Range Viper at the Viper Pit

Range Viper at JoeADay.com

Range Viper at Half The Battle

Range Viper by Cobra Freak

Range Viper at JoeWiki

Range Viper by 00zxcvb

1989 Hot Seat

I quit buying G.I. Joe toys in early 1988.  By 1989, even my younger brothers had mostly quit as they moved on to other things, too.  This left me only one real avenue by which I could see the new Joe releases for that year: the comic book.  But, in late 1988 through 1989, even my comic purchases fell off a bit and I actually missed a few months as things like Nintendo took up more of my leisure time.  I did start to catch up in 1989.  But, my interest in those stories fell off from earlier issues.  I retain a general knowledge of each Joe comic through issue 65 or so.  These early issues were key elements of my childhood and I read and re-read them dozens (if not hundreds!) of times.  This left an imprint that lingers with me to this day.  After that, though, the comics and stories tend to blend together.  But, there are individual scenes in the comics that I recall.

One such scene occurred during the arc that introduced the Raider.  At one point in the battle, the Raider raised up its hidden missile racks and destroyed a Razorback, killing the stunned drivers who didn't know the capabilities of the Raider.  Seeing this new vehicle in action made me wonder what the toy was like.  But, it would be nearly a decade before I saw an actual Raider.  Seeing the toy lead to the discovery of the Raider's included driver figure: Hot Seat.  Hot Seat was an incredibly obscure figure that was fairly difficult to find in the late 1990's.  But, I managed to find one and really, really wanted to like him.  But, the figure never really grabbed my attention and it's taken nearly 20 years to get around to profiling the figure, even though I had plans to review him nearly from the start of this site.

Hot Seat's uniform isn't badly sculpted.  His chest seems larger, like he's wearing armor to protect him inside the Raider's exposed, glass canopy.  The tan undershirt with rolled up sleeves is a nice contrast to the black gloved hands.  Hot Seat looks like he's at work, which I like in a vehicle driver.  The dark green flak jacket offsets both colors nicely.  Alas, the figure falls apart from here.  While the legs are nicely designed, they are orange with red canisters painted on the legs.  The orange is bright.  It is ostentatious and it simply overwhelms the figure.  All hope of Hot Seat being a cool, undiscovered gem is erased with one look at the figure's lower half.  It's just an odd choice and doesn't really fit with Hasbro's typical work of that time.  It was rare to see a figure that had such a disparity between his top half and his lower body.  But, in Hot Seat's case, it pretty much spoils the toy.

The best part of Hot Seat is the super bizarre helmet.  Hasbro went all in on the one eyed helmet designs in the Joe line.  (They were a hallmark of the late 1980's and must have had a fan on the design team.)  The practicality of such a design may be debatable.  But, aesthetically, Hot Seat's helmet works in it's uniqueness.  I know that I tend to like weird Joe designs more than many collectors, though.  So, the odd helmet's look on Hot Seat is something of which I tend to be more forgiving.  But, the helmet gives Hot Seat character.  My only real beef with it is that is covers Hot Seat's only other memorable trait: his grey hair.  There are not many grey haired characters in the Joe world.  Even the 1986 Hawk, represented someone who was at least in the mid 50's, had rich, auburn hair.  So, seeing Hot Seat's hair gave him an air of an elder statesman for the team.  It's about the only real defining aspect of Hot Seat's design.

Sadly, Hot Seat never showed up again.  Neither the character nor the mold ever made another appearance in the Joe line.  Really, just one release with better colored pants would have made for a great repaint.  1989 vehicle drivers either ended up dying with Olmec toys and their failed Bronze Bombers or showing up as 2000's era Convention releases.  But, Hot Seat saw neither of these fates.  A single repaint would have been cool as the figure could have worked in a late model vintage vehicle.  (He could have become a new Steeler or Thunder release without anyone batting an eye, too.)  With nothing else out there, Hot Seat remains a character and figure who will likely never see appreciation over what he has today.  (Though, Hot Seat did reference fear of brain injury from repeated head trauma in 1989.  So, he has that little factoid in his back pocket, too.)

Hot Seat figures are not popular.  While dealers will sell them for $10 to $12, they sell for half that on the open market.  (You can get a figure still in the bubble for $10 if you look hard enough and have some patience.)  The tight fitting helmet helps keep the volume of complete figures high.  And, the character's complete obscurity hides him from most collectors.  I've long wanted to like this figure.  But, it took me 15 years to finally get around to profiling him because I just never got motivated to get some solid pictures of Hot Seat out and about.  Even now, I kind of ran out of things to say about the figure or character.  I've had him as a vehicle driver from time to time.  But, it's a deliberate choice to include Hot Seat and not an organic decision where he is the best choice for a photo.  That's likely Hot Seat's ultimate fate and this is his lone moment in the spotlight.

1997 Snake Eyes Around the Web

The 1997 Stars and Stripes set was meant to be an homage to the original 13 Joes.  The execution was not realized, though.  But, there were some decent figures in the bunch.  The release of the version 1 Snake Eyes mold was well received by collectors as he was one of the most popular figures in the line and was one of the pricier Joes of that era.

The 1997 figure introduced new paint applications to breathe more life into the mold.  In the next decade, the mold would get overused, though.  But, in 1997, this Snake Eyes was a great addition to the Joe line.  Here's the (very limited) best of him from around the web.

1997 Snake Eyes Profile

1997 Snake Eyes Dio

1997 Snake Eyes Pre-Production at YoJoe.com

1993 Mudbuster

In the beginning, vehicles were the reason for the G.I. Joe line to exist.  These amazingly detailed mazes of plastic were incredibly profitable for Hasbro and provided the funding to keep the line moving.  It's likely that it cost Hasbro less or only marginally more to make something like the VAMP than it did to make a figure since the figures required so much construction prior to being ready for sale.  Joe vehicles remained combinations of model kits and toys for many years.  But, as the years progressed, corners began to be cut.  This was mostly due to changing tastes among kids.  Large, complicated vehicles and playsets became less important and action gimmicks became more important.  So, Joe vehicles changed with the times.  It's most noticeable after 1990.  By the line's final two years, vehicle releases were both less frequent and less impressive than those that had preceded them.  Which isn't to say that they don't have some fun, redeeming releases that are worthy of any collection.  The Shark 9000, Blockbuster and Cobra Detonator are all large vehicles that belong in any collection.  But, I find one of their smaller contemporaries: the Mudbuster, to be a hidden gem among the line's final years.

It is very probable that your opinion of the Mudbuster is entirely tied to your view of 1993 and 1994 G.I. Joe releases.  If you don't mind those figures, their colors and the new, bulkier sculpts, then you are probably OK with the Mudbuster.  It's no VAMP.  But, it's a toy that works great with the figures from the era.  If you're more of an '80's Joe fan, then you probably hate this vehicle.  But, the Mudbuster does perfectly encapsulate the changing purpose and design of vehicle toys from the 1980's to the 1990's.  The first waves of Joe vehicles were glorified model kits that were relatively cheap to produce and were long on details and playability.  By the 1990's, though, vehicles were something that needed to be in ready to play condition right out of the box.  This lead to toys that were easy to manufacture and assemble in factories (to keep costs down) rather than cheap to manufacture and package: leaving the construction labor to the consumer.  It's a rather drastic paradigm shift for toys and Joe straddled the changing consumer tastes.

It is a near certainty that I came across a Mudbuster at retail in the mid 1990's.  However, as it did not include a figure, I would have also quickly passed it by.  At the time, I didn't really have room for new vehicles.  And, since I had my full complement of childhood vehicles in decent enough condition, I felt I had no reason to acquire anything new unless it included a figure.  As all Joes disappeared from retail, this thinking started to vanish and I did pick up a couple of figureless vehicles.  When I got my first Mudbuster in 1999/2000, though, I realized that I would have loved it a few years earlier and I shorted myself by passing it by.  

One of the nice attributes of these later vehicles is that they were sculpted with the bulkier, later figures in mind.  Over the years, the basics of Joe figure construction remained unchanged.  But, the size and detail of some of the parts did.  By 1993, torsos and legs were bulkier, arms were more detailed and heads were rounder than those of the 1980's.  This is most visible when you attempt to put a 1993 or 1994 sculpted figure into a 1983 vehicle.  They will not fit into the Dragonfly and you can't get two of them to sit comfortably in the VAMP.  The later vehicles, though, accommodate the increased girth of their contemporary figures.  Part of the reason why the vehicles are larger is to interact with the figures of their era.

As a toy, the Mudbuster works.  My criteria for jeep type vehicles is that they can hold several figures with no hassle and that they have a play feature.  Sure, the Mudbuster features the de facto spring loaded cannon from the 1990's.  But, the design is good enough that it's believable.  And, the cannon can shoot a giant grappling hook with attached rope.  To me, this is the play feature that gives the Mudbuster its cachet.  The hook can be used to snag enemy vehicles and reel them in.  It's the ideal vehicle choice for law enforcement and it's in that capacity that the Mudbuster has found the greatest use in my collection.

But, the Mudbuster also works as a general, all purpose vehicle.  The turquoise coloring allows the Mudbuster to blend with both bright figure from the line's final years as well as those who came in more muted colors.  It's an odd versatility.  But, because both the figures and vehicles were designed in tandem, they are meant to complement one another and you see ghosts of the symmetry between figure and vehicle that was such a calling card of the 1980's Joe line. 

Some of the parts are reused from earlier vehicles.  That both gives the Mudbuster a generic quality that's tough to overcome.  But, it also shows that some different colors and a few new parts can make for a useful new toy.  (Something Palitoy pioneered in the Action Force line.)  The cockpit holds two figures with ease and there's even room for a weapon or two.  You can stack a couple of figures on the back, though it's tough to get more than one in the bed if that one is manning the gun.  There are nice storage holes for extra missiles.  And, the coup de gras is that the vehicle will extend with force as an action feature.  There is a rubber band that allows the vehicle to collapse and expand depending upon how you wish it to work.  It's not a very useful feature.  But, it was the type of thing that worked as a selling point in the 1990's.

Mudbusters aren't all that common to find.  The final year vehicles saw lower production numbers and weren't the ubiquitous parts of collections like their 1980's brethren.  But, they are also substantially less popular than the earlier offerings.  So, while it's fairly uncommon to stumble upon a perfect Mudbuster in the wild, you can find them for cheap with a little effort.  Boxed versions will run you under $30 and you can get loose, mint and complete Mudbusters for around $10.  For that price, the vehicle is a no-brainer if you have any interest in 1993 or 1994 figures.  So, there's no reason for anyone to be missing the Mudbuster aside from sheer lack of interest in the vehicle.

1984 Recondo - Around the Web

It's tough to wrong with Recondo.  He remains one of the most iconic Joe figures ever released and is a favorite of many collectors.  As a kid, I wanted to love the figure.  But, something about him never really clicked.  I've never been able to put my finger on it and I do enjoy the figure now and use him in photos quite often.  There's a couple of different variants of the figure out there where his leg camo is greener or browner that gives you something to track down.  Plus, there's an Auriken version from Mexico and an Estrela version from Brazil to find.  Here's the best of him from around the web.

1984 Recondo Profile

Recondo at JoeADay.com

Recondo Video Review

Brazilian Recondo (Leopardo) Profile

Recondo Pre Production at YoJoe.com

Recondo at 3DJoes.com

Recondo at Joe Wiki