1989 Frag Viper - Around The Web

Frag Vipers are odd ducks.  The bug eyed head and jumpsuit make for an interesting combo.  And, the figure's primary color is a rare brown.  His gear, though, is spectacular.  And, in a lot of ways, the figure works.  It's not perfect and you really only need a couple of them.  But this figure shows that even some of Hasbro's wackiest designs could work from time to time.  Here's the best of him from around the web.

Frag Viper Profile

Frag Viper at Nekoman's Viper Pit

Frag Viper by golden_cobra_79

Letal - Brazilian Frag Viper Repaint

Frag Viper by hawaiian_deployment

Brazilian Force Electronica Figures

Frag Viper by yihad77

Frag Viper by 83north

1990 Ambush - Around The Web

Ambush is just one of the many excellent 1990 figures.  He has solid colors, excellent sculpting and amazing accessories.  There's not a lot of content on him out there, though.  Here's the best I could find of Ambush from around the web.

1990 Ambush Profile

European Exclusive Ambush

Ambush Video Review 01

Ambush Video Review 02

Ambush by Albafica

1993 Robo Joe

Some figures should just never have been made.  Raptor, Big Boa, Golobulus, Windmill and other, terrible figures should have been scrapped and collectors would be better off, even if their slots for release had not been replaced.  In 1993, this infamous club of figures welcomed a new member to their pantheon of awfulness: Robo Joe.  Not only was Robo Joe a terrible idea and character, he was also created in a new articulation style that completely obliterated all the great things about G.I. Joe toys.  Collectors have strong opinions about 1993.  There are some bad toys that were released that year.  But, none better encapsulates and represents the awfulness like Robo Joe.

In 1995 and into 1996, I scoured the dregs of stores around Central Indiana and Southern Ohio in search of any and all remaining G.I. Joe figures.  But, some things were simply too much.  And, Armor Tech was the final line I just couldn't cross.  I even bought a lone Ninja Force Night Creeper just to buy something at retail when all else was gone.  But, I could never muster the moxie to stomach an Armor Tech figure.  Despite the familiar characters and useful accessories, the general design of the figures and the higher price point was just too much.  So, I left Armor Tech behind.  In fact the final vintage Joes I ever found at retail occurred in the fall of 1997 shortly after the Arizona Mills mall opened in Tempe, AZ.  A small toy shop there (it was, basically, a non-branded KB with all the same merchandise and prices) had several full pegs of Armor Tech figures hanging on the shelves.  Again, I left them behind.  I just couldn't find a way to justify figures like that.  And, just a few short weeks later, the 1997 Joes surprised me on a Toys R Us shelf and I didn't think of the Armor Tech again.  More than two decades later, I have no regrets over leaving them behind.

Robo Joe has pretty much every strike against him.  He's bright orange, but not in a fun way.  He has this black overspray that makes it look like he's wearing bad '90's workout clothes and not other paint applications.  He's a new character with no nostalgia to tread upon.  And, his gear is relatively non-descript.  However, the character of Robo Joe could have some usefulness.  Hasbro flipped the script and had a lab attack not turn Robo Joe evil, but use his experimental technology for good.  It's an old trope.  But, it could work as something in the Joe world.  Joe didn't have a lot of scientists, Cobra did.  So, a Joe scientist kept alive by his own creations could have found some use in Joe media.  He was also a natural enemy for Destro.  Had Star Brigade been more unified, you could see a science fiction story line where Destro's technology battles that of Robo Joe for supremacy in space.  It wouldn't have been for everyone.  But, it would have been more than the Oktober Guard in space mini-arc in the comics.

The upside to the Armor Tech figures is that they included helmets.  I have been a sucker for removable helmets since Lando Calrissian in Skiff Guard disguise from the Kenner Return of the Jedi line in 1983.  In this vein, Robo Joe is decent.  His black helmet covers his head well and is a cool looking design.  With a couple of paint applications, it would be downright excellent.  His golden weapons are the exact same tree as was available with the Star Brigade Roadblock figure.  Even in the mid 1990's, golden weapons didn't do much for me.  Had the weapon tree been black, there's a very small possibility I'd have bought the figure.  But, since I had the weapons in black already, it's a very, very small chance.  The figure also has a requisite spring loaded launcher.

Armor Tech died with their 1993 release.  The figures failed and were available at toy liquidator and discount stores for many years after their initial release.  The alternate construction and figure theme were abandoned in 1994 and the molds never appeared in any exclusive international releases.  This isn't a bad thing since the figs were terrible and really only have one redeeming quality: their heads.  Each of the heads featured the skill and improvements that came from 11 years of Joe design and are all well designed and sculpted.  Customizers have successfully used Armor Tech heads on standard figures for many years.  Since the heads are obscure, their appearance is unique and they help create some memorable custom interpretations of classic characters.  

Twenty five years after this figure's release, he remains worthless.  You can get MOC figures for $10 without even trying.  If you can find someone selling a carded figure to market prices, Robo Joe would probably fetch half of that.  The figure is simply worthless and he is never going to have any collector interest.  A decade ago, you could find carded Armor Tech lots all over online markets.  They would sit unsold for average prices of $5 to $7 per figure but you had to buy 4 to 6 figures at a time.  Now, though, a lot of that stock has dried up and you don't see carded Robo Joe's with the regularity that you used to.  That hasn't really driven demand, though, as the figures are still, generally, unpopular and cheap.

2000 Dusty

October of 2018 was very rainy in my part of the country.  This was unusual as the month is typically very hot and dry.  In the rain, though, I was reminded of a specific memory from October of 2000.  Having just read that the newly released G.I. Joe figures were showing up at retailers around the country, I used my lunch hour to sojourn down to the local Toys R Us where I found my first two pack: Chameleon and Cobra Commander.  It was raining on that day, too.  This caused heavy traffic: which would have been hugely frustrating had I not found my first Joe figure pack at retail.  In fairly short order, I acquired the rest of the first series of ARAHC figures.  Then, I proceeded to buy them in bulk through the end of the year: especially when they showed up for $5.84 per pack at Wal Mart.  In some cases, this proved fortuitous.  In other cases, it was less so.  But, I was happy to able to quickly grow my collection at retail prices with figures that I really liked.  In the ensuing years, though, a combination of additional releases, wider availability of later year vintage Joes and my foray into International Joe releases all combined to relegate the ARAHC figures to lower status.  Many of my once favorites lost favor and faded into the background.  This was the fate of the 2000 Dusty figure.  But, 18 years later, this guy still stands out as something completely interesting and unique in the Joe line...even if the design doesn't make much sense for the character.

In 2000, the 1991 Dusty figure was incredibly obscure.  Few collectors owned it and there really wasn't even a debate as to whether the 1985 Dusty figure was far superior.  So, it made for a perfect choice to be included in the first wave of repaints that returned Joe to retail shelves.  Dusty had a familiar name.  And, the mold wasn't one that collectors really knew.  Of course, this forward thinking completely failed.  Collectors both hated the fact that Hasbro hadn't used the 1985 mold (we didn't really understand Hasbro's unwillingness/inability to track down desirable molds at the time) and that the colors for Dusty were not in any way, shape or form related to his desert specialty.  In reading reviews of the time, it was apparent that this Dusty made the least sense of any release.  But, at the same time, his blue, red and green color combo was something that had never been done with a Joe.  He was visually distinctive, even if he was non-sensical.

In looking back, collectors would have been relatively forgiving had this figure represented a character other than Dusty.  As someone new, the color scheme could have been forgiven: maybe even enjoyed.  But, by tying the bizarre colors to the Dusty character, there was no way that collectors would accept them.  This figure also served as the canary in the coal mine for Hasbro as it proved that collectors would reward neither ingenuity nor creativity when it came to repainted vintage Joes.  

For me, though, this figure was just about perfect.  I had a 1991 figure to represent Dusty.  So, this repaint provided something new for me.  I have used army builders for my Joes since the 1980's.  The entire purpose of the Mission to Brazil repaints was to have nameless, faceless army builders who could fight Cobra and suffer the consequences of war.  This Dusty was a way to bring those roles back to my collection with a figure that wasn't exclusively tied to a beloved character from my childhood.  I built up a small army of them and had this Dusty become foot soldiers, base guards, security officers and vehicle crew who could augment the Joe forces.  For about 18 months, the figure thrived in this role.  But, with the 2002 releases of Mirage, things started to change.  Mirage slowly replaced Dusty and the figure simply hasn't returned to the glory it originally enjoyed.

In looking at the figure again, though, the same cleverness that attracted me to the figure in the first place still exists.  While the blue shirt could be construed for a Cobra color, the overall appearance of Dusty makes that a less probable leap to make.  The red beret feels like dress uniform designed to be worn around the HQ.  The marbelized green pants help to ground the figure in more military colors.  It is offset by the dark blue shirt to create a conflicting, yet appealing color scheme.  You also get the white undershirt, black straps and metallic grenades to fully show off the array of paint applications that were given to the figure.  There's just something about him that clicks for me.  I'm pretty much alone in this assessment, though, since the figure is common and worthless.

We know Hasbro had the original accessories from this Dusty.  The pack, pistol, rifle and stock had all been included with the 1998 Cobra 3 figure pack.  This 2000 Dusty included the original pack and pistol, though now in black.  His contemporary, Dial Tone, included his original rifle and stock.  Even the coyote would show up in 2003 as a repainted Timber with Snake Eyes.  But, this figure only had the pack and pistol and he feels drastically under-equipped due to those choices.  I took the silver rifle from extra 2000 General Tomahawk figures and gave them to this Dusty.  I thought it looked good and I've never been a fan of generals carrying massive weapons into battle.  A bit of kismet worked to give the same rifle (though in different colors) to the 2002 Mirage figures.  And, as I used Mirage and Dusty as different types of the same army builder, my original re-accessorization of Dusty worked out nicely.

It was a treat to see this mold in 2000.  And, unlike many other repaints of that era, this mold didn't get used to death.  The original plan was for a "chocolate chip" version of this figure to be included as the driver of the 2001 Desert Striker.  For some reason, though, this was changed to a repaint of the Eco Warriors Flint.  This unproduced Desert Striker Dusty is stupidly rare and there may not even be a single version that belongs to a private collector.  In 2002, the club surprised convention go-ers with an all green repaint of this figure as the Paratrooper Dusty.  It is an amazing figure and is superior to this 2000 version.  It remains relatively cheap, though it can be problematic to track down.  In 2002, the figure's head with a black beret appeared on a Dial Tone body as the driver the Night Rhino.  This parts combo doesn't work as the Dusty head is too large for the slimmer Dial Tone body.  The mold disappeared from there.  In some ways, it's a shame that we never got another desert repaint of this Dusty.  But, at the same time, the 1991 figure remains solid and any repaint would have faced a hard road to surpass it.  

Yeah...this figure is worthless.  While Wave I of the ARAHC sold out all over the country over the holidays in 2000, Dusty was carried over into Wave II cases.  Wave II was massively overproduced and quickly packed the pegs in every retailer around the country.  So, Dusty was easy to get for well over a year and could be found without too much trouble for another year after that in discount and overstock stores.  This availability has carried over and, nearly two decades later, this figure remains both cheap and easy to find.  You can get carded packs for $10...which is a deal since you also get the amazing Law figure.  Loose, you'll pay a couple of bucks, tops...especially if you can find a lot of character figures from this era.  It's too bad as the figure deserves a better fate.  But, if you are a desert trooper, wearing a uniform that's neither desert nor, really, anything else isn't going to help your popularity.  The upside is that you can still get a fun figure for less than his retail cost.  Those are rare these days.

The Top 10 - 2018

2018 was a crazy year for me, personally.  Considering where the year started, I would have never expected to end up where I am.  That being said, though, it was a pretty strong year for the site with over 150,000 visitors.  This year also saw some posts become very popular.  Most of them were rarities that generated a lot of interest.  Here's the top 10 posts from the site from 2018.

10. Outlaw - So Cal Joe Show Exclusive

Outlaw was released to some fanfare as 2017 wound down.  I liked the figure's colors and his potential to become a younger Joe Colton.  You don't see much about this figure now, nearly a year later.  It seems his moment in the sun has passed, even though the figure is long sold out.

9. Red Laser Army Custom Muton Figure

Another Red Laser figure shows up on the list.  Which is a testament to their popularity and quality.  Muton is a fun figure and a use for the BAT mold that I find interesting.  It's been a strong performer on the site and has been popular for a while.

8.  2004 Cobra Infantry Trooper

It's tough to beat a classic Cobra army builder that's modeled after one of the most popular figures of all time.  This profile has done well as the Cobra Trooper is always something that attracts attention.

7.  2005 Comic Pack Serpentor

Serpentor is a hugely popular character.  2 of my top 9 Instagram photos of 2018 also contained Serpentor.  Old Serpentor profiles continue to perform well, too.  But, this version was among the most viewed pages on the site.

6.  JUMP Jet Pack

The JUMP is a classic from the first year of the Joe line.  It remains hugely popular, over 35 years later.  This profile performed very well and continues to garner traffic from long time Joe fans.

5.  Tiger Force Tripwire

This was a joint collaboration with Attica Gazette and the Dragon Fortress Blog.  We all reviewed the Tiger Force Tripwire on the same day.  We all had three different takes on the figure and the cross promotion lead to great traffic.

4. Rarities - Calcium Sandoz Funskool Figures

At first, this post was relatively popular, but not enough to get into the top ten.  But, as the months progressed, this post continued to garner attention and it climbed and climbed into the 4th overall spot.  For a brief time, the Calcium Sandoz figures were relatively easy to find.  But, they dried up and many new variants have since come to light.

3. 1984 Deep Six

Some popular items simply defy my expectations.  I consider this Deep Six figure to be among the worst in the entire line.  Yet, it was one of my most popular posts.  It generated some discussion and tons of page views.  Again, I don't know why.  But, this Deep Six was well liked.

2. Rarities - Carded Rubiplas Figures from Venezuela

This one is obvious.  Topson is one of the rarest figures in the world and his Venezuelan variant is even harder to find.  This carded sample shows the gear included with the figure and is a rare example of one of the rarest items in the world.

1.  Rarities - Unproduced 1995 Sea Wolf Concept Artwork

This post makes sense.  The Whale is a beloved toy.  And, unproduced 1995 items tend to be popular.  If you combine them, you get not only the most popular post of 2018, but the 2nd most popular post in the history of the site.

Thanks to everyone who stops by the site every week.  The interactions I have with other collectors is what makes this all worthwhile.  Here's to a great 2019 for everyone.  It should be a very interesting year!