Tunnel Rat is one of the most iconic figures in the line. His likeness is based on Larry Hama. But, the rest of the figure is amazing, too. He photographs really well and works in a variety of situations. And, because of that, I have a wide array of Tunnel Rat pictures from various settings.
But, Tunnel Rat is a very popular photo subject. So, here's a bunch of photos I've taken over the years of Tunnel Rat.
I returned to collecting as a college student in the mid 1990's. While I dabbled a bit between 1992 and 1994, I didn't really start looking for Joe figures in earnest until 1995. By then, most of the figures were gone from retail stores. You could find some here and there at Targets, Wal Marts or K-Marts. Toys R Us, though, usually had the largest stock. While they'd still get straggler cases of 1993 or 1994 Battle Corps from time to time, most of their stock was unsold figures from prior years. These were dominated by Shadow Ninjas, Armor Tech Star Brigade, Ninja Force and the Street Fighter figures that were, for some reason, incorporated into the Joe line. I stared at these figures dozens of times as a young 20 something collector who had to be choosy with his figure purchases. I only partook of one figure: a Ninja Force Night Creeper. Many times, though, I perused the Street Fighter figures. Some had black accessories, which was always a reason to buy a figure. Well, almost always. I simply couldn't reconcile the Street Fighter name in the Joe line. And, oddball figures like Blanka just made it worse.
As I got deeper into the collecting well, this attitude didn't much change. Even in my heyday of buying lots of 1993 figures, I rarely found Street Fighter figures among the collections. As I had no affinity for the Street Fighter franchise, the figures held zero appeal to me. As I continued collecting into the 2000's, I still felt the same. Around 2015, though, my opinions started to change. I appreciate oddball G.I. Joe figures more than most people. And, the Street Fighter line was full of them. And, they were figures I had never owned. But, at the time, my priorities were more on rebuilding the collection I had sold away a few years prior. So, I ignored Street Fighter figures as I built out my ranks of other figures who had been banished a few years earlier. By the time I started looking at Street Fighter figures, I was shocked to find that not only had they gotten harder to find, they were also now substantially more expensive that I would have ever imagined. With all things Joe, though, patience pays off. And, a cheap Blanka figure fell into my lap. With it, I found that I was both correct in my assessment of these figures from 1995, but also correct in my current stance that the figures are well worth collecting.
I really don't know what to do with Blanka. But, he works in the context of the Mega Marines and even the Lunartix. I see him as an experiment of Dr. Mindbender's that went awry. Blanka was meant to be an enhanced human with super strength, etc. But, it didn't work and the green monstrosity was the ensuing result. The colors work well with other 1993 figures and that allows for the Blanka figure to have some use. I do like the green color. And, it mixes well with the figure's purple gear. I've found that he is often used in context with some of the Ninja Force as I tend to see him as an edged weapon specialist. It's not a huge use for the figure. But, it keeps the figure around and allows me to appreciate the colorful visuals the figure offers.
Blanka's most famous use was as the head for the 2008 convention Hotwire figure. It was an odd release and looks bizarre. But, it kind of works. The rest of the Blanka figure is reused from the 1988 Road Pig. The figure is also available with blue skin as the driver of the Beast Blaster. And, there's another Blanka in the Street Fighter Movie line that features this same head as well as a new body. Due to the green skin, it's difficult to see this figure and Road Pig as so similar. So, that shows a good reuse of some existing parts.
Blanka's accessories are just OK. His gear is purple. But, purple is a great accent color with green, so the combo works really well. He includes a 1988 Shockwave knife, 1992 Destro rifle, 1990 Rock Viper rifle as well as the requisite missiles and spring loaded launcher. The main draw of the accessories, though, is that Blanka includes a grappling hook and rope that can be used in conjunction with the launcher. The weapons aren't my favorites. But, I do find the knife to be a good accessory for the character.
Street Fighter figures went from worthless to desired. Even a decade ago, you could buy carded lots of the figure for a few bucks each. Single carded figures would sell for $10, if they sold at all. Now, though, much of the Street Fighter stock has dried up. And, demand has increased not only from old collectors finally acquiescing and acquiring these figures to complete their collections, but also from Street Fighter fans who have found the series and buy it for its nostalgic bent. As 2021 winds down, though, you're starting to see waning interest. While loose, mint and complete figures were selling for $20 or more with regularity at the end of 2020, they now sit unsold for $10-$12. Dealers sell an appalling amount of carded figures for $70 and even some loose figures for $30. But, this is becoming less common. So, it could be that Blanka's time has passed, again. Which isn't a bad thing. This guy is an oddball. And, usually, I like oddball figures. But, the biases of my younger days still hold and I don't find that many uses for Blanka these days.
I haven't been able to finish any new profiles for a while. I've got dozens of them started, with many 80% or more completed. But, I just can't bring them home. I'm really going to work to get a fun Ripcord version done for next week. Usually, when I get one done, that gets the juices flowing and I can then finish a bunch of other ones, too.
In the meantime, here's a bunch of photos featuring the 2005 Comic Pack Firefly. I think this version might be the best Firefly Hasbro ever released. And, because of that, I use him quite frequently. Sadly, I've started to notice some discoloring on his upper arms. This is common with most figures from the 2000's. I hope we don't see it on the figures from the 2020's, too. But, it's now a sad fate for some quality figures that collectors get to deal with.
Dr. Mindbender's character is far more popular than any of his figures would suggest. The original version looked like a circus strongman. This 1993 version features a solid sculpt. But, the colors are bright and really don't match with the mold. But, the good Dr.'s popularity prevails and he remains a top tier Cobra character.
Because of this, the 1993 figure is far more popular in Joe content than I would ever have guessed. There's tons of photos and write ups available on the figure. So, scroll through and check out all the great work that's been done with the 1993 Dr. Mindbender.
1993 Dr. Mindbender by relena_warcraft
1993 Dr. Mindbender by dashtacker
1993 Dr. Mindbender by discovolante
1993 Dr. Mindbender by cobragram
1993 Dr. Mindbender at JoeADay.com
1993 Dr. Mindbender by gijoe_for_fun
1993 Dr. Mindbender by bruxovigo
1993 Dr. Mindbender by Slipstream80
1993 Dr. Mindbender at Nekoman's Viper Pit
1993 Dr. Mindbender by thedustinmccoy
1993 Dr. Mindbender by discovolante
1993 Dr. Mindbender by ronnie_trickshot
1993 Dr. Mindbender by thedustinmccoy
1993 Dr. Mindbender by python.patrol_benny
1993 Dr. Mindbender by fosilru
1993 Dr. Mindbender at Action Figure BBQ
Grand Slam was among the first repaints in the vintage Joe line. In 1983, he, Grunt and the Cobra Trooper all got the repaint treatment. Grunt and the newly named Viper Pilot were given prominent places as the pilots for the well hyped Joe gliders. Those toys were garbage, though. And, the figures remain the only good thing about them. Grand Slam, though, had less fanfare. Instead of getting an all new toy to call his own, Grand Slam was packaged with the JUMP. It's likely that the excellent jet pack hadn't been perceived as a great value by the parents of 1982. So, Hasbro decided to start including a figure to entice more people to buy it. In the 1983 catalog, the silver Grand Slam appears with no special indication that he's a new addition to an old toy. 40 years later, JUMPs remain common and attainable. But, the Silver Pads Grand Slam has become a collector prized figure and taken on a bit of rarified air.
I would have sworn to you for many years that this figure was a 1984 release. I had him listed as 1984 on my original profile for a long time. This is simply due to the fact that my discovery of this Grand Slam occurred in 1984. The local Service Merchandise store had a small section in the back where they kept smaller toys that didn't make sense to store in the display cases. This section was mostly figures. But, there were some small vehicles, too. Among them was the JUMP with this newly colored Grand Slam. This Service Merchandise was the only place I recall seeing this new Grand Slam coloring. And, as no one else had the the silver figure, I desperately wanted the JUMP. Each time we went to the store, I'd go back to that aisle and wait for my parents. Inevitably, they'd find me with the JUMP box in my hands, hoping I'd get one for my birthday in 1984.
On the big day, my parents came through. Along with the Whale, I got a Silver Pads Grand Slam and JUMP. Also, for that birthday, I got a new Stormshadow (my brother's from just two months earlier had already lost or broken most of the accessories) and a straight arm Scarlett figure. I spent the afternoon and evening playing with the new Joes with all my friends, eating pizza and then watching Beverly Hills Cop. Which, somehow my dad managed to rent without my mother's objections. It all wrapped into a perfect day and forever associated this Grand Slam with great memories and feelings.
That alone was enough to keep Grand Slam around. The only red pads figure we owned was an old straight arm from a HAL my brother got for his birthday in October of 1982. So, the character seemed new. And, armed with the jet pack, Grand Slam was a powerful force. Through 1985, Grand Slam remained one of my favored figures and he even held his own as the class of 1985 slowly joined my collection. At some point in 1986, a swivel arm Flash entered into our collection. I'm not sure where he came from. But, it was a nice figure. For Christmas that year, my brother got the Dreadnok Air Assault set from Sears. Not being a Dreadnok fan, though, I kept the Skyhawk as a Joe vehicle. It became a new branch of the Joe team. Prior to this, air power hadn't been a big part of my play pattern. Really, a well timed airstrike or Dragonfly arrival would completely upend the adventure as air superiority was too much for Cobra to overcome. But, the real reason was that airplanes were hard to play with. Smaller aircraft were OK. But, the larger toys looked great while being too large and bulky to really use in a detailed play scenario.
I needed a pilot for this new Skyhawk. But, I had few choices available. I tried some figures who had sculpted helmets. But, they could rarely fit into the vehicle. I then had an idea. Grand Slam, with his more unique silver colors would become the pilots of the Skyhawks (yes, the figure became an army builder) while Flash would become the more common land soldier who supplemented the new force. In short, this worked fantastically. The Flash figure's would invade on land while Grand Slam would fly in the air. I would give Grand Slam either Ripcord or Lifeline's air mask, to make him more pilot-like. Grand Slam might save the day. He might die in battle. In many cases, divers had to rescue Grand Slam from deep under the water where he was trapped in the cockpit of his aircraft. Sometimes he lived and sometimes he didn't. But, through the end of 1987, these two figures were among the most used toys in my bedroom.
When I put my Joes away for good in 1988, Grand Slam and Flash were carefully wrapped in plastic bags and tucked away inside a red Lego container that I hid in the back of my closet. My youngest brother, of course, would find it and remove figures when I wasn't around. But, he was after newer toys and left the Grand Slam and Flash intact. As an adult collector, I found that Grand Slam. He was relatively worn and, at some point, I had replaced his crotch with that from a 1982 red Grand Slam figure. But, he was still there. With my memories intact, I made a high quality Silver Pads Grand Slam a key acquisition as a collector. And, I was fortunate in that as the figure has become far too expensive for a vanity purchase these days.
Silver Pads Grand Slam figures were only available with the JUMP. In one of the weird anomalies of the early Joe line, though, there was a three pack of Hawk, Clutch and Red Pads Grand Slam figures that were available in bags. The Grand Slams, though, all include the Silver Pads Grand Slam filecard. But, the figures are all red pads variants. In an other really fun oddity, Hasbro actually factory overpainted some red pads figures with the silver paint. As such, you'll see some Silver Grand Slams that have red paint peeking out from behind the silver. Many people quickly out these as fakes. But, some are legitimate products of the Hasbro factories that were trying to save money on overstock figures.
While Flash was released around the world, Grand Slam only appeared in the US. It's likely that his parts were shipped off to make Grunts and Flashes all around the globe. But, poor Grand Slam never saw release outside of Hasbro. Even the comic, which made a point to showcase all of the early Joe team, ignored Grand Slam. He got one great moment kicking Major Bludd through a bus window in issue #17. But, that was about it other than making fun of Short-Fuse's name in #22. Grand Slam didn't return as a character until Hasbro dusted him off in the late 2000's as part of the DTC line. While Grand Slam figures tend to command a premium due to his reduced release area, the character is pretty much forgotten and has little influence in the Joe world.
So, this figure is pricey. Nice, mint and complete figures will run at least $100. Some of them with JUMP packs will even get to $150. Dealers get the higher amount all the time. For a figure that's "rare", though, there's actually quite a few Silver Pads Grand Slams out there. So, it's not hard to get one. But, you'll pay for it since perception outweighs reality for many old Joe releases these days. As the silver paint wears easily, though, finding mint specimens is getting harder and harder. And, my desire to showcase the figure in outdoor photos also diminishes as replacement figures become more and more expensive. The upside to Grand Slam is that he has a figure that's found a collector afterlife. But, the fact that it's due to rarity and price instead of quality is kind of a bummer. Each collector will find different value in owning Grand Slam. For me, the childhood connection makes this silver version a must own. But, at the same time, did I not have the memories of the figure, the red pads version would be just fine for me.
