1992 Shockwave - Around the Web

The 1992 Shockwave is an excellent figure.  He is true to the original character and includes an amazing helmet.  The entire 1992 DEF series of figures is actually amazingly well done.  It features good colors, unique and memorable accessories and cool characters.  There's really nothing about the set to not like.  Shockwave is probably the best overall figure of the bunch.  Here's the best of him from around the web.

1992 Shockwave Profile

Shockwave By Scarrviper

1992 Shockwave Pre Production at YoJoe.com

Shockwave at 3DJoes.com

Shockwave at Half the Battle

1992 DEF Toy Fair Catalog at JoeADay.com

2017 Steel Brigade - Factory Custom

I bought a lot of "original" collections in the late 1990's and early 2000's.  These were lots of figures and vehicles that were sold by the childhood owners of the toys rather than collectors or dealers.  As such, it was easier to identify which figures were rare and which were just popular.  Now, you see a great number of lots that are designed to look like childhood collections.  But, they are often stripped of all but the least popular army builders and the major characters like Snake Eyes, Cobra Commander and Stormshadow are noticeably absent. 

20 years ago, though, these lots were full of the army builders and major characters alike that collectors enjoy.  Aside from being able to use condition to determine which figures were favorites of the person from whom the collection was acquired, I was also able to get an idea of what figures were simply rare.  In my time buying, I never found a Payload, AVAC or Hardtop in a lot.  I found at least three Stardusters, a pair of Rumblers and an occasional Night Force figure, though.  One figure I never got in any lot, though, was the Steel Brigade.  This is somewhat odd as Steel Brigade figures (all versions except for the Gold Head) were relatively common back then.  Bagged version D figures with the recolored Recoil rifle sat unsold for $10 on Ebay.  If you wanted to build a quick army, you could do it for under $100.  But, I still never found the figure in any lot.

In the ensuing decades, though, Steel Brigade figures have gotten hot.  The overstock that was ubiquitous in the early 2000's is long gone and the reduced availability of the figure has lead all versions to be $40+ figures.  That's a tremendous amount for an army builder.  And, it made it difficult to amass large quantities of Steel Brigades.  In early 2017, though, factory custom makers rectified this situation.  In short order, a large number of Steel Brigade figures began to appear on the market.  There were desert, arctic, Sky Patrol, Night Force and Gold Headed versions.  And, there was also a large number of figures that were based on the classic color scheme that were offered to collectors for prices that were attractive to army builders.

I view this figure as the "Estrela" Steel Brigade.  The green color of the jacket and the beige of the arms reminds me of colors that Estrela used in the Brazilian G.I. Joe line.  And, while they never actually released a Steel Brigade figure, I could envisage them having used colors like those chosen by Black Major if they had done so.  The slightly different colors make it obvious that this is a factory custom figure.  The accessories are also different enough that even a novice would notice that the color, feel and sound of the gear is substantially different from that of vintage Joe accessories.  This helps collectors feel that their precious originals are retaining their value but also offering everyone who either hasn't had the fortune of collecting for two decades or had a massive toy budget to also enjoy some decent figures.

If you've spent any time perusing the photos on this site, you'll often see Steel Brigade figures in precarious situations.  Usually, they have been soundly defeated and are either posed as dead or about to be killed in terrible ways by Cobra forces.  There are some reasons for this.  The first is personal and is a subtle way to complain about how a certain segment of fandom has actively worked to shape the hobby to their own, selfish reasons rather than what the good of the hobby as a whole.  But, the bigger reason is not related to this old grudge at all.  For me, Cobra needed to be a credible threat.  If they always lost, why would anyone take them seriously?  For an elite team like G.I. Joe to be singularly focused on stopping Cobra, the enemy organization had to be a real threat.  Having Cobra defeat Joes, though, if problematic.  While the Joe team seems large, even a few defeats resulting in death quickly diminish not just the Joe roster but also their level of eliteness.  The Steel Brigade solves this dilemma.

I've always seen the Joe team as one of three entities set up by Generals Flagg and Austin in the late 1970's to not only combat America's enemies, but also groom military officers for political office.  The original plan was for the first group to handle international threats.  The second group, G.I. Joe, would handle domestic problems.  The third group, the Steel Brigade, would support both groups in their operations and provide a breeding ground for new recruits and replacements to the other, more elite teams.  But, things don't always go as planned.  G.I. Joe responded to Cobra and ended up chasing them around the world.  The first group became more covert and dabbled in international issues, often as anonymous aid to foreign powers who were either friendly to the U.S. or who had an objective that the U.S. happened to agree with at the time.  The Steel Brigade ended up getting drawn into both factions.  But, due to some terrible leadership among their ranks, were forever barred from getting promoted into a full member of either of the elite units.  Still, the Steel Brigade maintained their level of prestige and were a destination for many troopers who were excellent but not quite elite.  As such, they are capable of defeating Cobra, especially newer recruits.  But, they are also often bested by more experienced Cobras or better trained Cobra specialties.  

All of this provides an elaborate setup where I get to use the figures in a variety of ways.  I've always felt the Steel Brigade figure was very cool and worthy of his popularity.  I have always used Joe aligned army builders.  And, finally having Steel Brigade figures made it easier to represent this fact in photos and dioramas.  Being able to finally acquire some cheap versions based on vintage coloring as well as some additional paint jobs has been a great way to grow my collection and give Cobra a fairer fight.  If the Joes capture Cobras, they have to take them into custody and let them stand trial, get convicted and go to federal prison.  Cobra, though, can point a bazooka at a guy strapped to a tire and blow him up.  They just can't, though, do this to Roadblock, Flint or other characters.  So, the Steel Brigade will continue to find terrible fates at the hands of the bad guys.  Occasionally, they'll win one, too.  But, the Steel Brigade opens up more possibilities for story telling and photo taking.  So, that's worth their price right there.

This Steel Brigade version featured a great deal for your money.  In addition to the classic "Duke" chest version of the character, each figure also included an "Airborne" chest so you could build and army of Version A Steel Brigade figures.  Each figure included the requisite backpack in green.  They also included two rifles: a dark black Airborne rifle and a dark black Recoil rifle.  The Recoil rifles were welcome additions to the collecting world as they offered a cheap and properly colored alternative to one of the best weapon molds of the vintage Joe line.  And, you're still left with a spare rifle should you use the Recoil weapon for another Joe.

The Steel Brigade figures started their life off at around $12 per figure, $10 per figure if you bought larger lots.  By Christmas of 2017, though, you could get them for around $7 each.  At that price, they didn't last long.  Now, almost two years after their release, the lots of 5 Steel Brigade figures are gone and you'll see individuals sold between the $15 and $20 range.  At $12, these guys were a novelty.  At $7, they were a must buy.  But, at $20, I'd skip them and just save up to buy an original Steel Brigade.  Oddly, many of the differently colored Steel Brigade figures remain cheaper than original pricing.  But, those based on the Gold Head colors and the original colors have retained their popularity.  But, this makes sense since the figures are excellent army builders, hearken back to the vintage line and are close enough for many collectors to find useful.  

1985 Lamprey - Around the Web

I opened my Moray for my birthday in 1985.  While the vehicle was amazing, it was the driver that grabbed my attention.  The Lamprey was just an amazing figure with a great weapon.  One of my great laments as a kid was that I only had one of them.  As such, I took tremendous care of the figure.  Fortunately, the Lamprey is now fairly easy to find and can be army built.  He remains one of my favorite Cobras to this day.  Here's the best of him from around the web.

1985 Lamprey Profile

Lamprey Dio 01

Lamprey Pre Production at YoJoe.com

Moray and Lamprey Video Review

Lamprey Variants

Lamprey at Brave Fortress

Lamprey By Outrider

2006 Gas Mask Trooper

2006 was not a good time to be a Joe fan.  In a lot of ways, it was like 1995.  A great run of toys had pitifully ended at retail while the product that comprised the late years was actually quite good.  There was little hope on the horizon for the line and the interest in the property was quickly fading away.  The thing is, the few releases that are actually considered 2006 items are quite good.  In many cases, they are step above the insufficient 2005 retail toys and bring some nice additions to a collection.  In a few cases, Hasbro trotted out some tired, recently used molds.  But, with minor adjustments, they created a solid update to something that could have been bland.  A perfect example is the 2006 Gas Mask Trooper.

Hasbro made a lot of weird decisions in the 2000's.  They would not remake a highly requested figure like the 1985 Snake Eyes or 1983 Cobra Commander.  Yet, they had the budget to make Mutt and recast parts for Scrap Iron.  They also, somehow, had budget to make a new Lady Jaye mold, even though the original had been proved useful as recently as 2003.  But, mostly, Hasbro liked to make new heads.  They were cheaper than other parts.  But, most of Hasbro's attempts at new heads left much to be desired.  Finally, in 2006, a new head appeared on an army builder.  With no face to sculpt, the result was pretty decent.  And, this Gas Mask Trooper can now easily integrate into many Cobra armies.

The origin of this figure is just a single panel in issue #44 of the Marvel Comic.  It seems disingenuous that the issue that introduced Airtight, the Mauler, Dr. Mindbender and the BATs would pick a character from one panel to become a figure.  But, this was all about cost.  And, the figure's body was available, had already been recently released in the base color and was going to be packed two per pack to further reduce the overall expense in making the pack.  Plus, the other molds were long gone and Hasbro didn't spend any money or time looking for molds when the line was at its peak.  So, there was no chance of any of the newly introduced characters joining Lady Jaye in the pack.  

Collectors began demanding a new Cobra Trooper in 2000.  It seemed an obvious choice for a fledgling line.  The chorus grew louder in 2001 as Hasbro ignored the whims of army builders.  It was not until 2004 that a Cobra Trooper and Officer based on the original look finally appeared.  Collectors assumed Hasbro would repaint the molds ad naseum.  But, that didn't happen.  A few months after the release of the 2004 Infantry Pack, the Cobra Trooper (now sporting his original head and crappy arms) appeared in a comic pack.  The Officer appeared in the next wave.  The molds would only appear once again, in the Night Watch set.  I never liked the Comic Pack Cobra Trooper.  His poor gear and flesh colored hands never did anything for me.  However, I really liked the 2004 Comic Pack Cobra Officer.  While he's basically the same color as the Trooper, the included Red Star AK-47 and gloved hands made all the difference.  I picked up a few of them on clearance and had them as a backup army when I wanted something different for a photo.  When these Gas Mask Troopers were released, I found they were exact matches for the Comic Pack Officer in color.  And, they also included the AK-47.  So, I quickly supplemented my Officers with Gas Mask Troopers and had a formidable force with relatively little effort.  While the Gas Mask Trooper lacks the painted gloves of the Officer, he does not have flesh colored hands and that makes all the difference to me with this mold.  

While the Gas Mask Trooper was never repainted, his legacy was continued.  In 2007, Hasbro released an anniversary figure named the Cobra Air Trooper.  At his core, this was a repainted Cobra Trooper.  But, he included a jet pack blatantly ripped off from the JUMP.  The additional headgear given to this figure to protect his brain was a dead ringer for the Gas Mask Trooper.  In the early 2010's, a design based on this head began to appear on Black Major factory custom figures.  Sadly, this head was mostly used on straight arm Grand Slam bodies to make armies for the Cobra De Aco.  The designs are great and the figures look amazing.  But, without swivel arms, the figures are very limited.  While these figures have dried up from their release, you can still find many of them for about their original price since they have not proven as desirable as the early Cobra Trooper and Crimson Guard repaints from the same timeframe.  A few of the heads have appeared on later factory customs.  So, the head being out there means there are options for you and you can get it an variety of colors, now, for customizing needs.

The Gas Mask Trooper's accessories were good and bad.  The bad was yet another Baroness rifle at a time when collectors had, literally, hundreds of them lying around.  The good, though, was the inclusion of the Red Star AK-47.  This weapon hearkened back to the original Cobra Officer and is a weapon I associate with Cobra.  With the figure's helmet, though, I also like to outfit him with various other gear that was included with other releases of that time.  My favorite combo is the black version of the 1991 Sci Fi's weapons that were first included with the 2001 Laser Viper.  Those accessories look good with the Gas Mask Trooper.  The bulkier head is really accented well when the figure wears a pack.  So, I go out of my way to find decent looking ones for my extra Gas Mask Troopers.

At the time, this pack was a dud.  You wonder how a set with a new Lady Jaye (the first hatless version!) and two classically inspired army builders could collect dust.  But, Joe fans pretty much abandoned the brand in 2005.  A series of bad decisions by Hasbro and the club left the small fan base fractured and beaten down.  And, with that, most of the new collectors who onboarded in 2000 through 2002 were gone.  So, the little product that got to retail sat and sat.  Eventually, this comic pack was heavily discounted.  I picked up a few for $5 or $6 each after shipping.  A lot of collectors bought some clearance packs to get extra Lady Jayes for parts.  And, they were then able to sell off the Gas Mask Troopers for a couple bucks each to cover their costs.  If that weren't enough, overstock Gas Mask Troopers were available in large lots from Asian Joe sellers.  All this added up to surplus figures that not even massive army builders could absorb.  

Today, the figure remains relatively unloved and you can get mint and complete versions for about $6.  Dealers will sell the figures for $15...which is ridiculous since you can get a MOC pack with two Troopers and Lady Jaye for around $20.  But, like most of the 2000's era army builders, this guy is not nearly as ubiquitous as he used to be and it might take you a year or more to finally build a large army.  I still find him one of the better figures just because he was something slightly different.  I'm glad I was able to build up an army of them as they are a great supplement to 2000's era Cobra forces.  They are not perfect figures.  But, few releases from their era are.  In this day and age where there, again, is no prospect of retail Joe figures on the horizon, I'm reminded of 12 years prior, as the line died again in front of collectors' eyes, with nothing they could do to stop it.  Those memories that are associated with this figure keep him more prominent than many of his contemporaries for me.  The fact that he's a good design is just icing on the cake.

1990 Stretcher - Around the Web

I've always liked the Stretcher figure.  My first one was a beat up copy I found in a $1 bin at a flea market when I was in college.  As I acquired better and more complete samples, I realized that he was even better than my initial impressions.  Oddly, though, despite my fondness for the figure, I hadn't photographed him in almost 15 years.  It was fun to dig him out and appreciate his design another time.

Stretcher is probably more popular than his release year and unique specialty would imply.  But, he's still relatively low profile in the grand scheme of things.  Here's the best of him from around the web.

1990 Stretcher Profile

Unproduced Dark Blue Anti Venom Stretcher

Stretcher by thedustinmccoy

Stretcher at JoeADay.com

Stretcher Dio 01

Stretcher at JoePedia

Stretcher by therealdustinmccoy

Stretcher Video Review