A while back, I covered Steam-Roller, the driver of the Mobile Command Center, and a gem of a figure that I hadn’t really appreciated before taking a look at him for the blog. I’d like to say the same applies to Armadillo, but for the most part, I still find him uninspiring. He has a few vestiges of personality as
Read moreAs much as Duke gets grief from collectors now and again, I’ve not really had a problem with the character. Maybe that comes from being a fan of the Sunbow cartoon, and the great voice acting of Michael Bell. Now that I’m thinking about it, Duke really didn’t do much in those first few mini-series until later in each one.
Read moreGI Joe not only dominated the boys toys aisle in the early 80s, but also assaulted all fronts of the market with a barrage of ancillary merchandise meant to raise the visibility of the brand. Much like the pioneering Star Wars sales juggernaut, the GI Joe characters were plastered on everything from puzzles to plates to bedroom decor. Books were
Read moreTorpedo was one of the first GI Joes I bought myself. After getting Cobra Commander in a school trade, and Flash from a trip to Wards with my dad, Torpedo was one of the new for 1983 figures that caught my eye. I picked him up at the same Wards from which I had acquired Flash. He immediately got regular
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The prolific KansasBrawler has another modern GI Joe Field Report subject to share. It’s the HISS and Cobra Commander from Retaliation. I really like the Cobra Commander figure here, despite the reduced articulation. But don’t just listen to me, check out KB’s review here.
Read moreDo I kick myself in the butt for not buying up a pile of the 1990’s Bronze Bombers set that showed up at Toys R Us? Sure, but hindsight is 20/20. When these guys were on the shelf, I think my reaction was wonder at the use of actual GI Joe molds, then bemusement at the sight of some of
Read moreCroc Master, being part of the Cobra class of 1987, sometimes gets the business from collectors. The year is often cited as the beginning of the Real American Hero series’ downhill slide from the heights of early 80s greatness. If you look back at the year as a whole though, there are quite a few fantastic figures, and some that
Read moreThe 25th anniversary series mainly appealed to me as a way to obtain some of the old card art without paying out the wazoo for them. Card art was probably as big a factor for me in what made GI Joe stand out from other toy lines as the figures themselves. The individual portraits were eye-catching and held the promise
Read moreZartan? I don’t know any Zartan. I don’t either, at least not one that rides a Power Wheels version of the Chameleon. Sorry to start out with that observation, but it is the poorest excuse for a vintage homage in all the 25th anniversary line. Zartan can’t even sit on this truncated mess of a swamp skier without looking like
Read moreI’ve covered Action Force, GI Joe’s sort-of cousin from across the pond, several times. Up till now, the figures I’ve covered have been members of the Red Shadows, the UK exclusive enemies of the 80s Action Force team. Much like Cobra, the enemy forces were both a strange and terrifying lot, with shadowy leaders, robots and even a fishman. The
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