I’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
Read moreTomax and Xamot were so fascinating to me in 1985 that I took the first opportunity I could to get to a store and buy the set. It was the same day that I had seen the commercial for their debut comic (during an episode of MASK, no less) and one of my buddies called to ask if I wanted
Read moreThe Slaughter’s Marauders figures are some of the strangest repaints in all the 82-94 series. While the large swaths of color, along with bright blue accents, made the figures stand out against other figures, the patterns themselves seemed rather pointless. Of all the Marauders however, Barbecue’s color scheme seems to lend itself well to the mold. Maybe it’s just the
Read moreKnockdown was the last GI Joe figure I purchased as a young kid collector. Should a kid be called a collector, by the way? I mean, I was buying these things to play with them in the dirt, not to keep them in their package, seal them in bulletproof Lucite and admire the finer points of their sculpts and designs.
Read more1987’s vehicle offerings encompassed a vast range of purposes and designs, from the functionally sublime to the utterly ridiculous. The Strategic Long-Range Artillery Machine (SLAM) manages to incorporate a little of both. As a vehicle, and it is a vehicle, since it has an engine, and even a tow hook, the SLAM looks a bit like a tank turret was
Read moreThe first Snake Eyes figure I purchased was a straight arm original. I bought it at a TG&Y close to my house, and I was excited to see an original Snake Eyes at a store. This was sometime in 1983, and the figure had eluded me to that point. I was initially a little disappointed in it, as I really
Read moreIt’s been a long time getting here, two years in fact. Last year, my first anniversary post covered the 30th anniversary Airtight, a new version of the first figure I ever covered for the blog. This time, I’m looking at a figure that I’d intended to showcase since the beginning, but that had been pushed back time after time. I’m
Read moreIt’s amazing to consider just how many GI Joe figures that still resonate with collectors were part of the 1985 assortment. I’ve often wondered how much of our affection for the year’s toys can be attributed to the Sunbow animated series. When I see this first version of Dusty, I’m reminded of two things: the card art and the cartoon
Read moreI wasn’t fortunate enough to have a USS Flagg as a kid, so I have no nostalgic memories for Keel Haul, unless you count looking at the Flagg in the 1985 catalog for hours upon hours. Keel Haul encompasses what I think is one of the great strengths of the Real American Hero era: the driver. It’s ironic to consider
Read moreWhat separated the 80s GI Joe from the myriad of other less successful toys to inhabit that most awesome of decades? For me, it was the way that Hasbro went above and beyond to create a mythology to go along with the toys. First, with the comic and later the Sunbow animated series, the Joe team was fleshed out beyond
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