When it comes to toys and packaging, sometimes what you see is not what you get. The 2005 GI Joe Moray Hydrofoil is a perfect example. The box art depicted a white and black colored repaint of the classic Cobra Hydrofoil. It looked something like a law enforcement vehicle to me, and the matching flames on the hull were just
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Action features are a sticky wicket. While kids love ’em (and they do, believe me) collectors tend to loathe them. I’m okay with action features when they’re integrated well with the figures. Weirdly scaled limbs, giant buttons or fall-apart bits tend to turn me off. However, when the feature is themed with the character and still allows for playability beyond
Read moreYeah, you read right. I don’t know if this thing has a proper name, and I don’t really care. It’s blamed goofy, for sure, no matter the name. Will and I took a look at it, probably for far longer than is needed. I really need to reign myself in when talking during these things. Sorry. Will does a great
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It’s been a while since I’ve covered a Snake Eyes figure. I think. It’s so hard to tell really, considering there have been a metric crapload of versions of the guy. His myriad releases don’t bother me at all, as he remains one of my favorites to come out of the 80s mythos. What’s not to like about a sometimes
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The saga of the interchangeable Recondo and Clutch (or Double Clutch, as he was known for a while) in the early 2000s can be a confusing thing. In 2003, the same mold represented these two very different characters. Not an odd thing in the GI Joe world, considering that mold re-use has been pretty common since the days of the
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The Night Creepers sure got a lot of exposure after their initial appearance in the Real American Hero line. The basic trooper figures were followed by a leader character, which itself received a redeco just one year later. Ninja Force featured a redesign for the final years of the original small Joe run. An arctic variant of the trooper showed
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We action figure geeks can be a cowardly, superstitious lot. We’re sometimes afraid of changes to the beloved properties of our youth. Clinging to established visions of characters only as we have known them, we often cheat ourselves of enjoying new interpretations of our time-tested favorites. Maybe we hold some sort of irrational fear that the changing of our childhood
Read moreHow many GI Joe figures can you think of that have a tail? Okay, outside of animal sidekicks, I mean. And the aliens or mutant monsters of the 90’s. I honestly had forgotten that Swamp Rat had a tail until I pulled him out of his slumber at the bottom of a plastic storage tote. I’ve got to get a
Read moreIn a recent episode of Flag Points, we spoke to former GI Joe marketer Kirk Bozigian about what he felt made the line great during the 80’s, and what could be done to return it to its former glory. Kirk said that in his day, the toyline was marketed in a way that made it seem bigger than in was.
Read moreLast year, I spent a week celebrating some figures who sported some of the most interesting trousers in Joe history. I think it’s about time to break out the concept again, and so here we are. The Discovery Channel has Shark Week, and now Joe A Day has Nice Pants Week. Hopefully it will become a tradition, with parties and
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