Cutter (1993)

Cutter was one of those rare “driver” characters that later became a single card release. He joined up with the Drug Elimination Force in 1992, in a move that actually made a lot of sense. His function as a sea operations specialist with the sub-group fit well within the premise of the DEF, since one can easily imagine smugglers running contraband along US coastlines. Included again as a driver the next year, Cutter piloted the elaborately designed and action feature laden Shark 9000.

Like the DEF figure, it looks as if Cutter has been hitting the weight room since his first appearance in the 80’s. Those bare arms must get cold patrolling northern waters. Maybe I’ll swap them out for some long sleeves for a different look. I’d also like to swap parts with this version and the single carded Cutter, to give him an orange life vest with black details. I am quite fond of the later brightly hued GI Joes, but I’m not big on the yellow highlights in this case. Wait, why am I suddenly talking customizing?

Parts swapping aside, I like to think of this as Cutter in his away uniform, what with the lighter colored pants. Hey, a baseball analogy isn’t totally inappropriate, since the guy is almost always wearing a ballcap. This time however he’s not showing allegiance to any particular team. It was the politically correct 90’s after all, and one wouldn’t want to ruffle any feathers.

One of my favorite aspects of the later series file cards was the inclusion of call-outs that helpfully described the figure’s weapons and gear, including clothing. Cutter is wearing something I never thought I’d hear of: a bullet-proof life vest. I need to Google that and see it if exists. If so, I want one. Some of the lakes around these parts can get pretty rough around Memorial Day weekend. I’ve even seen bass packing heat.

 

12 comments

  • I’ve got to look for this guy at some point, I do like it for some odd reason. This figure (or rather, back stock of it) was offered, along with the driver version of Chun-Li from the same time, as special mail-order promotions through Lee’s Toy Review. I miss that magazine.

  • I really loved my single-pack version. It’s one of the few that I remember my brother really liking and he actually almost bought a SHARK 9000 just to get one. By the time he realized how cool my Cutter was, it was hard to track down the original single carded. The driver version is nice, but I really think the orange-vested carded version was a bit better, but maybe that’s just me.

  • @Acer: I miss both Lee’s and Tomart’s as well. The Comic Buyer’s Guide just announced that it is ceasing publication after over 40 years. The Internet has eliminated all the cool print mags we used to get our news from back in the day.

    This and the carded version of Cutter from the previous year are still easy to find on eBay. The head sculpt is a great improvement over the ’84 original. Nice for parts swapping too, since I also prefer the orange and black life vest. Sleeves would go a long way towards making him look more like the Cutter we best remember from the 80’s comics.

  • Once I got the ’92 Cutter, the old ’84 Cutter pretty much hung out with ’84 Deep Six for the remainder of his career in my collection.

    I’m a big fan of the ’92/’93 Cutter sculpt, I just want it with blue pants with green belt and spats, and then a PFD that’s got a dark blue camo application with different paint details on it.

    It is so close to great, but still, awesome figure.

  • I pack mine with a black, shiny ” lifeline” handgun from Spytroops or VvV, I can’t remember which. Fits perfectly on that knob on his leg, also goes well with his main weapon. Nice figure – John.

  • My area was swamped with unsold BATTLE CORPS and D.E.F stock in early ’96. I always managed to miss out on Cutter.

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