Duke (1997)
I had thought that Stars and Stripes Breaker would be the pinnacle of bad Joe figures. It was lazily produced and ineptly accessorized. It was unadulterated, high octane action figure poo. Could another figure come close to it in sheer disappointment? Duke comes pretty close, especially considering the classic mold on which he’s based.
Duke came packaged with a reproduced Silver Mirage motorcycle as part of the 1997 releases. He reminds me of a cheap knockoff. He’s strangely colored and cheap looking. He got stuck with flesh bits cast from an inhumanly waxy plastic. And he has brown hair. Then again, Tiger Force duke had brown hair too. Maybe this is Tiger Force Duke incognito. Wait–I’ve got a better name for this figure–it’s Hollywood Wax Museum Duke.
Like Stars and Stripes Breaker, Duke suffers from an annoying missing parts issue. Instead of the well remembered cuffed sleeves, he’s stuck with Gung Ho arms painted to look like short sleeves. That doesn’t fool anybody. The painted short sleeves just scream lazy, as does the unpainted wristwatch. Speaking of paint detail, how is it that his airborne insignia and even the whites of his eyes get painted, but not his watch? And is it me, or is he winking? Maybe it’s always been a detail in the mold, and I just didn’t notice. Whatever the case, I think the painted eyes bring out the goofy smirking look even more.
The original Duke isn’t one of the most loved figures by some collectors, but I still find his original version to be an iconic and great figure. A lot of that had to do with a simple but effective paint scheme, and great accessories. This version sort of gets one of those right–Duke retained most of his gear. He lost his original backpack but finally gained a visor. At least now he won’t get bugs in his eyes riding the Silver Mirage.
And this was the formula for future Duke rereleases from 2004 to 2005. Of the parts assortment, the Gung-Ho arms, waist, and lower legs are the only surviving parts of the original Gung-Ho; the back is the only surviving part of the Doc mold; the upper legs are the only remnants of the original Major Bludd; and the head and chest are the only surviving Duke pieces.
You know, they could’ve just used the same parts assortment as Tiger Force Duke for this one. I do believe that Roadblock was also to be packaged with the Silver Mirage.
For the 1997 Joes, I think I heard it was the factory that made the parts substituions/switches at the last minute, not Hasbro. However, Hasbro never bothered to correct anything on later releases.
1st time a mistake due to rushed production. All other times, laziness or apathy or cheapness.
I have a hypothesis that some of the ’97 figures’ parts were produced in different factories, making the mismatching worse. Certain parts get fantastic paint apps, while others are bare. And limbs often don’t fit together well. It’s like a QC nightmare!
I at first thought the head reminded me of Sylvester Stallone, but now reminds me of Peter Lupus from the original ‘Mission: Impossible’ show.
Yeah! Willy Armitage here looks like he’s saying: “C’mon, I might look like crap but you know you wanna buy me. Vintage is back, baby!”
Say, I wonder–if the helmets the ’97 figures came with couldn’t fit those same figures, would they fit the comic pack figures from ’04-’06?
Good question. I used a spare vintage one for the ’01 Big Brawler and it fit like a glove. Don’t know about the ’97 ones, though.
I remember seeing this guy in the stores. I thought the Silver Mirage was really cool but this Duke just looked so bad I could never really talk myself into buying it. I totally agree, it looks like a bad knockoff…
I think the only salvageable parts off of this figure are the accessories (save for the helmet), the waist, and the chest.
Most of the ’97 stuff makes Lanard figures look like Sideshow material. I kid you not.
Terrific (not action) figure…
Something about this guy is so bad it’s good. The legs are salvageable and the chest is ok. But this guy was a croaker in 97. I only got him in a lot and have never used him. He’s kind of pricey for the quality these days. But I don’t think he’s worth it.
The waist is also salvageable.