Looking through a present day lens, the early small scale Joe convention exclusives have a sense of being a bit of an afterthought in comparison to their later counterparts. While the set was intriguing in terms of bringing along new factions and reusing interesting troop molds, the storyline around them doesn’t grab one’s attention. In fact, this set is probably
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My name is Rob, and I am a HISS IV owner. I can’t quite say how I came to that point in my collecting journey, but being a completist between the years of 2002 to 2006 may have something to do with it. That’s right, I was snapping up every new figure pack and vehicle at the time. If I
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The 2002 relaunch of GI Joe afforded collectors with the opportunity to build their forces in two different scales. Among small scale Joe fans, the redesigned line often gets short shrift. I am still a fan of the period, not only due to the memories of collecting a new line at its beginning, but also for the interesting redesigns of
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Here began Hasbro’s infatuation with Heavy Duty, which continued until the GI Joe: Retaliation film pulled Roadblock back to the forefront of the brand as the team’s heavy machine gunner. Some fans at the time surmised that Hasbro was having some sort of rights issue with the name a la Hawk and others, but Roadblock appeared (alongside a later version
Read moreHoly cow! Now this is action! I really want to see what happens in this book, but unfortunately that’s not the point of the Captivating Cover feature. We simply judge the book by its–you know… The book appears to feature the relaunch series version of Frostbite. However, like other covers in the same series, the character design differs from its
Read moreI’ve found several of these GI Joe vs. Cobra books of late, and I find myself fascinated by the fact that in the early 2000s, the brand was deemed viable enough by Hasbro to procure licensing deals to produce ancillary bits of cross promotion. Some of the books lack the boldness of the 80s offerings, but this one I find
Read moreI’ve often wondered why Cobra didn’t have more traditional looking pilot figures over the years. While Wild Weasel was a classic character, and one of my early favorites in the line, he didn’t look much like a real world pilot. Later figures such as the Strato-Viper were interesting designs, but not the most functional. Available as the driver of the
Read moreNo, it’s not the infamous Star Wars bootleg, but a second version of the former Headhunters leader. My, how times change. A character who was once a drug kingpin changed to a smuggler and thief in just one decade. I wonder if what was once an up-front bad guy for the brand was deemed a touchy subject during the early
Read moreHey, wait a second, I hear you say. Didn’t you just cover this guy a couple months back? Yes, I did, but this is a recolor. That’s right, the Moray came in two flavors for 2002. The same thing happened for much of the first series of the relaunch, actually. While the other holds a place of distinction for me
Read moreThere weren’t too many laser-focused homage type figures in the first series of Joe’s 2002 relaunch. Old faves like Duke, Snake Eyes, Cobra Commander and Destro incorporated some elements of their former selves, but also diverged in new, and sometimes interesting ways. The Moray took cues from the vintage Eels, but injected a modern style that continues to impress me.
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