Hasbro’s Kre-O has become more than a bit of an obsession for me since its GI Joe figures made their debut last year. When Collection 1 hit, I hadn’t intended to pick up more than a few choice figures that had sparked my interest. Once I bought a few blind bags and the Checkpoint Alpha set however, I was hooked.
Read moreI feel bad whenever I have to simply reblog something. Usually, it’s due to just running out of time in the day. (I do have a life, folks). However, I also think that throwing back to a past entry might put a figure back in front of some eyeballs that hadn’t caught it the first time around. Today, it’s a
Read moreWhat’s in a name? With the GI Joe brand since the Real American Hero era’s end, it seems at times a mire of copyright and/or trademark clearances. Mainstay characters like Hawk, Stalker and Scarlett have all been subject to moniker juggling. Heck, even lesser knowns like Starduster have had their code names go incognito and back again over the years.
Read moreSnake Eyes’ second figure design is one that seems to be high on collectors’ wish lists for remakes each time a new iteration of GI Joe toys appear. I can’t blame folks for wanting it, as the 1985 toy has been one of the most iconic looks for the brand’s most popular character. New portrayals, be they in comic book,
Read moreSay what you will about Funskool’s GI Joe output in the 2000s, but there was no shortage of toy features built into the line. Sometimes there were even a few clever add-ins that had no domestic corollary. Case in point–Law. I can’t think of a figure that I’d be more surprised to see provided with a gaggle of kid friendly
Read moreStalker is one of the Joe characters that I always buy, regardless of whether he’s a new mold or a simple repaint. Released as part of Target’s exclusive Ultimate Battle Pack, he was one of seven figures included in the set. This was one of those times when the word “ultimate” wasn’t just hyperbolic. Heck, the monstrous box also included
Read moreBack in 1984, I bought Deep Six and his vehicle, the SHARC, because of both the Marvel comic and the figure’s action feature. The comic heavily featured Deep Six and his ride in an iconic issue that also fully debuted Zartan. How could I have resisted begging my parents to buy me every toy that showed up in that issue?
Read moreUsually with these Kreons, the printed graphics are what give the biggest impression of the original figure’s design. With Dial-Tone however, his gear, particularly his comm backpack is so ingrained with the figure’s identity that any new iteration has to make some sort of callback to it. I wondered how the unique communications backpack would be rendered in brick form.
Read moreHow’s this for a late run RAH figure? Snow Storm had three color schemes in two years. Pretty amazing, but not too surprising when you consider just how many of the 1993 Battle Corps figures were repainted in 1994. I suppose the heavy mold reuse that year was part of the writing on the wall near the line’s end. The
Read moreIf you’re a modern era GI Joe collector, you know that MASK leader Matt Trakker is now connected to GI Joe thanks to a 2008 25th anniversary figure. I thought the idea of bringing the two properties together was pretty brilliant, and was disappointed that the concept stopped with Matt. So why am I covering the original figure and his
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