The Sand Viper concept is an interesting update of previous Cobra desert operatives. These newer arid attackers are even more effective at functioning in high desert heat. Not only are they chosen for their innate ability to withstand the rigors of the environment, but they’re also given a high-tech uniform to aid them. The outer body armor is resistant even
Read moreHave you ever searched and searched for a toy, admiring it via pictures on packaging (or these days, online) and wondered whether you’re going to find it? Sure, there are more opportunities now than there used to be in terms of finding and buying exactly what you want. If you’ve got the money, between ebay and Amazon, pretty much everything
Read moreChuckles gets flak for his shirt. I’ve never understood why. He’s supposed to be an undercover agent, right? What better way to maintain cover than to look a little ridiculous. I think it makes sense that a guy dressed in a bad shirt would be the last person in a crowd you’d think of as a highly trained and dangerous
Read moreNo, it’s not the same Vypra who drove a repainted Stinger in 1998, but this figure does use the same mold. What a difference a change in paint apps can make. Though the Jinx mold isn’t one of my favorites, the decoration on this figure provides a lot of new interest. The detailed patterning is amazing. I hadn’t noticed it
Read moreWhen I started collecting GI Joes again in the early 90s, there were some toys from my youth that I had somehow forgotten about. The Sears exclusive Dreadnok vehicles were one memory that had mysteriously vanished from my mind. I know that I must have seen them in the Christmas catalog that year, as I pored over each store’s version
Read moreRepaints and variants. Who likes ’em? I do, most of the time. Well, I should explain a little. I generally like two kinds of repaints: weird, and arctic. I like weird repaints just because I’m fascinated by odd combinations of colors, especially when the toy stops trying for any sort of realism and just looks like, well, a toy. For
Read moreI was super excited for the news of a limited revival of GI Joe at Toys R Us in 1997. I had seen preview pictures in the usual toy media outlets of the day (Tomart’s, Lee’s and Previews), and couldn’t wait to get my hands on some newly redecoed versions of classic GI Joe molds. Later, I was more than
Read moreIf there’s one excellent figure in the Stars and Stripes set, it’s this Stalker. Unlike other figures in the set, that presented completely new takes on color schemes for the classic original Real American Hero Joes, Stalker retained his all-over camo. Compared to other figures in the set, especially the excerable Breaker and Rock N’ Roll, Stalker is the gold
Read moreThe SNAKE armor has come in quite a few different flavors over the years. Aside from the original white, there’s a Cobra blue version, as well as an interesting red recolor from across the pond. With the Rise of Cobra tie-in toys came this black number, perfect for all your formal Cobra world domination events. All that’s missing is a
Read moreSince the second series of Kre-O blind bag figures are apparently out, I thought I’d cover one that hadn’t gotten coverage from me a few months ago. It’s a lovely little bit of sweet orange plastic. Hasbro really has to get props for making such an effective product using mostly existing parts. I’m amazed how well some of the Battleship
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