The Power of Packaging: Tiger Paw

Sometimes you just run out of superlatives to describe the things that bring you joy. It’s no secret that I adore the GI Joe packaging of all decades, and primarily the 1980s-1990s. The art just jumped right off the shelves, with literal explosions behind the subjects. There’s some seriously magical lighting going on here, and it’s something that can’t be replicated in the real world without the benefit of multiple lighting sources. Compare the painting to the studio lit toy on the back of the package. Which one screams ‘buy me, kid!’

I’ve always been more fond of the Tiger Force vehicle paint schemes than the figures themselves. This hold true also for Cobra’s repaint-a-palooza Python Patrol. How can you go wrong with the classic Flying Tigers regalia done up in a white to yellow to brown gradient? It’s pure toy loveliness.

3 comments

  • The big gun is still on the wrong side in the package art. Firefly and Storm shadow became Lifeline and Dusty.

    “I’ve always been more fond of the Tiger Force vehicle paint schemes than the figures themselves. ”

    Seems like more fans feel the other way around. I never hated the vehicles, though. My first Dragonfly was actually the Tiger Fly.

  • I remember being so bummed that I was unable to seat a Joe at the controls of the tiger paw and have that figure hold the handle bars and actually stay seated.
    Unfortunately this resulted in my tiger paw not getting deployed much when it was mission time.

  • The teeth stickers are a poor fit, but as fun as the Ferret is, the Tiger Paw cranks it up to 11. When I got back into collecting, this was one of the first vehicles I chased down, and my kid really took to it. Letting Dusty ride, though, is a recipe for a broken crotch.

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