Ah yes, the Red Ninja. The cobra ninja cannon fodder that made their first appearance in the classic issue 21 of the Marvel Joe comic. I remember reading that issue and hoping I would see them in toy form some day. Little did I know that Hasbro would make that hope a reality with the 1993 Red Ninja fig–wait.
Read moreThe Sunbow cartoon had its fair share of Joe designs that weren’t totally representative of the figures to be found on shelves. Wild Bill was one of the more disappointing figures to me as a kid. He was such a larger than life character on the show that when I picked up the Dragonfly, I found him to be lacking. Naturally, since
Read moreIf there’s one vehicle that for me exemplifies 1985’s full-on entrance into the fantastic and unusual elements that came to define the Real American Hero era of GI Joe, it’s the Ferret. I can remember it vividly from the first
Read moreContinuing on from yesterday’s posting of #100 through 11, the latest UnderScoopFIRE! podcast is up, featuring Howie Decker, Justin from Generalsjoes, Engineernerd from TV and Film Toys, Justin from Weirdo Toys, and yours truly. We discussed the Top 10 from the UnderScoopFIRE! Top 100 list. Give it a listen, and see if our picks agree with yours. The nerd rage is swelling within you…
Read moreThe Mortal Kombat ninjas came in a rainbow of fruit flavors. This one is my favorite. I’ve mentioned several times before that I like clear and translucent figures. Not only does this figure hit my “clear toy” spot, it also incorporates what the cool kids who know too much about the toy industry call “soft goods”. We regular folks call
Read moreI was invited by UnderScoopFIRE’s Howie Decker to contribute to his site’s ambitious 100 Coolest Action Figures of All Time list. Bet you can’t guess which figures I nominated? Well, now most of the list is out, so check it out, and don’t let your nerd rage consume you if you don’t see your faves–I only submitted fifteen! Be sure
Read moreIf there’s one quality that Hasbro possessed with their approach to the Joe line in the 90’s–right or wrong–it was a willingness to try anything. “Throw it at the wall and see what sticks” is a good way to describe it. Although it didn’t stick at retail, the Mega-Marines sub-line was a memorable venture in to Day-Glo and Play-Doh that
Read moreOver the years as a Joe fan, and in the course of this blog I’ve said it time and again: this is a cool sculpt that would really benefit from a better paint scheme. Static Line, being a member of the Sky Patrol, was made up of reused driver molds. The original mold upon which he was based, Backstop, was
Read moreBy 1992, I was fully back into Joe collecting, and (in those pre-internet dark ages) waited with bated breath every February for the annual Toy Fair issue of Tomart’s Action Figure Digest to reveal the year’s Joe offerings. I won’t pretend that the idea of anti-drug plot within the Joe toyline didn’t seem patronizing and ridiculous when I first saw
Read more1993 was the year of strange mail aways. While the regular line was waning amongst a bevy of sub-lines, Hasbro Direct was offering odd recolors of recent and not-so-recent figures. Some were multi-packs, like the Arctic Commandos, the International Action Force, the Rapid Deployment Force (complete with a reused Pocket Patrol Pack!) and the Copter Pilot set, from which Interrogator
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