Capt. Grid-Iron (Funskool)

It’s been a while since a Funskool India figure graced this blog. Okay, okay, it’s really only been a week, but this was an exciting pick up for me. This is one figure that I have been trying to track down for some time. I had originally attempted to pick it up online a few years back, but due to an ordering snafu, he wasn’t available. He kind of fell off my radar until recently when I started looking to fill some holes in my collection. At this point, I’m down to picking up parts here and there, and noticed him super cheap at the same site along with a couple of guns I needed. I just couldn’t resist when the Captain passed before my eyes.

Many Funskool figures can still be found at decent prices. Of course, things were even sweeter back in the 2000s, when Smalljoes.com had oodles of them for sale on the cheap. It was a pretty grand time to be able to pick up Cobra army builder molds, along with some interesting and funky variations on named characters.

Funskool Grid-Iron is flashy. Very flashy. That’s what drew me to him years back. The original figure, while a pretty ridiculous concept, was fairly subdued in its color scheme. That’s all out the window here. This figure is a kind of Battle Corps Grid-Iron. The figure I have is one of two variations; the other had the arms molded in a single color, with stripes similar to the US release.

The figure is so different looking, I almost want to create a new identity for it. Even the hair color has been changed. I couldn’t stand the Captain’s incessant football references during his appearances in the DIC cartoon, so maybe this is a chance to erase that memory and create a new GI Joe football-based trooper for my Joeverse.

I give to you Washout, a promising young college quarterback who entered the NFL amid talk of greatness, yet floundered spectacularly in just one season. Dejected, he left the United States and months later, found himself in Mumbai. There he stumbled across the path of a movie producer, who like the cut of his jib. Within a few years, Washout wound up an unlikely Caucasian star in many a Bollywood film. His biggest hit: 1995’s Catch That Funny Looking Ball (translated from Hindi). In another fortunate turn for the young star, he met up with GI Joe’s Big Brawler, on sabbatical in India. Brawler saw not only the potential for fighting prowess, but also a man who, like himself, could pull off the most ridiculous of apparel with stunning aplomb. Luckily, the Joe team was looking for a replacement for Capt. Grid-Iron, who had disappeared under mysterious circumstances after a sharing a few particularly bad football puns during an evening of drunken revelry with Shipwreck and Mutt. Washout gave up the path to Bollywood superstardom, and was quickly recruited to the Joe team, with just one stipulation: lay off the football analogies–or else.

13 comments

  • Dreadnok: Spirit

    I always thought Capt. Grid-Iron was bright.

  • It’s funny–the head on this version could be used as an unmasked head for the 1988 Storm Shadow.

  • If the Joes end up dropping him he could always join the Corps!

    Brickwall and Steve Wyoming would be damn proud of this guy.

  • I forgot that Funskool even made their own version of Captain Lydon. And unfortunately the colors are even more ridiculous than the US figure was. Sheesh.

  • I wish I still had mine. This guy is bad you have to love him.

  • Wow, someone definitely got shot with the neonizer pretty hard. That being said, having loved the original Grid Iron growing up (give me a break, I was 6 when he came out and he had a metric ton of accessories–which I’m pleasantly surprised to see Funskool got to use all of), I kinda like the crazy color scheme. I think I love the shiny silver boots the best. I don’t know why, but that’s some pretty funny, added wackiness.

    Also, I love your bio for Washout. And thanks to the Bleacher Report’s article of “The Biggest Draft Bust in Each NFL Team’s History, you can even personalize his file name to reflect your NFL allegiance…for example, as a life long Bears fan, I think I’d have to make this guy Cade McCown. If anyone else wants to look for different identities, here’s the link: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1612988-the-biggest-draft-bust-in-each-nfl-teams-history

  • Speaking as an Australian, i’m very unfamiliar with American football and most of my knowledge of it comes from the Simpsons [so i’m not sure how realiably that is]
    “If we dont support Superbowl it will never take off” [i know thats funny but i dont know why]

    Regarding this figure, i like his nerf gun

    I personally consider Gridiron to be a very underated character. I remeber wanting him when i noticed him on clearance at the local toystore [for two bucks AU] but my Mum said “Hes silly” and i got D.E.F Muskrat instead.

    Love the biography by the way. Not enough Joe/ Bollywood characters
    “Its funny. Their clothes are different to my clothes”

  • I like the head but probably not worth trackling down just for that. I do think someone at Funskool is seriously colour-blind!

  • This loser should play for the Buffalo Bills -he’d fit right in.

  • Code name: Washout
    File name: Johnny Utah (!)

  • Obnoxious but at least he had all his original gear, something post 2001 ARAH releases by Hasbro rarely did.

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