I enjoy toy catalogs. Whether Christmas fare, local circular ads or highly specific retailer and Toy Fair presentations, it all hits me in the right place. The Hasbro internal catalogs have always featured some of the best layout of product as well as (inadvertently) spotlighting interesting pre-production samples of well-known sets. For the Adventure Team’s second year, the catalog highlights
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The hits just kept on coming in 1987. If the figures that year veered further into pulpy and weird directions (particularly on the Cobra side) the vehicles followed suit. That’s not to say they weren’t fun toys. On the contrary, the rides on this dealer catalog page are some of my faves from the post-86 era. You don’t get much
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Many of the figures pictured in dealer catalogs are early mock-ups or prototypes. Case in point today are the Renegades from 1987. Whether it’s the hand painted or rough head sculpt aspects of the figures, a peek into the production process is always interesting to see. Mercer in particular looks quite a bit different from his final version. Image via
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Toy Fair and retailer sale catalogs are always interesting to look at for their propensity to showcase not-quite-retail release versions of well-known toys. The subjects can range from kitbashed concepts to almost-finished product that differs only in paint scheme or small details. The toys in these shots appear to be similar if not the same as those appearing in the
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No, it’s not a fight between two Mortal Kombat ninja–although in 1994, it could have totally been possible. It’s our final Toy Fair Flashback for the year, and I think this one is a doozy. Well, I am partial to catalog diorama shots. The shot impresses not only for the dramatic posing of the many figures featured, but also for
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Wow, if you hadn’t known that GI Joe was changing within a year, you would think that a large tank-like vehicle like this would signal a return to form in comparison to previous 90s offerings. Unfortunately, the Blockbuster represents the final large vehicle of the RAH era. The diorama shot here in the Hasbro catalog showcases it nicely. It’s a
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Today’s Toy Fair catalog page comes from Hasbro’s 1994 catalog. The new items for the final year of RAH Joe included the Power Fighters, a pair of Joe and Cobra mechs. I find this interesting because mechs later became something of a focus in the 2000s and modern years. These two are chunky and limited in mobility, but both came
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It’s Toy Fair time again, and no Joe news to report from Hasbro. That’s why we’re reaching into the catalog vault to dig up an advert of what was coming soon—in the past. My favorite of these 1993 offerings are the Steel Brigade branded vehicles. It wouldn’t be Tonka without a bulldozer and dump truck. And it’s the most literal
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Super Joe just doesn’t get enough attention in my opinion. I find its designs and sci-fi aspects interesting and colorful. The differently colored uniform variations bring to mind the original Trek outfits, and I dig the unique 70s sci-fi vibe, all the way down to the funky package art. SJ appeared in a few Christmas catalog entries during its short
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1994 was the end of the Real American Hero run as well as the 30th anniversary of the GI Joe brand. It was a fun year in the sense of revisiting the original Joes, but a bummer to see the little guys going away. Though Joes weren’t as plentiful as in previous years’ Christmas catalogs, they did appear that year.
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