Mutt was my favorite Joe in 1984. Yes, even more than the ubiquitous Storm Shadow. ’84 was a year in which the Joe line went in exciting new directions with accessories. Mutt was impressive for not only having an animal sidekick, but also a cool MAC 10, nightstick, muzzle (for himself!) and new helmet. He had a cool military police
Read moreOne of my favorite aspects of the 2009 movie line was the Toys R Us exclusive figure series. It gave us some straight repaints, a few new combinations of 25th anniversary parts, and also one brand new character. Barbecue falls into the straight repaint category. The 25th anniversary mold has been done up in a more movie reminiscent style. I
Read moreThe international figures are a source of fascination for many Joe collectors. The mysterious and sometimes weird repaints take something familiar to us American collectors and make it refreshingly new. I didn’t know much about them until I saw them in a publication (a magazine I believe it was called) in the dark days before the internet. Back then, those
Read moreThe first Joe vehicle I bought was the Falcon glider. I had received $10 from my grandmother for my birthday and so on the way home, I bade my parents to take me to Montgomery Wards so I could spend the tenner that was burning a hole in my little pocket. After hemming and hawing far longer than any nine
Read moreThis version of Steeler serves for me as a reminder of the disappointment that was the 2007 convention exclusives. The set, titled Tanks for the Memories had members of the original Joe team as its focus along with–guess what–tanks. The Collectors Club intended the centerpieces of the set to be a set of Joe and Cobra–guess what–tanks. Unfortunately, the vintage
Read moreSo, the GI Joe Renegades animated series. I think I’ll stay well away from pontificating about it. I can say for me the whole enterprise, including the release of figures based on it, wasn’t of much interest. But hey, the figures are out now, so what are they like? Well, for being based on an animated series, this Snake Eyes
Read moreBet you didn’t know Beachhead had a Ranger buddy who dressed just like him. Well, at least that was the story Hasbro made up to explain this Beachhead repaint and driver of the Splitfire vehicle. His file card art is very different from the final figure, which makes me wonder if it was intended to be a new figure (or
Read moreBarricade brings new meaning to the term “door kicker”. His specialty of bunker buster also works within the context of urban operations, as his file card points out. I wonder why this figure was not included as part of the DEF sub-group. He seems like a good fit. The later Battle Corps version of Law had a similar battering ram
Read moreDrug-Fighting GI Joes battle Headman and his gang of drug thugs for control of “Main Street U.S.A.!” Each drug enforcement agent and villain utilizes a Battle-Flash weapon to elevate this conflict to new heights of danger! So states the cardback of the GI Joe sub-team called the Drug Elimination Force or DEF. Bullet-Proof is the leader of the group, and
Read moreThe Valor vs. Venom line of the 2000’s produced its fair share of types of packouts, or ways in which figures were offered. There were two packs of hero vs villain and army builder, comic book three packs and five and six pack themed sets. But the days of single packed figures did return for a few series of somewhat
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