Roadblock (1993 Star Brigade)
In all of Roadblock’s years of release, which sub-team or iteration of GI Joe hasn’t he been a part of? Tiger Force, Battle Corps, Anti-Venom, Heavy Assault Squad, Sound Attack, Resolute, and the movie-verse. As the team’s heavy machine gunner, probably his most “against type” appearance came in 1993, when he became an astronaut. It may not make a whole lot of sense, but this is the 80s-90s GI Joe we’re talking about. For practical purposes, I guess you need someone to lay down some serious cover fire when you’re fighting in zero-G.
Roadblock’s uniform most closely matches that of astronaut Countdown, with its predominantly white and blue color scheme. Of all the Star Brigade remolds, the General Hawk flight suit best stands in as a space suit. The colors are bright, yet the look is mostly true to actual astronaut gear. The figure was repainted in an even more effective color the following year, and that figure stands as one of my favorite 90s Joes.
Going back to his place on the team, Roadblock’s file card makes an excellent point about his secondary specialty coming in handy. With freeze dried and toothpaste tube cuisine the norm on many space flights, an elite team like GI Joe would need to up the ante. Having a culinary master at hand sure would make for a happier and more effective squad patrolling space for evildoers. After all, who but Roadblock would you trust to whip up some bacon and eggs in the Defiant’s galley? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, even in orbit.
I scored this version Roadblack about ten years ago. Although Star brigade is usually frowned upon in the fanbase, i think its a good figure and i like this versions paint job more than orange one.
Well, Sgt. Slaughter never picked him for the Marauders, nor was he on the Air Commandos, Sky Patrol, Eco-Warriors, DEF, Ninja Force (LOL… Roadblock as a ninja).
This Roadblock always looked cake-colored to me (white & electric blue with some red). The 2nd version, orange/black looked better, perhaps because the orange matched some real spacesuits though he did somewhat match Countdown here though Countdown had a darker shade of blue.
I do like the orange suited version a lot, but this is a great match with V1 Countdown and Payload.
Here’s a figure that makes good use of the Battle Corps RB head and that body (repurposed as a space suit). Hadn’t noticed about his filecard, but that’s another layer to the character that is a strength of GIJoe. Roadblock isn’t just a big guy carrying a gun, he’s a guy you would want on your Special Ops team. Wherever that mission falls!
Another of my mid ’90’s specials. This was my first encounter with the mold and I thought it was new to Roadblock. I really liked the figure and even bought 2 at retail. The ’94 orange version has replaced this one as my preferred use for the figure, though, and I haven’t pulled this guy out in years. But, this is a great body mold for space and having different heads under the differently colored helmets is a great way to flesh out the Star Brigade ranks.
And, @LittleBoa, Roadblock as a ninja isn’t that far fetched when you consider that Road Pig would have been one had the ’95 line come to pass!
Wasn’t Retaliation Roadblock a ninja?