Shipwreck (1994)

The original Sailor Suit Shipwreck is a very cool and iconic GI Joe figure, but not really representative of a navy fighter that you can use in a ground combat situation. He worked perfectly well in the more adventure settings of the Sunbow cartoon, but could look out of place as a toy fighting alongside the likes of Footloose or Flint. He seemed most suited to hanging out on the deck of the USS Flagg.

Enter Battle Corps Shipwreck. Not as tied to the deck of a ship as his previous look would imply, but now stuck as an environment specific figure. Poor Shippy would have to wait until the Valor Vs. Venom series to get a decent land ops uniform. That’s not to say this is a bad figure, far from it in fact. For me, this is the best combat diver figure in the Real American Hero series. Torpedo and Wet Suit were great figures as well, but they seemed more sporting than military to me.

Interesting accessories were a nice change of pace from other Battle Corps figures. Most notably, his face mask was well integrated with the figure, fitting perfectly on his head and plugging into his chest harness. He’s also carrying a large but unique missile launcher, one that he holds more like a suitcase than the usual shoulder mounted models. Labeled a Hydro Blaster Underwater Rocket Launcher, it’s an impressive weapon.

Imagine a 1994 figure with absolutely no bright colors to be found. Like other figures in the final assortment of ARAH figures, he’s a return to the older, more military look of the early 80s. It’s also wonderfully detailed, even down to the seams on the wet suit. He may not be useable in all situations, but he’s an amazing figure.

This mold has since seen release two other times, once in black, and another with a strange paint wipe. To me, however, the most memorable appearance of this figure after 1994 was as a member of the cast of Nickelodeon’s Action League Now! shorts. Anyone else remember Stinky Diver?


18 comments

  • Ah, yes, Stinky Diver! I remember thinking it was so cool that a G.I. Joe figure was on that show. And don’t forget the custom they made for his old partner Stench (who they just removed the mustache from).

    This was a great figure from the tail end of the line and I think shows that Hasbro was on the road to getting back on track with their military figures. He would have fit right in with the images we saw of the unreleased Battle Corps Rangers line. The black weapons are very nice and the dive mask looks cool, though it’s kind of a shame they couldn’t do more with paint on the visor.

  • It should be noted that Shipwreck is one of the many Battle Corps figures (and some Star Brigade) that reuse the waist and legs of earlier figures, in his case V1 Wet-Suit’s (funny you should mention him, Rob). The others include:
    -Bazooka (Bullhorn’s)
    -Beachhead (Shockwave’s, with the ankles reversed)
    -Colonel Courage (Recoil’s)
    -Dial-Tone (Clean-Sweep’s, along with Tunnel Rat’s arms)
    -Dr. Mindbender (’86 Viper’s)
    -Leatherneck (Falcon’s)
    -Major Bludd (’91 Toxo-Viper’s)
    -Metal-Head V2 (Rock-Viper’s)
    -Night Creeper Leader (Night Creeper’s)
    -Space Shot (DEF Mutt’s, along with Countdown’s arms)
    -Star Brigade Duke (Sky Creeper’s)

  • It looks like Meltman could have been another Joe used in the Action League Now sketches. It’s hard to make out a specific Joe due to his melting ability, though.

  • I remeber that show. You think Seth Green ever saw it?

    This was the only Shipwreck i ever had as a kid. I thought he was the best battlecorps figure ever!
    A day after i got him, i let my little brother take him to school and he lost him. I hope whoever found him didnt flush him down the toilet.:(

  • This is an awesome figure even though more people probably remember him as Stinky Diver than ’94 Shipwreck. I’ve always wondered if Hasbro ever knew about the Nickelodeon show and if licensing rights were paid for during those years. Ironically, there was even a Stinky Diver fast food premium toy, which would also count as that of ’94 Shipwreck’s likenesses.

    The ’85 Shipwreck is one of those rare instances where I loved the figure but disliked the character, particularly the one we got in the Sunbow cartoon. This version never showed up in the comics and hence, Shippy went from his Popeye look to that of the Gorton’s Fisherman during the Devil’s Due era. That’s a shame. The colors on this fig harken back to those of the classic ’85 Eels and would make for a nice update of those guys with a different head sculpt.

  • I use the oriiginal sailor suit v1 as my default Shipwreck, even though he recently got a ribbing in IDW for the look. I use this one as Wet Down.

  • Is the Flesh guy from Action league one of those Conan toys. The figures based on the cartoon series, not the movies

    • @Skymate: Yeah, The Flesh was based on a figure from the “Conan the Adventurer” toy line which accompanied the cartoon. The figs were big, chunky, and had action features which (if memory serves) were activated by pulling a string, of all things. Very odd design choice for a 90’s toy.

  • @Clutch when i was 13 i found those gimmicks hilarious

  • Steven B. Williams

    I remember getting this version of Shipwreck along with Flint and Dial-Tone at my nearest Toys R Us store. I was glad to see that Hasbro had gone back to a more military style for the final hoorah of the ARAH line (despite Dial-Tone’s slight neon; let’s ignore the ’94 Viper, shall we?).

  • Steven B. Williams

    Oh, and this Shipwreck’s card art was awesome.

  • Real nice figure.I have to get this one someday.

  • It’s an amazing figure, the best of 1994 i.m.o.!

  • Also Blackstar used Barricade’s legs and arms.

    If you look at Mindbender’s card art, they planned to use Iron Grenadier’s waist and legs.

  • Nice! Can’t wait to open this one.

  • Don’t remember the toys, but it was a great cartoon series. Watched it again a year or so ago. It’s one of the more overlooked, underrated series I can think of.

  • Up until maybe 2011, this was my only Shipwreck ever. (All are gone now.)

    Shipwreck rounded out the sea team here, and the ‘Joes pretty much dominated the sea with manpower as a whole here.

    The black accessories tree made it even better, but I found this spring launcher to be one of the worst.

  • Dreadnok: Spirit

    This is the only version of Shipwreck I ever had. I always wished I had gotten the original, so I was happy when this version came out. Even though I do prefer the original’s classic look, I like this one and it seemed only natural to pair him up with the Wet-Suit from the early ’90s.

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