So, three years, three Airtight figures. Do I sense a pattern? Yeah, it’s a bit lame, but I like to call back to that first JAD figure post. It was a simpler time… Someone asked once why I chose Airtight as my first subject, and my answer was that he kind of distilled for me what drew me into the
Read moreAnybody interested in a holographic Cobra Commander? At first, I thought maybe Hasbro had confused their GI Joe line with Star Wars, since back in the 2000s, you couldn’t swing a dead Jawa without hitting a hologram based figure. Alas, it was not a mix-up, but a legitimate variant based on a few panels of Marvel GI Joe issue #9.
Read moreThe DTC series produced a number of figures that had been on many fans’ wish list since GI Joe line was relaunched in 2002. The team’s night spotter was a figure I had wanted to see for a while in the then-new construction style. Though the wait was long, the late release allowed for the use of the improved, hidden
Read moreI’ve mentioned it before: I’m not much of an army builder. If I like a troop type, the most I’ll buy is four or five. I flirted with the idea of putting together impressively sized forces during the 2000s, in particular its re-releases of several classic o-ring Cobra troops. I must have bought ten of the Operation Crimson Sabotage sets,
Read moreBreaker. He’s one of the original thirteen 80s Joes who have gotten rereleases over the years, but not a redesign. He’s been in comic packs as both an o-ring and modern style figure, and he’s had a place in the Stars and Stripes set back in 1997. Okay, okay I take back the lack of a redesign statement, since the
Read moreI just don’t get prime time television these days. To have a series based on a serial killer would have been unthinkable in the past. Maybe I’m just getting old, but I can’t get into Hannibal beyond his appearance in the original Silence of the Lambs film. Wait, what? Oh, sorry. Wrong Hannibal. Anyway, I always loved it when he
Read moreThe original Grand Slam was one of my favorite figures early on in my childhood GI Joe collecting days. It actually remained so and saw regular use even through the release of many more colorful and specific characters. Something about it resonated with me. I guess design wise it was the red pads, the deep green, and of course the
Read moreBarrel Roll was the case of a figure whose update was a pretty far cry, design-wise, from the original. The first figure looked like a young hotshot character, and his uniform supported that idea. Outfitted in a loose fitting uniform, done up in blue and grey, he seemed to be geared more towards the pseudo-military/adventure side of GI Joe. He
Read moreSalvo was one of the last GI Joe characters I would have expected when the DTC line was going. With assortments that included much requested new sculpt Cobras like a basic trooper and Crimson Guard, I thought the Joes would be represented with similarly demanded individuals. It’s not that I don’t like Salvo; I think the original is one of
Read moreWas the designer of this Scrap Iron a fan of Warhammer 40,000? The shoulder pad shape, and the multi-piece armor remind me of that war torn grim future’s Space Marines. Mix that look with a head and helmet reminiscent of manga art taken into three dimensions, and you’ve got a truly different take on one of the classic named baddies of Cobra.
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