The Power of Packaging: Fast Draw
One of my final childhood GI Joe purchases, Fast Draw was nevertheless a favorite figure. I guess I liked the out and out crazy angle of a human missile platform dressed as an oven mitt. The toy’s weapons were intricate, and there’s something fascinating about Joes with cool helmets. The card art really sells the action that you can imagine with the character. To me, he was a powerful force on the battlefield. Even though the 80s Joes were moving further into sci-fi territory by 1987, character designs and card art were no less compelling and effective.
This is great. You have a guy wearing one of the most intricate and expensive weapon systems in the entire military and his secondary MOS is clerk typist.
Here Fast Draw, when you get done blowing up that solid fuel nuclear missile, please type this memo….
”The most dangerous kind of person, to come face to face with, on the planet.A Human,walking,taking, mobile missile launcher-who also has a hairy -itchy trigger finger/a short fuss ,for a temper.”-Fast Draw.”
Basically, the Joe version of Metal-Head.
Little Cobra vehicles killer.
The art is way better than the figure! He’s a 2-shot wonder. But it’s nice to see the artist lost the mask’s air hose, too.
2-shots, but how many could he realistically* carry? Does he have a ammo man backing him up? LUGGER, who lugs around 4 extra missiles in a backpack?
*Yes, we know the character concept isn’t so realistic, but neither is Heavy Machine Gunner Roadblock.
Also, if you are facing more than two enemy armored vehicles, you’ve got more problems than one anti-tank guy can handle anyway. At least Fast-Draw can take out 2 Stuns before the other 3 run him down.
You almost feel bad for Fast Draw, since he has to wear a protective suit to sheild him from the missiles’ hot gases. No other Joe or Cobra character ever worried about being burnt by standing close to missile systems. This special suit, and his secretarial occupation leds me to believe that he was hired as a tax write-off. He’s the Publix grocery bagger of the Joe team.
Maybe he only carries two missiles as he see’s himself as an Old West gunfighter. Now that I think about it; it would be easier on him if he just carried a tubular rocket launcher.
@Skymate
Yeah, the name definately invokes a Wild West gunslinger. A little of his stance too.
He was an interesting figure. He had thick padding/insulation (better hopes he’s not the Asbestos Man of GI Joe…) and an odd mix of colors (gray, blue, red, army green). The shoulder spikes and the odd palette had a Battle Force 2000 feel to it. He did feel like one of the earliest Joes to become highly accessored (working visor, unique mouth tube, the backpack with 2 missiles, the triggers & tubes). He looks like a walking missile battery. Of course, as noted, he’s 2-shots-and-that’s-all and would need protection but he looked meant to take on vehicles, not for combat with Vipers.
The art is well-detailed. It’s not the most memorable, but it’s a good rendering of the figure, much better than some figures got (e.g. Sneak Peek).
Would be great to see a modern re-imagining of this figure and accessories at retail instead of 40$ club exclusive…..
He would likely be firing from cover, like an ambush. Shoot and run. A tactic that has worked well since 1939.