I picked up two of the Sgt. Savage with VHS tape figures, one at regular price, and the other I left in the package after finding it on clearance. The Grizzly SS1 was the only vehicle I picked up, on clearance of course, and that was all I got for Sgt. Savage. I didn't "hate" the line, but these were not my scale Joes, they were all just a bit too big to fit in with what I had. So, it was a real easy pass for me not to try and grab more Sgt. Savage.
GIJOE Extreme came next in the pipeline soon after Sgt. Savage. I got some of these comics, and I bought the mini-vehicle pack of the vehicles (on clearance). A buddy who knew I was a GIJOE collector bought be the Iron Klaw figure, but I left that one in the package. The one in the picture above is one I found loose at the Goodwill. Now that I think about it, these Extreme GIJOE figures might have been GREAT to play with the '80s Masters of the Universe toys. I did have some mixed adventures with Joes and He-man back in the day, but Extreme-ly taller figures would have fit almost right in! (Too bad I traded in my He-man guys on a Thunderclap and Rolling Thunder...)If you know your Joe, it was soon 1997 and the 15th Anniversary figures slid into Toys R Us stores and this went into 1998. So, 1995 and 1996 were just a couple of "off-years" in the long run. Each years line did end up really unique and I think as a whole and on their own, both Savage and Extreme were a pretty decent and fun group toys; just not for me. At least not in any sensible economic view, can't have it all is what I'm saying.
1999 was really the most dead year for Joe, and that worked as I was trying my hand at more higher education (in the name of Joe as a matter of fact) at that time. But 2000/01/ and even 02 brought in more stuff for me to add to my Real American Hero collection. I was digging these years and should have bought more in hindsight, even though I did make more sensible economic decisions "picking and choosing."
Now the (what I call) the themed years starting popping up with new styling and construction changes. I bought a Duke/ Cobra Commander pack and a Wet suit/ Moray pack for the figures, but quickly decided these were not for me at that time. Now there were some excellent things that happened from 2002 through 2005, but also some not interesting things. I did say these were not for me, but, I still ended up buying a lot of these "new-sculpt" years figures and vehicles, mostly the figures for the accessories. I think I ended up with well close to 75 some figures of the various styles from these "themed years" and really I should have been buying more classic ARAH things. Still, there was a lot of products for these made in a short few years!!
Of course, Sigma Six rolled out in 2005 in the fall, announced at the 2005 convention. Another "other."
And I think it was interesting that they added the 2.5" figure/ vehicle line alongside these 8" guys. Now, I didn't "hate." I did catch the cartoon in 2006 as often as I could, and I bought Lt. Stone and Long Range as these were decent original characters. Hi-tech was a gift for me, but even still an original character. These guys were fun and seemed built tough. More expensive, but as a figure a person could do more in terms of gear.
Lt. Stone was fun, and easily my favorite of what little I bought of these. The Styling of these guys made 12" gear somewhat compatible with Sigma Six, too.
I was tempted to start getting into the smaller vehicle companion line, but my income and other sensibilities held me back. In the end, if I had a decent place to call my own, and plenty of cash, yeah, I would buy it all and then some.
Now, BTR was out there, too. I didn't forget about those, I just completely didn't look at them. I think it was since we have limited toy selections in town here, but I never ventured into the block areas much. As much as I want every toy ever, it just isn't going to happen....gotta keep clutter to a minimum...
Now, you may say, I'm stuck on just what I grew up on. Not so, really. I had a great opportunity to play with these GIJOE guys below. I decided to sell these, as I'm not a Vintage collector. That's a thing that gets me, when what is really "classic" ('82-'94) GIJOE years are called "vintage." My Real American Hero is not "vintage" by a long shot, in my opinion. It's only starting to go into "classic" status as far as I'm concerned. Either way, I had a ton of fun back in day being able to play with these. (There was even million dollar man and other awesome '60's/'70's toys in the mix!!)
As far as I go, though, these are "others" when it comes to my collecting toys. It's an all or nothing thing for the most part with limited exceptions from here on out.
"Tough troopers" and "combat heroes" did not catch my eye at all.
What "other" versions of GIJOE do you totally dig, or not dig? Is the original A Real American Hero line actually the "other" GIJOE line in your view?
Was the "Rise of Cobra" an "other" line?