FMC inspiration?

I have a relative that worked for FMC in Minnesota some years back now. The company is now more based in chemicals and other things, and you can look up information on them on the web now. Here are a couple of possible "GIJOE" inspired concepts that came from FMC's defense contractor days. I am purely speculating on the inspiration part, but I'm thinking very much so in regards to the Night Rhino (Warthog) angle.

In the above picture, what is being launched from that amphibian is a essentially a beach clearing device. The rocket would get the projectiles over the area to land on and 'clear' it of danger. There is another FMC publication that had more details laid out in it, but I think I set it aside for sharing among the Joe community....and now I don't know where I set it aside to. But, I have this issue with the cover above.

Below is what was probably many sketches for the real world competition to build a bridge-layer. So, perhaps the Joe design team was inspired by this, or another companies bid sketches. Or maybe the Hasbro team challenged themselves and created their bid for the bridge layer competition and that is how they made their "unique" toy design?

Night Rhino

Since I've been moving stuff around a little bit in the basement lately, I've wanted to play with some Joes. I took my X-30 out of storage for the first time since April '10 and then that's when I decided to play a little with that and share some thoughts and photos here on the blog with you. The Night Rhino, however, has been out almost always since I got it. I consider this vehicle more in the "new" era of Joes, but it's getting on 10 years old already!

This Night Rhino is something I probably could have bought, but passed on it, back when it was on the shelf. It probably wasn't until a couple years after these were all sold from the market that I decided I wanted one. I traded an '85 Moray Hydrofoil for this one.

I tell ya guys, this is one ugly vehicle. There is nothing stylish here, and I bet that is why the original name of this vehicle is the 1988 Warthog. I already forgot they had this convention version, too, but it doesn't add much as nice as it is.

But over the years it has made the cut, surviving my motor pool reduction. Where it comes up short in sleek looks, I think it makes up for it in sheer usefulness. It's a tank, it's amphibious and does float, it's an A.P.C., and it has an engine cover, hatches, and a tow hook!

As I take a close look at this machine now, I really notice how all the details are topside. The whole top deck is where the action is, and I suppose that is fitting considering that this is an amphibious assault vehicle. Being amphibious is another reason why I chose to keep this vehicle, as my Joes are on the move, this transport complements the WHALE and the Tomahawk nicely in the big assault picture. The old '83 A.P.C. is a vehicle I had, but loading up 28 Joes in a truck was a bit much, plus I thought that the Night Rhino had more action potential, sort of doubling as a tank; to a point.
As a tank, it has what I like most about tanks: hatches! I've got Cross Country and Steamroller operating this thing most of the time, as both those guys are heavy vehicle oriented and the Night Rhino is close to the biggest land vehicle I have left now. I've been putting Bazooka in with my vehicle teams a lot lately, and I think he fits great with the Night Rhino. A former tank driver turned anti-armor soldier works for me in the fairly lightly armed Night Rhino. If they happen to meet up with an M.B.T., I can totally see Bazooka stepping out with his anti-armor bazooka to zap it. Bazooka will probably be riding on top of this thing doing some fishing, anyway.
Like the Equalizer and Mean Dog, the Night Rhino has view ports. I like these details.


And an engine, even though it looks small, it's right up where I would expect to find it. Even though mechanical breakdowns are rare in my adventures, just for the play-option to have them through this included feature is nice.

This is no '83 A.P.C., it's a nice open area with seating for six. The bars work well enough for keeping figures in their seats securely, but getting guys situated in there is more work than the old pop-top of the '83 A.P.C. There are two windows or ports on either side door, and I would like to have better ability to have figures turn and take advantage of the "infantry fighting" part of A.I.F.V., perhaps Hasbro will retool this craft in 25th-style niceness?

It is kind of nice that it is open toward the sideways facing seat, too. It's kind of like the commanders seat, or the communications station. In some imaginary adventures, this is where I have had Dial-tone operating, while the Night Rhino serves as a mobile bunker rally point for the Joes on foot.


If there is one thing I don't get, is why no foot pegs on the side decks or on the rear bumper for added troop-carrying capacity? I know it is amphibious, and they would get wet, but did Hasbro forgo the addition of foot pegs so kids would not lose figures in the pool or on the beach; being they would all be safe inside?


The small gun on top is a little underwhelming, and the two top missiles are something I wouldn't mind a small turret in place of. Although, I do understand why the two missiles are there, in the next post, I hope to get some old FMC publications scanned and I'll see if you agree, but stay tuned for that.
Other than that, the smoke launchers are about the only outward battle action points on the Night Rhino.
The Night Rhino is not a front line solo vehicle, but I think it really adds in as a transport vehicle that supports the Joes go-anywhere missions. That's why I kept it. I sort of wish it would fit in the tank bay on my HQ, but can't have it all.

GIJoe Mean Dog

Here is my GIJOE Mean Dog, the Mean Dog being a vehicle from 1988. Being from 1988, it falls into that post-'86-era where it's a vehicle that just doesn't seem like a very popular, or at least discussed on line, vehicle.
I think it was about 2002 when I traded a Sand Razor for this beast. I think I had a figure or two to up my end of that trade, but at least vehicle-wise, I came out on the better end of the deal. At least I think so.
Now, also, I think many out there in the Joe world of collectors may pass this vehicle over, possibly since they may think more in lines with the Cobra Maggot, with that vehicle being another "separating" vehicle. Well, I had a Maggot for a few months, and I think play-wise and aesthetic-wise, the Mean Dog was a lot more fun. Let's take a walk around this thing in some pictures:

The seats are a little on the narrow side, a guy like Backstop doesn't slide into that center/ uppper seat very easy as he has the twin holster detail on him. But, really, the whole top opens up for access to this neat action area. There's even some space for gear flanking that center/ upper seat. I put some "leatherneck" M16 rifles to show this.
Exactly which of the two up front is driving, I'm not sure. Every other station is pretty easy to reason out which figure does what, except the front two. A little steering stick, sort of like the Tomahawk put in there would have been a fun feature!

What would have knocked the front turret design out of the park is a hatch cover!

Here everyone is pretty buttoned-up in that shell. Say what you may about the open slot front, but compared to "glass" canopies and open top gunner seats, the Mean Dog is looking like a better option to me.

I imagine the Mean Dog being a 6-wheel drive type of vehicle with two engines, one in back and one packed up front. The bigger engine is in the rear section, in my imagination, but everything is balanced out so each axle gets similar power, but in battle conditions, the power to just one axle can keep this machine moving! The whole thing turns in a similar fashion to the heavy dump trucks or large tractors that utilize the "articulated" steering. The actual joint that connects the two ends has a great range of motion that makes any imaginary off-road adventures possible. Unlike many GIJOE vehicles, I think steering is something that is a very important feature to take into account, even if it is "just a toy." The AWE striker, the Thunder Machine, and even the Desert Fox, are GREAT examples of how a GIJOE toy should have some semblance of a realistic operation. Tanks are easy to explain in plausible imagination.

Well, all this comes apart into three sections. I think of the splitting up of the vehicle as more of that of "independent redundant survivability systems." This battle vehicle is meant to get into the fight, stay, and survive. Up above there is the only little tab that has any stress on it on this Mean Dog. The gun stays pretty good even with the little bend on it. But otherwise the gun really just stands in there.
I don't usually separate these, and this picture is probably the 2nd time only that I deployed the balancing legs on that gun turret. That gun is BIG, no doubt about it, and it doesn't balance the best on its own.
The rear section becomes an rocket artillery unit by itself. That's 10 nice sized missiles and I think the rear section alone replaces the Wolverine in the order of battle.

Together, all these parts add a ton of action to the vehicle. Unlike, say, the Mauler, this thing has so many degrees of action, it is more like a baby Rolling Thunder. This Dog is ready for battle 360* around.
I think Thunder is one of the few Joes that might actually enjoy sitting in that station under a gun that big! Even in that spot, though, a figure sits a lot lower than many other GIJOE vehicles will allow.

The Mean Dog has seating for 5, but also has standing for two more on the back deck. And it has a tow hook. Having a tow hook was one of the reasons alone that this vehicle won out on staying in the collection when I started to draw down my motor pool a couple years back. However, at that time, I did not have a lot of towed weapons, just the Whirlwind. The tow hook on the Mean Dog is just a little bit lower, though.

I think I had trouble with the MMS, especially, as it dragged a bit, and even the Mountain Howitzer did, too.

But, it is nice that the tow hook is there. The whole back deck is interesting, too. One thing I've wondered is how other collectors and kids would imagine just how that HUGE gun is going to be lifted out of there and lowered to the ground? I would think a battle field crane would be needed, or do the two riders on the back get to figure that feat of engineering out?
I like the "tail light" details, and the flat bumper look, too. The missile boxes are very detailed, as well, having that little circle 'back blast' detail added in. And the boxes slide out and away from the main body, as well as turn the full 360* range!!
There's also ample detail and lift that gets the body up off the ground. So many modern vehicles will have the bare minimum detail, even 20-some years into the high-tech future on toys, so Hasbro designers: details, details, details!!

Even the bottom of that HUGE gun has some details. It could have been left flat, much like that NAC choppers chin gun, but someone had the passion to have fun and make the whole thing a lot more interesting back in the day!

All in all, this is a really nice battle vehicle that has many avenues of action. I'm considering sending it off actually as of this writing, but we'll see what I can get for it. The brown/ tan is the really only thing I can say I really don't care for at all. And the "separation" feature is something I don't really use.

X-30

The Conquest X-30 is my premier attack/ fighter jet here. The 1986 Conquest was my first Conquest (fun fact, that goop around the "eyes" on there is where I spilled fake blood on it back in the day). This version of the X-30 that I have is from 1998. While I never did buy the original Python Patrol Conquest, I did buy the 2003 version when that came out.

My original X-30 is a vehicle I had since at least 1987, but when I made my draw down on vehicles I decided one X-30 should be sufficient, so the other two had to go. Nostalgia got kicked in the knee with my decision to keep the 1998 release, though. The 1998 has a great coloring, black missiles, and little improvements that made the canopy connection hinge much better, as well as some refining in the landing gear.

I kept my original Slipstream, however. Here's a figure that has been more or less limited to being a pilot. I can't recall having him do much else, even back in the day. Decent enough, and he really fills my personal connection back to my original X-30.

Truth is, I bought the 2003 X-30 mostly for the Slipstream figure that was included with it. I don't know why. The sound attack on the 2003 X-30 really made me not want that plane, even though it does have a pretty nice camo style on it otherwise. The 2003 Slipstream is the active figure in my Joeverse, he's the pilot. Pair him up with Ace, the figure that came with that 1997 A-10 Jet and it really makes me wish for a two-seater X-30. As is, I'm considering trying to snag the new Skystriker coming out this fall so Ace will have a proper fighter. As much as I do not need another fighter.

But, I have to consider that I do have extra pilots around. I do have an X-19, but I'm considering trading that rebuilt craft in. And I do not have a Vector, nor am I about to get one, but I do have Ghostrider and Maverick available for some flight time. Perhaps a new Skystriker would be a good buy?


As much as I like a lot about the X-19, for me, my X-30 is small and fast enough to take on any air and ground opponents that may come up against it. I think with the X-19, it seems a little more "bomber" like. The cruise missiles in themselves could come from anywhere, that's a role the RPV could really fill in some aspects. Or even that imaginary attack sub just off shore that is able to assist the Joes on missions....

I think the little fighter, the X-30 is plenty good for my Joeverse. It has 4 missiles, 2 drop tanks for extended missions, but it still has that simple dogfighting aspect: guns! The twin nose guns are a detail that I've enjoyed, this bird is gonna get right up close to the action!

End of Winter

I think it is just about the end of winter here. We most likely could get another big drop of snow for even the next couple weeks, but if anything it will only amount to a fairly slushy mess. That means, the "winter operations" are coming to an end in the GIJOE world for me.

I didn't really get out into the snow with the Joes as much as I thought I would. We did take a couple figures out for some skiing adventures back when it was nice cold dry powder that we had packed out in the back yard. This was the first time I had put a GIJOE figure out in the snow, on skis. It ended up being more fun in my head than actual.

I did draw down on my vehicles, as I mentioned in previous posts, between 2005 and 2009 fairly heavily. "Arctic" vehicles were completely eliminated when I did this however I did pick up the "Wolf Hound" and Arctic Blast in the past few months. Now that it is getting more spring-like and sunny, I'm going to put these away.


I've gotten a fair number of cold weather/ arctic style Joes accumulated here. When they are all laid out there is a whole team in and of itself. Of course, there are still the "doubles" which I am going to keep for awhile. With the exception of the Frostbites (where I would easily keep version one), the other duplicated Joe characters are harder to pick just one to keep, while trading away the other.
As much as I do not need another green Rubbermaid case sitting on the pile of others, I'm going to try and see if I like keeping these separated from my usual "by year" storage arrangement. I'm going to add in all things arctic in this bin, both Joe and Cobra, as these guys are very much suited for their respective battle environments; they simply don't jive anywhere else for me. Except for Stalker (1989), he "could" mix it in a little farther south (or north) of the poles than the others, but I think he will be placed in the tundra exclusively here.


My whole two arctic vehicles are going to sit in the Rubbermaid with all the figures, too. This is really a "battle in a box" approach to storing/ organizing that I haven't taken. It seems obvious, so I'm going with it.

I might do this with the (more or less) naval style Joes as well. The old divers are very much more limited in my imagination to water adventures, however, some like Topside, Shipwreck, Cutter, Rampart, etc., are more adaptable in placement on land. And I don't really have any exclusive on-the-water-naval-battles occurring in my HQ, these are more coastal actions which may include coordination with a Tomahawk for beach assaults, coverts night landings off the WHALE, or downed aircraft rescue. Mutli-layered operations essentially, that include some other part of the GIJOE forces.
If I did separated it all out, as I did with the Winter Operations teams, I would have to squeeze a WHALE and a Hydrofoil into one Rubbermaid to make it worth the one-pull "battle in a box" organization idea. And this "battle in a box" organization idea could go across the board to my vehicle teams, perhaps one box armor, one box artillery, and another the "cavalry scouts?"

Really this might not all happen, yet. I'll see if I like having the arctic arena in a separate bin first. If it works out, then when I want to pull stuff out for a battle, it would be a little faster than thumbing through my figure-by-year file system in one set of bins, and then selecting vehicles, and enemies for the adventure to be had. If anything, it's the whole set-up process of getting stuff out that's really become almost a chore in itself!

Iron Grenadiers pt. 4 MARS invades!

MARS invades!!!
That's what happened at the 2005 GIJOE collectors convention. This was my first convention attended, and my first convention set purchase.

The set really pumped up my Iron Grenadier forces in number and firepower. In one fell swoop, Destro doubled the size of his force here.

The new "heavy" Iron Grenadier quickly outnumbered the two regular 1988 Iron Grenadiers I had at this time. I've only added 4 more 1988 Iron Grenadiers more recently from 2008-2009. Now, if you know the GIJOE club and how these sets go, it's all a mash-up of old parts for the most part. The "heavy" Iron Grenadier is mostly Cobra's old NIGHT VIPER. Nowadays, I'm a little less thrilled with original designs being re-used for the most part. On this Iron Grenadier, though, it hasn't bothered me as much. Mostly since I don't have a single Night Viper and never have. Night Vipers were expensive, and even at the convention in 2005, were probably some of the highest priced troop builders I've seen.

The heads are the same from the 2005 Iron Grenadier as they are from the 1988 Grenadier, and together the 2005 really looks like there is really a bit more combat gear layered on, the figures standing a little taller than the 1988 counter part.

The Iron Anvil is a neat take on the old 1994 Viper. The Iron Anvil kinked my plans to army build the 1994 Viper. Yes, it's a little more purple than blue, and a little more orange than red, but for me the 1994 Viper represented a more modern Cobra design for many years. With 6 new Iron Anvil troops around, I have decided to not use the 1994 Viper at all. In my Joe-verse, or my imagination, I chalk up the Iron Anvil uniform design as that of a design that Destro/ MARS was going to use to sell to Cobra....but (in my Joeverse) Cobra was decimated soon after the first uniforms were sent over (around 1994). The Iron Anvil design was shelved until General Mayhem came in and the troops that were not official Iron Grenadiers were assigned to the Anvils.


Since General Mayhem is three figures in one, and I have all those figures, the obvious use of body parts bugs me a little big here. Mayhem makes for a nice General, and the file card is kind of neat. Mayhem is staying around for now, but, maybe I'll let the Oktober Guard catch him in some imaginary battle some day. Needless to say, I think the box art is way better than the figure...had some other head been used with another helmet.... I think that would have been better.
Destro was in the set, but I decided to trade this version away. I don't have a Crimson Guard Immortal, but I was sort of planning on building up the Crimson Guard Immortal for quite some time. Getting all the '91's original accessories for that version 2 is going to be quite an endeavor, and will probably not happen. I think the Crimson Guard Immortal v2 is a very nice figure in that it not only has just enough "crimson" to be an elite trooper, but unlike the very ceremonial version 1 Crimson Guard figures, these v2 'blue' Immortals make for more visually realistic combat troopers. And with all that armor on them, this works great. But for 2005 Destro, it was a bit too much I think.

I didn't put Metal Head in any pictures. He's the 1994 figure straight repainted. It looks nice in the matching uniform department, but so does his 1990 version. I actually kind of like the 1990 version better, since as a tank destroyer and anti-armor specialist, he actually has the weapons to do it. The convention Metal Head really doesn't add much more to this character for me to like him better simply painted to match.

The 2005 GIJOE convention also is where we heard of Marauder, Inc. for the first time. For a few months just before the convention, I was buying single pack "new-sculpt" figures and others at retail mostly for the accessories. I think I mentioned that to "marauder" at the convention. I bought the "pulse rifle" first. Just one, but after messing around with the new Iron Grenadiers the first night after getting the convention set, that pulse rifle just fit well. I really liked it, and the next day, went back and got the 12-pack of "pulse rifles" and some singles of the first wave.
Since then, in later Marauder, Inc. waves, I've added the "NCM" rifle and the "modified" Sterling for use by Iron Grenadier forces. They've got just enough "sci-fi" feel to them for me, and really fit the cutting edge of arms that I think represent Destro to a "t."
For the most part, the MARS invades set really matches in with the 1988 crew quite well. As of this writing, the bulk of my Iron Grenadiers are now in the black, red, and gold, color scheme. Figures like the TARGAT and the Annihilator stand out among the crowd a bit more. I haven't used the gray convention set weapons much, though, except for the Iron Grenadiers leg rifle.

BONUS figures!!!

I had the 2006 GIJOE club Nullifer, two of them actually. I traded them off in my "no new-sculpts" phase, but they weren't too bad of figures. It was a nice way for the club to get more Iron Grenadier figures out there.
I think the better one is the clubs Undertow release. This is my last club figure that I got with the subscription membership. It is very nice and having it all complete is outstanding. However, now I have two very nice Undertow, each with a different coloring. I'm not likely to army build the divers any time soon, but which one would make THE Undertow to build?
Also, in my head, Destro has been a gold headed guy since 1988 in my head, is there any place in the stand alone army for a silver Destro? (and no, I don't "Alexander" in my Joe-verse.)