In my opinion, Flint is right up there as one of the most popular GIJOE characters across the spectrum of all things GIJOE. He stood out to me in the old, old, old cartoon and correct me if I'm wrong...., but I think he's made it into every incarnation of the A Real American Hero since he was introduced to us in 1985!
My first Flint was that very figure from 1985. However, his O-ring broke on me back in the day. As a really young guy at that time, I remember trying to fish a regular rubberband up in the torso in an attempt to fix him. But, anyone who has tried this direction of repairing O-rings knows it will get one nowhere. I was also a kid that did not even think of taking a toy apart (aka, back screw does come out). So, my first Flint ended up somewhere... in pieces ..., possibly the garbage. If I only had knew how easy it was to replace by removing a screw...
It wasn't until late 1992 that I picked up the Eco-warriors Flint at Childrens Palace. This was my default Flint for many years until the 2001 Desert Striker made its way into my collection with driver Flint.
Below is the actual Eco-warriors Flint that served me for so many years. For fun, I tossed a Steel Brigade helmet on the Desert Striker driver Flint and gave him Marauder, Inc. gun. I think it looks kind of neat, what do you think? The lack of any gear with that desert Flint has left this figure somewhere between the 1994 Desert Paratrooper version and the 1991 Eco-warrior version in feel and uniform reasoning for me.
I guess my next Flint was technically, Rock n Roll. But, it is SO much more Flint to me here. And he came with the HQ, so a command-like officer makes more sense to me, too. But like the Desert Striker driver Flint, this guy was left without the gear that would have helped give some personality. And the worst part? The Rock n Roll/ Flint figure has a leg that is almost a full 1/4 inch shorter than the other! I have never had a figure like this before or since, how rare is that? Or are they all like this?
The newest Flint for me is the 1994 Flint as for right now. I really like the figure, and when I put all three of the original A Real American Hero figures next to each other, in a lot of ways, it is like Flint has matured as the line progressed.
They kept the hair color consistent, which is really nice. Some figures switched a few times. But really, as I'm contemplating slimming and trimming down my collection, I'm trying to figure out which one of these 6 Flint figures would best represent how I view the character.
If you take a look at this GIJOE characters accomplishments in various forms over the years, Flint has a lot going for him. Check out JMMs biography on him!I've used him as a helicopter pilot and a commando for the most part. Just the toys alone give Flint a lot of characterization to build ones' imagination on.
If the helmet had fit, the above picture was tempting me at using this simple head-swap figure as my main Flint.I've also considered attempting to get the vacation in the shadows Flint, but that might be rather hard. And it's hard to tell from pictures if I really like the parts mix.
Edit: 11/29/15
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The 2001-02 HQ was a topic and I would have thought for sure I would have had it in a picture somewhere. I just went through my actual photos (from the 35mm camera days) that I had assembled in a classic photo album and the 2001-02 HQ was nowhere to be seen.
I guess I am a little surprised, even as I never had an intent to photograph anything, that this HQ didn't at least show up in the background of some other photograph.
The only trace of this HQ that I can find here today is the instruction sheet. I also have the instruction sheet from the '92 HQ, so at the very least I thought I would toss up some quick pictures. Not much different between the two, save for some extra warnings and the year information.
I guess in thinking about the '92 HQ as well as the 2001-02 HQ, I didn't feel like it was as interesting as the 1983 Headquarters. The "folded up" stage didn't really make it anything formidable, or very figure-interactive, where in this form I thought it took away from play value. All "opened up" there wasn't much more than an action-gimmick jail escape mechanism and other spring fire missile target locations to simulate battle damage. The crane was nice, as was having a tower, but the rest of the spaces for the interior didn't really feel very.... interactive, I guess I would say. The rather strange rear flip-down motor pool part, which also held the front mega cannon launcher, was just undefined.
The best use of the HQ for me was as a "rear wall" for the 1983 Headquarters. However, I added in other elements in between, and before one knew it, there was one large expansive footprint of G.I.Joe taking up the floor.
I must not have kept this 2nd HQ or the '92 very long for it not to have shown up at least in a background random picture or something....
