Is there a doctor in the house?

Rice Krispies Lifeline was my first medical professional on my team.
I would almost say that this was the best "prize" in a cereal box ever, but a Transformer cereal mail-in was so much better. Even though I'm a much bigger Joe fan, getting Jazz from a cereal I can't recall the name to, well, that was simply awesome.

It wasn't too long after that in about 1992 or 1993, that a friend gave me an '83 Doc figure. The medical team was set! A doctor and a paramedic.

In my more recent task of possibly trimming down my personnel roster, I just asked myself now how important a medical specialist would be? Would I need a dedicated medical character/ figure on my small team?

Or would a medical specialist simply become another "static" figure, like Lift-Ticket, or '86 Wet-suit..., a figure that has one real strong purpose, but doesn't feel like they "fit" in other roles. '86 Wet suit is a Navy SEAL, however, the guy is in his wetsuit with dive gear, and he's never felt right running around in an imaginary mountain or city setting in my mind. Would a future medical specialist figure simply just end up staying in whatever storage box 95% of the time?


When looking at the future, I am finding I should consider the past.

I've put this picture up before, it's a small set up of a small skirmish. In it one can see how my Cobra Viper team looked for many years.

Lifeline made it into this battle. And while pulling Low Light to safety is huge, I have to wonder, why was Lifeline there in the first place? What does Lifeline bring along on a mission that adds to the mission, other than simply being a guy that pulls his buddies to safety?
For most of my imaginary adventures that I can recall, I think Doc pretty much stood around in the HQ with Lifeline and Stretcher, and even a more recent added figure, Sideswipe.
I'm not sure if I felt like I needed a dedicated medical professional to march around with every little squad of Joes I mixed up for adventures or what.

For a character/ figure that is often in one spot, like the HQ, or in the pilot seat of the Tomahawk, or in a Dive Suit in the SHARC...., I wonder if their roles are too limited for maximum play adventures?

And it's not that I dislike any of the medical figures, or any of the firefighter/ flamethrower types. When I consider the future, though, how much "pull time" will they get, or will they simply stay in a bag in a box 95% of the rest of the time I have them?

I wasn't going to give away too many names for who I was going to pick to keep on my small team. For those readers who might have interest in my "small team" thing I have going as of late, I wanted to make my "final team" picks a bit more of a surprise. That's why I broke it down by year in prior posts.

In previous posts, I've mentioned how I had a quick pick and got some 80 figures as a result, and then I got it down to 60, and then to 50. Well, I have it down in the mid-30's, believe it or not.
I've almost been forcing myself to a point where it's turning into work on seeing where I might want a potential small force to go.

But, the figure that inspired me to consider whether or not I "need" a medical specialist figure is Stretcher. (yes, I chose Stretcher over the others as the "keeper.") Check out the file card, which is the base from which I add to a figure's character. Medical Specialist and troop transportation.

The actual figure really stands out to me more than Doc or Lifeline. And Sideswipe just swiped his outfit. But really, it's a nice touch looking figure mold-wise and all. And he's not dressed in red. (not that I dislike red...) I like that he's not stated as an avowed pacifist, too. While he's only got the flare gun, maybe Stretcher could do more in my possible small force?

I've got vehicle drivers, but with his troop transportation SMOS (and no, I don't use his flying stand thing...), I wonder if he would make a great driver? This way, he can contribute to more missions, even if he would only be out when the vehicles are. With that huge backpack, and I think RTO gear, Stretcher could also contribute in the communications arena.

I guess I'm 50/50 on keeping Stretcher in right now.

Snake eyes

What can a person say about Snake eyes that hasn't been said before?

If it hadn't been for the Marvel GIJOE comic, I don't think the old cartoon would have put Snake eyes on my radar as much as he is. Back in the day, the 1989 Snake eyes became my first one. But even then, he was still just a commando with silent weapons to me. He was pretty much as the file card stated.

Over the years, his ninja connections were very much brought upon me through the Marvel comic book, as it wasn't until about 1992 (or later) that I started to pick up back-issues, or any issues for that matter.

It's amazing how seeing character/figure toys in action in comic or cartoon form really bring them to life. Even more than a strong personal inner imagination can.

Also, there's something about that launching point of creativity, where a certain amount of information is given, and then from there, a person, or a bunch of people can start to build upon it. I think that's what makes Joe fans so fun, we have a bit of a base we all can participate in to any degree, but then we can all interject our own imaginations and creativity on top of it.

Where Sci-fi (1986) was one of my most played with figures back in the day, and always on the scene of any imaginary battle, these days if there's any one figure that is always out in any figure mix I choose, it is Snake eyes. Sci-fi, however, has been very, very, rarely seen...
(I wonder if Sci-fi had been featured in the comic as much as Snake eyes, what would our imaginations have GIJOE looking like?)

Either way, I have amassed a few Snake eyes over the years.

And this is no where near the amount I could have accumulated, and no where near what other fans may have.

And I think they are all good figures. Perhaps with the exception of the '83-based figures, I can find something I like a lot about them all.



In some ways, if the clothes make the man, then the gear and weapons can even more define him.



And a wolf.

If you've seen me on the Joe forums over the years, you might know this picture or similar. It's pretty much been my "default" commando since 2004.
I can say I rather disliked the camo pants that originally came with him, but instead of painting, Night Fighter Guile from Street Fighter gladly donated the pants.

Despite the 1991 figure being light blue, and having orange-red weapons, I rather liked the "bulked up" muscular look combined with the rather soldier-looking vest. Some fans, and maybe most fans, will choose the '85 visor as the best head gear, but I think the goggles and face armor are a little more real-feeling. I can see how this gear stays on the guy, the visor....not so much. It is cool looking, though.

Like Battle Corps figures, many of the later RAH o-ring figures don't have anything unique about them for accessories. Among the mix of all those things that came out in the last ten years, there are a few of Snake eyes figures accessories that are available.

So, rather simply, I picked out weapons that (essentially) make Snake eyes.
I also gave him the rifle so he can actually become a team player and get into the infantry line. Snake eyes is not as rogue and independent of a character for me in my Joe-verse.

The man is still a super-skilled silent commando with ninja training, but he is still a soldier.

potential 50 gijoe team

If I remember right, I think my "50th" GIJoe figure was the 1991 Snake Eyes.

That was almost 20 years ago.

Recently I've been challenging myself to see if I can make a small GIJOE team that I can be happy with, as opposed to a large, large, large number of figures.

Well, on a quick decisive pick of my figures, I ended up at about 85 figures initially.
Then, I got myself down to just 60 figures.

Well, after some more "play" time, I chopped 10 more and now got myself down to the big 50.

In my "60 figures" post, I broke things down by year for which figure was present. Perhaps I'll do the same just for comparison of how things changed:

'85--2
'86--2
'87---6
'88--8
'89-- 4
'90--7
'91--5
'92--1
'93/'94--5
modern--9 (technically 10, but one figure is more parts...)


For me, looking back, 1990 got the biggest ax chop. And 1992 is almost non-existent.

And it's not due to me not liking the figures.
As I was trying to be objective in my selections, I really had to consider how much I really used the figure since I got it. Truthfully, as cool as some are, and I don't want to give them up, I really haven't used them much; if at all.
With prior use thought about, I would compare it to the potential broad uses in the future. Would I get a real good amount of play out of this figure?

I would take into account how the cartoons, comics, or even online fans have influenced me on my own take on the character of a figure.

I even tried to see if I had too many redundant specialties, or if I needed a larger variety of specialties that I had already removed.

Keep in mind, I'm not going for the large army. It's going to be a small mobile strike force, and there is going to be a lot of helicopter use, and most of the vehicles are going to be jeeps and tanks with field station weaponry. There will be no high-seas adventures or arctic throw downs.

Cobra '92

Here's a bit of random. My collection of Cobra figures from 1992.

I'm starting to wonder if 1992 was the "worst" year in my opinion. I'm still pondering that notion of "the worst," I mean, I like pretty much all of it. But in my quest for finding a potentially smaller collection of figures, I have to evaluate what I like about the figures the most.

As for the Joes as of today, I only have one 1992 figure that is looking like he may be left in on that team. There will be more thoughts from me on that, I'm sure.

Right now it's Cobra, though.

This picture is actually from 2009, and below in italics is what I wrote about these figures back then:

1992 seems really slim for Cobra after I've broken it down by year releases.

And I'm not a ninja force collector, but I've really taken a liking to Slice and Dice. The pair almost have a TMNT-humor quality in their names. I still have fun with these without feeling like it's ridiculous. Slice being a swordsman, probably likes to slice people up...kinda almost mobster-like, trimming victims down like ham. Or Dice, being too evil for the Night Creepers, could be just a total street thug with more smarts (in that Night Creepers could be accountants, lawyers, etc.) and possibly even seemingly crazy. (as in a roll the dice wildly way)
Either way, Storm Shadow is a rogue-ish good guy in my world, so Cobra Commander really likes having this pair in his employ.

This was my first Firefly, too. I was kind of excited, and really liked his colorization in the marvel comic at this time, but the lime green didn't hold on me for this character. Even though I do like the mold, I would like to this one recolored at some point. It's a nice figure overall, and the rifle was one of my favorites for awhile despite the lime.

And the Eel falls right in there on the colors, too. Nice styling, and I like the idea of the razor fins, and the accessories overall weren't too out of place...if that yellow had been a maroon, or gray, or even purple, this would really be a nice figure. imo, anyway



And back into today I think most of what I said here is about how I feel about things now. However, in regards to Firefly, I may HAVE TO LIKE this figure. I'm heavily considering a "no swivel-heads" rule to my collection. Not that I hate them, but a little more articulation is always nice.

For me as an old-mold o-ring type of guy, well, other than this '92 Firefly, there is only the '84 Firefly (swivel head) to choose from right now. I figured my swivel head rule would apply to all, even the ones that were produced just a few years ago.

The Eel would be heading out the door, though. As I don't have any boats now, do I need a diver? It is a limiting restriction, but I may not have many (or any) sea battles ever again. I'm going airborne for movement.

And still not a huge ninja fan, but Slice and Dice will serve the Commander well!

Hardball

There's a lot of GIJoes out there that just don't get a lot of attention, some Joes just get forgotten. Over the years online, I've seen posts about these not-as-often mentioned Joes, posts that ask which Joes fans often forget about. I think Backstop was the guy that I often named as one I forgot, for example.

However, as I've been picking through my figure collection, I realized there was a Joe that I really was (more or less) forgetting. And the guy was kinda really always in my mind, but..., I guess I can't think of why I forgot about him so much.

This GIJOE character is Hardball.

As I was sorting the GIJOE figures through and evaluating each one, I DID pick Hardball out to keep in my (potential) small force. I even gave him my Marauder, Inc. 40mm grenade launcher as I was (essentially) playing with the figure.

At the same time, I was writing down on list all the figures I was going to keep.

Guess who I forgot?

Right, and obviously due to the title of this post, Hardball.

And one could say, maybe I just didn't write down his name. It could have completely have been a random omission and it could have been any of the other figures.

It took me awhile to figure out who I was missing on my list compared to the figures on the shelf (that I picked out as "top" picks). I figured out it was Hardball, but it kind of surprised me.

Now, about 2 years ago, I was going for the all inclusive GIJOE team. I wanted every individual character, and these I put into my "departments." (see that "departments" post for more on that).

I had EVERY character on a large sheet of paper all sectioned up into different categories. I even had a Sgt. Savage stand-in figure for that character. I even had Fast Draw in a category.

Who did I miss? Once again, and obviously, yes, Hardball.


Anyway, as-is, I did pick Hardball out as one of my "keepers" for a (potential) small force. He's a decent figure with some not-so-straight-military flair (baseball style), and he's a grenadier.
I think the modern 40mm grenade launcher in real-life-world is an incredible (and scarily deadly and accurate) weapon that really does exist. Hardball simply brings his larger fictional gun to the battle!


So, I guess in summary, I'm kind of surprised that a fairly simple, straight-forward, and (at least I thought so) used figure has been kind of slipping under my radar somehow. I would have guessed several other figures would have been unconsciously not getting used.

Check out Hardball at the GIJOE Index.

What do you think about the guy?


OH, and check out JMMs page on Hardball, too!

Lift Ticket

This is a picture that I have to re-do.

I was going to see which figures had the same colors of red, tan, and green as Lift Ticket does. I was going to see if there was a hidden "Tomahawk force," of sorts, where all these guys really matched as a group over the years. Dial tone '86 and Beachhead '86 should be in here, too.

Either way, another time.

I was thinking about Lift Ticket, though. With my "60" figure team, well, one member of the team is Lift Ticket. I figured that I need him, as he is the Tomahawk pilot originally and since I'm running the Tomahawk as the main mover of my team it would just make sense to have this guy as a pilot.

But, do I need Lift Ticket simply if I have a Tomahawk?

I have Updraft, Dogfight, and Wild Bill on hand, and I think all three of these guys are just as well-suited to the piloting task. I also have Flint on hand, and he can do the job, too. And if I stretch the imagination, I could probably get any Sky Patrol members to at least be the copilots.

Aside from being a pilot, Lift Ticket doesn't feel like he might as versatile of a figure to have in play in the collection. Even just as a figure, Lift Ticket has pretty much been seat-warming in the Tomahawk almost non-stop. I'm wondering, would it be better to send Lift-Ticket on his way and bring in another Joe, especially if this figure is just going to be sitting in chair until my collection turns to dust?

What else is there about the Lift Ticket figure that gives him more versatility other than a "just" a pilot?

60 figures

I've been digging through my figures lately, seeing if I can go with less. Not just fewer figures, but less stuff overall. I'm thinking since I can't really take on a large and expansive collection (real life comes to play...), I was thinking I should get everything down to a very manageable level.

And not just quantity, but quality, too. And not even quality, but personal preferences. And then edit those items by the potential usefulness, originality, and downright fun that could come out of really introspecting on MY GIJoe team.

Well, I kicked out the swivel heads, picked out the "double" characters and got my favorite versions identified. I weighed on whether there was a modern (''98-'08) version that was better than a classic ('82-'94) version.

Then I went through all that to see if I would actually use what was left.

I had it at about 80-some GIJOE team members.

Then I got aggressive and picky.

I got realistic.

What remained? Well, 60 characters (figures) for my future team. That's still a lot of people, but I'm kind of excited about this, too.

Here's the current (today) breakdown of what will stay by product year:

'85--2
'86--3
'87--6
'88--8
'89-- 4
'90--14
'91--5
'92--2
'93/'94--6
Modern '98-'08--9

Does it add up to 60?
One guy is really kind of parts, so...its' kinda 59? Did I add it right?

It's kind of interesting on the breakdown. I found '90 had a lot of good things I wanted to keep incorporated. '88 and '87 wasn't far behind, either. I'm kind of surprised that '89 had so few that left, I might have to see "who" I kicked out.

'92 was really low, even though '85 was the same and '86 not far behind, many of '85/'86 characters are represented in later years that took the place out of those years.

1992. Was this the "worst" year in my opinion? Well, I'm going to save that opinion for another blog post, but, this might very much be the case. More to come.


For now, I'm going to let what I have sit and stew, see if my choices are things I can live with.

I'll also probably start going through the figures heading out the door and see if there's something I might not want to live without.

Interesting times, and a lot of work.

And I still have to pick through the "bad guys!"

GIJoe Skyhawk

I first got a 1984 Skyhawk (upper left corner of the group of vehicles above) from my best bud way back in the day. The upper rudder wing was super glued the jet engines were loose to the point where they could hardly stay in any position except straight vertical. These things were used pretty heavily on the cartoon when I was watching it back then, too.

I guess I didn't use it a whole lot. In some ways, being that most of my collection was (and is) from 1986-forward, some figures didn't fit the easiest in the 1984 craft. I may have used the Razorblade more than this thing now that I think about it. I guess I don't remember using a whole lot.

Perhaps I used mostly to fight off the Cobra Flight Pod? I can't help to wonder if that's what my best bud back in the day was doing at times when he had both of these...


Either way, I was able to acquire the 3-piece collectors convention Skyhawks when I was at the 2005 convention. I thought it was a great deal at the time. And with 3 figures in that bonus attendee purchase pack (Gung-ho, Dragonsky, Steel Brigade Commander) it was really nice as that little sub-set of figures ended up with instant transportation. Of course these Skyhawks did not have the twin-chin cannon, which really took away some fun. Not to mention the plastic itself on the craft was a little unrefined, each swirl pattern was different, but so were the angles of the landing gear, excess flash in certain spots, etc. Still, for the price, these were pretty decent.

I actually took the guns off my old '84 Skyhawk and added to one of them. I can't find a picture of that one, but either way, it was traded away.



Just a short couple years later, Hasbro put out the 25th Skyhawk which simply made me not want any previous production Skyhawk. Seriously, when I saw the pictures, I wanted THAT and not what I had.
I don't think I saw more than one of these 25th-style "Ghosthawks" and between that point and the time I considered snagging it, it was already sold. Of course, I traded off all my convention Skyhawks and parted out my old 1984 Skyhawk since the 25th release was just so much cooler looking. Still haven't gotten the anniversary edition, but, that's ok... there's still a better (?) option right now.
(Check out this Youtube.com review on the 25th Ghosthawk.)

In the Pursuit of Cobra line-up, there's an even more refined (modern?) Ghosthawk now, and I have had several chances to snag this one. And I guess I still do as of this writing.

I just can't decide if I really "need." I mean, it looks cool, but will I actually use it?
Check out GeneralsJoes.com review for more information!


In my old age, I found that the best spot for a Skyhawk (or Ghosthawk) would be on the Transportable Tactical Battle Platform. Of course, I do not have a TTBP anymore, so the "need" for a VTOL craft for that landing pad is no longer there...


That's about where this little VTOL pod ended up sitting in my world.

And it's that little pod-thing about it that is what is holding me back from thinking I "need" the POC-Ghosthawk now.

It looks cool, don't get me wrong. But, I also think back to old Devilsdue.com board discussions where a lot of people were debating if the thing would even fly. And looking at the visual-weight balance of the toy..., well, I don't think it would!

But with the Ghosthawk POC "vectored thrust" engines, I think there very much might be a strong possibility of it seeming to work. Really, add in that third thruster on the back end, and the twin vectored engines would really only have to get it up, while that 3rd nozzle would give it the push. And it is nice that the engines are angle up a little higher and away from where the old engines were. It seems a little more complex of a craft, and a little more realistic to me this way.

I also think with the rear bomb (or rocket) attachment points on the back wing (bombs not included, however), the visual weight shifts back. It helps the Ghosthawk not seem so front heavy, which was one of the main argument points for this thing NOT being able to fly back on the old Devilsdue.com discussions.

Add in I have no use for the figure that is included, and it bumps the purchase up as too much expense for what I want out of the box. If figure is really $6, $7, or $8 a piece now, I would gladly pay the $7, $8, or $9 for JUST the vehicle. I don't want to get stuck with more stuff I most likely will just toss in a baggie to sit with other baggies in a Rubbermaid container.

With no Dragonfly in my motor pool now, I could use a little gunship to escort my Tomahawk, though, and a Ghosthawk would be pretty useful out in the field for some quick and compact air support for my (planned) field support team/ ground vehicle team.

Anyone get this and now not like it, or did you get one and can't imagine Joe-life without it?

1989 GIJoe

The GIJoes of 1989. I guess in a lot of ways, this years worth of figures really continues much of what 1988 had to offer me, but it even carries in elements of 1987's style while sort of sliding into the solid year (in my opinion) of 1990.

There's even elements of 1982! Consider Snake eyes, Rock-n-roll, and Stalker make their way back into the prime time of figures in 1989, that's kind of nice. And I think all three are very nice "updates" of those figures. And it doesn't stop there, as Deep Six from 1984 is here, but this time as a fully articulated action figure instead of a suit with swiveling arms.

With my history with Joe, this year was pretty much how I was able to get these characters new. So, where many collectors/ fans might have had the original versions of these, the 1989 "version 2" figures were really my first.

The '89 Snake eyes, Rock-n-roll, and Stalker were my first versions of these characters. As far as Rock-n-roll goes, I haven't really wanted any other version..., I really like this one.

Deep Six, though, I did have the '84 (with the bellows) first, but I found the 1989 version so much more usable and fun! I used the "version 2" on the WHALE and even had him assisting Wet-Suit, Shipwreck, and Torpedo underwater.

As I look at this year as a whole, there's the obviously strong design sense that even newly named figures really could have been previously seen figure characters, too. Downtown could have been Short Fuze, and Dogfight is very suspiciously looking like Wild Bill. And it's a stretch, but Countdown a possible, Ace?? Recoil even could have been, Grunt or Footloose??

Either way, I like the year. I like it even more after having all the accessories out as a group of stuff. There's a lot of gear, and it is really fairly detailed. A lot of removable helmets are present, as well, furthering the coolness of accessories.

Long Range has one of my favorite pistols. And Dogfight's pistol is fairly aggressive looking as well. Recoil has some poorly colored guns, but that rifle is one of the best in my opinion in form, not to mention his awesome backpack.

Downtown and Rock-n-roll really bring the heat with their big weapons. A pair of twin guns and fun mortar (with mortars!) launcher are here.

Between Scoop and Dee Jay, the audio and visual department is looking well-equipped. I have to wonder even now, why was Dee Jay, a Battleforce 2000 member, available 2 years after the rest of that theme?

And Hot Seat is there as the tank driver, essentially. I've never seen his vehicle, the Raider, in person, though. It seems like it would be a fairly decent tank. Anyone have any opinions on it?

If you made it this far down in my ramblings, (thank you for reading!) you may know that I'm considering trimming down my figures quite a bit. In pictures for the 1989 figures I have, well, above is what I'm considering keeping.

I've already discharged tundra ranger Stalker and Windchill with the rest of my Arctic force.

Below is what I'm considering sending out the door:

Payload and Countdown are astronauts. There's not much else I can do with astronauts in their suits as I can see it. I was putting them in the jets I had, but with no jets nowadays, and no Crusader or Defiant missions planned for anytime in even the far future....well, it would just make sense for them to go. They are really nice figures, too.

Deep Six is on the potential for being sent off for the same reason. Deep Six is a deep-sea diver in a dive suit. A dive suit with weighted boots. And it is a heck of a nice figure, as well. But, with no SHARC, no Barracuda, and even no WHALE...., it really does make sense for him to go. As much as he'll be missed (he is an original collection figure, this one bought by me!)

And Snake eyes is up there. What's wrong with Snake eyes? Well, I haven't been buying any modern GIJOE Snake eyes, but I still have a hefty handful of this character in many incarnations. I like this version, and it was my first one, but I have been much happier and have almost exclusively used my "default" Snake eyes over the past 5 years now. It simply doesn't make sense for me to hold onto any other form of this figure. Besides, most of the accessories that are unique to the 1989 Snake eyes were reused quite a bit from 2000-2006. I never use that 3-piece stick weapon, either...

Oktober Guard

The Oktober Guard has only really been fully assembled in my collection since the 2005 comic pack figures made their way out.
The two sets from 2005 were very elusive for me. The Marvel comic had its influence on me, and I wanted to add these characters to my collection. It wasn't until a chance stop at a Target in Dubuque, IA, where I finally found these. And it was just the two of them there! The only packs of these I saw at all.

Looking back at them now, the heads are a tad on the small side, and some of the hands aren't formed quite right. Especially on Brekhov's figure.
The accessories must not have impressed me, as I've obviously armed them with Marauder, Inc. equipment pretty much across the board with the Soviet-style (at least to me it is) items.

The Oktober Guard was present prior to these comic packs, I actually got the 1998 Oktober Guard 3-pack about the time it came out. YoJoe has a picture of that here.

I had these 3 TRU exclusive figures with me in my small travel tin container when I was doing the school thing. I wanted some figures to set up in my room, and the 2000-'01 figures were what I had in it. And the 1998 Oktober Guard. I have since traded off the "Brekhov" and "Volga" from that pack, as those were straight repaints of previous figures that I still intended to use. "Volga" wasn't as obvious as Lady Jaye, but pretty much was that figure, ball-cap and all. And "Red Star" was most likely present in my collection, already. So that "Brekhov" just couldn't be THE Brekhov...., it was Red Star.

Plus, I lost THAT Brekhov's hat in a dorm room. Go figure..., a 10'x15' space, where something is on a shelf or in a tin, and I lost it... ???

Red Star is where it was at for on that figure. The guy was an original figure afterall, this was a more tangible character to me from the start. If I remember right, I pretty much had to trade to get all his accessories assembled for this figure below. And Red Star has some seriously nice stuff. From the rifle, to the mini-gatling gun, all the way to the RTO backpack with knife. Add in that Red Star has one of THE BEST spring fired missile launchers out there, well, it's a darn nice figure!

I think Big Bear was added in loose to my collection, too, and I know that I did trade for his double-barreled launcher. I'm not too concerned about the missiles themselves.

Just above in the picture with Red Star and Big Bear are the other "newer" Oktober Guard members, Lt. Gorky, and Sgt. Misha. These are the 2006 Comic Pack figures, and the Comic Pack Dragonsky came with them. I think the trio of these figures have better sized heads. Misha is really a nice figure with a unique hat.
Lt. Gorky has a nice head, but got the shaft with the 1964 soldier body. I've tried to find a better body for the guy from spar parts, but it just hasn't happened. I guess it isn't so bad. At least THIS Gorky isn't looking like the Big-Bear-look-alike Gorky from the 1998 TRU 3-pack.


It's the look-a-likes and characters that could be what was supposed this character issue that faces my Oktober Guard today.

Below, for example.

We had a Dragonsky in 2005 from the GIJoe Collector Club. And it's a great figure, but it's Blast-off. With the comic pack figure and the GIJCC figure, which do I pick? How do I avoid the matching uniform issue with the 2005 Gung-ho?
Also, was Big Bear intended to be Horror Show the whole time? Two big guys, in that dark solid green uniform, both with some kind of anti-tank weapon.... A coincidence? Should Horror Show "die" in my Joe-verse like in the comic book, so Big Bear can stand apart and get some use?

"Dead" characters were considered "dead" for a time when the new figures started coming back at the beginning of the century, after all. Brehkov would have to suffer the same fate if in my Joe-verse, Horror Show were to be considered, "dead." I think it was a later Marvel issue that kind of explained that Red Star looked similar to Brehkov, too, but with such a small team, do I have two leaders present at the same time? Just figure-wise here, I prefer Red Star over my Comic Pack Brehkov, quite easily.


Below you can see poor Gorky. If the hands weren't a lighter tone on the 1998 Gorky, I wouldn't mind just swapping the heads. It's too bad, I think Gorky could really have been a strong figure/ character in my Joe-verse had the body been a little more, I dunno..., good?
It's not that I dislike the '64-style body, it is just fine, it really has the feel of the 12" guys from that time. I did play with some of those, too!



On the forwarding collection issue:

Now, "dead is dead," this is an issue that didn't make sense to me. Sure, in the comic, they're gone, not to be seen again. In toy form, they're still here and just as functional as any other toy.
However, should I reduce the Oktober guard? Should I completely bring them into my GIJoe team?
Should Brehkov, Horror-Show, Shrage, and Stormavik, be sent away so the "newer generation" of Oktober Guard character/figures get a chance to get developed?

Do I need an Oktober Guard team?

What do you think?

1988 GIJoe

I have been pulling the figures out of my storage arrangement and taking a closer look at each years figures lately. I am sort of evaluating which figures/ characters I like the most and which ones I haven't really pulled out over the years.

I was going through each year and setting up every figure, as well as pulling out other versions from other years for about an hour or more at a time. For 1988 here, I'm shifting gears and just taking a picture of the figures that may not make the cut to remain in my collection (if the need so arises...).

As always, reference the 1988 GIJOE Archive at YoJoe.com. And right away, I already forgot a figure in the picture above, and that's Charbroil, the flamethrower.
For some reason, I wanted all the flamethrowers for awhile, I'm not sure why. Where imagination meets reality, though, I don't know if I need flamethrowers as an exclusive specialty. One could make a small "sub-team" with the few flame-weapon specialists that are available, but I found them very useful in a hazardous-material team role. In that Haz-mat role, the flamethrowers could be self contained and be some of the guys that could remain in a hostile environment. Airtight can't do it all himself, can he?
But ultimately, the bulk of future imaginary adventures will most likely not involve this scenario, so Charbroil might be out only a small percentage of the time compared to many other figures.

The normal, regular use of a figure is why I have Lightfoot up in my possible trade-outs. This figure actually came from my best bud back in the day, and overall is a neat figure. An explosives expert is always very handy, and very realistic to have on my future force. But, like Charbroil, how many adventures can I see this figure partaking in? In thinking back over the years I've had this very figure, Lightfoot has been in my hands for 20-some years now, and the most notable use I made of him (that I recall now) is that of a member of my demolitions specialists on my Security team. If you look at that picture, Lightfoot is driving. (barely noticeable). Cool as the figure is and sentiment aside, he's on the list of potential outs....

1988 Storm Shadow was my very first Storm Shadow, and that's my original one up in the photo. A figure that's been in my collection since, well, almost forever it seems. Of course, with this figure now, Storm Shadow is a "good guy." That file card confused me some back in the day, and since it essentially had the man as a friend of Snake eyes now, that is how Storm Shadow played out in my GIJOE collections imaginary adventures. Best buds essentially, a lot like the Marvel comic book in most ways.
However, I think the end of the Marvel run left me out in the cold with no resolution other than that Storm Shadow was brain-washed back to how Cobra was back in 1984. I suppose that is one solution to resetting a lot of things that happened over 10 years of stories..., brainwash them! I haven't gotten the newest comic continuation of this story, I'm waiting for a graphic novel so I can have them all at once.
Devils Due didn't help me feel Storm Shadow out much, either. He was bad, then good, then something, then good. And then even "online" interaction where (and it's all good) some people have Stormy stuck in '84, and others more like me have him "good," well, that bouncing alignment of factions pretty much influenced me a lot. I've put Storm Shadow into a rogue role which THIS figure pretty much summarizes. A not-so-clean-white ninja, and then I scraped off his Cobra logo, and now Storm Shadow has pretty much been out on his own.
So, if Storm Shadow is not a team player, I most likely won't try to incorporate him onto my team with this 1988 figure. However, I would really like to see a "commando" version of Stormy someday.

Spearhead is a nice figure I got in trade in about 2004 or so. I haven't used the guy much, but he's got some things going for him. Most notably, I used him in my Desert Patrol. The orange doesn't bug me. I think he would look good with the Desert Fox, too.
I'm just not sure if I will use this figure much in the future. He might get recalled back into the "keeps," but this is one guy I'm on the fence with.
I'm considering making up a "bull" number of figures I can allow myself to keep, too. If I can only have, let's say 50 figures, Spearhead might not make the cut, simply since there may be other figures I would rather keep. If I make a rule like this up, it could be an actual collecting goal, which I've never had.


Budo is a guy that's been in my collection just as long as 1988 Storm Shadow. He's one of what I call my original team members. He's a heck of a cool Samurai, and his Haiku is one that I memorized early on. But, really, do I need a Samurai?
When I was departmentalizing my entire GIJOE team, putting figures that fit together with others into patrols and whatnot, Budo pretty much got stuck in the tank bay with Quick Kick as a trainer.
That's it. So, sentiment and cool aside, he's actually a little easier to put on the trade-out list.

Windmill.
Well, I have tried to like the guy. When I had a larger motor pool, in particular when I had more helicopters, I simply needed more people! In my planning just a few year ago, though, I didn't figure in the fact that I was just one person... setting up an entire squadron of vehicles for battle began to take on a job of its own.
This mass of movement and set up figures into why I kind of wanted less of a motor pool, and now I'm finding I don't need ALL the people to get my smaller force into action. Windmill, well, he's probably one of the easiest to kick out of my collection.

Sky Patrol

Sky Patrol is still a newer-to- me-addition to my collection. Back in the day in and around 1990, '91, and '92, I remember seeing these figures on the pegs, but since they had parachutes they made a price jump into a sort of "deluxe" figure price range. Or put simply, they were more expensive compared to mainline figures. Plus, I could buy a vehicle for a dollar or two more, and I found more value in that kind of purchase thinking.

I still don't have all the accessories to this "sub-team," but I have all the helmets and the figures themselves, and I'm happy with that. I think it was late 2009 that I finally got Airborne up there, and I paid a pretty good amount for the figure. For some reason he seemed elusive, and for whatever reason I liked that figure the most out of all of them-even before I got it.

I think I filled in most of the Sky Patrol figures at the GIJoe convention in 2005, but the first Sky Patrol figures I ever got (in the picture below in about 2004-early 2005) is when I got Static Line and Drop Zone.



I like 1990 as a product year quite a bit when it comes to GIJOE, and Sky Patrol really adds to that like. And it has nothing to do with the parachutes. I actually could care less about the parachutes.

With all the vehicles I've had over the years, I don't remember ever even seeing a Sky Patrol vehicle in person.

If you're reading this, you most likely know your Joe, and you most likely know that with the exception of new heads, these are all re-used bodies.

It's an interesting mix, too, in that it's former vehicle driver bodies that were re-used through-out. And that Sky Patrol figure got a removable helmet, which is really awesome.

On the ground, Backstop and Motor Viper donated to Static Line and Airwave. With the use of ground vehicle driver bodies, I really imagine these two Sky Patrol members being used in a ground role. Static line has a demolitions MOS, and the armor on top helps that guy feel that part, and the blue really feels like there's a sort of security (Like Law, Shockwave, etc.) flavor. And while Static Line might get his codename from that sort of airborne jumping method, it also makes me think of explosives for some reason.


Airwave is the "audible frequency specialist." That says communications specialist to me, and with his file card info, Airwave has become a part of my communications and technical specialists. With the riding armor a-la Motor Viper, Airwave feels like a figure that can field his expertise just about anywhere.

Two of the Sky Patrol figures are from jet pilots bodies. In my current thought process of moving my collection forward with fewer figures and missions, jet pilots are looking like they may become very rare. I suppose the Sky Patrol guys could become HALO jumpers, as Altitude is a recon scout, and then Drop Zone is a "weapons specialist." "Weapons specialst" is kind of vague as far as strong fuel for the imagination... it could be anything.
When I had more jets, I had these two Sky Patrol guys as almost exclusive pilots. With no jets, well, I don't want to make the excuse of "they're cool," just to keep them. However, I may employ an imaginary transport plane that can get these two and others into airborne-inserted action.




Then there is the helicopter pilot based bodies. The "leader," Skydive really seems like an older special operations guy that is type of soldier that would be fast-roping out of a helicopter, too. As far as future use in my collection, I feel real good about having Skydive present. He's got a nice pistol and rifle, and his helmet really feels more like those lightweight helmets that a person might see in real life. Well, in a dark black as compared to the toys silver color.

Now Airborne was the guy I wanted the most out of all of them over the years. I think it was mostly since thought he looked the coolest.
He's the "parachute assembler." That sounds boring, an important role for sure, but I don't think I'll have that play out in my imagination. On his secondary MOS, I just got reminded that he is a battlefield medic as I reference YOJOE.COM. In a team with potentially a lot less people, this imaginary point will add to the teams depth.
His overall color scheme is really nice, too. I think it would work in just about any place he's sent into, and his helmet is a little more "combat" feeling to me (as opposed to a jet-pilot face shield). Style-wise, the uniform doesn't feel like a jet-pilots G-suit feels out of the pilots seat, too.
It's interesting that both helicopter pilot-based bodies got the more "combat" style helmet. I wonder if the original design intent had more to it than us at the consumer end will ever know?



Airborne vs. Airborne

If you know your Joe, you know there's two Airbornes. For awhile, I was thinking of making Sky Patrol Airborne, "Rigger." An alternate codename so I can use all the figures. I've also considered using, "Six," as I've seen posts where this, or "Rigger," was used.

Going forward, since the original 1983 Airborne is so much more of a skinny figure and a swivel-head jointed one at that, I think the original is going to go away for sure.

Really, I have a lot of choices for paratrooper GIJOE figures across the board. And as I have been spending a lot of time lately contemplating my figure collection, I find I really prefer the figures from '85 and forward a lot more than the '82-'84. Don't get me wrong, but when it comes to just an issue of Airborne vs. Airborne on these two figures, the 1990 Sky Patrol figure is so much more interesting and detailed to me.



What do you think of Sky Patrol?
I have some parachutes I won't use if anyone wants to trade for them, too, just let me know.

Also, it's been asked before, but why do you think Freefall wasn't a member of Sky Patrol

1987 gijoe

GIJoe in 1987. Some fans might say the end of the line (that had a few good figures), others may say just an off-year, while others still may think of the this year as just as good as any.

Maybe it was more Cobra La and GIJOE: the movie (1987) that helped defined some of the negative views of 1987. As far as the GIJOE team goes, I think it parallels the 1986 GIJoe team very well.
The 1987 figures in my collection, still pretty much look like what I had from 2009. I typed out some thoughts on the GIJOE team previously, right now I'm spending some time evaluating what my collection will mean to me. I could have it all, I could simply hoard it all, and keep it in some sort of storage for the many years to come. Or I could really take a hard look at what I like about my GIJoe collection.

And it hasn't been easy. Some figures are just plain cool. Or there is some really neat aspect to them. Or even, and I never thought I'd say it, some nostalgic sentiment attached.

As I look at the class of 1987 now, the same color palette really flows through figures as it does with the 1986 figures.
There is the rather traditional looking "army" guys with Falcon, Tunnel rat, and even Outback and Steamroller (to an extent). But then there is a transition with more non-traditional looking figures who still have their army-green pants on (Law, Chuckles).
From there, Fast Draw adds in some more red in his special rocket-slinger blast suit, and that red carries right into Sneak Peak, Crazy legs, Backstop, and especially, Jinx. This red is very similar to the red on the 1986 figures, in my opinion. But there is also some gray tones, and Sneak Peak and Crazy legs really look like they are on a team to me now.
Of course, Psyche-out has to be different, much like Sci-fi. Perhaps that was planned, one guy with a bright green technical specialty?
One could almost take the entire right half of the photo for trimming out figures, and indeed, Sneak Peak, Crazy Legs, (that) Jinx, and Psyche-out are on the potential chopping block.


In 1987, the color blue starts to show on the main line in Law and Fast Draw, but Battle Force 2000 picks it up.
Now I did get rid of my "sub teams," but I made the exception to individuals, and all of Battle Force 2000 is a new individual. I did send Avalanche off with my winter operations team, though, he just fits better with that theme.

Back in the day, the style of the Battle Force 2000 vehicles with their colors really have a certain style that kind of match what was going on with Transformers that year. But, either way, the BF2K figures have been a great addition, even though I don't have much interest in the vehicles, as these guys have really added flavor to my team as vehicle driving specialists.
Dodger and Blocker have been four-wheelin' and off-roadin' in most of my wheeled vehicles, while Knockdown has been serving as a gunner on many vehicles. Maverick was the co-pilot to just about everything, and with his suit, he could almost fit on the Crusader or Defiant just as well. Blaster, as a "ground effect vehicle" operator, he got stationed on the WHALE, but now I'm not sure if he'll have a role in my future force.

Do you think that Psyche-out was potentially planned as a BF2K member?
I like that Dee-Jay fits in visually with these guys, too, even though he appeared later.


Of course, the stars of 1987 in some ways: the Renegades. I just completed these three together just a couple years ago. I'm on the fence with them now. I mean, in the GIJOE:the movie (1987), these misfits weren't even "in" GIJOE and they had a special D.I. that had to whip them into shape. I'm tempted to make my Joe-Verse story one where Taurus and Red Dog either didn't make the cut, or were "lost" in some never-acknowledged-officially mission.

Were these guys going to be expanded upon at some point? Were these and the Cobra-la 3-pack "THE movie figures" back in the day? With Slaughter appearing again in 1988, do you think there was ever any talk of more main-lining of these Renegades, or expanding of the Renegades?

The 1991 Mercer has been my main Mercer since, well, possibly Christmas of 1991. I've always liked the figure, despite the orange. But then, both Mercers have the orange, but the '91 seems more red (more ex-Cobra?) Plus I like the "aged" look on the 1991 version. Somewhere along the way, he got shorter :).

1986 GIJoe

Most likely, I have already mentioned a bunch of things about 1986. My first post was about 1986 and how my GIJOE team looked. And I may have mentioned how 1986 was really my "big year" when it came to how things started with my GIJoe toys.
Compare the above picture with the photo I took in 2009, and Iceberg is no longer present now since I shut down my arctic operations, otherwise everything else is still the same as it was nearly a year ago. Check out the Yojoe.com archives for more on 1986.


In some ways after getting a lot of these guys out for this go-around of pictures, I gotta say the backpacks and gear got a lot more detail and volume (size) to them. Consider Leathernecks M-16 to Footlooses M-16, much bigger, even without considering the grenade launcher.

As I look at this year as a whole, there are some neat colors that work amongst the figures. Lift-ticket is right in the middle, to his right that same green is on Beachhead and Dial tone. And then Lift-tickets tan is also on Dial tone and Leatherneck. Then from Lift-ticket to the left the red pretty much sums up Lifeline, but that red is also on Low Light and Cross Country.
Hawk takes on green, which is sort of like Leathernecks base green, but not exact, but then Hawks brown is present on Slipstream, who in turn shares a very similar gray with Lowlight and Cross country's pants. Then Cross country's hat is a lighter gray on top, which is really close to Mainframes gray.
The inter-figure color palette is really kind of neat I think.
Wet suit and Sci-fi didn't seem to have much in common color-wise with anybody, though. Wet Suit seems more suited to match the Devil Fish in my mind, and that makes some sense as he's pretty much in dive gear, ready to go. Also, orange is present as a detail color on the HAVOC.
Sci-fi is still a lot more light green than Cross country's vest, though. Other than that, I see no color connection to Sci-fi, or vehicle connection for that matter.

Also as I look at these more, there's just as much of a divide between the traditional looking "army" style figures and the more technical/ non-traditional figures.

Consider Beachhead, Hawk, Leatherneck, Sgt. Slaughter, and even Dial Tone have very battlefield dress qualities to them. Even Low light does, too, it's just not green.

On the technical/ specialty side of things, Mainframe, Sci-fi, and Lifeline really stand out. They have some nicely detailed gear between them, as well as most of the rest of the figures up there.
Of Course, Slipstream, Cross Country, Lift-ticket, and Wet suit really feel more geared toward their respective areas of battle as drivers, pilots, and a diver.

But really, with all these figure out I kind of remembered how I had the tremendous trio of Hawk, Sci-fi, and Low light taking on Cobra back in the day. Sci-fi was the big gun, and Low Light really filled the role of his best bud taking on Cobra.

Going forward, figures that most likely going to be in my collection for sure, is 1986 Hawk, 1986 Lift Ticket, Lowlight, Mainframe, Dial tone and Lifeline.

I may go with 1988 Sgt. Slaughter, then possibly the Battle Corps Cross Country and Beachhead. I may even go with the Battle Corps Leatherneck since Leatherneck (1986) isn't really grabbing my interest that much right now, but we'll see. I'm heavily leaning toward keeping my 1991 Sci-fi right now, too..., the 1986 figure is cool but hasn't been pulled out of my storage system that often in recent years.

And with almost no air superiority fighter now (the X-30 is gone), Slipstream may be out of a job. Pretty plain and simple decision making with that reasoning.
And almost the same with Wet-suit, with limited aquatic-based adventures (no WHALE now) in the near future, do I need a diver? I am considering the Devilfish coming into my collection at some point, it is a nice small mobile strike force asset and would fit on the shelf nicely. But I have to consider many of the other "sea squad" Joes.

GIJOE versus other toys

Back in the day, and this is in the early to late '80's, there were a lot of different toys one could get. Action figures were pretty big in my world, so it wasn't simply JUST GIJOE, even though GIJOE has become top dog for me by miles.

I had Masters of the Universe, Captain Power, Super Powers, M.A.S.K., Go-Bots, and Transformers. And it was really just a handful of each, but at the same time that handful was plenty enough to get many play adventures started. Oh, and Lego. And for the most part, I still have those. Plus various "other" toys, like a mix of Hotwheels and what not.

How did GIJOE win out over everything else?

Well, even with the cartoon advertising power behind many of these properties, and as much as I wanted (and still kind of do) them all. It was the price.

And it didn't help being located in a small, small, small town.

But price was, and really will always be, a big decision maker. I can remember looking at many items at one particular True Value store. The True Value was THE place for just about anything other than food or postal services. But as I was in there, looking at the prices, especially when looking at Transformers, GIJOE was really the more economical option for me.

For $3 or less, I could get a figure. Even then, cash would still pretty tight.

But also, selection was key. There were GIJOE figures there. I don't remember figures ever NOT being there. Heck, even going 15 miles away to the closest "bigger" town, the grocery store even had them. I remember a bunch of Tiger Force stuff on one particular visit there. Or the Sears catalog outlet store in the "bigger" town would have older stuff that didn't get picked up or something.

So really, while I had plenty of other toys and stuff, GIJOE edged them out in the availability and price areas.
Plus, they all worked in scale with what I had, too.

gijoe 1985

Here's how my 1985 class of figures is looking now.

Back in 2009, I did snap some "group shots" of my collection, organized into years. I knew I had left the 1982-83-84 years out, they weren't as plentiful and really would have been lumped into one group for what I have. I have done that with the "swivel head" post not too long ago, though, so you can see how the amount of figures compares with what I have/ had.

But on for 1985, I didn't do a "group shot," either. This kind of makes me think, I mean, why didn't I do it back then? No matter..., here it is in the picture above. Tollbooth did not make the picture, and neither did Frostbite (trimmed along with all the other arctic specialists). But there's still a nice group of figures.

When I look at these figures in their respective years, a lot of things really start to pop out to me. I feel a greater appreciation for the "whole" when all the "parts" are brought together. (forest for the trees? anywho...)

I really quickly noticed a break in the visual connection, the more similar color schemes on uniforms.

On one had, there's Flint, Alpine, Heavy Metal, Footloose, and Crankcase. All of these guys really look the "army" part. I posted about Flint previously, and as I thought of what more to say, I have to ask you, the reader, was Flint intended to replace Duke? Or was Flint meant to be the leader of the 1985 GIJOE team?
Heavy Metal is a newer figure for me, I've only had him for a couple years. He's spent most of the time driving my Equalizer, so Heavy Metal has a spot in my collection going forward for sure. So does Crankcase. I've had a lot of fun with this guy in my recent cavalry scout group, and since he brings a nice rifle and removable helmet to the party, well, he's seen more action lately here. Consider that the A.W.E. Striker is a heavily used vehicle here, too.
However, Alpine and Footloose have not seen as big of use since joining my collection not that long ago, really just a couple years ago. They look nice and fit in the picture below well. I'm going to spend some time with Alpine, as much as I really liked the characterization on the old cartoon, the figure hasn't grabbed me. I'll run the guy on some missions in my head to see if he works.


Footloose is another story, though. I'm not getting anything from him, it's like Grunt in a lot of ways. Infantry troopers in the mix of Rangers and other specialists. The figure looks nice, but he brings a backpack, a rifle, and a rocket. Stalker or Beachhead can do this guys job in my mind, and I have plenty of rocket-launching-capable Joes on the bench. Between Footloose and Grunt, I'm just not feeling a need for them right now. But am I wrong? Do I need Footloose (or Grunt) for that matter?




Now, on the other hand, we have the more non-traditional looking army guys. Well, Dusty looks the part, he is just all desert instead of green. You might be surprised (but maybe not) that I actually prefer the '91 version of Dusty and use that figure more.
And Shipwreck, well he isn't army at all, he's Navy! So the sailor suit makes sense, and actually as of the day I am typing this, he's my "newest" figure. My 1994 "SEAL" Shipwreck has been my Shipwreck for over 15 years now. And it figures that I decided to trim my WHALE out of the motor pool, so now I have to find a new use for Shipwreck.

So Shipwreck and Dusty are pretty traditional, just more suited to a specific area of operation. Quick Kick could go just about anywhere, too, I suppose. The figure I have is actually the later mail-in version that is "inferior." And I agree with that "inferior" description, I got another guy a real 1985 Quick Kick for his help in getting me some stuff and it really was nicer. The Mail-in I have has been in my collection for about 20 years now and I don't think I've used him much. When I was creating departments for my team, Quick Kick and Budo ended up in my head as trainers that would hold classes in the tank bay of the HQ. That's the extent to which Quick Kick has gotten.


Barbecue is kind of nice, and makes sense to me from the paramedic perspective of firefighting. Whether it be a downed helicopter, HQ fire, or VAMP collision, having a firefighter on hand is just as good as having a dog-handling cop for security. He's great as a support character. I'm not sure if I'll ever have him along on a raiding mission with Snake eyes, though. And since I don't have a physical HQ now, do I need a firefighter on hand?

Now Airtight is a very cool figure. I got this guy, the actual one pictured above, from my best bud from back in the day. He's not a traditional looking guy, like Flint or Footloose, but his specialty is pretty important. That hostile environment specialist can really help out if the team runs into any on the chemical, biological, or radiological spectrum of things. I gotta say that I haven't used Airtight that much in comparison to many more traditional figures. Even my old best bud from back in the day might not have used him that much, but I do seem to remember that he thought Airtight was cool.
And really, combine Airtight with Barbecue and host of other flame and Eco specialists and one can have a really interesting looking team in itself.


Overall, 1985 really has some personable characters. A lot of the character figures from this really stand out to me in the old GIJOE cartoon. And really, with the mix of figures they really fit with 1984, and '83, but with the new ball-jointed neck. That's what most of my collection consists of and the articulation change really adds to figures for me.

Beachhead GIJoe Ranger

Beachhead has almost always been in the mix in my Joe-Verse since about 1992. This is a figure/ character that is very simply a special operations soldier through and through, a Ranger.

My best bud from back in the day had Beachhead originally. When it came to each of our respective GIJoe teams back then, I had Hawk as leader of mine, and he had Beachhead. How he arrived at that, not sure. But it makes sense considering the cartoon command rank scene back at this point in time where the chain of command dropped from Hawk, to Duke, to Flint, to Beachhead. Only thing that sucked about the figure was the crotch was broke. And so was a 2nd one that passed through my hands at one point.

Popularity-wise from what I've been exposed to, he's definitely up on the top tier, as well.

My first and only Beachhead for many years was that very figure that was my best buds (and I think it was one of the last figures he held on to before letting me have it). As a Ranger all geared up for battle, Beachhead was used quite a bit over the years. His rifle is really simple and fits most play set ups as to me Beachhead was a rifleman. Not a special weapons gunner, or mine detector, or rescue trooper. No, to me, Beachhead was pretty much the soldier depicted in the file card.

Another aspect of the figures design that I like from 1986 is the extra clips of ammo on the vest as well as an extra bag of ammo. And the backpack has all sorts of neat things molded into it that can keep a person pondering what they could be for a while.

Now, the 1986 Beachhead was THE Beachhead for me until the 2004 Night Force re-issue came out. I bought that pack and I still think it was a very nice set, as much as Action Man should have been left as Tracker. But, really, it was Beachhead just like 1986 just newer! So, this became my most used Beachhead figure since about that point. And technically twice since the same figure came with the 2005 Moray. One thing about all the multi-oring-packs that I liked was that sometimes I could make the original gear with whatever got thrown in some of those (namely Beachheads backpack).


I can't remember how I got this 1993 version (pictured below), but I think it was a trade within just the last couple years. (what does it say about me that I can't remember?)

I've always liked the Battle Corps molds, the ones many other fans might not like at all. Mostly the coloring was pretty wild in some cases, and I'll agree on some figures. But not on this first release of the 1993 Beachhead. In fact, that green that is on the figure is almost exactly the same shade of green that is on the 1986 figure.

Yeah, the blue does seem a little out of place, but twin sidearm holsters on the legs and a tactical vest are pretty nice features. But what really helps make this "updated" Beachhead, Beachhead, is that his original head cover is really still under the helmet and behind the goggles.

So, if you're following how my collection of figures might be getting trimmed, Beachhead brings another challege..., which one to pick?
I was heavily leaning toward the 2004 Night Force version, but after sitting down and comparing all three, the 1993 version is starting to sway me a little bit more. I mean, it's a nice figure, and being a Battle Corps figure means "no unique accessories" for the most part to me. And it's a figure that does have some detail that makes me think of the 1986 version, but gives him some head and eye protection for when he is taking on either that airborne or amphibious assault trooper role. Or light infantry operations?
Only down side is that my figure does have some discoloration.

Which one would you pick?

As for Beachhead the character in general, I think that he is one SO close to being always in a list of figures for almost any reason..., very, very popular.
As I was searching for what other people have put up on Beachhead, I was checking out a section of YoJoe.com that I really haven't before: Feature Character Spotlight. This really is neat and helps fuel my imagination!

Cutter GIJOE coastie

If I had to pick a favorite character, I might say Cutter. Of all the service branches represented in the GIJOE team over the years, Cutter is the only representative of the U.S.C.G. All respect to all services, always, but the Coast Guard gets left out it seems sometimes. In war, it's under the Navy, but in peace it has its civilian roles here at home. From navigation assistance, maritime law enforcement, S.A.R., patrolling for smugglers, or breaking ice on shipping channels (hence my code name!!!), or whatever. A very useful service that doesn't always get the acknowledgement. Cutter even had to fight to get U.S.C.G. presence on the GIJOE team.

I guess in many ways, as "my favorite," nostalgia really kicks in here, too. Above, I'm pretty sure that THAT Cutter is my original Cutter. And he is showing the wear. And as I think of it more, this might be the oldest figure in my collection from my very original figures from way back in the day.

I think it is interesting that in looking back that my old Cutter has that much play wear on him. The guy has no weapons, and has a life preserver on. Not a front line modern army action figure by any means. But, sure enough, back in the day I must have had more imagination with a much more limited selection of figures and vehicles. Cutter must have been kickin' it with 1986 Hawk, 1986 Low light, and 1986 Sci-fi pretty hard.

The 1992 D.E.F. cutter gave this character a little more muscle. And this 2nd version of the character became my default quite easily, and in thinking back, the 1984 figure just ended up floating around in whatever storage method I was using in the years since.

I did get the Shark 9000 around 1993 or 1994, most likely on clearance sale at that point. And most possibly at the Prange Way store that was shutting down in 1995 or so. Many good priced items bought at that place at that time. With the Shark 9000 came the recolored Cutter, and while I liked the green PFD and big gun, the white pants left me wanting something more.

And then I got the repainted ARAHC Cutter with the Night Landing Craft (N.L.C.), a vehicle which lost a lot of value to me when I learned that it (and the Cobra Mantis) were reused Johnny Quest vehicles. Even though they were decent vehicles, for me it was like picking out any old vehicle, putting a GIJOE label on it, and calling it a GIJOE vehicle. I might be a bit too picky or strange, too.

One of these days, I should bring up the topic of consistent hair color on Cutter, as well as other figures. A figure like Flint seemed to have no trouble staying consistent in various media and toy form. Cutter slides between a sandy blonde and extreme red head in figures, though. I suppose, it is possible depending on sun exposure, that the hair may take on a different tone..., perhaps a little more red in the summer?


I guess, while each Cutter figure has its own unique points that I like, I think the D.E.F. single version is just slightly my more favorite. Minimal white details aside, the guy has his ball cap, a not-so-obvious life vest, blue "coastie" pants, etc. He's also very buff, as a guy who would be boarding vessels at sea might have to get into some tight quarters for combat. Close combat. And he would possibly end up having to swim at some point.
The gun that this figure came with is kind of nice, too. It's not too big. The flashlight is kind of different, too, instead of the smaller ('87 style) flashlights, Cutters light pretty much could become a weapon in itself.
The grappling hook launcher (with lights!) isn't as important an accessory to me. It made me pass up some of these figures back in the day since their "gimmick" bumped the price up. The launcher is kind of interesting, though. I would expect to see something like this on a cutter or patrol ship.
And I could almost say I have a "Cutter Collection." Almost.

But, do I want Gungwreck? I shouldn't make bad humor like that, but really, some covers are unique looking, and that looks like Gung-ho to me still. Otherwise, had the head been a more Coast Guard looking ball cap, I think that figure would have sold me. Mostly for a removable life jacket. (I think of Marty McFly landing in 1955...)

If I trimmed all swivel heads out of my collection, having many Cutters would not be something I would have the, too.