Big BenMOS: Infantry SMOS: Subversive operations
Right now, this is the newest figure in my collection. Sure, 20-some years later, but still the newest-to-me.
It seems like it was 2002..., a online discussion with Big Ben in it usually went something along the lines of, "hopefully not another Big Ben." Between Big Ben and Mirage it seemed like either of these two guys were easy to be found.
The first Big Ben I bought was the "arctic" Big Ben. The off-white, sort of battle-dirty look of this figure made him a great addition to my cold weather squad (all since traded away).
The next version that came into my collection was the 2002 "GIJOE vs COBRA" Big Ben. This version really became a more used Big Ben figure. I think I accumulated a total of 3 of these guys, if I remember right; I wanted to army build the Alley Viper that was packaged with him!
As the local two-pack supply of those started to run down, I grabbed one package of the Big Ben with the "red" Alley Viper, and that purchase was really more just on a whim it seems to me. This was really the weaker of the three different Big Ben figures that I had sitting in my collection. This one could have gone into the "arctic" category of figures, or even into some naval infantry role. I don't think this version of Big Ben got much farther than simply being opened.
As the years went on, Big Ben just didn't stand out to me as a character figure that strongly. The versions I had didn't have the face paint like the original, nor the bi-pod. Plus, with all the multi-packs and rather random figure accessory pack-in's from the last decade, I really kind of started to dislike the Big Ben Rifle.
However, when I started my little "department" dividing project, I found that Big Ben started to feel like a great fit to my "mountain patrol" squad. Some figures were had to find a spot for, but really, with the massive backpack (the original style re-issued from another figure) and lightweight-looking machine gun, that "mountain troop" feel started to come out.
More recently, as you may know, I've decided to trim WAY back on my collection size. When it came down to "who" was going to be on my small team of GIJOE, I wanted to not only retain certain aspects, or flavors, of my "big" collection, but also I wanted to have every figure be able to be a versatile figure.
As I went through my decision-making process, I discovered certain patterns, certain characteristics, and even right down to the number of figures from each year that were becoming my top choices. Really, when I ran the numbers, 1988 commonly came out on top.
1991 wasn't too far behind.
In some ways, some of the 1991 figures almost seemed to carry right over from 1990 with a nice accessory load and nice color schemes. This is about when Big Ben (1991) started to pop out at me with that nice green color combo.
And no spring-fire accessories, although 1991 is when those started to appear.
So, away went all the other Big Ben figures, and then started the wait for finding a good 1991 version. Which wasn't too long as I found this guy at an online store
Big Ben is a British SAS trooper and that international flavor is something I wanted in my collection, even with the smaller number of figures. Big Ben also has that LRRP training indicated on his file card and that little information really helps my imagination put this character right next to figures like Recoil to go out on missions and fit right in. The green color palette is simply simple, but fits right in with the rest, too.
Other international figures.
When it comes to international figures, I had considered Red Star quite heavily as an addition to my small force. Red Star is a great figure with excellent accessories, the only thing that decide against him was the officer rank. And I suppose I could have easily imagined that little file card aspect right out of my head, but the officers hat still retained that feel. But it came close, Red Star was almost my "2nd" in command of my GIJOE team!!!
Big Bear also came extremely close to joining my small force, as well. In some ways, as I'm reviewing what I chose, perhaps I may swap a figure out for Big Bear at some future point. Big Bear is a rather nice figure. But I wondered how many "anti-tank specialists" I needed. Essentially, I thought Heavy Duty could do what Big Bear could do. Plus, consider Big Bear as a 1992 figure where accessories started to become more action-based (spring-fire, etc.). I think I would prefer the actual "international action force" (IAF) Big Bear, too, but I am not too sure how much that figure would cost me.
Of course, there is always the "lt. Gorky" figure that "could" be Big Bear.