Mercer

Mercer is a figure I received for Christmas in 1991. I think I also got Sonic Fighters Zap, the 1991 Grunt, one other figure that escapes me now, as well as the Mobile Battle Bunker, that very same Christmas. One of the last Christmas' that were really filled with 'Joes.

To an extent, the sentiment of being a gift did factor into my keeping this figure for my small team. But also, I wanted an interesting variety of character to be present in my small GIJOE team. What better "character" to add some flavor than an ex-Cobra Viper?

Plus, this "version 2" figure of Mercer has that aged look. It seems like some time has passed since his original introduction in 1987 with Slaughter's Renegades. And in that time, the figure became a little shorter than the first version, but also a lot more muscular.


For my small team of 28 figures, Mercer adds in the potential for more extensive "behind-the-lines" adventures with even more "plausible denial" than ever. Add in that even though I would guess that by now most of the Joes are okay with our Viper defector, perhaps there is some personal conflicts that might come into play in some future adventure?

No matter either way, but more possibilities.


The GIJOE Badger was a vehicle I bought around the same time I got Mercer, too. While THAT Badger I originally had is long gone, I found a second used Badger (perhaps at a Goodwill store) that I painted up with some flat black and then using the engine off a Flight Pod (I broke the missile tab holder on it at the time and parted it out...) for a over-powered engine look, well, it became a type of super-Badger.

This is a vehicle that is on my "junk pile" list, and then back again, but I kind of felt like this one-man assault vehicle sort of fit Mercer pretty good. I haven't "officially" put it into my motor pool, but I may start touching it up and making a dedicated assault vehicle for Mercer. (perhaps the "anti-Dreadnok?")


Of course, Sgt. Slaughter is on my small team. I would imagine that after how many years of service and training that Mercer is "perfect." Would it not be reasonable to assume that these two would be pretty good buddies by now in the imaginary world? I mean, the GIJOE Collectors Club brought the original Slaughter's Renegades back into action to help protect Slaughter in their 2006 Convention Set.

Of course in my world, does that mean that Taurus and Red Dog simply didn't make the cut to join my small team, or does it mean that something else happened to them? (See how that imagination could go on with even less stuff around?)


Considering Mercer's accessory load, I kind of get that Marine feel, I mean, the big 88mm rocket launcher, the (guessing) 40mm grenade launcher, and the (almost aircraft size) ammo-drum fed machine gun, and this leaves Mercer looking like he is ready to storm the beach or anything you can imagine; assault troop all the way!

Big Ben

Big Ben
MOS: 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.

Heavy Duty

Heavy Duty E-5
MOS: Laser Weapons Systems Operator
SMOS: Indirect Fire Infantryman

Here's another figure that I do not remember where exactly I acquired it. I'm guessing: possibly an online store, or ebay.

My first Heavy Duty figure, however, was the one that came with the GIJoe Vs. Cobra Brawler. That's the original "new sculpt" with the T-crotch formula style figure. I didn't care for that figure almost right off the bat (but I liked it much more than THIS Destro!!).

It seems like to me when the theme of GIJoe Vs. Cobra started up, that Heavy Duty essentially replaced Roadblock for the toy line up. It seems like up until GIJOE: Renegades that Heavy Duty replaced Roadblock, too, even taking a star spot in the GIJOE: Rise of Cobra movie. (and there's some place else that could tell you more about how the trademark of Roadblock, and how Double Blast even replaced Roadblock...., I don't know much about that!)

But, it's all good, but I must have brought in Heavy Duty into my collection around late 2004 to mid-2005. He's the heavy ordnance trooper to me, but he can hold a mini-gun just like the RoC Heavy Duty:And he can do it without layers of RoC armor, too.

Heavy Duty's "man portable weapon system" is one of the reasons that I chose this figure over many other heavy weapons specialists. That ordnance rig has the mini-gun, big dual cannons, and two rocket pods!!! (fun fact, those are the same rocket pods and rockets that were on the Sonic Fighter AH-74 Desert Apache!) Heavy Duty also beat out Salvo, Fast draw, Bazooka (B.C), and Zap ('91) to name a few. On top of coming with the heavy weapons rig, the figure is really light on the piled on armor and ammunition, and this helps this Heavy Duty figure have more potential versatility in my view.

I see this "heavy ordnance trooper" being able to pick up anything that I guess would be considered "heavy."
Salvo ('91) is a nice figure, but his legs are wrapped in ammo. Zap ('91) is, too, but he's got 4 big shells permanently attached to his chest. Heavy Duty on the other hand, has a ripped shirt, a very '90's style camo pant and very '90's "JOE" cap. As a figure, this guy could be tearing it up with his included accessories, or simply picking up a rifle and running in just about any battle situation.

Or jumping on the Whirlwind.

Another reason I chose to keep Heavy Duty was that he "was" a tank driver in 1998 (he came with the 1998 MOBAT, which also came with Thunderwing gave that one-man tank two guys...). I have been considering trying to swap out this '91 version for the '98 version. While I may change the vehicle line up, Heavy Duty can destroy tanks on foot, or from inside the turret of an Equalizer. Plus, he is officially licensed to operate the Mobile Battle Bunker, Hammer, and even the General!



I guess in summary, Heavy Duty is playing the anti-armor role with his heavy weapons expertise for my small team.

Funny...., grab RoC Heavy Duty before he sells out?


ord·nance (ôrdnns)

n.

1. Military materiel, such as weapons, ammunition, combat vehicles, and equipment.

2. The branch of an armed force that procures, maintains, and issues weapons, ammunition, and combat vehicles.

3. Cannon; artillery.

Snake Eyes

Not much has changed since the last time I shared some thoughts on Snake Eyes. Snake Eyes is still my super-commando, and now, this figure is officially my new small team's addition.

The 1989 Snake eyes was my first Snake Eyes. I'm 99% sure I bought it at the old hardware store, "Bobs," back in the old old-town. (This was in Michigan where $.10 can deposits could be reclaimed quickly around the local taverns in the mornings, or even just along the road!)

Snake Eyes really could have been any figure/ character to me at that time. All I had to "officially" go on was my memory of the old cartoon re-runs, but Snake Eyes wasn't featured as hugely at that time as it seems he is now. It is most likely that the cartoon reruns were showing the old GIJOE: the movie still at this time, and Snake Eyes didn't stand out to me in that film.

I even remember thinking to myself, questioning whether or not Snake Eyes could talk. I mean, all I had to go on was Snake Eyes file card at that time. I most likely had my 1988 Storm Shadow at that time, too, and having him mentioned in the file card likely sparked some imagination. (This could also be why I have really considered Storm Shadow to be "good" all these years....) I also really wished to be able to get that 1989 Snake Eyes to be able to take those two big knives off the front of his chest to get into battle with, which actually happened years later with another version of that figure.



For my small team, I also considered using my 1991 Snake Eyes (which as my 50th GIJOE figure ever) instead of the more modern bash of the parts that I did choose. I still went with what I did though for the fact that there were more details painted on the modern vest, and then the vest looks layered on top of that. Where with the 1991 figure, it was simply just all gray, but it was a close decision as I think this figure is still pretty good!



For characterization, my Snake Eyes is a commando. I would think [my] Hawk, an original member of the GIJOE (arah) team, would want one of his best soldiers from that team with him on his new adventures, too.

Low-light

Low-Light
E-6
Infantry/ night fighter
Marksmanship Instructor/ sharp shooter

Low-light is one of those figures I consider a part of my own "original 13" figures. This is a character that has been with me from possibly 1986 itself. Low-light, along with Sci-fi and Hawk, was one of my most often used figures from way back in the day.

The figure above is THE '86 Low-light that I've had this whole time. I've never come across another '86 Low-light figure to upgrade or swap out better parts with. Here are the original accessories that came with my Low-light figure:

One can see the play wear on the rifles handle (as well as the missing bi--pod) and the excessive wear on the uzi. The excessive wear on the uzi came from me trying to put it on that slot on Low-lights leg. I've never felt that it fit quite right, and the uzi shows my "excessive" attempts!

Over the years, I've also had the 1993 Dinohunter Low-light, and the 2001 RAHC Low-light. I had been using the 2001 version as my default since I bought it in 2001 (or so) up until about mid-2011. So about 10 years (wow!), the 2001 Low-light almost always THE Low-light I had in action. Most notably, I had Low-light as part of my former "security forces" assignment/ department.

With alternate figure versions:

The "security force" group was one of my favorite little made-up things over the last decade. I wanted that aspect to play into my new small collection, and this is where some figures simply didn't make the cut; and they were not easy decisions.

As I mulled over which version of Low-light to go with, the more I played with them and thought it out, the original Low-light really had a lot of appeal to me. I think it is the very fact that the actual figure here is so loose and play-worn, that is why I really haven't used this figure as much over the last decade.

Another aspect of Low-light that isn't really "offical," but sticks out to me is that he has a sort of commando-feel to me. Sure, he is most noted for being a sniper in the popularity realm, but considering the uzi with the '86 figure, as well as the 1991 (and subsequent) figures, well, that's why I get that commando-vibe from the figure now.


That's one of the reasons I "assigned" Low-light to my "security force." Even though THAT group of figures is mostly gone, I still wanted to have that little flavor of S.W.A.T./ police/ commando/ delta/ what-have-you.



The figure itself has a great amount of detail, and I'm not usually a fan of uzis, even though I mentioned them how many times just now. Like below, the original uzi doesn't interest me much, but the Marauder Gun-runner's version makes playing so much more fun!


Since Low-light and Sci-fi have been characters (along with Hawk) that have been in my possession for so long, I didn't want to lose these characters in my little collection team; I wanted to keep them together. The '86 Low-light with his gray uniform matches the 1991 Sci-fi fairly interestingly.



Going forward, I think Low-light will be a great asset to my little 28-man team.

GIJoe Skymate

Looking back, 1991 had a lot of interesting action accessories introduced. One of the newest figures I have added to my collection in the last couple years, is Skymate. I would guess sometime in early 2010 is when I obtained this guy.

Probably not even a full year ago, my main goal (if I could call it that) was pretty much to accumulate every classic figure. Every figure character, as well as each version of. On the vehicle side of things, I had already made a 2nd drastic reduction in the number of them. Since the vehicles took up more real estate, I figured I could trade them in for the figures I didn't have. And that's mostly the reason for me going after so many figures.

Skymate was not an inexpensive purchase for me, this figure easily ranks in the top-10 most spent for a single figure. Was it worth it? In a way, maybe. For the very good condition WITH his accessories that this figure had, it was probably the best opportunity for me to snag this figure.
There was no glider as part of the deal, though. After years of thinking of the Gliders (as well as Battle Copters) as more vehicles, I wonder, should the Glider be a personal accessory?



So far, over the last year+ that I've owned Skymate, he hasn't done a whole lot. I think the strongest thing Skymate has going for him is his file card bio.

I think Australian SAS is a huge addition to the GIJoe team, but also consider the exotic weapons skills mentioned in the file bio.

Past the yellow highlights, Skymate looks pretty good to me. I don't mind the hot-pink-ish cap, although I would have liked it in a more subdued hue, of course.


Otherwise, black, green, and green make up the colors that most everyone can agree on.

A neat detail that stand out to me is the knife on his left arm, as well as the ability to attach the bow and boomerang to the figure makes this guy so much more interesting.


Even the bow has a decent amount of detail to it, and I should mention the guard on his right arm is a nice touch that shows this figure knows archery.


The boomerang, too, has some detail etched in!



Aircommandos on YOUTUBE. Neat, I haven't seen this before. We didn't have the right channel for catching this show when it was on T.V. back in the day. Thank you to the uploader for sharing!

Eco Warriors

Who ya gonna call?
Ghostbusters!

But, if Cobra is manufacturing weapons grade plasma-tox, well, you might want these guys.
The GIJOE Eco-Warriors!

If you look back at my last post, I mentioned how I just got Barbecue, so I thought I would take out all these Eco-Warrior guys and set them up and share some thoughts with you.

I think the Joes are looking good here, a real stand-alone team. Side-by-side, can there be any doubt they are working together?


The original 1991 trio of Joes all had removable helmets, a very cool detail, but it would have been cool if Barbecue had had the same option! Of course, Barbecue in this form ended up going into space as another figure multiple times as Payload. And that makes sense, the suit on Barbecue is self-contained, afterall.

While Barbecues Eco-Warrior figure-body made it into space, Barbecue, technically, did not. BUT, Ozone did make it into orbit!

Ozone has his special gear, which I guess I have used as more of a testing device mostly. That little tube on it looks like a sample holder to me. But, I suppose it could be a way to send out neutralizing air as well?


Now Flint here was my main Flint for many years. I did have an '85 Flint from way back in the day, but the o-ring snapped, and this was back when I didn't know about the screw removal to replace it :( . But Eco-Warrior Flint did the job just as well for many years, despite being green.
As an Eco-Warrior, I think his helmet is the weakest design of all, especially when you look at the card-art and notice that he has a screen instead of a fully-contained Eco-Warrior hazard suit.
Flint also brought "the most" firepower with him, though. As huge as that gun is, I gotta say the handle is very figure-friendly, and the curved butt end really allows the weapon to hold to the upper torso-shoulder area of a figure.


Clean Sweep brings in the serious gear, though. Where Ozone seems to be the air quality specialist, Clean Sweep seems to be the sludge specialist.
His water-gun in disguise is kind of interesting, is it not like a PAC/RAT in some ways? I mean, it's bigger than Lightfoots little robot, but not quite a vehicle in itself. I imagine it is controlled by Clean Sweep with his backpack, which features a cool little control console.

Clean Sweep also has a sensible-sized weapon, and a truly sludge-resistant looking helmet.
Now, I was looking at Battle Corp Dial Tone the other day, and could not figure out why his waist seemed so familiar, but, well, now I figured it out!



Other than Clean Sweeps robot, the other three have the same water-blasting sludge-neutralizing equipment. Size-wise, I don't think it's too over large, I would think perhaps in imagination it's like a two-part tank, and then the nozzle ends are specialized to handle shooting some very non-standard liquid at high-velocity.


The Eco-Warriors already have their bad-guy counterparts, too. Cesspool leads the Cobra effort with his own sludge-shooting Backpack, as well as chainsaw!
These three below were the core of the "polluters" side of the Eco-Warrior side in my collection. Cesspool has been used quite often, much in some command role just under Cobra Commander. Sort of similar to how he was used in the Marvel Comic.
The Toxo-Viper and Sludge Viper haven't gotten as much use, though. Kind of neat figures each, but I think the fact that they both received the exact same accessories treatments kind of "cheapened" these two figures.

It's like the Toxo-viper almost should have been the standard hostile-environment trooper that they were before. Perhaps some accessories that were more akin to the 1988 Toxo-Viper that might have looked a little more like dangerous gas-emitting weapons.
I think that would have helped this newer Toxo-Viper stand apart from the Sludge Viper. The Sludge Viper should have been the figure with the big weapon that spews the armor-eating weapons-grade sludge. Hence the name, "Sludge."
Also, consider that the Sludge Viper is much more muscular-looking than the Toxo-Viper, that says the Sludge Viper is a little more a "heavy weapons" operator to me.

Cesspool has a different backpack and squirt nozzle than the GIJOE Eco-Warriors, however, and I am glad for that. They can't ALL be using the same equipment, for me, that's a bit of a downgrade in GIJOE figure originality.

It still all works out in the end for building up a Cobra hostile-environment army, though. Every body gets some wild colors!

Something interesting about the backpacks of the Sludge and Toxo-Vipers, is that there is a big white spot that almost seems like a hose-connecting post might have been there. Perhaps there was more to the complement of accessories planned for these guys, but I suppose these are figures with larger accessories, and they were up a little higher on the retail price as-is. Perhaps some latter cost-cutting measures by removing some accessories?

Also, I wonder about that flat part that extends from and down the barrel of the big sludge shooters? Perhaps something was to attach to it?




The Eco Warriors were kind of my first sub-team assembled, in some ways. If you consider just the first year of Eco-Warriors in 1991, just those 6 figures.

It didn't happen by plan, either.

I bought Flint, Ozone, Cesspool, 1 Toxo-Viper, and the Sludge Viper ALL at the old Childrens Palace store in Duluth, MN.
Not because I really liked these figures, but at that time, which was most likely between 1992 and 1994 (or so) because that is when Childrens Palace was going out of business!



When we moved to civilization, I "discovered" Childrens Palace. I'm not sure if it was just one of many Toys R Us big-box competitors or what, but no matter what, it was an AWESOME store.

However, due to funds and transportation, I was not able to take FULL advantage of the gradual "going out of business" price drops.

By the time I got up there for the big percentage off, most all that was left was Eco-Warriors.

But I still win, since I didn't pay full price!


Clean Sweep came in last, though. I found him later at Kay Bee at Northtown mall for $1.87






I also had the Eco-Striker and a Septic Tank. These were a couple of the first vehicles to be trimmed away though a few years back.

Just a couple years ago, pictured below, was my hostile environment squad. Recently, I've traded out Airtight, Flash, Blowtorch, '85 Barbecue, as well as the GIJCC club Dragonsky.

Going forward in my collection of less, even my Eco Warriors posted about today may go away, as well.

New (to me) figures (sort of)

With a large chunk of figures going out, it seems counter-productive to bring figures back in, especially so soon. But a few select picks coming in are okay since multiple times the amount of figures were trimmed out.

New additions

Three of them are part of my "army builder" goal, which with the addition of these really makes the goal of six of each attained. These three are probably under-whelming in interest to the majority of fans out there, but these troopers really represent the core base of the bad guys.
These new troop additions are:
a '86 Viper
a '86 Motor Viper
and an '88 Iron Grenadier.


Upgrade and new version

My 1986 Hawk is my original Hawk from waaaaay back in the day. While "my" Hawk is in okay shape, he definitely has the wear to show from years past. I obtained a new-to-me 1986 Hawk figure which is in almost brand-new shape to "upgrade" my GIJoe commander. Sentiment is going to force me to keep my original Hawk, however. I am thinking that "old" Hawk will eventually end up sitting with my original F.A.N.G. copter that I've had even longer; it shows much wear and tear, but is really only still in my possession since it was my first G.I.Joe vehicle.

Also, with my recent trimming of figures, the figures from the range of '82-'85 is pretty much all gone. And while I will most likely still end up trimming much more, I decided to bring in Eco-Warriors Barbecue to replace the "trimmed" '85 Barbecue.
Eco-Warrior Barbecue fits much better with my Haz-mat crew, which comprised of basically the Eco-Warriors, Ozone, Clean-Sweep, and Flint (sometimes). 1985 Airtight and 1985 Barbecue, as well as Charbroil and Blowtorch were in on this little squad up until the latest "cut."

Sci-Fi laser trooper

Sci-fi has been in my collection since about 1986. I have picture of what must have been a birthday for that year, and here you can see Sci-fi before he was opened for many battles to come:
Here you can also see that 1986 L.A.W.. Makes me wonder if whomever bought me these put "laser trooper" and "laser artillery weapon" together to make that purchase, or if this is pure coincidence? (Cy-kill.....YEAH!)

Sci-fi was really one of THE go-to troopers for me back in the day (1986 being my "big" year for the start of Joe...). I don't remember specifics, but between Sci-fi, Low-light, and Hawk, (Cutter and Wet-suit to an extent, too) these were the most used for quite awhile. (fun fact: Tiger Force Frostbite was probably the next GIJOE member to join this motley crew.)

I don't think the 1986 Sci-fi I have now is my original one. I know I had one broken thumb on mine, but I can't remember if I just swapped parts from a 2nd one I acquired, or if I just kept the second one in place of my (most likely) well-used Sci-fi.

That laser-rifle and pack was a fairly futuristic weapon to me. And Sci-fi was essentially all armored-up, in a sense, and often was out doing battle against Cobra. I was always "shooting," but I couldn't tell ya "what" I was shooting out of that rifle and power pack.

But, as time moved on, and as I acquired more GIJOE figures, Sci-fi really filtered into the "back of the box." In many ways, I wanted to get more "realistic" looking figures, you know, like Lt. Falcon; all in camo with a normal gun and backpack with a knife. My collection wasn't the most straight lined looking "army" guys collection for many, many years.

And Sci-fi really got neglected over the years. Even in my "department" project, I wasn't sure where to put him.

Is he a "tech." guy? A sniper? A forward air-controller helping to guide an aircraft's payload? Or a guy that simply shoots laser beams?

I searched the web a little to see what a "real" laser trooper might do, but there's not much out there.

How do you use Sci-fi?


I have 3 different versions of Sci-fi. Left to right, 1986, 1991, and 1993
The 1993 Star Brigade pilot version was my 2nd Sci-fi, however, and interestingly this figure stayed in his baggie up until just a couple years ago. I never used Sci-fi as a Starfighter pilot.
I did assemble and sticker up the Starfighter, though, but it mostly sat on the shelf under a dust-repelling plastic baggie.

I was going to wait and open up this Star Brigade Sci-fi along with other unopened Star Brigade figures (if and) when I found a Defiant with crawler. I never did find one, and I never opened up all the Star Brigade guys even when I got a very nice Crusader.



I'm not sure where the 1991 Sci-fi came from. I am assuming a trade, but I can't remember. How bad is that?

I prefer the overall color of the 1991 uniform to the others, but I still think the 1986 uniform has a lot more interesting details. But, the 1991 does have a removable helmet. So, ultimately the 1991 Sci-fi has gotten more use.

But still, not a lot of use, especially compared to many other GIJOE figure characters in my collection.
As of now, I am contemplating the role that Sci-fi will play in my little GIJOE team.

It draws back on the questions I asked above. What's his MOS, for instance?



1986:
Laser Trooper
mos: Infantry
smos: electronics

Slow-motion, has to hold the laser beam on target long enough to burn through....

1991:
Directed Energy Expert
mos: Laser Weapons Systems Operator
smos: electronic instrument repair

hits targets at extreme range with private arsenal of laser weapons, and can use his beam for air-strikes....



I also consider that Heavy Duty (1991) is a Laser Weapons Systems Operator, as well. Heavy Duty uses his laser beam to guide his missiles in at a tank.


So, Sci-fi is part sniper, part laser gun shooter, part laser-guided weapon system pointer.

And consider that he points big ordnance to where it needs to go, is he also a little bit of an anti-armor trooper, too? Or does that 1991 figure really shoot "energy" from his cannon (search for full carded art)?

I think the "Infantry" MOS is kind of strong, yet, kind of weak, in helping me to create a role for this figures characterization. I mean, look at who else has "Infantry" for a specialty. There's many, like Mutt, Beachhead, Recoil, or Muskrat, to name a few. Sci-fi stands out as a figure visually in all his incarnations, though, from those guys.

1991 GIJoe rise of the action accessories

This is what the GIJoe team had in 1991.

This is an older picture I took in 2009, most every figure stayed pretty much the same since them.
The only additions I made that are not in the picture are, Skymate. I also did not put in my Talking Battle Commander General Hawk in the picture.

There's a lot of things going on with this years assortments. In 1990, it was really a solid release of figures with a lot of accessories. With the exception of Rapid Fire (and Capt. Grid-Iron, to an extent), nothing was too far out there in 1990.

In 1991, I think a few figures really carried similar 1990 stylings. Dusty, Sci-fi, Red Star, Heavy Duty, and Hawk, really carried through solid design form and a good amount of accessories that ranged from specialized weapons to removable headgear. I don't have the 1991 release, but Low-light is another figure that has a lot of gear, and really seems to fit in with the 1990-style figures. Lots of gear and rather simple, solid figure design.

However, 1991 was also the introduction of the spring-fire missile launcher figure accessory. While I am not a fan of these, and they were on Transformers years prior, SOME of these are pretty darn good.

Red Star's RPG-style launcher is really a nice looking launcher. Heavy Duty's "man-portable" weapon system is fairly technical looking, and I thought it was interesting that the missile-tubes were also used on the Sonic Apache!

Sci-fi got a launcher, but in his case, it seems like this accessory was less a rocket-shooter, and more a true "energy" blaster. The yellow rocket (actually "energy?") makes me think this.



Was 1991 more a transition assortment....

Some figures had a little less "1990-style" to them, too, but these were still fairly straight-forward figures, except their accessory list included some kind of new-specialized equipment. And these figures also bring in some of the "neon" that is often moaned about, but more in the guns and such. The figure package backs often led me to think this, like the back here, you can see which 1991 figures are on it, and which are not....

Mercer for instance, is really straight-forward, despite the "orange" weapons. The backpack with the mechanically moving missile tube that swings out to the side is where the specialized accessory angle starts to come into play.

Snake eyes also gets the same straight-forward figure-style, but instead of "just" a backpack, he gets a spring-fired grappling hook launcher with a string. Spring-fired, but it's not a missile. Would you say it is an "action accessory?" Snake eyes also has the "orange" weapons.

Tracker brings an orange weapon into play, too, as well as oars. Instead of a spring-fired action accessory, Tracker gets an inflatable raft. To me, this is an "action accessory."

Grunt falls close to feeling like a 1990 figure, but like the 1992 Duke, his "elbow-out" arms have sort of bugged me. His (to me) Army football pants really feels like this guy did leave the team and is not just getting back from his engineering college days, and as "Infantry Squad Leader," the guy feels like he could be a leader of some sort.
Grunts "action accessory" is some kind of huge massive mortar tube, or some kind of huge massive anti-armor bazooka. And the gun, which is also huge, attaches to the massive spring-fired launcher. But he does have a removable helmet, but I'm not sure if he would fit with the accessory spread of a 1990 figure, or if he is more a step into the realm of a 1992 figure (where spring-fired action became the norm).




Rise of the "action-accessory" and other gimmicks


This is where the often-called gimmicks really start to kick in, and these often get separated out with their "sub team" labels.

I'm talking the Super Sonic fighters, where Zap and Psyche-out are actually really good figures, but unlike their 1990 Sonic Fighter counterparts, the Super Sonic Fighters got sounds AND LIGHTS to compliment their original weapon accessories. Unlike the 1990 Sonic Fighters that simply got a sound-emitting backpack and re-issued weapons, these 1991 Super Sonic Fighters actually have some unique equipment to employ.


Of course, the other action features that are out this year are the water-activated-battle-damage Eco-Warriors. While this color-changing feature was more known to me with Hot Wheels color-change cars, they put it on the action figures. This is something I did not mind. This was kind of neat in that I could use "toxic sludge" to fight with. The "toxic sludge" was actually water. And the figures got mini-squeeze-activated water gun backpack accessories.

And while I'm mostly talking about the figures, and limiting myself by faction (Joe or Cobra), I think a good note to make is about the vehicles that also contained these same features were out there. The Septic Tank and Eco-Striker both have water shooting capability.

The hole in the plot, though? Is the stuff that the "good guys" are using an anti-toxic-sludge "sludge?" In reality, it's all water getting shot around, but, are we fighting sludge with sludge? (Like in Ghostbusters, positively charged slime against the bad ghoul?)



And the "action accessories" don't stop there!!!

If you remember the motorized action packs from 1987 and 1988, "action accessories" are obviously not a new concept in the GIJOE line.
Heck, even 1984's Deep Six figure was a whole "other" type of figure.
Now, do you remember the motorized vehicle packs?



When does an accessory become a vehicle? When it is the Air Commandos or Battle Copters!

By itself, I guess I never considered the battle copters a vehicle in a sense, like I would consider the Dragonfly a vehicle. I've never had the opportunity to try on of them out, but I'm more the guy who would NOT be sending my GIJoe figures up into the air outside. I would be more worried about losing them or their guns!
To me, the Battle Copters really feel like more of an "action accessory," big ones.

And this applies to how I thought of the Air Commandos, too. I've never had the chance to fly these, either. Nor have I even seen an original glider from the very early days of GIJOE, but, even the 1991 gliders don't feel like "vehicles" to me. And I'm not the type of collector/ fan/ person that would be tossing his vehicles around.


Where 1990 was a straight-forward year for the most part, 1991 really starts to split things up where a lot of it fits great with the 1990 figures, but the others sit firmly in with what we got in 1992.

While I very much enjoy all things GIJoe, I will admit that even in my own thinking, I tend to stay between 1985 and 1991 for most of it.... and with my recent organizing project of a small team, I find really taking a close look at the whole and seeing what I really like about each.