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!

Swivel head figures

When it comes to the "original 13," I still don't really have them. In the above picture is the extent of my classic o-ring style GIJOE figures from 1982 and 1983. The two straight arm figures up there, Breaker and Short fuze, were more purchases where I wanted to bring the original Marvel GIJOE characters into my GIJOE collection.
And for the "original 13," those comic characters were, and are, so much more interesting to me than the figures themselves. I didn't get into the comic, especially back-issues, until 1992 or 1993. So, with that in mind, the really classic 1982-1983 green team wasn't really a part of my collection from the beginning at all.

It was about 1993 that a friend gave me that Zap, Flash, and Doc one day. While Doc was a nice unique addition to my force (helping Lifeline), Zap and Flash spent most of the time operating the APC I had; they just fit in that vehicle so much better than later '80's into the '90's figures.
And I traded more recently in the past few years for Cover Girl and Airborne, but as far as "action" goes on all these figures, they seen much.

And this non-use of figures kind of follows that pattern into 1984. Below, the only figure that is my original figure is Cutter. He came with my WHALE and shows the wear of a figure that has been around for awhile.
For the rest of the figures, I think I got them more within just the last few years. Thunder has been part field artilleryman, and Tollbooth was the engineer for my 1983 HQ.
Blowtorch has sort of melded into my environmental department, and hasn't seen much expanded use past that. Ripcord, looks pretty cool, and seems to have a big fan base, hasn't really gotten much use, either. And Recondo, who simply has not had a decent update that I like, is part of the Jungle squad, but really he hasn't seen a lot of use, either.

When it comes to the 1982-1983-1984 figures, right now anyway, they really seem to fit within their own time frame. And I say it in a good way, but these figures and the corresponding years vehicles really make a great stand-alone set in a lot of ways. Sure, 1985 fits in just as well, but the only difference is the neck joint. And that's about where the topic of swivel head figures begins, especially as you might know from previous posts that I am considering trimming my figure roster significantly.

I've already trimmed "sub teams," for the most part, as well as my dedicated arctic/ cold weather operations team. I'm now considering trimming ALL swivel head figures, as well.

One might think, why? I really only have a few figures compared to ball-jointed neck figures that area swivel head, but really, when I have a figure like Flash in the mix with even figures from 1985, the guy seems antique. Don't get me wrong, the figure is still cool, but in the mix with figures from 1989, or 1990, the detail level is more interesting to me in the later years.
So, ultimately, should I keep all these old swivel head figures when I prefer the later ball-joint neck figures, or even when there are more detailed "updated" versions of these figures?

I can't forget to chat about Cobra, here, too.
When it comes to iconic, these Cobras are right on top for me. I'm a fan that is more interested in the individual bad guys. The Enemy, with a name. And this is where I think if I made a "rule" to trim out all swivel head figures, I might lose quite a few iconic characters.
Cobra Commander and Major Bludd, I have newer versions of these guys that I like so much more, but from there, the rest are hard to find a nice newer version of.

My "default" Firefly is actually just a repaint of the 1984 figure (picture below). And Scrap Irons modern o-ring issues have left me wanting more, so I just used an original body with the modern head (the original was worn). So, would I "have" to get rid of these figures if I trimmed out all my swivel head figures?
As far as Copperhead and Wild Weasel go, I did buy the 25th versions of these guys, and the detail and articulation is really kind of nice.

And while I have the more modern comic pack o-ring figures and other re-issues sort of set aside as the "junior joes" toys that can be played with, without any fear from me as a 'collector,' would I have to discard these, too? I most likely wouldn't, but would I allow myself to put "my" swivel head figures into this area in a way to skirt around my own potential rule of no swivel heads? Perhaps I need to go through the "junior joes" collection as well, perhaps only allowing swivel heads of the modern years? Or perhaps only comic-pack styled figures?


And that's not a life-ending question at all, that of, what to trim out.

The ultimate goal for me would be to get nice sized GIJOE forces that make being a collector/ fan fun. It would all give me a way to interject my favorites, preferences, ... perhaps aesthetics, and essentially make my GIJOE a very used bunch of toys. I'm not a museum, as much as I would like to have it all, the reality is, I really should not have it all. Right now, anyway.

If the no swivel head rule is applied, and my collection weeded straight-through in this manner, I might lose all trace of some characters, and even later classic run figures would be discarded. Like Skystriker above, but I don't know if I trust him since he seems to have the same mission as Wild Weasel if one looks close enough at those maps...

So, what do you think? In the modern-era with the 2011 Joes out on the shelf, are swivel heads simply antique? Should I chuck all the o-rings and just get a handful of modern era things to make it all really simple?
Am I simply over thinking it all?

Flint GIJOE warrant officer

In my opinion, Flint is right up there as one of the most popular GIJOE characters across the spectrum of all things GIJOE. He stood out to me in the old, old, old cartoon and correct me if I'm wrong...., but I think he's made it into every incarnation of the A Real American Hero since he was introduced to us in 1985!

My first Flint was that very figure from 1985. However, his O-ring broke on me back in the day. As a really young guy at that time, I remember trying to fish a regular rubberband up in the torso in an attempt to fix him. But, anyone who has tried this direction of repairing O-rings knows it will get one nowhere. I was also a kid that did not even think of taking a toy apart (aka, back screw does come out). So, my first Flint ended up somewhere... in pieces ..., possibly the garbage. If I only had knew how easy it was to replace by removing a screw...

It wasn't until late 1992 that I picked up the Eco-warriors Flint at Childrens Palace. This was my default Flint for many years until the 2001 Desert Striker made its way into my collection with driver Flint.

Below is the actual Eco-warriors Flint that served me for so many years. For fun, I tossed a Steel Brigade helmet on the Desert Striker driver Flint and gave him Marauder, Inc. gun. I think it looks kind of neat, what do you think? The lack of any gear with that desert Flint has left this figure somewhere between the 1994 Desert Paratrooper version and the 1991 Eco-warrior version in feel and uniform reasoning for me.


I guess my next Flint was technically, Rock n Roll. But, it is SO much more Flint to me here. And he came with the HQ, so a command-like officer makes more sense to me, too. But like the Desert Striker driver Flint, this guy was left without the gear that would have helped give some personality. And the worst part? The Rock n Roll/ Flint figure has a leg that is almost a full 1/4 inch shorter than the other! I have never had a figure like this before or since, how rare is that? Or are they all like this?


The newest Flint for me is the 1994 Flint as for right now. I really like the figure, and when I put all three of the original A Real American Hero figures next to each other, in a lot of ways, it is like Flint has matured as the line progressed.
They kept the hair color consistent, which is really nice. Some figures switched a few times. But really, as I'm contemplating slimming and trimming down my collection, I'm trying to figure out which one of these 6 Flint figures would best represent how I view the character.


If you take a look at this GIJOE characters accomplishments in various forms over the years, Flint has a lot going for him. Check out JMMs biography on him!

I've used him as a helicopter pilot and a commando for the most part. Just the toys alone give Flint a lot of characterization to build ones' imagination on.


If the helmet had fit, the above picture was tempting me at using this simple head-swap figure as my main Flint.

I've also considered attempting to get the vacation in the shadows Flint, but that might be rather hard. And it's hard to tell from pictures if I really like the parts mix.




Edit: 11/29/15
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The 2001-02 HQ was a topic and I would have thought for sure I would have had it in a picture somewhere.  I just went through my actual photos (from the 35mm camera days) that I had assembled in a classic photo album and the 2001-02 HQ was nowhere to be seen.

I guess I am a little surprised, even as I never had an intent to photograph anything, that this HQ didn't at least show up in the background of some other photograph.

The only trace of this HQ that I can find here today is the instruction sheet.   I also have the instruction sheet from the '92 HQ, so at the very least I thought I would toss up some quick pictures.  Not much different between the two, save for some extra warnings and the year information.

I guess in thinking about the '92 HQ as well as the 2001-02 HQ, I didn't feel like it was as interesting as the 1983 Headquarters. The "folded up" stage didn't really make it anything formidable, or very figure-interactive, where in this form I thought it took away from play value.   All "opened up" there wasn't much more than an action-gimmick jail escape mechanism and other spring fire missile target locations to simulate battle damage.    The crane was nice, as was having a tower, but the rest of the spaces for the interior didn't really feel very.... interactive, I guess I would say.    The rather strange rear flip-down motor pool part, which also held the front mega cannon launcher, was just undefined.

The best use of the HQ for me was as a "rear wall" for the 1983 Headquarters.   However, I added in other elements in between, and before one knew it, there was one large expansive footprint of G.I.Joe taking up the floor.   

I must not have kept this 2nd HQ or the '92 very long for it not to have shown up at least in a background random picture or something....

Gung ho GIJOE

Gung Ho is a Joe that is right up there on the top end of popularity in my opinion. I'm sure it was that old cartoon that helped sell me on this guy over the years, too. However, it wasn't until the 1993 version made its way out that I was able to add this fairly famous character to my collection.

Below is my first Gung Ho EVER. As I look at him even now, he still seems like a newer figure in some ways. And he has ONE BIG GUN.

I did get the Slugger from 1997 that came with the original mold of Gung Ho, but I preferred the 1993 version so much more that I didn't even open that figure and did sell it off in the end.

Below are the Gung Ho's I have left in my collection. I've been considering trimming figures out of my collection, and this is a good example of where this might be easy. But, maybe not. Three are the same, really.

I like the 1993 version but the "official" chest tattoo is just not where it "should be." The 2001 version really brings in a nice Marine look to the figure with those colors. However, he does look a little pale, doesn't he? Of course, the next figure in is the same mold as well, however, on that desert patrol version I am not a big fan of the camo pattern on the pants. Should a guy switch the pants around and keep the desert patrol Gung Ho "top" with 2001 pants?

No matter how one looks at it, that is ONE BIG GUN. I was even thinking that back in the day when I got the 1993 figure. While looking that the 1993 figure, I don't mind the launcher as much. It's got a fairly decent style to it, perhaps if the projectile wasn't blue it might take on a different character.

I'm leaning toward liking the 2005 convention Gung Ho the most right now, though. It's an original design, and the rain-pattern camo is kind of nice. Does this Mega Marine version really capture a character that (in comics) was running around in the snow with an open shirt? Or a character that did have a cover, but now would he wear a helmet?
I like the weapons that came with the convention figure, there's something where a grenade launcher and Gung Ho just fit together. Maybe it's just from looking at pictures of the version 1 figure for so many years? However, instead of the classic Range Viper grenade launcher, I think that the Marauder, Inc. launcher fits Gung Ho even better here.



So, I guess right now, I'm leaning toward the 2005 Gung Ho as my main figure to be used. It's somewhat traditional in the head sculpt, but also very modern feeling.

Which figure is your main Gung Ho? Is Gung Ho a big part of your Joe-verse?