Slaughter’s Marauders Low-Light
To keep relevant and popular characters on shelves through the late 80‘s, Hasbro began repainting older figures into new team based colors. While the results may have not always been great (such as with the Python Guard), collectors generally hold the Python Patrol and Tiger Force in somewhat high regard, though not nearly as much as the Night Force. The Slaughter’s Marauders on the other hand, have never been a popular group for a number of reasons, despite featuring some quality repaints like this Low-Light figure.
The main issue a lot of folks take with the group as a whole, is that the toys are quite a bit more brittle than other ARAH figures. This is because Hasbro had them produced in Brazil by Estrela, who’s known for making figures out of more brittle plastic. If you aren’t careful, a lot of their parts can easily break their thumbs similar to a Lanard figure. It’s some interesting trivia for sure, but also a bit of a shame that these repaints suffer in quality because of it.
V1 Low-light was an excellent figure with great colors, but at the same time his solid gray could sometimes be a bit drab. Naturally this makes him a really good choice for these more vibrant team colors of green, light green, brown and baby blue. The blue is a bit distracting, but otherwise the Slaughter’s Marauders palate looks a lot more realistic and less garish than what you often saw from Tiger Force and Python Patrol. It also allows for a really good amount of paint and colors on the figure, which is something else to appreciate.
The cheaper plastic used on the Slaughter’s Marauders is also evident in their accessories. When I was acquiring mine, I generally didn’t care about their completeness as I usually had the parts from their respective V1 figures. My Slaughter’s Marauders Low-light did include his backpack though, and you can tell the difference in the look and feel of the plastic. The Slaughter’s Marauders version is much duller than the original. A novelty worth noting, though also something I don’t regret skipping on most of my collection.
Finding a Slaughter’s Marauders Low-Light that’s complete and not broken is a somewhat difficult task. Often, you find a complete example with a broken thumb, or a mint example with only a part or two. Mint complete figures average around $20 to $30, but a mint partless figure may only go for around $6 if you search for a bit. Personally, I don’t think having cheaper versions of V1 Low-light’s parts really justifies paying four to five times as much for this figure, so it isn’t a bad option to go for a partless one.
Slaughter’s Marauders Low-Light, 1989 Links:
Forgotten Figures (European version)
The European version is only slightly brighter than this version. But, it was made in China and has more normal plastic. So, that’s a plus.
It’s funny how collecting has evolved. In the late ’90’s, everyone thought the Baroness and Hooded Cobra Commander were “rare”. But, we also thought that Tiger Force, Python Patrol and Slaughter’s Marauders were “rare”. In the 2000’s, the subsets fell to the wayside and got cheap as everyone really wanted the original versions of the figures and the repaints were more common than people had once thought.
Now, the subset figures have proven themselves relatively scarcer than the original versions of the characters and have come to be priced accordingly. So, we were kind of right about them.
I like the idea of a tank team. Not sure why said team included no tank drivers, aside from Slaughter…who’d been a driver twice before. “Heavy Metal/Rampage” would’ve been ideal for the team, and his mold was in Brazil, too. (Cover Girl’s mold was down that way, too, but this was the time when Hasbro was “no chicks”).
The weapons are different. They have rounded handles, like Footloose’s gun, I suppose to reduce breaking hands? Low-Light’s rifle handle is flat. Mutt has a standard black 1982 helmet instead of his proper one.
Also, Sgt Slaughter totally called Mutt “Footloose” in that commercial. Too many mustache guys on that team!
Also, Python Copperhead is an army builder who loves volleyball.
GI JOE’s favorite tactic is rolling up fast on Cobra weapons and pushing them off ravines.
“Also, Python Copperhead is an army builder who loves volleyball.”
Those Python Troopers (Officers?) almost look like they’re wearing leis LOL.
The blues, while bright, are at least dynamic and worked into the figures better than some of the neon highlights in the 1990s.
That commercial is incredible! I really like that feature of your reviews, as they’re not something I think to look up on Youtube (That’s usually just old episodes of Unsolved Mysteries)