1986 Roadblock
Roadblock is one of GI Joe’s more iconic and interesting characters, who also received more toys during ARAH than most other characters. The truth is, most of these toys are pretty good too, though it might be fair to say this Roadblock has the least appeal of them. It’s a figure that falls into the category of “Things I own because I got it in a lot.”, but I’ve found some ways to use him, still.
I’ll go ahead and admit this isn’t my favorite version of Roadblock, though, I have developed a fondness for using him. The figure’s design is made iconic by his appearance in the movie, and really isn’t too bad of a look for a more futuristic figure. He matches up nicely with contemporaries like Cross-Country and Sc-fi, which also makes him a nice crew member for the HAVOC. Some of what makes the figure memorable to me is that fact that he looks very dated, and like something that would’ve only come out between ‘86 and ‘87.
Of course, when you put aside iconism, the figure really loses it’s luster. At face value, 1984 Roadblock was a good figure; he had great colors and a great sculpt that stood out without looking outlandish. 1986 Roadblock on the other hand, looks both outlandish and somewhat generic, too. The figure is mostly white with no significant details, and has a bright green vest with a few painted details on it. I won’t say the look is bad, but it’s certainly somewhat bland, and I think that’s why this design didn’t take off in the same way as 1985 Snake Eyes did.
The parts leave a lot to be desired with this one. You get a machine-gun and a tripod: that’s it. The parts are still pretty fun, but lacking the helmet and backpack from the first figure just makes this one feel like more of a downgrade. The LMG is much more generic and hardly feels as iconic as the Ma Deuce. On the bright side, the tripod is taller on this figure, so that makes it a little more practical to pose him with it.
Ultimately, this would’ve been a pretty good figure, but the main problem he has is that he’s probably the least good Roadblock from the vintage line. If you really have a hatred for Tiger Force colors, you might say he’s better than that figure, but that still leaves the original, as well as the Battle Corps and Star Brigade releases which are some of the best figures from their respective years. It leaves ‘86 Roadblock as a figure that really only appeals to fans of the movie, which there aren’t that many of.
1986 Roadblock is one of those figure that is common, and has almost always been relatively cheap. You can easily get one for $6 to $8, and it’s pretty common you’ll get one in a lot like I did. If you’re a fan of the cartoon, more precisely, the movie, there’s appeal in having this Roadblock. For any other Joe fan, it’s fair to say the figure doesn’t provide much.
Not a fan of this figure. In fact, he’s the only pre-1987 figure I don’t actually own any longer. Been trying to find a cheap one for a while. But, never find them cheap enough. I just can’t justify spending more than a couple of bucks on a figure that I’ve hated since 1986.
I never liked any of the RoadBlock sculpts until the Battlecorps version but by then, I was 16 and too old for toys😉👌🏻
The 86 Version vest was cool but the head sculpt was poor and color scheme for all of 86 was odd. The fact that Hasbro reused these parts so often is interesting. The waists, legs, and torsos showed up everywhere between 97 and 2004.
Before that even, they contributed to 3 version of Street Fighter’s Guile.
A friend of mine once commented that the face sculpt on this figure looked like a racist Japanese caricature, so because of that, I’ve always referred to this version as Mr. Fuji Roadblock.
The colouring on this figure isn’t particularly great. It’s great it ties in with Cross Country (Crazy Legs, and Sneak Peek from 87 match up well, too.), but it’s still pretty plain. The mold itself isn’t too bad, the detailing is weak, but when given a stronger paint job, like the 1997 Rock ‘N Roll or even the Guile legs, it shows that there’s something to work with. I bet if this was anyone but Roadblock, he’d be looked at better, but literally every other Roadblock is better figure, and two of them are Astronauts.
I recall liking this version, maybe because it was my first Roadblock (my brother had V1). Yeah, but I haven’t reacquired one in a long time. The head sculpt details seem soft and that was a problem with some 1986ers.
Yeah, where’s his ammo? No pack, no belts (for some reason most Roadblock versions have avoided ammunition belts)
Hawk and Snake-Eyes V2’s eclipsed their originals, but not Roadblock. Interesting.
It’s interesting that, if you go by figures produced in the vintage ARAH line, the most popular characters seem to be Cobra Commander, Snake Eyes and Roadblock, followed by Duke, Hawk and Stalker.
That said, while I understand that many consider Roadblock’s “first appearance” outfit to be iconic, I’ve always preferred the look of this one over the other vintage RB figures (not including the Star Brigade versions, which are awesome, but a separate matter, in my opinion). The Battle Corps version’s outfit is just a weird hodge-podge (knit vest over a black polo shirt, jeans with cargo pockets and leather gaiters?), and the camo singlet and rust-orange trousers of the 1984 figure just never really engaged with me. I do, however, very much like the “86 vest,” the overall colour-scheme, and being Canadian, the included FN MAG resonates more strongly than the Browning M2 HB.