1989 Lynx
The late-80‘s repaint lines followed some simple patterns, especially when it came to the vehicles. An old toy that had been out of production for a year or two was slapped in new colors and put back out on store shelves. The Slaughter’s Marauders vehicles are the odd exception to this, as they all featured new turrets, making them unique from any other vehicle in the line. Why Hasbro took a different approach with these vehicles, I do not know, but either way it lead to some more memorable items.
I’m very biased towards the Lynx, as this has been one of my favorite GI Joe vehicles since I was a small child. I never had any of my own vehicles until I was a teenager, but part of that was because my brother had a decent collection of late-line items to chose from. I think vehicles interest me a little more than most, but I still place a higher focus on the figures, just like most of you guys out there. Of course, my brother’s collection was mostly 90‘s items, so out of the vehicles he owned, this one was the most reasonable and tank-like.
A lot of fans seem to find artillery vehicles boring for not doing much or having reduced figure capacity. This is true, but sort of alien to me, both now and when I was a kid. I’ve always really liked artillery vehicles, mainly for the fact that it’s a vehicle with the potential to kill something in another zip-code. This also provides me with an easy plot for a battle, as Joes and Cobras would always have an interest in attacking each other’s artillery. It doesn’t have to do much to act as a kind of objective for attackers and defenders, so they always saw a lot of use in that way.
The Lynx is an fairly impressive looking vehicle for something that’s just a Wolverine repaint. The Wolverine’s missiles have been replaced by a new turret, which recycles the main gun from the Mauler. The turret looks really big on it, which I think makes the vehicle look a lot more powerful. For a little more visual interest, it’s covered in the signature camo that the Slaughter’s Marauders vehicles use. This is a really good woodland pattern, the greens are vibrant, and everything has a realistic hue to it. Because there’s no odd or clashing colors, putting any Joe from outside Slaughter’s Marauders you like in it doesn’t seem too odd or unnatural as well, which is what I do most of the time.
Because it reuses the lower hull of the Wolverine, it also inherits most of that vehicles gimmicks. The removable engine cover is a nice detail, though it’s always prompted me to imagine that it breaks down every other mile. The tow-rope also reappears; I wish I could say I loved this little part, but I don’t. The clips for it on the vehicle are comically fragile, and while intact examples give the vehicle a lot of flair, it doesn’t really seem to make up for how delicate it is. With a little work I could repair a broken one with some epoxy and a 3-D printed tow-rope, which I might do if I ever bother with a cheap Wolverine. For this vehicle, I’ve never really cared that it doesn’t have it on my copy. Another flaw in the Lynx’s design is in the turret. While it does look very cool and used to be a little tighter, there’s not very much you can do to keep the gun elevated. I’ve not found a good way to safely take this vehicle apart either, so if you get one with a floppy turret, it’s a hard problem to fix.
Typically, I look up the value of an item at the end of my blog post, though I usually can guess if something is expensive or not while I’m writing. The Lynx seems to have a pretty consistent value of about $50, which surprised me a fair amount. That’s not too much money, but it’s a lot more than I was expecting, especially for examples that often had missing or broken tow-ropes. I really like the Lynx, but as a vehicle, it really doesn’t do anything you can’t find in a much cheaper Slugger. Likewise, if you just want a centerpiece to display the Slughter’s Marauders on, the Equalizer is a much better choice.
I suppose the aftermarket price has to do with desirability and the fact it was only shipped one year, 1989. Was not available in Europe, either. And all the Marauder vehicles were made in Brazil…rather than Hasbro recall the molds. I wonder what that was all about. A few Tiger Force vehicles were also Estrela made, Tiger Fly and the Tiger Sting.
I like the Lynx, but it came when I had a glut of ground vehicles already. I mean, I know the vehicles were the money makers, but any kid who could come close to collecting them all, would have a land fleet after a few years.
I will say it’s a little funny that the main anti-tank vehicle of Marauders was the Lynx, the larger Equalizer was really anti-aircraft and the Armadillo is arguably as well. They reworked the missile tank into the cannon tank and the gun tanks into AA tanks.
Like the Wolverine, one person has to drive and aim the weapon. That’s the biggest flaw with the concept. Where’s the sightings and gun control?
You make a good point about the Lynx and Slugger serving the same function (mobile artillery). That had never occurred to me. There should have been a Mauraders version of Thunder.
Also, A-Man, it never bothered me that one person drove and fired the Lynx bc it’s mobile artillery. You drive it. Park it. Fire the guna few times. Then drive away before Cobra can return fire w the Maggot. I never viewed the Lynx like a tank; it doesn’t fire on the move. It hides in a treeline while Breaker gets the new firing coordinates…then fires and moves away. (Same for the Slugger.)
Except, it’s an anti-tank gun from the Mauler. Kind of makes it a tank destroyer. I guess that’s pedantic. I mean, people have pointed out that Cobra’s self propelled artillery, the Maggot…it’s main gun is really anti-tank . Does that change how I’d use a Maggot? Not really.
Thunder not getting a Marauders figure. The original Marauders were all molds that were at the located in, and thus made in, Brazil. Again, why? Who knows? It lead to a somewhat odd team selection for what amounted to an armored unit. And a missed chance to make some carded vehicle driver repaints. (Strangely the few Marauder additions by Hasbro and the Collectors’ club included no drivers, either)
I missed these by a year. When I got back into collecting, the vehicles were kind of hard to find and tended to be expensive. So, I find the $50 price tag to be low as Lynxes and the others were among the pricier vehicles in the early days.
I do want to get one or two of them, though. The colors look great and I think they would go well with some of the ’89 and ’90 Joes. Just need to find the right deal.