2009 Rockslide (Past and Present)
Well guys, I made it almost a whole year of posting on the blog without missing a week (that I can remember). That was until this week though, when I got some kind of fairly bad sinus infection that had me away from doing… much of anything. So with not quite the photos I wanted for one post and not many options for others, I was left asking myself what toys I realistically don’t feel like taking new photos of: the 2009 Rockslide fit the bill almost perfectly.
The Rockslide, formerly known as the Polar Battle Bear, is really a fantastic toy. So when I say I don’t feel like taking new pictures of it, it’s not because I dislike it; rather, it’s just because I’m a boy of the deep south. Outside of a freak stint of snow I got in the 2010‘s, it almost never snows here. So I don’t get to use arctic vehicles very much, and trying to find some method of making fake snow with copious amounts of white powder never turns out the same. Plus if I put that in the yard, the local homeless population might mistake it for free smack.
Hasbro making a skimobile in 1983 was a pretty bold choice, especially given that the only figure that really went with it was Snow Job. It has a nice size to it and is fairly reasonable looking, which is a staple of the early line, but I always do appreciate it. The rotating skis, and linked chin-guns add a good bit of fun to something that could otherwise get tired pretty quickly. It’s easy to take little things like that and the removable engine cover for granted, but when you compare it to a similar item like the LCV Recon Sled, you can see how a niche vehicle like this provides a decent amount of play value, whereas the Recon Sled gets boring… as soon as you touch it.
Of course, this post isn’t about the ‘83 Polar Battle Bear, it’s about the ‘09 Rockslide. So, here’s some weird tidbits about this release: First, the boxart is a new asset for the set, not vintage art. And instead of showing the included Snow Job figure, it shows what’s pretty clearly V1 Frostbite driving it. I assume this is probably an artifact of a canned 25th Anniversary release, since I remember there being computer listings for an entire wave of vehicles we never saw in any capacity. Other than that, it’s basically an unchanged ‘83 Polar Battle Bear, as even the foot-pegs are left in the vintage size. Like with the Snow Job included, the white is a slightly cooler tone than the original, which frankly I like the look of a bit. Also, I think the date stamp was 2002 on the bottom, from that time they gave it a big dumb missile launcher.
Oh yeah, another weird thing about this release is that it’s part of the Past and Present series. Hasbro had planned a full lineup of figures that would be released as Target exclusives (if memory serves), which would give you an original ARAH figure (represented by a 2004 comic-pack repaint) and the present version, which would be an unchanged copy of a ROC Joe. This exciting (not!) little idea never came to fruition after the entire ROC line failed at retail, this set especially. Nothing of value was really lost, though I always thought it was funny that Hasbro had stuff like this planned, but then just a year or so later all of the original o-ring tools fell into a black hole or something.
So the whole boxed set now fetches around $45 to $50, though I assume the, uhhh, “ARAH Rockslide”? -The old one, would probably go for much less on it’s own, but good luck finding one. This is one of those items that was pretty nifty when it came out as being a way of getting a very old vehicle in new, clean white plastic. Most of that appeal is gone now though, since it’s way harder and more expensive to get one of these than a nice vintage PBB.
This is so weird, I’ve actually been thinking about this set quite a bit recently. I got this set as part of a trade almost 10 years ago. I found it recently in a box of stuff I never unpacked from moving. I’m no longer into 25th anniversary style stuff but I really wanted to open it just for the ARAH stuff. Now, I’m going to open it.
The only thing from the unproduced Past & Present stuff was that Duke was going to include recreations of his original gear. Now that we’ve gotten that in 2022, though, it’s less of a loss.
Despite the fact that it’s snowing here today, I never got the appeal of the Polar Battle Bear. Even as a kid, I didn’t use it. I just never found it to be a fun toy. Hasbro just kept re-releasing it, though. Only the AWE Striker probably got more repaints during the 2000’s. I’ll never understand the vehicle choices that Hasbro made…especially knowing that they had a much fuller library of molds from which to pull.
Paired with the ROC “tracked combat egg” as I think Attica Gazette calls it. They really wanted you buy that all new tooled Rock Slide. They also had a store exclusive with it paired against the Mole Pod, which they really wanted you to buy, too. Snowmobiles vs drills. Yeah, Rise of Cobra choices were a bit questionable.
I didn’t get the set. I guess I saw it at Target. The only ROC thing I never saw that I later tracked down on ebay was the Heet Seek Meesle Seestem. Was that how it was spelled? The Cobra MMS. Such a vital thing it’s coming in Classified before the GI JOE version.
The Past and Present set would’ve had a chromed head comic pack Destro. Too bad that head was about about vintage Kenner MASK sized.
Thanks for the link to the site. I did come across your site before during covid but forgot about it (It is book marked now 🙂 ). Just went back through 5 or so pages of your write-ups and much like Mike T you do a great job articulating your thoughts and memories of your GI Joe collection. It’s interesting to read about Joe from your perspective, someone who is younger than me and did not experience Joes in real time as a kid. I was born in 82 so alot of my memories of Joe are from 1990 to 1994 as a kid, so I appreciate your perspective. Seeing your comments about being a broke teenager in the 2010s brings me back to when I would drunk ebay around 2005/2006 when I was out of college with expendable income and the market was still very friendly for buyers. I always wondered when the first real market hike in ARAH joes took place.
I also like your analysis of the crazy GI Joe collecting boom that was really spurred on by COVID buyers and now being on the other side seeing prices slowly fall, I find the whole thing fascinating. I collected pretty heavily in 2016/2017 slowed down some until 2020 and picked it back up with 2023 really being my final hurray for ARAH vintage figures and vehicles (a few exceptions exist of course).
Back in the mid-2010s (2016/2017) I got back into O-ring joe collecting and sold off my Modern Era figures and many vehicles. My mindset at the time was to collect the softer, newer plastic o-ring figs from the late 90s through the 2000s. I remember seeing this set during my initial ME collecting phases and passed on it but in 2017 I ended up buying it for the nice bright, newer SnowJob figure and another Polar Battle Bear. I don’t regret the decision one bit as I have always liked Artic themed troopers and vehicles.
Looking forward to your write-ups this year! This is a fun hobby and I am getting away from message boards/forums – sick of the negativity on those sites. Constructive, insightful criticism is great and needed but to much toxicity and negativity with alot of men in their 40s/50s complaining about Hasbro these days. End rant 🙂