1983 Snow Job

Posted on May 28, 2018 by mwnekoman

1983 Snow Job

Since a young age, cold climates and snow have always fascinated me. I don’t know if it has something to do with the fact that as a person from the deep south, I’ve never had much snow, or if it has to do with a memorable impression I got from watching both The Empire Strikes Back and The Thing as a kid. Either way, it’s led me to value arctic themed figures more than I probably should, most of all, Snow Job.

My first Snow Job figure was the ‘97 version, and as a kid he was probably among my top 3 GI Joe figures. The entire Arctic Mission Team got a lot of use, but Snow Job was the most interesting figure to me of them all. Now, I don’t feel like that figure is the best version of this character, but he in some form has always been a favorite of mine.

With that said, one thing the character has going for him that a lot of GI Joe characters don’t, is that the overall quality of Snow Job toys has been pretty good. While the ‘97 figure has issues with it’s quality, it was a fine stand-in in lieu of the V1 figure. The 25th figure was also pretty good given the standards of that time, followed by the 2009 “Past and Present” figure that may even be arguably better than the V1 figure. The POC version was also one of the best figures released in that line, so overall you have the character featured in a few different styles and yet there’s never really been a bad Snow Job.

Snow Job has a pretty simple aesthetic and sculpt, like a lot of the 1983 guys. One of the nice elements of the figures from this year is that they tended to have more basic, less busy designs similar to the ‘82 figures, but with far more variety in terms of sculpt and colors. Snow Job’s sculpt features a decent amount of detail, but never goes too far into looking busy like 1988 Blizzard, for example.

Snow Job’s parts are yet another one of the figure’s strong qualities. He included the iconic XMLR-3A laser riffle, a set of skis and ski poles, and a backpack that could hold all of his ski gear. The ski gear is a lot of fun even if sometimes I find it mildly cumbersome, and I think they add a lot to Snow Job’s character and play value. The laser riffle is a great part too, and if you’re into the Sunbow’s take on Joe, it’s the standard riffle for the entire team.

V1 Snow Job’s can vary a lot in terms of price. One reason for this is because he’s a white figure, and like all of those that means he’s prone to yellowing. So a dead-mint example that’s complete with his filecard can go for as much as $20 to $30. But this is a common figure and you often see similarly well conditioned figures go for around $10, so one definitely shouldn’t pay too much even for a stark white example.

1983 Snow Job Links:

Forgotten Figures

Yo Joe

3D Joes

1994 Space Shot

Posted on May 21, 2018 by mwnekoman

1994 Space Shot

Although when I think of the ‘94 Joes, I typically think of the various updates to 80‘s characters that came out that year. Despite this, there were a few interesting new characters that came out as well, such as Space Shot in the Star Brigade sub-line.

Space Shot’s a pretty weird figure like many of his ‘94 brethren. Personally, I’ve had this figure since my childhood and I really don’t have many strong memories of him. That’s not to say he’s bad, but compared with some of the other Star Brigade offerings he’s a tad on the bland side. The design aesthetic looks more like someone who’d be a crew member on a Star Trek-esque space opera and less like some sort of astronaut. He also lacks a clear visor unlike many of the other Star Brigade Joes, so that’s probably why he fell flat on me for so long.

As an adult, I think Space Shot could have a lot of uses in a collection. One lazier option would be to use him as a spare pilot, which I think his colors and helmet look well suited for. Though a more left field usage could also be to include him with the Battle Force 2000, who matches his aesthetic pretty well.

Interestingly, he also reuses more parts than the typical figure, but I think it’s pulled off pretty well. The waist and legs are from ‘92 Mutt, while the arms are from ‘88 Countdown. The chest and head are new, though at first glance his face really resembles Mutt. On his neck there’s a sculpted and painted portion of his suit’s collar, which I thought was a really nice detail to have present. Also, his chest is REALLY bulky. It doesn’t feel like it hampers his articulation bad compared to say the ‘91 Incinerator, but it’s definitely one of the bigger feeling chest sculpts in the line.

For parts, he includes a new helmet, backpack, and a black version of ‘90 Ambush’s grenade pistol. For a gimmick oriented piece, I find that the backpack is surprisingly fun. It has a grappling hook that allows him to hang from things, locks into position, and automatically recoils once unlocked. His helmet is pretty cool too, reassembling one of the Rebel Fleet troopers from Star Wars. A visor would’ve made it better in my eyes, but it’s not bad. Lastly, the Ambush gun feels like a pretty sci-fi looking weapon, so it’s inclusion here seems appropriate.

Space Shot is unfortunately one of those rare and costly ‘94 figures. More often, you find these from dealers who want $30 to $40 for a carded example. Lose figures may only fetch around $15, but finding an auction for a loose one isn’t too easy either. With patience, I think Space Shot is a fun figure to have for the lower price, but isn’t really interesting or exotic enough to warrant more than that. Collector’s bought up a ton of the excess 1994 stock as evidenced by the amount you find MOSC, so his scarcity shouldn’t be overstated.

1994 Space Shot Links:

Forgotten Figures

Yo Joe

3D Joes

Funskool Tripwire

Posted on May 14, 2018 by mwnekoman

Funskool Tripwire

Funskool GI Joes seem to be an nearly unending source of interest in the realm of collecting. You have figures that provide high quality repaints such as the Toxo Viper, or interesting alternatives to classics like V1 Flint. Then you have the downright bizarre figures, one such example being this Funskool Tripwire.

In recent years Funskool Tripwire has become a rather sought after figure, almost to the degree of Listen N Fun Tripwire. But in the late 2000‘s heading into the early 2010‘s, he was held in disregard and was a common figure. I still remember my first encounter with him being baffled at the design choices they made, and generally being disinterested in the figure in favor of the more well colored Funskool figures. Back then, I scoffed at the figure for a measly $3, but just a few years later I ended up feeling like I got a deal when I acquired one for $15. It’s a really stunning example of how these figures seem like they’ve just evaporated from the market.

Tripwire is in my opinion, one of the most interesting and odd Funskool figures. He’s decked out in purple, with red, gold, and bright orange details as well as a little flesh color for his face. The paint is rather detailed on this figure, and I have to say he’s more visually interesting than any of the Hasbro Tripwires. His chest also features some large text that says “BOMB SQUAD”, which is probably one of the most memorable details present here.

His accessories are also rather interesting. Although he comes with a backpack and mine detector just like Hasbro’s Tripwire, the parts are not the same. First, his backpack has been modified to feature a peg, so now it connects to his mine detector with a rubber hose. Likewise, the mine detector is totally new. It’s smaller, and it isn’t held the same way as the Hasbro mine detector, as it lacks the perpendicular grip. Interestingly, they painted a few details on it as well. It’s easy to say that this detector is inferior to Hasbro’s, but the fact that it’s a new sculpt makes the figure a whole lot more interesting.

Funskool Tripwire is stupidly expensive. Like I mentioned earlier, at one time you could acquire these with ease for $3. Now, one shows up on eBay maybe once a month or so, and is running $100 routinely. Given that Funskool was known for making extremely large production runs, I don’t think that price will remain forever. Though similarly, I also doubt it’ll ever come down that much. Either way, it’s testament to how interesting he is as a figure.

Funskool Tripwire Links:

Yo Joe

Forgotten Figures

1983 Major Bludd

Posted on May 7, 2018 by mwnekoman

1983 Major Bludd

Major Bludd isn’t the most iconic Cobra from the early line, and when compared with the likes of Destro, Firefly, Storm Shadow and Zartan, it’s fair to say he isn’t the most popular either. Personally however, I’ve always been a big fan of the character and I think he has a lot of strong qualities not seen in later Cobras.

When I got into collecting vintage figures in the late 2000‘s, Major Bludd was one I sought with priority. I did already have a few decent versions of the character by way of the Sonic Fighters and Battle Corps figures, but those designs are quite a lot different than the V1. It also helped that at the time, Major Bludd’s were not very costly compared to other similarly old figures, so he was easy to acquire on a modest budget.

Major Bludd was also the favorite character of my friend and GI Joe photography legend, Cradea2. He died of cancer around this time eight years ago, and it changed the way I look at Major Bludd after that. Suddenly there was a lot of sentimentality surrounding the character, and often times using him brought up feelings that made me melancholic at the very least. So despite that I’ve always liked Major Bludd quite a bit, I’ve ended up not using him as often because of that.

V1 Major Bludd is an early example of Hasbro experimenting with the construction on ARAH figures. His right arm has no articulation beyond the shoulder, and is that way to represent a protective sleeve he wears while using his rocket pistol. It’s interesting for sure, and makes him a tad more memorable too. It isn’t however, a good justification for his lack of articulation. If you dislike this enough, swapping his arm for V1 Thunder’s is a good alternative, as you can see in this photo from Scarrviper.

Major Bludd’s most charming aspect is his detailed sculpt. There’s a lot of the typical and good sci-fi aesthetics like his chest-pad and mechanical/armored arm, but they are just a few of the details that stand out so much on this figure. His necklace of dog tags is one of those darker details you saw a lot early in the line, similar to the Cobra Trooper’s piano wire. His left arm features a unique emblem, and a sculpted patch that adds to his overall interestingness.

For parts, he included a rocket pistol, and a backpack full of sculpted missiles. It’s his trademark to a certain extent, but it’s also where the figure falls a little flat in my opinion. Ultimately, besides his right arm’s lack of articulation, the figure has no interesting gimmicks, and these parts are very simple. They aren’t without their appeal, but for a mercenary who personally writes about using an Uzi, I prefer to arm him with a traditional gun much more.

Surprisingly, Major Bludd’s will sometimes cost a lot of money, but they aren’t actually worth too much. If you shop around, auctions will typically run around $11, though sometimes mint examples will go for less than that. Most of the figures that are this old will go for a little more, so for such a fine and memorable Cobra, I see no reason that a collection should be without one.