Tag Archives: 2002

2002 Roadblock

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2002 Roadblock

Mmm, nothin’ I love more than a good ol’ sloppy BJ- …’s exclusive repaint of a classic Joe mold! BJ’s Wholesale, how many of you have ever been to one of those stores?!?! If not for this 8-pack I probably wouldn’t know what that even was, which makes me somewhat glad I was too young to be around for the hassle of getting this crap when it was new. Anyways, here’s an ugly Roadblock toy I’ve photographed at least twice.

Color wise, Roadblock V8 here seems like he could have some promise, being that it is just the full ‘84 Roadblock mold in Cobra blue for the upper half. I’ve always thought the figure seems like it would have some decent custom potential, but really the appeal ends there. Because of the haphazard coloring, his torso is solid blue despite wearing a tank-top, so it looks really weird and there’s no real illusion that’s he’s wearing some kind of body-suit. His bare arms are painted like sleeves, though it doesn’t really bother me as much as his torso. As an added bit of fun, the lower half is made of marbled plastic, which also appears to be randomly yellowing on my copy like with many other figures from around that period.

The BJ’s 8-pack figures generally find their strength in their oddness, with figures like Firefly that don’t really serve a purpose, but also seem like something you’d never logically expect to get made. It’s similar to the weird Funskool releases, where there’s a lot of novelty value in having a purple Tripwire. Coming back around to Roadblock, a big problem with him is that he’s too bland to really have any appeal as an oddity, yet also too cheap and random to fit anywhere else in a collection. Because of this, he might be my least favorite figure from the set.

An alternate coloration was used on some early pre-production versions of this Roadblock, which switched the blue for a bright red. It definitely looks way worse, so I’m glad for the one we wound up with. If I had to guess, I assume someone must have gotten the colors mixed up at the factory, as there seems to be a pretty strong theme of red for the Cobras in the set.

The accessories included with the entire set strike me as somewhat comedic, which is a nice way of saying terrible. Roadblock here is loaded out with a SAW Viper machine gun (now featuring a Sound Attack tab on top), a silver V1 LAW uzi, and the ‘91 Dusty backpack in black, AKA, the most generic repaint-era backpack. The uzi is an alright weapon for tossing in a bin, but none of these parts are really exciting or memorable. Even if the SAW Viper gun wasn’t the Sound Attack version, it’s still a laughably oversized weapon that didn’t look good with the original figure, let alone V1 Roadblock’s sculpt.

So like many 2000‘s Joe items, what you pay for them has a lot more to do with your patience rather than what the figure’s actually worth. Dealers can get $20 for a complete figure with his filecard, but that’s probably a lot more than what the figure should go for at auction. Of course, there’s the aforementioned yellowing to look out for too, though any example you buy may be eventually prone to this. In better times eBay was saturated with all of the figures from this set, both domestically and from Chinese warehouses selling them for pennies.

2002 Roadblock gi joeroadblock-version-8-2002_6848890943_o

2002 Roadblock Links:

Forgotten Figures (Rarities – Alternate 2002 BJ’s Set)

Half the Battle

Joe A Day

2002 Alley Viper (Version 5)

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2002 Alley Viper (Version 5)

At one point in time, this Alley Viper was one of my absolute favorite Cobras. If I ever had to trim my collection down to a hand full of figures (never gonna happen), this would be a Cobra I’d never want to get rid of. And then they fell victim to the yellowing so many 2000‘s Joes have become prone to, effectively robbing me of one of my favorite figures. To this day, I’ve still not really figured out what to do with them.

I wasn’t collecting in 2002, so I don’t have any thoughts or memories about this figure in regards to when he was released. I got mine sometime around ‘11 if I recall; I was stuck at home and was playing around with a hookey survey site to earn more toy money. They gave you more money in the form of Amazon gift cards, which wasn’t bad since a lot of 2000‘s items like this still saturated Amazon back then, often for reasonable prices. My circumstances were odd, and it was a really bad time, so now I find myself very sentimental to these as one of the few things I got genuinely excited for from back then.

The colors are really fantastic on this release. For some, they definitely might be too bland, but for me, this was a nice scheme that combines a shade of blue (not Cobra blue, but it still works) with urban camouflage. The camo is created from grey and white marbled plastic with the black spots painted on, so it’s not only complex, but also slightly unique from figure to figure. At a time, I really couldn’t stand the fluorescent colors of the ‘93 Alley Viper, so having a version of the sculpt rendered in nice, muted colors was all I really wanted. The grey matched up decently with the Cobra Night Watch troopers too, so that was something.

Now however, all of those grays and whites have turned unfortunate shades of yellow. I do nothing with these figures now as I’ve been unable to decide whether I should repaint them to match their original look, or just live with them as they are until they crumble. Having figures I do not use seems like a real waste, but painting them would make them feel like customs. Interestingly, the red repaint of this guy shows no signs of discoloring, which makes that one not only a better alternative, but also sheds some light on how inconsistently these figures are degrading.

Also, I suppose it’s worth noting that this figure features all of the mold changes made from the ‘97 release. So now he features the obnoxious neck-tab for making him a fake swivel-neck. Likewise, the legs were swapped out for V1 Duke’s, since the original sculpt was lost. There’s about a decade between when Duke’s legs were sculpted and when the upper body of this Alley Viper was sculpted, so to say they don’t quite match up might be an understatement. I don’t think it looks bad though, as Duke’s skinnier legs don’t throw off the proportions too badly.

Besides the mask, the only original Alley Viper V2 accessory to show back up with this guy is his shield. On one hand, that’s all he really needs, but the Tomax/Xamot gun really doesn’t work here at all. The Big Bear backpack looks pretty decent, it’s generic compared to the classic Alley Viper backpack, but it’s still a decent piece of gear that does it’s job. There’s also a little figure stand in there too, which never hurts.

Seemingly regardless of the yellowing, this Alley Viper will still fetch a solid $10 to $15 when otherwise mint and complete. Gotta admit, the yellowing really kills this figure for me, and I find paying that much for a grungy, niche repaint a little perplexing. I guess some people just don’t really care so much about discoloration any more, which is reasonable, given that it’s almost inevitable for figures like this one.

gi joe vs cobra 2002 hasbro alley viper baroness

2002 Alley Viper (Version 5) Links:

Forgotten Figures

Half the Battle

Joe A Day

2002 Skullbuster

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2002 Skullbuster

gi joe vintage cobra 2002 range viper skull buster

The 2002 GI Joe line is now 20 years old, which amusingly, is the same age ARAH was at when GI Joe vs Cobra came out. It’s weird to me, because I was still a kid when these came out, and yet they don’t really feel that old. Meanwhile ARAH has always felt ancient to me, probably because all of it mostly predates my birth (my first GI Joes were the Ninja Force and Armor Tech overstock that was available into the late 90‘s). Sadly, I think this is the difference between an 80‘s brand that had a lasting cultural impact, compared to a neglected 2000‘s revival of said brand, only supported by adults. I don’t think these toys feel old since they seem more like a collector novelty, than toys from the era of VHS tapes, rotary phones and the Cold War. Then again, Skullbuster really has the hallmarks of something from a bygone era, so maybe I’m off the mark on all of that.

So Skullbuster is a repaint of the Range Viper, in colors that if I recall, were meant to resemble Skeletor. It’s very odd and not much like something you’d see Hasbro sell today; Now GI Joe is all about the established characters within the IP. In ‘02 though, there was enough curiosity left in the brand, that Hasbro would resurrect a sculpt from 11 years prior, and sell it as a new character. It’s much more low-effort compared to the brand from the 80‘s, but it’s also something fun and creative, in sharp contrast to the serious adult doll buying community who’s catered to now.

Skullbuster has some strange colors that stick out quite a bit. He’s closer to eye-catching than he is gaudy, but it’s a colorful figure either way. The use of an almost metallic purple for the base plastic was a strange choice, though it looks pretty strong with the copper details that adorn much of the figure. There’s a long Cobra tampograph that runs down his pant leg: It’s an odd choice for a detail, but it works much better than the GI Joe equivalent of having the brand’s logo on a leg.

The Range Viper sculpt was a pretty odd one to make so many reappearances in the 2000‘s. Before Skullbuster, you had the ‘00 Rock Viper, followed by half the mold showing up as the Cobra Imperial Guard in ‘05. Next, the mold was put in desert colors for the ‘06 Flaming MOTH release. I’ve always been pretty pleased with this assortment of repaints, though I had thought the Range Viper was not so popular when many of these came out. Lucky me I guess.

Skullbuster’s gear is bad. Oddly, although he comes packaged with a green version of the Range Viper’s backpack, that part belongs to Heavy Duty. Whereas Skullbuster gets the backpack from ‘91 Low-Light. As well, he gets a Sound Attack version of Spearhead’s rifle, and ‘92 Destro’s pistol. The backpack is very random, and the Sound Attack gimmick ruins everything it touches, so the only real part of and decency here is the pistol.

Surprisingly, Skullbuster fetches between $16 to $20, seemingly regardless of his completeness. I’m a little shocked by this as I assumed he was too much of an obscurity for anyone to really care, but from the looks of it a Skullbuster will cost you a little more than at least a few of his contemporaries. I’m sure it would be less if he were easier to find, though oddball 2000‘s figures really aren’t in good supply any more, so I’m sure that has a lot to do with it.

gi joe vintage cobra 2002 range viper skull buster gi joe vintage cobra 2002 range viper skull buster

2002 Skullbuster Links:

Forgotten Figures

Half the Battle

Photo by Scarrviper 1

Photo by Scarrviper 2

2002 Fast Blast Viper

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2002 Fast Blast Viper

The 2002 BJ’s 8-pack captivates me probably far more than it should, but it’s one of those things that’s just so odd for existing that I can’t help but look at it every now and then. Among the 4 Cobras included in the set is the Fast Blast Viper, a carry-forward of the HEAT Viper retool from ARAHC. I’m not a huge fan of the V1 HEAT Viper, or the Fast Blast Viper, but this figure is probably the more interesting take on the design.

Armed with specially designed battlefield weapons, FAST BLAST VIPERS are sent out to lead an attack with only one objective: stop G.I. JOE forces. Each one has learned to withstand tough battlefield conditions. They obey every order from COBRA COMMANDER instantly and without question. To make them formidable, FAST BLAST VIPERS have been trained to wipe out any fear or hesitation in attack situations—they show no emotion no matter what happens. They are mean and aggressive opponents with many combat skills and are tough enemies of the G.I. JOE team.
“We fight until we win.”

The Fast Blast Viper is a fairly vague entity who as a character I don’t like very much. If you read the file card included with this toy, it’s actually amazing how it manages to say so little about what he is, in so many sentences. “Fast Blast Vipers fear nothing… do exactly what Cobra Commanders says… are good at everything, blah, blah, blah”. What on earth is he supposed to be? Obviously, the answer to that is nothing, but that still doesn’t render the figure useless. This red repaint in particular makes a nice grunt for stuffing in vehicles and pairing with other crimson figures. I don’t mind it, but I wish Hasbro’s laziness was a little less transparent here.

Like the rest of his pack-mates, the BJ’s Fast Blast Viper is decked out in Crimson Guard-esque red colors. One of the curious problems of the BJ’s 8-pack is that no two of the figures really have a matching color scheme despite all being red, though the Fast Blast Viper here probably came out on top for the usage of black and gold on his details (compared to an Undertow with bits of gray, a Storm Shadow with brown, and Firefly with copper and gray). It’s a good look and provides some options for the FBV, who doesn’t serve much of a purpose if you already have or like HEAT Vipers in your collection. To be honest, this is probably the second best usage of the HEAT Viper mold after the Python Patrol variant from 2003.

I never really liked the mold changes made to the FBV over the ‘89 HEAT Viper. The balaclava head is generic and doesn’t provide much benefit to the figure, even if the original HEAT Viper head was a weird asymmetrical design. Other than that, they went out of their way to remove the shoulder peg from the original sculpt, which really didn’t benefit the figure any and leaves behind this weird tab where it should’ve been. None of this really ruins the figure, and in his own right the FBV is something that looks pretty good, I just don’t understand why Hasbro made these seemingly pointless tooling changes.

The parts are an obvious area where this figure is going to lose out. You get a Sound Attack version of the Spearhead rifle, a Hit & Run knife, ‘91 Dusty pistol, and a ‘91 Sci-Fi gun. All very generic stuff you should have piles of if you’ve ever collected 90‘s and 00‘s Joes, and a poor selection of gear at that. I used to really mind this figure’s lack of missiles for his legs, but really he looks fine without them, and all they really do is make me nervous one’s going to fall off.

From the looks of it, this figure has gotten a little bit harder to find than his black counterpart. Despite this, it’s still safe to say that the BJ’s Fast Blast Viper is worth less than the black one, and you can find them from time to time for probably $6 to $8. Usually they’re more often in lots, and without parts as many of the ones you see on the market are likely the Chinese overstock that was saturating eBay a few years back. Like the figures he’s packaged with, it’s a toy no one’s collection desperately needs, but it’s nice to have if you like crimson figures.

2002 Fast Blast Viper Links:

Forgotten Figures

Half the Battle

GeneralsJoes

2002 Firefly

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2002 Firefly

When Hasbro debuted the New-Sculpt style figures in 2002, I was still firmly a kid. I think this makes my perspective on them a lot different than most collectors who first saw them as adults, as there’s a few figures from this era that have some sentimental value to me. These days, I don’t think a figure like this Firefly is anything to write home about, but 18 years ago I thought it was a pretty cool looking figure.

My childhood collection of Joes started off with mostly ‘94 clearance figures, so mostly stuff like Armor Tech and Ninja Force figures that were still easy to find. For the most part, I totally missed the glory days of ARAH, but I had a lot of ‘87 through ‘94 figures that I had open access to thanks to my brother’s collection. With that and Sunbow on VHS tapes, I had a pretty good taste for GIJoe even if I came in on the brand late, but the 2002 line was my first chance to experience getting Joes at retail.

As things would turn out though, I only bought 1 set of Joes from the Joe vs. Cobra line, this Firefly and Nunchuck set. I wanted to try and remember a specific reason why I didn’t get more, but thinking about it, there really wasn’t one. I sort of slept on the figures just for a lack of seeing them around much. I’ve long thought that one of Hasbro’s biggest missteps of that era was their lack of a decent media push, as I personally would’ve bought more had I just seen the brand around. Of course, I was also a poor kid and 2002 wasn’t a very good year, so that probably had a lot to do with my lack of purchases too.

To an adult that focuses more on quality aesthetics, these New-sculpt designs simply don’t compare to the ARAH sculpts. However, Hasbro was still producing the premier military toys on the market at that time, as there was nothing that really compared well to GI Joe. Even if you compare Joes from around this point to something like Star Wars, I think it’s safe to say Joe came out on top. Then if you go by today’s standards, these New-sculpt designs are more functional and way better looking than anything Lanard or Jazwares is pumping out. In some ways, I think they don’t get enough credit when you look at them like this.

Moving on to the figure… There’s a certain disparity between what I thought of this figure as a kid versus what I think about it now. As a kid, I liked this toy a lot. He had good articulation, wore reasonable colors, and fit in well enough with the rest of my collection that I had no issues using him with classic sculpts. Amusingly, I really hated bright colors for the most part, so figures like ‘92 Firefly were unappealing to me compared to a drab figure like this.

As an adult however, I can’t find much objective appeal in this figure. Anything I like about it amounts to mere nostalgia. The proportions of the sculpt are pretty wacky, and the design of the figure isn’t overtly appealing. He’s got super bulky biceps that make his arms stick out worse than any of the buff 90‘s sculpts. I also find the excessive silver armor and akimbo pistols on his chest to be a pretty cheesy, dated look now. Overall, he’s an especially mediocre figure but there’s nothing too wrong with him besides that.

There’s two sets of parts that came with this Firefly, one for the original two-pack release, and a different set for the single-carded mission disc release. The two-pack figure came with a sound-attack version of ‘84 Firefly’s gun, then normal versions of ‘86 Beachhead’s gun, and ‘91 Dusty’s pistol. The single pack figure has an arguably better load out, as it removes the sound attack tab from the Firefly gun, and then replaces the other parts with the Neo-Viper’s scorpion pistol, and three grenades from Big Ben.

This figure like most of his contemporaries, is virtually worthless. You can get this Firefly complete from a dealer for around $5, or MOSC for about the same price. Of course, the figure is so cheap because there’s almost no one left who collects New-sculpts. Maybe in 2035, there will be a wave of nostalgia for these old figures and you’ll see collector interest develop in them like there is for 90‘s Joes right now. I personally doubt that though.

2002 Firefly Links:

Joeaday

Firefly at Half the Battle

2002 Cobra Viper

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2002 Cobra Viper

The collecting community in the 2000‘s was all about army-builders; especially the coveted classic Cobra Troopers, BATs, and Viper. The first two I mentioned Hasbro struggled to deliver on, though Viper repaints were put out in numbers not too different from Firefly figures. This Viper was one of the first recolors after the Cobra Infantry Team in ‘98.

A lot of the appeal of this figure is lost now because of the subsequent repaints that came after him, and the availability of some more interesting factory customs. In it’s own right, this is a passable Viper repaint that I think looks pretty good for it’s lighter, desaturated greens compared to the similar olive one from 2003. Another thing that makes this repaint nice to me, is that Hasbro kept the visor silver rather than painting it some weird color like they did on the later repaints.

The paint masks are really questionable on this figure, particularly referring to his lower legs. Because the figure uses BAT legs instead of actual Viper legs, the designers decided to paint the entire lower leg piece, including the knee above the boot, solid grey. The idea was to simulate the look of the classic Viper’s knee-boots, but it really looks horrible here. On many of my figures I removed the paint on this part which improves the look slightly, though I hate doing mods like this.

Of course, the figure also suffers from all of the classic tooling issues that plague almost every Viper repaint post ‘97. That includes the tab on his neck that makes him permanently look down, and using BAT legs instead of Viper legs. The head tab doesn’t bother me that much, but it would’ve been nice if they could have removed it. Why is it that it’s always too expensive to remake lost molds, but they can modify a mold at a moment’s notice for an obscure set of reissues made in smaller numbers?

The Viper really suffers from the poor accessory choices you saw often in the 2000‘s. Included here is ‘84 Baroness’s gun, and the backpack from the SAW Viper; generic items used extensively in later 00‘s releases. I’ve really softened my views on the Baroness rifle in recent years, as it’s not really a terrible gun, but just an okay one that was really overused in this period. As a kid, it was my go-to weapon for the Python Tele-Viper, and it has the benefit of being a relatively easy weapon to hold. The SAW Viper backpack was also not that bad of a part, but really just didn’t feel appropriate here. Even among a catalog of parts Hasbro frequently used at the time, there were better items that could’ve been chosen for this figure.

In all of the uses of the Viper mold in the 2000‘s, I really like this one for it’s colors. The 2002 Crimson/Fuschia Viper is probably the best looking use of the mold, but it’s niche and expensive. Another blue recolor came out in ’02, which was pretty nice, but it was also very darkly colored and somewhat bland. Three more were released in separate colors under Spy Troops, which all looked a little phoned-in to me. Then you had the Viper Pit set come along in pseudo ‘86 colors, which had it’s own series of problems associated with it. Putting all that in context makes me realize that Hasbro never did anything very interesting or curious with the mold, despite that the Viper is ubiquitously popular and would’ve fit well into a TRU 6-pack. To a certain degree I’m glad we didn’t see it again though.

One of the last benefits you can attribute to this figure, is that it’s a common and relatively cheap Viper. They’re a little tedious to look for among so many Viper releases, but you can get them often with the Mirage he was packed with around $10, and if you look long enough, you can get this guy by himself for around $6 or $7. Even just a few years ago this was a cheap and fun figure you might get as a toss-in purchase, though it’s a little less often now with the current market.

gi joe arah joe vs cobra 2002 vintage hasbro viper vs mirage
gi joe arah joe vs cobra 2002 vintage hasbro viper vs mirage

2002 Cobra Viper Links:

GeneralsJoes

Photo by Cradea2

Photo by Scarrviper

2002 Snake Eyes (BJ’s 8-pack)

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2002 Snake Eyes (BJ’s 8-pack)

There’s a lot of interesting classic sculpts I’d like to talk about on this blog. There’s a lot of interesting modern sculpts I’d consider talking about on this blog. Yet, every now and then I have to break things up and just talk about something weird and obscure, both of which accurately describe this Snake Eyes figure.

My first Snake Eyes figure was Ninja Force Snake Eyes, who was among my motley collection of 1994 figures that were truly mine as a kid. But, of characters I had back then Snake Eyes resonated with me the least. Personally I think to be a big Snake Eyes fan, you had to be someone into the comics in the early eighties, and not a GI Joe fan by other means.

BJ’s Snake Eyes is a repaint of 1989 Snake Eyes, who I already dislike quite a bit. It’s funny since overall I’m a big fan of ‘89 figures, but Snake Eyes firmly falls into the category of figures from that year that appeals to me less. The mold was reused one other time for a less interesting ARAHC repaint, and never for something that wasn’t black or Snake Eyes… Which seems like a bit of a waste.

With those things in mind, I have a lot against this figure just from the premise. However, if you want a version of this Snake Eyes sculpt, I personally think this is the best release. Compared to the other two releases, the paint applications are more detailed on this release. Besides the obvious gold and silver details, many of the mold’s pouches and grenades are painted a very subtle gray color. The sculpt also shows off it’s details better on this release which is cast in charcoal gray plastic as opposed black. The GI Joe logo on his leg is dumb and a bit distracting, but overall the figure is well decorated for one as a discount-chain’s store exclusive.

The parts with this figure are comically terrible, but he’s from the BJ’s eight-pack, so you might already have known that. Included is the three-sectioned staff from the original, Big Bear’s AK-88, and a “Sound Attack” uzi painted silver. Of all the parts from ‘89 Snake Eyes they could have kept, the three-sectioned staff is the one I liked the least. For a commando this weapon just feels silly and it’s cumbersome to pose too. The AK-88 is a totally random inclusion that Hasbro had a habit of just chucking around back then. Oddly, it seems like it would’ve been a better fit with the Firefly from the set, who included Beachhead’s gun. Maybe the parts were packed with the wrong figures?

Finding one of these can be tedious just by virtue of how many Snake Eyes figures there are to sort through, but this figure is common and easily acquired complete for $5. I forgot I owned this figure. I got him in a box of random Chinese surplus ages ago and forgot him in a corner of the house. Upon further inspection though, it’s a nice figure, just one that’s so unneeded he’s easy to overlook.

2002 Snake Eyes (BJ’s 8-pack) Links:

Yo Joe

Forgotten Figure (Unproduced Colors)

Generals Joes