There are hundreds of paint jobs available on the 1983 Cobra Trooper mold.  Some are great.  Some are terrible.  And, most, are just there.  They're neat enough designs.  But, they don't really transcend the others.  Many of them, though, serve a specific purpose.  There is one area where a certain color scheme is completely necessary.  But, then, doesn't really make much sense in any other context.  Such is the fate of the 2016 Tank Troopers.  Black suited figures with red trim is a fine design that is also not all that exciting.  But, wh ..read more

Back in 1987, I picked up 2 BattleForce 2000 figures: Blaster and Knockdown.  My brothers got Maverick and Dodger.  I always wanted to pick up a Blocker.  But, by the time I saw him again,  he was only sold in a two-pack with the Maverick figure that we already owned.  So, it was not until nearly a decade later that I acquired my first Blocker figure.  Since then, he's been my favorite BattleForce 2000 figure.  Though, to be fair, that's a relatively low bar to clear.  Here's some of the best content featuring the figure from around the web. 1987 Blocker ..read more

This 2005 Firefly has no reason to exist.  It occupies this weird space between the excellent 2004 Urban Strike Firefly and the even better 2005 Comic Pack Firefly.  It's not better than either of those figures.  And, with them in such close proximity of this Crimson figure's release window, the Toys R Us exclusive should be overlooked.  But, surprisingly, I found a lot of good content on this figure out there.  He looks great in photos and, did not the better paint jobs exist, he might have been the best Firefly ever released.   There's lots of fun content b ..read more

We were introduced to Cobra Commander in the early pages of G.I. Joe #1.  At the time, he was wearing his casual hood.  Later, he donned the battle helmet that would become the basis for his first action figure in late 1982.  Two years later, though, kids were graced with a new Cobra Commander, this time wearing the hood.  This figure was only available as a mail away.  But it was available for about a decade.  So, the dealers from the mid 1990's who wanted people to pay a premium for this figure because it was "rare" were taking advantage of naïve collectors.&nbs ..read more

Mutt is a classic character with an iconic look.  In 1992, though, Hasbro created an update for him.  Personally, I think it's a solid update to the character.  And, I find it a nice alternative for Mutt.  Not everyone agrees, of course.  But, that's part of what makes collecting fun. The most interesting thing about this figure is that he is in Slaughter's Marauders colors.  It's a choice that ties this figure to his predecessor.  But, the muted colors allow for this figure to be used in a variety of settings.  And, he's a nice complement to the 1992 Sp ..read more

I have looked at this sculpt for Major Bludd before.  In fact, I have reviewed every single use of the body and head that was ever released anywhere in the world with one exception: the original that started it all.  All of the subsequent derivatives of this Super Sonic Fighters Major Bludd were done up in the classic brown from Major Bludd's debut look in 1983.  But, this 1990's Sonic Bludd brought a new color scheme to the character and updated him to a much more useful and interesting look.  It doesn't hurt that he's also in some very classic Cobra base colors that allow ..read more

We all know that 3 3/4 o-ring Joes have been a retail flop.  Hasbro canned a planned 2 pack and we haven't seen any new packs in a couple of years.  The Transformers crossovers are collecting dust at every retailer who was dumb enough to buy them.  And, Amazon can't give away the Transformers sets for a fraction of the original retail price.  What if, though, the issue with the vintage Joe style is not the 40 year old engineering.  But, instead, it is the property on  which the style is used?   Well, we're about to find out.  Hasbro threw a curve ba ..read more

This weekend is Easter weekend.  For Easter in 1985, my younger brother found Bazooka in his basket.  He found his basket first.  So, I just assumed that I was going to have a Joe as part of my holiday haul.  I was desperately hoping for Flint.  But, when I found my basket, there was no Joe figure in it at all.  I have no recollection of what I did get.  But, it wasn't a Joe and that's all that I remember.  It's been 39 years and I'm still butthurt over it.  I need therapy. It seems that hashtags are now extremely limited.  Which makes it hard ..read more

Back in 2017, I published one of the most popular posts in the history of the site.  It was a write up on a series of late run European Exclusive Spring Loaded Accessory figures.  The figures in the set are incredibly obscure.  And, most of the interest in them stems from carded samples.  You rarely see loose figures offered for sale: mostly because they're not easy to find and sellers usually don't get interest in them since few collectors know of their existence.  The figures are the same as the more common, North American versions.  But, they include many exclu ..read more

Back when this figure was released in 2018, it was quite popular.  And, in very short order, the strong Joe photography community used him in tons of various photos. Now, though, I can't find any of them! Attica Gazette's look at the Desert Version of this Snake Eyes this week brought back the memories when the latest Black Major figures appeared in photos by all the Joe creators of the day.  Now, though, the day of big set pieces and action poses are all but gone.  And, the online Joe photography community has gotten much, much smaller.  It's a sad state of affairs and th ..read more