Crocs, Raptors & Snakes Oh My!

At the height of its popularity in the 80’s the G.I.Joe A Real American Hero toyline was churning out quite a lot of new characters and action figures every year. The majority of the new characters were Joes of course with just a few slots going to Cobra. And of those few choice slots, half of them were usually new types of army building troopers. We rarely got too many unique individual Cobra characters. That is until 1987, when Hasbro released a quartet of some of the most cooky operatives to ever sign up for Cobra.

I Think I'm Sy-Klone Now

From the very start of the toyline known for numerous action figure gimmicks, the one defining gimmick that almost all Masters of the Universe characters had was the ever reliable “power punch”. It was a pretty simple but effective gimmick really, just wind back the upper body of the figure and let go. With the help of some elastics in the waist, the upper body would snap back into place, and if you had the arms positioned just right, it could create a “power punch” to knock down any unfortunate enemy who would be in the way.

It's A Dreadnok Life For Us

When you are the archenemy of America's daring, highly trained, special mission force, you have got to employ some of the biggest, baddest and in some cases, craziest individuals and characters into your your ranks in order to have a fighting chance. Now if I were in charge of Cobra’s recruitment agency, I’m pretty sure that a biker gang wouldn’t be anywhere near the top of my to wish list of ideal recruits.

Brawny Points

If you took a look at the entire original Autobot toy lineup introduced to us in 1984 and was asked to pick out who you thought was the physically strongest of the bunch (aside from Optimus Prime of course), chances are pretty good, that you would pick the wrong one. With his toy being one of the smallest, the Autobot Brawn would definitely fit the bill of one who is “more than meets the eye”.

The Missing Piece part 2

I know, I know, a collector’s toyshelf will *never* be complete. There will always be something out there that we will *need* to add to the collection. The war can never be won, but we can win little battles here and there. Completing a set, a team or lineup of characters, no matter how big or small will always be satisfying. On the flipside of that is the frustration when the opportunity to complete said team is beyond our control. And all we can do is just wait...and hope. Here are some more “missing pieces” in my collection.

The Missing Piece part 1

When it comes to toy collecting, there is nothing more satisfying and fulfilling than completing a set, a lineup or a team of characters that are meant to go together. Sometimes the gods smile upon us and give us the entire team we want in one swell swoop of a special boxed set. But other times, it can be a slow and drawn out process spanning years of waiting.

Shifting Into Gears

In 1984, a group of alien robots woke up from a billion year slumber to a new home called Earth. This in a nutshell is how the story of the cartoon series The Transformers began. Now while a majority of the Autobot crew took an immediate liking to Earth and it’s inhabitants and welcomed the experience of establishing a new home, a few others weren’t quite as happy.

Mekaneck Phone Home

When I was young I used to have very prominent white horizontal lines around my neck, it made my neck look segmented....like an accordion. Even if you could argue that it was quite a unique feature, it wasn’t very fun growing up with such distinguishing marks. Kids can be mean and I was constantly being compared to a turtle and always being asked to “stretch” out my neck. It got even worse in 1982 when the hit movie E.T. the extra terrestrial came out. If I had a dollar for every time a kid asked me to “phone home” I’d be filthy rich. But it wasn’t until 2 years later when I finally got the nickname that pretty much stuck with me for the rest of my childhood.

Cost Cutting Equals Cash Cow - The O13 part 2

With over 500 unique action figures produced in the G.I.Joe toyline from 1982 to 1994, it would be quite impossible to keep every character relevant in the eyes of fans and collectors. It’s quite natural for certain characters to be easily forgotten. For every Snake Eyes, Duke & Scarlett, there are a whole lot more members of G.I.Joe that don’t get as much recognition. But there is one bunch of Joes that I will never forget, while individually, many of them may seem rather plain, as a unit they will always remain a favorite of mine. And these would be the guys who started it all, the first wave of G.I.Joe figures better known as the Original 13.

Little Green Army Men - The O13 part 1

The G.I.Joe A Real American Hero toyline will always be remembered as one of the most successful lines from the 80’s. From its start in 1982 up until its death in 1994, Hasbro created well over 500 action figures and 250 vehicles & playsets, a feat most other toylines, past or present can only dream of accomplishing. Yet despite all of colorful characters and cool action figures that were produced, I will always hold a special place for the first Joes that made their debut in 1982, the first real American heroes that collectors endearingly refer to as the “Original 13”.

In the End, the Collector Wins – 3rd Party Rundown part 3

Well this took longer than I originally thought, who knew there would be so much to write about? With so many options and toys of even the most obscure characters being produced, there really hasn’t been a better time to be a Transformer collector than now. Anyway enjoy the final part of my 3rd party rundown.