Ideal Figures and Vehicles Necessary for a Vintage GI Joe Collection.

To honor the guys over at GI Joburg, and with respect to their March 24^th Podcast # 112, I’d like to give my take on the top toys to start a vintage collection.  Keep in mind, of course, this is just my opinion and you are certainly entitled to yours.  I use the word ‘Necessary’ frivolously and I make no judgment on your personal picks and would appreciate any comments on your thoughts on this subject.

Here is the podcast: https://gijoburg.podbean.com/e/gi-joburg-episode-112/

you can also get it on Stitcher and through Apple.  

Full disclosure, I haven’t yet made it through that Joburg podcast episode.  I stopped it in order to give my thoughts before their conclusions could fully affect mine, though I did get part way through.  Furthermore, this subject is timely because I myself have recently started shifting my collecting habits from modern GI Joe/PTE towards obtaining vintage pieces.  I am going to parse through my extensive and incoherent modern collection to decide what does and doesn’t fit.  When I got into the hobby several years back, I pretty much bought everything I could get my hands on.   I now intend to sell of vehicles and figures that I don’t really like nor need in order to free space and capital for other acquisitions.  That said, I don’t have most of what I’m about to list given that I’m still in the beginning phase, so I’ll have to provide a link instead of my own images.  To that end, there is no one better than 3djoes for that purpose.

Now onto the topic:
[EDIT/UPDATE:]  The initial list was very pricey, so for the more costly figures and vehicles, I put in cheaper alternatives.  If you're just getting into Joe collecting, you may not be willing to shell out a lot of cash for some of these toys. 

The proposition presented by Gi Joburg was for each of them to come up with a list of ten GI Joe figures, ten Cobra figures, then five each of GI Joe and Cobra vehicles that they thought were most representative of a ‘proper’ collection of that size.  Nowhere were time periods or priorities defined other than it being part of the vintage line.  Like they did, I’ll start with Figures.

Cobra figures:

1) Cobra commander 1.5 http://www.3djoes.com/cobra-commander-v15.html

Of all the figures most necessary to this activity, I think the most crucial of them all is a Cobra Commander. He is the center of the trouble Cobra creates, making him the point of GI Joe.

I like the classic mirror faced appearance, though there seems to be one dissenter over at Joburg that the hooded version 2 was the more iconic of the two, citing that it seemed more fitting of a cult leader. For me, however, I go the other way. Here is something to try:



Close your eyes and think to yourself. *Cobra Commander*.



What image pops into your head? For me it is the chrome faced Cobra Commander, the field leader  attacking the Joes in battle, however ineptly. Plus, he has an indentation to store his pistol on his back, which is very cool. This is why I choose the original version one as the most iconic to me, and since I like a little more articulation and the straight armed version seems to be a little less expensive, I choose version 1.5.

(Budget Alternative: Battle Armor Cobra Commander v3 http://www.3djoes.com/cobra-commander-v3.html)

Not as classic, but a fine figure geared up for a fight! This one can be had very cheaply, in good condition as I see a lot of v1 examples with bad discoloring. 

2) Destro v1 http://www.3djoes.com/destro.html

What would Cobra Commander be without Destro both supporting him, insulting him, and then undermining him? The Weapons Supplier of Cobra is intrinsic to the internal power struggle within the forces of Cobra. Plus, the original “Chrome Dome” is very cool so I don’t see how he can be overlooked for this list.

(Budget Alternative: http://www.3djoes.com/destro-v2.html)
A little less Gothic Revival Pimp and a little more just plain Gothic.

3) Baroness v1. http://www.3djoes.com/baroness.html

Destro’s beau is ruthless, surreptitious, duplicitous, and provocative. Just like it’s hard to not include Destro as a foil to the Cobra Commander, it doesn’t seem right to deny Destro his perverse relationship with the Baroness.

(Budget Alternative: Major Bludd v1 http://www.3djoes.com/major-bludd.html)
Not the best figure, as I mention below, but he gets a lot of screen time in ARAH.

4) Storm Shadow v1. http://www.3djoes.com/storm-shadow.html

Hasbro’s original ninja may not be as absolutely necessary as the Cobra Commander, Destro, or the Baroness, but as Cobra’s most popular character, I think he still rates as a must. It is hard to find him in a condition that is not all yellowed. I’ve seen a few repros made by Black Major that may be a good option if costs are prohibitive



5) Cobra "The Enemy" v1 (x2) . http://www.3djoes.com/v15-figures.html

Cobra has a strong presence of faceless soldiers waiting to do Cobra’s bidding. So I think it is certainly appropriate to have a few of these hanging around in your collection. They can fill virtually any role in a moment’s notice from jet pilot to sentry guard. Since we are dealing with a limit of only ten figures in this case, I’ll limit it to two Cobra Soldiers. I’d personally like at least four. This choice was between the Cobra blue shirts and the Vipers which fill essentially the same role, and I just preferred the look of the troopers a little more.


6) Eels v2 (x2) http://www.3djoes.com/eels.html

Continuing to build on the Cobra contingent of faceless warrior and granting Cobra the ability to bring the fight under water, I think two of these is a great addition.





7) Firefly v1 http://www.3djoes.com/firefly.html

For a terrorist group, it makes sense to have a dedicated terrorist and saboteur.


8) Dr Mindbender v1. http://www.3djoes.com/dr-mindbender.html

I’m rather surprised I came to this conclusion myself. He was never a favorite of mine, but when I tried to round out Cobra with only ten figures, his inclusion as the last figure was logical given all the weird stuff Cobra was into during the ARAH run. It was down to a choice between him and Major Bludd, and it came down to the question of whether Cobra needed another solider or did it need a creator of large plot devices.



[ADDENDUM]

By the conclusion of this segment on the podcast, it looks like rules as it applied to troops was that only one slot was necessary, even for multiples. Going by those more liberal rules I am afforded two more picks, in which case I’m going to add as my 9th and 10th figures:




9) Tomax and Xamot http://www.3djoes.com/tomax--xamot.html

Okay, maybe it’s cheating to include two figures here, but probably more than any characters you just cannot have one without the other. These odd, psychically linked twins were featured often and their flamboyant acrobatic ways and staggered sentences do grow on you after awhile. I suppose you can justify this two for one by the fact that as a pair, they cost far less than a lot of single figures on this list.

10) Televiper http://www.3djoes.com/tele-vipers.html

This last selection is important for what it leaves out, which I’ll discuss below. Keeping with a collection focusing on having a number of generic types to fulfill roles, the Tele viper does well to fill this collection out. As a sort of utility operator that sits in front of consoles, they specialize in indirect combat, computers, and field communications.

Notable Omissions:

One of the harder things about a Cobra Collection with a limited number of choices is that it is difficult to flesh out all the competing interests and factions within the organization.  You can take ten random Joes even with a bare minimum of leadership and they’ll function well as a group.  The wrong ten Cobra members will at certain times and situations have a lot of trouble doing so with infighting, disagreements, and surreptitiously working against one another.  To that end, here are my notable Cobra figure omissions.

1)      Zartan – a great character and a good figure, his weakness is his dependence and involvement with the Drednoughts, a cadre of ruthless but petty thugs that I was never a big fan of.  I liked some of the figures, but they just left something wanting given the fact that the rest of the organization of Cobra consisted of more professional soldiers.  Including Zartan meant I would be obligated to include Ripper, Buzzer, and Torch.  Too far down the path away from Cobra’s real strength with too many slots, in my opinion. 

2)      Major Bludd – The odd man out on I think all the lists on the podcast, as well as mine.  Bludd’s problem is that he’s just a default field leader for when Cobra needs somebody to go somewhere to do some fighting.  He never had much in the way of synergy with other operatives in the ARAH cartoons I am familiar with.  It doesn’t help that his figure is not that interesting, having only a crummy wrist rocket launcher.  Hasbro managed to make an Aussie with an eyepatch and a robot arm boring.  Maybe if they had given him a proper gun and made his arm interchangeable with B.A.T accessories, he may have been a stronger pick...However, due to his importance and inexpensive cost, I named him to the budget alternative list. 

3)      Snow Serpent.  I really wish I had room for these, but with ten slots you just can’t cover everything.

G.I. Joe Figures

1) Duke v1 http://www.3djoes.com/duke1.html

First thing to do is choosing a field commander and for most it’s a three way race between Hawk, Duke, and Flint. I had a Hawk figure when I was young, one of the few figures I did have (actually, I still have him), but to me Duke was the leader I identified with as a child and so he’s my choice. Yes, he’s a somewhat controversial figure and yes, he was a self-righteous ass (and a bit of a Mary Sue) but he was the guy that made everyone shut up between moments of being a super soldier. There was just a swagger about him in ARAH.



One thing worth noting: there is sort of a venn-styled decision to make between Flint and Duke. Duke often costarred in story arcs with Scarlett, and Flint did so with Lady Jaye. It occurs to me that it was infrequent that there was much more than just passing association between these two couples in the cartoon. Maybe I’m remembering wrong, though

(Budget Alternative v2 Hawk http://www.3djoes.com/hawk-v2.html
Does Duke annoy you? The Joes commander, General Hawk is a great figure and a little less expensive


2) Snake Eyes v2 http://www.3djoes.com/snake-eyes-v2.html

This was a hard choice between version 2 and 1.5. In the end, I bucked my own early ARAH inclinations and opted for ninja commando Snake Eyes, with timber, instead of the original Commando Snake Eyes. It’s a nicer figure as well.
 
(Budget Alternative v1 Flint http://www.3djoes.com/flint.html
The first two versions of Snake Eyes are highly coveted by collectors and therefore, expensive. 

3) Scarlett v 1.5 http://www.3djoes.com/scarlett.html

With Duke and Snake Eyes in, Scarlett completes the love triangle. OK, I’m going to buck with ARAH tradition and put SE and Scarlett together as an item, as it was in the comics. I think it was just a nicer story, and all. Regrettably, this is one of the worst sculpts of the line and Hasbro has always struggled to make something that manages to do her justice, but I have always liked Scarlett as a character, and she is GI Joe’s “First Lady”, so she’s in. This figure is just homely, though.

(Budget Alternative v1 Lady Jaye http://www.3djoes.com/lady-jaye.html
While I'd maintain that Scarlet is a better character, Lady Jaye is a far better figure and the natural counterpart of Flint.  

4) Shipwreck v1 - http://www.3djoes.com/shipwreck.html

GI Joe’s saucy sailor and source of snarky statements (from both him and Poly) add a certain amount of color to the team.

5) Alpine v1 http://www.3djoes.com/alpine.html

6) Bazooka v1 http://www.3djoes.com/bazooka.html

Certainly this is GI Joe’s odd couple. You have a stereotype-breaking African American yodeling mountaineer in Alpine and his very stereotypical dumb jock who can occasionally manage three word sentences. They have a rare sort of chemistry in the cartoons

7) Doc v1 http://www.3djoes.com/doc.html

He’s not anything more than a very reluctant combatant, but it’s nice to have a real doctor in the house.

8) Barbecue http://www.3djoes.com/barbecue.html

I don’t know why, I remember that he got a lot of play during ARAH and a lot of decent lines. You’d figure that a guy who fights fires with an axe would be out of his element a lot, but Barbecue always found a way to be useful.  Plus that orange suit just rocks!

9) Gung Ho v1 http://www.3djoes.com/gung-ho.html

GI Joe’s resident Marine and shirtless tough guy.

10) Roadblock v1 http://www.3djoes.com/roadblock.html

GI Joe’s heavy machine gunner, cook, and king of rhyme, it looks like a good figure that can carry all of its accessories.



Cobra Vehicles:

1) Hiss Tank v1 http://www.3djoes.com/cobra-hiss.html

This is what I believe is the most iconic Cobra vehicle. High on firepower and mobility, short on protection, it can carry four Cobra figures.  There are other versions that offer more features, but none offer the clean lines and proportions of the original. 

2) Cobra Rattler http://www.3djoes.com/cobra-rattler.html

Plus: tons of bombs and accessories, novel place for a second figure. Minus, the turrets firing arcs are limited and the landing struts are ridiculously prone to breakage. I chose this over the Night Raven

(Budget Alternative: Cobra Liquidator http://www.yojoe.com/vehicles/92/liquidator/)
Sometimes not that cheap, but certainly less expensive than the Rattler, yet as a weapon it couldn't hardly be more different.  It's a smaller, less well sculpted jet that is rigged with 4 air-to-air missiles rather than the complete arsenal the Rattler possesses and looks more like a short range fighter than a multi-role jet.

3) Cobra Claw http://www.3djoes.com/cobra-claw.html

This was a race between two other vehicles that could be classified as “personal flight aircraft”: The Fang and the Trouble Bubble. In the end, this one won out because it was the smallest, quickest, and stealthiest.

4) Cobra Moray Hydrofoil http://www.3djoes.com/cobra-hydrofoil-moray.html

This is the absolutely the most awesome Cobra sea vehicle.  Compared to some of the others, it just blows them out of the water (pun).

(Budget Alternative: Cobra Water Moccasin) http://www.3djoes.com/cobra-water-moccasin.html
If the Moray is out of your reach, The Moccasin covers a lot of the same ground (albeit in the water).  It seats two figures and has a foot peg on each side for a total of four. 

5) Cobra BUGG http://www.3djoes.com/cobra-bugg.html

Cobra is known for its oddball designs, and there aren’t much odder than this. To both compliment the Moray Hydrofoil and compete in the underwater realm with the GI Joe Sharc, this Cobra fan favorite is I think, the most proper addition for this last vehicle slot for Cobra.



GI Joe Vehicles

1) Sky Striker http://www.3djoes.com/skystriker-xp-14f.html

The first noticeable thing you see in the A Real American Heroes cartoons is the Sky Striker streaking through the skies, which nicely sets the tone for its status as King of all GI Joe toys. It may not be the biggest, most coveted or feature rich, but it scores highly in all categories.

2) WHALE http://www.3djoes.com/killer-whale.html

Another fan favorite with a lot of capabilities, it is featured on rivers, the shore, and the open sea. It is by reputation a bit fragile, but has tons of play value with all of its features.

3) Sharc http://www.3djoes.com/sharc.html

The standard bearer of versatility and uncompromising implausibility in a line full of odd and implausible things, it is very cool for the very reasons it is unrealistic. A fast, small aircraft that is even more formidable below the water’s surface, this gets a lot of important work in the series.

4) VAMP http://www.3djoes.com/vamp.html

This is your basic Joe transportation and mission vehicle. If you’re in the mood, you can always splurge for the Sears Exclusive that came with a HAL http://www.3djoes.com/vamp--hal.html, or with the Mark II and its better protection and missile capability. http://www.3djoes.com/vamp-mark-ii.html . But for the purposes of this list, I’m going to keep it simple and go with the basic green vehicle with a turret mounted guns.

5) RAM Motorcycle. http://www.3djoes.com/ram.html

With a kickstand and real rubber tires, this serves as an answer to the need for a small, personal vehicle for one Joe to use.



Well, there you have it: my list of items more or less necessary to a basic collection true to the period of GI Joe I was most influenced by: the Original ARAH series. This list was a mix of promoting my favorites as well as striking a balance between each side with figures that were known to interact frequently. I think the biggest flaw in this list is that a lot of the figures themselves run between $40 - $80 or more, and there are several vehicles where the asking price is above $150 complete. This almost defeats the purpose as I’m sure that anyone trying to get into collecting will want to get their feet wet with things far less costly. So I may end up revisiting this under the same rules trying for forge a budget solution.

Anyway, thanks for looking.