Cobra Rifle Range Part 2 (I Got A Box!)

I ended up getting a box for my 100% complete Cobra Rifle Range.  Like I mentioned before, I love the box art.  Just not enough to buy an unopened one at $150 or whatever they are going for these days.  

So my box came with a few pieces of the rifle range.  2 targets but only 1 sandbag, rifle rack, firing embankment, and instructions.  I took the incomplete set out of the box and set it aside for a rainy day.    

And put my 100% complete Cobra Rifle Range in the box.  It feels good completing something.  Sure, it's not unopened so my Rifle Range isn't magically worth $150 now.  But it's a complete set, box and all.  

Plus I get to look at the great box art!

Anyway, my complete set with newly acquired box.  It looks good, doesn't it?

Happy Hump Day!

Official Price Guide To Action Figures (2nd Edition)

The Official Price Guide To Action Figures (OPGAF) is a very useful book, particularly if you're interested in older toys.  The book was published in 1999 so it is a bit dated.  But it doesn't matter.  It's still a great resource. 

Obliviously the prices are out-of-date.  But if you wanted to know the entire lineup of heroes and villains for LJN's Bionic Six, this book has you covered.  It includes all the vehicles and play sets as well.

For a collector like myself who wants to collect some of the more obscure toy lines, this book is invaluable.

 As mentioned in a previous post, there are not a lot of Bionic Six toys on Ebay.  So without OPGAF, it would be hard for me to figure out what I was missing.  As for the prices, just check out the market.  Honestly, that's the way it is with any price guide.  The market dictates the price, period. Not some book.

So yeah, if you're wanting a true price guide, OPGAF is not for you.  But if you're wanting an encyclopedia of pre-2000 toys, man, this book is IT! 

It really has everything.  From Laverne & Shirley (Mego) to The Tick (BanDai).  All the Gi Joes are listed as well as playsets and vehicles (there is a better GI JOE ARAH book out there, but that's a post for another day).  Kenner's Super Powers, Mattel's Secret Wars, Toy Biz's Marvel and Xmen.

The big lines as well as the smaller ones.  I learned about Tyco's Cadillacs & Dinosaurs from this book. 


The best part?  Getting a used copy is pretty cheap!  I got my copy for around $5 earlier this year.  If you're interested, look around on Amazon for a cheap copy (link to book on Amazon).  Well, that's my review.  Special thanks to Shipwreck and Polly for livening things up.  Hope you enjoyed it.  Book It!  Get yourself a pizza! 

Pros: cheap on secondary market
         vast amount of info (pre-2000)
         well written summaries

Cons: outdated
          black & white photographs   

 

Bionic Six (LJN)

photo @4tolld46

The Bionic Six was an animated tv show that aired in the late '80s.  According to good old Wikipedia, the good guys (the Bennett Family) are augmented with bionics.  The bad guys (lead by Dr. Scarab) want to steal the bionic technology.  While the show lasted a couple of years, the toy line from LJN did not.  Only one wave of toys were released.

I never watched the show (wish I had).  But I did play with the toys, which were pretty cool.  The figures are made with die-cast metal and plastic (the plastic to highlight the bionic features).  My next door neighbor had them (her family had ALL the toys, for real) so I played with the Bionic Six figures a lot.

Like I always say, I love it when toys are the same size.  Neither me or my neighbor watched the show, but it didn't matter.  Meg from Bionic Six could play with Darth Vader (Kenner) who could play with Gung Ho (Hasbro).  Everyone could fit in each others vehicles.  It was an action figure party!  The 80's were good times.

photo @lisasgrandma

I had forgotten about the toys until I re-read one of my old Toyfare Magazines from 2002.  (I loved Toyfare the Magazine and re-read my old issues.  Yes, I'm a dork.) 

Toyfare (always a publication filled with sophisticated humor) had a little scene/skit thingy and I was like, I remember playing with those!  So now I want to collect them.

There aren't a whole lot of Bionic Six toys on Ebay right now.  But I might get lucky.  You never know.  Well, what about you?  Did you get anything cool over the weekend?  

You're The Best (Remco's Karate Kid)

I I've wanted Karate Kid toys since I was a little kid.  I grew up in Hawaii and Hawaii never got the Remco Karate Kid toys as far as I can tell. 

Of course there were a lot of other things that Hawaii didn't get back in the 1980s.  Cinnamon Tic-Tacs.  Toys R Us (we'd finally get one in the 90's).  Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers (had one in 82-83 - went out of business).  The list could go on and on.   

Anyway, I knew about the Karate Kid toys because of a magazine ad.  I don't think it was the same ad as the one pictured, but it was similar. 

It was tough being a kid and knowing that cool toys existed somewhere in the world but not where you lived (and also juicy hamburgers from Wendy's since we got commercials for that too).      

Alas, I no longer live in Hawaii.  Now there's a Wendy's five minutes from my house, a Toys R Us about 20 minutes away, and Cinnamon Tic-Tacs?  Do they even make that anymore?

But I'm still missing out on my Karate Kid toys. 

photo@vintagetenniscans

An unopened Daniel with shelf wear will set you back around $100-$150.  That's a lot of Junior Bacon Cheeseburgers! (Thank you, Dave Thomas.)      

photo@718tgambino

A Mr. Miyagi MOC is just as pricey.

Fun story: I once saw Pat Morita, the actor who played Mr. Miyagi.  We were on the same plane going to the West Coast.  I was just a little kid so I didn't ask for an autograph but I remember being in awe.

Anyway, because of something called the internet, I could get the toys now.  But the prices are too high, man.  Ten years ago, I wanted to start collecting Karate Kid toys.  And the prices were too high even back then.  If I could go back in time and get the toys, I would.  But if I had a time machine purely for toy collecting, I'm sure I could get better/more valuable toys (1977 Star Wars toys, you are coming with me!).  Some things aren't meant to be.  Oh well.  I'll always have the movie to enjoy.  Joe Esposito, take us to the break with your famous Karate Kid song,  "You're The Best".  Mahalo.  

Happy Hump Day!

The Terminatduh/photo @NoDuhToys

Don't talk to strange robots on a Wednesday.  Posing as the Terminatduh is Funko Mini figurine, Robby the Robot.  And Sarah Connor?  Say no to candy grams.  It's a trap!

Quarrel (Undercover Scarlett)

I'm borrowing the photo below from fellow blogger, Jon, and hope he doesn't mind.  He does the awesome blog, Toys and Bacon.  He might be semi-retired from blogging now (only 2 posts for 2015) but his archived posts are a good read.  I'd recommend The 100 Best G.I. Joe Figures and The Top 10 Female Action Figures Of The 80's.  

Photo by Jon @Toys and Bacon

Anyway, who's Quarrel?  Quarrel is basically a repainted Scarlett who was sold under the Action Force label.  Action Force was popular in Europe and the UK and at some point, Palitoy (makers of AF) started repackaging and repainting GI Joes (ARAH) to sell under their brand.  Some figures, like the Firefly I mentioned before, remained true to the US version and the only difference is the cardback.  Others, like the repainted Scarlett, became new characters.

photo @*room237/ebay.co.uk

This is Quarrel's file card from YoJoe.com:  

File Name: Pulver, Hedda L.
Birthplace: Interlaken, Switzerland
Primary Specialty: Commando
Secondary Specialty: Undercover Operations

Diplomat's daughter, early years spent in Japan.  Martial arts expert.  All round sportswomen and competes in British Motorcycle Championship.  Graduated Action Force undercover ops School, advanced unarmed combat school, top of class.  Specialty Action Force modified crossbow, Shaken (throwing stars) and Cantonese Butterfly knives:
"Quarrel is normally passive but explodes into violent action at any moment. Drives anything that moves."

 

photo @*room237/ebay.co.uk

Quarrel is very rare on the secondary market.  I found two auctions for the loose figure and one auction with Quarrel (broken crotch) and Z-Force Rapid Fire Motorcycle (also broken).  I switched to UK's Ebay (ebay.co.uk) and only found four auctions (though all of the British auctions included both Quarrel and motorcycle).

What does this mean?  Well, for one, it is a rarer figure.  So obviously I want one.  And two, Quarrel is a deadly, Evel Knievel, ninja type person.  Sounds like my kind of woman!

Again, thanks to Jon at Toys and Bacon for the image and his great blog.  It's where I first learned about Quarrel's existence.  

Welcome Back, Barricade

I took about 10 years off from toy collecting as mentioned in my first No Duh post.  When I decided to come back to the Dark Side, I made a decision to only collect high quality stuff.  Not necessarily the rarest or most valuable, but toys that were in good condition both inside and out.  No torn cardbacks for the most part.  Pictured below is the first toy I collected since returning to the hobby, GI Joe's Barricade MOC from 1992.  

It's a dandy.  No scuffs on the card.  Crisp corners.  Clear plastic bubble.  The card is flat as a pancake.  It's about as mint as mint can be.  I think it would definitely grade as AFA 85.  Maybe even AFA 90.

Of course I'm not a professional grader or anything.  But I'm super pleased with it.  And obliviously, since my re-introduction to toy collecting went smoothly, I took it as an encouraging sign to continue.  On a related note, my bank account cries itself to sleep at night.

Also encouraging was the fact that standard MOC GI Joes from 82-94 can use the Protech Star Case 1.  There are a lot of Star Cases on ebay and its pretty affordable.  They go for about $2.50 each (used, not new). Vintage Kenner Star Wars will also fit in the Star Case so you can get a bunch of cases and protect away. 

So yeah, I'm pleased with my return to the Dark Side.  I actually used to have Barricade when I was a kid.  I remember getting him new from the store and thought he looked like a cool version of Iron Man.  And since he was the same scale as my Star Wars figures and vehicles (the Millenium Falcon had a new pilot, baby!), he was one of my favorites.



Title inspired by the theme song to Welcome Back, Kotter, the show that introduced John Travolta to the world.  I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing.  On that note, have a good Monday!     
 

Funskool GI Joes From Russia...With Love?

So me and Jay (he's my friend from work) decided to go halves on a case of 24 Funskool GI Joes MOC.  Starting bid for the auction was only $29.00 with a BIN of $39.00.  Sounds too good to be true, right?  What's the catch? 

photo @2014uskapra

The catch is the high shipping cost of $99.99.  The seller lives in Russia (Stavropol to be exact). 

Jay and I had both looked at the seller's auctions before.  Same deal: 24 figures, high shipping costs.  I guess the guy has a crap load of Funskool GI Joes sitting around. 

Anyway, a hundred bucks is a lot to pay for shipping but the combined price of everything isn't too bad when you divide it by 24.  It comes out to $5.37 per figure.  And the seller has received positive feedback from other buyers who bought the previous Funskool auctions.  So it might be a great deal once everything is said and done.  We'll have to wait and see. 

photo @2014uskapra

Assuming we're not swindled, Jay will get 12 and I'll get 12.  How will we figure out who gets what?  It'll be a fight to the death for the choice figures!  Nah, just kidding.  We'll do a draft setup where he'll take one and I'll take one.  It should be cool.  Stay tuned.  You know I'll keep you posted.       

Lynx (Slaughter's Marauders)

I was super excited the night I won the Lynx Vehicle.  The seller didn't have many pictures, but the description sounded great and I felt like I won the auction at a pretty good price.  But was it truly a good deal?  Only time would tell if I got a lemon or a.....huge pile of gold! (what's the opposite of lemons, anyway?)

 Thankfully, I got the gold!

Inside the slightly battered box was a brand new, never played with, Lynx vehicle!  It was still in the factory sealed baggies!!!  The seller never mentioned it being factory sealed.  I was ecstatic.

I've never left better feedback for anyone in my life.  I ran out of characters while leaving feedback.  I guess I was prepared to write a novel of praise for the seller.  Oh well.  I greatly appreciated it.  Hopefully that was conveyed in the limited space Ebay provided for feedback.   

So yeah, I've got a super cool vehicle!  And an Equalizer tank on the way too!  Of course the Equalizer is just a shell now.  No where near as complete as my Lynx.  But that's a different project for a different day.  So there you have it, folks.  My Lynx vehicle! 

Happy Hump Day!

Pictured for your Wednesday enjoyment is Law (1987) with MP Helmet.  He is missing the Uzi 9mm, MP Truncheon, Leash, and of course, his faithful companion, Order (the German Shepherd).  As is, he is going for around $3 on Ebay.  You'll pay a bit more for a 100% complete Law & Order.

Anyway, kick up your feet.  Relax for a moment.  It's Hump Day! 

We Didn't Start The Firefly (Cobra Saboteur)

I really liked Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire back when I was a kid.  It had a catchy beat, good intro, and a history lesson disguised as lyrics.  But for whatever reason, I grew tired of the song.  Probably overplayed it on my Walkman.  Here's a Link if you'd like to hear the song.  

Nowadays I'm more interested in Firefly, the Cobra Saboteur from the GI Joe toyline.  From his file card:

US Firefly/photo @ezzmoney123

   "No one knows what Firefly's real name is or what he looks like.  He is known by his work.  Expert in all NATO and Warsaw Pact explosives and detonators.  Always places his charges in the one place that affords maximum damage.  There is no question about his infiltration skills since no one has ever reported seeing him enter or leave any target area.
      Even Cobra Commander doesn't know much about Firefly.  His fees are paid into a numbered Swiss bank account and are always payable in advance.  He makes no guarantees and gives no refunds." 








That's right.  He's a real bad ass.  I'm not sure why but trying to get him MOC is a pricey proposition.  In other words, he's out of my price range.  Add him to the list along with the 1977 Luke Skywalker.  Not saying that I won't get a Firefly MOC some day.  But he'll definitely take a chuck out of my bank account.  No matter what country his toy is from.  Yup, Firefly is multi-national and pricey, no matter the language.

UK/Europe Firefly/photo @lees_toy_review

This is the Action Force Firefly.  GI Joes were released in the UK and other European countries as Action Force and Action Man in the early days of ARAH.  You can nab an Action Force Firefly unopened for around $200-$250 on ebay.  This is cheap compared to the US carded version which goes for around $350-$400.

Another country that produced it's own packaging for GI Joe was Japan.  If you've read this blog before, you know that I'm a huge fan of Takara GI Joe MOC.  I love the card art.  I love the Japanese characters.  I love the character diorama on the back.  Again, I'm a HUGE fan.  But this post isn't about how I'm in love with Takara Joes.  It's about how pricey Firefly is.  So I'll stop rambling. 

There are only 2 Takara Firefire MOC listed on Ebay as of Sunday.  Both are BIN with prices of $249.99 and $225. 

Not cheap at all.  But again, cheaper than the US version.  Cost-wise, if I got a Firefly, it would probably be a foreign one.  And since I love the Takara line so much, there are good odds that I'd choose the Japanese one. 

What do you think about this Firefly nonsense?  Too pricey?  Or a worthy investment?  Speaking of worthy investments, anyone have a '77 Luke MOC that they want to give me?  I'll give you a Michael Jordan POG in return.      

Kim Arashikage (White Jinx) SDCC Exclusive

I stand by what I wrote in this previous post.  I think Kim Arashikage (White Jinx variant) is hot.  For a toy, I mean.

What's not to like?  Beautiful face, athletic body, razor sharp swords.  My kind of woman!

I've been wanting to add both the Red and White Jinx SDCC figures to my collection.  Haven't accomplished that yet.  But I will.  I watched two separate Jinx auctions this weekend (one red & one white).  Both ended at around $45 a piece.  I think I can do better than that.  At least I hope I can.

However I did add a loose 1987 Jinx to my collection over the weekend.  It's 100% complete.  Haven't gotten it yet.  But I'll probably post something when it arrives.  Did you add anything to your collection over the weekend?  Was it as beautiful as the SDCC White Jinx variant?  If so, be careful!  Mother-in-law jokes and sharp swords do not mix. 

I Won This Auction...

I won a tank!  Look out, bad guys!  Here comes the Third Shift Crusader!

photo @cvejkus

Okay, so it's a plastic toy tank.  And maybe I need to work on my super hero name.  Just thought of a good one though.  Batman!  You think that's taken?

Anyway, I just won this Slaughter's Marauders tank, the Equalizer.  Got it for $0.99 plus shipping.  Cheap price, but it's very incomplete.  Basically just a shell.  So I'm looking at it as a project.  Hopefully I can add pieces to it from time-to-time.  Get a part or two for the right price.  And one day have a 100% complete Equalizer that I put together myself.  I like how that sounds.  Something about working with your hands that makes a person feel useful.

Any thoughts on the project?  Think it'll be too difficult to get it 100% complete?        

This Week On Ebay...

I was browsing through Ebay this week and looked at some of the usual stuff like GI Joes, more GI Joes and even more GI Joes (I collect other things too, I think).  On occasion, my search spirals out of control and I end up somewhere weird and unusual - that Porky Pig in Wackyland kind of moment.  This was one of those times.  Let's start at the beginning.      

Photo @ gdesignr

I'd been wanting a Cobra Rifle Range (1985) for awhile now.  So I searched.  Lots of loose sets available from 100% complete to varying degrees of incompleteness.  The loose sets, even 100% complete, aren't super pricey at the moment so I picked one up.

Pictured on the left is the one I'm getting.  It's 100% complete.  The bunker, 2 targets and sandbags, 3 rifles, rifle rack, caution sign, 2 figure stands, plus the instructions.  Not a bad deal for around $12.      




 

Photo @ m.collectablz

Since the loose sets were so affordable, I searched for Cobra Rifle Ranges, Mint-In-Box (MIB).

Talk about a slap in the face.

Unopened Rifle Ranges are very scarce and command a much higher value.  I love the box art but it's definitely NOT cheap at around $150.  So you can add that to the list of things I'm not getting anytime soon.  You know, along with a 1977 Luke Skywalker MOC.  But if you've got 10 grand to spare, here's the Star Wars auction for you.    

Discouraged by the high cost of a MIB Cobra Rifle Range, I searched for a loose vintage Jinx figure to add to my collection.

Slightly off topic but does anyone else think the SDCC White Jinx - Kim Arashikage look hot? (Not pictured unfortunately.)  Anyone?  No one?  Ah, forget I mentioned it.

So anyway, I found this cool graded Jinx.  I knew AFA graded loose and carded action figures.  But I hadn't searched loose graded figures before.  I think it's neat how everything is secured in the graded case.  Even the accessories are "pinned" up.   Very cool, but graded stuff isn't cheap so we're moving on...


  ...to the stranger stuff.  My Jinx search led me to an auction for 1/18 scale custom Playboy magazine featuring Jinx as the covergirl.  

photo @ 87spuds

The 1/18 magazine has real working pages (mostly blank).  But there are a few actual pages with nudity pics.  Pictured above is the Lady Jaye edition.  I didn't really like the Jinx one.  Looked washed out.  And the Lady Jaye cover looked more respectable while still maintaining a Playboy shock effect.  I've got a project in mind for this blog so I bought one of the Lady Jaye custom Playboys.  Only for the, uh, articles.     

photo @ wholesale_diecast_models

 The Playboy got me thinking about 1/18 scale, which is the same scale for GI Joes (ARAH).  This led 
led me to a 1/18 scale Ford Thunderbird convertible.

This is a sweet diecast car with drool worthy details and shiny chrome all over.

Yes, I pictured GI Joe figures riding in the T-Bird.  Duke would be driving and Shipwreck riding shotgun.  Gung Ho and Sgt. Slaughter in the back.  The new Happy Days.  I'd watch it.

The T-Bird was just expensive enough that I didn't get it since I'd read that some Joes can't fit in a 1/18 scale vehicle.  Yup, other people think of doing the same crap as me.  They wrote that 1/16 works for Joes but that search only turned up 1/16 scaled farm equipment.  Snake Eyes on a tractor.  Oh boy!


Lastly, I don't quite remember how I stumbled upon these two figurines.  Maybe some combination of Jinx and Playboy or maybe the gremlins inside Ebay's search engine were having some fun. 

photo @ koleso884

The auction stated that they were unpainted resin figures of Girl Woman Soldiers but I've never seen soldiers like that before.  Kind of scantily clad for a Stormtrooper, if you know what I mean.  The figure on the left with the assault rifle doesn't seem too bad.  Not too risque.  Could be a survivor out of the Walking Dead or something.  The figure on the right is quite naked with only a jacket, hat, and boots for clothing.  I guess that's what makes her a soldier.  Since she's going commando and all.

That's it, folks.  Last bad joke of the day.  Aloha.      

Cadillacs And Dinosaurs

There are toys that I want to collect rather seriously like the GI Joe ARAH line (both foreign and domestic, carded and loose), and eventually the Super Powers line, Secret Wars, TMNT, and Toy Biz's Xmen from the early 90's.  The original Star Wars line if I win the lottery.  The list could go on and on.  But for the most part, I want to collect stuff from my childhood.  

On the other hand, sometimes I want to collect toys that are kind of random and have no meaning or nostalgia for me.  You know, toys that just seem cool.

That's what I'm doing with Tyco's Cadillacs & Dinosaurs, a show that lasted one season in 1993 before going extinct like the..........wait for it.............dodo bird.  (Ha!  Bet you thought I was going to write dinosaurs.)
  
 

   
Anyway, it's kind of shocking that a show featuring Cadillacs and dinosaurs couldn't last longer than a year.  It sounds like a money maker to me.  Kids like cool cars.  Kids like dinosaurs.  You mix the two together and what do you get?  Obliviously a dud if you are Cadillacs & Dinosaurs.  But I love the idea of it.  Even if I never watched the show.     

Maybe the show sucked.  Maybe it couldn't hold a candle to the popular cartoons of the day like X-Men and Batman the Animated Series.  But they had some cool toys.  The figures could be better since they lack enough articulation (they can sit and move their arms--woo hoo).  But the vehicles are awesome!  And I think Tyco would have really hit their stride with a second wave since they would have had a better idea of the show and characters.  Toymakers start on the first wave before the show comes out and have to rely on photos and a description to create the initial toy line.  Think Kenner's Blue Snaggletooth of the Cantina Playset. 

It's a shame the show got canceled.  Because the toy line definitely had potential.  But that's the best part about collecting a random and obscure toy line.  Prices are not sky high like the popular stuff.  I'm looking at you, Vintage Star Wars and early-to-late 80's GI Joe.  

I added Jack Tenrec's Cadillac, Mint In Sealed Box (MISB), for a little over $20.  The box is super nice, nearly perfect.  The edges are sharp, man, like the fins of 1950's Caddy.  Very sweet deal.  Very awesome toy car.  

And that's the point.  You can't get that kind of value from the popular toy lines.  Not unless you rob somebody (DISCLAIMER: Jail is not fun; don't rob anybody).

Happy Hump Day!

I'm an adult.  Never a good sign to start a post with that disclaimer, I'd bet. 

Anyway, I can't help but snicker whenever I hear Wednesday called Hump Day.  I know--Wednesday is here; we are getting over the week long hump; soon it will be the glorious weekend...yada yada yada.  I know what it means but the child in me can't get over the word hump.  For me, it was the first word I associated with SEX.  Ex. Timmy walked into his parent's bedroom and saw them humping.  Humping.  What a funny word.  Anyway, happy hump day! 

Here's a picture of Captain Malcolm Reynolds to help get you over the hump. 

Funko Mini Mystery Sci-Fi Malcom Reynolds - Photo Courtesy of Me

Book It!

Any kid of the 80's remembers the Book It! program where you were rewarded with free personal pan pizzas from Pizza Hut just for reading books.  Man, just thinking about it makes me hungry for a personal pan pizza.  I always felt they tasted better than a regular old medium or large.  Perhaps it was the magic of having that whole little pie all to myself.  Or maybe the crust soaked up more flavor (grease) in a condensed pan.  Maybe the difference in taste was all in my head.  But regardless, I think most would agree that getting free pizza just for reading some books was a pretty sweet deal.  Anyway, that's the back story behind Book It!

Now my story.  I'm going to start a series about books about toys and call it Book It!  I'll cover guide books and that sort of thing, write a little review and have some pictures.  Maybe include a snarky comment or two.  So keep an eye out for the new programming in the coming days/weeks/months.

Some other series that I'm thinking about doing are I Won This Auction... which I've done twice now, Price Check, and maybe a series called This Week On Ebay.

Price Check and This Week... could be merged but I'm imagining wacky and zany things on the latter while the former is mostly cut and dry with current market prices on toys.  Maybe I'm trying to get too clever with it.  Anyway, you read this post.  Cowabunga.  Now get yourself a pizza!   

Turning Japanese (Takara GI Joes)

"Turning Japanese" was a hit single released by the Vapors in 1980.  You can listen to their song here on youtube if it strikes your fancy.  The rest of this post doesn't have anything to do with the Vapors and their song that is rumored to be about self-pleasure.  Sorry to have wasted your time, Vapors fans.  

I was trying to think of a clever title for my post about the Takara GI Joes (which are awesome!).  They are so awesome, it's taken me a couple of weeks to do this post because I wanted to get it right.  I added a Takara Roadblock MOC to my collection in recent weeks.  I've won a few more on Ebay yesterday so I can't drag my feet any longer.   

Here is my somewhat newly acquired Roadblock: 

I love how:
     -the colorful artwork jumps out at you
     -the card is written in Japanese
     -inside the bubble, it's the same old Roadblock you know and love

The Takara GI Joes are cool.  I can't say enough about how much I really dig them.  But I'm rambling and I'm sure you'd rather not read my sweet-nothings about my Japanese Roadblock.  

Anyway, the paragraph below is copied from the great YoJoe.com (here is the link if you want to check it out):

"In 1986, Hasbro released 24 GI Joe action figures in Japan.  For their release in Japan, they were repackaged in bright cardbacks with descriptions in Japanese.  GI Joe figures were relased with blue cardbacks, while Cobra figures were released with red cardbacks.  The figures themselves are exactly like the ones released in the United States, except for a few Japanese exclusive versions of Duke..."

So yeah, the Takara GI Joes are the same as the original A Real American Hero (ARAH) action figures.  It's a cheaper way to add original, unopened action figures of some of the pricier Joes.  Sure, the cardback is different.  But the figure inside is just like the one you played with as a kid.  Can't afford a MOC original Shipwreck?  You might be able to afford the Takara version.  The costs are going up but they're nowhere near the prices the original United States Joes can command.     


As an added bonus, it is easy to protect your collection.  If you already use protective cases like the Protech Star Case 1 for your regular figures, the Takara cardbacks are the same size as the U.S. cardbacks (unlike the carded Chinese GI Joes but that's a complaint for another time).


In closing, I think Takara GI Joes are awesome to the max.  My collection is slowly Turning Japanese.  (Ha! Tied in the title!  I should get bonus points or something, right?)