Top Ten 1980s Gi Joe figures

[timberokami]

Hello all,
My girlfriend and I run an 80s toy blog and we want to do the top ten best Joe figures from the 80s, and top ten vehicles.
Our blog is found here:
http://80sarcheologists.blogspot.com/
Its in the vein of American Pickers and Gamechasers.

So I want to write this article but I want feedback from fellow tankers cos I dont want it to be my opinion. So please give me your top tens with a little explanation of why you love it: ie USS Flagg is the #1 greatest Joe vehicle of all time because.....

Thanks so much! We will have new updates this weekend as we like to chronicle the finds and pickups we get over time. Check us out and thanks for any input.

Here is my generic list:

10. Mail Away Duke 1983:
This mail away exclusive rates on this list due to its variety of accessories including flag stickers that added a different level of play-ability to the series.
9. Zartan 1984
Cool applications and heat senors again showed the innovation involved in this line.
8. Crimson Guard Immortal
Real firing projectiles added to the appeal of this classic looking villain.
7. Jinx 1987
This female ninja was one of the best female figures of a very diverse line.
6. FireFly 1984
Nefarious looking villain backed with excellent accessories including a small cell phone that has maintained this characters appeal some 30 years later.
5. Hit and Run Airborne Assault Parachute Pack
Amazing figure with a duffle bag that could hold his knife and completed his paratrooper mountain climber look!
4. B.A.T.s
unique design meets functionality with this dangerous android agent of Cobra lands him on the top 5 of this list.
3./2. Storm Shadow 1984/1987 Tie!
1. Snake Eyes 1985
Complete with Timber this is the definitive Snake Eyes that ever kid of the 1980s wanted to own!

[drunknmunky]

1. Storm Shadow v2
2. Snake Eyes v3
3. Storm Shadow v1
4. Hit and Run
5. Outback
6. Shockwave
7. Zartan
8. Raptor
9. Red Dog
10. Golobulos


Too bad it's only 80s. If you included 90s only about 3 of these figures would make the list.

[spiderpumpkin]

1. Snow Job
2. Torpedo
3. Tripwire
4. BATS
5. EELS
6. Crimson Guard
7. Alley Viper
8. Techno Viper
9. Iron Grenadier
10.Ice Viper

[timberokami]

1. Storm Shadow v2
2. Snake Eyes v3
3. Storm Shadow v1
4. Hit and Run
5. Outback
6. Shockwave
7. Zartan
8. Raptor
9. Red Dog
10. Golobulos


Too bad it's only 80s. If you included 90s only about 3 of these figures would make the list.

1990s are fine too, aslong as its vintage line...

[Pit Viper]

1. Falcon 1987
2. Crimson Guard 1985
3. Clutch 1983
4. Tunnel Rat 1987
5. Storm Shadow 1984
6. Recondo 1984
7. Cobra Officer 1983
8. Cobra Commander 1983
9. Outback 1987
10. Beach Head 1986

I keep second guessing myself but I think this is a general idea of my top 10.

[troublemagnet]

1.Fast Draw
2.Charbroil
3.Cobra Eel
4.Short Fuse
5.Serpentor
6.Technoviper
7.Psyche-Out
8.Cobra Stinger Driver
9.Spirit
10.Low-Light

[Ford]

1. Cobra Commander (battle helmet)
2. Firefly
3. Storm Shadow v.1
4. Snake Eyes v. 2
5. Footloose
6. Destro v. 1
7. Zartan
8. Major Bludd
9. Flint
10. Quick Kick

[Woo-Dig-It]

Wow! That's a tall order! As instructed, mine was based on figure not "character." Just for cool figure effect of the toy. Fun request. Thanks timberokami. Here goes...

(honorable mention: Firefly, Snake Eyes v3, Leatherneck, Gungho, Torpedo, Stalker, Ripcord, Clutch, Beachhead, Roadpig)
10. Repeater- great camo look. tough guy with great looking accessory machine gun.
9. Alley Viper v1- although the bright orange is horrendous, the face shield, sub MG, back back, shield and great mold for this figure still off sets a poor color choice. Later paint jobs of that mold took a great figure even better.
8. Night Viper- dark green trooper with awesome accessories. Monocular and rifle that mounts to leg are awesome!
7. Rock N Roll v2- not one minigun. A PAIR OF MINI GUNS with giant ammo belts feeding from a large ammo pack and bullets on the chest and even on the hat! If that wasn't enough a sweet rifle as a sidearm. Great colors great paint awesome accessories! A win!
6. Snow Job- Early in the line, the 1983 Snow Job had some of the coolest accessories that every kid wanted. Skis, rifle, backpack, and ski poles that you could interchange in many combinations!
5. Breaker- My first figure riding my first vehicle the RAM cycle. Great head mold great colors great commo gear. Army green.
4. Storm Shadow v1- another early figure (1984) with a ton of cool accessories: 2 swords, backpack, bow, numbchucks, one of the coolest villian figures.
3. Snow Serpent- Again the accessories make the figure. Snow showes, backpack, parachute, mortar, submachine gun unlimited possibilities for displaying this figure.
2. Falcon- Great basic army green figure. Great camo and beret. Cool shotgun, commo pack with knife holster. Great look and accessories for a special forces soldier.
1. Flint- one of my personal favorites. Beret, shotgun shells on the chest, just a tough looking action soldier. Yo Joe!

[Woo-Dig-It]

Vehicles- another tall order among so many goodies! Have to do an honorable mention of ones I had to cut.... Honorable mention: Polar Battle Bear, Water Moccasin, Stinger, Night Raven, Condor, and RAM motorcycle.

10. Terror Drome- the only one from my lists that I never owned. Maybe I will someday. Very cool design.
09. HISS Tank. Classic staple enemy vehicle.
08. VAMP MK1- classic good guy jeep. Simple but cool.
07. GI Joe HQ 1983- classic awesome HQ. modular. tons of cool stuff. Vehicles interact with it.
06. Moray Hydrofoil- can hold many figs, has speed and alot of cool weapons and accessories.
05. Killer Whale Hovercraft- tons of small parts. could hold a ton of figures. Launch depth charages, recon sled, recon bike, land troopers, shoot missiles as enemies, what can't it do?
04. Rattler- this enemy jet is not only a fictional take off the A10 but has battle damaged panels, top gun turret, an array of missiles and bombs and it's own variation of the cobra insignia with wings around the cobra. Classic enemy jet!
03. Tomahawk Helicopter- Not only a helicopter but a troop carries with rear ramp, gunnery seats and great tan camo. A hit!
02. Skystriker- 1983 had a ton of cool vehicles and the XP-14F Jet was up there on the list. Retracting wings, parachute seats, looks like it just flew out of the Top Gun movie! (With GI Joe stickers on the side!).
01. Dragonfly Helicopter- Fun fun toy! Two joes inside, two joes outside on the rails, and one figure on the tow cable underneath! Dual chin gun, rail gun, missiles, and the rotors turn when the kid slides the switch. Very good! A staple GI Joe vehicle!!!

[wormser]

raptor is the only figure worth owning

[Loose Cannon]

I like a lot of your list. SE V2 is a definite #1. But SE V1 is really what launched the line and he should make the list IMO. Storm Shadow V1 should probably be #2. He was just as cool and sought after.

3) Zartan Color changing, facemask

4)Duke was big too. (Mail in)

5) Destro v1 had automatic appeal.

6) Baroness (the first Bad Girl action figure? Evil Lyn?)

7) Cobra Commander V1 or V2

8) Crimson Guard V1 (CG Immortal came out in 91 BTW) Cool concept.

9) BATS nuff said (This made the GIJoe fanchise more Sci-Fi)

10) SE V1 this figure launched the brand, although the same could be said about the Cobra Trooper as well.

[timberokami]

These are all great lists, I will probably keep this open for a week or atleast through the weekend. Thanks for all the input so far! I will post somewhat of the averages on here, and then post the article on our blog. I will start with the vehicles next week. Thinking of posting a similar thread on tfw2005 for transformers, but I was always bigger into Joe as a kid and only had a few of transformers as a kid. But, I want my blog to focus on all things 80s toys, comics, and other pop-culture type items. Heres the link again if anyone wants to check it out:
80s Archeologists (http://80sarcheologists.blogspot.com/)

Thanks!

[pryorstemmed]

1. Storm Shadow v1
2. Firefly V1
3. Snake Eyes V2
4. Cobra Commander V1
5. Snake Eyes V1
6. Blowtorch
7. Torpedo
8. Snow Serpent
9. Eels
10. Cobra Officer

[silverfox870]

Too bad Arctic Destro isn't considered vintage. He's super popular.

[silverfox870]

but seriously:
1: Firefly V1
2: Hit and Run
3: Storm Shadow V1
4: Duke V1/Flint V1 whatever your flavor cause its hard to like em both
5: Crimson Guard
6: Outback
7: Recondo
8: Tomax/Xamot
9: Bullhorn (and that badass rifle in a case)
10: EELS

[bassistcarlos]

I'll attempt the vehicles first, it's a shorter list to get through.

10. My personal favorite, the APC. this is one of two vehicles that I wish hasbro would rerelease. A cool truck that actually floated and held over 20 figures. Was also a cool carrying case.
9. The Transportable tactical battle platform. With its' oil rig appearance, and helicopter pad, it was a great was to bridge dios that included land, sea, and air.
8. Tomahawk helicopter. This chinook styled toy was a really decent sized troop transport as well as a gunship; by far the best of the 80's helicopters.
7.mauler M.B.T. The mobat was a cool tank. This was better. Twice the crew space, twice the speed, bigger gun, bigger tank.
6.night raven jet. The skystryker was cool, but this jet kicked it's butt; bigger, faster, more crew, piggyback drone.
5. Killer whale hovercraft. Cobra had some fast and agile boats in the Moray and Water Mocassin, but at least the killer whale could actually float. It carried a decent crew of 9 and did it in style. This was a fun toy.
4. 1983 G.I. Headquarters, with it's heli pad, jail, and room for the vamp and mobat, this was a cool playset that still stands the test of time.
3. The terrordrome. Leave it to cobra to create a base that make Gi Joe look silly. The firebat with avac is just extra salt in the wound.
2. The defiant. Amazing playset and vehicle.definitely gave Gi Joe that futuristic sci-fi vibe that said they were chasing cobra anywhere and everywhere.
1. The U.S.S. Flagg. Anyone reading this list should have been able to guess where it was going to end at. the most awesomest toy ever built, in the history of toys; in my humble opinion. This is the other vehicle I wish hasbro would rerelease. This was my favorite toy as a kid. I spent lots of playtime with this one. Good memories, good times.

5. Killer whale hovercraft.

[Python Viper]

@Timber - You have Crimson Guard Immortal on your list. That one didnt come out until 1991, isnt that too late to make your list?

[timberokami]

@Timber - You have Crimson Guard Immortal on your list. That one didnt come out until 1991, isnt that too late to make your list?

Ya, technically yes. But my list doesnt really count towards the overall results. It was just an example, but overall, if its from the vintage line I'll let it slide if its a figure that came out in say early 1990 etc. Just wanted to make sure it was the vintage line. Another poster let me know that too, just want to make sure its vintage line, thought the list would be 85' heavy. I'm liking alot of these lists! Thanks again!

[CG76]

My Top 11:
1. Serpentor
2. Crimson Guard
3. Cobra Commander
4. Cobra Officer
5. Techno Viper
6. Destro
7. Snow Serpent
8. Ice Viper
9. Night Creeper
10. Viper
11. Tele Viper

[Lt Bear]

This is based on childhood memory since I did not get back into vintage collecting until recently. These are the figures that were my most cherished.
1. Gung Ho: He was the first figure that did not scream regular army. He looked like a bad ass when I was 7. Even though I found out only recently his gun was a grenade launcher it was always a high power shot gun in my world.

2. Outback: Bear Grylis and Les Stroud nothing. Outback was the original survivalist. Awesome gear and gun. Removable flashlight was just icing.

3. Viper: The first figure my mother ever let me have 2 of. She didn't understand the whole troop concept. Finally Cobra had a soldier that looked like they could go toe to toe with the joes.

4. B.A.T. : How cool was the concept of an android when you were 10 or 11. Trap-jaw like attachmments didn't hurt either.

5. Destro (original): How can no one have mentioned him yet?

6. Flash: My very first figure. When everyone else is using bullets an you have a laser that makes you super cool.

7. Torpedo: When your 7 you have no clue what a Navy Seal is, but man having a diver was sweet.

8. Beachhead: Best backpack ever on a kick butt sculpted figure.

9. Leatherneck: Classic M16 with a grenade launcher. What made the gun even more cool was the fact it looked like Arnold's from Predator.

10. Range Viper: his file card made him a badass that evn the toughest JOe would have a hard time with.

[Python Viper]

Vehicles

1. Flagg
2. Defiant
3. Rolling Thunder
4. Skystriker
5. Night Raven
6. Thunder Clap
7. Phantom
8. Equalizer
9. Hiss II
10. Rage

[Sunblow]

These are my favorites:

1. Alley Viper
2. Snake Eyes, v.3
3. Storm Shadow, v.2
4. W.O.R.M.S.
5. Bullhorn
6. Destro, v.2
7. T.A.R.G.A.T.
8. Sci Fi, v.2
9. Shockwave
10. Night Vulture

[timberokami]

Ok, I am trying to shorten the list down a lil from the results. Here are the highest vote getters so far: There are eleven figures with four or more votes:
1. Storm Shadow V1: 8 votes
2. Snake Eyes V2 and Cobra Commander (1983) tie: 5 votes
3. Zartan, Firefly, Storm Shadow V2, BATs, Eels, Crimson Guard, Outback, & Destro: 4 votes

So these will be the top ten G.I. Joe figures of the 1980s as decided by the hisstank readers, with one honorable mention!

[fireflyguy]

Glad to see that my #1 made your list. I think the SS's and SE are good for the list also. I personally liked Doc and Outback back in the day. Also Low-light.

[timberokami]

Alright, here is a blogpost visualizing the results! Hope you guys had fun taking part in some G.I. Joe march madness!

80s Archeologists: Top Ten G.I. Joe figures of the 1980s (http://80sarcheologists.blogspot.com/2012/03/top-ten-gi-joe-figures-of-1980s.html)

[UKJoeCollector]

Sorry accidental post. Please ignore.