[jlw515]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Playful

1984 offered so many great toys, that it is difficult for me to choose from this list. So many memories, and we were fortunate to own five of the toys among the options included for this poll.

Easily, the toy we wanted most that year was the Killer W.H.A.L.E. hovercraft, but that just never happened because of the price, which was $17.99 (or $52.25 today when adjusting for inflation). Hasbro had finally created a G.I. Joe toy for this product line which was outside of our family's spending threshold. As kids we would only see that toy in commercial advertisements, and the Cutter action figure remained unavailable to us for that reason.

We had plenty of fun with the Cobra Rattler that year, and the Cobra Water Moccasin too, so it was a good year for us. It wasn't until 2010 that I finally purchased a Killer W.H.A.L.E. toy for my children to play with. They enjoyed it immensely, so I will give it my vote with this poll.

Man, I lucked out that year for Christmas. Back then, my mom worked at the local KMart and they had an "employee night" for Christmas shopping before all the hot Christmas toys were available to the public. That year for Christmas from my parents I received the Killer WHALE, Water Moccasin, and Dragonfly v.2 with the non-tilting guns. Then my uncle took my brother and me to KMart the day after Christmas to spend our "Christmas money" and I found a Rattler and I think some action figures on clearance!

Jason

[DarthBrett]

My one complaint about the Water Moccasin was that it can not float. I always hated that as a kid, as it would just sink or sort of stay half-submerged when I'd place it in my pool with the WHALE to have water battles as a kid.

Still can't decide on which to vote for - WHALE? Water Moccasin? Rattler? Or Stinger?

[jlw515]

Chameleon - I'm probably in the minority here, but I love the Chameleon. I always thought it was a cool design

Cobra A.S.P. - never owned one as a kid, but my friend did, seemed more of an accessory like the Whirlwind

Cobra C.L.A.W.- loved the CLAW as a one-person vehicle

Cobra Rattler- the Rattle was super cool with the rear gunner and all the missiles but small compared to the Skystriker. Wild Weasel is still one of my favorite Cobras though.

Cobra Water Moccasin - cool design, seemed more like a Dreadnok vehicle to me. If it was meant as the "versus" to the WHALE, then I always considered the Moccasin to be a faster boat to make up for the smaller size. Cockpit was tight even for 3-3/4" figures

Killer W.H.A.L.E. - already commented, but probably the best Joe vehicle ever!!

S.H.A.R.C. - Cool concept, dumb design, and the figure was just as dumb. I can't stand vehicles where the figure just lays up or down (like the HAVOC). I've customized one with the seat and controls from an old X-Wing.

Sky Hawk - I actually love the Sky Hawk, especially the modern version. I probably own more Sky Hawks than any other vehicle or my Sky Hawks and AWE Strikers tie.

Slugger - never had one as a kid, I own a Canadian version now. The only interesting thing to me was Thunder.

Stinger - never owned a VAMP or Stinger as a kid, but I loved the concept of the Stinger more than the VAMP. I now own 2 or 3 Stingers/Rattler.

Jason

[DarthBrett]

I still can't pull the trigger and cast my vote! This is effin' hard! lol

[chuck x goren]

For me it was the Slugger. As soon as I saw it in the new 1984 catalog/insert, I was so excited to get it. Something about the free-rolling wheels on a tank, plus the cool driver's cabin with the attached gun. I liked how a figure could be completely inside the cabin, or only waist-deep.

It also reminded me a of an old "Army Men" vehicle that a friend had, circa 1981. It had a big ol' canon, like the Slugger, but had treads. The Slugger felt like something I had wanted since G.I. Joe came out!

I got the Slugger around July 1984 and it was obsessed with it. I went to work with my dad, the next day, and brought it with me. Odd, because I was 10...which is a little old to be carrying around a toy. To be fair, most of my dad's job was driving around, so I wanted something to keep me entertained while in the car. We stopped for lunch, and I remember I hid it under the car seat, so nobody would see this awesome new vehicle and try to break-in!

My second favorite was probably the Rattler. I also liked the ASP and the Stinger, because they were counterparts to existing Joe vehicles (Whirlwind and VAMP, respectively). I had two complaints with the Stinger, though: it only had "four shots" with its missile rack...and it also SQUEAKED. Why I never thought to spray its axels with WD-40 was beyond me (same for my VAMP).

[chuck x goren]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarthBrett

My one complaint about the Water Moccasin was that it can not float. I always hated that as a kid, as it would just sink or sort of stay half-submerged when I'd place it in my pool with the WHALE to have water battles as a kid.

Ha! We used to joke in an advertiser's voice: "It Really Floats!! For awhile."

[SpottedEagleSvn]

WHALE all day for me. I owned most of these, but the WHALE was always a favorite for the variety of features that it had. Honorable mention to the Cobra Claw. It can't compete with any of the higher-end offerings on this poll, but it was a great toy and saw a lot of use.

[Cobra Agent 66]

When's the next one? These are taking too long. I want to see the polls for the dumpster fire vehicles from the late 80's lol...

[CapBritain]

they run for a week, then the decider poll runs for another week.

[DarkLordMordred]

Yeah, any time we have multiple polls (which is pretty much every year after 1982), I run a DEFINITIVE poll, for another week... so, it'll still be several days before 1985 is up.