Ahhhhh.... one of the originals!! Rock n Roll is from the first run of Hasbro's GI Joe line in 1982. Now, I am a big fan of the swivel arm battle grip. It made holding their guns easier and posing them in battle alot more realistic......but I have a thing for these straight arm guys. I got the whole run of '82 GI Joes before my birthday that year and they were all straight arms. Of course a couple thumbs broke so I replaced them with swivel arms cause, as a kid, the more articulation the better. But now whenever I see the straight arm versions it just takes me back to the good Ole days....
Here is Rock n Roll!!
These arms don't swivel!!
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Rock n Roll looks kick ass draped in ammo belts and wielding the awesome M-60!!!
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This is by far one of the coolest Joes made. Back then, the M-60 was the big time machine gun. You could have Rock n Roll lay down suppression fire for his comrades and make Cobra run for the hills! A point of fact though, you can see why the swivel arms would improve this guy. The length of the M-60 makes it difficult to position with the straight arms. I used to overcome that by having him lay the gun on something and use the pivot on the front of the barrel (which I have misplaced and cannot find!) to steady the gun. I never replaced him with swivel arms as his arm construction, ie. thumbs, seemed indestructible!!
Either way this is a kick ass figure !!
I had the straight arm version too...Until I upgraded later on.
ReplyDeleteI waited til a thumb broke before I replaced em....some of them seemed more robust than the others and Rock n Roll was one of em!
DeleteHeck yeah i had one of these years ago!
ReplyDeleteThat first wave has soooooo many memories!!
DeleteAh! One of the very first G.I. Joe figures I ever bought. I remember thinking that his gun and his crossed ammo belts were the coolest things I'd seen on and action figure ever.
ReplyDeleteAwesome write-up, brother!
Thanks even when roadblock came along with the 50 cal I included rock n roll in most missions....he's just cool as hell!
DeleteThe only original-run figure I ever owned was Snake-Eyes. I couldn't figure out why his head just turned left to right when my other Joes could look up and down and all around. The kid who gave him to me explained he was the original Snake Eyes... and I treated that action figure like he was pure gold until my mother threw him away with all the others. :(
ReplyDeleteSooooo many figures are lost to the landfill.......I loved snake eyes but when he became played out I moved on to others.....it just seemed like everyone was into him. I really didnt like the swivel head they weren't compatible with the others for customizing.
DeleteI never got to experience the straight armed JOE's. I got into them in 84. My first JOE was Torpedo. But Rock and Roll looks cool.
ReplyDeleteDan
Thanks. the stRaight arms are nostalgic but the swivel arms are superior for play and display.
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