Ertl 3 3/4" Smokey and the Bandit Figure EAST BOUND AND DOWN !!!!!!

There are some figures I regret never having as a kid, this is one of them. This one I'll admit escaped me until recently. Trolling through eBay, I came across this figure .....

a Die Cast 3 3/4" Bandit figure !

Back in 1982, ERTL produced a figure based on Burt Reynold's character the Bandit from the 1977 movie "Smokey and the Bandit". Its a die cast figure with 4 points (5 if the head moves) of articulation, standard for the time.

A fine looking figure. Decent detail and likeness. As you can see from the package, ages 3 and over can pretend to thwart the law and transport beer across state lines.

The backer is plain but has a nice looking picture of Mr. Reynolds in an advertisement for "Smokey and the Bandit 2" which came out in 1980, 2 years before this figure was released. 

The front of the card states "as seen in Smokey and the Bandit", but the figure is modeled after the jacket wearing Bandit of the sequel, so there must be an assumption that this figure actually represents the sequel. One would think that the front would have been labelled as such ......

Also, I came across a Trans Am that goes with the figure. I cannot confirm anything about it, but it does seem to fit the mold. 

It even has removable T-Tops ! 

The movies themselves were full of adult themes, sexual innuendo and profanity, so why not produce a child's toy to promote it !?! It does seem a bit absurd that ERTL made a toy for an age group that should not have been viewing it, but hell I would have wanted it !!

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This item is not in my personal collection.

Photos taken from eBay @

http://www.ebay.com

Cobra Mercenary Major Bludd GI Joe's First Nightmare !!!

Been on a GI Joe kick lately as it was my all time favorite as a child and still is...

So, here is one of the Bad Guys .... MAJOR BLUDD.

Cobra Operative, published Poet...

....and a damn cool figure too!!

.....and clearly the right arm was armored because of the rocket launchers thrust trail, not a cybernetic arm like I have read a few places!! The gun doesn't stay there too well though.....

Anyway.....I had the Cobra, the Cobra Officer, Cobra Commander (Mickey Version) , but this guy was the first bad guy with a face and personality I could capture. Got him as a mail order when he was first offered, then for some reason, I felt the need to get him again carded and wound up having two. He wasn't a faceless minion, he was a Bad Guy, a personality, a wild card that could give the Joe's a challenge.

I even had him challenge Destro for the Baroness's attention .....and she liked it :)

Sgt. Rock needed bad guys so what should they be called?

How about the BAD GUYS!!

Yeah, I know......someone got paid for that.

Here's Snake!

and Hawk!!

Pretty generic on the name front, but clad in black, loaded with weapons.....why not!!

The card does say enemy of ALL mini action figures so they must have been pretty bad ass!! These two specimens are hangin on the museum wall, encased so that they do not get loose and wreak havoc on the world! Actually, they are pretty cool MOC so I'm leavin em that way. I'll wind up getting some loose ones to display pretty easily.

I had all the Sgt Rock good guys, of the bad, and I have to admit, even though I just spent alot of space rippin them up there, I really liked these figures. Sgt Rock was a cool line to go along with the Joes. The RPGs, machetes, walkie talkies and guns were really cool accessories. They also came with premiums all the time like dog tags and patches. The bunker set and river boat were really cool accessories and they were all compatible with GI Joe!!

Quick aside about Sgt. Rock. When I got the Airborne patch with one of the figures one day I thought it would be cool to put in my wallet and carry around. I was 9 at the time so money and fake IDs weren't on my horizon yet. Anyway, I still have it to this day. I transfer it to each new wallet I get and unless something happens to it, it'll probably be there til I die. I pull it out whenever I get a new wallet, about every two years, and look at it and remember putting it there so long ago :)

I have to remember to tell my wife to throw my wallet in my casket when I die. Don't worry, she'll pull all the money out first :p

Its Pocket Super Heroes Batman nanananannananana!!

In 1979 and 80 Mego produced 3 3/4 versions of everybody's favorite superheroes! Batman was one of the first and WHO didn't have this guy ?!?!

This was a great way to have Batman swoop down, kick Vader in the colostomy bag and run off with Scarlett !! When toy manufacturers started to adopt the 3 3/4 size it was great could you could crossover some of your favorite characters !!

This Batman has a really interesting feature....

 HIS HEAD IS REMOVABLE !! That'll freak out the badguys !!

The best thing is that as a young growing boy he made me feel comfortable with myself...

If Batman could live with that.....unfortunate pose.....well....I could deal with anything :)

OK, Bats...you don't have to flaunt it !!

Gabriel's Legend of the Lone Ranger Figure

I remember the day I got this one. Gabriel made a 3 3/4 version of my childhood hero. The Lone Ranger.

This is an awesome figure!!

Whats not to like. Great detail. Two pistols! HOLSTERS !!

This figure line is so under appreciated for producing an awesome set of figure.....kinda like LJN's Dungeon and Dragons line....but that'll be later.

If you wanted 3 3/4 western figures....this was the line to beat.

I have never seen the movie the toys were associated with (I actually own a VHS version and will watch eventually but I just cant bring myself to it) but I had all the figures and horses. I matched The Lone Ranger against my Legends of the West figures constantly.

 It was a great time to be a kid and into western figures !!

GI Joe Breaker vs. GI joe Breaker.... Breaker, Breaker!!

My first joe.....

It was 1982,  I was at the local K-mart with my mom and saw these gems on the pegs. When my mom said I could get 2, I could barely contain myself. Of course, the first one I picked was Breaker. The real reason was I thought he was GI Joe ( you know the flock haired ones - I was only 9...). I also picked Short-Fuse, he had alot of accessories. It did suck when I realized that I picked 2 that did not have guns, but a couple of stormtrooper blasters fixed that.

Anyway... Breaker was my first. This little piece of plastic started me with an obsession that lasted all my life. The one pictured is the one had and still have from my childhood. I've always kept care of it, made sure he always had a role in my play and was devastated when Marvel killed him, but the fact that they killed off a bunch was a good trade off.

When I saw they remade Breaker in the new line I was excited, went on Ebay and snagged Corporal Breaker.

 Let me just say that I was sorely disappointed.

First the good: Has 2 pistols, detail is nice, holsters for pistols.....
The Bad: Everything! - flimsy, cant stand on its own, hands cant hold the pistols steady,very articulated, but to a point where it compromises playability, the helmet falls off at any bump and the backpack falls off way too easy (and its Flash's for some reason!)

Old school:

New.... falls flat:

You just cant beat the old joes. I recognize that the new line is detail focused and I REALLY appreciate the things like holsters, pistols that are to scale and removable clips and stuff, but it does not overcome its faults. Best thing to do, take the new accessories and apply em to the old ones.

What happens when you have an imagination, lots of toys, but not one that can represent your new interest?? You learn to customize your figures !!

The day I went to the Super Flea and picked up my first Punisher comic I was hooked, but the question was..... " How do I act out the violence that the Punisher inflicts on GI JOE?" First you take Snake Eyes' chest, Flint's arms, Zap's head and I forget where the legs/torso came from and BOOM, a custom Punisher GI JOE !!!

A paint marker makes the skull, red paint for the eye scar (just looked cool) and pencil for the five o'clock shadow. Bib Fortuna would give up his robe so that Punny here could have his trademark overcoat (time has claimed the overcoat and is now lost).

The idea of customizing GI JOES came from a friend. We were playing one day and I noticed he had a few different ones. After asking where these new and previously unknown gems came from he showed me the small screwdriver that could take out that screw recessed in the back. After that, the less popular figures and the ones who would become disabled from finger and crotch damage, you got to admit it sucked bad when the crotch blew out of your favorite JOE or Cobra - OUCH, could be reborn as another character that back then would have never seen the light of day in plastic !!

You, the reader will see that I was not stopped by Hasbro, LJN or any other toy company in my desire for realistic play. If they didn't produce it, I made it. Like many other children from my generation, plastic, paint, a dremel and imagination could create whatever was necessary for the next adventure !!