Over the years we’ve seen plenty of top 10 figure and top 10 vehicle lists, and it seems that in many cases we get pretty used to the choices that appear on those lists. Items like the USS Flagg and the Skystriker are pretty standard fare on those lists. While those are some very neat items, I don’t think they always capture the real spirit of what made G.I. Joe great. Even back in the 80’s, the Real American Hero line was as much about Cobra’s wacky sci-fi tech as it was about the familiar jeeps, tanks, and fighter jets on the Joe side.
Long time G.I. Joe fan RobotsPJs put together a great top ten list of vehicles, and I am loving his choices. Sure there are some familiar faces on there like the VAMP, but there are some other terrific out-of-the-box choices there as well. Some entries that you might not expect, but will likely make you smile when you see them.
Check it out on RobotsPJs here.
With the exception of the Vamp(s) and AWE Striker, notice how the other vehicles/ play sets all have a lot of figure interaction spaces and features?
Good positive read, thanks for pointing it out!
Well, that ties into the famous story of one of the designers’ kids picking up a Star Wars figures and asking what it did. Because they weren’t tied into a license, Joe vehicles could integrate a lot more organic play concepts – even something as simple as tow hooks that allowed vehicles to interact with one another.
The only lines that really trumped Joe for vehicle play value in the 80s were MASK and Transformers, and that was because they were both going with the 2-for-1 concept full bore. But Joe even went some ways down that lane with items like the Dominator.
I’m embarassed to admit, I did not know the Headquarters bay had mounting points for all those vehicles/weapons until I saw this. All good choices, though I don’t agree leaving the Skystriker or Rattler off the list. All these lists should be labelled “MY Top Ten…” unless someone actually surveyed other fans.
You’re not alone in not knowing about the HQ’s mounts, I had an HQ for most of my life, and even after finally getting many of those tow vehicles, I never made the connection…., well, until AFTER I sold them and never got to try them out 🙁 .
That’s a pretty cool list. It’s so hard to pick ten but I mostly agree with the lineup. I might replace a couple with the Raider and the Retaliatior though. Those are both really cool vehicles with a lot of fun play value.
I’ll always love the Rolling Thunder since it was my “big gun” vehicle. And while those weren’t full-on ICBMs, they sure as hell resembled MIRV nukes.