G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero 1986 (Hasbro)

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
Hasbro
1986

While it wasn't known at the time, 1986 was the beginning of the end of G.I. Joe - Even though the series continued on for another decade. In this year, Hasbro began what would become a staple in the line. They began repainting figures and re-releasing them in mass abundance, and in various separate subsets. This concept would continue on until the series finally ended. This concept also wouldn't be limited to the figures themselves, and eventually the vehicles got the same treatment.

A total of 32 figures were released in 1986. Seventeen grunts, five Special Missions: Brazil figures, nine vehicle drivers and one new mail away figure.

The seventeen grunts included; B.A.T., Beachhead, Dial-Tone, Dr. Mindbender, General Hawk, Iceberg, Leatherneck, Lifeline, Low-Light, Mainframe, Monkeywrench, Roadblock, Sci-Fi, Viper, Wet Suit, Zandar, and Zarana.

The five Special Missions: Brazil figures - Which were simply repainted figures which had previously been released were; Claymore, Dial-Tone, Leatherneck, Mainframe, and Wet Suit.

Accessory Pack #4, also known as Cobra Battle Gear was released with this series.

The nine vehicle figures which were only available with their respective rides were; A.V.A.C., Cross Country, Lift-Ticket, Motor-Viper, Serpentor, Sgt Slaughter, Slipstream, Strato-Viper, and Thrasher. While not mentioned before, it's worth noting that most vehicle drivers were never available individually on cards. A handful were offered (in repainted formats) here and there, but usually via mail-away offers (I.E. Sgt. Slaughter).

Speaking of mail-away figures. The mail-away figure this year was The Fridge - An actual football star of the 80's.

The 1986 series saw a handful of pretty cool vehicles (for their time). The vehicles included; Air Chariot, Conquest X-30, Devilfish, H.A.V.O.C., Hydro Sled, L.C.V. Recon Sled, Night Raven, STUN, Terror Drome with Firebat, Tomahawk, Triple T, Accessory Pack #4, Dreadnok Air Assault (Sears Exclusive), Dreadnok Ground Assault (Sears Exclusive), Swampfire, Thunder Machine, L.A.W., Outpost Defender, and Surveillance Port.

The Night Raven and Terror Drome would be the most sought after in this set, and today still fetch a pretty penny from collector's looking to complete their sets.

So, where are we at here? Let's see, we're in the 1986 series, and still the Joes outnumber the Cobra's with 65 versus 36. Boy it's a good thing that Cobra had an unlimited amount of soldiers versus lead characters or they'd have been screwed worse than they already were. As far as fire power, the Joes have a whopping 52 as compared to the Cobra's 31. Well, at least the Cobra's got the base again.

But, that about does it for the 1986 year. G.I. Joe dominated the market for many more years to come. I plan on taking you through 1989, but after that our journey through Joe Land will come to an end.

However, before we get there, join me next time when we take a look at another dominating toy line of the 80's which like G.I. Joe is still running strong today. I'm talking about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They're the heroes in a half shell. TURTLE POWER!

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