Snoova's Top 10: G.I. JOE VEHICLES

    This time for the Top 10 we are going to go a different route and consider the vehicles of the G.I. Joe Team.  The vehicle-side of G.I. Joe is always interesting.  As kids, maybe we could buy a figure with our allowance or talk our parents into getting one.  If we didn't have the figure, usually we knew someone that had it.  For the most part, the figures were all in our grasp.   

    The vehicles though... that was different.  These were not as accessible because of the higher price ranges.  There were a few we could find that were affordable, but usually it was a birthday or Christmas wish to get these.  Sometimes you could save up your allowance or do a big job and get paid rather well and then nab one.  It always seemed hit and miss on what we could be lucky enough to score.  I know most of my favorite vehicle picks are simply because I owned it and have memories of it.

    So looking over the entire G.I. Joe line's many, many vehicles... which 10 do I think are the best...?  As usual, we are going to go in chronological order of release.  So let's see what we got...

1.)  Amphibious Personnel Carrier (APC), Series 2, 1983

    I remember getting this vehicle for my birthday from my grandparents.  It was cool but I remember being a little disappointed at first because it didn't have a figure and didn't appear to have a lot going on.  After opening it though, I quickly realized how cool this vehicle was!  In addition to looking great and carrying a ton of figures - it could really float!  This vehicle found it's way into SO many battles.  I used Clutch as my driver (my VAMP was in rough shape by that time anyway).  Occasionally, I took a cue from the comics and removed the camo tarp and used it without it.  

    The APC also served as my #1 method for taking figures to my friends' houses. Until my collection got too big, that is...

2.)  Killer WHALE (hovercraft), Series 3, 1984

    I got this for Christmas one year and I was over the moon about it!  This vehicle already oozed with awesomeness simply by all it's appearances in both the comic and cartoon.  It was loaded with weapons, you could transport several Joes in it, it could float, it had an awesome driver - Cutter... and that's just the beginning!!!  There are so many great features about this vehicle - it boggles the mind!  Hasbro went all-out on this one!!!

    The same Christmas I got the WHALE, I also got the Flamethrower PAC-Rat.  So I remember storing the PAC-Rat inside the hovercraft till the Joes needed some extra firepower.  My WHALE also went head-to-head with the smaller Cobra Water Moccasin quite often.  And of course, for more fun you could follow the comics and have Cobra steal it!  

3.)  AWE Striker, Series 4, 1985

    The VAMP jeep was one of my first Joe vehicles ever, and it was great.  But the AWE-Striker dune-buggy was even better!  It just looks rugged and fast.  Like there isn't much terrain this thing couldn't conquer!  It is a Joe vehicle I would love to actually drive!  The toy had the unique feature of the wheel suspension and the bonus of a great driver - Crankcase!

    I think one reason I am drawn to this vehicle is, and hang with me here... didn't both the movies Megaforce and Delta Force have military dune-buggies?  I mean, the look was very different, but the idea was the same...  Anyways, I have always thought dune-buggies were cool... put a cannon on top - even better!

4.)  Snow Cat, Series 4, 1985

    In 1985, Cobra got it's first snow trooper army builder figures - the Snow Serpents.  Snow Job is going to need a little help right?  Enter the Snow Cat vehicle and it's driver - Frostbite!  

    I was always partial to the snow-themed offerings from Hasbro.  Maybe it was because I counted on special occasions for vehicles, like Christmas or my birthday which are both during winter months.  Seeing that on both of those days there was typically snow on the ground - getting a toy like the Snow Cat was just fitting!  But I've always liked this one... it's a nice solid built vehicle (except for the missile launcher tabs) and could carry a lot of figures!  Also, I would remove the back panel and store the Joes' gear in the open space.  I don't think that's what it was for though...

5.)  Conquest X-30, Series 5, 1986

    When I saw the Conquest in the catalog for the first time... I wasn't that interested.  I don't know why, it just didn't appeal to me.  However, I got it for Christmas one year and after I put it together... I remember sitting there, holding it in my hands and staring at it.  As I turned it around, examining it with my eyes... it's smoky grey color...  it's sleek shape... and it just instantly became a favorite!

    Also, it was easier to play with than the Skystriker.  I had the Skystriker and loved it, but it was SO big.  Plus the wings/landing gear feature was cool, but I wished you could move the wings on their own, not in conjunction with the landing gears.  The Conquest didn't have that.  It was smaller and easier to work into battles.

6.)  Devil Fish, Series 5, 1986

    What???  Why is the Devil Fish in this line-up of favorite vehicles?  Surely there is something bigger and better I could have put on the list!  Alright, hear me out...  First of all, when we were kids... THIS was a vehicle within our reach when we got that weekly allowance on Friday.  Second of all, I got this vehicle when my family was on our way to Florida on vacation.  This was also right about when G.I. Joe issue #47 came out - featuring the Devil Fish.  

    ALSO, same vacation, we were on a ferry, going to Disney (the only time I have been there) and waaaaay in the distance, I thought I saw several small, one person speedboats cruising in the water...?  I remember thinking they looked like they would be the size of a Devil Fish!?!?  They were white, not orange and recreational, not military.  I have no idea what they were... but it reinforced the awesomeness of the G.I. Joe boat.  It was a long time ago, and as I said - I have never been back.  Does anyone know what those were?  I'm still curious.... 

    

7.)  Tomahawk, Series 5, 1986

    Man... the Tomahawk was such an incredible toy!  It had all the storage space, the loading ramp, the winch, Lift Ticket, etc.  It was so multi-functional.  It worked with so many different figures.  You could put Roadblock and/or Repeater at the side machine guns... transport Doc or Lifeline to a rescue...  It was great for Airborne - the Helicopter Assault Trooper!  

    For me, my Dragonfly had broke... so it worked perfect to put Lift Ticket AND Wild Bill in the front.  Also, I recall borrowing the Firebat (as I mentioned in the AVAC blog entry) and had battles with the Tomahawk!

8.)  Swampmasher, Series 7, 1988

    This odd vehicle is probably a shocker to many people.  I didn't pick up many vehicles this year, and this was one of the lower price-point ones, so I grabbed it.  I'm sure to many Joe fans, the colors are a bit zany - but I liked it!  The purple and green was an eye catcher and you had that gatling gun that looks like it could blaze down anything in it's way - be it a HISS Tank or a big tree in the swamp!

    It was just a fun little vehicle!  The wheel mechanism was mesmerizing and you also had an un-official driver in the Joe Team's Swamp Fighter - Muskrat!

9.)  Raider, Series 8, 1989

    Okay, I'll admit... this pick is a little odd for me... because I have never owned it.  I never had it as a kid and I never had it as a collector.  I have never even seen the real deal before!?!?  Yet, I have always thought this vehicle was awesome looking!  I thought it had a cool look in the catalog, but it also had a couple great moments in the comics.  It was loaded with weapons and armored, yet somehow still looked fast.  Maybe someday I'll finally get this vehicle.

10.)  Monster Blaster APC, Series 12, 1993

    A 1993 vehicle???  Really???  Well, yeah...  This was one of those vehicles I got as a collector.  I put it together for display with my figures and just really liked it!  When I gave many of my Joes to my kids later on, this vehicle was supposed to be in the group... but I couldn't part with it.  So I put it in the closet out of sight till maybe the feeling would pass and I could give them the vehicle.  Then I forgot about it...  Years later, while cleaning I found it.  It was covered in dust, but still in great shape.  By this time, the kids weren't interested and I was back into Joes... so it was mine... again.  

    But I always thought Hasbro really did a good job on this one.  Whereas the original (and awesome) APC had the camo tarp, which I thought could be a weak-point, this vehicle was armored all the way around!  It could carry several figures on the inside and the outside as well.  I know... the name is goofy!!!  But it is great-looking and built very solid.  An excellent vehicle!

   

    That's my pick for my favorite Top 10 G.I. Joe vehicles!  I know there are a lot to choose from and maybe other people would pick all the big, elaborate ones.  But I had to go with my experiences.  I never had a lot of the bigger items, and neither did my friends.  So I have no experiences with vehicles like the General or Crusader.  But I DID pick up the Swampmasher and Devil Fish, so they have value to me.  

    We all have our favorites along with our personal reasons why.  What ones do you like?

As with all the Top 10's, the pictures come from various items in my collection...

-- The APC art is from the Fangs Of Doom, mailer catalog.

-- The Killer WHALE is from the Terror On The Tundra, mailer catalog.

-- The Devil Fish comes from Marvel Comics - Order of Battle.

-- The AWE-Striker and Snow Cat are from the G.I. Joe Impel card series from 1991.

-- The Conquest is from the G.I. Joe 1986 catalog.

-- The Tomahawk art is from the box... which had been cut out and put on a wall in a collectible shop somewhere in South Carolina.

-- The Swampmasher is from the Terrifying Laser Of Destruction, mailer catalog.

-- The Raider is from the 1989 G.I. Joe catalog.

-- The Monster-Blaster APC is from the 1993 G.I. Joe catalog.