One & Done - RAMPART
SHORELINE DEFENDER - RAMPART
Rampart's file card explains that he spent a great deal of his childhood plugging quarters into video games at the local arcade or playing his home gaming system. Thanks to his exceptional ability with hand/eye coordination and quick reflexes, he conquered every game out there. Following college, he sought an outlet for his amazing skill, so he joined the Navy. Now instead of maxing out all the high scores in the arcade, he's taking down enemy missiles and jets.
Rampart's uniform is primarily a mix of tan and dark drown. On his head he wears a tan cap and what appears to be a net-like textured hood. He has blue goggles and a molded/painted on microphone near his mouth. He wears a long, dark brown jacket and has tan pants with some molded on pouches. His boots are a bit odd as they are camouflage. The figure for Rampart also had pegs molded onto him so you could attach some of his gear.
Rampart came with several accessories. He came with a black machine gun, which he could use a few different ways. One way was that you could peg on an attachable 2-piece stand. Another option would be to clip the weapon onto the post on his hip, this way he could be more mobile.
He also came with a light grey missile launcher. This included a strap that was a separate piece that you could loop around both ends for easy transport. The launcher came with 2 black missiles. One could go in the launcher and the other could peg onto Rampart's leg. It had "finger-flick technology" where a post from the bottom of the missile hung out the back of the launcher and you could flick it with your finger to fire it.
Okay, so I never had Rampart and never really knew anything about him. He wasn't popular, had one tiny appearance in the comics and there never was a second version. When he was released in 1990, I was already "checked out" of Joes. When I returned as a collector later on, it was difficult to track down many of the figures from that year, and I never found him.
This was disappointing, because it looks as if 1990 was a great year for figures. Hasbro was still releasing primarily new characters, they hadn't taken on the "cartoon-y" look yet and many of them had a wealth of great and unique accessories. Rampart was no exception.
Yet, for me, this character was still a big question mark... until recently! I saw the figure on Ebay and thought he looked interesting. So I looked him up, read his file card and he seemed really cool. It was strange that this figure has flown under my radar for decades now. So I tracked one down and got it! It was exciting to look at something from the 82-94 Joe toy-line that was old, but to me it was new!
This figure is great! He has a great look and accessories! He has some unique options with pegging on some of his equipment. I do feel he is missing a backpack though. The lack of a backpack, however, is not enough to bring this figure down! I'm going to give Rampart a rating of 5 out of 5 Space Invaders!!!
Rampart's legacy in the original line was limited to the one figure, which is disappointing. I think the sculpt is great enough that he could get a great repainted figure in a sub-group of some kind. Or the fact that he carries a missile launcher could have helped propel him into the Battle Corps. But it was not to be. He remains more of an unknown, unsung hero in the Joe toy-line. It's okay... those of us that own/have owned it are well aware of his awesomeness!!!
Behind-the-scenes and some random rambling:
--- Man... a month ago we headed out to the beach for vacation. I really wanted this figure for the trip. He's a Shoreline Defender... I could get some great pics because I would have had a perfect shore for him to defend. But I could not find a reasonable deal anywhere on this figure! I didn't successfully track him down till we returned...
--- Thankfully I found a great location in a local park that had an almost tropical feel to it! I was really happy with way these shots came out!
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