G.I. JOE VEHICLE SHOWDOWN Series 16 - 1993

    Ahhh, time for another round of the G.I. Joe Vehicle Showdown!!!  We have been blasting through this thing series by series and now here we are at the second-to-last year of the toyline!!  

    For ME, this year is significant as it is the year I returned to G.I. Joe collecting!  It felt good to be back, but things had changed quite a bit from when I left.  As I have mentioned in previous Vehicle Showdowns... the 90's felt more "cartoony" to me.  The figures looked like they were more geared to the animated series than the comics.  Not saying it was BAD, it was just different.  It didn't bother me really.  There was still a lot of good stuff out there.

    Of all years to return to the toyline, maybe this wasn't the best one...  This Series was MASSIVE!  So as I'm trying to gather stuff from the years I missed, I was also trying to grab all the current stuff as well.  It was crazy!

    So let's see what 1993 looked like "vehicle-wise"!  But before we do, we gotta acknowledge the NOW FAMOUS Rating Scale...  

10 - Awesome, Fantastic

9 to 7 - Various levels of Greatness

6 to 4 - Various levels of "Okay"

3 - Mediocre

2 to 1 - Levels of Crappiness

1 - COBRA INVADER  (Star Brigade)

    A Cobra Pogo repaint.  Despite the flack the Pogo gets, THIS should make sense to people!  It looks like something out of Space Invaders... and I think the neon green works with this concept!  I like it.  It's a 7.

2 - NINJA LIGHTNING  (Ninja Force)

    I never owned this.  Let's look at some Joe motorcycles... The RAM (1982) is durable and solid.  The Silver Mirage (1985) is intricate and detailed.  The Ninja Lightning isn't durable, solid, intricate, or detailed.  It's flimsy, goofy, and doesn't fit several Ninja Force figures.  Not into this one!  It gets a 1.

3 - PILE DRIVER, with T'Gin-Zu  (Ninja Force)

    This is a weird-looking vehicle for sure.  I can't imagine ANYONE, let alone a ninja, driving this thing!  The action-feature, however, is very cool and works well.  So it's going to get points for that!  The figure is a repaint, but I like him!  The whole thing is strange, but not bad!  I'll give it a 5.

4 - COBRA ICE SNAKE

    A new Cobra snow vehicle!  I really dig this one!  It shares a lot of hardware with the Mudbuster, but it's hard to tell.  I like the thick skis in front, the molded on Cobra symbol, and the overall size (the Ice Sabre was too freakin' big).  I wish it had some molded machine guns or some ski-torpedoes, because it's kind of light in that department.  All in all it's a pretty awesome vehicle!  How about an 9?  

5 - BATTLE AXE, with Red Ninja  (Ninja Force)

    Basically all the same as the Pile Driver.  It's a kinda lame-o vehicle but with a great action feature.  Figure is a total dud, so it gets taken down a notch lower for that, landing it a rating of 4.  

6 - MUDBUSTER

    This one is alright.  In my opinion, it would be cooler with a better gun system.  I like the grappling hook launcher on the Cobra Ice Snake, but I don't think it works as well here.  The dark aqua color is decent, but I think it would have looked better in green and black.  It's not bad.  I'll give it a 7.

7 - DINO-HUNTER JEEP, with Ambush & Low-Light (Dino-Hunters)

    The vehicle formerly known as the Desert Fox makes a return in the form of the Dino-Hunter.  If this thing is dealing with dinosaurs though, I feel it needs to be armed a little heavier.  I don't think 2 missiles and a net launcher is going to get the team very far.  The vehicle is okay, the figures are okay, but the dinosaur?  Compared to the other dinosaur toys out there, this thing is just plain awkward!  The dino is in a position where he looks like he's saying "who, me?"  Considering this package as a whole - it's going to catch a 6.  

8 - STARFIGHTER, with Sci-Fi  (Star Brigade)

    A repainted Cobra Stiletto.  Personally, I think it should have stayed with Cobra and a new Star-Viper.  The Joes should have gotten an all-new unique starfighter with Payload as the pilot.  But as this is... it's pretty good in the end.  Probably because I already liked the Stiletto.  I'm going to give this a 7.

9 - SHARK 9000, with Cutter

    I have never had this one.  I have seen pictures though and I think it looks cool!  Looks like it is loaded with different play features.  Without actually laying eyes on it, I'm going to take a guess at it's greatness and give it an 8.  

10 - MONSTER BLASTER APC  (Mega Marines)

    I still have this one!  This vehicle is way-cool!!  It looks strong and resilient.  The powerful cannon on top looks fantastic, it can carry a lot of figures, and it has some nice colors!  It should have come with Clutch, who was sold separately.  Regardless, this thing is taking a 10!

11 - GHOSTSTRIKER JET, with Ace

    I'm on the fence on this one.  It looks cool, but to me, it is way overshadowed by the awesome jets that have come before it.  The target-light system is interesting... it's a clever idea!  My buddy Bobby (aka Deathwish) really liked this jet and spoke very highly of it.  So I'm guessing I never got to fully experience the greatness of this vehicle.  I'm rolling the dice and giving this one a 7.     

12 - COBRA DETONATOR, with Nitro-Viper

    I had this and thought it was simply too much!  So large, yet not much going on.  Basically, the massive size was required to house the Nerf Rockets and launcher.  It was an interesting idea, and you could actually "fire" the rockets, but they just looked out of place.  It just didn't feel much like a G.I. Joe vehicle with giant red Nerf rockets all over it.  It's going to take a 6.

    On a side note, after opening this many years ago, I searched HIGH & LOW for the file card for Nitro-Viper.  I thought I lost it!!!  Eventually I learn that he is the ONLY figure in the entire line that never got one...  Lame...

13 - ARMOR-BOT, with Hawk  (Star Brigade Armor-Tech)

    So I had this vehicle and I thought it was awesome!  Tons of features with the lights, sounds, rocket-launcher hand, grabbing claw, even extra missile storage.  The biggest problem is, despite the massive size of this thing - it only holds one figure!  A better idea would be to have it be a regular Star Brigade vehicle (not Armor-Tech).  With smaller, more articulated figures, you could put a secondary seat (maybe for a gunner) in the cockpit and maybe a few spaces on the back where Joes can hitch a ride.  Regardless, this thing is still fantastic and gets a 10!

    It's 1993 and Hasbro is still managing to get a few 10's in there.  Nice!  We didn't know back then, but our beloved toyline only had one year left in it.  Yet, some solid stuff was still coming out.  Unfortunately, by this point, things were getting really watered down with all the various sub-teams.  I would have preferred we put most of them back under the same umbrella. 

    You can see the cost cutting with all the remolded/repainted vehicles and parts sharing.  On the other hand, you can still see some solid effort being put forth when you look at vehicles like the Armor-Bot.  

    Things were different in 1993.  We were fully immersed in the various gimmicks of everything - spring-loaded missile launchers, Play-Doh, and Nerf rockets.  Some of it was used fairly well, some of it not.  Plus Hasbro was imitating some of the other toylines - Jurassic Park, Aliens, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, etc.  What do you think of 1993's vehicle offerings?

    Hold the phone here!!!  In this obvious prototype pic of the Detonator above...  Why on Earth is there G.I. Joe logos and American Flags on the rockets???  No, don't make up anything, there is no good excuse.  That's as dumb as Ninja Force logos on the Cobra Battle Axe.  Someone wasn't paying attention.  Sheeeeesh...