Commando Sgt. Savage 1994

Professor blog: 000003 Subject: Commando Sgt. Savage with VHS tape Brand of product: Sgt. Savage Original Release year: 1994

This beautiful item was released in 1994 in an attempt by Hasbro to reboot the G. I. Joe franchise. Sgt. Savage was a toy line that did really badly in sales. It was cancelled after only one year of being on the market. A promotion cartoon was made but was scrapped after episode one. This toy comes with a series of weapons, a helmet, and the VHS copy of episode one. The VHS only came with this toy. The theme to the show revolves around World War II in a manner that is extremely close to Captain America.

This toy was the main figure in the Sgt. Savage line and is also the most common to find on the market. He was a reengineered figure and varied greatly from the common 3 ¾” G. I. Joe toy. He is 4” tall, has no screw hole in the back, has no o-ring for the legs, has two feet holes and uses the same joint screws as the common G. I. Joe. His design looks good for a brand new series and the detail for the paint is superb. He is a great figure that was released at the wrong time. Sgt. Savage was a test that was meant to fail. The television show had decent animation (here is a link on youtube for the entire episode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZC7vtK5IQ4 ) but kids were not attracted to G. I. Joe any more after the demise of the franchise in 1993. This toy can be semi posed. Without the o-ring for the inside of his crotch / leg movement, he is best left for standing. He comes with a range of fun weapons and a helmet too. Care has to be taken with the weapons. Sgt. Savage was made in the same plastic as regular G. I. Joes so his thumbs can be broken off if you try and add a weapon to his hand that does not fit. Please be careful because these toys will get rarer and rarer because of the lack of collectors. Sgt. Savage is an easy line to collect and is worth the prices. They look good posed and are beautiful to look at. Enjoy!

Background of the toy: This particular Commando Sgt. Savage came unopened from Ebay in a purchase. He arrived into my collection in June 2012. He has no breaks or chips. His weapons are all accounted for and his VHS tape plays the first and only episode of Sgt. Savage and the Screaming Eagles perfectly. He has been preserved and only handled four times since he was opened.

Quickstrike 1998

Professor blog: 000002 Subject: Quickstrike Brand of product: Beast Wars Original Release year: 1998

This beautiful item was released within the third year of the Beast Wars toy brand for Transformers. He is a hybrid of a king cobra and a scorpion and is affiliated with the Predacons. The Predacons are the villains of this particular Transformers series. The beast wars series continued the ball joint application that Generation 2 Transformers became famous for in the earlier 1990s. This enabled the toys to be posed in a wider of ranges than the Generation one figures. This particular toy was a part of a new sub series called “Fuzors.” The idea was to have two animals combined into one beast mode. Quickstrike was one of the Transformers that appeared in season 2 of the Beast Wars cartoon. He spoke with a Texan accent. He continued in the show until its end.

This particular toy is fragile and thin. The yellow plastic is translucent and is a little more brittle than the other plastics besides the notorious gold. Besides that, he is still a great figure to pose. He looks good in his beast mode and looks almost like the cartoon character in his robot mode. His pincers can open and close on his arms and the king cobra mouth does the same. The details on the paint job are amazing. The Beast Wars brand loves to add detail to their toys. The king cobra head has a total of seven segments so it can be posed quite well. His transformation method is a swing transformation. The tail makes up one arm and the beast mode legs make up the other. The most common locations of breaking points on this toy are either the ball joints or the pincers. Quickstrike is one of the toys that collectors aim for. He is known as an “on screen” character and thus most people who collect the brand will go for him before others.

Background of the toy: This particular Quickstrike came from Eric in New Orleans in a trade. He arrived into my collection in the middle of October of 2013. He has no breaks or chips. His signal is intact and his fragile plastic is well preserved for his age.

Snapper 1996

Professor blog: 000001 Subject: Snapper Brand of product: Beast Wars Original Release year: 1996

This beautiful item was released within the first year of the Beast Wars toy brand for Transformers. He is a snapping turtle and is affiliated with the Predacons. The Predacons are the villians of this particular Transformers series. The beast wars series continued the ball joint application that Generation 2 Transformers became famous for in the earlier 1990s. This enabled the toys to be posed in a wider of ranges than the Generation one figures.

Now Snapper is a part of the basic line of Beast Wars. This makes him smaller than some of the other toys available. Now Snapper is roughly the size of a medium sized cell phone. Unlike some of the Generation one toys, Snapper is full of little paint details. His shell has yellow and green out lines, his claws are painted a nice, crisp, neutral grey along the tips, and he has this beautiful contrast between his red body and his green arms, legs, head, etc. Now one of the most beautiful parts of the basic Beast Wars line up was the simplistic, yet genius, transformations. If you pulled Snapper’s tail down, he completes his transformation in almost one move. You have to adjust the hands and feet accordingly but who really counts that right? He is fully transformed except for his gun. Now his gun will come out of the back shell right behind his head. With his ball joints, he is ready for battle! There are no known plastic defects for Snapper so enjoy it to the fullest.

Background of the toy: This particular Snapper came from Transformerland.com. He arrived into my collection in the middle of February 2014. He has no breaks or chips. His spring, for the instant transformation, was tested and his weapon was added onto his shell.

An Introduction of sorts

Welcome to the blog of the Professor. We will be analyzing and looking at toys for both the G. I. Joe and Transformer franchises. I am willing to open my collection with others and show them the joy of seeing different toys from all around the world. This blog will look at toys that are from other countries, as well as inside the United States of America too and will not focus on one particular period or year. I will also discuss the following: 1) toy collecting websites, 2) toy collecting bullies, 3) toy collecting fashions / common practices, 4) the joy of collecting, as well as 5) the toys you know and love.

The toys I will be displaying will be in acquired condition with no new paint added, adjustments or reproduction stickers applied. When it comes to collecting, tampering with the original product will demise the value more in the long run than the bad stickers or flakey paint ever could. In order to honor the original owners as well as preserve the toy in the best of conditions, the toys will be kept in the best possible locations and will only be handled by myself for these documentations.

If you ever want zoomed in pictures or knowledge on the easiest ways to get toys in my collection, feel free to email me at gijoemuseum@gmail.com. I believe in helping out fellow collectors and do not care about the so called “value” of a toy and will give the best advice if it is possible. You can also contact me at either transmuseum on tfw2005.com or gijoemuseum on hisstank.com. I look forward to talking with you soon!

About myself

About myself, the Professor: I live in Metairie, Louisiana. I am an avid collector of Transformers and G. I. Joe merchandise. I have a goal to one day open a museum to both toy franchises with a recording of every toy ever made in both franchises. I have roughly 1,000 G. I. Joes and 300 Transformers at this moment (02/13/2014). I enjoy discussing about either franchise and I love to make friends. I deeply dislike people who think they are better than others in a hobby of collecting plastic toys. I have a small dog named Butthead and I am a passionate reader of literature.