I never got another Footloose. He wasn’t in stores when my parents tried to replace him and I didn’t live close enough to anywhere that sold old toys. When Hasbro brought out the 25th Anniversary Joes, Footloose was at the top of my list (years ago, we championed Hasbro continuing the 25th Joe line and you can see Footloose was the first Joe I placed in the graphic). It wasn’t to be though, the line wrapped up and transitioned to ROC figures with so many figures I wanted undone, including Footloose. I did skip the ROC Footloose because I didn’t like the head re-use (he was really Airborne) and bided my time. It took a few more years, but the GI Joe Collector’s Club was finally the one to come to my rescue, making Footloose the 2012 Membership figure.
The Club has been having its share of problems (2012 just isn’t a good year for Joe Collectors…), but I was able to sign up by check and then only had to sit tight and wait for Footloose to show up. The great thing is that he was worth the wait – not just the few months between mailing the check and receiving the figure, but also all the years I waited to get the update of this childhood favorite.
Footloose is a cobbled together figure, but he’s the perfect kind in that you’d never question his construction. SDCC Slaughter’s legs, the ROC Sgt. Stone’s torso and arms, and the head from last year’s JoeCon Exclusive Captain Claymore. Yes, that means that this is another example of the dreaded “one head sculpt for two different characters” thing that I can’t stand, but I’m overlooking it in this case for a couple reasons. One, the vintage Claymore used Footloose’s head (so, really he’s just paying him back twenty-five years later) and two, I will never own the JoeCon 2011 Mission to Brazil set, so it’s never going to be a visual issue. The head does echo Tom Selleck, but honestly, that just makes Footloose that much cooler.
Since Footloose is built with mostly recent parts, his articulation is top notch. My only complaint is the ball-jointed head is reduced to swivel cut (which does combine with his eyes to be a real annoyance, but hold that thought). The rest of the figure is great though – ball-joints at the shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, and ankles, the mid-torso joint, and double-hinged knees. They’re all tight on my figure and they all work great, making Footloose a ton of fun to pose and play with. The paint on the figure was pretty good too. I wish the mustache was done a little more cleanly, but it’s only the eyes that really bug me – he’s constantly looking up and to his left. It’s fun sometimes because I can use the eyes to draw attention to the IAT logo or “shine” the flashlight the way he’s looking, but in other poses it’s just annoying.
The other cool thing about Footloose is the ton of accessories that he comes with! I don’t know if it’s just because the Club didn’t have to mold any new pieces or what, but he’s got a ton of gear. The webgear swiped from 25th Anniversary Falcon isn’t removable, but the helmet (also used for the modern Claymore) is! Removable helmets are always one of the coolest things in Joedom. In addition to the helmet, Footloose also included a backpack, a rocket launcher w/ rocket, a rifle, a pistol, a machete*, a flashlight that can be stored inside the backpack, a file card, and the basic Joe stand. All the accessories are great, but my Footloose didn’t come with his machete. Sad day. While the flashlight can neatly stow inside the pack and the rifle or rocket launcher nest in the elastic straps on the pack, I do lament the lack of a holster for the pistol or a sheath for the machete.
After Dial-Tone last year and Footloose this year, being a Club member is filling the holes in my collection nicely. Footloose is particularly excellent as the parts reuse and giant accessory load (even without the machete) put him right at home with the great 30th Anniversary figures. He would’ve been a must have for me no matter what I think, but I’m elated to have him gotten treated this well too. If only all the Joes could’ve been updated as well as the 2012 offerings. Most of all though, I’m happy to finally have this “lost” Joe back on my shelves. For the first time in nearly a quarter of a century, I’ve got two of my favorite Joes back together again.
I hope everyone has a good Memorial Day today. I mentioned my family and their service. I’m very fortunate to have my grandfather and my uncles all still with me. I have the benefit of experiencing the legacy of freedom they’ve left for us without the pain of losing any of them, but that’s not the case for so many others. Whether we’re personally connected to someone that died in service of this country or not, their sacrifices should be considered personal to each of us. Take a moment today to reflect on those that we’ve lost, on their courage & their resoluteness. We are in their debt.
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Great review, ND! Your recent Joe reviews make me kick myself for not picking up the 25th figures when I had the chance. I’ve had no luck finding the Dollar General Joes, either, and with the movie being pushed back, I guess I won’t be collecting them this Summer.
Thanks, 3B!
I almost didn’t buy the 25th line either, so I can understand. Do you have DGs in your area at least?
There is one about 20mins to the South and another 35-40mins North. Neither of them have the Joes when I’ve checked.
Great review! I love the little backstory. And you’re right–the best thing about Joes is their, um, soldier-iness! That helmet and his webbing look simply awesome!
Thanks, Ewan! There’s just something fun about soldier figures.
I was gonna join the club this year but the whole store being down screwed it up so I’m gonna join next year and hopefully order an extra footloose when the store is back on my friends membership. Great review!
oh and I forgot to add that when I was young I lost a secret wars spidey in much the same way….
My friend and I once threw the Battle Beast porcupine up in the air in the backyard and it just…never came down. We looked for that thing for hours.
…because it was my brother’s, and we ended up having to buy him another Battle Beast two-pack.
One time while playing outside I heard a loud BANG and then something crashing into the street. I ran out there and down the road a little bit was a Robocop figure tied to a giant bottle rocket and all burned up.
The kid who did it must have been an executive of OCP.
LOL.
Poor Robocop.
I lost a Secret Wars Spidey too!!
Though, on him, my parents replaced him and then the originally magically appeared…
Great review. I enjoyed the backstory.
I’ve got a theory about what happened to your original footloose:
Do you have a time machine? If so, then it’s likely that you’ll soon use it to go back in time and steal footloose from your original self. Viola! Temporal closure of the unresolved event….
Or, you might not be recalling things accurately. I had the same issue with tiger force duke when I was a kid. He just disappeared one day and i was convinced I’d left him in plain sight in the living room. 15 years later, I found him in the battery compartment of my Return of the Jedi shuttle tyderium.
Thanks!
I love the idea of stealing my own Footloose! I have never gone back and picked up a vintage one…
And poor Duke? That’s a cramped living space for all those years. LOL
Pretty cool fig, especially to round out the 25th collection.
That said, he looks a little too 25th. Guess I’ve been too spoiled by the 30th/POC figs.
I do think he could’ve had too heads. One big nitpick with a lot of RAH figures was how frequently oversized and clunky the helmets looked, and Footloose was no exception, and hasn’t fared a ton better here. But he’s still nice and it’s awesome how close to complete the early years are getting.
Btw am I the only one who heard the Muppets “Together Again” ditty in my head looking at that Bazooka reunion shot? 😀
D’oh . . . *TWO heads . . .
He does have that basic uniform look, but he’s mostly 30th and the extra articulation in the wrists and knees helps him quite a bit.
I do suppose they could do the two-heads route for helmeted figures, but I do enjoy it this way…
It’s very cool that your family has a such strong military history and that they encouraged your love of Joe collecting. Wouldn’t you know it? I got Footloose and Bazooka on the same day along with Shipwreck! They were the first figures I found from the ’85 series featuring the new ball jointed neck. (The Dreadnoks had shown up the previous Christmas on ’85 cards but sporting the old neck joint.) I always associated Footloose and Bazooka due to their helmets, which marked a huge change from the more generic ’82 originals. That is weird how you lost your Footloose, though. Dude, grab one off eBay so you can reach further closure. They’re easy to find and not that expensive.
I liked the Club update a lot. The Selleck look jives well with the 80’s and sharing his noggin with Claymore makes perfect sense. The hips on mine are a bit loose and I’m not sure if it can be fixed like we used to do back in the o-ring era. Otherwise, I am grateful to Hasbro for bringing us closer to completing Team ’85 in particular and the vintage era in general.
I should go back and get a vintage Footloose. I loved that figure!
I was reading a fix about loose 25th legs somewhere. I think it involved removing the legs and coating the metal balls in something (super glue?), letting it dry, and putting the legs back on. Not sure if that was a long-term fix, sounds like something you’d have to redo every once in awhile.
So you’re going to blame the “living challenged” on the abduction of your toy, huh? ;p
I never had a figure go missing, but I did have a couple instances where accessories were lost, found, and lost again, most notably, Snowjob’s rifle and StormShadow’s swords. Mom found the rifle while vacuuming the couch, but it disappeared again, shortly after. The swords I could never find, but turned up at my great-grandmother’s a few months later. I forgot to grab them out of the silver tea set (where she kept a handful of random small items), and the next time we went, they were gone. I think my cousin might have taken them, tho?
Also, That head just screams HARDCASE to me. Aren’t we supposed to get a new AWE Striker soon? (and how was that NOT constantly pimped during the Gulf Wars?)
Maybe we can get a blue AWE Striker next year (as Beachcomber)!
I display my Footloose with the RoC head. The Club’s head doesn’t work for me, and the RoC head matches skin tone perfectly while also being closer to the original card art. Also, if anyone is bothered by the web gear, try using the DVD Roadblock webgear. It fits well and the color is a close match.
I’d have to get rid of Airborne to use that head! Bugs me! But I’m glad you found a configuration you like.
Thanks for the info. I’ve got the DVD Roadblock, so I’m going to look for a RoC Footloose and give mine a try.
Good luck. Some think the RoC head sits too high, but I like where it’s at. If it does, you can always drill a little out of the head to make it fit.
I passed on Dial Tone for reasons I don’t remember anymore, but I was excited when Footloose was announced. He was one of my top 10 favorite RAH figures. The only thing I wish this figure included was a holster somewhere for the pistol.
Definitely need more holsters…