Effects
Explosives Expert

During the 90s G.I. Joe took a turn for the worse according to many fans. Not only did the figures become more neon and gimmicky they also split into factions like the Ninja Force and Mega Marines, even the regular Joe team changed its name to Battle Corps in 1993. At that time G.I. Joe and Cobra began reaching for the stars. Set in space and perhaps sometime in the near future these soldiers battled among the cosmos either protecting or controlling the galaxy. While the first series of Star Brigade action figures were mostly repaints the 1994 year had some interesting characters with new molds it was too bad there fate was sealed when the line ended during that same year.

To be honest I was never a fan of Star Brigade. While I could take my Joe's out in the backyard and pretend it was a jungle or arctic during winter it was never fun to play with my Joe's in pitch black pretending it was the cold vacuum of space. However several of the Star Brigade and Armor Tech figures had some redeeming qualties. The BAAT was simply a heavy armored robot, Robo-Joe was a Earth based cyborg and several of the 1994 characters could be pilots or soldiers with experimental combat suits. Effects was one of those characters with an interesting back story. Effects was a fresh face on the Joe roster as well as Star Brigade. His sculpt was entirely new. Effects was experienced in explosives and demolitions it is also hinted that he may have done special effects work in movies but this never really specified. What I can't really figure out is why anyone working with high explosives would do it bare handed. Even more strange how do you even survive in space with hands exposed to vacuum and gamma radiation. His guy has got to be totally nuts I'm talking Gary Busy nuts. I personally think Effects would be better off on Earth in the present day blowing up HISS tanks and Terrordromes then in deep space. Effects weapons include a neon green pulse type rifle and a catapult with two orange bombs.

i actually welcomed the neon colors cause it made the figures appealing and it was like eye candy. on his cover art, effects has blue gloves but i guess the designers either forgot or decided not to paint his hands blue. still it looks okay either way. the helmet visor is cool and the catapult is also nice. the name sounds interesting but more like a cobra name in my opinion. really love his grin. more accessories would have been nice.

For some reason I'm more open to a Star Brigade set than I was in the 90s. So long as we stay away from aliens, I like the idea. Call of Duty had a level where you shoot things in space, I see no reason why GI Joe wouldn't do it on occasion

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"...and they formed a band the likes of which have never been seen! And they called themselves Renegade and LRRP"

It was odd that at the time, where they doing minimal paint operations, they painted his hand flesh colored.

I never disliked Star Brigade, but I wish that the effort put into the figures hadn't declined. That applied to all the GI JOE figures at the time, the recycled accessories, minimal paint ops, bright colors.

I really like this character, one of the last A.R.A.H. Joes along with Space Shot: http://www.joedios.com/dioramas/sho...r&imageuser=444

http://www.joedios.com/dioramas/sho...r&imageuser=444

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http://www.joedios.com/dioramas/bro...r&imageuser=444

Space Shot
Combat Fighter Pilot

Space Shot was the only other new Star Brigade Joe figure to be released in 1994. Space Shot traveled the galaxy as a freighter pilot and had a brash thingyy persona as a rebellious star pilot. Much like another certain someone in one of those big budget sci fi movies we are all aware of. Space Shot wears a pretty bland white space suit with exposed open helmet, again we have yet another member of G.I. Joe who is not afraid to travel the cold vacuum of space with protection. Since Space Shot appeared at the end of the ARAH run Hasbro did not make a space freighter for him to cruise around in. I ending up using Space Shot to pilot the G.I. Joe Storm Eagle as the vehicle did not include a pilot. His space gear includes a cosmic climbing backpack with working zip line and a LX-1 laser pistol.

Star Brigade Armor Bot

The Armor Bot was one of the largest vehicles to come out in 1993 it was certainly the biggest vehicle in the Star Brigade line. It carries two drivers in the head section and six figures on the foot platforms. The canopy opens to remove figures in the head, the three laser cannons on the head rotate, the head also rotates at the neck joint. The chin laser is very fragile on my Armor Bot but it can elevate. The chin laser features electric light and sound which connects to the lower torso and activates when pressing the two buttons. Both arms rotate at the shoulder, the right arm features spring action rocket gatling gun and the left arm rotates at the hand and features a spring action gripper claw. The legs are connected at the feet however the legs move at the hip and the waist turns using the hand grip on the back of the Armor Bot. The feet include four rolling wheels and missile storage for up to four missiles. There is additional storage for the missiles in the chest area. I believe twelve missiles were included in my Armor Bot but more may have been included. There are several variations of the color of the Armor Bot but neither is worth more then the other. While this was designed to battle Cobra in space as was featured in the Marvel Comic and commercials I always used mine to fight Cobra right here on Earth as it was too big and bulky to take into space. The Armor Bot was never featured on any cartoon. In my Universe the Armor Bot and Power Fighters were mothballed in the early 90s but were later brought out of storage to help develop the new Mech technology during the 2000s.













General Hawk
G.I. Joe Armor-Tech Commander

Included with the Armor Bot is the G.I. Joe General and Star Brigade Commander Hawk. Hawk has been with the team since its inception. He was promoted from Col. to General in 1986 and to Star Brigade Commander in 1993. Hawk is an Armor-Tech figure which are Joe's and Cobra in bulkier armored space suits with limited articulation. I'll go into more detail of Armor-Tech in a later review. Hawk includes space helmet, pink laser cannon and very limited articulation. The weapon was also included in black for those who don't like the 90s neon colors. I tend to use Armor-Tech Hawk battle suit as a prototype combat suit used on the battlefield. The armor is gold plated and deflects laser blasts and keeps the general comfortable in harsh conditions. The suit and helmet are used as a type of neural link to the Armor Bot and allow Hawk and the Armor Bot to move more fluidly in battle. While the Star Brigade technology was never used in space combat it was tested on Earth by G.I. Joe and stolen by Cobra. It was intended to be used in space missions eventually however the technology was scraped do to production costs and inflation during the mid 90s.

I like every kind of G.I.JOEs, but 1993/94 were really bad times for our heroes i.m.o.!

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My collection:

http://www.joedios.com/dioramas/bro...r&imageuser=444

for its time, it was pretty cool. of course now in regards to other human-piloted robots, it pales in comparison. i do wish it had more paint to highlight all those little details like the circuits, wires, etc. a little paint can fix that. i always thought that this armor bot could walk by itself and i was disappointed to find out that i was wrong. still, i do like that it has wheels but my question is, "what kind of wheels are they? rubber? plastic? small or big wheels?" i like that this robot can store a lot of missiles especially on the chest which make it seem more imposing and powerful. i love that it shares the same missiles as the gi joe battlewagon. i think it's cool that the feet can also hold missiles. however, i think it is silly and downright dumb for anyone to 'ride' on the robot's legs while the robot is in movement. no thanks. i would stay away from this massive armor bot's feet. i don't wanna be pancaked. general hawk looks cool but i sure wish he had the traditional gi joe o-ring. i also am not a fan of his out of proportion body especially his tiny head. it's nice though that the helmet is removable. finally, i'm sorry but i do not like that PINK gun. pink doesn't even belong in this toy. i got nothing against pink. it's just that the pink gun is so out of place in my opinion. great review. thanks. i want to get this armor bot eventually.

They are small plastic wheels.

Maybe the platform pegs were not for Joe's to ride into battle. I see them used by Joe technicians repairing the damage during maintence or by the Cobra BAATs trying to pound uselessly on the robots feet before they are completely crushed underfoot.