Arming Your Joe Figures
- by Dzirhan
Mahadzir (July 2001)
One of the fun things about my job as a freelance defence journalist/consultant is that
I always get to check out new firearms and weapons at the trade shows I go to yearly. I
guess this also carries to my joe collecting since I'm always on the lookout for new 3 3/4
scale weapons to equip my joe figures. Part of this stems from my disappointment over the
Battlecorps series figures. The problem with the plastic spruce weapons was that it took
away the uniqueness of a joe figure's weapons, add the fact that a number of them were in
neon, yellow etc and my disappointment grew even more, the positive factor was that if you
got weapon spruces in black or white, you get a fair bit of weapons that gave you spares
to build an armoury diorama or reequip your other figures or customs. Still that didn't
compensate for the loss of the cool factor in each joe having a different weapon. I also
look for new weapons for my customs plus the fact that since the Joes came out in the
1980's, some of the weapons are a little dated and the military enthusiast in me wants to
equip some of my figures with current weapons. The result is that I've come across a fair
bit of new weapons to equip my joes (regular and customs) withand decided to put a little
guide on some toylines with neat 3 3/4 scale weapons. Note this isn't a complete guide to
everything as being in Malaysia means that there are stuff I do not get access to that
does in the states have and vice versa. I will note where I the stuff is currently
available only in Malaysia but there is a possibility that such items might show up in the
States.
Lanard Corps
Now the initial series of Corps figures had weapons that were fairly disappointing but
gradually Lanard improved their weapons molds. I like their M-16s which sem fairly more to
scale than the Joe versions. The Corps Action Pack called Hunt For the Lost Warheads
actually had an interesting version of the AK which closely resembles the Finnish Valmet
(which is a Finnish version of the AK with some modifications), the set also came with an
futuristic assault rifle almost similar to the ones used by the Colonial Marines in Aliens
and a pair of customized handguns sporting compensators etc. The joes were produced in an
era where handgun attachments such as laser sights, compensators and scopes were rare so
it's always nice to get more modern handguns with such features. These pistols along with
some new designs were also available with the police figures of Lanard's Emergency Rescue
series. The scoped rifle available with both the police and military corps figures also
makes a nice addition to an arsenal.
Chap Mei Toys
Chap Mei has produced IMO some great vehicles and nice figures but disappointedly produced
oversize weapons for it's Soldier Force and Police Force series of figures, the recent
Soldier Force III series (yet to be released in the states at the time of writing)
continues this trend but there are one or two bright sparks in the line's weapons, first
all, the handgun included with some sets is 3 3/4 in scale and usable by joe figures, it's
basically a semi-auto with a laser sight mounted on it. The next thing of interest is the
Stinger missile launcher, this is 3 3/4 or close enough in scale. The handle is oversize
but a little filing or cutting allows it to fit joe thumbs (and not a problem for new joes
which have the rubberised thumbs). The line also included a Dragon missile launcher but
it's too oversized for 3 3/4 figures. The other thing of note, though this is somewhat
straying from the topic, is that the line includes a nice 105mm cannon. I was always
disappointed that I didn't have the Mountain Howitzer but I have to admit, it doesn't
matter too much now as the Chap Mei 105mm is a more modern day version compared to the Joe
version based on the 70's –80's era howitzer. The Police Force series also included
small tear gas grenades with the figures that were used to great effect by my joes in
putting down a riot by SW figures :)
Also produced by Chap Mei is the Dinoquest line, an adventure line recently released and
based on the dino hunting genre and IMO better than any of the JPIII toys. This hasn't
shown up in the states yet. The rifles are repaints of the oversized Soldier Force weapons
but the handguns are something else. They include small automatics and a variety of
accessorized revolvers; my favourite is the Colt Python with a small compensator on the
barrel. These are excellent IMO and something 3 3/4 fans should not pass up the chance to
add to their armory.
Trendmasters Godzilla Force
Oddly the highlight of the weapons from this line actually comes in the mini vehicle sets,
the weapons packed in the figure sets were fairly awful and unsuitable for joes but the
Spectre submachine gun packed with the mini-vehicle sets is a very close representation of
the real thing, in fact the Godzilla Force sets are probably the only way you get a 3 3/4
Spectre as I've not seen it produced in any other toyline.
Action Force
The Palitoy concept Action Force line featured some interesting repaints of Joe
accessories along with some unique design weapons. The weapons accessories packs I
purchased as a lot off Ebay provided me with some interesting stuff. The SAS Force set
includes a nice MP-5 though a bit small, it is better detailed than the joe version
included with Tracker and Battle Corps spruces. The Enemy Force set includes a nice black
version of Zap's bazooka and an interesting bullpup rifle closely resembling the British
SA-80 which points out the fact that whoever designed it must have been a weapons
enthusiast as the SA-80 was very much in experimental testing during the time the Action
Force line was being produced. The Z-Force set provides you with a nice M-3 grease gun
(though very dated since it is a WWII weapon) and a FN Fal rifle. While the FN Fal is
provided in the Joe line as Ripcord's weapon, the Z-Force weapon is the modified version
for British forces while Ripcord's is the standard Fal used elsewhere.
Robocop
Now I can't be too accurate on this as I bought a figure in an unofficial (possible
knock-off) packaging and never paid too much attention to the 4 inch toyline but the
Robocop figure I purchase came with a pair of Galils assault rifles, I could kick myself
for not picking up more of these since no other toyline produces Galils. It also came with
an M-16 with a shotgun mounted underneath similar to what Sonny Landham, or as a friend
put it to me, the muscled version of Spirit Iron Knife, carried in the movie Predator.
More reason to kick myself for not buying more when I had the chance.
Ultimate Soldier X-D Vietnam
Now I haven't got these myself as they have not shown up here but from what I see in the
pics, my choice of items to get would be the Vietcong figure with an RPG launcher and the
Seal with the Stoner 63 not to mention the Ford Mutt with TOW launcher since at the moment
none of these exists anywhere else for 3 3/4 figure. The remaining weapons are somewhat
dated, it is Vietnam era after all :) I'll be interested to see what 21st Century
comes up with the modern line next year, I'm looking for a decent Dragon, Mk-19, M-249, a
Barett .50 and OICW.
Military Force