Remember , in the comics all the Joes were Chaplains Assistants. It was a cover as G.I. Joe was initially top secret to not freak out the public over the existence of Cobra.
If I may pop in, the Wild Card figure is supposed to represent the Hollywood Vietnam Soldier, with him roaming the jungle with a machete chopping down trees, with ripped BDU. Honestly, all he really needs added is a scruffy 5 o clock shadow and Headband wrapped around his forhead to fully capture the look, and a M16 for an accessory. The Mean Dog also had room next to the front Gunner Position on either side for Joe weapons and packs that was glossed over slightly.
Back then, I would have imagined those slats were armor that could be shut. I never really perceived the toys completely literally when playing, just like i could imagine everything else.
My cousin had this vehicle and we played a lot with it. The sculpt of the turret seems to suggest that there should be a hatch in there. The sculpt of the driver's positions also seem to suggest that they have view ports or vision blocks which means that they could be driven hatch down. Also it amused us that the driver is a chaplain's assistant, considering how sloppy he looked!
I always played with the Mean Dog as one vehicle. It's so much better together than serrated. Wild Card's body always seemed like it would have made a good Dreadnok.
I always used wild card as old school Chuck Norris as a kid, he fit in pretty well with Quick Kick and Snake Eyes. Never used the stupid Helmet. Never owned the Mean Dog, got wild card in a trade.
I had friends who had this - what an awesome vehicle! I'm not sold on the splitting up into two vehicles gimmick, but the Mean Dog manages to look futuristic and gritty and realistic at the same time. Awesome!
If I were to assign G.I. Joe a genre it would be Military Fantasy. As for the Mean Dog I really like it - it makes for a fine futuristic vehicle concept and it doesn't look stupid. Bummer that the mobile turret feature didn't function properly! I like Wildcard a lot as well - just not most of his file card depiction. The goofy helmet can be thrown out and the sweet machete/backpack can be given to another character however! I really dig his sculpt and coloring but I agree they should have added more paint detail and given him a better personnel file. Thanks for bein' the best at what you do HCC788!
Dude... I love your old movie posters... The Pulic Enemy with Cagney and Key Largo with Bogart and edward G.... " soldier.. soldier"..... nice choices man...
This is an absolutely amazing vehicle...I stopped collecting when this came out, it makes me wish they would have had this instead of the Havoc I got as my last vehicle...one of the best I have seen in a long time Thanks for posting
Wildcard's colors look like he's ready to join the Mission Brazil team. That's how I'm going to use him and the Mean Dog from here on out... when he's not running my GI JOE sub-team the Mustachioed Menaces. Great review for April Fools Day.
The gun turret 'legs' are not supposed to be placed all the way down to the ground. As you see in the cartoon clip, they go about halfway down, like how a tripod would look. Also, if you place a figure inside the turret it stands a bit better thanks to the added weight.
Impressive fire power, diverse applications for use & deployment, considerable crew carrying capacity. One of my, if not the, favorite heavy armor vehicles for the Joes. . I agree about the machete & sheath looking/feeling like they were intended for someone else, and also wondered what held it on. On the one I had, the guns support slats didn't slide all the way down to the floor. The ring stopped partly down so the slats stuck out at angles to give a better kind of braced support. Great vid!
Nice review. I never had this one, but my friend did. It protected the back yard on many a day. I the figure, but hate the deiver. He looks like a cast member from Deliverance.
This toy is so cool, I bought myself 2 and still missing a part so I will have to buy another one and make sure I get the part that is missing on my other two Mean Dog. Very good review and funny comment on the rear turret, LOL. Thumbs up for the review.
Your voice reminds me of the late Jim Henson. A cross between his Kermit the Frog and Guy Smiley Muppet characters...👍 I've just bought today, a loose near complete Mean Dog. Seller was selling it for £40 + £6 postage - I offered £22.50, they countered with £30. I countered with £25 and they accepted. It's just missing the box (I'm not a box collector anymore) a missile and Wildcards machete and sheath accessories. I managed to buy a spare missile cheap today also. These were UK eBay purchases. The Mean Dog was released in the UK in 1989/90 as part of the "G.I.JOE - THE ACTION FORCE" transitional range as Hasbro UK were moving toward brand unification with the UK Action Force being branded as GIJOE (no mention of "A Real American Hero"). The Mean Dog looks like it was the Joe's counterpart to the Cobra Maggot. I wonder if Wildcard was supposed to be a new Gung Ho (with bald head) and whether Armadillo was supposed to come with the Mean Dog and Wildcard with the Rolling Thunder but the designers switched them... For more trivia you could follow me on Twitter...message for my Twitter name. Good review.
I never thought to compare the front of the mean dog and the HAVOK (I love the havok) but now I wish the front of the HAVOK was more or less redone as the front half of the mean dog. I read about the Mean Dog as a kid, but never wanted it, and I hadn't thought of it in years. Your review does kinda make me want this one. I will say that Wildcard does do better at dress code then quick kick...he has boots. That backpack machete looks like I would love it on my Recondo... I remember in the comics when Wildcard more or less had gremlins breaking things... As a kid I thought it was funny. I remember him breaking handles and shifts.
Awesome review and i had this vehicle as a kid. I wish Hasbro would bring GI Joe back again. I love the line even the 25th, POC, 30th, and 50th. Come on hasbro bring it back or at least make some FSS figures available to retail. Yo Joe!
I remember a joke from the comic where somebody suggested to throw Wild Card at the enemy so he break their stuff. I think it was because they used all ammo.
I found my old mean dog and it was in 2 pieces. I could not for the life of me figure out how it was supposed to fit together and I didn't want to ham and it and break the thing. Thanks for the video!
The Joe's secret base in the comics (the Pit) was originally hidden under the Chaplain's school, so it makes sense that they would have some team members with that position to help maintain their cover.
I remember reading somewhere that many of the GI Joe figures were sculpted after real employees at Hasbro. Wildcard definitely looks like he was sculpted after a specific person and is probably one of the better headsculpts in the entire line. It's just too bad the rest of the figure is so lackluster.
My biggest problem with this and the Maggot Is the rear gun emplacement. I don’t know how the heck you would remove them in real life. You would need a crane to detach them from the vehicle, and to replace it
Brightly colored missiles became a norm because of alot of complaints of getting lost outside. I've experienced that myself. If you shoot a missile and it goes into foliage and it is green or brown...good luck. I don't mind bright colored ones...in display, that's different, I would try to have more realistic olive or grey bombs...in real instances bombs we're colored orange and yellow ...just not neon...lol.
This was my one of my later in the line favorite vehicles. I mostly saw it as a protector for the GIJoe headquarters. Or any base actually. The flaws was how to get that huge gattling gun. On and off.
I don"t remember The Raider. Now I am anxious for the review. It looks pretty sweet. I had a great day today thanks for making it just a little better. Everyone should really check out comic tropes it is a very fun channel. Lots of insite.
a lot of my later action figure playtime (like 88-91) was spent with the road warrior playing in the background. imagine that final chase scene, but with the rolling thunder in place of the tanker. the mean dog (usually separated, and minus the big cannon, i would leave it off) awe striker, and skyhawks ( one original, one sky patrol) always played pivotal supporting roles.
I don't see this as an improvement on the HAVOC, which isn't nearly as flawed as people say it is. That canopy could easily be made from bulletproof glass. Those slats on the Wild Dog offered no such protection.
I always figured it was an improvement/upgrade on the gamma goat vehicle as they both are hinged, have 6 wheels although it is a 4/2 layout not the 2/4 layout of the Mean Dog.
Great review. The cannon emplacement feature is definitely the weakest part, its almost useless and seems like the kick of the gun when it fires would knock it over lol
Great review as always. Wasn't too familiar with this one, so it's nice to learn about it. Am I the only one that uses the Night Blaster as a Cobra vehicle instead of a Maggot? It looks pretty good with Cobra stickers and a HISS tank driver and fits well along side the HISS, the Fang and such. I like to think the Maggot was just a prototype before they worried about the color scheme cause the colors are pretty ugly.
I remember the sheer disappointment of opening that front section up only to find no engine and three seats instead. Apparently this vehicle was based on the Flintstones car. Wildcard must push it along with his feet. This vehicle marks the death of GI Joe to me, because it's the first Joe vehicle that I owned that was complete fantasy and wouldn't even move in real life. After that the line became neon colored nonsense.
The wheels are giant, so just pretend they're housing some electric generators or something within the wheels. They've used plenty more outlandish and futuristic tech than that in GI Joe, so it's not that much of a stretch to believe.
...and now we know why Mrs. 788 puts up with his shenanigans... Also, you really do have an awesome family, dude. Still, you opened yourself up with that comment.
I like the vehicle, they could have done away with the driver and put a better one in there, or at least give him different colored pants. Red is very off putting, at least for him and Armidillo. I wouldn't have called the gun phallic, if you didn't point that out. "Look kids, G.I. Joe has a rolling vibrator!"
I had this one, and... regretted it.... I liked the color, looks like an African vehicle, but that was it s best feature if you ask me. the front 'grill' is a serious flaw, but the seperating parts is even worst. in no way does it work as good as the maggot, the front part just looks plain bad with the rear wheels. plus, these wheels take all the space for a decent rear cockpit or command post, not only does the gattling gun cannot stand, but how the heck are you supposed to get it out on the ground? you d need a crane or something, which the vehicle does nt have. the vehicle looks ok while it s in one piece, the round turret for the gattling looks awkward, with wide crack spaces around, and the missiles s racks are way too big for the size of the vehicle, Wild card must ve broken the design at Hasbro... they tried to make this do too many features, and in the end, accomplished nothing good. it s too bad, as without the gimmick, this could have been something interesting. at that time, the Joes needed a heavy vehicle, and instead, we got that pile of Wild card junk, a real shame. good show Commander!
So weird seeing these vehicle. It was only a year after I got disinterested in the toys and I really don't regret it. They're interesting but the line just went too far at that point for me. lol I went back to Star Wars.
Vehicle drivers are notoriously bad (except Wild Weasel), but this guy is just a mess. He looks like he’s eighty and he’s only a specialist? Also, an E4 is not getting near that multi-million dollar vehicle, never mind being the sole driver.
Some of them are the best figures ever released. Strato-Viper's are superb. Star Vipers, Lampreys. They're all Cobras, but I'm assuming you meant the line in general.
![เป็นไปได้ไหม - WanMai [Teaser] | 05-12-24](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/P5Uto6e453w/mqdefault.jpg)
Remember , in the comics all the Joes were Chaplains Assistants. It was a cover as G.I. Joe was initially top secret to not freak out the public over the existence of Cobra.
I have it and it's an excellent piece. I love it. Wildcard is cool too. His file card was hard to get, but I have everything. Blueprints too.
If I may pop in, the Wild Card figure is supposed to represent the Hollywood Vietnam Soldier, with him roaming the jungle with a machete chopping down trees, with ripped BDU. Honestly, all he really needs added is a scruffy 5 o clock shadow and Headband wrapped around his forhead to fully capture the look, and a M16 for an accessory. The Mean Dog also had room next to the front Gunner Position on either side for Joe weapons and packs that was glossed over slightly.
Back then, I would have imagined those slats were armor that could be shut. I never really perceived the toys completely literally when playing, just like i could imagine everything else.
My cousin had this vehicle and we played a lot with it. The sculpt of the turret seems to suggest that there should be a hatch in there. The sculpt of the driver's positions also seem to suggest that they have view ports or vision blocks which means that they could be driven hatch down. Also it amused us that the driver is a chaplain's assistant, considering how sloppy he looked!
Outstanding video and breakdown comparison of real-world weapons and equipment... You Sir, totally ROCK!!!!!!!
I always played with the Mean Dog as one vehicle. It's so much better together than serrated. Wild Card's body always seemed like it would have made a good Dreadnok.
Not only his body, but his personality according to the filecard almost seems like a Dreadnok bio slightly altered for a Joe.
SEO Toy Review yeah he does have a good look and accessory for a Dreadnok, he just needs a surlier facial expression! :D
I always used wild card as old school Chuck Norris as a kid, he fit in pretty well with Quick Kick and Snake Eyes. Never used the stupid Helmet. Never owned the Mean Dog, got wild card in a trade.
I had this as a kid and I didn't realize until much later that the front cab opened.
Thanks for the mention of my name glad u liked the donated vehicle love the extra mile you go on the videos!! Ty commander!!
I had friends who had this - what an awesome vehicle! I'm not sold on the splitting up into two vehicles gimmick, but the Mean Dog manages to look futuristic and gritty and realistic at the same time. Awesome!
If I were to assign G.I. Joe a genre it would be Military Fantasy. As for the Mean Dog I really like it - it makes for a fine futuristic vehicle concept and it doesn't look stupid. Bummer that the mobile turret feature didn't function properly! I like Wildcard a lot as well - just not most of his file card depiction. The goofy helmet can be thrown out and the sweet machete/backpack can be given to another character however! I really dig his sculpt and coloring but I agree they should have added more paint detail and given him a better personnel file. Thanks for bein' the best at what you do HCC788!
Dude... I love your old movie posters... The Pulic Enemy with Cagney and Key Largo with Bogart and edward G.... " soldier.. soldier"..... nice choices man...
This is an absolutely amazing vehicle...I stopped collecting when this came out, it makes me wish they would have had this instead of the Havoc I got as my last vehicle...one of the best I have seen in a long time
Thanks for posting
I like the matchette and the sheath.
This was never my favorite toy as a kid, but this review makes me think I should give it another look.
I got mine second hand, but I loved it. made a good base defense and convoy defense weapon.
Wildcard's colors look like he's ready to join the Mission Brazil team. That's how I'm going to use him and the Mean Dog from here on out... when he's not running my GI JOE sub-team the Mustachioed Menaces. Great review for April Fools Day.
I knew I put that thing in the right hands!
Well worth the drive.
Great review!
The gun turret 'legs' are not supposed to be placed all the way down to the ground. As you see in the cartoon clip, they go about halfway down, like how a tripod would look. Also, if you place a figure inside the turret it stands a bit better thanks to the added weight.
Impressive fire power, diverse applications for use & deployment, considerable crew carrying capacity. One of my, if not the, favorite heavy armor vehicles for the Joes. . I agree about the machete & sheath looking/feeling like they were intended for someone else, and also wondered what held it on. On the one I had, the guns support slats didn't slide all the way down to the floor. The ring stopped partly down so the slats stuck out at angles to give a better kind of braced support. Great vid!
Nice review. I never had this one, but my friend did. It protected the back yard on many a day. I the figure, but hate the deiver. He looks like a cast member from Deliverance.
This toy is so cool, I bought myself 2 and still missing a part so I will have to buy another one and make sure I get the part that is missing on my other two Mean Dog. Very good review and funny comment on the rear turret, LOL. Thumbs up for the review.
I definitely want this for my collection. Great review
I really like the throughness of your reviews. Makes me wish I had not given my figures to my children...
Great review, Muskrat would have been a better choice for the machete.
Your voice reminds me of the late Jim Henson. A cross between his Kermit the Frog and Guy Smiley Muppet characters...👍
I've just bought today, a loose near complete Mean Dog. Seller was selling it for £40 + £6 postage - I offered £22.50, they countered with £30. I countered with £25 and they accepted.
It's just missing the box (I'm not a box collector anymore) a missile and Wildcards machete and sheath accessories. I managed to buy a spare missile cheap today also. These were UK eBay purchases.
The Mean Dog was released in the UK in 1989/90 as part of the "G.I.JOE - THE ACTION FORCE" transitional range as Hasbro UK were moving toward brand unification with the UK Action Force being branded as GIJOE (no mention of "A Real American Hero").
The Mean Dog looks like it was the Joe's counterpart to the Cobra Maggot. I wonder if Wildcard was supposed to be a new Gung Ho (with bald head) and whether Armadillo was supposed to come with the Mean Dog and Wildcard with the Rolling Thunder but the designers switched them...
For more trivia you could follow me on Twitter...message for my Twitter name. Good review.
I never thought to compare the front of the mean dog and the HAVOK (I love the havok) but now I wish the front of the HAVOK was more or less redone as the front half of the mean dog. I read about the Mean Dog as a kid, but never wanted it, and I hadn't thought of it in years. Your review does kinda make me want this one.
I will say that Wildcard does do better at dress code then quick kick...he has boots. That backpack machete looks like I would love it on my Recondo...
I remember in the comics when Wildcard more or less had gremlins breaking things... As a kid I thought it was funny. I remember him breaking handles and shifts.
I like this vehicle
It's probably loosely based on the Lockheed XM800W (XM806/XM808) "Twister" experimental armored car.
Awesome review and i had this vehicle as a kid. I wish Hasbro would bring GI Joe back again. I love the line even the 25th, POC, 30th, and 50th. Come on hasbro bring it back or at least make some FSS figures available to retail. Yo Joe!
I remember a joke from the comic where somebody suggested to throw Wild Card at the enemy so he break their stuff. I think it was because they used all ammo.
Mount for the gun usually is tighter...allowing the canon to stand
I found my old mean dog and it was in 2 pieces. I could not for the life of me figure out how it was supposed to fit together and I didn't want to ham and it and break the thing. Thanks for the video!
How many Chaplin's Assistants does that make for the Joe team now? 3? Doc, Tripwire and Wildcard. And two of them broke everything.
It's a reference to the early days of the comic. The Joes' cover was as the Chaplain school iirc.
The Joe's secret base in the comics (the Pit) was originally hidden under the Chaplain's school, so it makes sense that they would have some team members with that position to help maintain their cover.
They broke God, is what they did, or the 1990's NEON-JOE era would never have happened.
The commentary on Wildcard's filecard was hilarious and super clever. lmao! So good.
That gatling gun can turn a jungle into a golf course.
I remember reading somewhere that many of the GI Joe figures were sculpted after real employees at Hasbro. Wildcard definitely looks like he was sculpted after a specific person and is probably one of the better headsculpts in the entire line. It's just too bad the rest of the figure is so lackluster.
Nice Slayer shirt 🤘😁🤘
My biggest problem with this and the Maggot Is the rear gun emplacement. I don’t know how the heck you would remove them in real life. You would need a crane to detach them from the vehicle, and to replace it
Brightly colored missiles became a norm because of alot of complaints of getting lost outside. I've experienced that myself. If you shoot a missile and it goes into foliage and it is green or brown...good luck. I don't mind bright colored ones...in display, that's different, I would try to have more realistic olive or grey bombs...in real instances bombs we're colored orange and yellow ...just not neon...lol.
This was my one of my later in the line favorite vehicles. I mostly saw it as a protector for the GIJoe headquarters. Or any base actually. The flaws was how to get that huge gattling gun. On and off.
Yo joe thank you for the review HCC788 your the best.
I don"t remember The Raider. Now I am anxious for the review. It looks pretty sweet. I had a great day today thanks for making it just a little better. Everyone should really check out comic tropes it is a very fun channel. Lots of insite.
Nice review and background history of the mean dog with wild card
Great review and also great shirt! SLAYER! 🤘🏻🎸
a lot of my later action figure playtime (like 88-91) was spent with the road warrior playing in the background. imagine that final chase scene, but with the rolling thunder in place of the tanker. the mean dog (usually separated, and minus the big cannon, i would leave it off) awe striker, and skyhawks ( one original, one sky patrol) always played pivotal supporting roles.
Have a nice time there Commander !
Nice review and an even better shirt 🤘Slayer!!🤘
I don't see this as an improvement on the HAVOC, which isn't nearly as flawed as people say it is. That canopy could easily be made from bulletproof glass. Those slats on the Wild Dog offered no such protection.
HA! Your "small" line and delayed facial expression made me laugh!
You are already my favorite youtube but the SLAYER shirt makes me want to hug you
I always figured it was an improvement/upgrade on the gamma goat vehicle as they both are hinged, have 6 wheels although it is a 4/2 layout not the 2/4 layout of the Mean Dog.
Great review and the slayer shirt is awesome 🤘🤘🤘🤘
But Wild Card's head and helmet lived on to become Major Altitude. Major Altitude should have been arrested for impersonating an officer.
Great review. The cannon emplacement feature is definitely the weakest part, its almost useless and seems like the kick of the gun when it fires would knock it over lol
The time is now and I am working some extra hours to find my own Mean Dog!
Great review as always. Wasn't too familiar with this one, so it's nice to learn about it. Am I the only one that uses the Night Blaster as a
Cobra vehicle instead of a Maggot? It looks pretty good with Cobra stickers and a HISS tank driver and fits well along side the HISS, the Fang and such. I like to think the Maggot was just a prototype before they worried about the color scheme cause the colors are pretty ugly.
13:25 kinda look like a alligator :P :D awesome review man
Careful with the clip on the back cannon. Mine broke. And the cannon support is loose on mine too.
Cool vehicle! I dig it!
45 seconds in, I love this dog.
I remember the sheer disappointment of opening that front section up only to find no engine and three seats instead. Apparently this vehicle was based on the Flintstones car. Wildcard must push it along with his feet. This vehicle marks the death of GI Joe to me, because it's the first Joe vehicle that I owned that was complete fantasy and wouldn't even move in real life. After that the line became neon colored nonsense.
ClunkerSlim That never occurred to me! No engine at all! Freaking hilarious... Geez Hasbro.
The wheels are giant, so just pretend they're housing some electric generators or something within the wheels. They've used plenty more outlandish and futuristic tech than that in GI Joe, so it's not that much of a stretch to believe.
I do wonder if the over all design of the figure was slated for a drednok and he was changed to a Joe last minute to drive a vehicle.
...and now we know why Mrs. 788 puts up with his shenanigans...
Also, you really do have an awesome family, dude. Still, you opened yourself up with that comment.
Great review
SLAYER!!!!!!
You have a beautiful dog! :)
It stays on by putting the peg in the hole!!!!! Haha dig it.
Slayer! Automatic like just for that.
The missile could have been gray !!! They would blend in better !!!
aped3 : Maybe they stopped making missiles blend in to make them less likely to get lost
Wow I can’t recall that vehicle at all,but the figure seems familiar.
BTW, will you be doing a review of the Raider? 😉
GOD AWFUL pun HCC788! A great review. This was my fave of my BFF
I like the vehicle, they could have done away with the driver and put a better one in there, or at least give him different colored pants. Red is very off putting, at least for him and Armidillo. I wouldn't have called the gun phallic, if you didn't point that out. "Look kids, G.I. Joe has a rolling vibrator!"
The heavy assault variant of Cobra's Maggot
where did you get the toy? i want to buy it again!!
lol If hasbro released this today it would be $200 bucks. Stephen Hassenfeld would probably b*#%@h slap the new heads at Hasbro.
I had this one, and... regretted it....
I liked the color, looks like an African vehicle, but that was it s best feature if you ask me.
the front 'grill' is a serious flaw, but the seperating parts is even worst.
in no way does it work as good as the maggot, the front part just looks plain bad with the rear wheels.
plus, these wheels take all the space for a decent rear cockpit or command post,
not only does the gattling gun cannot stand, but how the heck are you supposed to get it out on the ground?
you d need a crane or something, which the vehicle does nt have.
the vehicle looks ok while it s in one piece, the round turret for the gattling looks awkward, with wide crack spaces around,
and the missiles s racks are way too big for the size of the vehicle, Wild card must ve broken the design at Hasbro...
they tried to make this do too many features, and in the end, accomplished nothing good.
it s too bad, as without the gimmick, this could have been something interesting.
at that time, the Joes needed a heavy vehicle, and instead, we got that pile of Wild card junk, a real shame.
good show Commander!
So weird seeing these vehicle. It was only a year after I got disinterested in the toys and I really don't regret it. They're interesting but the line just went too far at that point for me. lol I went back to Star Wars.
I'm coming it holds eight figures compares to what you said seven
Well, of COURSE he's not gonna do it; he's NOT a mean dog!
i also have a mean dog which is purchased in 1996 in india
You know am careless but it's effect of my half blindness , age , lack of balance , lack of attention or concentration , stress , or lack of time ...
Vehicle drivers are notoriously bad (except Wild Weasel), but this guy is just a mess. He looks like he’s eighty and he’s only a specialist? Also, an E4 is not getting near that multi-million dollar vehicle, never mind being the sole driver.
It kind of reminds me of a gamma goat the us army had
Wildcard is like Steve Urkle. Did I do that
Geneva Convention ? more like Geneva *_Suggestion_* - Wildcard
All tank drivers are issued machetes. Lol
Do you need a joke writer? I have reasonable rates. I’M KIDDING! 😋
I hate GIJOE drivers they were the worst cared for figures as far as detail, gear and paint apps.
Some of them are the best figures ever released. Strato-Viper's are superb. Star Vipers, Lampreys. They're all Cobras, but I'm assuming you meant the line in general.