Great review, my son had Muskrat, he served as a driver for both the Badger and the Mudbuster. With the help of a buying guide we were able to match figures and accessories but Muskrat was missing his machete.
Great video HCC and how supportive of your daughter to colour coordinate her hair with Musk Rat's macheto!! Her "randoms" are award winning. Fantastic review.
I'm Polish (just like Mastaczajnik) and I can attest you pronounced his name really well! In fact, I found out about this channel from Mastaczajnik's deviantart. Subscribed!
tropical and subtropical swamps tend to be very green during the wet season, so a brighter green makes more sense. The woodland camo BDUs we had back in the days of GI Joe seemed to work best in Florida wetlands, better than even MARPAT. During the dry season tho, the vegetation gets brown so a coyote tan or other brown camo works better.
Great review as always. I always liked Muskrat and would put him in the bottom of the Top Tier... mostly because I'm from the southern swamp states. Lets just say I'm VERY familiar with Roadblock's home town and I've been to/through Thibodeaux, LA a number of times... I digress. Anyways, you could call his accessory a boogie board but down here with no real surf to ride we have "skim boards". Due to the very shallow low tides we have (a lot of local swamps are tidal with brackish water) you can get a running start, toss the board in front of you and ride it over the thin water line. Sometimes (if fast enough) you could traverse deeper water. You could do some tricks too but depends on the board shape. I imagined Muskrat tripping up Cobra with one of his snares or dead falls and running off with a smirk as he skimmed to safety... or used the board as a way to spray water on his enemies. My $0.02.
Thanks for the review Hoodie Co Co! You will NOT be living that name down anytime soon! Muskrat, Hard ball, and Budo were my personal go-to Joe's! Gotta love for those guys!
I thought Muskrat was a great figure. I loved the shotgun. I would sometimes use him as a Vietnam era Snake-Eyes teaming up with version 1 Stalker and Quick Kick as Storm Shadow.
never underestimate a muskrat , these animals are hardcore when they feel threatened and i have seen them grab a steel cage with their paws and try to bite it to bits :D
There was a Boonie hat version action figure of Snakeyes in 2006. It also had Storm Shadow in military gear. And my personal favorite version of Stalker. I know they're not vintage but they are o-ring.
Found my way to this video just this afternoon, excellent review. But I did want to give a couple of comments. First on the body board. It would be extremely handy in the swamp for covert movement. Gear or explosives could be put on it to keep them above water, or Muskrat could use it to help conserve energy as he slowly paddles his way through the water. And the things on his wrists remind me of zip-ties or rolls of wire; perfect for making traps or crude early warning devices. Also, yes I think that tank on his hip is a small oxygen tank, perfect for short-term use underwater. And speaking of, the thing about real world codenames or call signs is that 9 times out of 10, they're not flattering. I know from a toy marketing standpoint cool code names sell better. But Muskrat's codename feels more like a real-world call-back and I love it.
fun fact: you can't use cayenne pepper to throw off a dog scent is because K9's smell in 3D like we see in 3D. they can completely distinguish all different smells from one another, they fully know the difference between a smell they are tracking and the cayenne pepper itself like we humans can see the difference between the two object. its kinda hard to explain, but dog smell sense is one of its main survival senses next to it's hearing, so it's more well define like their hearing for them. if you really want to throw a dog's smell off use an animal carcass or another animals urine/feces to mask over yours as it will most likely see that as food or something to roll around in/on or whatever and fully ignore the commands given to it to track pray. if the carcass is rotted enough a dog will try pursue it for miles away when pulled away from it. the only whys for a handler to overcome this is if the dog is fully trained and disciplined well enough. ironically it doesn't happen often enough for a handler to care enough to train against it. edit: btw, cayenne pepper is hard to source if your in the middle of the woods unless you already procured it elsewhere, where as animal carcass or feces are obtainable.
Wouldn't it hurt the nose though? Like pepper spray? There's a reason this stuff is commonly used to make pepper spray. Also, he's from Cajun Country. I don't think he's going to have much of an issue requesting his family mail him some Cajun Spice.
I’ve often wondered about the unpainted details on the shoulders. It always seemed to me the one on his right shoulder was a light, while the other seems like maybe a communications device - especially if you look at the card art. But I wonder if it’s meant to be some type of rebreather that connects to the air tank on his leg? I had this figure as a kid, and I’m sure he’s still at my parents along with the rest of my childhood collection that my younger brother (by twelve years) inherited when I enlisted in the Army in ‘95. I’ve continued being a Joe fan, and got back into collecting in 2007 when the 25th anniversary hit stores, but I have to say between watching the videos put out by you, Joburg, Formbx257 and the other vintage reviewers, I’ve been drawn into collecting the originals again. Next time I’m out at my parents’, I’ll have to dig up my old Joes.
Another fantastic review. Good jokes, too. This figure is top tier for me. I gave the swamp aspect some thought. While no previous Joes had been given that specialty, I always associated Gung-Ho with the swamps because of his upbringing in Louisiana’s swamps. There may be a reason GI Joe didn’t need swamp experts until Muskrat. While the Drednoks operated out of the Florida Everglades, GI Joe shouldn’t have been tasked directly with that since that’s on domestic soil. They could be tasked as support but that’s an FBI job. But, at this point in time, Cobra Terror Dromes we’re coming out and operates in foreign lands in jungles and swamps. That’s why they hired Croc Master. Which in turn may have led to Muskrat joining the team. Just my thoughts.
They did a LOT of domestic operations, though. Starting all the way back with Operation Wingfield, they were pretty regularly assigned to domestic terrorist fighting. And, of course, there was the embarrassing first invasion of Springfield...
This is something that wasn't addressed in any form of media. G.I. Joe should not have operated domestically, but they did all the time. They must have been given some special jurisdiction, but it is never explained. They even attacked and destroyed an American town because they had intel that it was a secret Cobra base. No warrants, no due process, nothing! Just send in the troops!
On balance, I have to think 1988 is one of the better years in the later period of the vintage line. Sure there were ridiculous concepts, but as you say, there were also a lot of realistic designs and figures released that year.
I agree...I think 1988 is a superb year for GI Joe. Better than 1987 and 1989 by far. Repeater, Musk Rat, Hit and Run, Shockwave, Blizzard all top tier figures. Even Spearhead has some good qualities...minus the bobcat!
I bought Muskrat as soon as I saw him. Seeing him again, I still like his design, but the green needed to be scaled back a touch, or another color added to break up the scheme. Overall, still one of my favorites!
Forgot to mention that I used muskrat as crocodile Dundee and as bayou billy back in the days, especially with that machete. That's not a knife, this is a knife
A great guy, but I could have done without the boogie board. He joined our unit in the infamous Battle of the Dog-Leg, back in 87-88. Falcon, Repeater, Shockwave, the Warthog, all rolled in and made a name for themselves against Cobra back in the day.
HCC788.. Sir your forgetting the Skyhawk was an all terrain craft used as a water hopper in pursuit of your name sake. . A Boogie board of Muskrat could be pulled by the Swamp Smasher . .
i am kinda surprised that u didnt put this guy squarely in the top tier. i do think that board is meant as an actual boogie board. he could cross deep waters with it and do so rather quietly. he could also win boogie board summer beach competitions with it too!!!! :-D
Everything was great on this figure except for the blue female machetta....Why they couldn't just make it black? That way we could just paint the blade silver. But at least we had an honest green real looking soldier. I have this figure , but never used the machetta...it got thrown into the pile of neon orange , yellow, purple, blue weapons that were pulled off plastic sprues. Hasbro was just beginning to cut corners and change thier format at this point. Going for Sci Fi looking ridiculously concieved figures that never should've made the line. Larry Hama was scratching his head at this point whenever an odd ball figure or vehicle got pushed into the comics. He would usually write them out as quickly as possible. Muskrat was one of the best figures of that line. Thanks for the cool video again.
The cardfile said he went to Ranger school, but that doesn't make him a Ranger. A lot of Joes (much more than the 4 you showed) have Ranger school on their filecard, but they aren't Rangers. You should correct that.
I don't know...I think 1988 is a superb year for GI Joe. Better than 1987 and 1989 by far. Repeater, Musk Rat, Hit and Run, Shockwave, Blizzard all top tier figures. Even Spearhead has some good qualities...minus the bobcat!
Great video as always. I am getting a little worried as you are running out of good figures to review. Really getting down to the dregs of the line. I am sure you will make it work because you are good at what you do but I worry that it might become a slog.
Great review, my son had Muskrat, he served as a driver for both the Badger and the Mudbuster. With the help of a buying guide we were able to match figures and accessories but Muskrat was missing his machete.
Great video HCC and how supportive of your daughter to colour coordinate her hair with Musk Rat's macheto!! Her "randoms" are award winning. Fantastic review.
Another great figure that I loved as a child. He’s next on my acquisition list!
Nice was snake eyes,beachhead,stalker,falcon and firefly boo!
I'm Polish (just like Mastaczajnik) and I can attest you pronounced his name really well! In fact, I found out about this channel from Mastaczajnik's deviantart. Subscribed!
Just found your channel, looking forward to watching your older stuff. Nice to see an old geek talk about this stuff with so much knowledge and care.
Thank you! And welcome!
Title card art is phenomenal!! Great review too
Shoulder units; hi- power lamp on right and radio on left 😉
tropical and subtropical swamps tend to be very green during the wet season, so a brighter green makes more sense. The woodland camo BDUs we had back in the days of GI Joe seemed to work best in Florida wetlands, better than even MARPAT. During the dry season tho, the vegetation gets brown so a coyote tan or other brown camo works better.
BTW, as a Scottish-American, I love your kid's yellow and black tartan kilt......at least I think it's a kilt, could just pants. ;) :D
Great review as always. I always liked Muskrat and would put him in the bottom of the Top Tier... mostly because I'm from the southern swamp states. Lets just say I'm VERY familiar with Roadblock's home town and I've been to/through Thibodeaux, LA a number of times... I digress. Anyways, you could call his accessory a boogie board but down here with no real surf to ride we have "skim boards". Due to the very shallow low tides we have (a lot of local swamps are tidal with brackish water) you can get a running start, toss the board in front of you and ride it over the thin water line. Sometimes (if fast enough) you could traverse deeper water. You could do some tricks too but depends on the board shape. I imagined Muskrat tripping up Cobra with one of his snares or dead falls and running off with a smirk as he skimmed to safety... or used the board as a way to spray water on his enemies. My $0.02.
I picked this guy up just for the shotgun. Flint needed the upgrade.
Thanks for the review Hoodie Co Co! You will NOT be living that name down anytime soon! Muskrat, Hard ball, and Budo were my personal go-to Joe's! Gotta love for those guys!
Boonie's are good, but I'd rather have a K-Pot protecting my dome.
Best title card ever
Cant wait for the classified version
Excellent Video, Very Informative and Entertaining! 👍👍
I thought Muskrat was a great figure. I loved the shotgun. I would sometimes use him as a Vietnam era Snake-Eyes teaming up with version 1 Stalker and Quick Kick as Storm Shadow.
I wonder if the two items on his shoulders might be some lights for seeing in the swamp at night without having to hold a flashlight.
never underestimate a muskrat , these animals are hardcore when they feel threatened and i have seen them grab a steel cage with their paws and try to bite it to bits :D
There was a Boonie hat version action figure of Snakeyes in 2006. It also had Storm Shadow in military gear. And my personal favorite version of Stalker. I know they're not vintage but they are o-ring.
Great review
Nice work my friend always a pleasure 👍
A great figure. Top tier all the way.
matt lerch you have a cool name my friend
I simply coloured my Muskrat machete w silver enamel and left the grip blue
Found my way to this video just this afternoon, excellent review. But I did want to give a couple of comments. First on the body board. It would be extremely handy in the swamp for covert movement. Gear or explosives could be put on it to keep them above water, or Muskrat could use it to help conserve energy as he slowly paddles his way through the water. And the things on his wrists remind me of zip-ties or rolls of wire; perfect for making traps or crude early warning devices. Also, yes I think that tank on his hip is a small oxygen tank, perfect for short-term use underwater. And speaking of, the thing about real world codenames or call signs is that 9 times out of 10, they're not flattering. I know from a toy marketing standpoint cool code names sell better. But Muskrat's codename feels more like a real-world call-back and I love it.
fun fact: you can't use cayenne pepper to throw off a dog scent is because K9's smell in 3D like we see in 3D. they can completely distinguish all different smells from one another, they fully know the difference between a smell they are tracking and the cayenne pepper itself like we humans can see the difference between the two object. its kinda hard to explain, but dog smell sense is one of its main survival senses next to it's hearing, so it's more well define like their hearing for them. if you really want to throw a dog's smell off use an animal carcass or another animals urine/feces to mask over yours as it will most likely see that as food or something to roll around in/on or whatever and fully ignore the commands given to it to track pray. if the carcass is rotted enough a dog will try pursue it for miles away when pulled away from it. the only whys for a handler to overcome this is if the dog is fully trained and disciplined well enough. ironically it doesn't happen often enough for a handler to care enough to train against it.
edit: btw, cayenne pepper is hard to source if your in the middle of the woods unless you already procured it elsewhere, where as animal carcass or feces are obtainable.
Wouldn't it hurt the nose though? Like pepper spray? There's a reason this stuff is commonly used to make pepper spray. Also, he's from Cajun Country. I don't think he's going to have much of an issue requesting his family mail him some Cajun Spice.
A great figure... like to see the Swamp Masher next, please.🙏
👍😁
I’ve often wondered about the unpainted details on the shoulders. It always seemed to me the one on his right shoulder was a light, while the other seems like maybe a communications device - especially if you look at the card art. But I wonder if it’s meant to be some type of rebreather that connects to the air tank on his leg?
I had this figure as a kid, and I’m sure he’s still at my parents along with the rest of my childhood collection that my younger brother (by twelve years) inherited when I enlisted in the Army in ‘95. I’ve continued being a Joe fan, and got back into collecting in 2007 when the 25th anniversary hit stores, but I have to say between watching the videos put out by you, Joburg, Formbx257 and the other vintage reviewers, I’ve been drawn into collecting the originals again. Next time I’m out at my parents’, I’ll have to dig up my old Joes.
I think the arts your best so far!
Another fantastic review. Good jokes, too. This figure is top tier for me.
I gave the swamp aspect some thought. While no previous Joes had been given that specialty, I always associated Gung-Ho with the swamps because of his upbringing in Louisiana’s swamps.
There may be a reason GI Joe didn’t need swamp experts until Muskrat. While the Drednoks operated out of the Florida Everglades, GI Joe shouldn’t have been tasked directly with that since that’s on domestic soil. They could be tasked as support but that’s an FBI job.
But, at this point in time, Cobra Terror Dromes we’re coming out and operates in foreign lands in jungles and swamps. That’s why they hired Croc Master. Which in turn may have led to Muskrat joining the team. Just my thoughts.
They did a LOT of domestic operations, though. Starting all the way back with Operation Wingfield, they were pretty regularly assigned to domestic terrorist fighting. And, of course, there was the embarrassing first invasion of Springfield...
roguishpaladin What a pack of rascals.
This is something that wasn't addressed in any form of media. G.I. Joe should not have operated domestically, but they did all the time. They must have been given some special jurisdiction, but it is never explained. They even attacked and destroyed an American town because they had intel that it was a secret Cobra base. No warrants, no due process, nothing! Just send in the troops!
Is this why GI Joe got Chuckles? As a civilian contractor to keep tabs on the Dreadnoks?
It did reminded me a bit of crocodile Dundee :D awesome video brother :D
My fav, right up there with shockwave and alley viper v1
The release of Bench Press GI Joe Retaliation reminds me of this guy.
You wouldn't count Gung Ho as the original swamp fighter?! I would!!
On balance, I have to think 1988 is one of the better years in the later period of the vintage line. Sure there were ridiculous concepts, but as you say, there were also a lot of realistic designs and figures released that year.
I agree...I think 1988 is a superb year for GI Joe. Better than 1987 and 1989 by far. Repeater, Musk Rat, Hit and Run, Shockwave, Blizzard all top tier figures. Even Spearhead has some good qualities...minus the bobcat!
Agreed.
1988 is a year that I'm beginning to appreciate more as I acquire more figures from that release. It seems to have a little of everything.
@@MrX-qf4ro The concept art for Spearhead was maroon and tan, which looked a lot better than bright orange and tan. Still like the figure though.
Great job, once again. The canister on his leg could have been a smoke grenade or a can of Raid.
JoeMotion Videos 82 oxygen most likely; swamps often had toxic gas in them
Obviously you've never faced down the feared and deadly muskrat 👍
I think Muskrat is alright. Not horrible. Middle tier is fair.
Congrats on 5000 subscribers!
Nice shirt and fig
Oh, Muskrat Sam!
I bought Muskrat as soon as I saw him. Seeing him again, I still like his design, but the green needed to be scaled back a touch, or another color added to break up the scheme. Overall, still one of my favorites!
Great figure ...but hated that damn blue machete, I black sharpied it as a kid
3:47 his reaction there is too damn funny
Great Review of a top tier figure who got knocked to the middle tier because of his Female Macheta
Is that more jungle green vs Kelly green?
Samurai no, Cobra Astronauts yes!
Kelly green is a swamp fighter from Ireland?
Forgot to mention that I used muskrat as crocodile Dundee and as bayou billy back in the days, especially with that machete. That's not a knife, this is a knife
A great guy, but I could have done without the boogie board.
He joined our unit in the infamous Battle of the Dog-Leg, back in 87-88. Falcon, Repeater, Shockwave, the Warthog, all rolled in and made a name for themselves against Cobra back in the day.
HCC788.. Sir your forgetting the Skyhawk was an all terrain craft used as a water hopper in pursuit of your name sake. . A Boogie board of Muskrat could be pulled
by the Swamp Smasher . .
3:18 I'll take my guess in saying the night force version is really good and the battle corps version is really bad!
I have a water purification device that looks like the canister on his left leg
i am kinda surprised that u didnt put this guy squarely in the top tier. i do think that board is meant as an actual boogie board. he could cross deep waters with it and do so rather quietly. he could also win boogie board summer beach competitions with it too!!!! :-D
cannister is water filter canteen. swamp water isnt clean needs to be filtered to drink
Everything was great on this figure except for the blue female machetta....Why they couldn't just make it black? That way we could just paint the blade silver. But at least we had an honest green real looking soldier. I have this figure , but never used the machetta...it got thrown into the pile of neon orange , yellow, purple, blue weapons that were pulled off plastic sprues. Hasbro was just beginning to cut corners and change thier format at this point. Going for Sci Fi looking ridiculously concieved figures that never should've made the line. Larry Hama was scratching his head at this point whenever an odd ball figure or vehicle got pushed into the comics. He would usually write them out as quickly as possible. Muskrat was one of the best figures of that line. Thanks for the cool video again.
The cardfile said he went to Ranger school, but that doesn't make him a Ranger. A lot of Joes (much more than the 4 you showed) have Ranger school on their filecard, but they aren't Rangers. You should correct that.
When I think of war crimes. I think of Kissinger
I don't know...I think 1988 is a superb year for GI Joe. Better than 1987 and 1989 by far. Repeater, Musk Rat, Hit and Run, Shockwave, Blizzard all top tier figures. Even Spearhead has some good qualities...minus the bobcat!
They misspelled opossum.😂 Sorry HCC, didn’t mean to be “That Guy”.
I had him, I had him drive the Mudbuster.
With all these bizarre colors I have no idea what hasbro was thinking. And they wonder why people lost interest 🤔
Great video as always. I am getting a little worried as you are running out of good figures to review. Really getting down to the dregs of the line. I am sure you will make it work because you are good at what you do but I worry that it might become a slog.
I feel like he should've had a pet muskrat.
had he come out in the '90s he probably would have gotten one! :D
Insert random comment here.
When gi joe left military realism in favor of ninjas and scifi is when I lost interest
thibodeaux.........real place. fer-de-lance.........not a real place