The Blockbuster is a pretty neat and often overlooked addition to the Joe World.

I've only picked one up about 3-4 years ago, as they are actually kinda hard to find. I think it makes more of a 'battering ram' type of impact on me rather than any type of tank. I can easily see this vehicle being put into use when assaulting an artic fortress as an unstoppable mass rushing forward, unloading its cannon to soften up a hard targer, and then ramming it's way thru walls or defenses while troops pile out from behind on Battle Bears and assault the target.

Along with the thinking above, I've always thought that an urban version of the Blockbuster would serve Joe urban forces well, with the same logic.

What are your uses for the Blockbuster?

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well,.. due to its size and its ability to hold several figures, I use it as my arctic command and support vehicle. That way, it can direct the Avalanche , Arctic Blast, Battle Bear Skymobiles and Snowcats in battle, while providing artillary support with its long range cannons.

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I bought a Blockbuster back in the summer of 1996 at a Meijer store. It was the last Joe item they had and I bought it for the figure: not the vehicle. But, I was pleasantly surprised by the vehicle and it's one of the few large items from after 1985 that I've kept in my collection. It holds a ton of figures, has some decent detailing for a vehicle produced so late in the line and is a lot of fun. The big cannon is a bit of a downer and I've always felt that putting something different in that space could have made a vehicle for the ages.

You're right in that they're pretty hard to find. Rumour was that only around 10,000 of the Windchill figures were made and most of those ended up as tail end mail away overstock that were liquidated to dealers at the time. So, the vehicle production numbers are probably very small. It's not something most collectors care about, but it's one of the few vehicles that makes the cut in my collection.

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Interesting!
ive always considered The General as my artic commander center. Its wide base can easily maneuever artic wastelands, and its helipad can hold supply choppers, and its commander center consoles can accomodate a support stand and medic facilities. i can easily envision snow cats and snowmobiles launching from a General.

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well,.. I never owned the General,.. although it would make a cool Arctic command base (With the Mobile Command center being a desert base)

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i hadnt either until a couple o' years ago i stumbled across one with the box for $60. i never had any interest in one besides completionist reasons. but damn, the general is AWESOME. if you ever get the chance to dink around with one in person, youll fall in love.

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well,. I just bid on one on ebay,.. so hopfully I will have one in a week.

I never really had a problem with the Pom=pom guns on the Blockbuster,... but they are removable. I thought of finding a second one and customizing a command module.

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I think I would use it as the main arctic vehicle.

I also happen to like GITrekker's custom Oktober Guard version. I happen to get one of the toy magazines years ago where he was writing articles about the various GIJOE products. One article was about his Oktober Guard customs...(which he needs to repost on here if they aren't in the Gallery-hint, hint).

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I've got a junk 'Buster (missing the cannon entirely, which I don't think is a bad thing overall) that I've been thinking of making into Mr Freeze's ColdCar.

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Good call, I can see that!

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Back in 97, when Toys R Us released the Arctic 3-pack, they inherited the Blockbuster I bought at the same story probably a year before... Joes from 94 were still on the rack for years, alongside Sgt Savage and Extreme, in my area.

When I started writing my epic, but never actually posted because I'm a wuss, fan-fic "Rage of Cobra" the next year, Blizzard, Snow Job, Iceberg, Clutch and Short Fuze (who operated the cannons) went up against "The Firefly" (a doppleganger mercenary) and the Snow Serpents, eventually sinking the Blockbuster in an iced over river. Shipwreck, Wet-Suit and Torpedo, from the 1998 3-pack then extracted them in the Sea Wolf (1995 unproduced, y'know) and everyone made it out alive.

A few years later, I liquidated my Joe vehicle collection. I regret it now.

yeah, the only flaw I saw in the Blockbuster were the foward Gatling guns....

a little too low, dont you think...?

Was that for Shooting off Snow Serpent's Ankles?

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I'm still looking for a BB, but indeed they don't come along that often.

Excellent thread btw, there should be more of these about figures and vehicles which most collectors don't talk about or use. That's why I love to read Mike T's Forgotten Figures.

Tim 121RVC

In my fanfic it certainly was!

I actually got two of them on clearance a LOT of years ago. Customized one as a Star Brigade vehicle, and another one as an Oktober Guard vehicle, mostly because I thought it looked the part in both instances.

And if I can ever remember what I DID with the darn things, and if they're at all intact, I'll try to post them here...