 I am amazed at how many times this review has been requested. The bridge layer and toll booths, I never really gave them much thought. But these toys have a lot of fans, they have like a cult following. This week we have a special guest, Kevin Maley from the web series Venture Into the Vault. He's someone who really does love these toys, and he's going to give us a look at the modern toll booth action figures. Hi everyone, I'm Kevin Maley and I host a web series called Venture Into the Vault. G.I. Joe was the first property that I actively pursued collecting everything in the entire run. From my straight armed grand slam in 1982, to my dress uniform gung-ho in 1987, I am amassed an almost complete collection up to the release of the animated movie, and I had one favorite toy of the line, a 1985 bridge layer, and its driver, toll booth. Hey, wait a minute, he has background music. I don't have background music, let's get some background music going in here. That's it, that's better. For this review, I need to thank a couple people. Thank you to Troy Smith for helping me complete this vehicle and figure. It was an awesome thing you did for me and this channel and that means a lot to me. Thank you Lance Toth for doing the thumbnail image for this video and thank you for sharing your personal story with me, keep fighting the good fight my friend, and of course thank you to Kevin Maley for collaborating on this review, so HCC 788 and Venture Into the Vault presents the bridge layer and toll booth. This is the 1985 G.I. Joe bridge layer, toss and cross, and the driver toll booth. Thank you to Troy Smith for making this review possible by helping me complete this vehicle. The bridge layer and toll booths are listed as part of the 1985 series, but they were available exclusively at Sears late in 1984. They were also available in 1986 and they were discontinued for the year 1987. The bridge layer stands out among G.I. Joe vehicles because it is not a frontline fighting vehicle, it is a support vehicle. G.I. Joe had other support vehicles, but they were usually small like the bomb disposal unit. The bridge layer was a medium sized vehicle. The bridge layer is similar in construction to the 1983 Wolverine tank in that they are both non motorized tanks that roll on wheels under fake treads, but the bridge layer is significantly larger than the Wolverine. The Wolverine has the edge in firepower though with those 12 missiles. The bridge layer is closer in size to G.I. Joe's full size tanks, the MOBAT and the Mahler. What the bridge layer is lacking though is the motorized feature and the big main gun that both of these tanks had. The bridge layer is based on the real world armored vehicle launched bridge. It is a class of vehicles that carry a hydraulic operated folding bridge. It is designed to help armies forward rivers and other such obstacles. As strange as it looks, the bridge layer is a realistic vehicle. I'm going to set toll booth aside for now so we can take a closer look at the bridge layer. I'm going to start the look at the bridge layer by showing you the bridge extension feature. I get that out of the way early because there is a risk of breaking a part on the vehicle. These extender arms are notoriously prone to breakage. The bridge extension starts by pulling the back of the bridge up off of these back pegs that they rest on, on the back of the vehicle, and you pull the bridge up and you swing it forward and you split it apart at the same time. Swing that down to the ground and the bridge is extended. Now you have to remove the extender arms from the bridge and here's where there's a chance of breakage. These arms, you have to squeeze them together and that puts a lot of stress on the plastic, makes me nervous every time. You pop those out and then of course you can swing those up and then the bridge layer itself can drive over its own bridge. This is how I usually display the bridge layer with the tank sitting on its own bridge. I just don't want to put any more pressure on these extender arms than I have to. Thanks to Troy Smith that I have that part intact, so I don't want to break it. Let's look at the parts and the features of the bridge layer by starting with the bridge itself. The bridge is made up of two halves and it folds like that. The halves look the same, but they are not quite the same. They are different at the connection points. It uses a ball and joint connector here, which is kind of surprising. It seems like a hinge would have done just fine, but it is universal. You can flip it around. You can connect it to the bridge layer with either side up when it's folded. Either way it works. It has the holes where it connects to the back of the vehicle here. It has the connection point for the extender arms here and that's the same on both sides. The reason it's the same on both sides is because once the bridge layer fords the river over the bridge, then it can turn around, extend the arms, reconnect and lift the bridge back up and stow the bridge back on top. The surface of the bridge has a metal texture pattern and not much else. The detail is minimalist and utilitarian. One missed opportunity with this bridge is there's no way to connect it to another bridge. I think it would have been cool if there had been some way to connect one bridge layer bridge with another bridge layer bridge. That would have encouraged kids to play with their bridge layers together and build longer bridges. Now let's look at these hydraulic struts or extender arms that connect to the bridge and these are almost always broken and if you look at it, it's easy to see why. It has a bar here that connects between these two arms and so you have to squeeze these together above this bar and that puts a lot of pressure on the plastic here and of course as you would expect it tends to break. There is some decent detail on the top side but unfortunately the underside is hollow. They did try to add some detail on the underside to make it look a little bit better but it still looks hollow and that is unfortunate and it's difficult to hide because you are intended to swing this thing over to extend the bridge so that will expose the hollow underside of these hydraulic struts. There is some molded in detail here in the front and these hydraulic struts work kind of like an engine cover. When you flip them forward you get some additional engine detail. One thing I find interesting about this engine detail is it seems that they have borrowed some detail from another vehicle. This part right here appears to be the exhaust port from the engine of the Fang helicopter. That same detail also seems to have been used up here, just modified slightly. There are a couple supports here and that's where the hydraulic struts rest when the bridge is not attached. It has two seats, it is pretty plain in there, no instrument panels or controls. It is a good thing it has two seats because you can't have another Joe riding in the vehicle other than just the driver because this vehicle doesn't have any foot pegs anywhere on it for other figures to ride along. Looking at these seats I think I noticed something and yes I'm right. They did copy the driver's seat from the Wolverine, they just doubled up on it. Next we have the armament for the bridge layer. We have what the blueprints call aluminum semi-automatic 105mm wrap cannons. They do swivel not quite all the way around because the body of the tank interferes. They are the same but their positioning is asymmetrical. The port side cannon is positioned farther forward than the other one. The tank has fake treads in black and the vehicle actually rolls on four wheels on the underside and it does roll fairly well. Again this is very similar to the construction of the Wolverine. Moving farther back we have the engines and we have four fans and these look like more copied details from an earlier vehicle. These engine fans look to me like the engine fans from the 1984 Cobra Water Magasin. Now they have modified them, they've hollowed them out in the center, but otherwise those look the same to me. We have the support mounts for the bridge and those are pretty thick and substantial, they're not likely to break. Using them we have some engine vents and this looks like another detail copied from an earlier vehicle. These vents come from the MOBAT tank. The MOBAT had the same vents, you can see the same vent detail. The MOBAT had two of them, what they've done is taken those vent details and pushed them together for the bridge layer. Finally in the back we have a universal tow hook and that's good for the bridge layer because it is not a frontline combat vehicle, it is a support vehicle so it can make itself useful by towing GI Joe weaponry into battle such as the Mountain Howitzer. Keep in mind this tow hook is said exceptionally high off the ground which makes it not a very good fit for some GI Joe towed weaponry like the MMS. The MMS hangs so low here in the back that it almost scrapes the ground. I think one of the reasons I don't think about the bridge layers I didn't really play with it very much when I was a kid. I guess I didn't have very many rivers or ravines to cross in my backyard. However Kevin is going to share with us how he integrated the bridge layer into his GI Joe playtime. Now when I was a kid my house was surrounded by the woods so I would find a little alcove with one way in, one way out and I would dig a trench right across the opening. Now with my trench dog I could put the GI Joe base inside the alcove and then when it was time to go out and hunt down Cobra the bridge layer would lead the charge. It laid the bridge across and let everyone pass, retrieve the bridge, follow the troops and the base is secure. Now let's take a look at Tollbooth. This figure is one of the reasons why people joke about GI Joe including the cast of the village people. Tollbooth is the construction worker. Let's take a look at Tollbooth's accessory. He came with only one. He came with his sledgehammer. This is a very plain functional accessory. This is not a weapon unless you have him cave in some Cobra skulls with it. The handle is a bit thick but it can be placed in the figure's hand. I would be cautious about stressing the thumbs. When I see a sledgehammer I don't think of the Peter Gabriel song. I think of the TV show Sledgehammer. It was a police comedy show from the 80s. Does anybody else remember that? Let's take a look at the articulation on Tollbooth. He had the articulation that was standard for 1984 GI Joe action figures. So he could turn his head from left to right but he could not look up and down. His head was on a swivel. He could swing his arm up at the shoulder about so far. He could swivel at the shoulder all the way around. He had a hinge at the elbow that allowed him to move his arm at the elbow about 90 degrees. He had a swivel at the bicep so he could swivel his arm all the way around. The figure was held together with a rubber O-ring that looped around the inside. That allowed him to move at the torso a bit. He could move his legs apart about so far. He could bend his legs at the hip about 90 degrees and bend at the knee about 90 degrees. Let's take a look at the sculpted design and color of Tollbooth starting with his head. And his head is a two piece construction with an orange hard hat. And that hat is tilted at a slight angle. And I like that. He definitely has the construction worker look. On his chest he has an open collar with dog tags and those dog tags are painted. There is a silver paint application on them. He is wearing a green shirt with a brown vest over it. This chest is very similar to the one on the 1983 Wild Bill who also had a green shirt, a brown vest, an open collar and dog tags. But Wild Bill's dog tags were unpainted so Tollbooth has the advantage there. His arms feature green rolled up sleeves and on the right arm he has a rank insignia patch. And as pointed out by FormBX257 in his excellent review of the bridge layer and Tollbooth that rank insignia is probably intended to be a first sergeant technician patch from World War II. That does not match the rank on his file card but this is kind of a throwback patch. He has black gloves and he has a black watch on his left wrist. On his waist piece he has two brown belts with a utility belt slung over the other one and it hangs at a slight angle with some exceptional detail front and back. And he has two green pouches on the belt. His legs feature orange or burnt amber colored trousers and he has a black pistol and holster on his right leg. His left leg is plain. And here again we get into the reuse of parts. These upper legs were reused from Duke and Major Blood. And we finish up with a pair of brown combat boots. They are plain but effective like the rest of the figure. Tollbooth's trousers are the same color as roadblocks released in 1984. And I think that's a funny connection between these two figures. They don't look anything alike other than a kind of similar color scheme. A lot of collectors may consider this figure to be forgettable and it's easy to understand why. But the figure has some things going for it. For one thing there is nothing unrealistic on this figure. Everything on the figure draws from the real world. Now the figure is subtle but it also has a lot of character. And despite the plainness it is distinctive. With that orange hard hat it's easy to spot Tollbooth. You wouldn't mistake him for anyone else. Let's take a look at Tollbooth's file card. This file card was printed on the back of the box that the bridge layer came in. It has his faction as G.I. Joe and it has a portrait of Tollbooth here. It says he is the bridge layer driver and his codename is Tollbooth. His file name is Chuck Goran, middle initial X for nothing. Meaning he has no middle initial. Tollbooth takes his name from Charles Goran a champion bridge player. This is one of Larry Hama's file card Easter eggs. He likes to hide these little references in the cards most of which would be over the heads of the kids who read them. Military specialty combat engineer, secondary specialty transportation, birthplace Boise, Idaho. And his grade is specialist five. This middle paragraph says Tollbooth's love for building started when he was six. His parents got him a construction set for Christmas and he wore it out before he was seven. Every year his sets got bigger and more complex until he outgrew them all. Started building in earnest, got his masters in engineering from MIT, needed a bigger challenge so he joined the army expressly to sign up for the G.I. Joe team. MIT is referring to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a very prestigious university. It's surprising that he would enter the army as a non-commissioned officer after getting a master's degree at MIT. That's probably the most unrealistic part of this file card. This bottom paragraph has a quote. Stalker says, we're on our way to an objective and come to an obstacle we can't cross. River, crevasse, mountain, whatever. Tollbooth gets us across. He may build a bridge out of whatever's there, blast through solid rock or lay down a four-lane blacktop. The man's got magic. Hold up the convoy. Dag, there's no way we can get through that. Tollbooth, up front. Yes, Sergeant? See if you can find a path through this terrain. Crankies, bring that map up here. Okay, give me five minutes. Let's see, maybe if we divert south through Rock Ridge. I'm done, Sergeant. Whoa, Tollbooth, what did you do? What's wrong with it? Not enough lanes? Now that we've looked at the vintage Tollbooth figure, I'm gonna turn it over to Kevin so he can rap with us about modern G.I. Joe figures and give us a good look at the modern Tollbooth figure. After a two decade bridge of time since I stopped collecting, Hasbro began releasing updated versions of the original line for the 25th anniversary of G.I. Joe, a real American hero in 2007, began collecting again. Over these last 10 years, I've obtained a new version of almost every figure I used to own and almost just as many that I never had. Now, they haven't given us a new bridge layer, but in 2013, they gave us a new Tollbooth. Though nothing beats the originals when it comes to nostalgia, there are many new improvements to enjoy. The thumbs and crotches don't break off so easily anymore. The sculpting, paint applications, articulation, and accessories have all been improved on. It's slightly reorganized things on its new file card and included that after MIT and before G.I. Joe, he joined the U.S. Army and graduated at the top of his class of the Sapper Leader Course at the Combat Engineer School at Fort Leonardwood, Missouri. The Sapper Leader Course refers to a 28 day course designed to train joint service leaders in small unit tactics, leadership skills, and tactics required to perform as part of a combined arms team. They've also removed stalker's quote to include, Tollbooth performs a variety of combat engineering duties, such as laying or clearing minefields and building bridges. He is proficient in demolitions, field defenses, and general construction, as well as road and airfield fabrication and repair. Sadly, G.I. Joe is a lot harder and more expensive to collect than it was in the 80s. For the most part, you're not gonna find these in stores anymore. And Tollbooth here is only available through a subscription service to the G.I. Joe Collectors Club. His body construction is made up of parts from five different previously released figures, but cast and painted to match the 1985 original, while his head is a completely new sculpt. It comes with these two safety cones, barbed wire, a pistol, his display stand, another pistol in a holster, his mallet, a pickaxe, and this vest webgear that you can take off. His head moves side to side and down. His torso can twist all the way around. His arms can spin completely around that way. And this way, he has elbow articulation, wrist articulation, legs, double jointed knees, and you can spin his ankles. Tollbooth. Looking at how Tollbooth and the bridge layer were used in G.I. Joe media, they both appeared minimally in the animated series. Tollbooth had less than a minute of total screen time in all of his appearances in the cartoon. His first appearance was in Pyramid of Darkness, part three. He had a couple lines voiced by Michael Bell. Tollbooth had minimal appearances in the G.I. Joe comic book too. He first appeared in issue number 51. He was back briefly for the Cobra Civil War story arc. A dialogue error in issue number 76 mistakenly calls thunder, Tollbooth. But the real Tollbooth does get to save the day with the bridge layer. Looking at the bridge layer and Tollbooth overall, I like both of them. They are both a little on the plain side, so I can't put them in the top tier, but I think they are both comfortably in the middle tier. But the bridge layer gets extra bonus points for being a realistic military vehicle, and I give it full props for that. What surprises me is how many kids loved the bridge layer. I've gotten a lot of comments from bridge layer fans. I'm surprised by the fan base for both the vehicle and the figure. My biggest complaint about the bridge layer is the fragility of those extender arms, the hydraulic struts. The way they are designed breakage is inevitable. I like the subtlety of the Tollbooth design. He doesn't have the stunning details and accessories of higher tier figures, but he fits his role as a combat support troop. I think he looks more like a 1983 figure than a 1985 figure. I think if Tollbooth had been released with the 1983 series, he would have fit right in. But that's enough from me. I want to turn the video once again over to someone who really did love this figure and vehicle. Kevin has some bridge layer and Tollbooth memorabilia to share. So, Kevin, show us your cool stuff. I've been fortunate enough to obtain the original model sheet animation cells for the bridge layer and Tollbooth, as well as the original Herb Trimby artwork for Tollbooth's inclusion in the Order of Battle comic series and a copy of that comic signed by everyone involved. I've also commissioned Tollbooth artwork from Ron Rudat and Larry Hama, which I'll be featuring in an updated segment on my own series. In the meantime, I've got Tollbooth artwork from Hooded Cobra Commander. And here's my own artwork for all of us involved in this episode. Thank you, Kevin, from Venture Into the Vault. Let's get that background music back. Thank you again, Troy Smith. This review would not have been possible without you. And thanks again, Lance Toth, awesome artwork, my friend. And big thanks to Kevin Maley from Venture Into the Vault for being our guest in this review. Thank you, everyone, for watching. Make sure you leave this video a thumbs up and subscribe. And check out the website, hcc788.com. You can see all my G.I. Joe reviews there and you can get an HCC788 t-shirt. And don't forget to check me out on Patreon for some special perks. I'll see everybody next time for another vintage G.I. Joe toy review. Acting cold was really tough, you know. And cold was something better than G.I. Joe. Sold separately, introducing barbecue and shipwreck. Bridge layer comes with toll booths, some assembly required. We're gonna see. Boss striker comes with crankcase. Joe, Joe! G.I. Joe.