 Introducing a new G.I. Joe action star serial, the delicious new vector serial, chocolate, sugar to really get you going. Oh, action star serial, part of a complete buffet. But before we do that, I need to give a codename to a patron, Jason Gallaghan. Because Jason has been so generous, I think he deserves the ultimate of codenames. As Joe Colton became G.I. Joe, J Gallaghan becomes G.I.J. Thank you G.I.J. for your support. Speaking of my patron G.I.J., supporters on Patreon chose this review. Since 2019 is the year of the rarity, I gave them two rare options to choose from. Create a Cobra or Starduster, and Starduster won. When I was a kid, Starduster was a myth. He came on the scene at a time when I was moving away from G.I. Joe. I knew about him. I saw him in a TV commercial for action star serial. But I never had the figure, and I didn't know anyone else who had it either. I wasn't even sure Starduster was real. It sounds like something kids would make up. Even the name, Starduster, is kind of whimsical and not a tough-sounding G.I. Joe codename. He wasn't in the comic book series, he wasn't in the animated series, and no one I knew had even seen the figure. How could he be real? He was real, and nowadays he's considered a rare figure. Let's take a look at the action figure that originated with a breakfast serial and became a G.I. Joe legend. HCC788 presents Starduster. This is Starduster, G.I. Joe's jet-pack trooper from 1987. This figure was initially an offer from G.I. Joe Action Star's serial. It was continued as a mail-away offer through catalogs up to 1990 and was finally discontinued in 1991. Overstock of the figure was sold at the 1993 G.I. Joe convention. There were a couple variations of Starduster, but there were no other versions in the vintage era. Starduster is the second jet-pack trooper in G.I. Joe. In 1983, Grand Slam Version 2 was designated the Laser Jet-Pack Trooper and was included with the Jump Jet-Pack. The Jump was released in 1982 without an action figure. The first version of Grand Slam was released in 1982 with the HAL Heavy Artillery Laser. The first version of Grand Slam had red pads. In 1983, the Jump added Grand Slam and his pads were changed to silver. In 1985, G.I. Joe was at the height of its popularity. Like many other popular children's properties, G.I. Joe expanded into breakfast cereal. Ralston Purina took the license and released G.I. Joe Action Star's Serial. The cereal bits were shaped like stars with a hole in the center. My recollection is they tasted like Captain Crunch. Looking at some internet sources about the cereal, other G.I. Joe fans confirmed the cereal was a lot like Captain Crunch. The cereal box featured different G.I. Joe characters. The 1985 box with Gung Ho. Apparently Ralston didn't want to show a tattoo on their cereal box, so Gung Ho's Marine Corps tattoo is covered up with a Marine Corps t-shirt. In 1987, a new character was featured on the box front, Starduster. Starduster can be seen on the 1985 commercial for action stars. The figure wasn't released until a couple years later. As a kid, I was a bit confused by all this. My parents didn't buy action stars very often, so I never saw the mail away offer for the figure. My parents didn't like us to send away for those offers anyway. The new character never appeared in the comic book or cartoon series, so I just didn't know anything about it. Eventually, the figure was made available for mail order through the catalogs that were packaged with G.I. Joe vehicles. But by 1988, I was getting out of G.I. Joe. None of my friends had this figure. It was a legend. A myth. We weren't sure it really existed. I didn't lay my hands on this figure until I was an adult collector. 1987 was a special year for mail away figures. There were three offerings for G.I. Joe figures delivered by mail, and they were all noteworthy. Besides Starduster, there was Steel Brigade, a fan insert figure with a customizable file card, and The Fridge, a figure based on a real American football player. There are three total variations of this figure. They are designated version 1A, version 1B, and version 1C. As you can see, I only have two figures here, so I do not have version 1B. But version 1B doesn't have anything different from what you see here. Version 1B just has the same lower half as version 1A, but the same chest as version 1C. So you're not really missing anything. Starduster is considered a rare figure today. It wasn't always so highly valued. In fact, in 1995, a DeSimone G.I. Joe Convention exclusive figure was a repainted Starduster version 1C figure. The figure was repainted as a police officer. That figure is a rare and highly sought after figure in its own right. But what kills me about that custom figure is, Starduster is made of reused parts. You could create this exact same figure by repainting common parts rather than painting over Starduster. In this book published by Marvel Comics Marvel Age number 34, there is an entry which may apply to Starduster. In this section introducing new Joe's, there is an entry with no artwork. The character's name is Hedge Hopper. The character's specialty is Jetpack Trooper. But the rest of the background is entirely different from Starduster. This may have been a prototype profile a year before the figure was released. Let's take a look at the accessories for Starduster. Most Starduster figures came with the same set of accessories, but later releases included the mail away variant of the Pocket Patrol Pack. The latest releases did not include the Jetpack, but still included the Pocket Patrol Pack. It's kind of weird to get a Jetpack Trooper without a Jetpack. Let's start by looking at his weapon. Starduster came with a grenade launcher. It is in silver plastic. It has a strap and this is a reissue of the grenade launcher that came with 1983 Gung Ho. Gung Ho's grenade launcher of course being in dark gray and Starduster's being in silver. It should not be confused with the light gray version of this grenade launcher that was included with Battle Gear accessory pack number two. That is the least valuable of these grenade launchers. Starduster's grenade launcher is in silver plastic and tends to be much more expensive on the aftermarket. The next accessory is the helmet with the attached visor. I'm going to remove the visor and look at it first. This visor is black. It has a couple knobs that attach to the holes in the side of the helmet. This is very similar to the clear visors that came on a lot of 1982 figures. This is basically a black version of that clear visor. This should not be confused with the black visor that came with 1984 Thunder. That black visor is more narrow. It has a notch for the nose and it attaches to the helmet in a different way. These are not interchangeable. Let's take a look at the helmet that the visor attaches to and this helmet is a tight fit. I have come across a few of these helmets on the aftermarket that are split down the center. So have some caution with that. It is a rare accessory. You can see how much trouble I'm having getting it off the head here. So there it goes. This is a standard 1982 G.I. Joe helmet. A lot of 1982 figures came with this style helmet. Again, looking at Grand Slam as an example, it's basically the same helmet in a different color. It has the holes on the side for attaching the visor. This helmet is in a light blue plastic color with a black circled star tampo on the center. I like the paint application on this helmet. It just makes it a little more special than the other helmets of this style. Next, let's look at his jetpack. It's pretty important for a jetpack trooper to include a jetpack. The mold for this jetpack appears to me to be exactly the same as the 1982 and 1983 Jump jetpack. I have noticed a slight color mismatch. My suspicion is this Starduster jetpack was from a later mail away version of the Jump jetpack. The other difference is the Starduster jetpack did not include the stickers that were included with the Jump jetpack. No stickers on the Starduster version. The Starduster jetpack even has the hole in the bottom. For the Jump jetpack that had a wire that connected to the laser weapon, not included with Starduster, it still has the place where you would plug in the wire. If it's so important for a jetpack trooper to have a jetpack, then why did later Stardusters not include the jetpack? I suspect the jetpack was overstock. By 1990, they may have run out of overstock jetpacks, so they just stopped including it with the figure. One thing they never ran out of was the Pocket Patrol Pack. These were included with later releases of Starduster, even when he did not have his jetpack. The Pocket Patrol Pack was initially available on a card at retail in 1983. The retail version of the Pocket Patrol Pack had a window with a GI Joe logo sticker, and that window was angled on one side. The one that came with Starduster was the mail away variant that had a rectangular window and an updated GI Joe logo sticker. The mail away variants of the Pocket Patrol Pack are maybe slightly less common as the retail version. At least I see fewer of them. The Pocket Patrol Pack is a carrying case for three action figures. It has three slots there for three figures. And on the back it has a loop that you could thread a belt through and you could wear this pack on a belt. So why did a jetpack trooper need a Pocket Patrol Pack? Again, I suspect it is overstock. Looking at the articulation for Starduster, he had the articulation that was standard for GI Joe figures in 1983 and 1984. Meaning he had a swivel head. His head can turn left and right. The ball jointed head wasn't introduced until 1985. Since they're using a 1984 chest, that kind of limits what heads they can use. They have to use a swivel head. He could swing his arm up at the shoulder and swivel at the shoulder all the way around. He had a hinge at the elbow that allowed him to bend his arm at the elbow about 90 degrees. He had a swivel at the bicep that allowed him to 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 leg at the hip about 90 degrees and bend at the knee about 90 degrees. Let's take a look at the sculpt design and color of Starduster. This figure is made up entirely of reused parts. This happened a lot with male-away figures, but in the 80s they would usually give us at least one new part. For instance, Duke was made up almost entirely of reused parts, but he had a new head and chest. Then Steel Brigade, from 1987 the same year as Starduster, was made up almost entirely of reused parts, but at least he had a new head. Starduster has nothing new at all. Starduster is made mostly of light blue plastic. This plastic is prone to discoloration. The discoloration is caused by the brominated flame retardant, or BFR, that was added to the plastic. The chemical breaks down over time and turns yellow. This isn't as noticeable in dark colored plastic, but it is noticeable in light colored plastic. Light blue will turn green. One of my Starduster figures shows signs of discoloration. Mostly on the front, the back is still discolored but not as badly. I'm assuming the front of the figure was exposed to sunlight which accelerated the discoloration. My other Starduster figure is still a nice vibrant light blue and has not shown signs of discoloration yet. His head features black hair. The hair is quite plain, not a lot of detail. The whole head really is kind of plain. This is the same head that was used on 1982 Flash and several other 1982 figures. This is kind of a generic head. All variants of Starduster had the same head. It is with the chest that we start seeing variations. The earliest releases of Starduster used the same chest as a 1984 Rekondo. The chest features a light blue shirt slightly discolored here with a pocket on the right side. A tan strap that runs diagonally from the right shoulder down to the belt on the left side. A silver buckle. There's a tan pistol holster with a black pistol. Another strap that runs over the left shoulder. Those strap details do continue to the back. Then on the left side we have what looks like jump wings painted in white. Only version 1A, the earliest releases of Starduster used this torso. Version 1B and version 1C used this one and this was a reuse of the torso of Duke. The same chest and the same back piece. The version 1B and version 1C chest again has that light blue shirt, this one not discolored. It has a tan bandolier that runs over the left shoulder. A black grenade on that. A couple of pouches and a silver buckle. It has a couple of pockets and on the right side it has jump wings painted in white. And like the Duke torso, that bandolier does not continue to the back. A very similar thing happened with Steel Brigade. The earliest releases of Steel Brigade used the torso from Airborne. But that was quickly swapped out with another torso and once again they used parts from Duke. All variants of Starduster used the same arms. They feature light blue rolled up sleeves and gray gloves. And these arms originally belonged to Flint. Next we get to the waist piece and here we start to see more variation. The earliest releases of Starduster used the waist piece from Rekondo. But recolored, the belt is now black. We see the tail of that light blue shirt. And below that we have a light blue and green camouflage pattern. Version 1A and version 1B used this Rekondo waist. Version 1C changed it up. This one reused the waist from 1986 Iceberg. That waist piece is the only difference between version 1B and version 1C. Version 1B just held over that Rekondo waist piece from 1A. But still had the torso of 1C. Everybody got that? There's one other possible difference in a version 1B with the date stamp. I'll get to that in a moment. All variations of Starduster used the same legs. And these legs are a reissue of the legs from 1984 Roadblock. Here's where we get into another potential difference in a version 1B. On a version 1A, the date stamp inside the left leg says copyright 1984. For a version 1B, it should say copyright 1988. Version 1C can say either 1984 or 1988. Those legs feature light blue trousers with an olive green camouflage pattern. There is a tan strap around the right thigh. A tan sheath with a gray handled knife. On the left side, there is a tan pistol holster with a black pistol. And we finish up with some gray boots the same color of gray as the gloves. This light blue and green camouflage pattern reminds me of Gung Ho. And that's cool for me because Gung Ho was one of my favorite figures from 1983. There is a controversy surrounding Starduster version 1B. Some collectors have claimed that version 1B is not a real variation. It is very hard to find. It may be the rarest of the three. A similar controversy occurred when it was decided that Steel Brigade version 1E was not a real factory issued variation. Collectors had swapped out parts after the fact and passed it off as a variation. A few collectors believe the same thing happened with version 1B. It's just a kit bash between version 1A and 1C. I've seen enough version 1Bs and heard from enough collectors who received version 1B from Hasbro to conclude version 1B is a true factory issued variation. That may not be enough evidence for the skeptics. That's okay. If you are skeptical of a claim, you should remain skeptical until you see evidence that persuades you. I have seen enough evidence to persuade me. So why this color scheme? It's been suggested that the light blue and green is intended to camouflage him against the daytime sky and tree tops. This is probably what they were thinking when they designed this figure. He is a jet-packed trooper, so he'll be flying overhead. The enemy will be looking up at him, often through foliage. Let's take a look at Starduster's file card. This file card has a red back, as most mail-away file cards did. It has his faction as GI Joe. It has a portrait of Starduster here. And Starduster didn't have a full card, so this is the most artwork we had for him at the time. Kind of looks like they copied the Duke artwork a little bit. Codename is Starduster, he is the jet-packed trooper. File name is Edward J. Schuyler, so they got the word Sky in his name. Primary military specialty infantry transportable air recon. Secondary military specialty helicopter assault. So his secondary military specialty suggests he could be on the same team as the helicopter assault trooper Airborne. Birthplace is Burlingame, California, and his grade is E5. This top paragraph says, Starduster was a circus trapeze artist when he enlisted in the Airborne Rangers. Straight to the Airborne Rangers, huh? No stops in between. He quickly found that his acrobatic skills and boundless energy would come in handy when swinging from a 150-foot rope, but now he did his famous routine suspended from a Huey Assault compter, with the audience throwing more than just popcorn and peanuts. It was Duke, however, who recognized how well Starduster's death-defying act would work with the jump jet-pack. The combination has been a crowd-pleaser ever since. This bottom paragraph has a quote. It says, We could be pinned down by artillery, rockets, and flanking small arms fire. Every inch of sky lit by tracer, the lead so thick in the air, even the mosquitoes would take cover. But Starduster would be out there in a flash to spot the bad guys. No questions. Straight up into the flak with his characteristic show-must-go-on attitude, grinning like a Cheshire cat as he calls in enemy positions for our own artillery to hit. The guy never fails to keep the act interesting. This card is okay. It's not great, but it is kind of colorful and fun. It does suggest a use for the jump jet-pack calling in enemy positions for artillery. Looking at how Starduster was used in G.I. Joe Media, he made no appearances in the animated series. He was only animated for the action-star's serial commercial. Likewise, he did not appear in the regular comic book series published by Marvel Comics, but he did appear in comic book form. Inserted in some of the serial boxes were these mini-comics. There were three in total, and they featured a comic book story about Starduster. They are also, to my knowledge, the only comic book appearances by Starduster. Inside these mini-comics, there is no writing or art credit, but the art style looks a lot like Herb Trimpe, an artist you might remember from the first issue of the G.I. Joe comic book. Issue number one says this is supposedly near Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma. That doesn't look like any terrain in Oklahoma that I've seen. The three issues tell a complete story, and it's not great fiction, but it is fun. Cobra wants to get the prototype jet-pack and they capture Starduster in the process, but Starduster quickly escapes. And that's it. Looking at Starduster overall, the highest I can place this figure is the middle tier, despite it being a grail for many collectors. It's difficult for a figure with no new parts and no new accessories to make it to the top tier. It's not a bad figure, I like the figure, I just don't see it as a top tier figure. The light blue is nice, I like it. It's not a military color, but it makes the figure distinctive, and it reminds me of Gung Ho. Beware of discoloration, that light blue plastic will eventually turn green. The accessories are fine, my favorite accessory is the helmet with the star on it. We didn't get many of those standard 1982 helmets with paint applications, so it's kind of special. The jump jet-pack is appropriately used here, but later Starduster figures did not include it. It doesn't make any sense to have a jet-pack trooper with no jet-pack. Starduster is not connected to the broader G.I. Joe mythos. Instead, he's connected to G.I. Joe licensing. Breakfast cereal was huge at the time. Every popular children's product had a breakfast cereal. I loved getting action stars cereal, even though we didn't get it very often. It didn't taste any better than any other sugary breakfast cereal, but the fact that G.I. Joe was on the box affirmed the popularity of G.I. Joe at the time. Starduster, on the other hand, was elusive. He had a commercial before he even had a figure, and by the time he got a figure, none of my friends had him. He was Bigfoot. He was the Loch Ness monster. I wasn't even sure he existed until I was an adult collector, and I didn't hold one in my hand until I acquired my own. Because of the high prices commanded by this figure, the fakes have proliferated. If you're looking for one, be cautious. Look at the details. Look at the paint. Look at the rivets on the arms. Look at anything that does not match photos of the vintage figure. If you're not certain, ask a more experienced collector to look at it. There's nothing more disheartening than spending $200 for a grail piece for your collection that turns out to be fake. That was my review of Starduster. I hope you enjoyed it, and thanks again to G.I.J. for your support. Your support means more to me than I can express. We're getting into the holiday season, and it's almost the end of the year, so I need to give you some updates on my schedule for December. Next week, you will get a regular review on schedule. The week after that, December 15th, there will not be a new review. I'm taking that week off. The final review of the year will go up on December 22nd. We will do our annual Q&A video on December 29th. I haven't posted the announcement video for that yet, so look for that in a couple weeks. If you liked this video, please give it a thumbs up on YouTube, subscribe to the YouTube channel, hit the notification bell, and share this video with your friends. I am on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and I have a website, hcc788.com. Thanks as always to my patrons, including G.I.J. I could not do these videos without their help. If you like these videos and you'd like to help me make more of these videos, please consider supporting the channel on Patreon. You can get some special perks there, and you can even find out how to decode the secret messages you see in these videos. That's all for this week. I'll see you next week with another Vintage G.I. Joe toy review. And until then, always remember, only G.I. Joe is G.I. Joe.