 This week, we are reviewing Backblast. Let's go ahead and get this out of the way. There. Do we have all of the obvious Backblast jokes out of our system? Good. Let's move on. Commander788 here. This is the show where we review every vintage GI Joe toy from 1982 to 1994. The year 2020 on this channel is the year of the 90s. But that doesn't mean everything we will look at this year will be from the 90s. We'll take a break from that decade every once in a while and look at something from the 80s. Even though Backblast is from the 80s, I often mistake it for a 1990s figure. Maybe it's because of the big missile launcher he comes with. Backblast is sort of a hybrid, having elements of both the 80s and the 90s. He has some military elements, but also has some outlandish accessories. Let's take a look at this popular figure from 1989 with no more obvious jokes like associating his name with a certain bodily function. HCC788 presents Backblast. This is 1989 Backblast, GI Joe's anti-aircraft soldier. This figure was introduced in 1989 and was also available in 1990. It was discontinued for 1991. Backblast version 2 was released in 1993. It entirely reused the mold of version 1 but had different colors and different accessories. Upon closer inspection, version 2 of Backblast doesn't use the entire mold of version 1. He has different arms. These arms are reused from 1990 topside just with different coloring. Backblast takes his name from the Backblast area behind a recoilless rocket launcher. The hot gases from the rocket are expelled behind the operator. It's a very unsafe place to be when the weapon is fired. There was a Cobra Trooper with a similar specialty, 1992 Flag Viper, the Cobra anti-aircraft trooper. Flag Viper version 1 was released after Backblast version 1 was discontinued, but Flag Viper version 2 was released in 1993, so it was on the pegs at the same time as Backblast version 2. GI Joe didn't have many anti-aircraft specialists before Backblast. One possible predecessor would be Fastdraw, who had a big missile system that could be used for anti-aircraft. The earliest examples would include 1982 Grand Slam, who operated the HAL, Heavy Artillery Laser. The markings on that weapon indicate it shoots down planes. Also, 1982 Hawk was the operator of the anti-aircraft missile system, the MMS. Backblast came out in 1989, a year many consider to be a pretty good one for GI Joe. After going deeper into the area of bright colors and science fiction in 1987, the line started to integrate more military-style figures in 1988, 89, and 90. But is Backblast really a military-style figure? We'll address that. Let's take a look at Backblast's accessories, and I'll say at the beginning, Backblast's missile system is big, intricate, and cumbersome. I find it difficult to get the figure to hold it. When he does successfully hold it, his arms are in an awkward position, and the missiles tend to fall out. This is a popular figure, but if you've never seen the figure before, you may be wondering what the big deal is. The figure is covered up with all this stuff. Well, you can't really see the figure until we get rid of some of these accessories. Let's start with what the card contents call the Triple Launch Missile System. This weapon system includes five parts. It has the mount for the missile tubes. It has the missile tubes. That's three tubes. They're all connected together. And it has three red missiles. The mount clips onto the launch tube like so, and the mount has these grips on the side, two grips. And you can try to put those in the figure's hand, but it doesn't work very well, and it's very awkward. You have to get his arm at a very awkward angle. I really do wish GI Joe accessories designers grasped the fact that these figures do not have wrist articulation. So these side-facing grips will always be awkward for them to hold. The mount also has a shoulder rest, but I can't get that thing anywhere close to the figure's shoulder. Despite being exceptionally bulky and awkward, there are some good details on that missile launcher. The mount has a screen there with some buttons, a dial, or maybe a radar dish there. Really, it's pretty well detailed. This is sort of like the FIM-92 Stinger missile system, in that it is a shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile. But it's like three stingers connected together. The whole assembly is really big and would probably be too heavy for a single soldier to carry. It doesn't have a tripod mount like other large infantry-fired anti-aircraft missile systems, and a tripod mount would really help this thing. These red missiles are all identical. They are short red missiles. Pretty good-looking missiles, especially for an action figure accessory. You would expect in missiles this size to maybe come with a vehicle. They just rest in the tubes. They do not latch in. They don't peg in in any way. And there is no spring-loaded launching mechanism, so they don't really fire. And they are in there kind of precariously, so if backblast accidentally tips this big missile launcher forward, the missiles will fall out. With the missile system out of the way, you can see a little bit more of the figure. There was a face behind there. Next, let's look at his monocular, because it's the easiest one to get to. He can wear it around his neck because it has a strap. It is molded in black plastic, and it's just this sort of telescope-looking thing. This is similar, but not identical to the monocular that came with 1984 Thunder, the driver of the Slugger. And it's really very similar. In fact, it's so similar. I'm surprised they didn't just reuse this accessory rather than make a new one. Oddly, this monocular is not listed on the contents of the card, but he does come with it, and this might be an easy accessory to overlook. The next accessory we're going to look at is what the card contents call a bandelier. It's this big yellow thing. It's a loop. It's basically an ammunition belt. It has sculpted bullets on this yellow plastic, and you can sling it over his shoulder, as you saw. Honestly, I don't like this. It's big. It gets in the way. And Backblast doesn't come with a machine gun, so why does he need this? You could give this to one of your machine gunners that didn't have an ammunition belt, like Roadblock. And so now Roadblock has an ammunition belt, but yeah, it just doesn't look right. It's too big. It's too bulky and just too yellow. The final accessory is his knife. This knife is in light gray plastic. It has a serration on the back edge, and it has some finger grooves on the grip. He can hold it, so he can actually use it as a weapon, and that's nice. But the best thing about this knife is it fits on this loop on his left upper arm. It is very rare to get storage for knives on the figure itself, so that is a really nice bonus. With all the accessories out of the way, now you can finally see what this figure really looks like, and the difference is dramatic. There's no yellow band now that covers his entire chest. There's no missile system in the way of his face, and you can see some of the really nice details on the figure. Let's look at the articulation on Backblast. He had the articulation that was standard for GI Joe figures before 1989, so he can turn his head from left to right and look up and down. He can swing his arm up at the shoulders 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 can move his legs apart about so far. He can 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 on Backblast starting with his head. On his head he has a non-removable olive drab green helmet. The helmet has some molded in netting over it, and he has some ear coverings on that helmet. That's probably ear protection from the loud blast of the rockets. He is Caucasian with a brown mustache. It would have been nice to have a removable helmet, but that's probably too much to ask considering how many accessories he came with. Maybe he could have had a helmet instead of the bandolier. I happily would have made that trade. On his chest he has a black sleeveless shirt. Over his shirt he has olive drab green straps with extra padding on his shoulders. Given the size of the missile launcher he has to carry, it's understandable he would want some extra padding. On the center of his black shirt he has a yellow tampo that says Go Army. This Go Army slogan is half of a common phrase used by cadets at West Point, referring to the football rivalry between Army and Navy. The full phrase is Go Army beat Navy. There's no indication back blast graduated from West Point. In fact, there's every indication he did not. If he had graduated from West Point he would be at least a second lieutenant. His arms are bare. He has no sleeves over his arms. He does have a muscular build. I guess he'd have to have a muscular build to carry that missile launcher. He has brown gloves and on his upper left arm he has a black band with that loop for storing the night. His waist piece is pretty plain. He has a brown belt without a lot of detail. He has olive drab green trousers. His legs feature those olive green trousers. On his right thigh he has two black straps and an unpainted pocket. At least that's what I think that is. The detail is not very clear and I'm not really sure what the black straps would be for. On his left thigh he has a white paper and that has some mathematical formulas on it. This I guess is a notepad for calculating the trajectories of his missiles I suppose. I honestly have no idea if these mathematical symbols mean anything. It was my understanding that there would be no math. It's really hard to make out but on the edge of that white notepad is an unpainted pen that he can make his notes. On his lower legs he has tall black boots, really good looking boots. On his left ankle he has a black pistol and holster. And he has knee pads that connect to the top of his boots. Backblast has good military colors and even a go army shirt. But I can't describe him as a realistic military figure. It's not a regulation uniform he's wearing. Looks like it's pieces of uniforms kind of thrown together. G.I. Joe tended to be a bit casual with their uniforms anyway. Even if it's not a realistic uniform it's still a nice one. And I'm happy to get a figure in the late 80s with some green on it. Let's take a look at Backblast's file card. His file card has his faction as G.I. Joe. It has a portrait of Backblast here. His codename is Backblast and he is the anti-aircraft soldier. His file name is Edward J. Menenger. His primary military specialty is air defense artillery, naturally. Secondary military specialty is Signal Corps. The U.S. Army Signal Corps has several responsibilities including the development of electronic communication. Birthplace is New York, New York. The birthplace is so nice they named it twice. His grade is E-5, not a commissioned officer. This paragraph says Backblast grew up in a house next to one of the busiest airports in the world. The bedroom was directly under the landing path of incoming jets. At night, the landing lights from descending jumbo jets would shine through his window and the vibrations would shake the pocket change off his dresser. When asked his job preferences upon enlistment, he answered, where can I go to shoot airplanes out of the sky? G.I. Joe file cards often used the trope of a character being especially suited for his job because of some childhood experience. That trope may be overused but in this case it's amusing that his childhood experience made him hate airplanes so much he got a job shooting them down. This bottom paragraph has a quote. It says, you get your best shot at a ground attack aircraft when it's coming straight at you. Unfortunately, it usually fires everything it has in your direction. It's the job of the air defense specialist to stand in the open with his launcher aimed at the incoming aircraft and wait for the lock-on signal before he can fire. I'm glad it's his job and not mine. The last paragraph is okay but I prefer the first paragraph. I just think it's hilarious that the guy grew up hating aircraft so much he just wants to shoot down every one of them. Looking at how Backblast was used in G.I. Joe media, he appeared very minimally in the geek era of the animated series. He was in a couple episodes of the Operation Dragonfire mini-series. He was only on screen for a few seconds and he had no lines. Looking at how he was used in the comic book series published by Marvel Comics, he first appeared in issue number 92 as part of a mission to rescue captured Joe's and October guard in the fictional country of Sierra Gordo. He shot down a Cobra Condor. His final appearance was in issue number 115 in which he shot down a Cobra Rattler. Other than that, he was just a background character. They really only brought him out when they needed to shoot down an airplane. Looking at Backblast overall, I love this figure. It has the feel of a G.I. Joe figure from an earlier era. With the helmet and the mustache and the sleeveless shirt, it kind of reminds me of 1988 wild card but with much better details and color. It's unfortunate the helmet is not removable. It's a good looking helmet but with all the accessories he comes with, a helmet is probably too much to ask. I would prefer a helmet accessory over some of the other accessories he came with. The biggest problem with this figure is the accessories. Not all the accessories but a lot of the accessories to me seem like they are more trouble than they're worth. The star of the show is the three tube missile launcher, the missile launcher mount and the three red missiles. This should be a really awesome piece but it's so awkward for the figure to hold and the missiles fall out so easily it loses some of its awesomeness. I'm not normally a fan of spring loaded missile launchers but in this case a spring loaded missile launcher would have been preferable. That way at least the missiles would have stayed in until you were ready to fire them. The accessory is really large but it doesn't have a way to really fire the missiles. Not even finger flick technology. The yellow bandolier is too big and bulky. It gets in the way and you can't see the great details on the figure and he doesn't have a machine gun so he doesn't need it anyway. That leaves us with the knife and the monocular. Both of which are fine. It's really nice to have storage for the knife on the figure. That was very rare. The monocular is unobtrusive. Like Thunder's monocular I'm not sure how much you would actually use this accessory but it's okay and it mostly stays out of the way. If this figure had simplified accessories and a removable helmet I think it would be about perfect. That was my review of Backblast. I hope you enjoyed it. I'm glad we got the fart jokes out of the way at the beginning so we could focus on the review. This channel strives to be mature at all times. Speaking of mature, I'll be taking next week off because it's my birthday. I'll be back the following week with a new review and I'll see you then. Thank you for watching this video. If you enjoyed it, I'm making more like it. So please give this video a thumbs up on YouTube, subscribe to the YouTube channel, hit the notification bell so you don't miss any future videos, and share this video with your friends. That's what helps this channel grow. You can find me on social media, on Facebook and Twitter and I have a website, hcc788.com. If you want to know if I've already reviewed a vintage GI Joe item, that's a good place to check. Thanks to all my supporters on Patreon, including the names you see on the screen now. Support on Patreon helps keep this show going. So if you like this show and you'd like to support this show in that way, please consider checking out Patreon. 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