Leaky Suit Brigade

A Blog About All Things GI Joe


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Chinese Mudbuster & Chinese Ice Sabre

As many of you know, I have been really focused on collecting Chinese release items and Tiger Force items. So, you can imagine how excited I got when I found a Chinese vehicle that I previously did not know existed and another that I was able to confirm it was released in China!

First up, is the Chinese Mudbuster. It is essentially a US box with just the Chinese name printed on it. Interestingly, the blue prints are also in English and not Chinese. This was a vehicle that I was told may have been produced in China and I was able to confirm it was by acquiring it!

Second, we have, what I believe to be, a previously unknown Chinese release vehicle – the Ice Sabre. I looked long and hard for any other reference or pictures to a Chinese Ice Sabre and even asked around to fellow international collectors. This sealed contents example appears to be the first and only one, at least publicly. Still waiting to get it in hand, as shipping from China can be slow. So for now, I’ll show just the pics from the listing.

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2003 Tiger Force 5 Pack Prototype Mock Up!

I first saw a picture of this set of figures in Ron Conner’s 1995-2003 Guidebook. What instantly caught my eye and became a grail find for me was the unreleased alternate figure – Outback. The 2003 set was released with Big Brawler, which had a red hair variant and a black hair variant. Big Brawler, especially with red hair screamed Outback – it was obvious that Hasbro initially planned to release the set with Outback, but for whatever unknown reason, decided against it.

I had been looking for this figure or set of figures for 5 years without finding one. I knew from Aire’s videos on Youtube that she had a loose set, I was very surprised and happy to learn she also had the mock up. This item was initially going to be the only thing I bought from Aire – but that didn’t last long 🙂

It is interesting to note that Jinx, Wreckage and Dial Tone are all also preproduction variants with different skin tones than what was actually released. The package is made from some Whinny The Poo box/cardboard.

Tiger Force 2003 Prototype Mock Up

Tiger Force 2003 Prototype Mock Up

2003 Unreleased Tiger Force Outback

2003 Unreleased Tiger Force Outback