NEWS & STORIES
VARIANTS
POSTED 1/26/19
Up until now the only variants found for Steel Brigade were noted as the different versions (A-D). After purchasing so many of these figures I believe I have found two unknown variants. The first one was a figure I had purchased last year, a version D. When receiving this figure the first thing I noticed was that the insignia/metal on his torso was painted gold as was the center of the belt buckle. I thought at first this was just a custom job but after careful examination with a magnifying glass, I determined that this was factory applied paint. The tone and application matched perfectly to the 1983 Duke. The second variant I came across was a recent purchase of a version B. I noticed right away that the belt buckle was not painted as it was normally. I've seen figures where the pain has rubbed off the buckle but these still have remnants of the silver paint in the center grooves. This new sample had no such pain in the grooves leading me to believe that the belt buckle was deliberately left blank. If you have a variant that you think is real please let me know.
POSTED 1/26/19
Up until now the only variants found for Steel Brigade were noted as the different versions (A-D). After purchasing so many of these figures I believe I have found two unknown variants. The first one was a figure I had purchased last year, a version D. When receiving this figure the first thing I noticed was that the insignia/metal on his torso was painted gold as was the center of the belt buckle. I thought at first this was just a custom job but after careful examination with a magnifying glass, I determined that this was factory applied paint. The tone and application matched perfectly to the 1983 Duke. The second variant I came across was a recent purchase of a version B. I noticed right away that the belt buckle was not painted as it was normally. I've seen figures where the pain has rubbed off the buckle but these still have remnants of the silver paint in the center grooves. This new sample had no such pain in the grooves leading me to believe that the belt buckle was deliberately left blank. If you have a variant that you think is real please let me know.
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THANK YOU!!!
POSTED 1/8/19
When I had the idea to start this site I didn't think it would be a huge impact on the G.I. Joe community. In less than 24 hours the site had over 1800 page views and the emails came pouring in. It hasn't been a week yet and over 2000 people have visited the site with over 5000 page views. It has been great hearing everyones Steel Brigade stories and I wanted to send out a big THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed . We now have almost 80 figures on the tracker. The reception to this site has been fantastic and I am happy to be able to contribute to the Joe community. Keep your stories and info coming!
POSTED 1/8/19
When I had the idea to start this site I didn't think it would be a huge impact on the G.I. Joe community. In less than 24 hours the site had over 1800 page views and the emails came pouring in. It hasn't been a week yet and over 2000 people have visited the site with over 5000 page views. It has been great hearing everyones Steel Brigade stories and I wanted to send out a big THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed . We now have almost 80 figures on the tracker. The reception to this site has been fantastic and I am happy to be able to contribute to the Joe community. Keep your stories and info coming!
NO MORE VERSION "E"
POSTED 1/8/19
The topic of the Steel Brigade versions has never really come under any contention, even though there are several of them. If there are any issues they are usually minor such as is the Version D with the alternate rifle an actual version or just a variation? Recently I was contacted by two prominent members of the Joe community to discuss the validity of Version E. I've bought over 50 Steel brigade figures and I will admit that Version E was always a little bit of a mystery to me. This figure was supposedly available during a high run of Steel Brigade orders yet it seems to be one that shows up just as rarely as Version A. After discussing Version E at great lengths and weighing the pros and cons, we have determined that Version E is a fake and not a real version. There was just too much information to support this theory. Bagged versions of E do exist however, there are many factors that point to these being fake. There is also no reason to go back to using the Scrap Iron legs when the build for Version D produced the most figures. These are just a few of many reasons that made us come to the conclusion of eliminating Version E. If you do not agree, you are entitled to that opinion but this site does not support Version E as a legitimate part of the Steel Brigade history.
POSTED 1/8/19
The topic of the Steel Brigade versions has never really come under any contention, even though there are several of them. If there are any issues they are usually minor such as is the Version D with the alternate rifle an actual version or just a variation? Recently I was contacted by two prominent members of the Joe community to discuss the validity of Version E. I've bought over 50 Steel brigade figures and I will admit that Version E was always a little bit of a mystery to me. This figure was supposedly available during a high run of Steel Brigade orders yet it seems to be one that shows up just as rarely as Version A. After discussing Version E at great lengths and weighing the pros and cons, we have determined that Version E is a fake and not a real version. There was just too much information to support this theory. Bagged versions of E do exist however, there are many factors that point to these being fake. There is also no reason to go back to using the Scrap Iron legs when the build for Version D produced the most figures. These are just a few of many reasons that made us come to the conclusion of eliminating Version E. If you do not agree, you are entitled to that opinion but this site does not support Version E as a legitimate part of the Steel Brigade history.
VERSION A vs GOLD HEAD
POSTED 1/8/19
This won't be as impactful as Hulk Hogan vs The Ultimate Warrior but here is the first Steel Brigade vs Steel Brigade battle. I've purchased over 50 Steel Brigade figures and to this day I only have one Version A but 3 Gold Heads. I search Steel Brigade sales more than one should but I've always found it interesting that the Gold Head is more common than you would think yet it fetches the highest price tag. Yes, ebay's prices are very inflated but this is an instance where the gap is much bigger than it should be. I don't remember what exactly I've paid for my Gold Heads but I can tell you that I have not paid more than $300 for a single figure without the patch or file card. Currently there seems to be an average Gold Head listing of $550. Whats good is that people are not actually paying these prices. Recently, a Version A popped up complete and was only around $400. This is the first Version A I've seen on ebay in a very long time. I don't know when people started to think that Gold Head was the rarest of all the versions but it seems to be out of control now. Just by looking at the tracker you can see that Version A is by far the rarest of all of the versions available. Don't get me wrong, Gold Head is a great version but Version A started it all and it should be at the top of the Steel Brigade mountain.
POSTED 1/8/19
This won't be as impactful as Hulk Hogan vs The Ultimate Warrior but here is the first Steel Brigade vs Steel Brigade battle. I've purchased over 50 Steel Brigade figures and to this day I only have one Version A but 3 Gold Heads. I search Steel Brigade sales more than one should but I've always found it interesting that the Gold Head is more common than you would think yet it fetches the highest price tag. Yes, ebay's prices are very inflated but this is an instance where the gap is much bigger than it should be. I don't remember what exactly I've paid for my Gold Heads but I can tell you that I have not paid more than $300 for a single figure without the patch or file card. Currently there seems to be an average Gold Head listing of $550. Whats good is that people are not actually paying these prices. Recently, a Version A popped up complete and was only around $400. This is the first Version A I've seen on ebay in a very long time. I don't know when people started to think that Gold Head was the rarest of all the versions but it seems to be out of control now. Just by looking at the tracker you can see that Version A is by far the rarest of all of the versions available. Don't get me wrong, Gold Head is a great version but Version A started it all and it should be at the top of the Steel Brigade mountain.