PSYCHE-OUT got his degree in psychology from Berkeley, where he listened to the Grateful Dead while plotting real estate development schemes. He went on to do “groundbreaking research” in the field of paranoia inducement with ultra low frequency radio wave transmissions and whatever leftover LSD his rich white roommate couldn’t sell to people at Hot Tuna concerts. Since joining the GI Joe team and the Sonic Fighters, he has fronted numerous classified Psy-Ops and disinformation campaigns against Cobra and those hippies who just won’t leave their rent-controlled apartments. He sees you, Woody and Janice. Time to make room for an artisanal mayo shop. 

“What can you say about a guy whose doctoral thesis was entitled, ‘The Use of T-Shirt Slogans In Enemy Troop Demoralization?’ Probably, ‘This guy paid someone else to do his school work and that was the best they came up with.’ His job involves complicated thinking and multiple layers of deception: making the boys at the local precinct think he’s interested in serving this disenfranchised and the community as a whole, all the while torturing people with slowed-down recordings on Jefferson Airplane concerts– all in the name of “science” and “national security!”

Assigned Armaments: E.C.M. (Electronic Cocaine Measurers), ULF (Ultimately Lasers are Futile) cerebro distortion laser.

Weapons Qualification: One-Eyed Marksman

What Led us to this Funskool GI Joe Halibna Exclusive Psyche-Out? 

Hoo boy. The Funskool GI Joe Halibna Exclusive Psyche-Out figure from 2004 (I reckon) is a doozy. It’s an oddball by any measure. And it’s not even technically a toy from the 1990s– so why did I buy it, and why am I reviewing it? 

Let’s start with the second half of that question. This figure is based on the Sonic Fighters Psyche-Out (v3) mold from 1991, so it’s a 90s toy at its core. It’s also originally a figure from my favorite year of GI Joe, and a weirdo repaint of one of my favorite childhood figures. I love weirdo repaints, and I also love almost all the toys I used to love, so that should answer all of your questions… right?

Let’s pretend it does and move on. 

I would put the 91 Psyche-Out in at least my top 10 “most used” figures as a kid. I loved his look, with the cyborg helmet and blue jumpsuit. He was a scientist, a computer specialist, and sometimes a cybernetic powerhouse. As a kid, you use the figure for whatever the scenario calls for, and Psyche-Out filled a lot of roles. 

I also really liked his filecard. It made him seem like he was an elite operative who used brains over brawn which, even though we’d like to think differently, wasn’t a common thing in the world of GI Joe. I’d also never seen the original Psyche-Out or its Night Force repaint, so this guy WAS Psyche-Out to me. To this day, there’s no competition. The 91 figure is the best version of the character in my eyes– I know most collectors see the Night Force version as the best and brightest, but I can’t help but disagree. 

91 Psyche-Out served on many adventures with Eco Warriors Flint, Sonic Fighters Falcon, Sonic Fighters Tunnel Rat, Heavy Duty, Ninja Force Storm Shadow, DEF Shockwave (he was often paired directly with Psyche-Out), Stretcher, and Talking Battle Commanders Stalker. He was an indispensable part of the team. Except for his accessories, that is. 

Even as a child, I couldn’t see his “weapon” (the only accessory I didn’t lose, other than his backpack) as an Ultra Low Frequency laser meant to disrupt people’s minds. It has a magazine full of bullets underneath it, so it looked like a machine gun with a satellite dish glued to it. I often used it as an automated gun emplacement and gave Psyche-Out another weapon. 

I still have that figure, though his joints are loose and his paint was worn. He has no accessories to speak of now, not even the massive gun or massiver backpack. So, when I got that big lot of 23 Russian Funskool GI Joe figures last year, Psyche-Out was possibly the one I was most excited for. 

And you know what? He holds up. He’s fantastic. I love everything about Funskool Psyche-Out. And now I have a complete Psyche-Out v3– a figure that’s notoriously hard to find, or outrageously expensive, with all of his accessories. 

Naturally, this led me into looking at more Funskool figures, and I discovered another Funskool Psyche-Out. This figure is done up and bronze and purple, similar to the Funskool TARGAT, and it was packed randomly with certain vehicles. It was ridiculous and I had to have one. 

Despite searching high and low, I didn’t have any luck. Then, one day, a “Halibna exclusive” version showed up on eBay for a pretty good price. It looked very similar to my coveted vehicle driver version. It was carded like the Pepsodent exclusive figures, so I wasn’t sure if it would have full articulation or not. 

There was literally no real information about these Halibna figures, but I figured this could be my only chance so I pulled the trigger anyway. 

While I awaited my figure, I looked into Halibna. Apparently they make powdered milk… for the kids! I can’t argue with toothpaste or powdered milk, so it seems like Funskool picked its allies wisely. 

Recently, the figure arrived at my doorstep. Is he everything I hoped he would be? Does he have neutered articulation and brittle plastic? Is he an inferior copy of the vehicle driver Psyche-Out?

Only one way to find out. Let’s review the sucker. 

Funskool GI Joe Halibna-Exclusive Psyche-Out (2004) Review

Welcome to the only In-Depth Article on Funskool GI Joe Halibna Exclusive Psyche-Out on The Entire Internet. Please make yourself comfortable so we can look at this Mysterious Powdered Milk Man. 

First off, let’s take a gander at the figure, front and back:

As you can see, he’s just Psyche-Out v3 cast in bronze and purple plastic, with a couple of red paint apps on the chest and (likely) flesh-tone paint on the face. Most of his details are unpainted. You’ll also notice his lower arms are entirely cast in purple plastic, much like some other Funskool exclusives. 

Thankfully, he features full articulation, unlike the Pepsodent exclusives. Other than being a Dairy Dust Exclusive (Important Note: do not snort Halibna powdered milk), he’s a regular Funskool GI Joe figure with all the joints you’d expect from an ARAH-style toy. 

At first, I thought the regular Funskool vehicle driver release must have had painted gloves, since Funskool usually doesn’t go bare-bones on the paint like that. But, upon looking at YoJoe.com, it dawned on me that the non-exclusive version also has his lower arms molded entirely in purple.  

I asked my friend Funskool Rony if he had the regular-release vehicle driver Psyche-Out, and he sent me this photo to use in this review. Thanks, Rony! 

Check it out. These are both of the figures “in package” (mine had been separated from his card at some point, but that’s no big deal) and they look identical. I was fretting about finding the “better” non-exclusive version as I was taking photos for this review, but they’re functionally the exact same figure. 

Even though he’s a Powdered Milk Exclusive, this is the Funskool vehicle driver Psyche-Out. Score!

Here’s another photo of the vehicle driver version, just for fun (also courtesy of Rony). 

Now, let’s take a look at the packaging itself:

The Halbina Exclusive Psyche-Out’s card is very similar to what you see on the Pepsodent Exclusive figures– just a thin piece of cardboard with some printing on both sides. It likely had a zip-tie holding the figure and its accessories to the cardback. 

Psyche-Out’s filecard information is printed on the front, and the copyright info is printed on the back. The card marks him as a 2004 release, so I’m inclined to believe it. 

Here are his weapons:

He also came with a black Funskool-style figure stand. Mine did, at least. Since the packaging wasn’t totally intact, I have no way of knowing 100% for sure if he actually came with all of these accessories. The accessory bag was sealed when I got it, however. 

In theory, the Funskool GI Joe Halibna-Exclusive Psyche-Out comes with Blocker’s pistol in silver, minus the “loop” at the rear of the gun, and Dodger’s rifle in baby blue. These are strange accessories, but they fit the sci-fi vibes of the figure quite nicely, and also stay true to the whimsical nature of many Funskool releases. 

Here he is All Geared Up:

And I have to say, that even with the lazy paintwork (or lack thereof) and lack of the original mold’s important accessories… I like him! It’s probably even fair to say I’m enamored. 

If you want, you can equip him with Psyche-Out v1’s accessories, since they match the red of his belt and straps pretty nicely. And he looks good with them. But I find just equipping him with any old pistol, whether it’s the one he came with or not, does the trick pretty nicely. 

The thing is, though, I can’t separate this guy from the Funskool TARGAT he most resembles. The colors aren’t exact (as you can see), but it’s just so close that I can’t get it out of my head. Because of the figure’s colors and the somewhat-menacing nature of his cyborg helmet, I can’t help but see him as a Cobra. 

And that’s a cool concept. Psyche-Out’s filecard makes him out to be a pretty scary dude, honestly, and can you imagine Cobra having someone like him on their side? He’d make Interrogator, Dr. Mindbender, and Crystal Ball all look like middle school guidance counsellors. 

I don’t see him as Psyche-Out, though. Maybe he’s a dark mirror image– an evil psy-ops operative. Maybe he’s a cyborg supersoldier. Maybe he’s a field commander, somewhat like Voltar is. I haven’t quite decided yet. 

But I do think he fits in nicely with Cobra’s Star Brigade lineup. Put him next to some TARGATs, Astro-Vipers, and BAATS, and he’s good to go. Those troops needed a field commander, anyway– Destro and Cobra Commander can’t always be on the front lines. 

If you’re not enthused about that idea, I also think he’d make a great Cobra vehicle driver. He’d look fantastic in either the Parasite or the Paralyzer, he’d look right at home on a Battle Copter, and he’d be large and in charge behind the wheel of the Cobra Earthquake. 

Psyche-Out v3, and his Funskool release, will always be the definitive take on the character for me. This guy is such an oddball that I can’t just see him as Psyche-Out suited up for a space mission or a music video shoot. Instead, I see him as his own character. 

Even if you don’t care much about the characters or trying to place a figure into a story or a role, this is a very interesting figure. It stands out in any display or collection. That’s worth a lot on its own. 

That doesn’t mean the figure doesn’t have problems, though, because it does. Aside from the aforementioned lack of paint, you have to worry about Funskool’s slightly lower plastic quality. The toy seems sturdy enough, but I’m not going to push it too far. Also, the legs don’t want to kick forward very far– I may disassemble him to see what’s going on, but for now I’m not going to flirt with that particular disaster. 

Despite its many flaws and its odd nature, this is one figure I’m very glad to own. In fact, I don’t think I’d ever be happy with my collection if this weirdo wasn’t in it. You can have your 1985 Snake Eyes (a figure I still don’t own), and I’ll take my Halibna Psyche-Out. 

Verdict: This is a bizarre figure and it’s not easy to find. I can say, though, that it’s not inferior to the non-exclusive Funskool release in any way. If you like the idea of strange toys repainted into even stranger colors, this might be worth tracking down. If not, you owe it to yourself to at least pick up a copy of Psyche-Out V3. Recommended. 

Closing Thoughts on Funskool GI Joe Halibna Exclusive Psyche-Out (2004)

Thanks for bearing with me, everyone! In Real Life, I’ve been working on recording an album. A full length album, no less, which I’ve never done in my 20+ years of playing music. That also entailed shooting a music video, working on promotional materials, and a lot of other boring stuff that is decidedly NOT rock n roll. 

There are also relationships, friends, and family. So toys have taken just a bit of a back seat while I work on other creative projects. But I’m still here!

And that giveaway, rest assured, does exist. And it’s a good one! Maybe even worth the wait. 

So, what’s your favorite oddball GI Joe repaint? Let me know in the comments.