1991 GI Joe Sci-Fi on a gradient background, holding his weapons

1991 GI Joe Sci-Fi Review

On July 7, 2025July 8, 2025 By thedragonfortressIn GI Joe12 Comments

Hello, everyone. It’s been a while. There are a multitude of reasons for that, but I probably won’t go into that until my next post (which is about 50% done, and will interest approximately 9% of my audience). I was actually planning on publishing that post first, but I thought about it some more and decided a more traditional GI Joe review might be the best way to ease myself back into blogging about old plastic dolls.

Today we’re looking at 1991 GI Joe Sci-Fi, which has been one of my favorite ARAH figures since I got it as a kid. 1991 is my favorite year for the vintage GI Joe toy line, which is something I refuse to shut up about. You could probably put an XH86 LLOM beam laser rifle to my head and I’d still keep yapping about it. And yap I shall!

Thanks so much for joining me again after all this time. Let’s take a deep dive into 1991’s Directed Energy Expert, Seymour P. Fine.

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1991 GI Joe Ozone (Eco Warriors) Review

On October 20, 2022October 21, 2022 By thedragonfortressIn GI Joe4 Comments

It’s still Ozone October at The Dragon Fortress, and today we’re taking a look at the figure who started it all– 1991 GI Joe Ozone from the Eco Warriors sub line. This figure, despite representing a character with very few media appearances, had a long life within GI Joe’s classic A Real American Hero series.

After all, Ozone had more figure releases than popular cartoon/comic book characters like Shipwreck and Major Bludd. The figure obviously did something very right and captured some imaginations. Or, at the very least, someone at Hasbro was quite fond of it.

So grab an organic kombucha, take out the recycling, and strap in. We’re about to start an Eco War.

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1991 GI Joe BAT Review

On November 11, 2021November 11, 2021 By thedragonfortressIn GI Joe19 Comments

Today we’re continuing Childhood Favorites Month with a look at the single figure who made up the backbone of my Cobra army as a kid– the 1991 BAT v2.

As with the other three figures I’m featuring this month, this one means a lot to me. I’ll try to be objective, but nostalgia has a strong hold over me when it comes to this black and neon android.

Also note that I’ve included some fairly old photos in this review. Any time you see a BAT without a chest sticker, that’s an old photo. I wanted to include them both because they are amusing and because I want you to see what a 1991 BAT normally looks like– their lenticular chest stickers have almost all fallen off by now.

Let’s run through the usual childhood stories, the review, and the comparisons. Join me after the break.

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1991 GI Joe Septic Tank Gallery and Quick Review

On October 14, 2021October 13, 2021 By thedragonfortressIn GI Joe23 Comments

Hello there. Today I’ve prepared something small for you. It’s mostly a photo gallery, but I’ll also be sharing some brief thoughts on the toy with you.

The toy in question is the 1991 GI Joe Septic Tank, part of the Eco Warriors sub line. It’s not a toy I owned as a kid (though I did own the Eco Striker), but it is a toy I have an affinity for. It’s certainly not a popular toy– it’s probably one of the most hated items in the vintage ARAH GI Joe run. Most hated by people I generally don’t care to associate with, anyway.

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1991 Trash Bag Bunch: The Sickest Six

On July 29, 2021July 28, 2021 By thedragonfortressIn Trash Bag Bunch6 Comments

(Editor’s Note: Today’s review comes courtesy of my friend Mild Weasel, who you can find on Instagram. Mild Weasel is a long time friend– we’ve bonded over weird toys, weird comics, and weird music. I have absolutely no familiarity with the subject of his article, Galoob’s Trash Bag Bunch, which is why I’m extra excited to host it! Just look at these malevolent screwballs! And by the way, Mild Weasel is the toy collecting alias of Ben Jeddrie, who Instagrams and Twitters as @zyblonius about many other things also.)

Article and Photos by Mild Weasel

For those of you less familiar, the Trash Bag Bunch are a pretty spectacular line of toys. Sold on blister cards, you would open the pack to take out a sealed amd branded plasticky foil bag. Within that was a papery pouch, resembling the titular “Trash Bag”. This would then be submerged in water, wherein it would dissolve while a hidden seltzer tab would bubble and foam. Reaching into this toxic sludge, you would find a surprise toy! And it was most often pretty dope. Here are a few of my very favourites:

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1991 GI Joe Cloudburst Review

On June 19, 2021June 16, 2021 By thedragonfortressIn GI Joe12 Comments

(Editor’s Note: Today’s post comes from my friend Colin, the mastermind behind Colin’s Joes. It’s my favorite kind of toy review blog– the kind where the author waxes poetic about what a toy means to them and also gives a factual, in-depth review. If you like ARAH-era GI Joe and aren’t regularly reading Colin’s website, I highly encourage you to do so, because he makes every single post something special.)

Review and Photos by Colin H.

The “Neon 90s” weren’t so neon for me. I had a Sunice ski jacket that I got in grade 8 that was so bright it would burn your retina if you weren’t wearing sunglasses. But that was when neon died for me, sometime around 1992.

The decade started with moving from a small town (Fort Smith, NWT) to a small city (Yellowknife, NWT), and progressed through learning to drive, my first girlfriend, my first drink, graduating high school, working at a music store, and dropping out of university. Twice. I spent most of the time cruising around my hometown in a Ford Tempo, listening to Dre, the Wu, Big and Pac. And I remember going to the bars in Edmonton on the night that Y2K was supposed to disable the world’s computer networks, and in the relief of having survived disaster, I may have kissed three different girls at midnight.

I started the 90s hooked on X-Men comics, and I ended the 90s hooked on X-Men comics. But in between it all, I sold off my childhood GI Joes, then lived without toys for a few years, before coming back at 17 as a part time collector, grabbing late-run 90s figures at the local Wal-Mart, ordering classic 80s Joes through mailaway offers from Hasbro Canada, and lucking into a few early ARAH MOCs.

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1991: The Year Cobra Broke (a Tribute) – Cobra Convergence 3

On July 22, 2018July 22, 2018 By thedragonfortressIn GI Joe35 Comments

Within the last week, I finished collecting the 1991 Cobra roster. I almost have the GI Joe side complete, too– I just need that pesky Cloudburst!

While not every figure I have is complete or perfect, 1991 is the only GI Joe year I’ve set out to complete so far. That’s because it’s easily my favorite GI Joe lineup. As a kid, I had a few figures from 1988 and 1989, and even one from 1987. I had a good amount of the 1990 roster, and those figures were excellent, but it was a year full of all new characters. As a kid, I wanted the characters from the Sunbow cartoon and the animated movie.

1991 fulfilled that desire. It gave us Cobra Commander, Hawk, Snake Eyes, Zap, Grunt, Falcon, Rock n Roll, Major Bludd, Flint, Low-Light, Dusty, Mercer, and Sci-Fi. It also gave us fantastic new characters like Heavy Duty, Cesspool, Interrogator, Big Ben, Red Star, and Ozone. The accessories were still good and still specifically made for each character.

To me, it’s the best Joe year of all time. I was only 6 or 7 when I got most of the 91 figures I had as a kid, but it was my first real chance to have versions of the characters I knew. And the accessories were a bit less confusing to a kid than the complicated setups from 1990.

But, in this quick feature, I want to talk about the 1991 Cobra roster. I’m more into the Joe side than the Cobra side, but this month it special– it’s Cobra Convergence 3!

YouTube toy reviewer Hooded Cobra Commander 788 spearheads Cobra Convergence every year, and this time he’s asked bloggers, photographers, and other creators to contribute.

So, this is my humble entry. Let’s take a look at why 1991 was just as much of a banner year for Cobra as it was for GI Joe.

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1991 GI Joe Cobra Interrogator – Dragon Fortress Reviews

On July 29, 2017April 7, 2018 By thedragonfortressIn GI Joe9 Comments

No one knows where Cobra’s interrogator came from, and no one is sure why he picked the codename INTERROGATOR. In an organization that houses agents with creative names like Firefly, Big Boa, and Dr. Mindbender, no one is certain why Interrogator half assed the whole codename thing so much. What Cobra’s operatives do know about Interrogator, however, is that he is Cobra’s foremost expert on information extraction, torture, and gluing pincer claws onto perfectly good assault rifles. It’s said that Interrogator’s helmet houses sophisticated light equipment, and that his voice modulator can seduce information from the most seasoned soldiers with his patented ASMR techniques. Whether he’s waterboarding a Land Adventurer or threatening an Air Commando’s family, one thing is for certain– Interrogator lives up to his uninspired codename!

Qualified Expert: All Warsaw Pact Small Arms, All ADA Dental Tools, Most Home Depot Hardware, Red-Rotor Battle Copter, Boba Fett Helmet

From the Files of The Baroness: “You may think Interrogator is all about torture, but if you talk to him for more than five minutes you’ll know helicopters are his real passion. He just won’t shut up about them. But you’d think a man who dresses like an Eastern European dictator and who eats lobster thermidor every night would have better taste. Have you seen that battle copter he flies around? Hideous. And the troopers around Cobra Island have a theory: all that high tech light and sound equipment in his helmet is only there so he can listen to “acid house” and “the Madchester sound” at full blast from his gyroscope-stabilized Sony Discman. Most of our enlisted men agree that they’d rather endure the power drill or the hedge clippers than hear Interrogator talk about either his love of helicopters or his record collection.”

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1991 GI Joe General Hawk – Dragon Fortress Reviews

On July 12, 2017July 12, 2017 By thedragonfortressIn GI Joe6 Comments

GENERAL HAWK is the kind of officer who gets into the thick of it with his team. The only thing Hawk fears more than becoming a desk jockey is playing Settlers of Catan with Lightfoot and Airtight. He always keeps one extra bullet on him at all times, just in case that nightmare scenario arises. Hawk isn’t even content to lead his troops into battle from the front– instead, he flies over them with a prototype jetpack, where he can yell orders, take pot shots at Frag Vipers, and never even get mud on his designer flight boots.

“At least he’s not Duke,” goes the popular saying around The Pit.

Qualified Expert: Two-Barreled Machine Gun That Overheats Twice as Quickly, Child Support Payments, 1981 Ford Ranger

From the Files of General Flagg: “General Abernathy is going through one hell of a midlife crisis! Most guys, even most military guys, go for a fast car, a few Mr. Big records, and a sno cone machine for backyard barbecues. But, no, not Hawk! He straps a bundle of jet fuel, four missiles that violate the Geneva Convention, two flimsy wings, and a space helmet on himself, and watches from above as his men are attacked by neon robots and mutant scorpions! My kind of guy.”

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