"Too many accessories" is always such a weird complaint; I mean, I can understand that argument from a collector's point of view, but from a childhood perspective it was like hitting the jackpot!
Michael Adams hellyeah!! Totally agree!! When we wer kids,, the gi joes with more accessories were always the ones you had in ur hands still when u were in that dreaded “ which joe to put back cuz ur parents said u can only get 2 today” decision LMFAO!!! Walking out of a store with 2 or 3 joes was more exciting to me than Xmas morning! Lol
Oh, the memories of getting Red Star when I was a kid. There had been a massive snow storm the night before, but the day was sunny and clear. The roads were not. For whatever reason, my dad still took my brother and I to get some Joes (maybe we had Christmas money to spend? Can't remember.) Anyway, our little Relient K got stuck in the snow on the way to K-Mart, but we managed to get unstuck pretty quickly, and continue on. I got Red Star, and my brother picked up '91 Dusty & Sandstorm. A Russian from his snowy homeland and Sandstorm after a snowstorm. Never thought of that until just now. As for the figure, I love the sculpting. He was one of only a could of classic figures with whites in his eyes, and you can even see the tendons on his wrists. Details like that were amazing, to say nothing of his cool hat, and sweet AK. That spring loaded missile launcher packed one of the biggest punches of all the slml's. The end of my RS's rocket is very worn, simply from countless heavy impacts.
The October Guards was always one of my favorite Sub groups in GI JOE , just wishing Hasbro produced the original figures back in the early run of the toyline.
This was always one of my favorite figures, I loved the scope and the look. In my play sessions, he was a full member of GI Joe, or rather he was part of a international exchange that GI Joe took part in. I never used the gatling gun either, it was to cumbersome. His launcher was my favorite one out of all the spring loaded launchers.
ABSOLUTE BEST FIGURE OF the 1990s! Only wish they had done the entire Oktober Guard back then. As an 80s kid I really wanted it....but sad to say, the two Russians of the 1990s, Red Star and Big Bear, are probably two of the VERY best figures in GI Joe line in ALL of the 1990s.
I didn't appreciate the political implications when I was a kid, looking back it was pretty bold to include them in the toy line as heroes. I love Oktober Guard now, one of my favorite sub-teams. Great review!
My wife's family originates from Ukraine, and we have been to Odessa several times. Beautiful city, and it was a major battlefield during WWII as Hitler drove tanks through Ukraine. There are monuments everywhere and the Black Sea fleet rivals San Diego in awesomeness. This figure does a great job even 30 years later.
Great review. I had no idea about the filecard variations. I got Redstar and my brother got Sci-Fi in ‘91 and I remember at the time, their spring-loaded missile launchers were unique and pretty cool. Then, everyone started coming with them.
Great review as always. I army build with Red Star. I have 1 complete but the rest don’t have the Gatling gun. The AK-47 and the RPG were the reasons I bought the figure in 1991.
Great review, I have this figure complete in my collection, I had big bear first when I was young, but he is long gone, now I'm looking for a new one to complete my oktober guard team, I'm glad Hasbro did make the oktober guard figures later in the comic packs, but it still would have been nice if these figures came out in the 80s that way kids could of had a third faction to play with gi joe and cobra, plus the Russians could play gi joe with us and be proud to have been represented and honor their country, Larry Hama did a great job to show that Russians are not bad and can be our allies and a friendly rivery.
Well said! I always enjoy any Marvel Comics story with the Oktober Guard appearing in it. I am glad that they also appeared in the Devil Dues and IDW comics as well.
My memory of Red Star is grabbing him up because he was the first figure I saw with a firing missle launcher. I remember I got the Cobra file card and it confused the hell out of me.
I had just started reading the Marvel comic book series again( I had read some in the 1980's but I don't remember them all that well, apart from two issues of the Special Missions series.) when Hasbro started producing the comic book three packs. It was really exciting to get characters that not been produced before, plus read their stories in the comic books. The two Oktober Guard sets were highlights of these releases for me. Plus I could finally get many of the earlier characters from 1982-1984 that I had missed out on getting in my childhood.
It almost seems strangely appropriate and timely to do a Red Star Oktober Guard review NOW of all moments with all the drama going on in Washington, D.C., but I'll just enjoy the review and set aside the politics. I bought Red Star as a adult collector, But I switched up the head with a 1991 Dusty and made my custom Stormavik. I did ask Kirk Bozigian and JoeCon 2018 why they didn't do Oktober Guard figures in the 1980's, the answer I got was that between characters created by Marvel and Sunbow were submitted and considered but very few every got made, possible licensing issues. This is consistent with the release of Red Star and Big Bear; neither were pre-existing characters of the Oktober Guard before their release.
I agree, given the fact that the Oktober Guard appear in both the Marvel comic book series and the Sunbow cartoon you would think that they would have been made eventually. With the Cold War going at the time, another faction for G.I. Joe cross paths with would have been fun.
I really love history. maybe you can make another red star review and talk about the war in Ukraine. I would really enjoy that, is historical and entertaining.
Red Star was part of my last joe of my childhood! He has especial place in memory and now is there in the wall next to me ! Great video my dear Commander!
In recent months the ARAH comic by Larry Hama briefly showed the original Oktober Guard pop back up again, post-"death." While it is likely that Larry just forgot that he killed them off, there may be a more interesting reason for this. You even selected the EXACT comic panel from the 90s that this theory comes from. Roadblock (back then) says "How come you look exactly like the late Colonel Brekhov?" and Red Star replies "A long story." He fully substantiates the suggestion. Now, while this may have been Larry's joke about Hasbro making what is essentially Brekhov as a figure after the death of the character, and renaming the figure due to their "no dead characters get turned into toys" continuity rule at the time. However, the savvy modern reader may see this as a way for Larry to bring the original Guard back. It could be that Red Star is a clone of Brekhov, and cloning is 100% a part of the Joe mythos. It may be that the "new" or "not-dead" Brekhov who just randomly popped back up in the comic is actually Red Star from the 90s, a clone of the original Brekhov. Bonus trivia: after the Oktober Guard "retired" (or... died?), he actually got a false identity and retired to America, in a nice little town called Springfield.
I used the antenna as a hook to hold the mini Gatling, with the ammo belt attached. That way he could carry the launcher and rifle. I figure the Gatling was for when the mission went south and he needed to cover the team’s exit.
Love this figure I remember for months looking for him and this series that took forever to hit the stores. I first saw them on the Sonic Fighter Dial Ton'es cardback and was obsessed with Red Star as my first choice!
Oktober Guard was interesting form the perspecitve of Joe fan born and living on the other side the curtain. They were rivals, not sworn enemies. They were stereotypes, spewing typical propaganda - but also positive stereotypes of dedication that led to their demise (for most of them). One of them was even from Eastern Germany. I think my friend had Red Star and we may have gotten the one with Cobra sign so we had problem with that as in DiC cartoon he was on the Joes side.
It weird, they didn’t made the file cards for characters that aren’t part of G.I. Joe called “allies”. It would have make sense for the October guards to be allies, rather than G.I. Joe which is why I usually prefer shipwreck and quick kick not to be part of G.I. Joe because for me, I like to think of them as just mercenary or a ally to them.
The titles are the great alaska seal and in one of the partsof rise serpentor rise, don't remember what part and they are not only soviet but more from the warsaw pact countries
I know the twin Gatling guns are unrealistic but they look so cool! It fits the archetype of Soviet arms trading accuracy and versatility for sheer overwhelming firepower. Reminds me of War Machine; maybe I’m just a sucker for wrist-amounted weapons...
Great vid as always. Sidenote: Despite your settings, it looks like the COPPA decisions of UA-cam are hitting your channel. The ad to pop before your video was a very kiddy toy. I have never had such an ad pop up on YT before on any channel I watch, which include a lot of comic book and retro toy reviews.
I always thought the Cobra Officer's rifle looked like a Valmet M62 assault rifle. It is development of the AK design but is said to be superior to most AK-clones.
Christmas, the perfect blend of Capitalism and Communism. Decorating in Red, the color of the "REDS" and green, the color of money. That's a awesome observation!
Other than the belt of the webgear being to high, I would agree top tier. I would rather they added a wrist clip to the gattlin gun than keep the rocket launcher. Never was a fan of the spring fire toys. Though this one is definitely better than most, still don't care for it. Every thing else, top notch. Good review.
Why Didn’t Hasbro go bold and create a OktoberGuard vehicles and figures when first introduced as their own separate fighting force? It would’ve been a hit
I remember seeing this in a store in 1991 and always wondered why Hasbro hadn't made Soviet figures in GI Joe before. I do remember the Russian soldiers that I served alongside in Bosnia, in 1996, wearing those blue and white striped t-shirts. We actually got to sit down together and eat a Thanksgiving meal together, which felt pretty monumental considering those guys would have been considered our enemies just 5 years earlier. On a side note, I understand that you were making a joke at the start of this review, but the gift giving during Christmas is based around the concept of charity. Communism has absolutely nothing to do with charity.
It really pissed me off when Hasbro never made the Oktober Guard in tge mid-80s to go with the comics. Or the Soft Master. I liked that little fat guy.
this is where gi joe should have been going early on. less but more useful members, but more factions, story wise. gi joe - cobra is meat and potato. destro added a bit of carrots, and the guard some gravy. by being able to swap heads, Hasbro could have sold weather uniforms. then, you could have stalker or whoever in snow or desert suits. and keep the team to a reasonable number. they made that much members for money. the original team was pretty much the base, it did nt need that much more. money could have been made from selling vehicles without drivers. it would make that more sense to have many, and army build. and story wise, they could be developed more. also, I never minded the multiple use of parts - molds, they are uniforms. I minded the heads though, I hoped that Hasbro would fix it. they did, but in my opinion, they went overkill with so many characters. the story - business model was badly managed. there is a place for gi joe today as is mission impossible. the justice league, the avengers, you cannot have much more characters. at 30 or 50, you have maxed. smaller teams, multiple factions, a good story is the business model that works still. I m still not over the idea that Hasbro makes ST figures and no joe at all... good show!!!
It’s sad that Russia decided they would be the big bad enemy. Not just people with different ideas about how to look live, but different people that are superior and inferior.
Unfortunately, the best way to really play with the Joe's were super glueing all the accessories to the figure, otherwise, the chances to lost such small pieces were really high, specially if you played outside.
Oh the irony from a UA-cam creator that asks for donations to review products he doesn’t need in order to make money from UA-cam advertisements. Such a capitalistic scheme especially when said creator proclaims that they can not possibly continue to create content without donations and patrons.
"Too many accessories" is always such a weird complaint; I mean, I can understand that argument from a collector's point of view, but from a childhood perspective it was like hitting the jackpot!
Michael Adams hellyeah!! Totally agree!! When we wer kids,, the gi joes with more accessories were always the ones you had in ur hands still when u were in that dreaded “ which joe to put back cuz ur parents said u can only get 2 today” decision LMFAO!!! Walking out of a store with 2 or 3 joes was more exciting to me than Xmas morning! Lol
Agreed. You can never have too many. The more accessories, the more ways you can pose and display your figures.
Definitely a Top tier figure!
Oh, the memories of getting Red Star when I was a kid. There had been a massive snow storm the night before, but the day was sunny and clear. The roads were not. For whatever reason, my dad still took my brother and I to get some Joes (maybe we had Christmas money to spend? Can't remember.) Anyway, our little Relient K got stuck in the snow on the way to K-Mart, but we managed to get unstuck pretty quickly, and continue on. I got Red Star, and my brother picked up '91 Dusty & Sandstorm. A Russian from his snowy homeland and Sandstorm after a snowstorm. Never thought of that until just now. As for the figure, I love the sculpting. He was one of only a could of classic figures with whites in his eyes, and you can even see the tendons on his wrists. Details like that were amazing, to say nothing of his cool hat, and sweet AK. That spring loaded missile launcher packed one of the biggest punches of all the slml's. The end of my RS's rocket is very worn, simply from countless heavy impacts.
The October Guards was always one of my favorite Sub groups in GI JOE , just wishing Hasbro produced the original figures back in the early run of the toyline.
This was always one of my favorite figures, I loved the scope and the look. In my play sessions, he was a full member of GI Joe, or rather he was part of a international exchange that GI Joe took part in. I never used the gatling gun either, it was to cumbersome. His launcher was my favorite one out of all the spring loaded launchers.
ABSOLUTE BEST FIGURE OF the 1990s! Only wish they had done the entire Oktober Guard back then. As an 80s kid I really wanted it....but sad to say, the two Russians of the 1990s, Red Star and Big Bear, are probably two of the VERY best figures in GI Joe line in ALL of the 1990s.
I so badly wanted the Oktober Guard characters from the comics to be made into figures in the 80s when I was still a kid.
Hat is called a peaked cap, and it has a visor, not a brim.
I didn't appreciate the political implications when I was a kid, looking back it was pretty bold to include them in the toy line as heroes. I love Oktober Guard now, one of my favorite sub-teams. Great review!
My wife's family originates from Ukraine, and we have been to Odessa several times. Beautiful city, and it was a major battlefield during WWII as Hitler drove tanks through Ukraine. There are monuments everywhere and the Black Sea fleet rivals San Diego in awesomeness. This figure does a great job even 30 years later.
Great review. I had no idea about the filecard variations. I got Redstar and my brother got Sci-Fi in ‘91 and I remember at the time, their spring-loaded missile launchers were unique and pretty cool. Then, everyone started coming with them.
Great review as always. I army build with Red Star. I have 1 complete but the rest don’t have the Gatling gun. The AK-47 and the RPG were the reasons I bought the figure in 1991.
Such a great figure. It checks all the boxes for me. And it’s a 90s figure, amazing.
That spring bazooka missile was pretty powerful, even more powerful than similar rocket launchers from other Joe's vehicles.
Thank you for the review as always! Great figure and a shame there weren't more OG figures.
I got this figure a few days ago to add to my collection. A good figure with awesome accessories in my opinion.
Great review, I have this figure complete in my collection, I had big bear first when I was young, but he is long gone, now I'm looking for a new one to complete my oktober guard team, I'm glad Hasbro did make the oktober guard figures later in the comic packs, but it still would have been nice if these figures came out in the 80s that way kids could of had a third faction to play with gi joe and cobra, plus the Russians could play gi joe with us and be proud to have been represented and honor their country, Larry Hama did a great job to show that Russians are not bad and can be our allies and a friendly rivery.
Well said! I always enjoy any Marvel Comics story with the Oktober Guard appearing in it. I am glad that they also appeared in the Devil Dues and IDW comics as well.
My memory of Red Star is grabbing him up because he was the first figure I saw with a firing missle launcher. I remember I got the Cobra file card and it confused the hell out of me.
In the valor section venom line there was two comic packs of the rest of the oktober guard
I had just started reading the Marvel comic book series again( I had read some in the 1980's but I don't remember them all that well, apart from two issues of the Special Missions series.) when Hasbro started producing the comic book three packs. It was really exciting to get characters that not been produced before, plus read their stories in the comic books. The two Oktober Guard sets were highlights of these releases for me. Plus I could finally get many of the earlier characters from 1982-1984 that I had missed out on getting in my childhood.
He was my first GI Joe figure.
It almost seems strangely appropriate and timely to do a Red Star Oktober Guard review NOW of all moments with all the drama going on in Washington, D.C., but I'll just enjoy the review and set aside the politics. I bought Red Star as a adult collector, But I switched up the head with a 1991 Dusty and made my custom Stormavik. I did ask Kirk Bozigian and JoeCon 2018 why they didn't do Oktober Guard figures in the 1980's, the answer I got was that between characters created by Marvel and Sunbow were submitted and considered but very few every got made, possible licensing issues. This is consistent with the release of Red Star and Big Bear; neither were pre-existing characters of the Oktober Guard before their release.
While made later, I always thought it was a crime Horrorshow and Dragonsky were never in the vintage line.
I agree, given the fact that the Oktober Guard appear in both the Marvel comic book series and the Sunbow cartoon you would think that they would have been made eventually. With the Cold War going at the time, another faction for G.I. Joe cross paths with would have been fun.
I’m working on filling out my Oktober Gaurd ranks now, thanks for the research.
I really love history. maybe you can make another red star review and talk about the war in Ukraine. I would really enjoy that, is historical and entertaining.
012: Rush out to the stores? Don't you mean...Russian to the stores? *rimshot*
Funny enough one of the members of profda patrol ( I'm sure I spelt that wrong.) was named Big Bear who was the Oktober guard member from 1992.
Red Star was part of my last joe of my childhood! He has especial place in memory and now is there in the wall next to me ! Great video my dear Commander!
The gatling gun fits perfectly in my Red Stars hand. Looks awesome.
In recent months the ARAH comic by Larry Hama briefly showed the original Oktober Guard pop back up again, post-"death." While it is likely that Larry just forgot that he killed them off, there may be a more interesting reason for this. You even selected the EXACT comic panel from the 90s that this theory comes from. Roadblock (back then) says "How come you look exactly like the late Colonel Brekhov?" and Red Star replies "A long story." He fully substantiates the suggestion. Now, while this may have been Larry's joke about Hasbro making what is essentially Brekhov as a figure after the death of the character, and renaming the figure due to their "no dead characters get turned into toys" continuity rule at the time. However, the savvy modern reader may see this as a way for Larry to bring the original Guard back. It could be that Red Star is a clone of Brekhov, and cloning is 100% a part of the Joe mythos. It may be that the "new" or "not-dead" Brekhov who just randomly popped back up in the comic is actually Red Star from the 90s, a clone of the original Brekhov. Bonus trivia: after the Oktober Guard "retired" (or... died?), he actually got a false identity and retired to America, in a nice little town called Springfield.
I used the antenna as a hook to hold the mini Gatling, with the ammo belt attached. That way he could carry the launcher and rifle. I figure the Gatling was for when the mission went south and he needed to cover the team’s exit.
Really cool looking figure. I hadn't heard of this one. His hat reminds me of the one that came with General Flagg. Thanks for the review!
Great review! I love the Guard!
Love this figure I remember for months looking for him and this series that took forever to hit the stores. I first saw them on the Sonic Fighter Dial Ton'es cardback and was obsessed with Red Star as my first choice!
Great review Hoodie!
Fascinating about how those events created a crazy story about this figure. Thank you for an excellent video
He's on my radar to get this week. He's pretty sweet.
_"The enemy of today can be the friend of tomorrow"_
-Snake from MGS franchise
Where capital's interests are concerned, yea, Snake knows how it works.
"The friend of today can be the the enemy of tomorrow"
-John Rambo in Rambo III
Nice to see something from the 90s with out garish colors. I always wondered why we didn’t get more October Guard . I really liked them in the comics
Very cool video review of the interesting G.I. Joe action figure Red Star. I love all the information regarding the Red Star.
Oktober Guard was interesting form the perspecitve of Joe fan born and living on the other side the curtain. They were rivals, not sworn enemies. They were stereotypes, spewing typical propaganda - but also positive stereotypes of dedication that led to their demise (for most of them). One of them was even from Eastern Germany. I think my friend had Red Star and we may have gotten the one with Cobra sign so we had problem with that as in DiC cartoon he was on the Joes side.
Salute to you HCC788. Awesome video and by the way I have the 3rd edition hard cover copy. Got it a few weeks ago.
It was around this time 1 year ago I first discovered your channel.
I missed out these figures as I was done with figures by 1988 but I missed out on some cool characters
It weird, they didn’t made the file cards for characters that aren’t part of G.I. Joe called “allies”. It would have make sense for the October guards to be allies, rather than G.I. Joe which is why I usually prefer shipwreck and quick kick not to be part of G.I. Joe because for me, I like to think of them as just mercenary or a ally to them.
amazing review, so full of really interesting details!
Great video
That is a great book, I'm very glad I have the 3rd edition.
What a superb introduction! 🤣 Love your reviews.😍
That's another great video
The titles are the great alaska seal and in one of the partsof rise serpentor rise, don't remember what part and they are not only soviet but more from the warsaw pact countries
Great review! I always learn so much from your videos.
I love it HCC!
I got the hard back version for Christmas last year.
I know the twin Gatling guns are unrealistic but they look so cool! It fits the archetype of Soviet arms trading accuracy and versatility for sheer overwhelming firepower. Reminds me of War Machine; maybe I’m just a sucker for wrist-amounted weapons...
He wasn't negative on them. He was mostly advocating ditching them because the character didn't have a place for it all.
Great vid as always. Sidenote: Despite your settings, it looks like the COPPA decisions of UA-cam are hitting your channel. The ad to pop before your video was a very kiddy toy. I have never had such an ad pop up on YT before on any channel I watch, which include a lot of comic book and retro toy reviews.
With what's going on now.... Whoa!!!!
14:40 glorious victory over the bourgeoisie ! :D
Just see "red star" co-op videogame for ps2! One of the best of its kind
I always thought the Cobra Officer's rifle looked like a Valmet M62 assault rifle. It is development of the AK design but is said to be superior to most AK-clones.
Christmas, the perfect blend of Capitalism and Communism. Decorating in Red, the color of the "REDS" and green, the color of money. That's a awesome observation!
Other than the belt of the webgear being to high, I would agree top tier. I would rather they added a wrist clip to the gattlin gun than keep the rocket launcher. Never was a fan of the spring fire toys. Though this one is definitely better than most, still don't care for it. Every thing else, top notch. Good review.
Why Didn’t Hasbro go bold and create a OktoberGuard vehicles and figures when first introduced as their own separate fighting force? It would’ve been a hit
Excellent, excellent figure and excellent review! I prefer the twin gatling cannons over any spring loaded launcher. Top tier all the way.
Hi HCC788, How you doing ? I miss your videos. Take care.
I'm not an October Guard fan, the cartoon ruined it for me, but I really like this figure.
Too many accessories? Impossible that’s like having too much money or a car that’s too cool
Another great review go HCC788 with your bad self
the faction on the back of Red Star's card should just be Red Star?
I remember seeing this in a store in 1991 and always wondered why Hasbro hadn't made Soviet figures in GI Joe before. I do remember the Russian soldiers that I served alongside in Bosnia, in 1996, wearing those blue and white striped t-shirts. We actually got to sit down together and eat a Thanksgiving meal together, which felt pretty monumental considering those guys would have been considered our enemies just 5 years earlier.
On a side note, I understand that you were making a joke at the start of this review, but the gift giving during Christmas is based around the concept of charity. Communism has absolutely nothing to do with charity.
Hasbro didn't want the Oktober Guard, it wanted Ewoks...
This is one of the few really good figures from the 90's Joe collection
The knife kinda look like AK bayonet.
Hi
Funny how only cucks who hate the president take down comments.
It really pissed me off when Hasbro never made the Oktober Guard in tge mid-80s to go with the comics. Or the Soft Master. I liked that little fat guy.
this is where gi joe should have been going early on.
less but more useful members, but more factions, story wise.
gi joe - cobra is meat and potato.
destro added a bit of carrots, and the guard some gravy.
by being able to swap heads, Hasbro could have sold weather uniforms.
then, you could have stalker or whoever in snow or desert suits.
and keep the team to a reasonable number.
they made that much members for money.
the original team was pretty much the base, it did nt need that much more.
money could have been made from selling vehicles without drivers.
it would make that more sense to have many, and army build.
and story wise, they could be developed more.
also, I never minded the multiple use of parts - molds, they are uniforms.
I minded the heads though, I hoped that Hasbro would fix it.
they did, but in my opinion, they went overkill with so many characters.
the story - business model was badly managed.
there is a place for gi joe today as is mission impossible.
the justice league, the avengers, you cannot have much more characters.
at 30 or 50, you have maxed.
smaller teams, multiple factions, a good story is the business model that works still.
I m still not over the idea that Hasbro makes ST figures and no joe at all...
good show!!!
Watching this video for the first time in 2023, and the idea that Red Star was originally from Ukraine is... interesting, to say the least.
It’s sad that Russia decided they would be the big bad enemy. Not just people with different ideas about how to look live, but different people that are superior and inferior.
Anybody else think Red Star looks like Bill Belichick?
Best AK47 belonged to Snow Serpent.
Unfortunately, the best way to really play with the Joe's were super glueing all the accessories to the figure, otherwise, the chances to lost such small pieces were really high, specially if you played outside.
I always wanted October Guards figurines as a kid, but by the time they were released I was too old.
Oh the irony from a UA-cam creator that asks for donations to review products he doesn’t need in order to make money from UA-cam advertisements. Such a capitalistic scheme especially when said creator proclaims that they can not possibly continue to create content without donations and patrons.
Santa started by wearing green then changed to wearing red. Commie turncoat or just a fan of Coca-Cola (a Capitalist brand)?
Poor Dr Mindbended and his crappy yellow gear
Yep, Santa is a Communist.