1984 G.I. Joe Blowtorch Action Figure Review
By: Karl Stern (@dragonkingkarl, @wiwcool, karl@whenitwascool.com)
There is a lot to like about 1984's Blowtorch. His bright red and yellow outfit, removable mask, and bulky sculpt set him apart from the other G.I. joe action figures of the time.
One of my favorite action figures from the 1984 G.I. Joe action figure series is the original flamethrower trooper Blowtorch. Blowtorch would have only minor roles in the comic book series and the cartoon and would ultimately be replaced by Charbroil later on in the line. Still, Blowtorch was one of the first colorful G.I. Joe action figures (before it was way overdone) and most of the G.I. Joe figures released before him were in green or muted army uniform colors.
Blowtorch came with a large backpack of gas canisters. His flame thrower could plug into either the front or back of the backpack.
Blowtorch used entirely new sculpts and, to my knowledge, his parts were never used for other figures.
Profile of Blowtorch. his protective mask looks really cool in profile and you can see the flamethrower plugged into the front of the backpack.
blowtorch was later replaced in the line by charbroil. charbroil is a much worse looking action figure with his alien like helmet and his flame thrower which looks nothing like an actual flame thrower. in my opinion, blowtorch is a far superior figure.
Blowtorch has had a few modern updates which honor the original color scheme.
Likewise, charbroil has had a modern update too which looks a lot better, taking elements from Blowtorch such as a repainted flamethrower, His helmet also looks a lot more like something a modern era flame thrower trooper might wear.
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