1984 G.I. Joe Roadblock Action Figure Review
By Karl Stern (@dragonkingkarl , @wiwcool , karl@whenitwascool.com)
1984 saw the 3rd original wave of G.I. Joe action figures hit the shelf and this wave had some real classic action figures including the Baroness, Blowtorch, Duke, Firefly, Mutt, Recondo, Ripcord, Scrapiron, Spirit, Storm Shadow, and Roadblock.
Roadblock was one of my favorite action figures as a kid. He debuted in the comic book and was portrayed as a tough guy, holding the .50 caliber machine gun and backing up Duke who initially was portrayed as much more of a no-nonsense drill sergeant type. Roadblock was just a cool action figure with a really big gun which is exactly what I wanted out of my G.I. Joe line.
The only criticism I'll give to the 1984 G.I. Joe Roadblock action figure is the facial expression. There's something about his eyebrows that portrays more surprise than toughness.
Roadblock's file card:
File Name: Hinton, Marvin F.
SN: RA538203485
Grade: E-4
Birthplace: Biloxi, Mississippi
Primary Specialty: Infantry Heavy Weapons
Secondary Specialty: Cook
Roadblock's dream was to be a gourmet chef. He was working as a bouncer to earn money to attend the Escoffier School in France when an army recruiter convinced him that the army could train him to be a chef. Roadblock joined but found army menus and preparation techniques too appalling. Transferred to the infantry. Qualified expert: M-2 Browning .50 cal.; Heavy Machine Gun; all Warsaw Pact Heavy MGs; M-16; M-1911A1 Auto Pistol.
"A .50 cal. Browning weighs 84 pounds. Add fifty pounds for the ammo-that's about 134 pounds of steel generating 2930 f.p.s. in muzzle velocity at a cyclic rate of 55 r.p.m. Anybody who can handle that doesn't need a machine gun to keep me away!"
Side view shows how the back ammo pack can also hold the machine gun tripod which allows Roadblock to hold the gun. The bottom portion of the ammo pack is also removeable.
Better view of Roadblock's tripod.
1984 Roadblock beside of his 25th anniversary update. I like the face on the 25th anniversary figure better. The brown and camo combination looks really good.
In the G.I. Joe - Retaliation movie, Roadblock was played by Dwayne Johnson (The Rock)
If you found this article interesting please consider becoming a Patreon supporter. That is how we keep our website and podcasts up and running plus you will get lots of bonus content including extra and extended podcasts, articles, digital comics, ebooks, and much more. Check out our Patreon Page to see what's up!
