Every so often, a new assortment of rare G.I.Joe offerings hits eBay. Whether it’s a paint sample, prototype, etc., it’s always fun to see what’s out there. Many thanks to the one and only Brent Resner for the heads up on a round of offerings presented by eBay seller zartanman.
Up for grabs is an exciting assortment of offerings, ranging from unrelease 2004 Night Force samples to “current” offerings like Pursuit of Cobra vehicle prototypes. Check it out –
In 2004, Toys’R’Us offered an exclusive set of (6) Night Force figures, including Action Man, Beachhead, Flint, Roadblock, Short-Fuze and Tunnel Rat. Needless to say, the set was well received. Protos and Paint samples from this particular set spring up every now and again. Lucky for us, Zartanman has a full set for us to feast our eyes on, including a few bonus rarities.
There’s 2 versions of Beachhead up for grabs, one with White Camo, the other with Blue Camo. Tracker is available, which is fun as he was never released in this form; Instead, the mold was used to bring us Action Man. Tunnel Rat, Flint, Roadblock and Short-Fuze are sporting white pants (after Labor Day nonetheless).
- GI Joe Night Force Beachhead – Unreleased Prototype – White Camo – Rare!
- GI Joe Night Force Beachhead – Unreleased Prototype – Blue Camo – Rare!
- GI Joe Night Force Flint – Unreleased Prototype – Rare!
- GI Joe Night Force Roadblock – Unreleased Prototype – Rare!
- GI Joe Night Force Short Fuze – Unreleased Prototype – Rare!
- GI Joe Night Force Tracker – Unreleased Prototype – Rare!
- GI Joe Night Force Tunnel Rat – Unreleased Prototype – Rare!
Another 6 pack offering exclusive to Toys’R’Us was the G.I.Joe Anti Venom Task Force. This team was made up of Barricade, Charbroil, Duke, Mutt, Roadblock and Sgt. Lifeline. What I love here is figures that wear helmets were given a Steel Brigade lid, keeping things uniform amongst the group.
Samples reflecting different color schemes than what were eventually released are offered here, with Barricade, Sgt. Lifeline and Charbroil up for grabs in the highly sought after dark blue paint scheme.
- GI Joe Dark Blue Anti Venom Barricade – Unreleased Prototype – Very Rare!
- GI Joe Dark Blue Anti Venom Charbroil – Unreleased Prototype – Very Rare!
- GI Joe Dark Blue Anti Venom Lifeline – Unreleased Prototype – Very Rare!
Rounding out the offerings from Zartanman are a pair of 2010 G.I.Joe Pursuit of Cobra (POC) Cobra Fury vehicles. What’s neat about these is one has a different color scheme than what was finally released (Mauve and Maroon instead of Gray and Purple), whereas the other has painted distress marks on its front blast shield and air brushed camo pattern than is slightly different than the final product.
I noted it at the top, but I’ll repeat it here as well – I love seeing stuff like this! Will you be throwing your hat in on these auctions? If so, best of luck to you!
SURVEILLANCE PORT 
Can’t say I’m a big fan of these or that I would be willing to spend big money on them. Most of the figures look like bad custom jobs to me. Sure, they are probably rare, but that alone would not be enough to convince me. Of course, I know enough people who want something simply because it’s supposedly exclusive. So, I’ve no doubt they will sell without any problem.
I’ve a couple of those unpainted prototypes, which are usually a mix-match of unpainted plastic parts in the worst colors. But I like them so much that they are somewhere really in the back of one of my display cabinets where nobody can see them. 😉
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I bought most of them. I’m looking for the Duke dark blue variant.
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I found him 3 years later.
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