Vintage Flash Hasbro GI Joe ARAH Series 1 Review
Gambello Anthony - code name Flash, was a member of the original G.I JOE team. He was a Laser Rifle Trooper, as well as being their electronics and CBR (Chemical, Biological and Radiological) expert.
Although he wasn’t one of the main characters and he only made background appearances in the series, he was still a lot of people’s favorite G.I JOE, perhaps because he was a genius, and he had a very strong belief in the American system.
The Best + Biggest Action Figure Database in the World!!
- 60,000+ Action Figures
- Release Dates
- Checklists
- Video Library
- eBooks + Guides
- Historical $$ Values
Recent updates
A Collapsible Table:
Gambello Anthony - code name Flash
He was first introduced as part of the original wave of 16 figures released in series 1 in 1982, and he ran till 1994, while his first cartoon appearance wasn’t until 1983. Flash’s weapon was a XMLR-1A Laser Rifle, where the “XM” stands for “ex-perimental model”, meaning the weapon was initially adopted for the US Military.
Although the 3.75 inches action figure was the only one based on Flash in the initial vintage run, the brilliantly painted padded uniform and excellent accessories made sure that the figure generated a lot of sales during his short run.
The series one figures came out on 9 back cards that showcased the other G.I JOEs arranged in rows and columns on a black background, directly under the G.I JOE logo and the file -card taking up the bottom third of the card which gave some brief details about him.
The front of the card had a big G.I JOE logo at the top while the action figure itself was located on the bottom right part, in front of a blue background. His laser rifle was directly beside him to the left and the three other accessories were directly above his head.
The sculpting of this figure was not bad at all and indeed, he looked the part of a real soldier. However, there did seem to be a flaw on his face, as his lips were a little bit too far from his jaw.
Other than this, everything else was quite accurate.
He was sculpted with his entire body covered in a suit of armor, except for his face, and he had long leather gloves or gauntlets on his hands. His arms were well proportioned and perfectly sculpted. His armor or the rough protective pads which he wore on his chest, upper arms and upper legs were also sculpted well. His head sculpt on the other hand was fairly plain but could only be seen when his helmet and visor were removed.
The Flash figure had four accessories: an XMLR-1A laser rifle, a backpack, a helmet, and a visor, which was usually attached to the helmet but could be taken off.
The laser rifle had a wire extension, which could be used to attach it to the backpack, by fitting it inside a hole. The backpack itself could be attached to the figure by fitting it into another hole on the figure’s back and the helmet and visor could easily be attached to or removed from Flash’s head.
Although the figure only had the few standard basic points of articulation, as with all other early releases, it was still a fun figure to own.
His head and neck had a swivel joint which could be turned both left and right, the legs could be raised to a perfect 90 degrees through ball and socket joints linking them to the hips and the knees could also bend at 90 degrees through pivot joints.
The upper body could be twisted at the waist. His neck had a swivel joint which allowed him to turn his head to the left and right.
The shoulder had ball and sockets that could be moved up and down and rotated and lastly, the elbow could be bent up at 90 degrees
Flash’s 1982 figure was a straight arm, meaning he could only move his whole arm from the shoulder, in an up and down and rotational direction. However, an upgraded variant was released the following year, which had swivel joints just above the elbow, to permit rotation of the forearms.
The 1983 release also had a slimmer waist-piece replacing his bulky original waist-piece and the date stamp on the figure was changed from "1982" to "82-83." As well as these variations the pegs on the backpacks were different. The pegs on the 83 version were slightly larger so the backpack pegs from the original figures only fitted loosely into the ’83 version figure.
Later the fourth series of the figure had the ball-jointed neck replaced with a swivel neck and generally had a better poseability.
There were also two variations. Figures sent through Hasbro directly and sold through Sears and JC Penny’s had a glossy red backing whereas the regular carded figures did not.
International Releases
· In Brazil, Cobra De Aço was created using a re-colored version of Flash's body sculpt
· An identical version of Flash was released as Flash in Argentina and as Elétron in Brazil.
· In Mexico, the straight-arm Flash was released in a box instead of on a card as part of series 1 in 1986 by the Auriken toy company.
Values
MOC $600 (only one found)
MLC $50-$135
Loose $19-$30
Vintage and Modern Action Figures for Sale
- The AFR Action Figure Store
- Worldwide Delivery
- Multiple Currencies
- Special offers
- Monthly Sales
- Customer Loyalty Prog
GI Joe Figures For Sale
More GI Joe Pages
- Home
- Gi Joe Action Figure
- SI Breaker
- SI Clutch+Vamp
- S1 Flash
Resources:
Recent Articles
-
Mego Star Trek Action Figures: A Look Back at the Iconic Toy Line
Feb 01, 23 12:37 AM
Mego’s first Star Trek Action Figures were released as far back as 1974, pre-Star Wars, and were based primarily on the live-action TV series [ read more ] -
Baseball Action Figures: A History of Sports Figures
Jan 23, 23 11:08 PM
The very first baseball action figures were similar in design and look to Hasbro's popular GI Joe figure with interchangeable uniforms and a generic look -
NHL Action Figures Guide
Jan 15, 23 10:53 PM
NHL Action Figures: A Look at the History and Evolution of These Collectible Miniature Hockey Players -
NBA Basketball Action Figures Guide
Jan 15, 23 09:07 PM
In 1986 Pat McInally, while browsing through the toy aisles of a local store saw rows of toys featuring super-heroes, but none based on sports heroes -
NFL Action Figures Guide
Jan 15, 23 09:06 PM
As sales of sport trading cards continue to drop alarmingly sales of NFL action figures continues to grow despite the current economic crisis [Read more] -
The Mattel Toy Company Story
Dec 26, 22 02:58 AM
Mattel is one of the biggest toy manufacturers in the world and was founded in 1945 by -
The Justice League of America
Dec 20, 22 01:17 AM
The Justice League of America or JLA is a fictional superhero team that, as well as striking fear into villains around the world [ READ MORE ] -
The NECA Toy Company
Dec 13, 22 02:41 AM
The NECA Toy Company or the National Entertainment Collectables Association are a toy manufacturer based in New Jersey...[read more]
PLEASE NOTE: All prices and values quoted on this site were correct at the time of publication based on the average value across several online and offline auction sites etc. The prices quoted ARE NOT an offer or solicitation to buy any figures at these prices.