According to One eBay Seller, This Repaint is the Rarest G.I. Joe Ever Produced

International versions of classic action figure lines can gain notoriety in collector circles for their new and sometimes bizarre interpretations of iconic figures and characters. Best known is Turkey’s “Uzay” figures, an unlicensed toyline using repainted molds from Kenner’s Star Wars line. Loose or carded, collectors can expect to pay hundreds or even thousands for sought-after Uzay figures like Blue Stars or Head Man. Funskool’s G.I. Joe action figures have come to hold a similar appeal to hardcore G.I. Joe collectors, though one distinction sets them apart from lines like Uzay: these were fully licensed by Hasbro. 

Beginning in 1988, Indian toy company Funskool acquired dozens of Hasbro G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero molds, reproducing them for international markets. While some of the most notorious figures are the original characters Funskool created for the line, the rarest are straight repaints of Hasbro G.I. Joe characters. One eBay seller claims that this Funskool figure is the “#1 Rarest” G.I. Joe action figure ever released. This “olive green” variant of Funskool’s Gung-Ho is in “Mint to NM” condition, and the seller expects it to be worth $40k to one G.I. Joe collector.

What Makes This Variant Potentially the Rarest G.I. Joe in the World

The seller explains that the figure was “released on opening day back in 1988 when Hasbro and MRF racing [sic] joined up to make Funskool.” This refers to the 1987 joint venture between Indian tire manufacturer MRF Tyres and Hasbro that led to the formation of Funskool as a licensed international partner manufacturer for Hasbro brands and products. The “Olive Green Gung-Ho” was part of the first wave of Funskool G.I. Joe figures. 

Olive Green Gung-Ho was only available as a vehicle pack-in figure and was never released on a single card. The production run was exceedingly limited, and YouTuber Action Figures India estimates that “Funskool made maybe fifty or sixty of these … there might be just about a dozen of these or maybe two dozen that are in existence and have been documented.”

Funskool continued manufacturing G.I. Joe figures until the mid-2000s, leading to numerous variations of Gung-Ho and other figures. What sets the original Funskool Gung-Ho apart is its color scheme, a straight olive green on his vest and pants, rather than the blue-green vest and camo blue-green pants seen in later releases. Also notable is the lack of a chest tattoo, a signature of both Hasbro-and-Funskool-manufactured Gung-Hos, though printed backwards on Funskool’s releases. 

Action Figures India mentions that there are even two distinct Olive Green Gung-Ho figures: one with and one without a wristwatch. This was likely the result of two production runs on the figure, either occurring at separate times or in different factories. The result is that the wrist-watch variant is even rarer, making up only a handful of the one or two dozen Olive Green Gung-Ho figures known to exist. 

Why Collectors Love Funskool’s G.I. Joe Figures

With almost no new tooling to speak of, Funskool’s G.I. Joe line makes imaginative, colorful reuse of Hasbro’s molds and characters. Fans were constantly discovering undocumented Funskool variants well past the line’s end, with whole new waves and characters being uncovered as recently as 2009. The 2009 discovery was of the so-called “Complan Commandos,” a wave of five figures produced by Funskool as a promotion for children’s nutritional supplement powder Complan. 

Repaints and kitbashes of instantly recognizable G.I. Joe characters, the Complan Commandos are emblematic of Funskool’s appeal to collectors. Lady Jaye becomes “Canary Ann,” repainted in bright yellow and reimagined as a “master disguiser” and polyglot used by G.I. Joe on espionage missions. Gung Ho was repainted (with Short Fuze’s head) as “Striker,” described in his file card as having “a voice like a bullhorn, fists the size of frozen turkeys, and the disposition of a grizzly bear.” Along with the Olive Green Gung-Ho, these are some of the other rarest figures in the Funskool line, easily valued at at least $1k each. 

Even at a thousand dollars apiece, that leaves a pretty wide delta between the value of these ultra-rare Funskool G.I. Joes and the asking price of this Olive Green Gung-Ho. Whether the figure is worth the $40k asking price remains to be seen, as with figures this rare, it is difficult to gauge fair market value. A sale like this one – if it sells – is precedent-setting, and will serve as a point of reference for G.I. Joe fans going forward of what they can expect to pay to add this figure to their collections.

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