Was Claymore released in the UK?

[volleydan]

First off, it's been a while since I've posted. Life got in the way, as they say and my time for the hobby has been greatly diminished. I see many of the same names as before around here, and it feels good to post here again. Hopefully I can be a bigger part of this community in the future.

For those of you who don't know, Claymore was a kitbash/repaint figure that was released exclusively with the Toys R Us exclusive "Special Mission: Brazil" set in the States in 1986. The figure was a black-haired Footloose head with a yellow and brown camo pattern on his outfit.

Well, there have been examples of this figure popping up lately that do not have the camo pattern on his outfit. In almost every case, the figure was reported to have been picked up in a lot from the UK or lots containing other UK figures. I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about international Joe stuff, but I have no clue on this one.

So I thought I would reach out to the guys here and try to gather some info about what this might be. So my questions are:

1. Was Claymore released in the UK?
2. If so, would he have been a Toys R Us exclusive?
3. Was the Mission: Brazil set sold in the UK or was he released as a solo figure - how did you buy him?
4. Is the "no camo" version a readily known variant in the UK collecting community?
5. How rare should this figure be considered? Is he on par with the UK CGI?

Any info that anyone can share would be greatly appreciated.

[Moonchild666]

Hey Volleydan. I posted the first one to emerge on YoJoe. This is the only of your questions I can (somewhat) give an answer to:

3. Was the Mission: Brazil set sold in the UK or was he released as a solo figure - how did you buy him?

I bought him in a childhood collection which also included SMB Wet-Suit and DialTone. So I guess that the SMB set could quite probably have been released in Europe (maybe as an overstock of figures in a special packaging?). But all that is merely speculation on my part.

[Red Laser]

Claymore was a Toys R Us exclusive in the Mission in Brazil pack more than likely only available stateside. I hadn't heard of him until DDP's GI Joe run they also did a Special Missions redux issue with Firewall replacing Mainframe.

[Graham_UK]

From what I know the "MTB" set was US only,saying that its possible that some shops MAY have imported a couple (like the Flagg and Defiant) back in the day. The one you have with no camo is something else! As the ones that again MAY have been available over here would have just been the same as the US ones.

[buddusky]

Claymore or the Mission Brazil Set was not released in Europe.

Theory #1: Was the "childhood" collection purchased in person or via EBay? I ask as if it was via eBay then it may not be a "childhood" collection. When I'm searching eBay and I come across a UK lot described as a "childhood" collection I always gauge the presence of a US only release figure as a collector passing off his rubbish as a "childhood" collection to hide poor condition and maximise profit.

Theory #2: There are similarities with Skelinere's no camo figures, who did the lot belong to?

Theory #3: It could be a promo like the Greek Euro Mutt but that doesn't account for no camo on the legs.

[buddusky]

Btw. Welcome back Dan!

[Moonchild666]

Theory #1: Was the "childhood" collection purchased in person or via EBay? I ask as if it was via eBay then it may not be a "childhood" collection. When I'm searching eBay and I come across a UK lot described as a "childhood" collection I always gauge the presence of a US only release figure as a collector passing off his rubbish as a "childhood" collection to hide poor condition and maximise profit.

Nope, mine's not from eBay. It was from a Danish site where private persons can sell their stuff, similar to Craigslist in the states. He also had other 80's toylines - like Star Wars and Dino-Riders - but way overpriced (though I did buy a Danish MotU catalog from him that I haven't seen before).
Anyway, here's the original pics from the listing (I payed 450 DKR including shipping for the lot. Which amounts to roughly $80):





But of course it could have been purchased in the US and imported, somehow. I also have three AVAC Pilots which all come from 100% original childhood collections that I got here in Denmark. But again, they could just have been imported somehow.

[volleydan]

I've been chasing facts about this figure all morning....between the responses here and a conversation I had with Tree, I'm fairly confident we can kill the "Euro exclusive" theory. I also talked to a guy who is a very avid prototype collector, and he basically said that if it's pre-production then it's one that's never been confirmed as such.

That leaves a couple theories to explore - it could have been a variant based on a later mail-away release, or it could simply be a small batch that didn't get all of the paint apps....a factory error for lack of a better term. It's also possible that someone is out there doctoring these figures like what we saw with no camo Jammer a couple years back.

I tracked down 4 of these.....I compared the pics pretty closely and from various unique rubs, paint wear, and other flaws I'm pretty confident saying that none of the pics I found are of the same figure. So that means that there are at least 4 of these out there....and they're scattered all over Europe and now in Australia. So I'm inclined to believe that whatever they are, they're not fakes/customs.

I just wonder what the heck it really is?!?!?!?

[stkhlmdk]

I have also found MTB figures in both Danish and Swedish childhood collections and I am pretty sure that we never saw the box set over here in the shops. So the question is whether these where released on cards (not likely) or people got them via family travelling to UK or US.

[buddusky]

Another idea is they could be from the Driving Force Club Membership. If you joined you received a random figure sealed in bag.

As a side note I have three Falcons all missing Camo from their shirts and all purchased from Europe.