Who are the "Argen7?"

[just_joes_by_mike]

There have been a few Argentina Invasors lately on ebay and they have not fetched the money the other Argen figures have. Shion had one that did not meet the minimum bid, but it was hard to tell the condition of the emblem.

I would venture to say that the blond zap is much rarer and should be considered part of the Argen7, since they are all good guys.

[yeti76]

I think some people including myself are of the opinion that Cobra Invasor is not a member of the "Argen 7". There are only 6 of the 7 that were actually produced and the 7th member is another female character "Classified" seen here:
http://www.treasuresntoys.com/argentinaart.htm

and

http://www.treasuresntoys.com/images...fied_angle.jpg

I'm waiting for a skilled customizer to make Classified. I'd love to get that 7th member someday even if it is only based on the artwork.

I was lucky enough to see those prints in person. Ron brought them to a GI Joe meet and they are very cool. Any idea as the what color Classified was supposed to be? I think black and gray would have been pretty cool.

[uterglue]

There have been a few Argentina Invasors lately on ebay and they have not fetched the money the other Argen figures have. Shion had one that did not meet the minimum bid, but it was hard to tell the condition of the emblem.

I would venture to say that the blond zap is much rarer and should be considered part of the Argen7, since they are all good guys.

I agree that blonde Zap is extremely hard to find. It was the last foreign figure I even knew existed (besides Funskool stuff). Does anyone know if the blonde Zap came carded or with a vehicle/playset? Cobra Mortal is not a good guy though.

[uterglue]

Maybe Classified would be chromed in the same way as Glenda and then the rest black and red. I see her as maybe being a Cobra and similar to Baroness.

[just_joes_by_mike]

Blond Zap came with the very rare Argentina glider. He was bagged and came in a few variations if I am not mistaken. He only came with a helmet and clear visor.

Forgot about Mortal, he is so out there in price I forget he is a bad guy.

That drawing of Classified and the little eye piece is cool. Like Glenda with a breaker headset that does not even remotely fit. I envision Classified with a Night Viper facemask!!

[ShioN]

There have been a few Argentina Invasors lately on ebay and they have not fetched the money the other Argen figures have. Shion had one that did not meet the minimum bid, but it was hard to tell the condition of the emblem.

I would venture to say that the blond zap is much rarer and should be considered part of the Argen7, since they are all good guys.

Yup, very truth. He was on reserve and it didn´t meet the price... but I´m thinking that Manleh could have had something to do with it. Manleh was in great conditions, hence getting all the attention. He went for $277, which is a gud sum. But undoubtly, prices have really dropped compared to five years ago... I used to see these guys in really poor conditions go for maybe a thousand bucks. For the time being, I´m keeping Invasor until I meet a good offer. I can post more detailed pics of the emblem if needed.

The other rare guy I had was Zap. I have personally never seen him in that light green uniform. Have you? I don´t know in which Plastirama wave he was released.

About blonde zap... I´ve seen that guy a couple of times. I´ve even seen the glider some years ago, mint. Since that was the time of the "argen7 boom", the seller was asking waaay much more money that it was worth. Those were crazy days around here. Everyone became a scalper and would really hold on to his Joes and ask ridiculous sums for beat up stuff or really common stuff. And local small toy stores were literally joe-emptied. Now everyone´s trying to get rid of those playsets!!!

I still keep pictures of ALL the figures I´ve had and sold. Many of them were sold to upgrade my Marvel Legends collection (which today is complete - even variants included). I´ve cursed Hasbro for mistreating ML and now I´m really into 25th stuff. I love them. Honestly, I do.

Well... one of this days I´ll make an album or something with pics of ALL the Plastirama and Estrela figures that passed through my hands.

[ShioN]

I think some people including myself are of the opinion that Cobra Invasor is not a member of the "Argen 7". There are only 6 of the 7 that were actually produced and the 7th member is another female character "Classified" seen here:
http://www.treasuresntoys.com/argentinaart.htm

and

http://www.treasuresntoys.com/images...fied_angle.jpg

I'm waiting for a skilled customizer to make Classified. I'd love to get that 7th member someday even if it is only based on the artwork.

I will really have to desagree on a couple of things here.

First of all, it is generally agreed among collectors who the Argen 7 are. They are characters who actually existed... and Classified was never even released.


I may be heavily criticized for saying this, but I really DOUBT of the authenticity of those card art drawings. I never said it here because I found that this repros were widely accepted.

What makes me think this?

First of all, there is absolutely no trace of who could have drawn this. The Plastirama factory was closed more than 20 years ago and almost nothing remains there. So how could have the original artist been contacted? That´s really beyond my knowledge. I would have appreciated a picture of this man, or a pic of the person who bought the drawings here in Argentina. Or at least knowing his name!

Was the character named Classified by the people who sell the art prints???

[uterglue]

I will really have to desagree on a couple of things here.

First of all, it is generally agreed among collectors who the Argen 7 are. They are characters who actually existed... and Classified was never even released.


I may be heavily criticized for saying this, but I really DOUBT of the authenticity of those card art drawings. I never said it here because I found that this repros were widely accepted.

What makes me think this?

First of all, there is absolutely no trace of who could have drawn this. The Plastirama factory was closed more than 20 years ago and almost nothing remains there. So how could have the original artist been contacted? That´s really beyond my knowledge. I would have appreciated a picture of this man, or a pic of the person who bought the drawings here in Argentina. Or at least knowing his name!

Was the character named Classified by the people who sell the art prints???

I like where this discussion is going, simply because I like any discussion about South American figures. The reason I don't see the Invasor as an Argen 7 is because the other 6 are completely new figures exclusive to Argentina in the second series. If you look at the back of the cards, it shows the 6 of them with NUEVO on the pictures.

http://www.yojoe.com/international/a...bramortal2.jpg

Invasor must have been in the first series as suggested by his cardback.

http://www.yojoe.com/international/a...rainvasor2.jpg

Invasor was also available in Brazil, although I'm not sure where he was introduced first. Regardless, Invasor is simly Snake Eyes with a cobra logo so he is hardly anything inventive.

I'd understand better if it were actually called the Argen 6.

[ShioN]

I like where this discussion is going, simply because I like any discussion about South American figures. The reason I don't see the Invasor as an Argen 7 is because the other 6 are completely new figures exclusive to Argentina in the second series. If you look at the back of the cards, it shows the 6 of them with NUEVO on the pictures.

http://www.yojoe.com/international/a...bramortal2.jpg

Invasor must have been in the first series as suggested by his cardback.

http://www.yojoe.com/international/a...rainvasor2.jpg

Invasor was also available in Brazil, although I'm not sure where he was introduced first. Regardless, Invasor is simly Snake Eyes with a cobra logo so he is hardly anything inventive.

I'd understand better if it were actually called the Argen 6.

Likely. But with a whole new identity and background.

And what do you think about the art prints?

[airedevon]

ShioN is most definitely correct that the name "Argen 7" refers to figures that were actually produced.

In fact, the name "Argen 7" refers to one of the figures from series 1 and all six figures from series 2:

Cobra Invasor (series 1)
Cobra Mortal (series 2)
Glenda (series 2)
Redmack (series 2)
Shimik (series 2)
Manleh (series 2)
Topson (series 2)

I created this name about 10 years ago, as a shortcut phrase to denote the 7 straight arm figures from Argentina who were characters not available in the US.

The blond Zap figure was not included because - although straight arm and an interesting variation - he was created to be the character equivalent of the tan Grunt (Falcon glider driver) - and also because the Argen 7 refers to figures that were released on cardbacks (not packed with a vehicle as was this figure)

The "Argen 7" has nothing to do with good guys or bad guys, or with rarity... The name was created:

1) as an homage to these 7 special straight arm figures that are unique characters to South America and different from those offered here by Hasbro.

2) as a shortcut - a way to talk about these figures without having to say "Series 2 and Cobra Invasor" each time collectors discussed them.

I have to admit, that I would not have come up with that name if, at the time, I had known about the Venezuelan Rubiplas corresponding figures :-)
However, I have some friends in Venezuela today who refer to the corresponding Rubiplas figures as the "Venezuelan Argen 7". They tell me they see no problem (because the figures were available in Argentina before Venezuela :-)

I feel humbled and honored to have made this very small contribution to GI Joe collecting lore.
Aire

PS - Cobra Invasor was originally created in Brazil by Estrela.
The first year that Estrela produced Joe figures they did not have access to the Cobra Trooper and Officer molds - so in order to have a bad guy for the Joes to fight, they used the Snake Eyes figures as their bad guy ("O Invasor")

The following year, they acquired the Cobra molds (and the Cobra stamp), and they upgraded the Snake Eyes bad guy figure ("O Invasor") by placing a Cobra symbol on his chest and changing his name to "Cobra Invasor".

Argentina and Venezuela both continued this cool character (I really like him :-) By the way, a Cobra Invasor with a really good symbol is one of the most difficult figures to find... especially from Argentina and Venezuela.