HCC788 - 1985 Firefighter BARBECUE - vintage G. I. Joe toy review! S02E31

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Sources and Information:
Barbecue on YoJoe.com:
www.yojoe.com/a...
Barbecue on 3dJoes.com:
www.3djoes.com/...
Barbecue on G. I. Joe wiki:
gijoe.wikia.com...)
What is a fire department "Kelly day"?
www.ask.com/gov...
d
"Kelly day":
www.waywordradi...
Kelly day n. a day off or vacation day taken at a scheduled interval in addition
to normal time off or vacation. Also Kelly shift. Etymological Note: It has been
claimed as early as 1953 that this term comes from Edward Joseph Kelly, mayor of
Chicago from 1933 to 1947. He is said to have put in place a similar plan for
firefighters in 1936. An article on the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois web
site includes a footnote for an article that may include more information about
the origin of the term: "Action of City Council in Chicago Secures New Working
Schedule for Fire Fighters," International Fire Fighter, Washington, D.C., Vol.
XIX, No. 6, June 1936, pp. 5-6. (source: Double-Tongued
Edward Joseph Kelly:
en.wikipedia.o...
Fire Axe image:
www.nationalfir...
Firefighting foam:
en.wikipedia.o...
Firefighter's helmet:
en.wikipedia.o...
Self-contained breathing apparatus:
en.wikipedia.o...
U.S. Army Careers & Jobs, Firefighter (12M):
www.goarmy.com/...
369th Firefighters patch:
369thfirefighte...
369thfirefighte...
Real Military Patches Used on GI Joe Figures:
wiki.joecustoms...
G. I. Joe cartoon images:
www.joetoonarch...
www.joetoonarch...
www.joetoonarch...
Transformers: Rescue Bots:
en.wikipedia.o...
G.I. Joe PSA - Barbeque - Don't pull the fire alarm unless there's a fire:
• Video
G. I. Joe Adventure Team on G. I. Joe wiki:
gijoe.wikia.com...
Coke logo:
img3.wikia.noco...
Music: Take the Lead, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

[@Doc-Holliday1776]

As a fire fighter and a medic, I had Barbecue and lifeline as a kid, funny that is what I became. Thank you for bringing these guys back to life for us.

[@lazarus30001]

Barbecue is the kind of firefighter who cups his mouth and mimics the siren as loud as he can while riding or driving to a call.

[@Helspar06]

Barbacue was one of my favorite Joes, he was always rescuing other Joes from Helicopter crashes and brewed up tanks. A lot of figures with masks were my favorites for some reason, Firefly, Beach head and the Snow serpent

[@TheSkullReviews]

I remember getting Barbecue as a graduation gift from my teacher in 4th grade, all the boys got a GI Joe that year, I was pretty excited to get a Joe as I already was into them, I would have never picked him up personally cause he wasn't the typical army guy, still I was glad to have him.

[@juanelorriaga2840]

Wow your teacher bought you a Joe? I wish I had teachers like that in NYC

[@christianhafer9819]

@@juanelorriaga2840 What did your teachers do? Stab you on graduation?

[@lazarus30001]

I will never forget the episode: The Viper is Comming; it was a hilarious twist to the typical plot.

[@RoyStantz]

"Hey guys. Ah, you know it's funny, these people, they go to sleep. They think everything's fine, everything's good. They wake up the next day and they're on fire."

[@JB-zo7ln]

Loved barbeque as a kid. I used his axe as a weapon to fight cobras.

[@JoeMotionVideos82]

Barbeque is in my top 10 favorites, I have both variations of him, neither one of the pistol gril nozzles fit onto the storeage peg very well.

[@christianhafer9819]

He is definitely a top tier figure. Don't know if he's in my top 10, but he's excellent.

[@torelly]

Here in Brazil firefighters are part of the military and can carry guns, so I never had thought about all this firefighter thing. In fact the Marauder version was one o my favorite toys.

[@ericb8217]

I had him as a pilot. The orange suit was perfect for a fighter pilot.

[@juliaevelsizer4445]

I love Barbecue. I grew up to be a firefighter

[@BenKurth]

My little brother loved that action figure. If only because Barbecue was red-ish in color and my brothers favorite color was... Red.

[@galaxyoftoys]

I liked Barbeque a lot as a kid, but never had him doing much. He usually just stood around in the Joe Headquarters looking for fire code violations.

[@HCC788]

Galaxy of Toys Somebody's got to do it! He was their Fire Marshall Bill!

[@Tom_Van_Zandt]

Galaxy of Toys lol! I know this comment is 2 years old, but it made me laugh.

[@Nicopelli77]

the Sunbow cartoon gave this figure a great personality. the figures it's self is one my brother and I had as kids. I liked but, yea he wasn't used on lot on my missions. the funskool version is proudly displayed on my USS Flagg. I don't know why but I love the odd blue colors added to him on that version.

[@Alverant]

I like Barbecue's response to Shipwreck in the comic. "Everybody says that. ... Until there's a fire." so of course there was a fire on the water platform requiring him to chop off the missile launcher and shove it into the ocean.

[@user-si9fx4xb6v]

Having a lifelong interest in Firefighting, Barbecue was a must have action figure for me. For some reason, I did not get him until years later. I am glad that Larry Hama was able to use him not only as a Firefighter, but as an infantry man. I still remember issue #49 of the Marvel comics series were he used his fire axe to break the canopy of a HISS tank on Cobra island( very creative idea, if you ask me). I am glad that his 2009 movie tie in action figure has an H&K MP5A2 submachine gun and a Benelli M 4 shotgun in addition to his firefighting gear. Many fellow collectors often complained that he did not come with any conventional weapons. I have heard that Barbecue's file name of Gabriel Kelly is taken from a family friend of Larry Hama. Fun fact, the voice actor for Barbecue in the Sunbow cartoon series was Loren Lester who is best known for voicing Robin in Batman: The Animated Series.

[@Isolder74]

I did find it odd that the sailor, Shipwreck, was the one they had complain rather the one defending the idea. A sailor would be one who'd understand the importance of having a firefighter/DAMAGE CONTROL personel around is important and why it's a good idea.

[@user-si9fx4xb6v]

@@Isolder74 Yeah it is kind of of strange that Shipwreck would make a comment like that. Still Barbecue is one of my favorite characters in G.I. Joe for his unique specialty and his look. I was really happy when I finally got him for my collection years later, I missed out on getting him as a kid. Also I heard that Barbecue's file name of Gabriel Kelly is in tribute to a friend of Larry Hama's. Finally I think that it pretty neat that in the Sunbow cartoon, Barbecue's voice actor was Loren Lester who later worked on Batman: The Animated Series as the voice of Robin/ Nightwing.

[@turtle-tank8231]

one of my all time favorite joe's ever him and snake eyes

[@nightmantis1]

He put in mad work with his ax, I can tell you that much.

[@gaulergolf]

Barbecue, airtight and sci fi were a trio that I always stuck together and sent on missions. I just like the way they look together and all had those hoses. Can't believe the apathy for poor BBQ in these comments!!!!

[@HCC788]

kero wack He has a few cheerleaders! I'm glad some folks liked him!

[@davidtagilala5040]

+kero wack bbq was gangster one of my faves used to hack the shit out of the dredknox

[@marcusclarkson2657]

HoodedCobraCommander788 he was one of my favs. But I cant help thinking that at some point he was conceived as a flamethrower guy...I always pretended that is what he was equipped with. I cant remember if he or blowtorch came out first. Firefighter makes more sense for the color scheme though, for both Barbecue and Blowtorch. Once again you deliver an excellent video. We gotta be around the same age.

[@peteortiz65]

Bbq was the first G I Joe I owned as a kid.

[@firefly44220]

Top tier! I am the viper! 575, top floor first!

[@lostonwallace1396]

You always do a nice job with your videos, man, and as always, you deliver a nice review! Barbecue is one of the better figures from GI JOE's original line. I take a different view in regards to the helmet thing than you do though. We all have different ideas about things, I guess. I don't mind that his helmet isn't removable at all! After all, he would have just had a typical JOE head sculpt of the period --usually rather generic (or generic + mustache!), and he doesn't really have exceptional features anyway. Basically Duke's face with different hair. Also figures with removable helmets always look weird, because the helmets have to be very large and oversized to accommodate the size of the head underneath, or the head beneath has to be unusually tiny to make that work well. Plus, helmets are always getting lost, and something else to have to keep up with. Barbecue came with PLENTY of accessories already. If these figures back in the day had come with alternate heads or variants, fine, but I'm perfectly fine that he's wearing a masked helmet. It makes him look more unique and cool! He had great colors. I wouldn't want orange on every figure, but occasionally it can be made to work well, and I think that this is a great example of that. Do I mind that he didn't come with a military gun? No. I mind a lot more that V1 Scarlett didn't come with a quiver of crossbow bolts. I mean--she's got just the one sculpted in the crossbow she's carrying, so she'd better make her shot count! I know...she also has that sad little gun that's sculpted on her forearm, that's ornamentation at best. I think this figure is a must-have for collectors of the '80s JOES, and I'm happy to have it in my collection. One of the great things that made GI JOE figure of the '80s different from their 60s and 70s lines is that the figures weren't always just a bunch of military guys dressed in olive drab or camouflage. The figures had plenty of straight-forward military heroes, but it's often the more unique looking characters like Snake Eyes, Stormshadow, Spirit, etc that every loves the most. I just wish that someone doing the sculpting of the V1 figures was capable of producing better faces on the female figures. Baroness probably had the best sculpt of the female figures. Scarlett, Covergirl and Lady Jaye's head sculpts just aren't really that impressive. One of the Zarana figures is better than the other.

[@christianhafer9819]

Agreed 100%. I don't even think about whether a mask or helmet is removable or not as detrimental to the figure. It certainly doesn't knock the figure down a peg if they aren't.

[@christopherfigueroa3971]

I liked barbecue. That’s a great action figure!!

[@mattlerch531]

pair barbecue with doc, life line, and stretcher you have a decent emergency response team. throw in law and order, shockwave, junkyard and mutt, chuckles, and bullhorn(I think bullhorn would be a cop) and you have a good cross section of all emergency response personel. no need to fight cobra just do real world situations for these guys.

[@mattlerch531]

I'll amend my statement, you'll have to suspend some Joe cannon for these. Airtight and toxo-viper and techno-viper for haz-mat/firefighting. throw in rippers power jaws for jaws of life. alley viper for after when shockwave kicks in a door. low light for swat sniper. lghtfoot for swat eod. like I said you'd have to suspend some cannon. who said you had to use the figures for their original purpose.

[@danielferstendig]

and don't forget airtight.

[@sirkowski]

One of my first Joes and favorite. Broke both thumbs and the crotch. He's also an infantryman. So he could pick up a gun when there was no fires to extinguish.

[@Pegwarmers]

I had Slaughter's Marauder's Barbecue as a kid. I used to just have him help out manning guns on vehicles with extra seats until there was a fire to put out.

[@thephotoviper]

The figure I had as a kid could holster his gun just fine. I used him as a flamethrower troop with blowtorch though. I had no use for a firefighter toy as a kid. Now as an adult, I customize my blowtorch, and charbroil figs to be firefighters...

[@TroySmith25]

I liked the episode of The Viper is Coming. You are right about the helmets. I was always bummed that I couldn't see Barbecue's face, but you could in the cartoons. Same goes for Wet Suit.

[@grotezakhooi]

funny episode ! hehe

[@juanelorriaga2840]

Is that one where the old man shows up at the end to clean wi does or something? My memory is not that great

[@alexandremilliard4726]

@@juanelorriaga2840 exacly the joes try to decrypt his message and bust a bunch of cobra office along the way . By mistaken the clues of the wiper who sound like viper with an accent

[@christianhafer9819]

He'd just have a generic face sculpt anyway, so you wouldn't be missing much.

[@gunnersmate7482]

Barbecue was awesome. We lived by this really cool stream that was perfect for all of the boats and amphibious vehicles. We always used him as a diver and not a firefighter. We knew that he was a firefighter but there were far more missions for him as a diver so in our minds he was ONLY a diver. The axe completely awesome but it was a "spare" weapon and whichever poor a tion figure had lost it's weapon was stuck carrying the axe into battle against laser rifle carrying ninjas and troopers.

[@Tr0nzoid]

I didn't have Barbecue or most of the 1985 guys but just looking at this reminds me of how deeply fascinated I was with all these figures that year. I can't describe it.

[@christianhafer9819]

If you were so fascinated with the '85 year, why didn't you have very many of the figures?

[@chadkimmel8957]

I just watched that episode. It’s one of the few I actually remember from childhood.

[@kaodik]

I kept BBQ in the HQ and when cobra did get close enough to attack he would man the big gun or possibly go hand to hand. I was a fan of his from the cartoon because his voice was so different. Haha. The slaughter marauder one i gave a gun too. I very rarely used the same guns that the characters came with

[@rtd1409]

Really loved this guy and I have a pic of me in 1985 with him on the back of a VAMP that I had which was missing its turrets. Snow Job was driving and Barbecue was on the back (As if on a Fire Engine) ready to jump off and assist with injuries of put out fires on vehicles in the attack that may have been hit. Scrap Iron was at the ready to get them with a missile shot in that early photo of me with the guys!

[@HCC788]

That's a pretty cool time capsule! That must have brought back some great memories.

[@jasonmaiden5026]

Never had this one but I think he'd be a good character for rescuing other Joes from destroyed vehicles etc. This one is let down mainly by his file card. They could have given him a more interesting personality

[@astrotrainreviews1355]

Cool! I have the one from 1989!

[@christianhafer9819]

A top tier figure all the way. His helmet and mask not being removal isn't a bad thing. The weirdest things bother you. Lol. They'd only give him some generic face. With his mask and helmet, he's totally unique.

[@DarkwyndPT]

I'm not sure and could be my memory playing tricks on me, but the Action Force version (whose action figure is identical BTW) is Italian from Naples. And I simply put him anywhere in my old Rolling Thunder.

[@new2vero2]

LOL-BBQ was my 1st GIJOE ( that I can remember)..At the time, I was the little brother type: following Transformers, He-Man, and Thundercats... GIJoe was more for bigger kids (i remember mom telling me this whenever I asked for a Tank or soldier figure ) but I wanted a GiJoe ..she got me BBQ because he was a fireman...My dad was in Vietnam, he wasn't too keen on kids playing out War as he saw too many friends return State side in bodybags. ..So, (as discussed over on my channel) I was too young to read the comics or really dive into the World. My knowledge was primary based on the cartoons.... I've been remedying that. Again, your video sparked the kid in me. I can not wait for IDW #250.. wow what a Story line. Again, I share my feelings on my channel as I am so engaged in this Dawn/Snake Eyes story arch. I highly recommend Joe fan's to treat themselves from issue 240-250 .Greetings and good health 2 u and family from the new2vero2 family.

[@Morgaine4194]

I used barbecue when the Joes were on the defensive. I didn't have an actual HQ then but whatever was being used as a base would catch fire under Cobra attack

[@Mrhellzya]

I always thought barbecue was a flamethrower trooper. I never had his file card. So this was informative. Thanks

[@andreharrison3240]

I recall having this figure in 1985, but I didn't have a chance to include him with my Joe team as a Firefighter to put out many fires, haha. Regretfully though, after having him for a week, I took him to school and after showing him to a kid, he accidently snapped his O-ring. Since I've grown my collection significantly over the past few years, I will have to replace him now. Great review!

[@HCC788]

Andre Harrison I'm glad you liked it! Those o-ring snaps were so common. We used to replace them with ordinary rubber bands wrapped a coupe times around the hook. It didn't work very well, but it kept the figure together. We didn't know those o-rings were available at the hardware store.

[@nanlion]

I never had this figure, some of my friends yes. I always liked it, but I could not believe I did not have shotguns. And of course his helmet was fixed. Two very difficult things for me. But she is a very pretty figure!

[@jmsberetta]

cool review can't wait for more

[@HCC788]

james strickland Thank you! I'm glad you liked it. More is coming!

[@stevendunkley8890]

got barbeque as a 'buy one, get one free' offer with Flint. once I got him home though, never used him as he had limited play value as you point out

[@marcryan1974]

Awesome 👏

[@SylentEcho]

My gun never sat on it's peg either. Probably owned about 4 BBQs throughout my childhood and none!

[@ShryStar]

Law and order,lifeline,and barbecue would make a perfect rescue team

[@danielferstendig]

Don't forget airtight he's part of the rescue team

[@affoster79]

I never had the original version of Barbecue I had the Slaughters Marauders version and the Eco Warriors that came with the big honking water cannon.

[@JoeMotionVideos82]

I would have Barbeque cut into wrecked vehicles to help extracate his trapped teammates. He used his axe as a combat tomahawk as well. Mostly he stayed behind the lines as support.

[@fromthehildt]

You want to know how to use an infantry soldier who also happens to be a firefighter in a combat unit; well gee, I don't know...maybe as a Infantryman.

[@martinvasquez818]

I used him as damage control and rescue, as well as a vehicle operator

[@AquaFan1998]

When i clicked on this video seeing the name and design i thought he had a flamethrower. Like hed be causing fires rather then putting them out. If i had him as a kid i would have probably had his "foam shooting gun" be a flame thrower with the tanks on his back having fuel instead. And maybe he could take the fuel pack off and set it somewhere his team need so that it could be used as an explosive if needed, him carring a spare pistol and his fire axe to fight with then out of fuel or having the fuel pack used

[@mgvillanmp478]

another superb review man this guy was not one of my more favored figures but I did have this guy ..the axe with the handguard made him a tough guy in my day good stuff man

[@HCC788]

mgvillanmp478 Cool! I'm glad you liked it. SO you saw the axe more as a weapon?

[@mgvillanmp478]

HoodedCobraCommander788​ yup like Conan so I made him a enforcer kind of guy ..and the armor was bullet proof

[@HCC788]

mgvillanmp478 Of course! With that head he could even be a robot or something.

[@annmarieevetts2473]

"The Viper is Coming" was just a really fun, off-beat episode. I'm with you about the removable mask/helmets, tho'. Hard to put Barbeque and some of the others in 'neutral' settings.

[@MJKToys]

"The viper is coming; five seventy-five"

[@donaldthompson9938]

Pretty much used him on a lot of playsets or big vehicles. Sometimes we give him a rifle.

[@davidtagilala5040]

just saw his last name as kelly .... maybe ned kelly from australia was the inspiration for his name especially with that helmet

[@robbyritter4245]

David Tagilala Ned Kelly was irish

[@danielferstendig]

he makes a good hazmat trooper

[@HCC788]

Good idea. He could work with Airtight.

[@danielferstendig]

air tight and barbecue make a good team

[@hector1011]

Barbecue & Airtight… two figures that I never got when they originally came out. As a kid, I didn't quite get why they needed a firefighter. There were so many other cool Joes and Cobras that year that I had no interest in getting those 2 characters. Barbecue is a nicely detailed figure, I just think he would have done better being a member of M.A.S.K. Good job on the review though !

[@HCC788]

sonic360 That seems to be a theme. A lot of folks just skipped over this figure.

[@christianhafer9819]

@@HCC788 I don't know what you're seeing. I'm seeing a lot of love for this figure. I certainly enjoy him immensely. I never gave two hoots on whether a mask and or helmet was removable or not. Certainly doesn't knock a figure down a peg because they aren't. Top tier figure all the way. Looks awesome.

[@robbyritter4245]

Barbeque should have been in every episode as much shit as Cobra liked to blow up.

[@TheNightBadger]

Another one I never had as a child. I completely agree about the non-removable masks. Even the modern anniversary edition of Barbecue didn't have a removable mask which bugged the hell out of me as almost everyone else does.

[@willischalepah9488]

yeah they said airtight looked like a cobra BBQ looked like one also but I dig the bad guys anyways.

[@Mlopez_602]

I had this guy. Don't know why, I never used him.

[@lukeelsbrock3997]

I usually had him assigned the Avenger.

[@nyquist75]

you could gently whittle the slat down so the gun will fit on...

[@gxbouncer1]

I had a fisher price ambulance he stayed on there w doc and lifeline

[@death2all79zx]

Lol, dat file card description.

[@510newguy]

I pretended Barbecue was a flame thrower guy instead of a fire fighter guy.

[@gobloit4473]

have you reviewed fast draw or quick draw????

[@HCC788]

+gob “gobloit” loit Not yet!

[@zartan7779]

Barbeque was giving a gun and joined my joe attack force

[@jamesclark4659]

I wonder if anybody watched the viper is coming after this

[@HCC788]

James Clark If so, I'd like to know what they thought about it.

[@MegaStefane]

I aways pretend it was a flames thrower.

[@matthewchicchi7262]

"Hey listen guys, y'know these people, they go to sleep, they think everything's fine, everything's good . . . they wake up the next day 'n they're on fire!"

[@soterioncoil2163]

I had him and he was ok howbeit far from my favorite. I would have way rather had Blowtorch but never did.

[@FoxofMaysville]

I would use Barbecue in search and rescue.

[@wallaroo1295]

"I'm da Viper... I'm here to vipe and vash da vindows."

[@juanelorriaga2840]

That old man was creepy

[@samfrito]

Barbecue was fun, but not a great fit for most missions. I think he might be the least used my collection. great review

[@HCC788]

sam torres Thanks! Yeah, he had a very specific specialty. Maybe too specialized?

[@samfrito]

But with that helmet he probably could have made an interesting Hiss driver

[@maxbrandt6]

I smell pork chop sandwiches!

[@chrisnwi1209]

this guy has never been one of my favorites. he's not a horrible figure but just like sci-fi and blowtorch his color scheme and speciality he is kinda out of place with the joes. but again great review Bryan.

[@HCC788]

Chris Michalec Maybe he should follow Blowtorch around. Blowtorch starts the fires, Barbecue puts 'em out!

[@chrisnwi1209]

That's a good idea lol

[@JoeMotionVideos82]

I would have Barbeque cut into wrecked vehicles to help extracate his trapped teammates. He used his axe as a combat tomahawk as well. Mostly he stayed behind the lines as support.

[@danielferstendig]

Maybe airtight could back him up