G.I. Joe Tanks - Mobat and Mauler M.B.T. Hasbro 1982-1985

[@coeurdelion3113]

I received Mauler for Christmas in 1985, when I was 5. It was my first Joe tank, and playing with it was pure magic. To this day it's my favorite ground vehicle.

[@henrytoledo4103]

yeah I got one for Christmas 85 too, along with Striker and the cobra plane

[@standepain]

RetroBlasting making quarantine so much easier. Thank you, guys!!

[@ChewieEst]

I work away from my wife/home four days a week, so I spend a lot time watching the RB archives to get me through my down time!

[@wallaroo1295]

@8:00 Dude, Speaking as a US Army Veteran, can you *please* cut this into a clip I can share to my various Veterans' groups? That conversation sounded *precisely* like conversations I've heard (or had) with other Veterans down at the Legion or VFW! Spot... f'n... on! Thank you for the laughs tonight! 💖🤘🤣🤘

[@wallaroo1295]

This is how silly it really was, being in the late 90s Army, especially Bragg. "Ooh look at me, I'm a tanker, so I get special boots'" Airborne: "That's nice, we get Cocoran boots, and they are super shiny!" Airborne Tank Units at Bragg; "Fine, we take your Airborne boots, and just for fun, we're going to turn them into Tanker Boots too! Airborne and Tanker - same boot! Now whatcha gonna do? Airborne: "Um.... Keep jumping around and stuff... Maybe get flown in, but don't actually... You know what?! F'k you Tankers!:I got the next shot, who's in?!"

[@outlawjar01]

True story! had a couple buddies in the 82nd go tanker... we disowned them!!!

[@Transfixed]

I was very surprised to find out the Mauler was so beloved by adult collectors. I had it as a kid and rarely used it. It would just drive away from you! I wanted to control my vehicles as i played out my battles. In fact i usually left the batteries out of all my toys.

[@AT-im2qj]

6:53 your whole life flashes before your eyes when you notice that something like that is gone

[@hispro]

I love the MOBAT and still do. It's one of the few G.I.Joe toys from my childhood that has survived intact to this day. But you're right about it. As a kid I usually just left the tank parked in the G.I.Joe Headquarters and only brought it out when COBRA had a fort to break into or an army to barrel over.

[@jartladder15]

I had the Mobat. The novelty of anything "electronic" was really cool in those days.

[@Mizzelphug]

I had 2 of them. Local hole in the wall store in my small town had them overpriced on the shelf for about 10years and no one ever bought them. As soon as I got a little cash I bought one. It broke within a few months so I went and bought the other one. Someone also stole my bike as I walked out of the store with the second one so the memory stuck.

[@robertschell1235]

I had the mobat. Took mine apart so I could make it free wheeling, alot more fun that way.

[@toweypat]

Clever!

[@michaelwills1926]

Same here

[@dasspielmobil6161]

It always strikes me as a big surprise to see people actually downvoting RetroBlasting videos. I don´t get it. They are well made, incredibly in-depth and entertaining. What more do you want or expect? Noods?

[@vintagetoykid9682]

RetroBlasting is my favourite KZbin channel and Michael and Melinda are two very awesome people. Keep doing what you’re doing. You guys rock!

[@bentonrp]

Great video on these TANKS! That's not what the Joes act like; That's what Michael acts like...

[@retroblasting]

I dont know what this means, but I'm sensing a cheap shot.

[@bentonrp]

Just that ol' fashioned, only-too-familiar internet jiving. I can't do it so good, but I truly adore your comedic spin on things!; Rock N Roll always exposes the lies about doing his duties! :D

[@bairdswestciv9542]

When I was a preteen, I took both my Mauler and Mobat apart. Taking the internal gearing out allowed the tanks to roll on their treads easily. That's what Hasbro should'a done.

[@martinvasquez818]

Hey! I did the same!

[@ArmondoOrtiz76Lincol]

Keep up the videos, I need this entertainment, its helping me get through the lockdown. Lockdown would make a good G.I Joe figure name.

[@toweypat]

You're right. He could be an MP who runs the prison where they keep captured Cobra guys.

[@ChewieEst]

After all these years (and I even owned a Mauler) I just noticed on the final close up that Rampage has a dirty face and lines from his goggles! I owe you again RetroBlasting!! 😉

[@JIPS1993]

Thanks for the content during these trying times!

[@lordvonlord]

My father bought me a Mobat. He is gone now, thanks for the memory.

[@scottm4969]

My MOBAT was bricked for most of my childhood. Just recently disassembled it and got it working again.

[@drfaireborn1582]

Hey that is great. How did you do it? New gear box?

[@scottm4969]

Drfaireborn no, once I disassembled it, turns out there was a foreign object blocking the works. Really simple fix, but as I kid I didn’t have the knowhow to do it. Its been in a box in the attic since the 80’s and I finally got inspired by Retroblasting to give it a go.

[@Ynffy]

The Mauler is such a lovely toy. It actually looks like a functioning armored vehicle.

[@TheMattwolf]

I had a friend who had the mobat. The main problem we had with it was that it couldn't keep up with the speed that we were playing. By the time it managed to get into position, we had finished the battle!

[@jahmd8377]

Random American not safe enough. According to the cartoon, he ended up in another dimension with the Baroness as his lover....on second thought it looks like he played his cards right!!

[@DsG_1982]

Loved this Michael! You basically verbalized my frustrations with these favorites of mine

[@vagtav310]

That 80s toys or portable game systems battery issue was sooo annoying! Great video guys..

[@justinthomas7222]

The Bridgelayer? Thanks for the memory - I think that was THE GIJoe vehicle I wanted as a kid. I am such a nerd... 😂

[@shogunfox7141]

Kids from the 80s were normal kids. Kids today with their cellphones and Fortnite/dances are nerds.

[@thewingedporpoise]

combat engineering, mmm, though if it actually laid a bridge I can imagine how fun that would be to play with

[@johnperry9287]

Excellent review RB. I would love more Gi joe content its my jam and i cants get enough!

[@TheMultiGunMan]

Excellent video. My main toys when I was a kid back in the 80's was GI Joe.

[@Grindhead_Jim]

The MOBAT is probably the definitive image in my head of GI Joe. I loved that toy.

[@erikkunkle9574]

I had a tear watching this because my tank and Stealer were lost in a fire. Then I had tears of laughter with the ending dialog. Thanks for the emotional roller coaster this AM :)

[@joemaulerworks]

Quarantine made me do some R/C conversions of these. Such a great toy. Thanks

[@enriqueae7532]

It’s funny you published this video, I was just looking at my two Mobats and I need batteries too! Hahaha

[@ArtistAnnex]

Another great video Michael. Both of these armored vehicles escaped me as a child and after watching this retrospective I know why! My father absolutely hated any battery operated toy especially when it came to the "whine" of a motor or the "beep" of a weapon. I remember famously when he would assemble my bikes or playthings and they never made the sounds in the commercials. My dad "the lifelong engineer" found a way to remove ir "forget" to install the sirens and alarms! Thanks again for another trip down memory lane. I hope you and Melinda are staying safe. -Richard Fekete

[@scottm4969]

1:49 love the Alpha Probe! Still have mine. My Joes and my Star Wars toys all flew it.

[@greywizard9914]

"Just plow ahead and the consequences be damned!" lol

[@hayeshurley2789]

Ww1 described in one sentence

[@ForgeMaciejewski]

I have the Mobat from the 25th anniversary line. I think it's a great tank and yes, the battery function does work. For years, I wanted a Mauler, but could never afford it (that and I never saw one as a kid in stores). I would love one for my vintage collection, but I'm kinda glad that i don't have one now. While visually beautiful, it's a hassle on the secondary market to get complete (with parts alone being insanely expensive). I think I'll stick to vamps and jets, those I can afford. Thanks for the video. I love when i get to see Michael being honest.

[@retroblasting]

I'm always honest. :)

[@ForgeMaciejewski]

@@retroblasting and trust me; its appreciated.

[@actionfigureplus]

Awesome video good job! Loved those pieces!

[@nyquist75]

VERY interesting, great quality production too, you keep getting better. yo joe!

[@TenayaVB]

A couple years ago I bought a Heavy Metal complete with Mic (Expensive!!) and as I was moving it to a display case in my collection room, the mic fell onto my carpet. I frantically looked for an hour and could not find it. Finally, I decided to roll the dice and used my Dyson vacuum cleaner and was able to retrieve it that way. Whew!!!

[@Peter_Morris]

Hey that’s how I find LEGO I or my children have dropped on our rugs and carpet!

[@RaptorRed79]

I never owned the Mobat, but i do have the Mauler and it is in still running condition.

[@martinvasquez818]

Loved the skit at the end! And really in character for Rock-n-Roll! 👌🤣

[@Scopay73]

👊🏻🤘🏻Great video! I loved my Mobat. The original Joe team is my favorite.

[@jasondwilliams972]

Fantastic video! I stumbled upon Michael Mercy a little over a year ago when my son & I were checking out some Transformers’ videos. I discovered Tony by way of Michael, and now you by way of Tony. You guys are all phenomenal, personable, & informative...

[@jcombes1]

LOVE THIS!!!! Especially the smack talk between Rock-N-Roll and Steeler. Funny!

[@nps1016]

I had the Mobat as a kid, got plenty of play out of it. Unfortunately the batteries wouldn’t last very long and felt the driver was very exposed, but I was the only kid in my neighborhood to have one. One kid got the Mauler but when my tank was working it was faster and can go backwards. Thanks for the review.

[@KidApoc]

Lmao, the banter between Grunts and tankers is spot on. Loved our tankers,but damn they liked to smack talk.

[@lordjs9726]

The Mauler is amazing. It is army brown ( which I prefer much over army green ) and it has a bigger cannon.

[@giltucker2007]

That was really good! Please do more GI Joe reviews!

[@andrewgrant2990]

Now that was a classic video sir- I laughed so hard at the end & replayed it several times. Maybe 1 day you could team up w/ GI Joburg.

[@johnr7279]

Cool! GI Joe Follies!

[@Caleb.Collects98]

My boy Dusty made an appearance! Nice!

[@tylercarlson5093]

Still have my MOBAT...100% complete. Gee wiz how I yearned for the Mauler. It made many X mas lists but never sealed the deal. Great video...I will admit I never noticed how useless the MOBAT was w/o batteries. Good times.

[@quaffdowngin]

Love your toy reviews! I still own most of those Joe vehicles from my childhood.

[@tomservo5347]

I had a bunch of GI Joe vehicles during the 80's. (Had the Mobat-broke it within a week. Hey, it was my first and I was 4 years old.) They all survived hours on the schoolyard during recess because they were simple, detailed plastic pieces. It didn't bother me one bit the treads weren't real. I liked the assembly required because it felt rather like putting a model together that you could actually play with. The Warthog (that could actually float) amphibious vehicle, Conquest X-30, and Desert Fox (with free figure 'Skidmark' lol) were my favorites. One thing I really appreciated with GI Joe were the little plastic stands that would snap into the foot of any figure so you could pose them-which let my imagination run wild with epic battlefield creations and having them all standing at attention during off-duty hours.

[@AnalogToys]

Love your GI Joe videos!

[@resolute123]

I wanna say from my childhood that Hasbro experimented with smaller die cast vehicles. I think there was a tank and vamp. Anybody remember such a thing?

[@Track_Tension]

My first GI Joe was the Mobat. Ended up joining the Army as a Tanker. Spent the 2nd half of my career fighting terrorists.

[@cipher0325]

The mauler is based of the design of the HSTV-L which was an experiment prototype tank developed by the United States

[@retroblasting]

Ok...

[@torpedo8384]

Wait Clif Clavin is the Mauler driver?!?

[@jasonknight8581]

I was lucky and got the MOBAT. After that, the Pentagon (my parents) didn't think the Joes needed yet another tank to fight Cobra. Oh the pleading that went on after dinner as I sought to increase the defense budget so the living room wouldn't fall under the control of Cobra.

[@paristhalheimer]

The Mobat was my 1st GI Joe vehicle. Steeler was my favorite figure and the method of turning was pretty cool. It was a lot of fun, except when the batteries died. Then it was an imoble lump of green plastic.

[@Peter_Morris]

My mom kept my Alpha Probe and gave it back to me when I had kids. The electronics long ago stopped working, and there are some broken bits here and there, but it still works as an imaginative toy. We also had a Mobat and Stompers. Who knows what happened to those things.

[@dustycrosley486]

Had both and loved both of them. Ill never forget the fact my Mobat did not have a sticker sheet with it, which in hindsight gave it a more genuine military appeal. By the way that Mauler is beautiful and looks like it was just pulled off the shelf in 85!!

[@warhorse03826]

I remember my character having a LAV-75 in Twilight:2000. I kept calling a Mauler, and every other gamer knew what I was talking about.

[@k.ottophillips4303]

I got so frustrated with the motor in my MOBAT not working, I just pulled it out, and have a free rolling tank now.

[@tardiscommand1812]

Back then I hard wired my toys if I played with them a lot. Wrapped the wires of a proper voltage transformer around the battery terminals. Played gameboy for hours. Then when I had to go out, pull the wires off and throw in the batteries. Works great on baby swings too.

[@impossiblepie]

They do look great looking on a shelf!

[@antofire500]

This tank has the five stars. I had the mobat around 15 years in two colors. Wonderful toy.

[@michaelroche4559]

Hope you’re staying healthy. Great channel.

[@cronocomics]

I will never see my MOBAT the same way again.

[@brianw94]

Thanks for this perspective on these vehicles. I’ll be heading from Nashville to Memphis to pick up my Mobat from my brother, right after the ‘Rona ain’t an issue! I can’t wait!!!

[@J-T-A]

Only the gods know... and the gods must be crazy.

[@brandonclark256]

That’s why the MOBAT stayed at the HQ and never moved while the VAMP did all the fun stuff.

[@stephenhorne6645]

I had the Alpha Probe but had no idea that’s what it was called! Thank you.

[@williamwallace9427]

Ahhhh my mid 80’s memories. Loved my mauler

[@jpedromarques3672]

Fun fact:im only 12 BUT i love! Watching your videos because i love me some vintage toys

[@lorenzoholmes2034]

I purchased my Mauler in 2009. The batteries still work. It's been in 2 storages. I live in the desert.

[@alasiadarthe001actual9]

I got a smashed up mauler from goodwill with missing a tread and now it’s a massive tank for warhammer 40k

[@quietdignityandgrace]

Holy shit!! I had a Starbird! The detachable cockpit ruled for 5yr old me. Drove my folks nuts. Ps, your outro skit... subscribed.

[@brycevo]

These are super iconic, but are completely different from any other GI Joe action figure

[@nategreen8093]

Perfect! Loved it!!

[@aidanacebo9529]

my mauler, bought secondhand about 20 years ago, never worked. but if I positioned the shift lever just right, it could go into a sort of neutral gear, allowing me to push it and still have the treads move. that was, and still is my favorite toy. I miss it. I've been looking at getting another, but they are SUPER expensive now. I'm talking 400$ for a complete but non-operational one. I hope one of the next Haslab products is a mauler, either original scale or classified scale. I'd buy 3 of them!

[@TheLavadiver]

I had the Cobra version of the MOBAT, the black tank with the red turret. And you are right, once the batteries died and mom 'n' dad got tired of buying batteries, it was pretty much a paper weight. I always used the HISS for everything pretty much.

[@chrisstory563]

I will agree that Batteries were a major pain in the ass to parents during Christmas morning, it not just toys vehicles but the insane trend of Electronic toys that were coming out of the woodworks back in the late 70's and early 80's. every where you go you see a tone of Simon copycats in toys stores as well. the rubber thread are a pain in the ass on some surfaces and I agree they can't get ripped and so on. heck even a few he-man vehicles have those things. btw, cool t-shirt Michael.

[@art-n-filmsam3844]

I love the updated version of the GI Joe themed logo art! The Sunbow styled Snake Eyes to stand out against the black background, the card art explosion effect, and the M14 styled laser rifles. It's great! All we need now is Broken Vader as Destro

[@dinomonzon7493]

Spring-loaded weapons became part of G. I. Joe in the 1991 lineup with Red Star, Heavy-Duty, the D. E. F. team and others.

[@javiercetina]

Loved this video. I was a 19K Armor Crewman and drove M1’s in Desert Storm. A M1911 was standard issue for tankers, and were worn similarly like Heavy Metal. Too bad the toys didn’t look like a real M-1 or M-60!

[@acer3573]

My parents never griped about the decals because I put them on myself! I loved spending hours on Christmas following the directions! (Yes I was a weird kid!)

[@MrCAcompora]

I picked up a Mobat and Mualer in the early 2000’s on EBay. They both still function, though they don’t get used very often either. A couple of times a year my little one will ask me to take the tanks out. Although she wants to play with Joes or Star Wars more often that. Oddly enough I never even thought about the tanks being a total redirect compared to the other vehicles. Joe vehicles and play sets were that fun that it did not matter there were not any sounds or lights or mechanical action for the most part. Star Was toys might have needed them as they were “out of this world” creations, where as Joe vehicles were based early on real military vehicles which you could easily imagine how the vehicles would sound in action.

[@reaverofsouls]

Had the Mauler, got it for Christmas 85. And you are correct. It was definitely a brick after the batteries died.

[@pnrcomps]

By Jaga, give me sight beyond sight on these gods that know! lol great fun Michael

[@makishepard]

I wanted a mauler as kid. Never got 1 but thanks for the insight.

[@markmooredesign]

The Mobat was the first GI Joe vehicle that I got for Christmas and I still have it displayed in my collection. I absolutely loved the realism of the tank treads on this vehicle. The realism, scale, and articulation is what drew me to GI Joe's or the other toy lines of this period. The motorized travel seamed awesome at first but eventually became an over all let down of this vehicle. Like you said it became a plastic brick without batteries and became a stationary toy. The should have had a neutral switch so it could roll freely. On the other hand even though the fake molded plastic tank tracks were very detailed and more player friendly I hated them. They were fake and they had those tiny rollers on the bottom that often fell or broke off. I just always wanted them to be real like the Mobat. I think the GI Joe line would've been fantastic if they could've implemented real rubber Mobat/ Muller treads on the tank treaded vehicles but with out a motor. Just free rolling to push around by hand. How cool would it have been to have the Hiss, Snow Cat, Wolverine, or even the later vehicles like the Warthog and Havoc with real rolling treads. I think that would've been the absolute coolest detail and made these vehicle perfect and even more fun to play with.

[@ryferguson9733]

I love your channel.

[@snowwhite7677]

I used the Mauler to run over the wounded Cobras...

[@Shockwave-ob2tx]

I had this and usually just picked it up moved it as needed. And also Rock N Roll, "I wear ammo belts as clothing!"

[@cursedmonkey1033]

I had the Mauler and I seem to recall if you took the batteries out then it would roll free. Is that not the case?

[@GhostGL]

I had the Mobat, but before that I got this model of one that looked just like the Mobat. I liked putting it together and painting it, though I gave it camo painting.

[@1177100]

So glad we have RetroBlasting!!! You guys are my favorite KZbin channel!!

[@DocWolph]

I have (I packed it permanently) a Mauler and I recall it having a neutral so you could push it. However, I have to imagine that Action Man tank mentioned earlier should have been the model for GIJoe and Cobra tanks. It was pushable and the treads ran free. Problem is losing of tearing treads again.

[@robertadamcik9179]

The Mauler follows Patton's philosophy, "We are advancing constantly and I'm not interested in holding on to anything except the enemy!"

[@PoGoTips]

Tanks for the memories!

[@ProfessorHurt]

I had the classic Mobat when I was a kid. Damn thing was always fun. I know I still have it somewhere in one of my old toy chests. The only thing is I know the turret gun is missing. I have 0 idea if the thing still works. A few years ago I bought a 25th Mobat. I got it cheap because the seller explained the cannon portion was broken and he never dared to fix it just stick it back in. Still bought it and glued it back together. But-- I never knew the 25th had the same feature until I decided to look under. I found badly corroded batteries inside. I never put new batteries in after cleaning the inside. But I'm gonna venture to guess it's dead.

[@dmathiass]

Here in Brazil the Mauler was released with the plastic fake threads. I still have mine with a few missing and broken parts.