Laser Artillery Soldier

Code Name:

Grand Slam

Desimone Guide: #13

Tomart's Guide: #GI5053b (straight arm)

Grand Slam's Filecard

Figure Description:

Grand Slam was one of the first figures released in the first series (1982). He came packaged exclusively with the Heavy Artillery Laser (HAL). Like all of the original sixteen figures, Grand Slam was released with "straight arms".

Versions of Grand Slam:

• Grand Slam (1982)
• Grand Slam v1.5 (1983) (Swivel Arm)
• Grand Slam v2 (1983)
• Grand Slam v3 (2006)
• Grand Slam v4 (2007)
• Grand Slam v5 (2008)
• Grand Slam v6 (2009) - as James "Grand Slam" Barney

Accessories:

Grand Slam came with a dark gray helmet and a clear visor.

Variations:

When the new version of Grand Slam was released in 1983, two major changes were made to his construction. The straight-arms were replaced with arms that could swivel at the bicep, and his bulky waist-piece was replaced by a slimmer one. Also, the date stamp on the figure was changed from "1982" to "82-83". While technically only a variation, the changes are substantive enough to consider this a new version. However, as many people consider this only a variation, we have chosen to list this figure as version 1.5, rather than version 2. Other than "straight-arm" and "swivel-arm" releases, no variations of Grand Slam are known to exist.

There are two versions of Grand Slam's filecard. The one that came from Hasbro Direct has a glossy red backing, while the one that came with the HAL does not.

Body Construction:

Most of the 1982 series figures and their swivel-arm counterparts re-used molds from each other, repainted slightly to make them seem more original.

The head of Grand Slam was re-used with Grunt and Zap (and in 1983 Tan Grunt v2). Grand Slam's waist-piece was shared with twelve of the original fifteen figures. Grand Slam's arms, torso, and legs were shared with Flash.

Note that the figure's head only turns left and right - it does not allow the head to look up and down. The heads only turned left and right until the the swivel ball head that was introduced in 1985 (Series Four).

In 1983, the entire mold of Grand Slam was re-used for Grand Slam (v2).

International Variants:

In Brazil, the straight-arm Grand Slam's body was recolored and used to create Cobra De Aco.