I double checked YoJoe and did not see it there. I watch alot of Ebay and this is the first time I ever saw one.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/290949567467?ss ... 1438.l2649

A sidecar-less Silver Mirage, recolored in the MRF Racing colors out of Funskool? News to me, but I'm impressed. Depending on when it was produced, how'd something like this stay off the radar this long?

exactly. It would appear to be much rarer then even Superhero. If I had the money I would buy it because I am sure it would be a good investment.

A few might surface after this one but it is obviously going to be super rare.

Well it just ended and went cheap. $58 plus $15 shipping from India. Something tells me that this price is going to be a drop in the bucket when we see it show up again.

happen to read viewtopic.php?f=11&t=38467 yet?

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Had not read it but do not see a comparison. Apples and oranges. Beanie Babies were never a collectible they were simply a fad.

I would also like to add that even if BB and GI Joe were not too totally different things the ultra rare items in anything will always demand a value.

For instance in Beanie babies most collectors have dried up totally but the ultra rare ones still sell for $100s and $1000s. This motorcycle is most likely one of those ultra rare items, Kinda like PD Destro and several 80's south American Joes as well as some early M0SC figures.

Though that one appears to be broken and yellowing - the handlebars may be missing and the grey is pretty yellowed.

Still finding one intact has to be a challenge. The silver mirage built to the US release standards broke like it was made of sugared glass. I can only imagine how an item built to funskool standards would hold up.

If anyone knows about this it'll be the guys at declassified. Floating a PM request to Gyreviper or Nomad may be your best bet.

- R

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We have known about India Joes for over a decade. I bought mine from Small Joes when they first started importing them. I have the Supercop silver mirage and it does not feel much cheaper then the American silver Mirage but as you said the American Mirage is delicate. I would say the Super cop Mirage is as sturdy as or more sturdy then the 1997 TRU Mirage. The vehicles I bought seem reasonably decent quality.

The fact that YoJoe has no record of this item says super rare to me.

Funskool used a number of GI Joe molds for toys they didn't label as GI Joe... While we all recognize a GI Joe part or vehicle as what it is, people in india who are unfamiliar with the line may not realize that the Red MRF Motor Cycle is also a GI Joe vehicle...

Based just on that bike above, I'd gamble there's an entire MRF Racing set similar to the Super Cop Pursuit squad...

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There may be but maybe not. Supercop is all over the place. I shop Ebay EVERY day, I know that most layman in India might not know that it is GI Joe it is very odd that it has never surfaced before.

I actually suspect that maybe this was released individually and then later they did the Jeep but that is purely speculation. The labels seem different, similar but different.

Not really. Funskool produced tons of toys for a market where reselling them as collectibles is just starting to take off. There are multiple precedents for something appearing for the first time and then the market seeing a virtual flooding of them in coming months once word gets around that the item in question has some desirability.

The fact that it went so low, especially with some of the incredible amounts for which Funskool stuff has sold in recent months, tells you that many of the people who specialize in this type of thing are confident there are a lot more that will show up, likely in better in condition or even packaged. We'll see. But, the Funskool market is pretty much where the Brazilian and Argentine markets were 15 years ago or so and we're starting to see a lot more Funskool items that were pretty much impossible to find a decade ago show up with some frequency.

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It tells me that no one knew it existed and it did not get seen. I watch stuff sell for way below value on Ebay daily. Seeing it sell super cheap on its first time up is no surprise to me. Once the collectors are watching for it there will be a totlly different story. I would dare to say that 10 years ago there was more Funskool available then today. 95% of the Funskool stuff listed on Ebay was available from SmallJoes 10 years ago and there was just as many of the actual "early" figures being offered on Ebay as there is today. I shopped them regularly because I really wanted a Super Hero but did not want to shell out the $50 for him, probably won't ever get that opportunity again.

I can guarantee the collectors who are known to pay top dollar for funskool items, saw the auction...

Mike T's assertion is Dead Nuts accurate.

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I could be wrong but I think a dealer bought it. I would bet the next one we see whether it is this one or another that surfaces will go for $200 plus. As a dealer myself I may be very sorry that I did not jump on this but the collector in me may not have let me sell it so I held back.