From 1981 to about 1987, Ron Rudat was Hasbro’s G.I. Joe figure designer. This drawing likely dates to 1984 or 1985. As with the last two we’ve examined here at A Real American Book!, it’s Rudat figuring out the look of Cobra’s Battle Android Trooper. Here’s a production B.A.T. that I purchased in 1986:
Here’s another Rudat concept, which for my own sense of organization I’m calling B.A.T. Concept #3.
In its plastic, finished form, the B.A.T.’s color scheme and robot-head make for a compelling villain. The interchangeable parts and the lenticular chest label add a dash of innovation that makes this one of the most fun-to-play with G.I. Joe action figures. My brother and I would have our B.A.T.S walk in a stilted, halting gait, and we’d make a clicking sound to mimic the mechanical march we’d heard in “Arise, Serpentor, Arise!,” a quintet of cartoon episodes that aired in the fall of ’86.
What about the B.A.T. strikes you?
