1987 Steel Brigade: Your  personalized G.I.Joe figure (mail order)

Four variations of Steel Brigade version 1 were released from 1987-1991. These are commonly referred to as v1a-v1d. 
Steel Brigade v1a features an original head sculpt and re-uses these parts: 1983 Airborne’s torso, 1984 Scrap-Iron’s legs, 1983 Gung-Ho’s waist and 1983 Flash’s arms. Steel Brigade v1a came bagged with a gray rifle (recolored from 1983 Airborne’s black rifle), a green backpack (recolored from 1983 Airborne and 1984 Duke’s tan backpack), and the Steel Brigade patch.
Steel Brigade v1b features an original head sculpt and re-uses these parts: 1984 Duke's torso, 1984 Scrap-Iron’s legs, 1983 Gung-Ho’s waist and 1983 Flash’s arms. Steel Brigade v1b came with a gray rifle (recolored from 1985 Crimson Guard's black rifle), a green backpack (recolored from 1983 Airborne and 1984 Duke’s tan backpack), and the Steel Brigade patch.
Steel Brigade v1c features an original head sculpt and re-uses these parts: 1984 Duke's torso, 1983 Airborne’s legs, 1983 Gung-Ho’s waist and 1983 Flash’s arms. Steel Brigade v1c came with a gray rifle (recolored from 1985 Crimson Guard's black rifle), a green backpack (recolored from 1983 Airborne and 1984 Duke’s tan backpack), and the Steel Brigade patch.
Steel Brigade v1d features an original head sculpt and re-uses these parts: 1984 Duke's torso, 1983 Airborne’s legs, 1982 Cobra Soldier's waist and 1983 Flash’s arms. Early versions of Steel Brigade v1d came with a gray rifle (recolored from 1983 Airborne's black rifle), a green backpack (recolored from 1983 Airborne and 1984 Duke’s tan backpack), and the Steel Brigade patch. Later, more common versions of Steel Brigade v1d came with a gray rifle (recolored from 1989 Recoil's blue rifle). Airborne's rifle is seen above. Recoil's rifle is seen below.
NOTE: For over a decade, a version E was believed to exist. The community and archiving leadership collectively concluded in January of 2019 that version E is the product of one or more unscrupulous dealers kitbashing previously released versions. YoJoe, 3DJoes, and SteelBrigadeTracker do not recognize version E as valid. ​He is presented below for posterity.
Steel Brigade v1e features an original head sculpt and re-uses these parts: 1984 Duke's torso, 1984 Scrap Iron’s legs, 1982 Cobra Soldier's waist and 1983 Flash’s arms. Steel Brigade v1e came with an original gray rifle (recolored from 1989 Recoil's light blue rifle), a green backpack (recolored from 1983 Airborne and 1984 Duke’s tan backpack), and the Steel Brigade patch.
Steel Brigade figures courtesy of Dan Carroll. Check out his eBay store for tons of vintage Joes!

Roll over the images below for more details, or click them to view full screen. NOTE: Version E photos have been removed. 
Collectors got to create their own Steel Brigade persona by determining the name, specialties, weapons expertise, traits, abilities, and personality of their figure. Collectors filled out the forms below and returned them to receive their own Steel Brigade trooper.
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This large format, two-sided trifold is numbered J45 and the offer expired June 30, 1988.
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Roll over the images below for more details, or click them to view full screen. 
Hasbro sent collectors a custom file card (like the one below) with their bagged Steel Brigade figure.

​Max Hagedorn created a free Steel Brigade file card template! Download the freeware font ​and the 300dpi Photoshop template here. 

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Early versions of the v1 patch have a white backing. Later v1 patches have a black backing. Steel Brigade v2 came with a re-colored patch.
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Early Steel Brigade v1 patch
Later Steel Brigade v1 patch
Steel Brigade v2 patch
Check out this fantastic video review of the various Steel Brigade figures and accessories, and subscribe for weekly video reviews!