Hardtop File Name: Nicholas D. Klas of Chicago, Illinois. Grade: Army E-5 (1987-2004) SN: 284-10-MC75 Notes: Chicago is in the state's northeast corner, at the south end of Lake Michigan. Bullet-Proof, Ghostrider, Heavy Duty, Scoop, Short-Fuze, and Static Line are also from Chicago. Hardtop was also the name of a Decepticon first released in 2005. chronological: Rumbler << Hardtop >> Payload alphabetical: Hardball << Hardtop >> Hawk

Animated Appearances

Hardtop was animated only for commercials.

Classic Marvel Comic Appearances

By my count, Hardtop was discernible in 16 panels in 6 issues from Oct. 1987 to Feb. 1994: #64, 65, 75, SM 28, 109, and 145.

Figure Releases

Version 1: spring 1987 boxed Defiant: Space Vehicle Launch Complex playset
Crawler Driver	MOS 1: Heavy Equipment Operator [21E] MOS 2: Electronics [prob. 94W]
	head: Hardtop (87, 04) arms: Hardtop (87, 04) torso: Hardtop (87, 04) waist: Hardtop (87, 04) legs: Hardtop (87), Major Altitude (91, 93)
	Accessories: black semi-automatic pistol with prominent hammer and no trigger guard (new), white J-shaped mic (new).
	Hardtop gets the job done. If you tell him to move his Crawler to the top of a mountain, he doesn't ask how to get it there, why it has to be there, or even where the mountain is—he just gets it there. What? No road up that mountain? Hardtop will make his own road! No level clearing on top? No problem—just don't get in his way. "You might say he was the strong silent type, emphasis on the silent. His idea of a long conversation is a nod and a handshake. It's not that he's unfriendly, he simply has his own priorities and talking isn't one of them."
Toy Notes: Item #6002. The Defiant also included the figure Payload. Both figures are considered high-demand items, and Hardtop's accessories are among the hardest to find. The prototype shown in the 1987 insert catalog had Tollboth's head and Footloose's arms and waist. In the Defiant commercial, the figure had more severely angled chest straps than the released figure.

Version 2: July 2004 Dreadnok Rampage: Escapades in the Everglades boxed set (Tiger Force)
Tiger Force Special Operations	MOS 1: Heavy Equipment Operator [21E] MOS 2: Electronics [prob. 94W]
	head: Hardtop (87, 04) arms: Hardtop (87, 04) torso: Hardtop (87, 04) waist: Hardtop (87, 04) legs: Firefly (84, 98, 00, 02/II, 03/I, 03/II, 04/III, 05/I, 05/II), Wreckage (03), Hardtop (04)
	Accessories: dark grey pistol (85 Keel-Haul's), black J-shaped segmented mic (new), clear figure stand (common).
	HARDTOP is the G.I. Joe team's Special Operations Engineer. If you tell him to move something to the top of a mountain, he doesn't ask how to get it there, why it has to be there, or even where the mountain is—he just gets it there. What? No road up that mountain? HARDTOP will make his own road! No level clearing on top? No problem—just don't get in his way. He was the original designer and operator of the crawler transport for the Defiant Space Shuttle. After years of working on the G.I. Joe space program, budget cuts caused him to switch specialties and work as a liaison for the National Space Agency. Although most of his previous work is still Classified, the development of a highly efficient low cost Fuel Cell has made him popular with the U.S. Government, as well as one of COBRA COMMANDER's most wanted prisoners. "A nod and a handshake says I'll take that job."
Toy Notes: Boxed in a convention-exclusive set with Beachhead, Mutt, Dreadnok Buzzer, Dreadnok Ripper, Dreadhead Cletus, Dreadhead Otis, Dreadnok Road Pig, Zarana, Dreadhead Billy-Bob, Joe-Bob, Dreadnok Crusher, Dreadnok Demolishor, Dreadhead Roscoe, and Dreadnok Vance.