FLINT

G.I. JOE: CLASSIFIED SERIES (HASBRO)

First arriving in the toy line in 1985, alongside his usual compatriot Lady Jaye, the Joes’ Chief Warrant Officer, Flint, was another character that had been introduced just prior to his inclusion in the line, first appearing in 1984 on the cartoon.  Flint’s a character that can easily wind up as very similar to Duke, and has in a few instances (G.I. Joe: Retalliation being a prominent example) just been a sort of a Duke replacement.  I find the character works best as a foil to Duke, but that’s just me.  Whatever the case, I like Flint, and I’ve already looked at Lady Jaye, so I’m pretty much obligated to look at Flint, too.  Let’s do that now!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Flint is figure 26 in the G.I. Joe: Classified Series line-up, hitting in the same assortment that also gave us yesterday’s Lady Jaye.  As I brought up with that figure, Flint’s actually a non-exclusive item, which is still something of a novelty in this line.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 35 points of articulation.  Flint’s design calls back to the character’s V1 design, but is slightly more tweaked than Jaye was, owing both to some actual updates to the design, and also to a healthy helping of re-used parts.  Following in the steps of the 25th Anniversary Flint, this figure uses the line’s version of Duke as it’s starting point.  It’s not a bad idea, and Duke has in general been serving as a basis for a lot of the line’s figures, since he’s rather on the basic side.  Add in that Flint and Duke just generally have similar design elements, and it’s even more sensible.  The only notable change-up is that, like the Viper, the sleeves aren’t rolled up high enough for a classic Flint appearance.  Ultimately, it’s not a major change-up, though, and the overall read of his design still has the same broad strokes.  Beyond the changes brought by the shared Duke parts, Flint’s design follows the general set-up of a lot of the line’s updated designs, taking the classic Flint look, but re-envisioning the exact purpose of certain elements.  Notably, his classic suspenders are now a full selection of chest armor, with the internal pieces being black plating, to match with the shirt’s visual appearance.  He also gains the armor on his lower legs, matching up with most of the other Joes.  Following in the footsteps of a few of the later 3 3/4 inch Flints, this version has a removable beret.  It’s a pretty nice piece, and kind of surprisingly, it’s not a re-use of the one that came with Beach Head.  It’s sits closely and securely on the head.  Said head is a pretty nice sculpt in its own right.  While I saw a touch of a John Cena resemblance in the Duke sculpt, I’m rescinding that comment, and applying it to Flint instead, because it’s even more there for him.  The paint work on Flint is generally pretty decent.  He’s got the face printing, which even features a small scar over his eye (the opposite eye from Duke), and an impressive fade on the edges of his hair.  Beyond that, the base paint work is all pretty sharply and cleanly applied.  Flint is slightly lighter on the accessories than some of the other Joes, but he still gets his shotgun and pistol.  The pistol’s the same one included with Duke, which is reasonable enough.  The shotgun’s a fun piece, and even has a hinge in the middle for opening it up.  Definitely a solid weapon set-up.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m big on having both Lady Jaye and Flint together, so I was pretty happy when the two of them were announced for the line at the same time.  Likewise, I was definitely down to pick up the two of them together at the same time.  Flint’s more by the numbers than Jaye was, so he’s not quite breaking the same ground.  That being said, I’d put him at least on par with, if not maybe a little better than, Beach Head, who was previously my personal favorite from the line.  As it stands, these two are a killer pair, and definitely the highlight of the line for me so far.  I’m hopeful this is a trend for the line this year, alongside the whole them also being standard releases.  That would be a nice trend, too.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.