Tag Archives: G.I. Joe

#1817: Python Viper

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

PYTHON VIPER

G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO (HASBRO)

“The PYTHON VIPER is the backbone of the Python Patrol. He is highly motivated, superbly trained, and formidably equipped. Due to the Pythonizing Process, this particular viper is equipped with stealth-like capabilities, whereby he can penetrate enemy areas undetected! His combination rifle/grenade launcher has been retro-fitted with a passive, infrared seeker and the barrel rifling has been changed to accept hyper-velocity discarding ammunition.”

What’s this?  Didn’t I publish a review earlier today?  Why yes, hypothetical reader, I did.  Here’s the scoop: back in my first year on the job—er, running the site, I was more lax with the “I personally must write a review every day” thing, which has been throwing off my review numbering by five days ever since.  With my fifth anniversary upcoming, I wanted to correct things.  And, as luck would have it, I just procured a bunch of rather similar figures, who don’t quite warrant a whole day to themselves.  So, I’m going to be running five bonus reviews today.  It is officially the Day of the Vipers!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Python Viper was the second iteration of the Cobra Viper, released in 1989.  He was part of the Python Patrol subset, one of six repainted Cobra troopers designed to be even more elite than the previously more elite Viper.  He’s the elite-est!  The Python Viper is the same exact mold as the standard Viper release, which, as you’ll recall from just a few hours ago, I really liked, like a whole lot.  So much.  Anyway, the paint work is the main differentiating thing.  The Python Patrol were all in grey, yellow, and red.  It’s not quite as nuanced as the standard Viper coloring, but I think the Viper definitely looked better in these colors than some of his compatriots.  That being said, I was a little saddened to see some of the nice painted details from the last figure missing, leaving a number of sculpted elements (like the straps on his wrist guards) completely unpainted.  The Python Viper gets the same assortment of extras as his standard equivalent, though his rifle is now in black rather than light grey.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After digging out the basic Viper from All Time Toys’ recently acquired collection of Joes, I kept digging through just to see what else I could find, and ended up coming across this guy.  I was only thinking I’d grab one or two of them at that point, so he got added to the pile.  He’s not quite as good as the standard Viper was, but I have to admit, I like this variant more than I’d expected to.

Special thanks to All Time for helping me get this guy, and if you’re looking for old Joes or if you’re looking for other cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay Store.

#1816: Vipers

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

VIPERS

G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO (HASBRO)

“Vipers are the backbone of the Cobra Legions. They are highly motivated, superbly trained and formidably equipped. All Vipers are issued a combination assault rifle/grenade launcher; the rifle part of which can function as a short burst assault weapon, a sustained fire cover support weapon, or a long range sniper rifle with an advanced light-intensification night vision telescopic sight with a built-in range-finder. Multi-layer body armor and wraparound acrylic/composite helmets with built-in RTO gear are standard issue.”

When G.I. Joe first moved to the smaller scale, Hasbro’s biggest concern was keeping down the line’s budget.  They came up with a handful of unique (well, unique enough…) heroes, but they needed some villains for those heroes, and they needed them to be cost effective.  Preferably, they needed to sell multiples of the same figure to the same consumer.  Enter Cobra (The Enemy) and Cobra Officer, G.I. Joe’s original faceless goons.  They carried the line for four years without much trouble, but then came the need for a more elite fighting force, an even more faceless selection of faceless goons.  Enter the Vipers, my favorite Cobra trooper of all time.  Yeah, they’re just that cool.*

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Viper (or Vipers, as the figure is specifically referred to on the packaging) was introduced into the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line in 1986.  That was a good year for the line, at least by my count.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  The Viper was an all-new sculpt at its time of release (though most of the parts have seen some liberal re-use for other variants of the Viper as the line progressed).  It’s quite a good one.  There’s some some solid detailing going on within the various sections of the uniform.  You can clearly see all the pieces that add-up to the whole Viper look, and how they all attach.  The padded arm guards have two separate straps keeping them in place, the wrist length gloves jut out a bit to show a slightly looser fit at the ends, the belt and all of its pouches are individually detailed, the pockets on his pants have stitching on the edges, and, heck, you can even make out the pull tag on his vest’s zipper.  Real attention to detain here.  You can even see the loops on the helmet that are holding his goggles in place (a detail that Hasbro would miss on their 25th Anniversary version, who had infamously hard to place goggles), so that the Viper doesn’t lose them mid-mission.  And, while this sculpt has a lot of the stylistic hallmarks of the rest of the line from that era, his fully helmeted appearance means he doesn’t look quite as dated as some of his compatriots.  Perhaps the only drawback is that he’s still got those standard vintage Joe hands, meaning he’s not really optimized for holding and sorts of firearms.  Odd for a line of figures that are all designed to be shooting guns, but it’s not like the Viper’s alone in this.  The paintwork on the Viper is solid for a vintage offering.  He’s got some eye-catching elements, but doesn’t quite descend into the neon madness of later troopers. The dark blue calls back to the standard troopers, and the silver faceplate to the original Cobra Commander.  The application fo the paint is mostly pretty clean; there’s some slight slop here and there, but nothing too major.  The Viper was packed with a light grey rifle and a backpack.  The rifle does have some trouble staying in his hands, but its workable.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, as noted above, the Vipers are a favorite of mine.  That said, in a rather interesting turn, I didn’t have a single one of them as a kid.  My first Viper was the 25th Anniversary one.  I’ve always loved the design, though, and in the last couple of years, I’ve been working my way into a vintage Joe collection.  My friends over at All Time Toys just got in a rather sizable Joe collection, and I was able to fish out a complete vintage Viper, amongst other things.  He’s an awesome figure, full stop.  I  really, really love him, and I’m happy I got one…but I may have found a new obsession.  More on that later.

While I can’t promise that anyone else will be getting their hands on any of these awesome Vipers (because they’re mine, all mine, I tell you!), as I noted above, All Time Toys just got in a rather sizable vintage G.I. Joe collection.  So, if you’re looking for old Joes or if you’re looking for other cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay Store.

*Okay, so there’s also the B.A.T.s; they give the Vipers a good run for their money, largely due to that whole cool robots thing they’ve got going. 

#1812: G.I. Joe Keychains

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

ACTION SOLDIER, ACTION PILOT, ACTION DIVER, & ACTION MARINE

G.I. JOE: CLASSIC COLLECTION — KEYCHAINS (FUN 4 ALL)

Hey, you guys remember when I looked at that G.I. Joe keychain a while back?  Wasn’t that pretty cool? I sure thought so! Here’s another four of those. 

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These four were released as a boxed set as part of Fun 4 All’s G.I. Joe: Classic Collection in 1998.  They used the same molds as the single-packed keychains, but in alternate color schemes.  Like the previously reviewed Action Marine, all four “keychains” are fully articulated figures with a removable keychain attachment.  And, just like that figure, all four of mine are missing said attachment, because I didn’t really buy them to be keychains.

ACTION SOLDIER

The most standard member of the team is the Action Soldier, a member of the US Army Corps.  This one in particular is wearing MP gear, showcasing a slight variant.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  The Action Soldier features a few parts in common with the previously reviewed Marine.  They share a head, pelvis, and upper legs.  The other parts are unique to the Soldiers.  For whatever reason, the Soldier actually has a slightly smaller build than the other three figures, despite the original 12-inch Joes all using the same basic body.  But, I guess a little bit of variety isn’t the worst thing.  The sculpt is a decent offering, though he’s definitely on the softer side detailing-wise.  His paint is the main defining part of this releases.  It’s okay, but rather on the simple side. He lacks any sort of paint on his torso, not even on his web gear or grenades.  Also, what paint he does have is rather prone to chipping, though the Soldier has held up the best of the four in this set.

ACTION PILOT

The pilot is one of the more intricately designed of these figures; unlike the Marine and the Soldier, he and the Diver are actually based on fully decked-out Joes with parts from some of the supplemental sets.  He’s seen here in his full pilot’s gear…or he would be if mine weren’t missing a few pieces.  The Pilot is sporting an all-new sculpt, and while it’s still not quite up to Hasbro par, it’s certainly a stronger sculpt than either of the other two I’ve looked at, and is perhaps the strongest in the set.  The details are more numerous, and the overall construction is a bit less rudimentary.  He also gives us our only true look at the “standard” Joe head, which is a decent replica of the old 12-inch figures.  His paintwork is fairly decent, and certainly better spread out and more complete than the Soldier’s.  The blue/yellow combo is another non-standard look, but it works well, and it’s slightly less situational than the others in the set.  The Pilot was the only one of these to actually include an accessory, which was a removable helmet.  Unfortunately, I’ve lost mine, which is a real shame.

ACTION DIVER

Like the Pilot, the Action Diver is a more intricately designed figure, also patterned on a fully kitted-out 12-inch Joe.  The frogman get-up is actually one of my favorite classic Joe designs, and by far the most distinctive of the Navy looks.  The sculpt is rivaled only by the Pilot in terms of quality.  He’s got one of the most organic sculpts of the bunch, and definitely the one with the sharpest detailing.  I also really dig that clear visor on the goggles; it’s a small touch that really helps the figure.  Unfortunately, the Diver has one main drawback: he’s the member of the set most affected by the low quality plastic used for these figures.  On both versions of the Diver own, the front piece of the pelvis has broken off; it’s a minor issue, and still leaves you with a workable figure, but it’s annoying to say the least.  The Diver is actually the only figure in this set to get more paintwork than his single-carded release.  Since he’s molded in orange (an alternate color scheme that actually hails form Adventures of GI Joe, the less military-themed precursor to Adventure Team), all of the straps and such are actually painted black, whereas the regular figure was just molded in black and thereby left them unpainted.

ACTION MARINE

The final piece of this set is the one figure I’ve looked at before, more or less.  These keychains were based on Hasbro’s commemorative 30th Anniversary figures from 1994, and while those figures included alternate color schemes for both the Pilot and the Diver, the Marine and Soldier didn’t get second releases, so these had to be made up.  The Marine gets a desert camo look, which certainly makes him quickly identifiable as distinct from the standard release.  Also, for whatever reason, he swaps out his lower legs for those of the Soldier, giving him tucked-in boots.  Not 100% sure why, but it certainly works.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I noted in my Marine review, it was these keychains that introduced me to 3 3/4-inch Joes.  This set was actually the last of the keychain offerings I procured.  After finding the standard releases of the Diver, the Pilot, and the Marine, I was quite thrilled to find this pack at the KB just outside the town where my family vacationed over the summers.  At the time, I was in the midst of quite a G.I. Joe kick, and these really hit the spot.  Admittedly, they aren’t the greatest offerings.  They’re fun, but definitely lower quality than a lot of figures from the same era.

#1761: Snake Eyes

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

SNAKE EYES

G.I. JOE MIGHTY MUGGS

What’s this?  More Mighty Muggs?  That’s crazy!  But wait, this one’s different!  This one’s vintage….ish.

After their success with their licensed properties of Marvel, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones in the Mighty Muggs format, Hasbro decided to go all-in and start offering up some of their in-house properties in that same style.  While that did eventually grow to include the likes of ROM and the Visionaries, the primary focus was on Transformers and G.I. Joe.  I’ll be looking at one of the latter’s characters today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Snake Eyes was released in the first series of G.I. Joe Mighty Muggs, which hit stores in late 2008.  He’s based on Snake Eyes’ 1985 v2 look, which is kind of the go-to for Snake Eyes.  The figure stands 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 3 points of articulation.  While the legs are a separate piece, they aren’t actually articulated, or at least there’s no practical movement to be had from them.  Snake Eyes is built on the basic Muggs body from the old days.  It’s a fair bit taller than the newer Muggs, and the proportions are slightly different, with the head being noticeably smaller in comparison to the rest of the body.  He doesn’t have any add-on pieces or anything, which is rather sensible for Snake Eyes, and also fairly common for the older Muggs.  The detailing of course all comes from the paint work.  The original Mighty Muggs were a bit different in terms of how the details were handled.  They had more of an art-deco/designer vinyl sort of vibe to it, where it boils down things to the most simple designs, but also adds in some creative shading.  It’s the sort of look that really fits well with the general design of the character.  In particular, I quite like the faux-reflective nature of the visor.  Though accessories were not the norm for the line, Snake Eyes was actually pretty well armed, betting both his sword and machine gun, allowing for him to go for that whole commando/ninja combo.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While I liked the original Mighty Muggs quite a bit, by the time this line came along, my focus had moved to other things, so I didn’t get this guy new.  Instead, I actually picked him up just a couple of weeks ago, as sort of a birthday present to myself, from 2nd Chance Toyz.  Obviously, he’s as much an acquired taste as any of the others, but I really like him, and I think he was a really good choice for the style.

#1600: Snake Eyes

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

SNAKE EYES

G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO

“SNAKE EYES served in Long Range Recon Patrols in Southeast Asia. He left the service to study mystic martial arts with the same Ninja family that produced STORM SHADOW. SNAKE EYES was living an ascetic existence alone in the High Sierras with his pet timber wolf when he was recruited for the GI JOE team. He is a qualified expert in all NATO and Warsaw Pact small arms, has a black belt in 12 different fighting systems, and is highly skilled in the use of edged weapons.”

Ah, look at that.  Another hundred reviews.  That means it’s time for—wait, sorry, hadn’t updated the script.  Right.  Hi there dear readers!  Welcome to the Figure in Question’s 1600th review.  Usually on the hundred mark I do a special high-end deluxe review, but I like to mix things up occasionally and space those particular reviews out a bit more as I go along.  So, the deluxe reviews are new going to be every 250 reviews from now on.  So, in honor of this not at all monumental review, I’ll be taking a look at a Snake Eyes figure.  Wooo-eee.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

This particular Snake Eyes figure was packed with the Kid Rhino DVD release of the first two mini-series of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero cartoon, which hit in 2003.  It’s the 16th version of the character released, and is actually just a slight re-working of his very first figure.  This figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  Sculpturally, he’s the exact same figure as the ToyFare-exclusive Snake Eyes figure from the same year (already reviewed here).  It’s the original Snake Eyes mold, with the version 1.5 swivel arms, and Roadblock’s pelvis piece.  It’s a sculpt that shows its age, but one I still very much like.  The main difference with this figure and that one is coloring (though not paint, as the actual paint applications on these two are identical).  Rather than Snake Eyes’ usual all black palette, this figure is molded in a dark blue, which mimics how he was colored in the cartoon.  Given how this figure was released, it’s certainly a reasonable change, and makes for a somewhat unique looking figure.  Snake Eyes was packed with a pretty decent accessories complement, given his nature as a pack-in.  He included a sword, an Uzi, a pack of explosives, a back pack, and his trusty canine sidekick Timber.  Sadly, I lost Timber at some point, something I still kick myself about.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got the DVD set that included this guy as a Christmas present from my parents some years back.  I know I’d seen it somewhere and expressed interest in it, and they took note of this and got it for me.  Of course, I certainly didn’t ask for the set just for the figure included with it.  That would be preposterous, right?  Who would do something like that?  Not me.  Not me at all.  Despite essentially having reviewed this figure before, there’s just something about this particular variant that I really like. 

#1524: Flash

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

FLASH

G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO (HASBRO)

“Flash is highly skilled in many aspects of electronic technology and is capable of equipment repair in the field. Specialized Education: Electronics School; Chemical School; Covert Electronics. Qualified Expert: M-16; M-1911A1; XMLR-1A (Shoulder-Fired Laser Rifle).”

In 1982, Hasbro was looking to revitalize their G.I. Joe brand.  Two different iterations of the 12-inch line had come and gone, and the market just wasn’t there for the style.  What the market totally *was* there for, however, was 3 3/4 inch figures, which had been super-popularized, courtesy of a little movie called Star Wars.  So, Hasbro partnered with writer Larry Hama and created a brand new iteration of G.I. Joe, dubbed A Real American Hero.  Now the Joes weren’t just your average soldiers, but were instead a group of specialized operatives, each with their own style and code name.  The line began with 13 figures, built from a common pool of parts.  Today, I’ll be looking at one of those 13, the Laser Rifle specialist, code-named “Flash”*

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Flash was released in the original 1982 assortment of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. Unlike many of his compatriots, this wound up being his only figure for 23 years (well, apart from his 1983 re-issue, which I’ll touch on in a second).  Flash stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 12 points of articulation.  That articulation count’s a little lower than usual for a vintage Joe.  Why’s that?  The first year of Joes didn’t sport the swivel arms that became a standard for the line in ’83.  These original releases are known as “Straight-Arm” figures, and are an interesting quirk of the earliest offerings in the line.  All of the straight-arm figures would see swivel-arm re-releases in ’83 to help bring them up to date, so there’s two versions of our boy Flash out there.  The lack of swivels does impact posablility, of course, but I didn’t find it to be quite as restricting as I’d expected; I guess I’m just used to my Micronauts.  Another change in motion is the neck joint.  Later figures got actual ball-jointed necks, but the earlier guys just had swivels.  Not a huge difference, but certainly a noticeable one.  In terms of construction, Flash doesn’t actually have much that’s unique to him.  His head was shared with Hawk, Shortfuse, and Steeler.  It’s a reasonable enough piece, and generic enough that changing the hair color is really all that’s needed to make him look different.  I certainly prefer it to his 25th Anniversary sculpt.  The lower legs were shared with Snake Eyes (they’re just generic boots, so it works fine), and the rest of his sculpt is shared with Grand-Slam.  As Grand-Slam was his fellow laser trooper, it’s a pretty sensible re-use, since they’re presumably both in uniform.  The sculpting on this guy is indicative of the time.  The details are a little soft by modern standards, and proportions are less traditionally heroic.  But, if you know what you’re getting into, it’s all about standard for the vintage line.  In terms of paint, Flash is mostly basic work, but it’s all pretty clean, and surprisingly bold for the line.  A lot of the early figures had very washed out palettes, but Flash gets some bright red to keep things a bit more interesting.  Flash was packed with a removable helmet (with flip-up visor), a back-pack, and his laser rifle, which my figure happily still has all of.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Flash has been on my list for a little while.  He was ranked as #16 on ToyFare magazine’s “Top 20 G.I. Joe Toys,” which is what really got him on my radar.  Since then, I’ve been on the look out for him, albeit at a reasonable price.  I ended up getting him very recently, courtesy of Lost In Time Toys, during one of their December sales.  He was in a case of items marked 50% off, meaning I got him for about $10, which is great for a vintage Joe.  Unfortunately, when I opened him, I discovered the o-ring holding him together had dry-rotted.  As luck would have it, Hasbro used standard parts for these guys, so all I needed to do was run over to Home Depot and pick up a box of #9 plumber’s o-rings, which ran me about $2 and took me less than 20 minutes to swap out with the old one.  It was actually pretty awesome to get to rehabilitate this guy, and now he’s ship-shape, and hands down one of my favorite Joes in my collection.

*DC was a bit less productive of their trademarks at this point, I suppose.  Future figures of this character would all add a rank of Sergeant to his name to denote him from the scarlet speedster.

#1461: Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

SNAKE EYES & STORM SHADOW

G.I. JOE VS COBRA (HASBRO)

Heyo!  As all my faithful FiQ-fans are undoubtedly aware, today marks four years of reviews here at the site.  In honor of this momentous day, I wanted to take a look at a pair of figures that are somewhat important in the grand scheme of my collection.  I’ll be setting my sites on G.I. Joe, a franchise that I feel I don’t look at quite as often as I should around these parts.  I mean, it is the *original* action figure, after all.  The line definitely deserves some respect.  Today, I’ll be looking at two of my favorite characters from the franchise (as well as two of the most popular characters in general), Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow were released in Series 1 of Hasbro’s G.I. Joe Vs Cobra line. This series served to bring brand-new 3 3/4-inch Joes back to mass retail after a one year absence and a few years of repaints.

SNAKE EYES

“SNAKE EYES learned his top combat skills in missions around the globe. A tragic helicopter mission took away his voice and scarred his face. That’s why he communicates with sign language and never removes his mask around others. He studied mystical martial arts with the Arashikage clan, which is also the family of master ninja STORM SHADOW, SNAKE EYES is an expert in all disciplines of martial arts and silent weapons. He can move silenty and without being seen. At one time, he and STORM SHADOW were sword brothers, linked by spirit and tradition. Now that STORM SHADOW is part of the evil COBRA organization, there is no escape from a final battle between two of the world’s greatest martial arts fighters.”

As perhaps the most popular Joe ever, it was no surprise that Snake Eyes turned up here in the first series.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall (he’d be taller without the wide stance) and he has 14 points of articulation.  The first series of Vs were distinct in their construction.  Hasbro abandoned the more typical O-ring construction, and went for a more solid construction.  This results in figures that are a little sturdier than their predecessors, but slightly more limited in their posability at the hips.  It wasn’t a perfect solution, and that’s why Hasbro ended up going back to the O-ring build in the next series.  This Snake Eyes had a unique design, which made use of elements from all of his prior figures.  I may be a little biased, but this has always been a favorite look of mine.  His sculpt definitely shows its age….or an age.  Given the sheer size of this guy’s muscles, he looks like he should be straight out of the ’90s, not the early ’00s.  Guess Hasbro was still shaking off a little of the Extreme days from the ’90s.  That being said, whoever worked on this sculpt was certainly having a good time of it.  The details in the wrappings, the straps, and the pouches are all really well rendered, and indicate real attention being paid to this figure.  The head’s my favorite part of the figure, as it’s probably the least affected by the stylization.  I like that you can clearly see the face under the mask, but it’s not quite as ridiculous as the sculpted lips from Rise of Cobra.  The paintwork on this figure is a bit more involved than most Snake Eyes figures tended to be.  He’s actually molded in a very, very dark green, allowing his visor to be made straight black and still have contrast.  The rest of the work is all in the accents, which all go pretty well.  He’s got some color without it getting too garish.  Snake Eyes was packed with a pair of swords, a backpack to hold them, a knife, and a sub-machine gun.  After 15 years, all my figure has left are the swords. [EDIT–Seems that’s not the case, because I found all of the parts to him for his Flashback Friday Figure Addendum!]

STORM SHADOW

“STORM SHADOW grew up in the Arashikage clan of ninjas.  During his training, his sword-brother was SNAKE EYES, the commando and martial arts master of the GI JOE team.  The evil COBRA organization recruited Arashikage members.  This corruption split the clan in two.  After a COBRA agent killed STORM SHADOW’s uncle, he went undercover within COBRA to find the assassin.  When the killer was revealed, STORM SHADOW joined the GI JOE team to get revenge.  But now, STORM SHADOW is back with COBRA.  Are all Arshikage ninjas evil? Or does COBRA COMMANDER hold some special power over STORM SHADOW?  Whatever the reason, the anger is clear when he meets SNAKE EYES.  The battle between the ninja masters will be legendary.”

Ah, the revolving door that is Storm Shadow’s affiliation.  Yes, one of the notable things done by the relaunch was placing Storm Shadow back on the side of Cobra, which was explained in the Devil’s Due comics of the time as the result of brainwashing.  The figure has the same height and articulation as Snake Eyes.  Thanks to a slightly straighter stance, that actually makes him a little shorter.  The sculpt for Storm Shadow as another all-new one, and while Snake Eyes would get another sculpt very quickly, Storm Shadow’s stuck around for several years.  It’s not anywhere near as exaggerated as the Snake Eyes sculpt, so I guess it had a slightly longer shelf life.  That being said, I can’t help but feel this sculpt is a little less inspired than that of Snake Eyes.  The details seem a lot flatter, less organic, and just generally a little less developed.  And then there’s that hood; what’s going on with the hood?  It’s all stuck to the head, and generally un-hood-like.  The Storm Shadow figure just prior to this one clearly showed that sculpting a hood was totally within Hasbro’s grasp, so this just looks…strange.  It’s as if they didn’t decide until the last minute whether they wanted the hood or not, so he just has this amorphous could-be-a-hood-could-be-a-mask thing.  Storm Shadow’s paint is alright.  It’s pretty basic stuff, really.  Red, white, gray, and black.  It’s relatively clean, and makes for a good contrast with Snake Eyes.  The white is all molded plastic, though, so he’s done some serious yellowing over the years.  The figure was packed with two swords, a backpack, a knife, and a sub-machine gun.  Apart from the backpack and knife, the pieces were actually unique to Storm Shadow, not shared with Snake Eyes.  That’s actually pretty cool!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

These two are my very first small-scale G.I. Joes.  I had several of the 12-inch ones, but the smaller line was on the back burner for my earlier collecting years.  When the first series was first shown in ToyFare magazine, I was pretty excited, and I knew from the very beginning that Snake Eyes was the first one I wanted.  Storm Shadow sort of came along for the ride.  My dad bought these for me, as a reward for patiently waiting for flooring with him at Home Depot.  They aren’t amazing figures.  None of this era of Joes really were.  But they were my first, and they were fun.  I loved having them, and they got me into the whole franchise.  Now I have over a hundred of these little guys.  Lots of them are better technically than these two, but these two are still my favorites.

#1335: Rex “The Doctor” Lewis

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

REX “THE DOCTOR” LEWIS

GI JOE: RISE OF COBRA

“Rex is the chief experimental doctor for M.A.R.S. Industries and developer of advanced nanotechnology. Disfigured in an explosion, he relies on life support equipment as he launches a diabolical plan to satisfy his thirst for power and revenge. ”

G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra isn’t a particularly well-regarded movie.  It definitely took some…different approaches to the source material.  I myself kind of enjoyed the movie, but with the caveat that I liked it as it’s own, separate thing.  It’s a good spy-flick, but the Joe label is a bit misplaced.  Misplacing of labels seems to have gone around a lot in this movie.  I absolutely loved Joseph Gordon Levitt’s turn as Doctor Mindbender.  The only problem is that as it turns out, the mysteriously named “The Doctor,” despite checking off every mark for Mindbender (including the character’s signature monocle), is actually Cobra Commander.  Odd choice.  But hey, cool action figures, though!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Rex “The Doctor” Lewis was released in the third series of Hasbro’s G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra tie-in line, which hit a little while after the film’s release.  Presumably, he was in a later assortment so that the reveal that he was Baroness’s not-quite-dead brother Rex could be kept secret.  The figure stands about 4 inches tall and he has 22 points of articulation.  The sculpt for the Doctor was all-new to him, and as far as I know, it’s not been re-used (well, apart from the labcoat, which has shown up on a few figures).  The sculpt is certainly different.  Hasbro opted to not be 100% faithful to the film’s version of Rex, who dressed more like an actual scientist (well, apart from the headgear).  This figure has some sort of  Edward Scissorhands get-up.  Which, with the addition of the jacket, ends up looking about the same as the movie design anyway, so I guess it didn’t really matter.  The head stays pretty faithful, apart from the loss of the monocle thing.  The hair and breathing apparatus are both removable, allowing you to view the fully unmasked Rex, who actually looks a fair bit like Levitt in the scar make-up from the film.  Despite being removable, the hair and rebreather fit pretty tightly to the head, and look pretty decent overall, and they also both stay in place really well, which is a definite plus.  The paint on the Doctor is largely confined to the head (everything else is mostly black plastic).  The detail work is actually pretty great, and they convey the scarred nature of his skin quite nicely.  The Doctor is packed with a pair of claw gloves, a giant nanite-injector claw-thing, a pistol, a rifle, a briefcase with three containers of nanites, and a display stand with “THE DOCTOR” printed on it.  Not a bad assortment of extras!  The case with the nanites and the claw gloves are definitely my favorites, but they’re all pretty fun extras.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Doctor was one of my favorite parts of Rise of Cobra, so I was a little dismayed that he wasn’t out when the film hit.  I patiently waited for his release, and ended up finding him at the local Walmart while grabbing some Christmas decorations with my Dad.  He’s one of the better entries in the Rise of Cobra line, and one of my favorite modern-era Joes in general.  Not bad for a figure from a movie nobody likes!

#1315: Audie Murphy

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

AUDIE MURPHY — MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT

G.I. JOE: CLASSIC COLLECTION (HASBRO)

“Born in Texas on June 20, 1924, Audie Murphy joined the United States Army in 1942 and went on to become the most decorated U.S. combat soldier of World War II.  It was on January 26, 1945 that Second Lieutenant Murphy, 15th Infantry, performed one of the most extraordinary acts of selfless heroism ever recorded.”

Generally speaking, when it comes to G.I. Joe, I tend to stick with the ‘80s A Real American Hero incarnation of the line (though I’m also partial to the ‘70s Adventure Team incarnation as well).  That being said, I was introduced to the brand via my dad and uncle’s old vintage Joes from the ‘60s.  Anti-war sentiment following Vietnam led to the end of the original Joe concept, but opinions gradually calmed over the years, allowing for that original concept to make a gradual return in the ‘90s.  In addition to the generic soldiers that originally populated the line, Hasbro also peppered in some prominent historic members of the U.S. military.  Today’s focus is one of those figures, Audie Murphy, who might be as close as WW2 got to having an actual Captain America.  He was prominent not just as a soldier, but also as movie star in the ‘50s and ‘60s.  And he got a G.I. Joe, so that’s pretty cool, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Audie Murphy was released in 2001’s Echo Series of Hasbro’s G.I. Joe: Classic Collection.  He was an entry in the then-ongoing “Medal of Honor Recipient” sub-series of the line.  The figure stands about 12 inches tall and has 42 points of articulation.  The figure is obviously meant to evoke Murphy during the events of January 26, 1945.  It’s worth noting that he seems to actually be more pattered on Murphy’s appearance in the 1955 film To Hell and Back, which retells that battles events, and stars Murphy as himself.  Obviously, there’s a lot more reference available from the movie, and it’s how most people are gonna think of Murphy, so it’s hardly the worst choice. 

The head sculpt is a respectable recreation of Murphy’s likeness.  Obviously, it’s not Hot Toys quality or anything, but that’s hardly expected, given the time period and price point of this figure’s release.  Nevertheless, it’s still a pretty solid sculpt, with some pretty impressive detailing.  It’s perhaps a little on the small side in comparison to the body, but Hasbro was at the time still trying to shake off the really large, chunky heads of the early ‘90s, and I think this looks a little less silly than the alternative.  The paint work is pretty clean, and there’s even a little bit of accent work on the hair.  You’re not going to mistake him for a real person, but you can see who it’s supposed to be.

Murphy is based on the at the time standard body for the line.  It’s a body that definitely shows its age; the arms in particular are a touch on the long side, though this is really to aid with posing.  As far as playability, it’s actually pretty great.  It’s super posable, and can hold a lot of intense poses.  He sports the “Gung Ho Grip,” meaning he had the individually articulated fingers, which are a lot of fun when it comes to posing.

His uniform is made up of a field jacket, shirt, pants, two belts, a scarf, a helmet, and a pair of rubber boots.  Like the head sculpt, they’re not comparable to anything from the higher end, but they fit well with the style of the line at the time.  The tailoring is a little loose, mostly to help preserve his articulation.  Due to the thickness of the fabric, when he’s wearing everything, he can look a little puffy, but that’s really the style of the time, and he won’t look super out of place.  The helmet, second belt, and boots are all quite nicely sculpted; the helmet sits securely on his head, which is always a plus.

The figure included a pretty impressive selection of accessories:

  • M-1 Carbine
  • Canteen
  • .45 caliber pistol
  • .45 ammo pouches
  • Holster
  • Browning .50 caliber machine gun (w/ ammo belt)
  • Dog tags

He’s armed with an M-1 Carbine, a .45, and a Browning machine gun.   All three are quite nicely sculpted pieces.  The Carbine’s my favorite of the three, and I think he looks the best holding it.  Its got a removable magazine and a strap, which is cool.  The .45 is also a pretty nice piece, though it looks a touch small in his hands.  There’s a working slide and a removable clip, which are both pretty awesome touches.  The Browning is supposed to replicate the one Murphy used during his standoff against the German forces.  The main gun is pretty accurate, but the real thing was mounted to a tank, which obviously wasn’t feasible here.  He’s been given a little tripod to stand it on, which is a little awkward to use.  Nevertheless, it’s a cool piece.  The ammo pouches, canteen, and holster are all designed to be attached to his second belt.  It can be a little tricky to get them placed, but they stay on pretty tight once they’re on there. Lastly, there’s the dog tags, which predate G.I. Joe’s move to slightly more realistically scaled ones, and as such look super, super goofy on the figure.  One thing that might have been nice to get is some sort of display stand, but they weren’t really common at this point.

THE ME HALF OF THE  EQUATION

This Audie Murphy figure belonged to my Granddad.  My family and I gave him to Granddad as a birthday present back in 2001, when the figure was still brand new.  Remember how I mentioned that my Granddad moved at his own pace?  Yeah, well he took this figure, unopened,  and set it under a table in their dining room for several years.  Then he finally removed it from under that table….to use it to prop up the TV antenna to get better reception.  It would be hyperbolic to say this caused me actual, physical pain, but it did come quite close.  In the last few weeks since Granddad’s passing, we’ve been doing a lot of work around the house, and I found this guy, still in his now horribly sun-stained packaging.  With my Grandmother’s permission, I finally opened him, 16 years after he made his way into the house.  It was a nice, somewhat cathartic moment.  The figure shows his age, but I found myself genuinely enjoying taking him out and playing with him.  He makes me nostalgic for my days of when I was super into this style of G.I. Joe, and I’m really just happy he’s finally been opened!

#1274: Cobra Commander

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

COBRA COMMANDER

G.I. JOE: PURSUIT OF COBRA (HASBRO)

“The deviously brilliant leader of Cobra has created the Cobra H.I.S.S. Tank, a dangerous weapon that will help him expand his empire. He is prepared for battle in a mask that uses sunlight to power his cybernetic armor. As the showdown with the G.I. Joe Team begins in the desert, he sends in his new tanks for the final attack.”

When G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra was released in 2009, the whole G.I. Joe line was reformatted to tie in with the movie, bringing an official end to the widely popular 25th Anniversary line.  When Hasbro returned back to the non-movie based stuff in 2010, the sort of merged the two, offering a modernized take on the G.I. Joe mythos that used some elements from the movies, but was largely a continuation of the same Joe story from 1982.  Quite frankly, it’s probably my favorite era of the line.  The line offered new takes on a lot of the classic characters, including Cobra’s shrill leader, Cobra Commander!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cobra Commander was part of the first series of Pursuit of Cobra.  He was officially classified as the “chase figure,” but I don’t actually know what the logistics of that were.  It may have just been that he was short packed.  Whatever the case, he’s not noticeably rarer than any of the other figures from that same assortment.  This figure actually began his life as a proposed mail-away figure for the Rise of Cobra line.  When that line was ended, Hasbro cut one of his accessories (the PoC figures were packed in smaller blisters than the RoC ones), and moved him into this line*.  The figure stands just shy of 4 inches tall and he has 22 points of articulation.  This figure is largely a parts re-use from the main RoC Commander figure, which was loosely based on his movie design.  While the movie look wasn’t my favorite thing, there’s no denying that the figure had a pretty cool sculpt.  The jacket’s probably my favorite part; there’s an air of elegance to it, which seems perfectly in character for the Commander, and between the awesome texture work and the slightly windblown look to it, it really adds a lot to the figure.  The rest of the figure is pretty solid too; the torso has some really sharp detailing on the armor, and I love that this guys got wingtips.  The figure does get a new head sculpt; it’s not too far removed from the RoC head, but it’s a solid piece this time, instead of being pseudo removable, which makes it a bit sleeker.  I’m still not as much of a fan of this design as I am the classic featureless faceplate, but it’s not awful.  The paintwork on this guy is pretty top-notch; it’s super sleek, if nothing else.  The faceplate of the mask has been vac-metalized, and there’s even some slight accenting on top of that to help bring out the details.  The chest is a deep red, a departure for the Commander, who’s usually blue.  Still, it’s a really nice, metallic red, and there’s a black wash over it to make it really pop.  This figure moves the previous Commander’s logo from just to the left of his left lapel to the back of his jacket.  It’s certainly more visible now, and looks a bit less out of place.  With that said, it’s abundantly clear that this sculpt wasn’t intended to have a logo on the jacket.  The interior of the jacket has been lined with a dark burgundy, which is easy to miss if you aren’t looking closely.  Cobra Commander is packed with a small pistol, a weird grey machine gun thing, a Gonfalon (thanks yojoe.com for helping me ID that), and a display stand with his name and the Cobra logo on it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve always gone through phases of buying G.I. Joe, but despite hitting smack dab of one of those phases, I didn’t pick up this guy when he was new.  I thought about it, but his design was divorced enough from what I consider Cobra Commander to give me pause.  Then, between the Resolute version, the later (more classic Commander-inspired) PoC version, and finding the RoC figure for a discount, this guy just felt sort of redundant.  Back in February, I ended up spotting him as one of the silent auction items in Farpoint’s charity auction.  Like the previously reviewed Kaylee figure, the money going to a good cause was enough to get me to finally buy him.  I’m really happy I did.  He may not be your conventional Cobra Commander, but he’s a really, really fun figure.

*In 2011, they also offered the figure in his original packaging and with the missing mini H.I.S.S. Tank accessory, as a G.I. Joe Collectors Club exclusive.  This has probably contributed to the relative ease of acquiring the standard release.