Zartan? I don’t know any Zartan! You could have fooled me, buddy, because you sure look like him. Well, kind of, anyway. And hey, where’s the box o’ junk?! Now that I think about it, this is one half-arsed Zartan. Yet I can’t seem to look away… Regardless of how you feel about the 2000’s era 12 inch figures, this
Read moreThe 12 inch Joes released during the 2000’s relaunch were a mixed bag of reuse and cost cutting that struck me as generally cheap-looking, but there were a few that stood out as all-around great large-scale renditions of Real American Hero era favorites. Unlike some of his knockoff-ish line mates, Spirit gets the royal treatment with a full cloth uniform,
Read moreI know what you’re thinking: another Snake Eyes–Yeesh! Well, hold fast your rage for a moment, as this is a Snakes for the ages. Okay well, maybe not quite, but it is impressive for its time. Would you believe that some of the great advances that came with the 25th anniversary series had their roots in the overlooked and often
Read moreThe Hasbro 12 inch Joe figures of the 2000’s era included their share of hits and misses. Presumably as a cost-cutting measure, quite a few of the figures featured molded shirts rather than cloth. I always thought the look was cheap and knockoff-ish. A few, like Wild Bill, Bazooka, Agent Faces and Spirit actually received fully cloth costumes and were quite well
Read moreStalker is one of the Joes who I think becomes too hemmed in by his original design. Sure, the first figure was iconic, but after a while it’s nice to see something different. He has had a few redesigns over the years, but Hasbro still seems to go back the all-camo well with Stalker. While I enjoyed the deviaton of
Read moreTorch is one of my faves of the new sculpt era. There’s so much to like about this figure. It’s another example of taking an existing design and tweaking it for a new generation. Let’s be honest, as iconic as the Dreadnoks are, that old biker look is darn goofy these days. I like to see each iteration of Joe
Read moreI wonder if they were going for a cowboy theme here? For the second time, the Joe helicopter pilot was stereotyped to the hilt. The Battle Corps version put him in 19th century US cavalry gear, and then a decade later this figure went full-on cowpoke. I don’t have a problem with it, simply an observation. But this look does
Read moreThis is a figure that makes me want to see a modern adventure themed Joe line. What could be wrong with having a sub-line of modern GI Joe figures dedicated to non-military subjects like police, firefighters, paramedics and explorers or even scientists? The modern 12 inch line is already doing it with police and firefighters, and toy makers like Chap
Read moreWhile I appreciate the modern era GI Joe figures, I do miss some elements of the 2000’s lines. Most of all, I miss the deluxe figure concept. It’s something that was somewhat specific to the era, and though it wasn’t a part of the Joe line in the 80’s, there was a sort of precedence for it. The low price
Read moreWhat do you get the saboteur who has everything? How about a snazzy new outfit that goes with just about anything. Really, anything? If anything means Cobra blue, grey or black then yes. Look at it this way: Firefly is an important guy in the Cobra hierarchy. Cobra Commander himself hired the man years ago to exact revenge on Snake-Eyes.
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