Skydiver (Funskool)

Ah, Funskool. Someone at the company must have known what joy they would give to GI Joe collectors. After all, they put the word fun right in the name! I certainly find their figures to be fun, especially when pack-ins were added, like Grunt’s first aid case/stamper, Law’s Cracker Jackish decoder, or Windmill’s…uh…windmill.

Most of the Funskool Joes were straight re-releases and repaints of domestically released figures. Granted, many of the repaints, particularly in the 2000’s, were garish to the point of hilarity. There were also some Frankensteined new versions of existing Joes, and even a few entirely new ones, like Skydiver.

Created using Beachhead’s body and Crazylegs’ head, the resulting figure is striking in both its simplicity and color scheme. I feel a bit weird saying this, but the parts combination actually works for me. Maybe the bright colors have something to do with it as well, but I find myself really seeing a new character here.

Admittedly like many Funskool products, the paint apps are sloppy. The paint masks don’t seem to have been applied in all the right places, or maybe the paint mix was off, because there’s such an unfocused spray pattern going on, like maybe a lot of air was in the mix. The camo on the pants is particularly horrible, like a novice graffiti artist went to town on them with a 99 cent can of spray paint. Although, I have to admit, the pants are nice, in a Funskool kind of way.

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