Over the years, Storm Shadow’s action figures have usually been outfitted in some form of his classic all-white white ninja pajamas. When the Resolute animation came along, he was given something of a redesign, but the result was still a mostly white clad ninja. Enter the 2009 comic packs, which were branded with a Resolute logo and packed with a
Read moreCobra’s basic troops are still an iconic image to me, almost as much as the original Grunt card art. If Cobra Commander was the face of the named villains, the trooper was the face of the organization as a whole. The look varied from figure to package to cartoon to comic, but the essence remained. Character designs were my favorite
Read moreThe original Beachhead figure is great, but wow did the guy have a huge melon. Of all the many times the vintage mold was re-released, it never got a retrofitted head. I hoped for one as part of the vintage styled comic packs, since those sets seemed to be head-swap happy. The first 25th anniversary Beachhead wasn’t too thrilling, with
Read moreWell, here’s another original 80’s Joe team member done up in the modern construction style. I thought the entire reason for remaking these guys was to get them into the more detailed, more articulated format of today. Unfortunately, the play value and overall look leave me cold. I can’t stand the giraffe neck and tiny head. The head is a
Read moreIf I could sum up my thoughts on many of the store exclusive figures produced during the 25th anniversary series in one word, it would be “passable”. Though Cutter isn’t a hugely demanded fan favorite, his place as the pilot of the WHALE I think places him higher in my consciousness of well remembered figures than his look would
Read moreThe Iron Grenadier was a troop type that I missed out on during its initial run in the 80’s. I’m sorry that I did, because as an adult collector it holds a lot of interest for me. I like Destro’s break off into his own force, as I’ve always thought of him as a very capable leader in his own
Read moreAs an homage to an Argentinian figure I’ll probably never get my hands on, this was a welcome addition to the collection. You could say that this figure as well as the same year’s pilot Scarlett were Hasbro’s first forays into giving fans some some exclusive and elusive foreign variations of classic molds. The Collectors Club has since taken the
Read moreCan Deep Six catch a break? His first figure, while iconic, wasn’t much usable outside of his vehicle. His second, a very well done throwback to the deep sea diving suits of old, was stuck with a visorless bright orange helmet. This version was a noble attempt, but it doesn’t well represent the team’s greatest diver as it should. Part
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The original Tripwire was one of the first Joes whose accessories impressed me more than the figure. I remember creating a little mine field on the carpet and searching them out using his detector. The mines were soon lost in the carpet, by the way. That was about the extent of my play with him. I don’t think I ever
Read moreThis isn’t the first time the Joe team has had action figure versions of its “greenshirt” force, a group of generic soldiers that first filled out the ranks among the named characters of the Sunbow animated series. If there was a battle scene, chances are these guys were running around in the background, shooting or running to man a cannon.
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