Ah, so we’re starting to see a theme here– take what are certain to be the most popular army builders in the line and make them difficult to find exclusives. Got it. Solid plan.
In fairness, if designing exclusives for Target is what gets Target to carry the line, then I’m okay with that, even if it’s a feat of frustration and acrobatics to try and get the figure. Actually, I have a confession to make when it comes to the COBRA Viper.
I broke. I did it. I paid scalper prices (at least for one of them). What other choice did I have? Yes, I know it only encourages them, but without a local Target store accessible to me and with none of my friends even able to find one for themselves, it was time to face facts– I got lucky with the COBRA Trooper, Roadblock, Beachhead, Baroness and Firefly. That luck was not going to get me any further on the Viper.
That being said, about two weeks after I clenched my teeth as I was clicking the buy button on eBay, Robot Kingdom got a two pack of Firefly and COBRA Viper in stock, that while certainly not MSRP, wasn’t exactly what I would call a “scalper price.” Thus, I’ve got two. Eventually I’ll have more.
The reason I’m not so twisted up over it is because Hasbro’s track record, at least at this early stage, is that they will eventually release the army builder in the main line assortment. The colors may be a bit different, but not terribly so (if COBRA Infantry is any indication).
Heck, they already have card art for the Viper on the back of the package with red boots instead of black– could that be an indication of what we’ll see in a normal retail assortment?
I feel like I have to specify — I do not regret spending scalper prices. I am 100% in love with the G.I. Joe: Classified line and if I have to break the bank for a figure, I’m prepared to do that. The rest of my figures have been more or less purchased at MSRP, which considering where I live, is pretty impressive. It always boggles my mind when people complain that these figures are impossible to find. If you shop online, it’s actually quite easy.
I have TWO (2) Wal-Mart’s and ZERO (0) Targets within a 70 mile radius and I’ve been able to buy every single figure I wanted (while needing a little extra effort for the Target figures). I haven’t been dependent on brick and mortar for my toy collecting in– maybe ten years? Why start now?
All that being said– I suppose rather than harping on how easy or hard it is to find a Viper, I should talk a little bit about the figure itself.
After all, I paid more money for this figure than I have any other Classified figure to date. Was it worth it?
Oh, yes. Oh my goodness– yes.
DESIGN
The COBRA Viper is a key example of what sorts of cool things are possible with this tooling re-use formula that Hasbro is utilizing with the G.I. Joe: Classified line. I believe the figure uses Duke’s tooling from the waist up, with a fresh secondary on the torso as well as the forearm guards that slide over the existing arms. It saves some money on tooling, but completely reinvents the figure in a perfect way.
While the COBRA Trooper was almost a total reinvention of the old school COBRA aesthetic, the Viper leans a lot more into its vintage roots, but still manages to look nicely modernized and updated to fit into the near-future Classified design scheme.
Key design elements like the textured forearm guards, thigh pads and boots are very much a COBRA Viper hallmark, and they’re portrayed well here, giving the figure a unique look.
The COBRA Viper’s headsculpt is again, a nice throwback to its vintage look with some added texture and a nice mirrored finish on the facemask. The goggles are removable (though I added a dab of super glue because they tend to fall of at a moment’s notice).
I find myself really loving the tactical vest as well with its elaborate straps, textures, ammo pouches and a sculpted COBRA logo near the bottom of the vest, all providing spectacular modern twists to a familiar vintage aesthetic.
Back in the day there were some questions about how the COBRA Trooper and COBRA Viper- co-existed. Clearly, back then, the COBRA infantry was clearly a less armored and less “tactical” operative while the Viper was geared out for real front-line combat. In G.I. Joe: Classified the lines get a little bit more blurred as both the Trooper and the Viper appear almost equally tactical. That being said, it gives me great pleasure to heave both within my COBRA roster, I think there’s definitely room for both.
ARTICULATION
In a way, it seems odd to have a section in these reviews for articulation — after all, nearly every Classified figure maintains the same high standards for articulation and COBRA Viper is no different.
The COBRA Viper manages to balance fantastic design aesthetic and almost flawless articulation, with none of the great range of motion impacted by any of its various secondaries. Butterfly shoulders, double jointed knees, elbows, rocker ankles, the neck joint, hips– this tactical COBRA soldier can achieve nearly every pose you’d want.
I feel it necessary to point out that there is just something different about the way Classified figures are engineered that I’m really drawn to. Whether its a result of the gear they’re typically wearing, I’m not sure, but they feel larger, bulkier, and almost more solid than the typical Marvel Legends releases, yet in spite of that thicker buck, they maintain an impressive array of articulation that is prevelant throughout each and every figure release.
ACCESSORIES
So here’s another double-edged sword.
One item of note about the COBRA Viper accessories — the goggles on his helmet are removable. In fact they are so removable that I elected to use glue to hold them to the helmet. That’s why you don’t see them in the image above. Of course, his removable gray scarf is also easily removable, I just plain forgot to include that in the above image.
Beyond those two items, the COBRA Viper comes with a pretty vanilla weapons compliment, including a backpack that’s nicely evocative of the vintage version (with some great updated colors rather than the plain, drab black). He also has a futuristic rifle and the same pistol that Duke and Beachhead both come with, only this one in pure black. With the same leg holster as Duke, this figure can hold his pistol very well, and interesting, the rifle has a removable magazine for a nice little extra touch.
The accessories lack the creativity of Firefly and yes, the rifle is a bit more “laser rifle” than assault rifle, but as with other examples, I’m cool with that. This rifle doesn’t look wildly space-aged (like Roadblock’s) and it’s a design that I’m more than happy to live with.
CONCLUSION
Considering how close the standard COBRA Trooper is to a “tactical” special operations kind of soldier, I’m honestly quite surprised Hasbro dipped their toes into the “Viper” waters this early in the line. With COBRA Trooper, Red Ninja and now COBRA Viper, it’s getting easier and easier to grow an army (well– it would be easier if you could– you know– actually buy the Viper somewhere). There are still some key core characters in the COBRA hierarchy missing, but you can rest assured when guys like Major Bludd, Scrap Iron and others arrive, they will have plenty of troopers to command and control.
I’m happy to say, though, regardless of how much I question the choice to go with a Viper this early, the fact remains that Hasbro absolutely KILLED this figure from an execution standpoint. Sculpting is flawless, the combination of new parts and re-used tooling blends to give us one hell of an update to the vintage figure.
I’ve said it hundreds of times already, but I just want to reiterate — G.I. Joe: Classified is hitting every single high point for me. I understand some folks are frustrated with availability (which, I should note, is likely a good deal due to the global pandemic that people seem to comfortably forget about when complaining) but the figures that have been released are just about as close to a perfect combination of vintage and future aesthetic as I could ask for.
I think people are pretty aware of my diehard love for Sigma 6… I know it’s still early in the line’s history, but these figures are nudging very close to Sigma 6 for one of my all time favorite iterations of the brand. Keep ’em coming.
General Gallery
G.I. Joe Classified COBRA Viper (Special Mission: COBRA Island)
Sculpting
Paint Applications
Articulation
Accessories
4.6
Summary
Yes he’s only available in very limited instances through Target, but the COBRA Viper remains a highlight of the line and a figure I greatly hope to see Hasbro repaint and re-release at some point in the near future. He’s a fantastic army builder that every collector deserves to fill their shelves with, without paying the hefty after-market prices.
Pros
– Great sculpting, parts and a nearly perfect paint scheme
As if Hasbro wasn’t already creating controversy by going back to the well with the Target “COBRA Island” exclusives, but they had to go and split the fandom over their iteration of Firefly as well. That’s right, everyone, disagreements abound in regards to this version of the COBRA saboteur, yet for some reason, collectors are still beating down the door at Target to get their hands on one.
I will admit, Hasbro’s propensity toward Target exclusives seems dubious, especially considering their choices for characters. Both Baroness and Firefly are, without a doubt, core members of the COBRA cast of characters, yet so far, they’ve both only been available in limited numbers (and wholly unavailable via Target.com). Now, I’m not one of those people who throws barbs and insults and threatens to boycott the line, though I’ll admit, the Target hooplah is getting a little tiresome, especially for those of us who don’t even have a local Target within 70 miles of our home.
Thankfully, in the case of Firefly, someone has been able to hook me up (thanks, John!) but for people who don’t have those connections, I can see why frustration is mounting. At some point you simply either accept the fact that you’ll have to pay hefty secondary market prices, or that you’ll just be content without certain figures.
Granted, Hasbro has already demonstrated (at least with the COBRA Trooper) that they are willing to re-release store exclusives in the mass retail line, and evidently with few enough cosmetic changes that the figure is still highly desirable. Granted, the COBRA Trooper is the only case of that so far, but here’s hoping characters like Firefly (and the Baroness) get similar treatment.
Enough about that– what about the figure itself?
There are days when it feels like perhaps I’m following a completely different toyline that most of my collecting compatriots, especially when it comes to Firefly. I’ve heard no shortage of outrage about his “bomb suit” and how a sneaky saboteur would never wear such clunky armor and how it’s a complete and utter abomination to the spotless reputation of Firefly.
Hmm. Right. Well, I don’t buy it. First of all, Firefly doesn’t exactly have a track record of being super sneaky saboteur all the time. Certainly I’m not the only one who remembers the neon 90’s versions (which were AWESOME figures, by the way, get outta here with that hate) or the fact that Firefly bulked up for his G.I. Joe: Resolute version, G.I. Joe: Renegades version, AND his Pursuit of COBRA version.
Also– I mean– G.I. Joe and COBRA ain’t real world. There’s fantasy here and that’s okay, and personally, as long as the character looks bad ass and has awesome looking “near future” tech I’m generally okay without it being a slavish adoration of the real world or the vintage aesthetic.
Firefly ticks those boxes in a huge way. I really, really love this figure. First and foremost, I don’t see him wearing a bomb disposal vest.. it’s armored, for sure, but it allows plenty of range of motion, with a level of protection he might need just in case one of his bombs blows up in his face. It’s bulky and armored, sure, but I think it looks awesome, and that’s really all I can ask. The layered pouches and dinged up armor plate add some great versatility and character to his look, while his shoulders and hips remain fully poseable.
DESIGN
Head-to-toe, Firefly feels like a terrific evolution from his vintage aesthetic. I am absolutely in love with the head sculpt, the angry sneer, the hint of some sort of scarring, the layered fabric balaclava with a mix of standard gray and camouflage. It all looks terrific.
Beneath the armored vest, his gray camouflage is done amazingly well, given off a real urban camouflage aesthetic. I think most folks can tell that the underlying figure belongs to the previous COBRA Island iteration of Beachhead, with the commando-sweater style sculpt on the chest and arms, which suits Firefly to perfection.
As all the G.I. Joe: Classified figures are, the articulation, smoothness of joints and range of motion is simply fantastic, allowing Firefly to drop into all manner of great poses, either for firing, sabotaging, or whatever else you have in mind.
The sculpted texture really stands out at the larger scale as we see several different styles of “fabric” on his arms and his legs (not to mention the armored vest). The result is a figure that, although is colored mainly in different shades of gray, really has some unique styling that takes a timeless character and infuses him with great modern styling.
If I have any complaints, I’m not a huge fan of the weird texture on the boots, I’m not entirely sure what Hasbro was going for either here or with Beachhead originally, but that seems like an odd, relatively minor quibble.
ARTICULATION
As I already touched on, Firefly has terrific articulation, even with the large vest he wears on his torso. His shoulders can still move thanks to flexible shoulder pads, and even with the front and back flap of the armored vest, his hip movements aren’t hindered in the least.
Firefly has double joints pretty much everywhere, allowing for fantastic poses and firing movements, making him a really great toy to either play with or pose. Certainly the vest hinders his ab crunch somewhat, but it’s not like someone wearing that vest would be able to bend fully over in real life either.
G.I. Joe has always revolutionized articulation, even from its 1960’s roots, and while the Classified line certainly borrows from Marvel Legends, I think it still takes things to a new level, really blending the articulation with the sculpting to the highest possible benefit.
ACCESSORIES
So here’s another double-edged sword.
Firefly is both made and broken by his accessories, and in my opinion there is so much more good than bad. I’ve already talked about his vest, which isn’t so much an accessory as it is a part of him, but there are other pluses and minuses as well.
Firefly comes with a backpack, a bundle of old school TNT, a tablet control, a drone, night vision goggles, and a pistol. What truly continues to amaze me is the way the G.I. Joe: Classified design team goes above and beyond to make all of the accessories fit on the figure. The tablet control fits into the backpack while the drone connects to the top and the bomb connects to the bottom, all while Firefly holds the pistol and wears the night vision goggles.
The interactivity of these accessories is truly awesome and does a terrific job bringing the character to life. Many complaints that I heard throughout the modern era of G.I. Joe was that in many cases the weapons compliment felt just sort of thrown in. Everyone just came with a bunch of weapons, there wasn’t much uniqueness there.
That all changes here. Firefly comes with gear that feels truly uniquely his (though I wouldn’t be surprised to see it repurposed elsewhere at some point). The fact that he can control the drone with his tablet, pull the goggles over his eyes, etc… is all so great and gives him a wealth of “play value” even though people tell me I’m too old to play with my toys.
That being said, I’m not a huge fan of the pistol he comes with. I’m pretty forgiving with the “future tech” style weapons, but Firefly’s is just sort of– I dunno. It really does nothing for me.
PRESENTATION
As I continue to say with each of these reviews– the presentation is truly striking. At first the idea of multiple artists felt a little off. But Hasbro has proven me wrong time and time again and Firefly is no different.
CONCLUSION
Yes, the fact that this figure is only available in limited quantities at Target is frustrating. Believe me, I know. I don’t even have a local Target to shop at.
That being said thanks to the kindness of friends in the G.I. Joe community, I’ve had no issues getting every figure I’ve wanted from this line so far, and I’m thrilled for that. Firefly is yet another fantastic update and upgrade to the classic version who manages to look very much like his old school rendition, but with just the right modern updates.
Bulky tactical vest or no, I LOVE this figure. He’s versatile, fun to play with and makes a great addition to my growing COBRA roster.
General Gallery
G.I. Joe Classified Firefly (Special Mission: COBRA Island)
Sculpting
Paint Applications
Articulation
Accessories
4.4
Summary
This version of Firefly is a terrific update from the original. I truly love his accessories and the sculpting, and while the paint applications feel pretty straight forward and not especially risk-taking, they work for the character. Wish he had a better pistol.
Pros
– Great sculpting and parts use
– Fun accessory compliment
– Head sculpt full of character
Cons
– Target Exclusive
– Not a huge fan of his pistol
– If you do remove his vest, paint apps are lacking
The last year or so has simultaneously felt eternal and like one long blur of machine gun events that, in retrospect, seem to be the stuff of pulp novels. I should know, I write them for a living (among other things).
It seems only fitting, in times like this, pulled from the pages of some of those timeless serials, that two characters should come to life thanks to the toy design wizards at Boss Fight Studio. The small toy studio, which catapulted itself into existence thanks to one of the most successful action figure Kickstarters of all time stunned the pop culture world when they announced that they acquired the license to produce toys for several brands from King Features, including Zorro, Flash Gordon, Tarzan and The Phantom. Releasing them under a new “Hero HACKS” banner, the figures would be 1:18 scale and be fully compatible with their existing Vitruvian H.A.C.K.S. action figure line, which was already wow’ing collectors with their Greek Mythology and Fantasy based figures.
Built with articulation and customizability in mind (hence the “A” and the “C” of the H.A.C.K.S. moniker) these figures have been a hit throughout the collecting community and now, some famous licensed characters would be joining them.
In short, these figures are just what we wanted and more.
I haven’t necessarily been a massive fan of these characters throughout my comic and toy collecting fandom, but I can certainly appreciate the timeless nature of these infamous brands. One of the best things about the Vitruvian H.A.C.K.S. universe is that it’s built around the concept of an unreliable time stream which crosses through era’s and universes, giving collectors the opportunity to let their imaginations run wild.
That just happens to fit in perfectly with the acquisition of these brands– in my little H.A.C.K.S.verse, the corrupt timestream has dragged many of these warriors into its muddy waters and now Zorro and Flash Gordon have joined Leonidas, Stonefist, the Knights of the Accord and Q’al Varis in a desperate attempt to save the timestream from Medusa and her sinister sisters. It’s a battle for the ages– quite literally.
It certainly helps that these figures are fantastic. The standard release Zorro and the Zorro that comes with Tornado are both built of the same cloth, but each with some unique twists. Single pack Zorro comes with a terrific secondary head, while the one with Tornado has a cloth cape — the easier to mount a horse with.
Articulation and poseability remain top notch, and the sculpting is simply perfect, bringing these characters to three dimensional life. The H.A.C.K.S. figure system is fully intact and functional, and I can just imagine how much potential there will be for future figures, not just from these two universes, but beyond.
Tornado should look familiar to anyone who backed the Mighty Steeds Kickstarter and is just another example of how smartly Boss Fight Studio is approaching their selection of tooling and licenses. The cross-purposes for so many parts and pieces helps them get some much needed mileage out of their expensive tooling, yet manages to bring exciting new things to the table with each iteration.
Flash Gordon is a relatively straight forward release, a football player in a t-shirt and pants, but he manages to greatly resemble the movie version of the character. So much so that the Queen theme song seems to play somewhere in the distance every time I play and pose this figure.
This movie version of the character comes with an awesome metallic lunchbox, something that is becoming a Boss Fight Studio staple (Bucky O’Hare’s Deadeye Duck and Leonidas both graced lunchboxes in the past). The head sculpts are where this figure really shines, however, with three different iterations of the actor’s likeness. Once again, I can see Flash Gordon leaping from the timestream, egg-shaped artifact in hand, ready to throw down with some Gorgons, awesomely hokey orchestra music playing in the background.
Add that to the fact that he’s got alternate hands, including closed fists, and Flash Gordon is ready to throw haymakers.
And again– the customization options are fantastic, especially with Series Z right around the corner.
Each of these figures is now available at BossFightShop.com and honestly, they are among the best 1:18 scale figures for your money. Hero H.A.C.K.S. just blew the doors wide open, not just in this world, but in the collecting world in general. This is just the beginning, and as the saying goes — there are no limits!
I sit here, excitedly on the verge of PulseCon 2020, eagerly awaiting G.I. Joe news this weekend and have finally gotten some time to post updated reviews of G.I. Joe: Classified.
Wave 2 is my next target, featuring Gung Ho, COBRA Commander and Red Ninja! Another solid wave of fun figures with classic twists and awesome modernization. It seems like each figure is just furthering my love of this line, and something tells me that will only increase with whatever reveals we might see this weekend.
Once again a really fun time to be a G.I. Joe fan!
G.I. Joe: Classified has really endeavored, in it’s relatively short history, to try and walk that line between classic familiarity and new, modern elements. Gung Ho is a great example of how they try and marry those two different era’s.
Early artwork for Gung Ho on the back of the package indicated that Gung Ho might actually have a shirt. At the end of the day, Hasbro went with the more familiar open-vest concept, which has created its own share of disruption among the fandom.
At the end of the day, I think fans need to accept that while these Classified iterations are certainly inspired by classic characters, they’re not necessarily designed to be exact replications of those older school characters. During my reviews of these figures, I’m going to endeavor to measure them on their own merit and not necessarily in comparison to the character’s history.
Gung Ho is a perfect example of why I want to take that approach. It would be easy to rail on this figure because he doesn’t have the right tattoo (the USMC logo is now copyrighted..) or that he’s got the wrong hat (he’s not wearing a Marine cover as the old figure was) but at the end of the day do either of these things impact the overall coolness of this action figure?
Maybe. But not in the ways you might expect.
DESIGN
From a pure “coolness” standpoint, Gung Ho is fantastic. In my mind, he’s almost the perfect blend of classic inspiration and modernized enhancements, with his open vest being layered with some great plate armor to give the figure a more 21st Century feel.
Grenades are on his shoulder strap, and while the base figure for Gung Ho is essentially Roadblock, there is some terrific additions that make this figure stand out. This is a perfect reason why using the rubber secondaries on top of the base figures is such a terrific formula.
First of all, the new head sculpt obviously goes a very long way to take this familiar base figure and give him a more Gung Ho look and feel. The high and tight haircut, the mustache and the determined scowl on his face are all great additions that manage to immediately separate this figure from the previous Roadblock version(s).
The familiar hat is removable here, which is a nice touch, too, even if technically the hat he wears is not a Marine hat.
The rest of the figure is nicely adorned with some of those additional secondaries I mentioned above. Many of these secondaries were also used on the COBRA Island Roadblock, so there’s some great consistency, but also a nice variation here as well. The wrist communicator especially is very cool, and the grenade strap on his thigh (on the opposite thigh compared to Roadblock) add great variation. I also really love the removable elbow pad on his left elbow.
One complaint folks have also had is with his tattoo. Understanding that the familiar USMC logo is now copyrighted and unable to be used on the figure, I think they could have done a bit of a better job on the tattoo, though this one doesn’t bother me too much.
I love the color scheme on this figure, too. Where many of the first releases had some bright, gold armor and some vibrant colors that many folks found jarring, Gung Ho is very muted and subtle, with some great camouflage on the legs and more blacks and metallics, making the figure feel a bit more real world and less “video gamey” than some previous releases.
From a design perspective, Gung Ho is an absolute home run.
ARTICULATION
Gung Ho’s articulation is spectacular. Using the larger figure buck, he feels solid and rugged, but retains exceptional range of motion. The open vest retains the chest crunch, and he has the same double jointed knees and elbows as other figures, the rocker ankles, swivel wrists and ball joint shoulders as well as the multi -jointed neck and head.
There is so much to love about this figure, and the articulation is a big source of my satisfaction with Gung Ho.
ACCESSORIES
As great as the Classified line has already been, the biggest prevailing argument among fans is certainly focused on the weapons. There is a delicate line to walk between real world weapons, which might be frowned upon by retailers and buyers these days, and more sci-fi weapons that are more easy to explain away as fantasy.
The challenge comes in finding that right balance. Hasbro has struggled with this with some figures (see Roadblock) but has done fantastic work with others (see Duke). I’m happy to say Gung Ho leans far more towards Duke than he does Roadblock.
His three weapons would never be mistaken for anything real world, but do resemble those real world weapons, even if they are based somewhat on some of the Nerf gear Hasbro sells. The three weapons resemble a shotgun, a bullpup style rifle and what looks like an automatic style grenade launcher, which is a great tie-in to his vintage version who was well known for his own grenade launcher.
Along with the weapons, he’s got a backpack with places to store the guns, which is something Classified has done very well along the way, having an available spot to store all of the various gear. Lastly, I suppose you could also consider the removable hat as an accessory as well.
All things considered, I really like Gung Ho’s accessory compliment. A great blend of sci-fi and real world and some just plain fun weapons to boot.
PRESENTATION
Like the other figures in the Classified line, Gung Ho has some terrific and unique packaging art, this time courtesy of James Paick who does a really great job blending real world military with the future sci-fi artwork. Gotta love the Mamba in the background as well. Great stuff.
CONCLUSION
The moment I saw initial images for this Gung Ho figure, I was digging it. I really love the layered armor vest, the removable hat, the weapons, and just the overall look and feel of the figure.
No, he’s not powder blue, and no, his hat isn’t 100% accurate to Marine standards, but the figure is a whole lot of fun and has some terrific gear and makes for a nearly perfect addition to the G.I. Joe: Classified roster.
General Gallery
G.I. Joe Classified Gung Ho
Sculpting
Paint Applications
Articulation
Accessories
4.6
Summary
Terrific figure. Takes the spirit of the original and adds so many neat, new twists that I just can’t help but love the end result. One of my favorite Classified figures so far.
Pros
– Larger Buck serves the character well
– Removable hat and accessories blend fantasy and realism well
– Great paint deco
Cons
– The tattoo could be better (or give him a shirt!)
– The hat doesn’t bug me, but I understand why folks don’t like it
