G.I. Joe: Classified – Beachhead (Special Mission: COBRA Island)

by generalsjoes | Aug 20, 2020 | G.I. Joe Classified 6" Line, review-no-frontpage

If you’d asked me if we’d get a six inch version of Beachhead before, say Flint, Zartan, Storm Shadow, or any other countless characters, I would have said you were crazy. Yet here we are, and not only did Hasbro give us a Beachhead, but they gave us a fantastic one.

Granted he’s not going to be an easy one to find. Like the COBRA Trooper and Roadblock, Beachhead is currently available as part of a Special Missions: COBRA Island exclusively available at Target, and by “available” I mean unavailable, because he flies from pegs nearly immediately and is only available online for milliseconds before being snatched up by eager fingers.

But like I said with the COBRA Trooper I’m going to try not to focus on availability issues and just focus on the quality of the figure itself, and there is a lot to focus on there, because Beachhead is flipping awesome.

Beachhead is one of those characters who seems somewhat on the fringe. He doesn’t crack anyone’s Top 10, yet he somehow ends up released in each iteration of the G.I. Joe brand, being a mainstay in the 80’s, in the new sculpt era (in Joe Vs Cobra and Valor vs Venom), Rise of COBRA, Pursuit of COBRA, G.I. Joe: Resolute, 25th anniversary, Sideshow Collectibles, the list goes on and on. Suddenly, over the years, a somewhat fringe character has amassed nearly twenty different figures. So, I suppose it shouldn’t come as so much of a surprise that he’d make an appearance early on in the Classified line, too.

From my personal perspective, Beachhead never really appeared high up in my list of favorite Joes, though I can’t really explain why. Perhaps it was because he was such a dick in the Sunbow animated series, but to the cartoon’s credit, at least he had a great, distinctive personality beyond being a cookie cutter “hero”. However, while I’ve never been especially attached to the character, the figures have, more or less, been pretty good.

So, it comes as no surprise again, that the Classified version maintains that level of quality. Actually, in some ways, it surpasses it.

DESIGN

Beachhead, one of the Army Rangers of the G.I. Joe team and looks every inch a bad-ass commando in this version of the figure. The textured sculpting throughout really brings a certain style to Beachhead, from his knit facemask to his commando-style sweater, military pants, kneepads and shin guards. Unlike some of the earlier Classified figures, his colors are a lot more muted and understated, the protective gear more slim fit and less conspicuous than the pseudo-futuristic armor of some of his squad mates.

I continue to rave about the six inch scale, especally focusing on how much more detailed they can make the sculpts. Don’t get me wrong, I still love my 1:18 stuff, but looking at the layered textures of Beachhead’s sweater, the intricate fabric texture of his pants and the layered protective gear, it’s hard not to be infatuated with what’s possible at this larger scale.

I find myself really enjoying the layered secondaries as well. The vest, the holster, the magazines on his left thigh, as well as the knife sheath on his leg, wrapped over his shin guards. Including all of these various items that can be swapped out adds awesome layers of customizability and variation.

In fact, it wasn’t until I got Gung Ho in hand that I realized some of the cooler parts of the COBRA Island Roadblock (his grenades and wrist communicator) had actually been carried over from Gung Ho.

I’ve seen some complaints out there about the lack of a removable vest (well, technically Beachhead’s vest is removable, you just need to figure out how to take it off) but I actually don’t have an issue with that. As cool as some of the removable gear was for the 25th Anniversary figures, in most cases the fasteners got warped and wouldn’t fit, or the seam was so visible that aesthetically they just didn’t look right.

Doing it like they do it with G.I. Joe: Classified gives the opportunity to mix and match parts for other figures, and in a pinch you can customize if you really want to, but it also is much more aesthetically pleasing.

Speaking of the vest, Beachhead’s is not a direct translation of his vintage version, but a more modern, more tactical looking vest layered with great pouches, buckles and seams. It works really well.

Overall, Beachhead’s design is nicely reminiscent of the vintage version, but thanks to a larger canvas to work with, the detailed texture work truly brings the design to new and exciting life. The color scheme is great, with a somewhat muted (yet vibrant) green base color from the waist up, brown pants, and a nice mix of different shades reflecting the different textures in the uniform.

It should be noted that people are reporting a variation in Beachhead’s eye colors (some brown vs some blue), though I have not seen this variation in person.

ARTICULATION

As with the other Classified offerings, Beachhead’s articulation is just about flawless. The design of his vest is slim and close to the shoulder enough that it doesn’t hinder his arm movements, and while, of course, his chest articulation is negated by the vest, I don’t feel that it significanly impacts the different poses that he can achieve.

He’s got double jointed elbows and knees, rocker ankles, a double jointed neck, ball-joint drop hips, ball joint shoulders and the jointed wrists which allow some awesome flexibility in stance or pose. He’s well balanced and has been able to maintain nearly every battle pose I’ve put him in.

ACCESSORIES

Beachhead’s accessories are nearly perfect.

Nearly.

The constant complaint among many Joe fans right now has to do with the various weapons these figures come with, especially the lack of “real-world” military gear. Beachhead certainly doesn’t come with real-life weapons either, but Hasbro does a good job of designing a futuristic assault rifle that still has some threads that feel like they could exist in real life. Interestingly, Hasbro has been including Nerf designs in these figures and while many fans bemoan and roll their eyes at this, I actually think it’s a pretty neat crossover, and especially in the case of Beachhead, I find that the rifle actually looks really awesome, even if it’s not the least bit real.

Along with the rifle, Beachhead comes with a pistol and knife, each of which fit into his leg holster and sheath seamlessly. I believe the pistol is the same one that Duke comes with and I love it’s pseudo-real look as well. Clearly it’s not authentic, but it can at least pass for authentic.

In what I think is one of the most clever aspects of his accessory compliment, the Army Ranger comes with his familiar backpack and crossbow, only unlike the vintage version, this crossbow is removable and is able to be held by the figure. Love it. To be fair, the 25th Anniversary line did this as well, but at this larger scale, the weapon feels like a real weapon for the figure and not just a removable part destined to be lost.

Finally, Beachhead comes with a removable beret. I’ve seen a lot of complaints about this, which is really bizarre. First and foremost, the vintage version had a beret sculpted into a strap on his shoulder, so it’s not like there’s no prescedent for this. Secondly, it’s a Ranger beret and Beachhead is a Ranger, and after all the complaints about Gung Ho’s hat not being 100% accurate, I have no idea why people are rolling their eyes at this. And, of course– THE BERET IS REMOVABLE. If you don’t like it, take it off and forget about it.

If I have any complaints about the accessories, I do wish the weapons were a bit more realistically colored. The single-hued green isn’t working for me and I think Hasbro did their weapons a disservice by not adding more paint applications. I don’t blame them, I know they’re working under budget constraints, but that would have been a cool touch.

PRESENTATION

I find that one of the highlights of getting each of these figures in hand is just taking a moment to enjoy the packaging. Each character has their own individual art and look and Beachhead is no exception with some fantastic, unique artwork by Ashley Witter Maczko. It really does add something nice to the presentation of the figure and I think it was a great touch by Hasbro.

CONCLUSION

Like the COBRA Trooper, Beachhead provides a very mixed feeling for me. The figure is fantastic. Great sculpting, impressive articulation and a high quality assortment of functional accessories. I did promise not to get too deep into the Target bashing weeds, but the fact remains that this figure is terrific, yet also nearly impossible to acquire at retail which is a shame.

General Gallery

G.I. Joe: Classified – COBRA Trooper (Special Mission: COBRA Island)

by generalsjoes | Aug 20, 2020 | G.I. Joe Classified 6" Line, review-no-frontpage

Toy designers and movie producers take note, because Hasbro (with huge credit to Boss Fight Studio’s Fred Aczon) are putting on a master class on how to take an old school concept and crank it up for modern audiences. The G.I. Joe: Classified COBRA Trooper is simply fantastic.

Of course the beauty and flawless execution of the COBRA Trooper only makes its relative rarity through the Target stores all the more frustrating, but I’ll try and tamper that grousing because this review should celebrate the excellence of the figure’s execution and not the rage at a logistical failure of not making it actually available for the mass audience to purchase.

Putting all of those complaints about Target exclusivity and their inability to figure out where and how to sell these things aside, how does this figure stack up?

Absolutely amazing, that’s how.

G.I. Joe has always had a fascinating conundrum. Emerging at a unique time in history, the Real American Hero line seemed to be the perfect storm in the 1980’s. A popular toyline, popular comic and popular animated series all coalesced into a truly industry-defining merchandising behemoth that ran for twelve years, leading retail sales for many of those years.

But the world has changed since the 1980’s and in many cases, G.I. Joe has struggled to evolve, trying to walk a line between science fiction fantasy and military realism. Not only that, but many of A Real American Hero’s most staunch supporters were children of the 80’s who want today’s figures to exactly mirror their memories. The only problem with that, is that re-making toys that match 40-something year old memories may not be a recipe for retail success. So what can Hasbro do? Cater to their existing fanbase (which shrinks year over year) or try and redefine what G.I. Joe is, in an attempt to capture a fresher audience?

It’s become abundantly clear over the past few months that Hasbro is trying to do a little bit of both, though they are certainly not shying away from doing something new and different.

I’m totally cool with that.

And if you need to wonder why I’m okay with that, look no further than the COBRA Trooper.

DESIGN

In the 80’s (and especially the early 80’s) the COBRA Troopers were the backbone of the COBRA organization. They were the faceless and the nameless, the legions of faithful that would follow COBRA Commander into death if that’s what he asked them to do. But looking back at them now, they were essentially dudes in blue pajamas with masks and helmets. Don’t get me wrong, I love ’em, but at the same time, clearly that look and feel wasn’t going to fly in 2020.

What Hasbro has done with this Trooper is pretty much taken the overall feel of the classic and added all the right modern and sci-fi touches to give us an exceptionally cool looking COBRA foot soldier that maintains the perfect callbacks to the old school 80’s.

His blue uniform is clearly more tactically oriented now and instead of glorified black suspenders, he has an immaculately detailed tactical vest with pouches, holsters and sheaths to carry every one of his various weapons he comes with.

Where the original COBRA Trooper had a simple cloth black mask, this version has an elaborately sculpted facemask with what appears to be a built-in breathing apparatus. Many eagle-eyed Joe fans have noticed that his head resembles the head of some concept artwork for Storm Shadow, so many are wondering if we’ll see this part used again at some point. Along with the newly sculpted facemask, there are removable goggles that fit beautifully over his eyes and even have some trademark verticle slits, just like an actual snake.

Those little details are crammed throughout this figure and they are so well done.

Along with the gorgeous vest and amazing head sculpt, this updated COBRA Trooper is littered with more modern defensive armor on his arms and lower legs, angular shaped, and even has raised COBRA logo’s on his armored gloves.

Beneath the armor is an awesome looking blue uniform and the vast amount of different textures used within the sculpt is a testament to the amazing ability of Fred Aczon, who is an absolute wizard when it comes to sculpting action figures. I cannot find a single flaw with this figure from a sculpting perspective and I couldn’t be happier that Fred is involved in a six inch G.I. Joe line, which I know has been a long time dream of his.

ARTICULATION

Just incredible. In spite of the layered armor and intricate textures, the COBRA Trooper is amazingly well articulated, maintaining the right balance of movement versus sculpt. Double jointed elbows and knees, rocker ankles, nicely articulated neck and shoulders– pretty much any pose you can think to put this figure in, he can achieve and the vest is designed in such a way that it pretty much steers clear of impeding his movements.

Again, the six inch scale truly opens the door for some of this impressive articulation and posing this figure for pictures was an absolute joy.

ACCESSORIES

Once again we come upon the eternal question on the lips of G.I. Joe fans everywhere. “WHEREZ THE AK 47?”

Honestly? What I really care about is that these guys have cool weapons. Whether they fire bullets, grenades, buckshot, or pulsing energy beams, I just want weapons that look neat and are functional, and this figure comes with a nice assortment of them. No, they do not look like realistic weapons, not even the least bit, but unlike the rail gun that Roadblock comes with, they still look great and seem to at least have some basis in reality.

And yes, as many fans have pointed out, they are very much based on Hasbro’s arsenal of NERF guns, and like I’ve said elsewhere, I’m okay with that. There are so many six inch lines out there and any number of places to buy 1:12 scale weapons, it’s relatively easy to give this guy a real world gun if you so choose. I’ve always maintained that I LOVE a healthy mix of science-fiction in my G.I. Joe toys, and the weapons here fit the bill.

He’s got a long range sniper rifle, a more compact rifle, two pistols, a knife, a removable helmet, goggles, and a neat looking arm band for some added flexibility with your growing army of COBRA Troopers.

Well– they would be growing if you could actually BUY them, but — I digress,

Another awesome thing? He can store every weapon on him. Two holsters, a knife sheath and holes in the back of his vest for his two rifles give him the ability to stash all of his weapons away, which is a really awesome touch.

PRESENTATION

Another figure, another amazing piece of custom art by a fantastic artist. This time around it’s Kekai Kotaki and his art perfectly encapsulates the encroaching evil and menace of the COBRA horde. Simply breathtaking.

CONCLUSION

How can a single figure bring me so much joy, yet so much relentless frustration all at once? Not only is this figure a Target exclusive that is nearly impossible to obtain for retail prices, not only is he an army builder, but he is the BACKBONE OF THE ENTIRE COBRA ORGANIZATION.

And he’s only available at Target.

Except when he’s NOT actually available at Target.

Sigh.

Anyway. This COBRA Trooper is a nearly flawless evolution of the familiar blueshirts from our past and does all of the right things to jettison that archaic archetype into the 21st Century. He looks threatening, imposing and just plain cool and I want a freaking army of them.

PLEASE LET ME BUY MANY OF THESE. SOMEONE. ANYONE.

General Gallery

G.I. Joe: Classified – Roadblock (Special Mission: COBRA Island)

by generalsjoes | Aug 7, 2020 | G.I. Joe Classified 6" Line, review-no-frontpage

Granted, it’s still very early in the G.I. Joe: Classified line, but I’m finding it pretty awesome that there are already just as many versions of Roadblock as there are of Snake Eyes. Give it time… I have no doubt that will change.

It’s been fascinating seeing the evolution of G.I. Joe: Classified over the past six months, going from whispered rumors, to sneak peeks, to Deluxe Snake Eyes blowing peoples doors off. What I found interesting upon initial reveal was just how lukewarm so much of the Joe community was at first. Six inches wasn’t their scale, the figures weren’t strictly based on classic designs, etc…

Fast forward a few months and suddenly everyone and their brother is waiting in an hour-long line outside of Target before they open just for a small sliver of a chance to buy some of these figures. Scalper bots are clearing them out before normal collectors can even add them to carts and the furor seems to have reached a fever pitch.

As I write this, I have been watching friends from afar, quietly jealous that they actually have the ability to walk into Target and search, even if they’re not having much luck. I don’t have any Targets near me, but thanks to some great friends, I’ve still managed to get caught up. Now I just need to figure out how to get me a small squad of Troopers…

But I gotta save that “Trooper” talk for a different review. I’m here to talk about Roadblock.

I think it’s safe to say the revelation of the Special Mission: COBRA Island series took everyone by surprise. They dropped suddenly one random night and my Facebook feed was suddenly inundated. But for everyone raving about the COBRA Trooper, Beachhead and the Baroness, they were clearly turning their nose up at Roadblock, and in many cases writing him off as “Heavy Duty” instead.

I can understand. Beachhead is a new character with some great new tooling, COBRA Trooper is a highly desirable army builder (and looks bad ass to boot), and of course The Baroness– well, she’s The Baroness. Roadblock does seem like the odd man out.

In spite of that, I think he has some great redeeming qualities and truly goes above and beyond a mere “repaint” or “rehash”. Already I see G.I. Joe: Classified doing something that I really loved about Sigma 6. Feeding us secondary versions of existing characters, but giving them life in new and interesting ways. They definitely did that with Roadblock.

DESIGN

First of all, the design. Okay, I admit, Roadblock is nothing special. He’s a guy wearing a t-shirt and bandana, evidently caught behind enemy lines after spending a little too much time on COBRA Island. On the surface, nothing really to write home about.

But, they do some really fun things. First and foremost, obviously, is his new head sculpt. The basic facial features for Roadblock look the same beneath that bushy beard and bandana, but he has a very gruff look about him, looking like a special forces operator who has been in the wilderness for a long time. The sculpted earpiece communicator is a great touch and those removable sunglasses? Chef’s kiss.

Another benefit to this larger scale is that Hasbro can make pretty seamless secondaries that replace existing parts and look like they were made for the figure. This version of Roadblock has a great forearm guard on his right arm, and a thigh pad full of grenades, neither of which were included on the first figure.

Judging by images of the upcoming Gung Ho, these are both removable parts included with that figure, which is an aspect of this line that I love.

This is cool in two different ways — it adds variety to this second version of the figure, but also allows for removal of some of these pieces for a “mix and match” to make customs or otherwise enhance the character.

I will admit, I’m not especially fond of the t-shirt design, though I can see it being a pretty straight forward night camouflage pattern with the G.I. Joe star and stripe as a familiar (yet somewhat non-descript) logo. This version of Roadblock clearly is one designed to operate at night, with the colors being primarily dark, his black shirt, gray camouflage and gray pants giving him a nice covert operations feel.

That being said, the figure does feel just a little bland without a cool tactical vest or other accoutrements. Tough to complain too much, though, even with a basic design, the sculpting and nice new flair for these other additional parts and pieces makes up for it, and to be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of the first Roadblock’s clunky vest anyway.

ARTICULATION

This base figure is the same as Roadblock v1, so the articulation is the same as well. That’s to say, it’s pretty amazing. Double jointed elbows, knees and neck, almost flawless balance, great range of motion, and the larger “buck” immediately makes this guy feel solid, poseable and “playable” which I know isn’t something most grown up Joe Fans care about, but dammit I do.

Say what you will about the six inch scale, but it really feels like designing at this larger size allows for a lot more experimentation with deeper articulation cuts, and the end result is a figure that manages to look fantastic, but is exceptionally poseable at the same time.

ACCESSORIES

This is kind of a bummer. I would have loved to have seen them give Roadblock a nice new, bad-ass heavy weapon (it doesn’t even need to be a machine gun, just something different). Instead, we get the same sorta clunky rail gun over again, which doesn’t provide much excitement. I like the new colors and the “Broiler” stencil is a great touch.

At least we’ve got the removable sunglasses which puts a little more shine on this. They’re a tiny part of the overall aesthetic, of course, but one of the neat benefits of these larger scale figures.

PRESENTATION

Like the previous figures, Hasbro does fantastic work bringing in professional artists to really give the package a unique (yet cohesive) feel. Ken Lashey’s art is really awesome, very “comic book” and oozes with personality on the front and side of the box.

With these COBRA Island figures, they’ve also included a really awesome map of “COBRA Island” on the back of the package which is chock full of really cool imagery and details. You can see the numbering scheme here, as well, and if you want a better idea of exactly which figures belong to which numbers, check out my G.I. Joe: Classified SuperPage.

CONCLUSION

Look… I won’t lie. These Target exclusives have been a pain in my ass. The initial pre-order online blasted out before anyone even got an item added to their cart, and watching the stories of many of my fellow collectors struggling to figure out which stores have them in stock, and even if the stores have them in stock, which ones will sell to them– this isn’t a fun way to collect.

As I write this, Hasbro claims Target will be putting the assortment back up for sale on August 14th (yes I wrote this review a while ago, although it’s just getting posted now, closer to late August), though the question remains as to whether or not anyone will be able to buy those either, or if the scalper bots will clear inventory just as quickly as the first time (spoiler alert – the bots won).

I seriously hope Hasbro (and Target) are taking steps to try and fix this, because they are taking a fun hobby and making it stressful, which is the last thing anyone needs considering what’s going on in the world these days.

BUT I am fortunate. I have some really good friends who have been willing to help me out, and I cannot thank them enough. You guys know who you are, and know that I appreciate the help!

All that being said, Roadblock is a fun figure, though certainly not a “must have” and definitely not the highlight of the COBRA Island assortment. I absolutely love his head sculpt and the removable sunglasses, though the rest of him feels a little bland and uninteresting compared to these others.

General Gallery