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

G.I. Joe: Classified – Duke

by generalsjoes | May 29, 2020 | G.I. Joe Classified 6" Line, review-no-frontpage

Remember a few years ago, in the aftermath of G.I. Joe: Retaliation when the Joe fandom wondered if the time had really come for Hasbro to move away from Duke as a focal character of the G.I. Joe mythology?

Never really happened. One look at G.I. Joe: Classified certainly indicates that Duke is still the man in charge, and he’s also the cream of the crop for figures in the inaugural wave of this new scale.

I think it’s safe to say that Hasbro was trying to accomplish several different things with G.I. Joe: Classified.

• They’re taking inspiration and influence from the Real American Hero mythology
  
• They’re adding a few modern touches to try and bring G.I. Joe forward into the future
  
• They’re steering clear from the hyper-real military weaponry in an attempt to appeal to mass retail

With each of the first few figures in this line, they’ve had mixed results combining all of these goals. With Duke they’ve managed them all to near perfection.

Duke really does encompass the best of what this line can be at a six inch scale, and manages to take a character that we’ve all gotten inundated with over the years and make him a very cool, highly desirable six inch figure that brings some great things to the table.

DESIGN

Design-wise, Duke is just about perfect. He clearly takes inspiration from his first appearance in 1983 with the tan button-up shirt and green pants, but this figure adds some great darker colors on the shirt in the way of stitched padding throughout the sleeves and shoulders as well as silver elbow pads.

The green is darker than the original inspiration and looks a bit richer in tone and I really love the “cloth” texture of his pants. His head sculpt is terrific, with a ton of character, and the scar above his right eye looks really great.

There’s a surprising amount of variation in the colors as well. His pants are a different color than his bandolier and his bandolier matches the pouches on his belt and holster, all of which ties several of these different hues together into one really nicely cohesive package.

Duke’s got kneepads and a holster for his pistol, with a hole on the rear of his belt to hold his binoculars. He is crammed full of character, is immediately recognizable, yet brings a lot of modernization to the design.

I know a lot of people have had issues with some of the brighter gold colors, not to mention the heavier armor sprinkled throughout these figures, especially in the case of Roadblock (and in some cases Scarlett). I think the armor is done really well for Duke, the gold on his lower legs toned down, while his elbow and kneepads are sculpted very close to the body and don’t detract from the overall design.

Personally, I’m fine with adding some of these pseudo-sci-fi elements, G.I. Joe has always had them, and Duke is as close to perfect as it gets with these combined aesthetics.

ARTICULATION

Like Snake Eyes, Duke is absolutely loaded with functional articulation which enables a plethora of great poses. The multi-jointed neck, the butterfly shoulders, ab crunch, ball joint waist, drop down hips, double joints at the knees and elbows, not to mention the rocker ankles– Duke can get in pretty much any pose you come up with and I couldn’t be happier.

Especially for G.I. Joe, articulation is key. It’s always been a hallmark of the Joes, ever since the 12″ figure’s debut in the 1960’s. With few exceptions, Hasbro has made sure to maintain state of the art articulation all the way through, and the G.I. Joe: Classified line has that in spades.

ACCESSORIES

A sore spot throughout many of the G.I. Joe: Classified figures, the accessory compliment is another thing that Duke does right. While it’s very clear that his weapons are not traditional military, they still have that sort of aesthetic, which is a big bonus over other figures in this first wave.

One look at the neon blue elements of the rifle tells you that it doesn’t fire bullets, but it’s still a very cool looking weapon, which should be all that matters.

He’s got his trusty backpack with embedded shovel, pistol with holster, and binoculars, a really awesome call back to the vintage figure, who came with all of these same accessories. He looks fntastic all geared up and has a place to store everything (as long as he holds his rifle in his hands), which is very cool indeed.

Great job covering all bases with this one.

PRESENTATION

More unique art that separates Duke from the rest, but looks really good on its own. You have to wonder if at some point they’ll shoot for more unification across the different figures, but for now, I’m really enjoying the more artistic look by leveraging different style artists for the different figures. Gives them a bit of a more “high end” collector feel.

CONCLUSION

It’s been a long time since I was really fired up about a Duke figure, but this version of the character is a highlight in the first wave of G.I. Joe: Classified figures. Just getting my hands on this guy has made me long to see some other stalwart characters like Major Bludd, Zartan, or Flint. After all, if this is even close to what Hasbro is capable of, we could be in for a lot of fun over the next couple of years (and hopefully longer!)

General Gallery

Group Shots

The Capture of Destro

G.I. Joe: Classified – Destro

by generalsjoes | May 28, 2020 | G.I. Joe Classified 6" Line, review-no-frontpage

When images of these new G.I. Joe: Classified figures were first getting released, the prevailing opinion among the G.I. Joe community seemed to be that they liked them, but also wondered why we weren’t just getting upscaled versions of our vintage favorites.

Personally, I’m thrilled that Hasbro decided not to do that, and I’ve been relatively pleased with the changes they’ve made thus far. However, one figure that appears to have leaned very close to their vintage appearance is Destro.

The question is, was that a good or bad thing? As I said above, I much prefer a more modern reinterpretation, and some of my favorite figures throughout the line are ones that went a different direction than the familiar appearance everyone is accustomed to.

So what about Destro? In some ways I’m almost disappointed that they leaned so heavy into his vintage look. Destro is a character rife with possibilities and as I said, some of my favorite versions of the character are ones that didn’t align with popular appearance. City Strike Destro, Resolute Destro, Sigma 6, and Spy Troops were all versions of the character that brought really new things to the table in exciting ways.

This figure chooses the familiar, but manages to work in enough modern touches to still make it feel new.

One look at this figure and you know exactly who it is, he has all the hallmarks and familiar colors and design elements. But as you dig deeper into the figure you can start to see some of the interesting new textures that a larger scale lends itself to.

DESIGN

As I mentioned on the surface, this figure looks very much like the one we got in 1983. However, when you take a closer look, Hasbro took a lot of those cues, but added some great flair. The textured padding on his chest and shoulders, the lined seams on his leather jacket, as well as the intricate sculpting on his boots. It all adds up to a great update (if a minor one).

The sculpting is impressive to say the least. He’s got a great mask and collar, very reminiscent of the old toy and the comic appearance. He’s got nicely broad shoulders and a larger stature, but retains the level of excellent articulation.

Speaking of the sculpt work, one of the amazing things about seeing these figures at a larger scale is the amount of detail they’re able to work in. Just look at the base texture of the figure, all the small lines and wrinkles that immediately make him look as though he’s wearing a leather suit. I am really amazed at just how much texture they’re able to work into the sculpt here. Spectacular stuff.

His primary colors are black, red and silver, as with the vintage version, though the use of the gold pistol is a nice call back to his 1988 Iron Grenadier roots. His red holster and silver belt are great additions as well and I love how many pistols and holsters these larger scaled figures come with.

He’s got great gauntlets and his trusty rockets on his right wrist, and the basic color scheme is accented nicely by a dark gray that adds some breaks in color, but still stays relatively dark.

The finer textures throughout the figure are excellent as well, the leather uniform actually looking like leather thanks to all of the fine sculpting detail throughout.

ARTICULATION

Destro’s articulation is flawless, like the other figures in this first wave. He’s got all of the range of motion of the other male figures in the line, which gives him the ability to maintain a bunch of dramatic positions. Whether he’s standing still, firing either of his weapons or his wrist rockets, he’s got perfect balance and great poseability.

I can’t say enough good things about the poseability of this figure. Almost any pose you can think of, he can match. Such a joy to pose and play with.

ACCESSORIES

Taking some inspiration from City Strike Destro (though I have to give credit where it’s due — Sigma 6 was the first Destro to carry a briefcase), this G.I. Joe: Classified Destro has a fantastic opening briefcase with money and a mini-computer. I’ll admit – I’m not wild about the soft looking detail within the briefcase. It seems to me that if City Strike Destro can use nicely sculpted cash at a 1:18 scale, the six inch version should be able to as well.

Still, a minor complaint.

Destro also comes with a larger black laser pistol, somewhat reminiscent of a Star Wars weapon, then a smaller gold pistol which slides neatly into his thigh holster. Neither of the weapon is particularly exciting, though they’re not terrible either. I probably prefer the smaller pistol for pseudo-realism, but the larger pistol looks as though it packs a bigger punch.

His accessory compliment isn’t amazing, but it’s fine, which is a step in the right direction compared to a figure like Roadblock.

PRESENTATION

Another great figure contained within another great box, and I find the design aesthetics of Destro’s artwork particularly striking. The side of the box with the close up of his head is amazing, and while the art is unique on each figure, it’s also uniquely cool.

CONCLUSION

Destro is one of my all time favorite characters in G.I. Joe lore and Hasbro does a very good job translating him to the six inch scale while maintaining his character and influence. In some ways I almost wish they went a different, more modern direction, but I can understand why they based this so strongly on the ’83 version and the end result is a definite hit with the fans.

Great design, amazing articulation and quality accessories. There is literally nothing to really complain about here.

General Gallery

Group Shots

The Capture of Destro

G.I. Joe: Classified – Scarlett

by generalsjoes | May 27, 2020 | G.I. Joe Classified 6" Line, review-no-frontpage

Ever since the beginning, one of the awesome things about G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero was a focus on strong characters, regardless of gender and certainly Scarlett was no exception. It was clear from the first issue of the G.I. Joe comic and the first episode of the G.I. Joe animated series that she was one of the heart and soul’s of the G.I. Joe team.

From flying a Skystriker to low for Duke’s comfort or burying a throwing star in COBRA Commander’s gun arm, she’s been in the thick of it and I was thrilled to see her as a part of the first wave of G.I. Joe: Classified.

Hasbro did a pretty bang up job on this figure, too. They managed to keep the basic design aesthetics of the vintage figure, all while giving her some nice new armored elements that thrust her into the future.

A combination of layered body armor sculpting, impressive articulation cool accessories and really sharp paint applications gives this new Scarlett some great life, and I really love their choices here. While some of the figures suffer a bit from the abundance of gold (especially Roadblock) I think it works really well on Scarlett.

An absolutely critical member of the G.I. Joe roster, Scarlett deserves her place in the inaugural wave of these new six inch figures and she gets a pretty terrific update.

While there are some minor limitations to her articulation, the color breaks and textures of the suit are great and overall she brings some great color and vibrance to the Joe roster, especially at this larger scale.

DESIGN

From a design angle, Scarlett is almost a perfect update to the original, taking the overall shape and color of her 80’s unitard and translating it into something that bridges the future/military and super-hero divide very nicely.

I absolutely love the armor she’s sporting, looking thick and protective, yet sleek as well, allowing for great range of motion. Her armored gauntlets and boots are terrific as well, and I find myself loving the little touches like the three throwing stars on her left forearm and what appear to be small “rocket” boots at her calves. At least that’s what they are in my little world!

The color combinations are really nice, too, a mixture of blue, green and tan, a nice amalgamation of several different hues from Scarlett’s history. All of the different shades work well with the sculpt breaks on the body suit and armor, the overall appearance very eye-catching and appealing.

G.I. Joe has always existed in this strange place between real world military and comic book sci-fi, and this version of Scarlett really seems to lunge full speed into comic book sci-fi, and to be honest, I’m glad for it. She’s never had a full-blown military look or feel and this updated armored bodysuit is an excellent evolution from some previous appearances.

The shoulder pad and star on her left shoulder feels like a nice call-out to her Devil’s Due appearance as well, which featured a very similar design aesthetic. Her hair is nicely painted, though I would have loved a bit more of a red wash just to darken it up some. I find myself really loving the paint work on her face, including the light application of freckles underneath her eyes. Very well done.

I really love the strap, sheath and quiver over her torso, too, giving her room for all three of her throwing knives, which is a really awesome touch.

ARTICULATION

For the most part, Scarlett’s articulation is fantastic. Multiple torso joints, ball-joint neck and shoulders, double-jointed knees and rocker ankles. She’s capable of falling into a wealth of effective poses. Like the other figures she has “drop-down” hips which give her more sideways motion as well.

There’s only one hitch with her articulation. Because she’s got such skinny arms, she doesn’t get double-jointed elbows like her male counterparts. It’s not a huge take away, but I feel like it needs to be mentioned.

In spite of her layered body armor and aside from the aforementioned elbows, she maintains a great range of motion and fantastic articulation, a hallmark of G.I. Joe action figure design that is here in spades.

ACCESSORIES

Well, this is certainly the hottest topic in any of the discussions around G.I. Joe: Classified. Scarlett I think manages to walk the line perfectly. Unlike many other members of the G.I. Joe team, Scarlett has never been known for her heavy duty military weapons compliment. The crossbow has been her stalwart, and it remains so here.

It’s a pseudo-futuristic crossbow with a pretty cool design aesthetic, with a removable top and bottom. I’m not sure what the benefit to taking the crossbow apart is, but it does come apart if you’re so inclined.

Along with the crossbow, she comes with three small knives, one of which fits neatly in a sheath on her chest strap, while the other two slide in place in sheaths within her quiver on her back. I love that she’s got places for all three knives, it’s that sort of detail that I really enjoy about the G.I. Joe: Classified line. So far none of them have come with accessories they didn’t have a place to store. A small point, but a valid one.

Scarlett’s accessories don’t blow my socks off, but they make sense for the character and are a nice inclusion. The trio of knives are the definite highlights for me, it adds a cool element to the character and I really dig the sheaths, too.

Good stuff.

PRESENTATION

Like the other figures in the first wave of G.I. Joe: Classified, Scarlett has unique artwork on her box, in this case done by Phil Noto an acclaimed artist of comic books and other things. The art looks terrific (though somehow I neglected to take a picture of the other side of the box), though I do agree with some complaints that a lack of unification across all packaging can be a bit jarring for MIB collectors.

CONCLUSION

Scarlett is one of my favorite characters in G.I. Joe lore and I’m thrilled that such an important piece of A Real American Hero history ended up in wave 1 of the G.I. Joe: Classified line. Her modern updates are terrific, adding a fantastic sci-fi flair while still keeping some solid homages to her old school appearances.

The shining point for sure is the face paint with the freckles and the eyes, though she’s got amazing paint throughout the entire figure with a great mixture of gold that works far better for her than for some of her compatriots.

All things considered, this figure is terrific and the G.I. Joe: Classified line is off to an amazing start.

General Gallery

Group Shots

The Capture of Destro