Beachhead - Hall of Heroes (Figure 5 of 10)

Figures like this are just what the Hall of Heroes line was made for. Taking fairly popular collector based characters, giving them a ton of accessories, some much improved paint detailing, and a great looking presentation. Yes, Beachhead pretty much excels in this line and is a great representation of what the Hall of Heroes was meant to be.

The initial release of Beachhead in the 25th Anniversary line was met with a lot of enthusiasm, but when you compare him to the later releases, it becomes immediately evident just how far the designers had come in a very short period of time. The overall base figure (using the same parts as the initial Firefly) work amazingly well for both the Army Ranger and the Cobra Saboteur, but both the Comic Pack release and the Hall of Heroes release show just how much a new coat of paint, a new head, and some new gear can really improve the overall figure. This is a picture perfect example of the whole modern era philosophy of taking a basic figure and souping it up with the secondaries.

The quilted torso and arms works quite nicely for Beachhead, but instead of the mostly generic flak jacket that the original version came with, the Hall of Heroes (and Comic Pack version as well, of course) come with a much more '86 authentic version of his vest with the magazines strapped to his chest. Using the secondary web gear concept also allows them to add some cool straps to the bottom for added detail.

What really makes the figure shine from a tooling standpoint, though, is the head. While the original Real American Hero release suffered a bit from having an oversized melon, this modern update makes it look realistic with a multi-layered balaclava that looks nice and large and round, but not silly. In fact it looks much, much better than the slim headed original 25th release.

The paint apps on this Beachhead figure are also remarkably improved. The green is darker than the comic pack version, and along with the nice intricate camouflage pattern, there's some great dirt paint wipes on the boots, adding just the right touch of detail and weathering. It's also the nice little touches...the boot knife is silver, so it stands out very well along with the grenade on his belt.

While Beachhead doesn't come with the extra head and scarf like the comic pack version did, he does come about as well equipped as can be expected. He's got his pouch with ammo magazine, his machine gun with removable clip, the same awesome machine gun that the original came with, plus his pistol and vintage accurate backpack.

He doesn't come overburdened with gear (though some might argue that two machine guns might be one too many) and beyond the extra gun, everything has its place. It's not an amazing compliment of weaponry, but he's got just what he needs. I would have loved to have gotten the extra head like the comic pack version got, but ultimately, this works fine as well.

Although probably a bit overshadowed by the previous release, the Hall of Heroes Beachhead is a very nice figure on its own merit. He's one of the better offerings in the Hall of Heroes assortment, and a cool overall figure to boot. Granted, other recent Beachhead releases (like the Resolute and Pursuit of Cobra versions) have a level of detail and coolness that this one can't quite match, it has its own appeal for the Anniversary era and is a cool rendition of everyone's second favorite Army Ranger.

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