G.I. Joe Resolute - Roadblock

I will admit, I was tempted to simply copy and paste my review of the pre-production Roadblock and call this good. But then I looked around and I realized that... I never did a Resolute Roadblock review?! What? What the hell is wrong with me?

Well, in a way that's good, I don't have to worry about re-covering anything I've already talked about...

So yeah, as I've said, technically I've owned this figure for a year or so now, ever since they started leaking out into the overseas market. And pretty much anyone at this point, if they own Night Adder or the Wal-Mart Outpost Defender, they've also gotten their hands on what this figure essentially is as well. But the wonders of Resolute Roadblock go beyond the nitty gritty of the tooling details, the RGB color specifications, etc... it goes into the "spirit" of the character and the essence of what makes G.I. Joe what it is.

The first Roadblock figure appeared in 1984, and while we've certainly gotten some cool Roadblock figures since then (at least one during the Battle Corps era) none of them really appropriately mimmicked the feeling of that first figure. The casual, yet military essence. He was obviously a bad ass, but not a bad ass that took himself too seriously. In 1992, the Battle Corps version came the closest we've seen, but not until now have we gotten it 100% right. The Resolute Roadblock absolutely is 100% right. It is the epitome of coolness and a perfect example of what we get when everything goes according to plan.

From head to toe, Roadblock is newly tooled, and even though this tooling has since been allocated to some other uses, take pride in the fact that Roadblock had it first, and it suits him so well. He's huge, muscular, and imposing, yet retains that sense of comedy and self-assuredness on his face that doesn't betray his hugeness. Sure, he's got a machine gun that's larger than some small people and horses, but he's also got that look in his eyes that says he's a chef at heart and a bruiser only when he needs to be. Granted, it was the guys at Titmouse and the associated producers who really designed the Resolute look, but the toy sculptors and designers deserve a ton of credit for being able to translate that animated feeling into physical form, and make it fit into the existing Joe design aesthetic, to boot.

This figure is pure coolness in every sense of the word. As far as I'm concerned, we don't need another Roadblock figure. This guy is it.

Along with the tooling greatness, he's also got the basic color scheme of the most familiar version of the character. Nothing outlandish or unusual, just brown pants with a light olive drab tactical vest. Immediately identifiable as the character, yet still adds more modern elements.

Speaking of more modern elements, the tactical vest included with Roadblock is simply amazing. Not only is it huge (it would have to be to cover this figure) but the pouches and straps are amazingly well crafted. It looks significantly "real world" even though the design elements were pulled from a two dimensional animated caricature.

Along with the vest, Roadblock has his massive heavy machine gun (along with the ammo belt). Somewhat out of the ordinary, though, is that he also comes with a huge pick axe and a rocket, neither of which he used in the cartoon. Kind of makes one wonder if there were some scenes that didn't make the cut.

From the figure tooling to the paint job, to the accessory compliment, Roadblock is what makes G.I. Joe cool. Dynamic military style, elements of fantasy, and tons of character. A fantastic figure, and I'm very happy that he'll get into the hands of whatever collectors want him.

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