Sideshow Collectibles - 12" Exclusive Firefly
When it was first announced that Sideshow Collectibles had picked up the license for G.I. Joe I had mixed feelings. On the one hand getting a nice high quality 12” figure line was intriguing and exciting. On the other, Sideshow figures aren’t exactly “wallet-friendly”. However after getting one of their Star Wars figures in hand (Clone Wars General Obi-wan Kenobi) and seeing the quality and craftsmanship of their work up close and personal I decided to check out their Joes. I picked up Snake-eyes from my local comic shop and though he had a few minor issues I felt it was a good purchase. I had intended to get only a few of the main characters (and prayed a Rock ‘n’ Roll figure was in the works, still waiting on that one) but after getting the Cobra Commander figure I knew I was in for the long haul.
In the two or so years since that first figure was released Sideshow has been continually upping their game with this license. The SDCC Crimson Cobra Commander with his red mask and cape became the best “repaint” I’ve seen in years. Duke who despite being a controversial character turned out to be one of the best Duke figures ever made. And now they’ve raised the bar yet again with Firefly.
The version I’m reviewing today is the Sideshow Exclusive. He is identical to the regular version in every way except for the addition of the exclusive accessory which I’ll discuss later.
Let’s start from the outside in shall we? The box is Sideshows usual magnetic tab fold out window box. The graphics on the outside show all the highpoints of the figure and include the filecard as we’ve seen before. Nothing special but not bad at all. The collector friendly nature of this packaging is probably my favorite part. After opening up Duke and Storm Shadow I had to put them away as I don’t currently have shelf space to display them. The slide out trays make it really easy to put everything away and seal up for storage. And the boxes look good as display pieces on their own. All in all I can’t think of a better way to package these guys so keep it up Sideshow.
When Firefly was first revealed fans immediately began to complain about the dark gray head. It didn’t match up with the ARAH design in that it wasn’t camo like the rest of the figure’s clothing. Yes, they included a camo hood on the jacket that Sideshow argued made up for that but fans persisted and Sideshow listened. Soon they announced that they were able to include a second camo portrait of Firefly at no additional cost. This type of response to fan demand is something that is rarely seen in the collector world these days. I’ve heard stories about how customer focused Sideshow is but hadn’t really seen it firsthand until this. I’m impressed and pleased with their decision and I think a lot of fans are too.
Firefly comes dressed in a gray came pants and jacket combo that has black patches at all the “wear” points, knees, back pockets, inner thighs, back of the arms. The jacket, as mentioned, has a nice tightfitting hood that looks good either up or down. The jacket also fastens with a nice and easy to use velcro strip down the seam. He has black boots and light gray spats covering his shins. His knees have some nice new kneepads that strap around his knees instead of being velcroed on like Snake-eyes’. A dropdown magazine pouch and holster strap to each thigh and are held up by a heavy duty belt that is hidden by the jacket. He has black gloves on all 6 of his different hands.
As mentioned above, Firefly comes with two heads, the black masked version and a camo mask head. At first it was thought that he simply reused the Cobra trooper head but on closer inspection Firefly’s noggin is a brand new sculpt. There are more detailed seams along the top and sides and his eyes aren’t quite as angry as the trooper.
I have to admit that I was one of the few that didn’t really mind the black mask. Yes it wasn’t the original look but I felt the modern update design theme that Sideshow has been using for these figures worked and the black mask seemed to fit that asthetic. Boy was I wrong because that camo head is SWEET!. Not only does the camo pattern and coloring match the clothing but the camo head just screams Firefly in a way I wasn’t expecting. I took a few shots of the black head then swapped it out and tossed it back the packaging never to be seen again because this camo head is the way he should have come in the first place. I respect Sideshow for giving us both options and I think some people might stick with the plain one but most people are going to be doing exactly what I did and that’s the right thing in my humble opinion.
Let’s talk gear because for $125 you’re not paying for just a pretty face. One thing Sideshow has been doing with the G.I. Joe line is building up an inventory of accessories. From the cartoon laser rifle and Cobra Commander’s “hair dryer” pistol to the Troopers AK-47 and Storm Shadows bow they have been really putting it out there with the accessory compliment of these figures. As I mentioned these guys aren’t cheap and Sideshow has been giving us our monies worth with every one. Firefly is no exception and honestly if there was ever a G.I. Joe figure worthy of the Sideshow accessory treatment its him. He comes with his machine gun and silencer (matches the ARAH version quite nicely) a pistol with red dot pointer an silencer, 3 extra clips for each and a magazine pouch for the pistol ammo (the machine gun clips fit in the pouch on his thigh). But what would a saboteur be without some ‘spoldey stuff? Firefly gets two smoke grenades (1 red, 1 yellow), two flashbang grenades, five regular grenades, four magnetic mines, two large timed explosives and a detonator to set them off. That’s a lot of boom right there. He comes with a sling style backpack to carry most of this in as well as a couple extra pouches for the grenades and a larger one for the radio detonator. The large bombs fit nicely in the large black carry case that has detailed padding in the lid, working snap closures and a handle. Add in a knive that fits in the sheath at his ankle and some infra-red goggles and you’ve got one dangerous mercenary saboteur. But wait! There’s more! The exclusive version comes with a rather appropriate accessory considering recent events – an improvised explosive device (I.E.D.). Its sculpted to look like a mortar or tank shell with some C-4 and a cellphone strapped to it. A dangerous looking device that probably has more real world accuracy than I care to think about.
I didn’t expect this but Firefly is my favorite figure that Sideshow has produced thus far. I don’t know what it is exactly about him that captures my attention because I’m not a big fan of the character. I have more than a few 25th style Firefly figures in my collection and I like the guy but he’s not a focus of my universe. But this figure is just beautiful in everything from design to execution. While some of the scale detail like the adjustable straps and tiny buckles frustrate me to no end I’d gladly see that level of detail continue because I can’t imagine loving these figures as much without it. Sideshow has definitely made some improvements in those areas with Firefly. The adjustable straps now have elastic bands that keep the excess strap from just dangling limp. And they added some tissue paper filler to the backpack so it doesn’t look so deflated (something missing from the Trooper packs that I’ll be fixing soon). When you combine these little improvements with the detail and quality of a Sideshow figure you get a $125 Firefly figure that, in my opinion, is worth every penny. I give the Sideshow Exclusive Firefly a full four stars and although I don’t really have room to display him, Firefly will NOT be going back in the box.
GRADE: 
