Quarrel - Figure Subscription Service (Wave 1)

It might be tough to believe, but there was a time in my G.I. Joe collecting life where the Internet did not exist. Can you even imagine?

Because of this time (we shall call them the "dark ages") when I finally was able to get online, I immediately consumed nearly every tiny morsel of G.I. Joe goodness that I could. One of the first things I stumbled upon (as everyone else was doing at the time) was YoJoe.com. The most fascinating part of it was the International section.

Speaking as a collector in a very rural area who didn't have much interaction with the larger collector base as a whole, the idea that there were unique characters and figures available elsewhere in the world was just amazing to me. Even more amazing was the fact that especially in Europe, some of those figures were really freaking cool. Quarrel was one of the first International characters to spark my interest, owing mostly to the great green and black uniform that she wore. It jumped right out at me, much more so than Scarlett's uniform colors. Here was a whole new character, and even though she was exactly the same figure, she looked completely and totally new. In almost every case the Action Force characters and vehicles (especially Z-Force) really spoke to me. The stark green and black headquarters...the terrific Z-Force APC... even the RAM that Quarrel came with all had a very unique and distinctive paint scheme that I loved at the time, and still do.

So because of my long standing love of Z-Force and Quarrel, this figure must have been a dream come true, right?

Well, yeah... kind of, I guess. But only kind of.

Now that so many years have passed since I first stumbled upon Quarrel, I want that character to evolve a little bit. I think she deserves to be more than just a simple Scarlett repaint, especially when that Scarlett figure is the first release of the 25th Anniversary and looks so dated compared to more modern releases.

I know, I know...this figure is also an homage to the canceled Arctic Scarlett figure from the 25th Anniversary line, which had initially been built as yet another homage to Quarrel. But still, in my modern design hungry brain, I want a Quarrel that goes above and beyond simple Scarlett redux. I think at this point there are quite a few great female figures that could serve as building blocks to a new and great Quarrel. A Quarrel that doesn't just look like a six year old figure with a new coat of paint.

That being said, for what the figure is, the Club did do a very nice job. I like that they went with the hair in the bun, since that separates this figure all the more from Scarlett and makes it appear to be a separate character. The shade of green is fantastic, and a perfect homage to the original Quarrel. If I have any complaints about the paint scheme it is the fact that it totally doesn't match the Convention Z-Force motorcycle from the 2010 Convention Set. I find this especially curious because the vintage Quarrel is also that lighter shade of green, so I'm not entirely sure why the Club elected to go so dark with this figure. Yes, it matches the colors of the unreleased Arctic Scarlett, but one would think if they wanted to focus more on the Quarrel elements than that unreleased figure, they would have paint matched this update.

Talking more about the paint scheme, the red is really snappy against the darker green and black, especially on the arm-mounted throwing stars and the excellent Z-Force logo on the shoulder. The flag on the left shoulder is another really nice International touch. As mentioned, any issues I have with this figure are mostly carry over issues from the original tooling. The thin and somewhat flimsy limbs and those wonky knee joints just look out of place amongst the more modern and more tightly sculped newer figures. This version of Scarlett looks almost animated in comparison to some newer figures, and I would really love to see a more tactical looking modern Quarrel. As I said, though, those are more issues with the original tooling and not so much with the Club, and I can appreciate their decision to stick with the core concept of a Scarlett repaint.

ACCESSORIES

Quarrel comes with a nice assortment of weapons, including a very cool helmet that suits her well for when she's riding her non-color matching Z-Force motorcycle. The backpack is great, and her original pistol suits the figure well, too. She's got a great crossbow and machine gun, too. Along the lines of previous complaints, because she's an older figure without a separate trigger finger, she cannot hold the weapons exceptionally realistically, which is also a limitation of those original 25th Anniversary parts.

I like that the Collectors' Club is sticking with a specific theme with their International figures as well, using silver battle stands. They did it in 2009, and they continue to do it here. A neat touch.

Conceptually I can see where the Club is coming from, and from a paint scheme perspective, they nailed much of what makes Quarrel great. I love the shoulder deco, I love the color combinations, and the accessories are terrific. Purely from a "toy" perspective, though, the original 25th Anniversary Scarlett is just so limited compared to newer releases that I find it difficult to thoroughly enjoy this toy as much as I would some others. For that reason, the score gets negatively impacted, even if I can appreciate the thought process behind it.

GRADE: