Sideshow Collectibles - 12" Commando Snake Eyes w/ Timber
I was eight years old in 1982, the ripe perfect age for G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero to capture my little heart. As such, I never really had much exposure or interest in the 12" figures. When the Hall of Fame emerged in the 90's, I loved the Real American Hero elements, but the body style didn't really do much for me.
Throughout the 2000's we got a mixture of 12" injections into the Real American Hero line through Spy Troops, Valor Vs. Venom and others. But nothing would prepare me for the wonder of Sideshow Collectibles.
Sideshow took the Real American Hero concept and thrust it into a more real world setting, taking some strange vintage aesthetics and somehow intertwining them with very realistic and functional real-world counterparts. Duke's random green bandolier became a strap for his backpack. Zartan lost the belly shirt and gained some realistic looking worn armor on his chest. The results have been quite successful, and even as cool as the early figures looked, Sideshow Collectibles has been enhancing the tooling, making more functional figures with ratcheting joints, larger, more muscular limbs and more detail throughout their uniforms and accessories.
Snake Eyes was the first figure released by Sideshow Collectibles and was a bit scrawny by Sideshow standards, so they went back to the well a second time, this time choosing to play up the commando angle a bit more. With his skin-tight mask and goggles as a rubber sculpted head he looks mean and angry, and I love the way they did the straps separate, even though the goggles are permanently attached. His commando sweater is interesting. He looks equipped for an arctic operation, but it works well enough for a standard commando, too. I would have loved to have seen a more quilted look, similar to Beachhead (or the Pursuit of Cobra Snake Eyes) but this actually looks really nice, as well. He has shoulder straps similar to the look on the Sigma 6 Snake Eyes of all figures, with plenty of belt room for various ammo pouches, grenade pouches, and the grenades themselves. A holster and sheath on his right leg hold a removable pistol, ammo magazine, and knife, with pouches on his left leg for more ammunition for his Uzi.
The ratcheting joints are actually a really nice addition. When I first experienced them on Beachhead, I will admit, I was a bit put off. They seemed considerably different than the smooth, free-flowing joints we'd gotten in previous figures. The good news is the joints stay tighter and don't end up quite as floppy down the line. I'm happy to say this version of Snake Eyes can still achieve any pose you think of, and perhaps even some you can't. This is a terrific version of Snake Eyes that looks reminiscent of several others released in smaller scales, but with enough new elements to be a cool update to the character.
Sideshow Collectibles thought to include the visor head for Snake Eyes as well, so folks who prefer that look have an easily swappable alternate head that might look more like they remember the ninja commando.
Of course one of the main attractions of this Snake Eyes figure is the appearance of a fully articulated Timber for the first time. Timber is truly impressive...just picking up him there is a massive solid weight to the wolf. His joints are pretty good, though the straight-swivel limbs are a bit restrictive. Considering how heavy the wolf's body is, though, I'm not surprised they had to do it that way just to get him to stand.
He has several points of articulation throughout his legs and paws, which enable him to get into a number of different poses, and his swappable head can give us a calm and steady Timber or a very pissed off Timber, both of which work exceptionally well. There's also a mid-torso joint on Timber, too, which helps steady him, and also allows more flexibility in posing. The "growling" head for Timber is a Sideshow Collectibles exclusive, so if you want your wolf angry and ready to chomp, make sure you're buying that version!
Accessories
Yes, technically Timber is an accessory, but there are so many accessories as it is, I feel like I need to keep them separate from the wolf. Like many of the other Sideshow figures, Snake Eyes comes with an assortment of pouches and a satchel to carry his equipment in, which is truly needed, considering how much gear he comes with.
He has four replacement hands and two replacement boots, which allows for a great flexibility in how he can be posed in action. He has one mostly closed right hand to hold his sword or knife, I just wish there was a left hand like that as well so he could hold the pistol and knife at the same time. There are six grenades for the M203 launcher that attaches to the Carbine.
Speaking of the Carbine, the three main weapons are that machine gun, an Uzi with folding stock, and a Steyr TMP automatic weapon. Each weapon has a removable magazine (as well as extras), removable silencers and folding stocks. The Steyr and Carbine have removable sights as well and there's even a tactical laser sight on the larger weapon. Tons of gear for Snake Eyes to blast Cobra's with.
The various grenades should be familiar to most Sideshow fans at this point, though the plastic magazine pouches feel new to me. I'm not sure if they've been released with Sideshow figures before. He also has a pistol with magazine and a sword with removable scabbard.
This figure is very impressive. Excellent articulation, a very cool design aesthetic, and a metric ton of great accessories. Automatic weapons to spare, a full size, articulated Timber, and a terrific looking update to the venerable Ninja Commando. For G.I. Joe fans who prefer a little bit more realistic peanut butter with their fantasy chocalate should be eating these Sideshow offerings up. They manage to retain the spirit of G.I. Joe, but with a much grittier more hard-edged style. Tough to find much to complain about here. This is good stuff.
GRADE: 
