Orignally posted at: http://www.zedsjoesite.com/review/yojoe/yojoe1.html
For a long time many in the GI Joe communities have labeled me a "Hater." Why you might ask? Well I tend to speak my mind on issues like over-abundance of Duke's, Snake Eyes, ect. I also tend not to just accept anything at "face value" nor do I buy into excuses for crap (that often get repeated to death by certain segments of the Joe community). I don't accept the "rose colored glasses" look of the product. That's not to say I don't enjoy some elements of GI Joe's recent releases, bur that not everything has been gold as some might lead you to believe.
I have had many GI Joe reviews on this site, and gotten plenty of heat for my views. From "City Strike" Snake Eyes to POC Duke I have taken heat for saying "this isn't the gold that some have said it is." I have been called "subjective" (which is weird to begin with as reviews are subjective by their nature) to a jerk or some other words I won't repeat. What I find unbelievably odd is sometimes (not always) I will say something and get such responses and years later the same people who have trashed me publicly and privately will actually change their tunes and say exactly what I have said years earlier. It's a funny thing, really and I never see this kind of behavior in any other fandom, then again maybe it's because I am not nearly as entrenched in any other fandom too. While I love Star Wars and Marvel Universe those communities are not nearly as tight nit as the Joe community tries to be (but often is not).
But the fact is I love GI Joe, specifically the ARAH era of GI Joe vs. Cobra (With Iron Genaders and Dreadnoks, ect tossed in for good measure). Some call me nostalgic, but honestly I just really enjoy the aspects of basic "good vs. evil" in a setting that is believable but also fantastic. I've never been a huge fan of the comic book, there are some good issues but mostly it just seemed to be "How do we connect this guy to Snake Eyes" after a while. The cartoon from the '80's is entertaining to that kid side of my brain, as long as you take it as fun and not the "uber serious" idea some try to take GI Joe too. Often I do think some Joe fans have lost track of being a kid at heart and approach the toyline with the clinical coldness of an engineer rather than the wonder of a fun loving child. This is where I sometimes think that "Slap a GI Joe Logo on a turd and I will love it" mentality comes from. Star Wars has it's factions too but it seems they are more accepting of one another's views sometimes. It's perfectly fine to love the Original Trilogy and not the Prequels as long as someone doesn't try to say "you must like them or you're not a true fan." Unfortunately, that line of thinking has been said a few times too often on GI Joe message boards.
But the reality is for years I have said "Bring it Hasbro!" There was a point with the 25th anniversary collection that I think Hasbro was bringing it, but then it faltered. This year though Hasbro really and honestly brought something to the game and really re-invigorated a great deal of my love for the GI Joe franchise. It wasn't a perfect year but I have to say that most of what was done had some merits and is one of the best years I remember for GI Joe since the 25th.
The 30th Anniversary collection has given us some very interesting ideas and most of them have been great. While they have been reusing molds at the same time there has been an inspiration behind this set of figures, much more than in past years. While the endless Snake Eyes and Dukes still march out, they have been very balanced out by characters we have barely seen or haven't seen in many, many years.
What you see above is the GI Joes I got for Christmas, and if I were to be nostalgic I would have to say it did have some of the feelings of Christmas when I was 12, a bunch of cool Joes and Cobras that it took time for me to get to know and understand but ultimately love.
Still with all the great feelings I have about the figures in this series of reviews, there has to be a stinker, so here we go:
Yeah, it's the big cheese once more, but my word he's had better representations. OK let's just start off with the big elephant on the living room couch, that head looks like a gimp. I swear I think I saw a mask like that in Amsterdam once, it belongs in a German video if you get what I mean (not that I know anything about that). Seriously is that supposed to be an eye patch and a mouth cover? It's horrible. On top of that the exposed flesh is the most PASTY skin ever recorded. I mean there are people in sensory deprivation chambers with more color. Am I being cruel, YES, but it's seriously that lame a design. But there is another head, right?
Well yes, and the alternate head is a bit more traditional, but the problem is the back of the head shows pasty boys noggin once more. OK so he isn't all bad, but that set of heads is horrific. The trench coat is kind of cool, however the gimp head gives you the impression that CC might be a flasher of some sort. The staff and gun are alright, I've seen the staff with CC before but I don't ever remember it being in black before. The gun is also cool, I know I have seen it before but I have no idea where. Still it's cool too. But that isn't enough to make those head work, sorry hardcore fans it's just ludicrous, see you in a few years when you agree ;-).
So what can I say, I can't recommend getting the figure, it's a poor design. I can get some comedic use out of it sure (I mean this thing was built for abuse in Scale Wars as you can see here,
http://www.zedsjoesite.com/comic/48/07.html if you're so inclined, shameless plug of course), but the average collector could pass it up and not miss a thing. I suppose he might be good for customs too, but not being a customizer since the change over to the new style I really don't look at a figure like that.
Next up is the James Brown of the GI Joe Universe, Snake Eyes version 574834.
So when I opened this on Christmas morning I said "OK no one needs another Snake Eyes." Really they don't. This is version 56 I do believe, I personally have over 30, and that's after unloading a few. I like Snakes and all, but my goodness I have a few too many of him. But still why does he get such high marks? Well I have to admit he isn't bad, just unnecessary.
I have some minor knocks to the figure, first is the way the wrist articulation is done, it leaves odd humps on his wrists. This is especially bad considering most of the figure in this review have similar articulation without any problems with the wrists like this. I think I might have liked some better details in the weapons, but it's not something absolutely necessary for the figure. However it does make him look a bit cheap. The blocky nature of the gun is a bit undesirable as well. I know they are shooting for futuristic in the renegades line but honestly it comes across as childish. Sorry no other way to put it.
But even with those minor knocks he's a good and solid figure. The color is great, the mold overall works and there is just enough color change to bring out details but still not violate anything established with Snake Eyes. Granted the pallet does seem to be borrowed a bit from previous releases, but it's still not bad at all.
He doesn't beat POC Wave 3 Snake Eyes by a long shot, but he is good. I suppose if you somehow missed the POC version this is a good sub. I guess if you're a Snake Eyes nut this one is necessary too. Otherwise I think you can safely skip it and not worry.
Now on to a figure that I have had a great affection for over the years:
In 1987 I was 16 years old, that's when you are supposed to be over toys and focused on girls. Well I was focused on girls but that toy part stuck with me. While I wasn't as active of a collector at that point as I had been (more on that later), I was still picking up figures here and there. One of the figures I picked up from GI Joe that year was the Techno-Viper. The reason was simple, Cobra needed a battlefield tech, it's a great specialty and I have often wondered why the Joes never got one of their own. Some were turned off by the purple and I admit it bugged me a bit at first but once I had the figure I got over it fast. He had a ton of cool accessories and honestly his look grew on me in a very short time. So at last we have an update in modern style, how does he compare, well simply awesome.
His laser welder is more streamlined, his tools look like they match dead on with the originals and one ultra nifty part is he gets his own Cobra laden road cone. It's simply a near perfect update. I always felt Techno's never got the credit they deserved, they have tough job and served a cool function in the Cobra corps. I liked the figure had such an oddness to him, cause really Cobra would go that route when you really think about it. I will grant you there is a ton of stuff from 1987 that I don't like but Techno is not one of them. This figure brings almost everything cool from that figure into the modern era. While some question the details like the odd tubing ect, I have always thought they were cool mystery additions to a figure that just rocked.
If I had to knock the figure, it would be that the details of the paint don't exactly match the original and I think if they did the head sculpts details would probably stand out more. It works as it is though and that is what's important. Purple never set me off the way it does some in the world so that has never been an issue for me. The silver chest emblem just shines nearly perfectly on his chest. This is a rockin' figure no two ways about it.
I would HAVE to say grab this one, who else is going to fix those messed up HISS tanks on the battlefield. Seriously this figure is well worth the time for the gear alone, but more than that he is what I really wanted to see in an update of a figure, take the basics and make improvements where necessary. A great addition to the collection.
Now we move on to the copyright infringement portion of our review:
Sometimes it's great to get an update with details from the original and sometimes it's great when Hasbro takes the essentials of the character and plays around with them until you have something that carries the essentials of the character but makes something different. The later case is what happened here with Law and Order. His red and bright blue aren't present but his essence is there. Best part is that an MP is a pretty important part of a military organization.
His Shotgun is very cool, but he does have a hard time holding it due to his chest gear, it can be done but it's difficult. He also has a nightstick that harks back to his original release, a face mask for those riots, and a set of handcuffs. The handcuffs do make me think back to Chap Mie sets that had some hand cuffs for 1:18th scale figures. Those had a longer chain but these seem a bit more realistic.
A strange part of the figure is the extra accessory of the dog AKA Order. Something seemed very off about him and it took me a bit to figure out. Unlike Timber there (or even Junkyard) Order seems a bit more tame. Order kind of looks like my dog when I go to feed her, happy and excited. I'm not sure if the designers were attempting to go for a happy dog look with him, but that is the result. Maybe it was something warped like "OH BOY, I GET TO BITE SOMEBODY!" either way it is strange for what is essentially a guard dog. It's odd but not so much so that I would knock the figure for it.
Overall I have to say get this figure, The Joes need an MP, but beyond that he's just cool. Don't let the "Renegades" logo turn you away either. Unlike most of the Renegade Joes he mixes just fine with the other figures and isn't so bland as the others either. The fact that most of his parts are reused makes the figure even better, while it's easy to recognize where this all comes from its put together in a way that makes him a bit more unique than most figures that rehash parts.
