HASBRO 2011 PREVIEW/REVIEW: GI*Joe

HASBRO TOY REVIEW/PREVIEW

FIGURE: G.I. JOE

DESCRIPTION: JUNGLE B.A.T.. COBRA ANDROID TROOPER; SNAKE EYES NINJA COMMANDO; COBRA VIPER INFANTRY

Those of us who’ve collected the “G.I.*Joe” figures throughout the years continue to do so because of two things. The first would be the very simple, yet effective “comic” style art to the packaging. The second is the replicated product of the heroes/villains we’ve grown to love. With this preview/review, we’ll take a look at a few upcoming G.I.*Joe figures from Hasbro (due out this Summer) that are a sure to please any avid toy collector or enthusiast alike.

B.A.T.s are the perfect COBRA troopers. They never question orders, complain about the chow, shirk duty or surrender. They require no leave time, sick pay or benefits of any kind, and they are cheap and easy to replace. JUNGLE B.A.T.s are one of the robotic variants designed for specific environments; this version is extremely resistant to heat and humidity, and can easily find its way through thick jungle foliage.Get right into the thick of battle excitement with this awesome action figure! Armed with powerful weapons, your JUNGLE B.A.T. figure is set to give the G.I. JOE team a punishing fight. But only you can decide who’ll win the battle — and who’ll win the war!

My personal favorite attribute to the character is all of the accessories that were given. 10 accessories total, some including: 3 arm attachments and 2 guns! The detail to the weapons is above average considering how affordable these figures are (weapons are two-toned colored). The added bonus is a strip of ammo that is also given. The only gripe would be, that you’d be having to store the extra pieces elsewhere. That is of course, dependent on how and what you’ve set up for display. Despite B.A.T.’s “extremely resistant to heat and humidity” disclaimer I’d advise against that. Do not leave him unattended outside, his “bear-trap” arm attachment is hardly the way to find yourself surprised by…and you thought I was gonna say he melts. Pffft!

Jungle B.A.T.’s classic articulation, display stand, and great color make the $6.99 a must have for collectors and G.I.*Joe fans a like.

SNAKE EYES is proficient in 12 different unarmed fighting systems including Karate, Kung-Fu, and Jujitsu, and is highly skilled in the use of edged weapons. He has received extensive training in mountaineering and underwater demolitions; jungle, desert and arctic survival; and some forms of holistic medicine. He was trained by the ARASHIKAGE™ ninja clan, the same clan that trained his sworn enemy, STORM SHADOW®, the COBRA® ninja mercenary. He wears special ninja warrior armor to defend a training temple that has come under attack by COBRA® ninjas. Get right into the thick of battle excitement with this awesome action figure! Armed with powerful weapons, your SNAKE EYES figure is set to give the G.I. JOE team a punishing fight. But only you can decide who’ll win the battle — and who’ll win the war!

Snake eyes arguably the most popular figure of the bunch and definitely most sought out is a must have. When I dressed up like a ninja for Halloween last year I did not look this cool (I’m hairy, out of shape, and have terrible body-odor) ! Ok, well….maybe that isn’t fair. Snake eyes like many figures comes fully equipped with an arsenal of awesome weaponry. Your given a Kusari Gama, Hook-Swords, and 3 different masks! The outfit is great from the waist up. I thought they could have captured the flow of the outfit better., I.e. the chest-plate and arm-guards were detailed and textured as well as the rest of the figures accessories, but the legs were lacking the white outline. Much like “Jungle B.A.T.”, its a small complaint and shouldn’t discourage any potential buyer from this awesome toy. The recommendation here is to actually look into buying two. One for display purposes and one for collecting/trading. Trust me, all the collectors will buy these up and Snake Eyes will move quick (He’s a ninja of course he’ll move quick) ! *Insert drums, high-hat here.

COBRA VIPERS are the highly motivated, superbly trained and formidably equipped backbone of the COBRA® legions. Their combination assault rifle/grenade launcher can function as a short burst assault weapon, sustained fire cover support weapon, or long-range marksman rifle with a night vision telescopic sight and range-finder. Get right into the thick of battle excitement with this awesome action figure! Armed with powerful weapons, your COBRA VIPER figure is set to give the G.I. JOE team a punishing fight. But only you can decide who’ll win the battle — and who’ll win the war!

Now Cobra Viper is a figure they did perfectly head to toe (budget-considered), but lacked on the weaponry. Compare Cobra V’s pants to the package’s picture. They’re textured and bunch a little where his pads are! Another cool observation is the placement of his grenades. With so many by-the-book comparisons its only obvious that when it came to his gun, it lacked. I know its common to geek-out and say that they should have painted it better (rather than the one-tone gray), but that would have made this figure really stand-out! As a fan, I must say that despite that small quarrel I will still purchase him. Maybe, that’s why they didn’t “doll-up” his gun? *Bad pun-intended* The package is dope with this blue aura around the character that makes it pop from the cardboard. Enough reason for me and most “toy heads” to keep this in its package and not display outside of it. My recommendation here is…aesthetics alone, brings this home.

I hope you found this review helpful going forward in what to look for from Hasbro’s latest and greatest. They’re really good at making a authentic transfer from paper (comic) to plastic (figure) at an affordable price. You can check out the rest of the GI*Joe 2011 Summer Line Preview from Hasbro below!

Keep checking back to Big Shiny Robot as Mexicus Prime will be bringing you plenty more Hasbro 2011 previews/reviews including new offerings from their Marvel, Transformers, and Star Wars lines!