Review: GI Joe Combat Heroes 2 Packs:
Beach Head and Serpentor & Barbecue and Storm Shadow
When I was young, I watched GI Joe when it was on, but I never really collected the toys. Actually, when I was young I had a modest collection of toys at best. Read into that what you will.
The thing is, I never really wanted many GI Joe toys. I was more into Transformers and Star Wars than army men. And now that I collect toys as an adult, I'm still not that interested in the franchise. I was kind of hoping last year's movie might change that, but... yeah.
At any rate, while I'm not driven to build a huge collection of Joes, I have to admit I was taken with the Combat Heroes. When these dropped to a reasonable price, I picked up a couple of packs and reviewed them.
The thing is, I never really wanted many GI Joe toys. I was more into Transformers and Star Wars than army men. And now that I collect toys as an adult, I'm still not that interested in the franchise. I was kind of hoping last year's movie might change that, but... yeah.
At any rate, while I'm not driven to build a huge collection of Joes, I have to admit I was taken with the Combat Heroes. When these dropped to a reasonable price, I picked up a couple of packs and reviewed them.
|
Then, because I loved the toys I'd bought (and also because I'm weak), I went out and bought two more packs. I'd held off the first time, because these packs each have one character I wanted (Serpentor and Storm Shadow) and one I could care less about (Beach Head and Barbecue). But in the end I broke down. So here we are. These are produced by Hasbro, which also makes Galactic Heroes (Star Wars), Superhero Squad (Marvel), Robot Heroes (Transformers), Adventure Heroes (Indiana Jones), and, oddly enough, Toy Box Heroes (Toy Story), all in the same style and scale. |
 |
You'll notice a few more pictures of the Cobra figures this time around, because they're more interesting than the Joes.
Appearance and Construction: 9/10
Last time, I had to drag this score down to an eight because of construction issues around the female characters: this time, the construction is solid.
Both Beach Head and Serpentor are solid nines. There are minor paint issues here and there, but nothing too extreme. The sculpt work on both figures is excellent, though, and the designs are good. Beach Head is a little dark, though that's an unavoidable price of keeping to the character's original color scheme. Serpentor's snake armor looks ridiculously fabulous - as it should - and the scales are more or less perfect. I wish they'd used a little more shading on the left glove though, where the snake tooth gauntlet is difficult to see, but that's not a big deal.
When I bought these packs, I was expecting Serpentor to be my favorite. I was wrong. Hands down, the best of these figures is Storm Shadow, who simply looks awesome. His paint is just shy of perfect, containing minor errors around his sword hilts. But the crisp contrast between the black plastic, particularly on the sheaths he's wearing, with the white robes is gorgeous. On his own, I'd ignore the trivial imperfections and give him a ten.
That counters the relatively less impressive eight of Barbecue. Overall, this is still a good figure: there's some nice sculpting work here, and the the design is fine. The problem is the orange plastic: it's just too shiny. I appreciate that it's cheaper to use colored plastic than it is to use paint, but it drags down the figure.
But the law of averages is the great equalizer: because they came packed together, Storm Shadow and Barbecue wind up with a nine, like the other two.
Both Beach Head and Serpentor are solid nines. There are minor paint issues here and there, but nothing too extreme. The sculpt work on both figures is excellent, though, and the designs are good. Beach Head is a little dark, though that's an unavoidable price of keeping to the character's original color scheme. Serpentor's snake armor looks ridiculously fabulous - as it should - and the scales are more or less perfect. I wish they'd used a little more shading on the left glove though, where the snake tooth gauntlet is difficult to see, but that's not a big deal.
When I bought these packs, I was expecting Serpentor to be my favorite. I was wrong. Hands down, the best of these figures is Storm Shadow, who simply looks awesome. His paint is just shy of perfect, containing minor errors around his sword hilts. But the crisp contrast between the black plastic, particularly on the sheaths he's wearing, with the white robes is gorgeous. On his own, I'd ignore the trivial imperfections and give him a ten.
That counters the relatively less impressive eight of Barbecue. Overall, this is still a good figure: there's some nice sculpting work here, and the the design is fine. The problem is the orange plastic: it's just too shiny. I appreciate that it's cheaper to use colored plastic than it is to use paint, but it drags down the figure.
But the law of averages is the great equalizer: because they came packed together, Storm Shadow and Barbecue wind up with a nine, like the other two.
Packaging and Extras: ----
What's there to say? The packaging is more or less equivalent to the Superhero Squad figures and the like. It's fine for display, if that's what you're into, but a pain to get open.
I said it last time, but it bears repeating: the art on the front is actually a lot better than what's on the other lines. I'm not sure why they used drawings on the back instead of photos, but that doesn't really matter.
Beside the figures, you get nothing, which is just what you'd expect.
Beside the figures, you get nothing, which is just what you'd expect.
Play and Display:
Serpentor and Beach Head: ----
Barbecue and Storm Shadow: +2
I wouldn't say I'm disappointed with Serpentor and Beach Head: they do what they need to. Beach Head has four points of articulation: the neck, shoulders, and waist all turn. But, frankly, the pose restrains all but the waist. That said, this does give you the option of holding his gun up and aiming or lowering it and looking away. That's a couple of natural poses: not bad, I suppose.
Serpentor just has two cut joints that work: one on each shoulder. Technically, his neck and waist are also cut, but you can literally only move these a centimeter or so before running into the sculpt. The shoulders are better than nothing, but they don't really give you many options. This isn't bad, but it's certainly not enough to start talking about bonus points.
Barbecue fares a bit better, though he's missing a joint I think should be obvious. He's got the same four joints as Beach Head, but here they're unrestricted. Ultimately, you can get quite a few distinct poses using different combinations. The only downside here is the lack of wrist joints, particularly on the ax arm. That seems like a no-brainer to me.
Barbecue and Storm Shadow: +2
I wouldn't say I'm disappointed with Serpentor and Beach Head: they do what they need to. Beach Head has four points of articulation: the neck, shoulders, and waist all turn. But, frankly, the pose restrains all but the waist. That said, this does give you the option of holding his gun up and aiming or lowering it and looking away. That's a couple of natural poses: not bad, I suppose.
Serpentor just has two cut joints that work: one on each shoulder. Technically, his neck and waist are also cut, but you can literally only move these a centimeter or so before running into the sculpt. The shoulders are better than nothing, but they don't really give you many options. This isn't bad, but it's certainly not enough to start talking about bonus points.
Barbecue fares a bit better, though he's missing a joint I think should be obvious. He's got the same four joints as Beach Head, but here they're unrestricted. Ultimately, you can get quite a few distinct poses using different combinations. The only downside here is the lack of wrist joints, particularly on the ax arm. That seems like a no-brainer to me.
 |
But why dwell on a small detail. Let's move on to Storm Shadow. Okay, let me put this in perspective. I now have about a hundred toys in this scale and style, and I can say - hands down - Storm Shadow has the best articulation of any of them. There are figures I like more, but none come close on posing options. And, yes, that includes General Grievous. It isn't so much the number of joints as their arrangement. Still, Storm Shadow has an admirable six joints: the neck, waist, shoulders, and wrists. Only the head is restrained by the sculpt: you can go 360 degrees with all the others if you want. Plus, due to the design, Storm Shadow looks phenomenal in dozens of poses. |
All of these figures have good balance, though you can find poses for Barbecue and Storm Shadow where they're off balanced if you try hard enough. Even so, the articulation on both of these figures (well, mostly Storm Shadow) is enough for two bonus points.
Price Tag and Final Analysis:
Serpentor and Beach Head: 9/10
Barbecue and Storm Shadow: 10+/10
Both of these are good sets, but the Barbecue/Storm Shadow is absolutely awesome. Even then, Barbecue is really just piggy-backing on Storm Shadow here.
I found these at Jack's World for $3.99, which I think is more than reasonable. The original retail on these guys was closer to seven or eight bucks, which is a tad overpriced. I know I'm just screaming into the abyss here, but I still say these should be going for five dollars a pair. Okay, I can see six with inflation.
That said, I might wind up trying to track down another set or two: I really want a Snake Eyes to go with Storm Shadow. In that case, I might end up paying more than I want to....
Barbecue and Storm Shadow: 10+/10
Both of these are good sets, but the Barbecue/Storm Shadow is absolutely awesome. Even then, Barbecue is really just piggy-backing on Storm Shadow here.
I found these at Jack's World for $3.99, which I think is more than reasonable. The original retail on these guys was closer to seven or eight bucks, which is a tad overpriced. I know I'm just screaming into the abyss here, but I still say these should be going for five dollars a pair. Okay, I can see six with inflation.
That said, I might wind up trying to track down another set or two: I really want a Snake Eyes to go with Storm Shadow. In that case, I might end up paying more than I want to....
Sure, I like toys, but that's not all I do with my time. I've got a blog where I review movies and write about various aspects of geek culture, I wrote and self-published a novel about Santa Claus, and I work a full-time job in New York. Where do I find the time?
On an unrelated note, scroll down for an absolutely absurd number of additional photos of GI Joe Combat Heroes.
On an unrelated note, scroll down for an absolutely absurd number of additional photos of GI Joe Combat Heroes.
  |
  |
  |
  |
