GI Joe: 25th Anniversary

Review by Loc

If there’s one toy line that dominated by childhood affections, it was GI Joe: A Real American Hero. These 3 and ¾ inch military marvels captured my imagination like no other. I still remember the first introduction into the line: my brother brought home four figures and a battle-pack vehicle. Gung-Ho, Torpedo, Destro, and the Cobra Trooper were destined to battle one another for weeks, and the S.N.A.K.E armor was the bad guys’ secret weapon. The following years saw countless trips to Toys R Us deliver more carded goodness, from Snake-Eyes to Storm Shadow, and big-ass vehicles like the Skystriker jet plane or the Tomahawk helicopter. Those were fine days.

As kids grew up, the line faded. Every so often, Hasbro would try to resurrect the brand, first with brand new characters, later with reissue anniversary packs. They even tried reinventing the line several times, first as Sgt. Savage, later as Extreme, and most recently as Sigma Six. Nothing ever recaptured the magic and glory of the original Real American Hero.

Until now. With the 25^th Anniversary line, Hasbro dipped back into the well and came out smelling like roses. New sculpts that paid tribute to the originals with today’s styling sensibilities adorn toy shelves. To spice things up, this line is carded like the originals, most even replicating the explosive card art that was so recognizable in the past. For collectors and nostagliasts alike, this line hit a homerun in a way they never anticipated.

Starting with the classic packaging, the 25^th anniversary figures come sealed like retro-goodies. The classic card art ushers a wave of warm fuzziness that hits close to those who grew up with the army men of yore. Some collectors have posed an interesting question: are people buying the card art more than they’re buying the toy? Possibly, but what a fine piece of trashy art it is.

The figures themselves are the perfect mix of new and old. Characters are sculpted with a strong nod to the past, retaining much of the source material for inspiration. From Snake-Eyes being packaged with his trusty wolf to Firefly’s opening backpack, the attention to detail is amazing. If you’re someone who prefers to open their toys, gasp I know, there are so many great things about the product, you won’t mind dropping the dough on these guys, at least not in the heat of the moment.

However, not everything is perfect. The updated sculpts may look and feel great, but little pain points do add up. First, the updated figures feature modern articulation. This is great as the figures retain their immense poseability. Yet, for some sculpts, the added molding severely limits the range of movement. The reissued Duke is notorious for his non-bending arms, a seemingly sweet forearm sculpt of rolled sleeves cutting his ability to grasp anything past 30 degrees.

In addition, hands are sculpted to hold weapons, but come packaged with clear rubberbands to keep armaments in place. This is because, even with great looking trigger fingers, these guys couldn’t grip more than a ball of jelly. Guns, knives, swords, whatever fall right out of their hands, making it difficult to fend off enemy attacks.

Lastly, part of the genius of this line is also part of the frustration. The old Joes were molded with generic body parts, allowing lots of mixing to occur. Slap on a new paint job, and you got yourself a new character. The 25^th Anniversary line keeps the tradition alive, allowing for multiple repaints simply by switching out body parts or exchanging limbs. For some character, the simple body swap does an amazing job of portraying a new soldier. Take the artic trooper Snow Job, who happens to share his body with the evil pilot Wild Weasel. Who would have guessed that a white-clad snow trooper would turn seamlessly into a red-drenched fighter pilot, complete with appropriate flight maps and gear.

However, with the good comes some bad. For some body swaps, the results are less than stellar. Collectors can’t groan enough at how a Zartan body, complete with chest and thigh armor, could be repainted into a Major Bludd. True, it doesn’t look that great, and maybe this was a time where the cost-cutting took its toll on the product.

Yet, by and large, the 25^th Anniversary line shines bright. Capitalizing on nostalgia is not a new thing, just take a look at all the geriatric bands that come out for reunion tours and rake in the dough. However, Hasbro has shown an uncanny amount of care in pushing this product out to the masses, nailing the right parts to usher the kid-at-heart back to the toy aisles.

You can find these now in your toy stores and department stores. Hasbro never anticipated this response, so initial prices were as low as $4. After hooking idiots like me, you’ll drop around $6.50 a pop on these guys. They’re not the cheapest, but they’re the finest. Yo joe!