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One of the major parts of the renovation is a completely renovated first floor and lounge in Pauley Hall.
One of the 80's properties being revamped in 2020 is none other than G.I. Joe, this time under the "Classified Series" moniker. Manufactured and released by Hasbro, these figures are of the 6 inch scale rather than the 3.75 inch scale figures back in day, so more in line with the last line I actually paid attention to, Sigma 6.. and by pay attention to, I mean I actually knew existed.
You see, I'm actually not a G.I. Joe guy... or really any other 80s property outside of Transformers and some TMNT.
Well, for whatever reason, these figures have been RIDICULOUSLY hard to find, probably due to a combination of COVID and actual rabid fans hoarding them all. I only was able to get a hold of Scarlett her thanks to some assistance from a collector in London, ON helping me out (@Daniel Koper) where apparently they were much easier to come by.
So why Scarlett? She's the only female release in the First Wave, that's why.
Real name Shana M. O'Hara, she's one of the G.I. Joe specialists in Counter Intelligence, is skilled in Martial Arts and Acrobatics, and her weapon of choice is the XK-1 Power Crossbow along with knives. There's a whole extensive fictional biography for her (Scarlett is almost 40 years old, you know) that I'm sure some fans could probably recite for me.
These figures retail for $29.99 CAD, which is the price point for pretty all of the Hasbro figures based on the Marvel Legends 6 in. body. While I'm not a huge Legends fan, each new product line using it does show some improvements, and I was curious about this.
Upon opening the box, you'll get Scarlett complete with Bandolier, her crossbow and three knives. No BAF components with this first Wave, and I'm thinking this is going to stay that way for the purposes of maintaining this price.
Much like with a Figma or a Figuarts, if you look at Scarlett you'll immediately recognize some standard Marvel Legends and Hasbro traits. The overall body shape is there. Thigh swivels are still a thing, as are being given hands that clearly are only meant for holding one things (and not having optional parts to swap them out). Another standard feature, namely the lack of paint wherever possible (in this case, the weapons) makes another appearance.
Having said that, the amount of paint on Scarlett herself isn't too bad.
I remember some people hating on the line (Scarlett in particular) because they were "too colourful" and "anime like". Looking at her Classified Series design and the classic 80s look, she's actually pretty faithful to the original look, while adding some new features. She's now got some gold to break up the yellow of her gloves, gauntlets, boots, and so on, and she now only has chest armour rather than a full torso piece.
Her boots are more interesting too, with red soles, and boosters behind her calf. Gauntlets have moulded and painted throwing stars. Of course, there's also that Bandolier I mentioned earlier. There's textures and other similar fabric features moulded into her suit. Overall, her outfit has been given that 2000s sensibility, and I'm digging it.
The quality of the paint apps, however, range from pretty sharp to, well, Marvel Legends. Still, that means on the whole, the paint application quality on Scarlett is above the expectations I have of a Marvel Legends product.
The head is a bit harder to judge. By itself it's decent. Fairly clean paint work (even the eyes) with freckles. Hair detailing isn't bad and again, features some decent paint work. The only real concern would be the Death Glare, but it's a Hasbro figure, and at least it's a clean looking Death Glare.
Of course, then I take a look at reference materials on the box itself.
Sure, she's got the right coloured hair, but her hair and facial features are off in comparison to her profile pic on the front and side of the box, and by the art on the back of the box, they missed highlights in her hair and the shape of her eyes and eyebrows are completely off.
What are you gonna do?
Articulation resulted in some pleasant surprises. Scarlett is without a doubt probably the poseable 6 inch Hasbro figure I've played with in a long time (Transformers are a partnership with Takara Tomy). You get ankle rockers and pivots, double jointed knees, thigh swivel, hips that pull down for more range of motion, an actual waist joint as well as mid torso ball joint, shoulders with chest compress, forearm rotation, single jointed elbows, wrist pivot, neck rotation, and ball jointed head with pivot.
I'm not saying Scarlett's a Figuart, but it seems like the G.I. Joe line has built on the improvements of the Lightning Series Power Ranger stuff. The pull down hips and waist add a great amount of posing versatility.
The shoulders are interesting with that additional joint that allows the arms to come together/spread further apart. The Power Ranger suits, had a cut in the tunic that allows for maximum range of motion. The potential for increased shoulder motion is there, but the chest section of the figures will need to be slightly reworked.
Overall, I'd say the lower body has some great articulation, and the upper body has potential to be great, especially with a shoulder fix and double jointed elbows.
Finally there's build quality. Again, all things considered, not too bad. The materials are somewhat soft, but feel stiffer than the stuff that the Lightning Series are made from. I imagine that stiffness is what allows for the various fabric details to show up. Similarly, I found an improvement in the quality of the parts finishes and the build as compared to the Lighting Series figures.
The G.I. Joe line up should do well with fans due to nostalgia and general fun in articulation. It's not a line I'm going to get heavily involved in, but I hope those that are into it get an enjoyable ride from the line while it lasts.
I'm just happy it seems that Hasbro seems to be getting their head in the game and actually looking at articulation as something that matters. Maybe by the next line, they'll have updated the actual bodies to offer more than one muscle build?
Here's hoping!
Ive had a certain style of my dolls and I have enjoyed them very much over the last couple of years. But Id also like to finally try something new.
I am REVAMPing my collection. Im keeping a few of them, but selling many off. I want to focus more on little companies vs big companies like FL or Volks. There is something special in knowing that you own only 1 of 50 made world wide vs 1 of thousands. ;)
If you are interested in a doll I own please do contact me here, DOA, Dairyland or FB.
I will not be adopting out:
Volks FCS 21/12
Marbled Hall Glee
Suiseiseki
Unoa Chibis
Napi Naya
So yeah, Noah was a pretty important character to me back when I was 16 and writing dumb OC fic. Though to be fair, I mainly saw him as an extension of Kiryna, my Japanese Momoko doll since they (still) are the most expensive 1/6th figures I’ve spent on them separately, yet happen to have ultra awkward collector doll bodies and work really cutely as a couple, since Noah had one of the tallest bodies for an adult 1/6th figure while Kiryna has one of the smaller adult female bodies on this scale.
I’m really proud of being able to finally get a hunky looking face out of that awkward sculpt and haircut, and I’m finally getting my money’s worth heh.
I can’t take any credit for this, nor, unfortunately do I know who created it.
It comes to something though when watching grass grow or filling out your tax returns are more preferable to watching this England side playing football.
Evo was my first breakout set and he was great, at the time. Now he's just this little guy with one swollen arm. To remedy that, I've completely rebuilt him. I was inspired by BobtheDoctor27's standardized heroes and wanted to adapt one of my favourites. Credit to him for the blaster and arm gun designs.
I really wanted to retain the color blocking of the original - Grey boots and the asymmetric arms, which I believe I've managed to do. The 2016 Toa torso is my favourite thing to come from G2, It's super easy to adapt and the waist function is just ideal. I will (and have) be making more Hero Factory heroes using this base structure.
Based on what Christine Daaé wears in "Masquerade" in "Phantom of the Opera". Skirt has gotten two ruffled netting layers in the underlayer, which gave the skirt a much cooler shape.
Two-point waist articulation allows for a great deal of flexibility, but is only really viable because the new style ball socket connectors are impressively strong.
Of course, she literally lacks an abdomen, which is another tired trope in female character design, but I liked how it came out too much to let it go.