Posted in: Collectibles, Hasbro | Tagged: gi joe, hasbro, snake eyes

GI Joe Collectors: The New Basic Figures From Hasbro Are A Mixed Bag

GI Joe is hotter in the streets than it has been in quite some time. The Snake Eyes movie releases this month, and on the toy side, the Classified line has seen sellout after sellout when waves are released into stores. The Walmart exclusive 3.75 "retro" line has also been a success. But one group that was left out of all the fun would be younger collectors. Hasbro heard you, and they now have role play and a new line of budget figures about to invade store shelves. We got our hands on three of the new figures, so let's take a look at why these will be popular GI Joe figures, just not in the way Hasbro may be hoping.

Basic GI Joe Figures Are A Great Idea But Missing A Couple Key Parts

I love the packaging here. Mostly gone are the days of the blister card like this, and it is going to be so cool to walk into a store and see blister cards like this on the shelf, let alone GI Joe figures. These are branded to the Snake Eyes film, and the logo really pops on the front. My only problem is that the key art is only Snake Eyes. Why not do character art for each? On the back, they demo the action for the figure, which we will get to in a minute. As a Storm Shadow focus guy, I will need to grab another for MOC purposes and will be happy to do so.

The figures are a real mixed bag. Each of these three GI joe characters: Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, and Baroness are sculpted very well. These new "tech" looks really work for me, although I think the Baroness is a bit too blue for me. No, the look of the figures is not the issue. It's what is missing. These are more budget and kid-friendly figures, so there is limited articulation already; I get that. But with the weapons included, they should have included wrist articulation. All of the weapons fit really awkwardly in their hands and while posing. They also stand weirdly because of the action each figure does when pulling back on the torso. A little annoying, but the play-action feature will be great for kids getting into Joes. The scale is good, and besides the giant blaster Baroness comes with, the weapons are all pretty great. That blaster is pointless, though.

These will get played with for sure, but I can see these being used in dioramas in GI Joe displays very easily. And when Joe collectors get involved…it may be tough for these to get into the hands of who Hasbro wants them to. At the $9.99 price point, though, for what these are, and even with the issues with the wrists and such, these are a good buy and perfect for all the new Joe fans Snake Eyes may bring in. These will be in stores this month and can be ordered right here.

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