They say good things come to those who wait; well I have been waiting a long time for this figure. Back at New York Comic Con at the Hasbro Booth there was display of current and upcoming figures and among them was a 12 inch Navy Special Ops figure. I had not seen it
in the stores and when I asked the Hasbro rep I was told that it was out there for sale. Flash forward to last month and there it finally was on a store shelf ready for purchase.
The Navy Special Ops figure is great looking. This figure comes dressed in a black 2-piece uniform with an American flag on one sleeve and the name G.I. Joe emblazoned over the right pocket. The Navy SEALS have been featured in the news almost nightly in the past year so this figure is most likely going to get scooped up by collectors.
Aside from the uniform, the other accessories that are included with the figure are:
Helmet and Ballistic Safety Glasses (goggles)
9mm Semi-automatic pistol with web belt
Light machine gun
Balaclava
Knee and Elbow Pads
Combat Knife and sheath
Radio
Dog Tags
The figure is fully poseable with joints at:
Neck
Shoulders, elbows, wrists and fingers
Waist, hips, knees and ankles
One of the subtle yet nicest additions is a small hole in the figure’s ear for the radio earpiece to fit into. Previous releases have come with similar radios but there was never a place to plug the earpiece into, but now there is a premade hole. As for the articulation of the figure, though plentiful is a bit of a disappointment. Back in the early part of the decade Hasbro released G.I. Joes with what has been referred to as super articulation. Those figures had double knee and elbow joints and a joint in the chest area. These figures could be placed in amazing poses and I had hoped that Hasbro was issuing the super bodies to its new releases, but unfortunately they did not. According to what I was told at this year’s Toy Fair in New York the use of the non-Super-Articulated body was a cost saving measure to keep the price point down. This is also the reason why this figure and the other figures in this release come with limited accessories. Speaking of accessories the box says that the figure comes with a canteen and ammo holder but it does not contain either.
The current release of the 12 inch scale is celebrating real heroes and includes a The Navy Special Ops, a Police K-9 unit, a First Responder Firefighter, a Rapid Strike Commando, an Army Heavy Gunner and an Army Paratrooper. In this post 9/11 world these figures represent the individuals who defend our freedoms both home and abroad. This release is a welcomed sight on the shelves of your local toy emporium.
I am happy to see the larger scale Joes on the shelf and I would suggest that if you are a fan these are a great addition to your collection. These figures retail for 19.99 except for the Paratrooper which retails for 29.99. The working parachute isn’t worth the extra 10 dollars so wait until it goes on sale. Currently there are no new vehicles available for these figures and will not be in the foreseeable future. I was also informed by Hasbro that there are no plans to produce more figures in the 12 inch scale. The next big release of G.I. Joe figures are those depicting characters from the upcoming G.I. Joe: Retaliation feature film and there are no 12 inch figures in that release. Sadly, this may be the end of this scale altogether. So pick up one or more of these for either yourself or someone else with good taste while you still can. YO JOE!!!
#G.I. Joe: Retaliation
