Review: Hasbro 3-3/4 inch Gi Joe Retaliation -Gi Joe Trooper

The Facts

• Part of the now postponed GI Joe Retaliation movie action figure line.
• Latest of the GI Joe “Grunt” action figures
• Two versions currently on the market, one with a tan survival cloak and gas mask as well as one with a blue survival cloak and gas mask.

Sculpt/Paint

To my knowledge this is an all new sculpt from head to toe.  We have got some nicely sculpted cargo pants and baggy shirt. The knee pads stand out as well as the way his pants cuffs slip over his boots in an extremely realistic fashion. I like the hands quite a bit on this character as they are easily able to hold any of his weapons and accessories. The Paint is pretty basic; just some olive green, black, metallic, and flesh tone for the face, but it honestly doesn’t need to be anything else. A really nice touch on his helmet and gas mask, is the use of metallic paint for the visors. As of late on most of the 3-3/4” GI Joe line there is some great attention to detail and emotion put into the face sculpt. This guy looks like something right out of “The Hurt Locker” or “Modern Warfare”.  The Mohawk is an awesome touch and really sets this figure off. This figure being a “Grunt” is nameless, but the head sculpt requires a name… let’s call him “Soap”.

Articulation

Soap has all the latest GI Joe articulation points, bending wrists, tilting ankles, and double joint knees. His arms bend wonderfully at the elbows and are not interfered with by any of his sculpt as on some other recent figures. As stated previously his hands are able to hold all of his weapons and accessories with ease. Nice job on the joints and poseablitly here Hasbro!

Accessories

Take a seat for this one folks…. We have a lot do discuss here. Soap comes with a huge amount of accessories and in in no particular order here they are; shotgun, two different assault rifles, 2 small caliber hand guns, 2 large caliber hand guns, two survival knifes, knife sheaths, a survival cloak, (no it does not give the user invisibility or allow him to sing on Broadway) shovel, web gear, gas mask, and a sweet Master Chief style helmet ala Halo! Oh, one more accessory… a back pack that holds all of that stuff! Hasbro really pulled out all of the stops, my only complaint?? Throw some paint on those weapons please, the gray plastic is meh… But a serious kudos to the fact that everything can fit and be stored on his back pack.

Pros

1. Kickin’ head sculpt, very reminiscent of a certain “Modern Warfare” character.
2. Separate helmet is another obvious ode to a video game character.
3. Simple but effective paint app.
4. Good clean articulation, he can hold all of his weapons and accessories (not at once) with his hands.
5. The crazy amount of stuff he comes with, this is a standout of the Retaliation line.

Cons

1. The orange shovel is weird… should he use caution when using the mini shovel? Why is it orange? It looks like ROC TRU exclusive Doc gave it to him.
2. Drab paint on his weapons.
3. The fact that he is going to be hard to find for another 8 months and once the line is re-released he will still be hard to find and fetch a premium on the secondary market.

“Hero Shot”

While I am not 100% sure why Gi Joe Retaliation was postponed, I hope it was for a damn good reason. There are some pretty promising figures in the line and it is a disservice to the efforts of Hasbro to not have a possible hit summer movie to tie in to. I would also like to ad that I am rather upset I will have to wait even longer for my John Mclain err I mean Joe Colton 3-3/4” action figure… Yippee Ki Yay Mother%&$@*r!!!