Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Action Figure Review: Vincent R. "Falcon" Falcone from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 


   Since I skipped the Crimson B.A.T., at this point the last figure I have to review from the most recent series of G.I. Joe: Classified Series figures is Vincent R. "Falcon" Falcone, better known as just Falcon or Lt. Falcon. He's been out for a couple of months now, so it's likely hat you've heard the memes and seen the negative reviews of this guy. Yes, it's sad to say that Falcon is kind of a dud. Falcon was part of the 1987 series of G.I. Joe figures and appeared in the animated movie (voiced by Don Johnson) where he was Duke's half brother and portrayed as a bit of a slacker. His vintage figure was excellent, though, with a very classic Green Beret outfit. When this figure was first shown I had two problems with it. The first was the lack of interesting updates to the figure to make him feel more modern and the second was the weird headsculpt from the render images. Neither of those issues were fixed, so Falcon definitely is kind of disappointing. How so? Let's take a closer look at him after the break and find out...





The Facts:

Height: 6 1/4ths inches

Articulation: Swivel/ hinge ankles, boot swivels, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, ball jointed drop down hips, ball jointed waist, mid-torso hinge, butterfly pecs, swivel/hinge shoulders, bicep swivels, double hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, ball jointed neck base, hinged neck, and a ball jointed head.

Accessories: 3 piece Shotgun, bandanna, backpack, knife, and beret.

Non-Scalper Price: $25 dollars






The Positives:



* I do have a lot of complaints about this figure but I will say that the base body and web gear for Falcon is pretty nice looking. It's simple and classic with a solid camouflage pattern and a number of shades of green. The web gear isn't removable but it is a separate piece that rests over Falcon's torso. It's covered with pouches and some extras like a knife sheath and a Joe-pro on the right shoulder. The green bandanna is also a separate piece that fits around Falcon's neck. 










* The watch on Falcon's left wrist is pretty cool, too. It even has a paint application for the face and for the watch hands. 




* Falcon's gaiters are pretty cool, too. There's a lot of nice detail on them and they really look spot on. 




* Ignore Falcon's face for a minute! I just want to point out his cool beret. It's removable and it fits him really well. 


*  Falcon is a fairly standard figure, so he has the same excellent articulation as most others in the line. There's some seriously well designed articulation that allows for a great range of motion everywhere on this guy. The Classified Series truly makes the classic Joes, the ARAH Joes, and the modern 1/18th scale Joes proud. These are fun, durable figures that are a joy to mess around with.


* Falcon has upgraded his shotgun and now carries a Franchi SPAS-12. It's a nice looking accessory with solid sculpting and even some paint applications. The barrel is hollow, too, so you can pop a firing effect inside.




* The stock folds out and it's made from two parts that attach to the shotgun: There's an arm and the butt plate. There are also some non-removable shotgun shells clipped onto the stock. 



* For getting close and personal Falcon comes toting a long, thin knife with some notches in the blade.




* Falcon's backpack is pretty nice. It's decidedly kind of old school, but I do like the look of it. It' fairly faithful to the vintage backpack with the antenna sticking out of the back from a radio system, two canteens, and some rappelling cord. The canteens each get a paint app, as does the cord. Behind the antenna there is actually a radio tuner sculpted onto the pack with a little bit of detail. That's a neat feature. 




* You can also store Falcon's knife on his backpack, just like the vintage toy. He has a sheath rather than just some hooks like the vintage toy did, so that's a cool improvement here.

The Negatives:

* OK, I've got quite a few negatives here, so hold on. First, let's start with the non-functioning sheath on his right shoulder. Remember that we've had figures with functional should sheaths for years now, so why did Hasbro mess this one up? Not removable pistols and knives from holsters is one of my biggest pet peeves. 



* The green bandanna is cool but it kind of sets on Falcon's collar rather than around it. It just looks off to me. 


* Here's the big one: Falcon's headsculpt is just weird. Like, the proportions just don't look right. I've seen him compared  to one of the Thunderbirds, Matt Damon from Team America: World Police, Lothar from The Rocketeer, and any number of Dick Tracy villains. What happened here? Take a look at him from different angles. He looks like what would happen if you started just carelessly messing around with the facial features in a character generator from a video game. The paint on the lips is really heavy too, just adding to how off putting Falcon's headsculpt is.




* The fold out stock on Falcon's SPAS-12 is really cool. It's too bad the butt plate keeps falling off. It's tough to keep it attached unless the stock is folded up, so that a bummer. 



* The articulation is overall fine on my figure but the lower knee hinge on my Falcon is stuck. I've had to heat it, scrape away some flashing, and use cold treatment to finally get it working. Some kind of weird molding error, I guess. 

    Vincent R. "Falcon" Falcone is a huge disappointment. I mean, there's some good stuff here (the backpack, the web gear for the most part, the shotgun itself)but most of it is offset by things that bring those positives down (the non-functioning sheath, the ill-fitting bandanna, the flimsy stock). Furthermore, that headsculpt is just terrible. Cover Girl's was a little off and Outback had eyes that looked a bit too large, but Falcon just doesn't look like he fits in this line. The Classified Series has had so many amazing portraits and it's a shame that something happened here. I mean, no one at Hasbro really thinks this is a decent sculpt right? With no additional sidearm or extra weapon, Falcon also just feels a bit barebones. Unless you're planning a head swap and an upgrade of equipment, just stay away from this guy. He's an Eh figure and perhaps my first real disappointment in the Classified Series. I'm really hoping this is a fluke and that the G.I. Joe team at Hasbro has rectified things so we don't get a figure like this again. 



This is the first figure of Vincent R. "Falcon" Falcone I've reviewed. For more reviews from the G.I. Joe Classified Series check out the following:
Flint  






4 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. I can definitely see elements there. I could see this being a fine headsculpt but the proportions are just weird. It's like the top half of the face and the bottom half don't match.

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  2. It's weird they decided to say Falcon isn't his actual last name. Falcon is an actual last name, so saying "oh, his name is actually Falcone and his codename is Falcon" seems a bit pointless and redundant, especially if you're using the non-Italian pronunciation of it ("Fal-cone"/"Falc-one" as opposed to "Fal-coh-nee").

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  3. Yeah, it's one of the only G.I. Joe characters I can think of off hand whose code name is so close to their regular name. That's the way it was on the 1987 file card, though. I've seen people in the states with a nickname similar to their last name. Sometimes it starts because someone pronounces the last name once or twice and it becomes a running joke. I could see Falcon having had to correct peope on mispronouncing his last name or so often that it became a running gag and his buddies just started calling him Falcon.

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