Monday, November 13, 2023

Action Figure Review: Snow Job from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 


   Today begins the first day of a G.I. Joe: Classified Series marathon. This is my favorite ongoing line right now and the amount of figures that Hasbro has squeezed out in the last four months of the year has been insane! Today starts at least 2 weeks of non-stop G.I. Joe reviews.!

   We've had some colder weather here in the Carolinas and it has me in the mood to review Snow Job, another new(er) deluxe figure from Hasbro's G.I. Joe: Classified Series. I didn't have Snow Job as a kid as he was before my time. Instead, I had Iceberg, Blizzard, and Stalker in his tundra gear. While I'm sure we'll get to those two at some point, Snow Job was the original arctic trooper for the Joe team. I had the 25th Anniversary version of Snow Job, which is still a fine figure, but the Pursuit of Cobra Snow Job was downright amazing. This figure may borrow a little from all of those previous releases though he's still fairly faithful to the vintage figure as well. In Hasbro's Star Wars: The Black Series, many of Hasbro's deluxe efforts are laughable as they don't look or feel any more deluxe than a standard figure. Most of the Classified Series deluxe releases have felt worth the extra effort. How about Snow Job? Is St. Harlan W. Moore worthy of being a deluxe figure or is Hasbro trying to pull a Snow Job on us? Zip up, read on, and find out after the break...




The Facts:

Height: 6 1/2 inches

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

Accessories: Rifle, magazine, pistol, holster, 2 swappable portraits, 2 hoods, goggles, 2 skis, 2 snowshoes, 2 poles, and a backpack.

Non-Scalper Price: $35 dollars.


The Positives:


* Snow Job is decked out in a pretty heavy duty snow suit which makes him bulkier than your average figure. It's a cool look for a cold weather specialist and rather than just being all white like the vintage figure, this version of Snow Job has grey highlights on his pants and jacket and grey pockets up and down his sleeves and pantlegs. That, coupled with the brown harness, belt, and holster definitely makes him more visually appealing while also still keeping him in colors that seem like they'd aid in cold weather camouflage. The holster and the shoulder straps are both separate pieces, though the shoulder straps aren't removable. 


* The 2008 25th Anniversary version of Snow Job was the first version to have the ability to see his face without the goggles as they were removable (along with the larger hood). This is the first one with a fully exposed portrait, though, and it's quite good. I love his thick beard and hair. Definitely helpful when staying warm out in the elements. Harlan has some great detail in his hair and beard along with wind chapped skin. 



* The second portrait has Snow Job with his smaller hood on. It's a tighter hood, part of his inner snow suit, I guess. Or maybe it's a separate piece. Still a great portrait and it looks pretty cool with the hood. 



* To protect his eyes during blizzard conditions you can pop these polarized goggles on Snow Job's face. They fit well and can be placed over his eyes or upon his forehead. They also can fit on the forehead of the unhooded Snow Job, but they really won't fit down over his face due to the the thickness of his hair.


* The large fur collar around Snow Job's neck in the previous pictures is actually his oversized hood pulled down. Want him to wear it? Just pop off the head and remove the tucked down hood, replacing it with the full hood. It fits on either portrait and works with the goggles on the portrait with the smaller hood already on Harlan's noggin. It's pretty neat and he looks fantastic all bundled up.








* The Classified Series always has impressive articulation and while Snow Job's parka and such makes him a bit bulkier, he can still move quite well. He interacts really nicely with his weapons and ski gear as well. There is a lot of cool stuff you can do with this guy, so have fun. 


* Snow Job is an Olympic level Biathlon competitor and a rifle instructor, so he knows the value of a good rifle. While it's rare for the Classified Series weapons to be completely modeled off of real firearms, his rifle looks to me a bit like a Remington MSR. The rifle has a really nice design with some very sharp details and even some paint applications.





* It also has a removable magazine so you can pose Snow Job loading it. It's a pretty decent sized magazine. 



* I might be wrong but Snow Job's pistol looks a bit like a Ruger-57. It's a very cool looking pistol that seems like it could be a pretty reliable backup weapon if Snow Job needs it in close quarters. I love the shape of the pistol. It's just really aesthetically pleasing. 




* The pistol can fit easily in the holster on his right hip.




* To traverse the tundra, Snow Job comes with a lot of extra cold weather gear. First up are his skis. Many G.I. Joe figures have come with skis over the years, but Snow Job was the first. They're very long (at least as tall as Snow Job) and they fit on his feet quite well. You simply use the foot pegs rather than strap them on or anything but they do the job. 




* For general travel in winter weather Snow Job also comes with a pair of modern snowshoes. They're fairly simple and easy to put on him. Just slide the toes of his boots into them and push him down on the foot peg. 










* He also comes with a pair of ski poles. The tips of the poles get a silver paint app and the loops to keep them from getting lost are sculpted in a fairly natural position. 




* Snow Job's backpack is massive. It isn't as cool as his pursuit of Cobra era backpack that had all sorts of radio equipment and such built into it but it his a very nice traditional backpack for toting around all of his needed cold weather gear.





* The backpack hold all of his stuff. The skis fit into opening straps on the sides, the ski poles plug into notches, the snowshoes hang down from below the backpack, and the rifle slip down securely into the middle of the pack. It stays on quite well and is pretty impressively designed. Snow Job can hold all of his gear and have his hands completely free (other than the spare hood and extra portrait, which don't count). 

   Snow Job is an incredible figure and a nice start to an arctic operations team for G.I. Joe. I just love the look of the figure (something about his outfit makes me think of James Bond's snow gear in GoldenEye on Nintendo 64) and how he looks ready to survive in the elements. The ability to carry his rifle when skiing and the addition of snowshoes is very welcome. They're just great little design elements that enhance the figure and make Snow Job feel like more than just a 1/12th scale redo of the vintage toy. He's an Epic figure and I'm excited to eventually have him joined by Blizzard, Iceberg, Frostbite, and Stalker in his tundra gear. Heck, I'd be down for a cold weather Snake Eyes and Kwinn set, too. 

This is the first figure of Snow Job I've reviewed on the site. For more G.I. Joe: Classified Series reviews check out the following:
Flint  









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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousNovember 13, 2023 at 4:20 AM

    never not smirk at his name

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbecue17November 15, 2023 at 8:55 AM

      Yeah, for sure. I mean, I know what the real term means and it makes sense, but it just …doesn't roll off the tongue right, you know?

      Ehh, maybe that was a poor choice of wording.

      Delete
  2. GIJigsawNovember 13, 2023 at 12:30 PM

    One of my favorites. Hasbro did a nice job on this one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbecue17November 15, 2023 at 8:56 AM

      Yes, he definitely manages to feel like a deluxe figure and worth the higher price point. His gear is really well done and I'm glad they gave him some snowshoes, too.

      Delete
  3. Lyles Movie FilesNovember 24, 2023 at 8:52 PM

    Such a fun figure. I've been amazed how each figure I open seems to surpass the last one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbecue17November 27, 2023 at 4:53 PM

      I do feel like each new figure I open is now my favorite. That's a nice problem to have in a toyline, though.

      Delete

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