Monday, December 1, 2025

Action Figure Review: Courtney "Cover Girl" Krieger (Retro) from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 

   I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Now that we're all stuffed, let's jump in again with some action figure reviews! I'm still way, way behind on reviewing G.I. Joe: Classified Series figures but I'm trying to catch up. Today I'm checking out another of the Retro series releases and this time it's a Retro series figure that actually adheres more to the Sunbow animated series rather than to the vintage A real American Hero action figure: Courtney "Cover Girl" Krieger. The first Classified Series Cover Girl was released in early 2023, right when Hasbro was starting to use the now infamous "plastic-free" packaging. Not only was this a radical departure from how action figures have traditionally been packaged but it also was a series of figures that had some weird issues with the faces. The Classified Series has always been really strong when it comes to the headsculpts and face printing but figures from this particular wave like Cover Girl, Falcon, and the standard Outback all had odd looking portraits and/or face printing. This one really isn't a redo of that figure, though. In fact, I'm pretty sure the only reused part is her torso. Everything else is either new or sourced from somewhere else. She's a pretty interesting figure as with her blonde hair with a different headsculpt and a fairly different outfit, she could easily pass for a new character instead of Cover Girl. I believe Cover Girl only appeared like this in the original Sunbow animated G.I. Joe miniseries and was later changed to a more toy accurate design (she was also blonde in the 2009 Rise of Cobra film, where she was portrayed by Karolína Kurková, so this is definitely a more obscure take on the character. Ready to check out Cover Girl? Then join me after the break...





The Facts:

Height: 6 inches

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

Accessories: 2 swappable portraits, 2 swappable hairpieces, 4 swappable hands, laser rifle, pistol, wrench, sledgehammer, and display stand.

Non-Scalper Price: $25-$28 dollars




Comparison:

* On the left is the Retro series Cover Girl while the standard Classified Series Cover Girl is on the right. They don't share the same heads, though I don't actually have the default Cover Girl head on the standard Cover Girl. Instead, I have the alternate head from the Marvel Legends Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne set. I liked it better than the one that was included with Cover Girl. 





The Positives:

* This version of Cover Girl has a very different outfit and might fit in with the Original 13 Joes quite well if you're willing to expand that team. She definitely looks more like a mechanic to me in her green pants and jacket than the operator of an armored and treaded vehicle. Seriously, other than her torso, everything else seems to be completely different here. The jacket is a separate piece that sits over the torso, but why remove it? She'd be stuck with just green jacket sleeves. Her sleeves are longer on this jacket than on the leather jacket of the previous release and she's wearing less stuff on her; her belt is thinner and she's not sporting any thigh pouches or a thigh holster. There's not a ton of paint but everything present is sharp and clean. 





* The previous Cover Girl figure had very dark red hair and very sharp, striking features. She looked like the kind of supermodel you'd see walking some catwalk that was striking but also rather intense. This version of Cover Girl looks more like a classic beauty, the girl next door type or someone you might see in a pinup. While the blonde take on Cover Girl is not the one I'm most familiar with, I do like this portrait better as the previous one was victim to the weird face printing that most figures that released alongside of her wave suffered from.  




* The second portrait shows Cover Girl smiling and it looks pretty nice. You can see why she was a popular model! Maybe she has powers like Nicki, Jerry's girlfriend on the Seinfeld episode "The Calzone" who could essentially get whatever she wanted just by smiling and asking. That'd be a heck of a power against Vipers, wouldn't it? Cover Girl has swappable hair, so you can use her long blonde hair with either portrait. 





* The second swappable hairpiece has a baseball cap with Courtney's hair braided and spilling out from behind. This is honestly my favorite look for the figure: The smiling face and the baseball cap. The logo says "The Pit's Garage" and seems like something you'd see your average mechanic or motor pool team member wearing. It's really excellent. Heck, if you want you could use the non-smiling head and standard long hair on the previous figure and this one here. They both still feel like pretty different figures, too. 







* Here's a look at Cover Girl's braid and the cool details on her pockets on her jacket. Not only are the zippers painted she has "AFV" on her right bicep (I'm assuming for Armored Fighting Vehicle) and her name ("Krieger"), group ("Armor"), and grade ("E-4") on her left bicep.







* There's nothing to complain about with Cover Girl's articulation. She can both strike a pose on the runway and use all of her weapons to lay waste to Cobra. She's sturdy, has a great range of motion in her joints, and she's just a lot of fun to pose and play around with, particularly because she can interact well with all of her accessories. She's quite well loaded!






* She also comes with two pair of hands that can be swapped out. She has a pair of basic pistol grips/ trigger fingers and a pair of fists. They swap easily and allow you to mix her up just a bit more. Maybe those fists come in handy when Clutch is acting a bit too extra. 









* She's packing heat, too! She comes with an XMLR-3A laser rifle, a staple of the Joe team in the cartoon. We've seen these before, sure, but the paintjob on her rifle is incredibly nice. Cover Girl doesn't just hang out in the motor pool, after all. 








* A sledgehammer is also included. Is this for bashing some Cobra troopers? Sure, but it can also be useful for, say, changing the bogies on a tank or other armored vehicle with tracks. We've also seen this with the Search & Rescue Firefighter (and I'm hoping we someday see it included with Tollbooth) but it makes perfect sense for Courtney Krieger as she's a specialist in repairing armored vehicles.  






* Cover Girl's sidearm is reused from her first appearance, but it's still one of the best in the line: A customized Colt Competition 1911A customized automatic pistol with a compensator, a red dot sight, and a stylized pistol grip. It even looks like Cover Girl has added a floorplate to the bottom of the magazine. It's a great sidearm. 









* It also fits securely into the holster on her right hip that is part of her belt. 












* I'm also really liking this wrench. It's not a new accessory by any means but it's quite impressive all the same. It even gets a paint application on the adjustable jaw and the worm screw is sculpted. Blue and black definitely is a nice color scheme. It must be Kobalt brand, right?









* There's a slot on the back of her belt to store the wrench, too. Never let a good tool out of your sight!








* The display stand that all of the Retro series figures have included is also present once again, helping to keep Cover Girl standing tall.








   

   When the Retro series hits, it really does hit. Sure, there are plenty of figures in it that are largely just repaints, but the recent Flint figure and Cover Girl are excellent releases that could have easily been in the mainline series. I actually like this figure better than the original Cover Girl! I really do think this version of Cover Girl works just as well as an all new character. Excellent accessories, great alternate looks with the swappable hair and portraits, and a cool design. Oh, and a stand. Seriously, Hasbro needs to throw stands in with all of the Classified Series figures. That would be a solid move. This is an Epic figure and superior to the original release unaugmented. If you spruced her up like I did than she's comparable, but the smiling portrait and the Pit baseball cap really sell me. 





Looking for more action figures of Cover Girl/ Courtney Krieger? I've also reviewed the Classified Series Courtney "Cover Girl" Krieger.

For more G.I. Joe: Classified Series reviews check out the following:
Destro  
Flint  

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