When I was a kid I played with action figures. I had a lot of them. As I got older, I stopped playing and took to collecting them. During high school, I almost exclusively collected anime characters and things with chainsaws. When I started college, I pretty much gave it up because I had better things to do and no good place to display my collection.
Last Christmas, I got a glass display case where I was able to display all the figures I had boxed up for the past few years. I hadn't really bought anything new, save a couple of Final Fantasy figures when Advent Children had come out.
Lately, though... There's been something wrong with me. I find myself heading to the toy aisle every time I go to Wal-mart or Target. I blame David Willis (http://www.shortpacked.com/). But say la vee, as they say.
Why am I telling you this? Well, I thought it might be a good idea to give a little background before I start telling you about my latest purchase: G.I. Joe's Gung Ho.
In the past there were two kind of GI Joes... The 3.5 inch ones and the 12 inch ones. Over the past couple of years, starting with the Sigma 6 line, they've started making 8 inch scale figures. This is awesome because it's like a middle ground. They're not super tiny, but they're not super big. They're a little cartoony looking, but I think that's one of the reasons I like them.
I've been wanting to get one for a while, but never could bring myself to do it for one reason or the other. Then they came out with Gung Ho, who, as we all know, is super awesome. He's a marine, and he doesn't wear a shirt, and he has a sweet mustache. This particular version doesn't go shirtless, but he's still awesome. Just look at that mustache:
Tell me that's a not mug to fall in love with.
As a toy, this is a pretty great figure. He's jointed in all the right areas, so he can assume tons of poses. He's got big huge feet that are jointed at the ankle which allow him to stand easily and remain very stable, even while he's carrying his huge-ass gun.
He came equipped with a machine gun, a removable helmet, a knife and sheath, a belt, body armor, and a hugely useless 'multi-tool'. It's this huge thing as big as the figure with foldable tools including an axe, a knife, a shovel and an awl. They could have given him a machete, or a backpack or something, but instead they give him a stupid multi-tool. It's not much of a gimmick. The machine gun's gimmick isn't much better. You pull the ammo strip through the gun and the barrel moves back and forth. Laa-aame. I have to say, though... His Kung-Fu grip makes up for it.
People always talk about G.I. Joes and the Kung-Fu grip. I've never seen one with any kind of kung-fu grip. Upon wikipedia-ing it, I learned that, originally, Kung-Fu grip was just a rubber hand which made it easier to hold his guns and stuff. Now, it's a hand with spring loaded fingers which makes it easier to crush your opponents into diamonds, like Superman. It makes me happy. I can now say that I've got the G.I. Joe with The Kung Fu Grip.
The only thing I don't like about my Gung-Ho is that he's got hair. Under his detachable helmet he has a dark brown buzz cut. Gung Ho is supposed to be super bald, which added to his characters. But, as long as I keep his helmet on, I can pretend.
In the end, it was a satisfying purchase and, at $10, I feel no buyer's remorse. Sure, in my day, a GI Joe should have costed 3 or 4 dollars, but with inflation, I figure 10 bucks is a pretty good buy these days. I'll probably buy another if I see one that strikes my fancy. Or if they make one of Scarlett (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarlett_%28G.I._Joe%29).
Until next time...
~~Ben
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