I have had a hankering for some G.I.Joe toys lately. There's not much on the new retail scene and most of what is or has been on the retail scene is really not my main cup of tea.
The Retro G.I.Joe product that came out did not even really snap up my interest like it did when the news of such things would spread onto the internet. The 2003 Crimson Sabotage set hunt and me making fruitless efforts to distant (since there was none close) stores to find one still hangs in my head. (Upon the nearer store finally getting these, they were all snapped up the day before.)
Toss in the extreme 3.75" figure construction switch in 2007 to the "25th style" figure, I've slowly become less interested in the figures. Yes, I still ended up with a litttle over 100 "newsculpt" figures from 2002-2006, and even still, ended up with upwards of maybe 50 "modern" figures since then. Many have left, but some I really kind of like but I don't feel like they fit with my classic old stuff seamlessly.
Needless to say, I am not going to overpay across the internet for an already overpriced product I have some interest in. And I am not going to go way out of my way to the store that may or may not have the product to find the overpriced HISS or A.W.E. Striker that I have some interest in.
Had the Retro G.I.Joe actually had had a classic retro figure in the package, my interest would have been much more there. As things were revealed and a seemingly random bunch of "modern" figures were tossed into the mix I really didn't pay attention. And only now that I have Roadblock am I looking to see what else came out or where this Roadblock figure sourced from.
I like that Roadblock is going global and I hope the toy brings fun for anyone that gets this, but this file card is the exact opposite of what the original Roadblock file card, or any original file card would do to add value to a figure, a real human character, quickly fleshed out. Here, this leaves very little to inspire.
I also bought the Fortnite Omega figure. I have never played Fortnite. It might be years back when I came across a Fortnite figure that looked a lot like Firefly, and not just look, but looked better than the current on the shelf Firefly, and that caught my attention. But I have to simplify, I don't branch out unless I can go further.
But 28 points of articulation, and after the G.I.Joe: Retaliation Fangboat's very limited articulation figure experience, I thought I would check this one out.
Now, I have found more articulation to be less fun in a lot of ways with the "modern" figures. Joints are moving all over or some taking more effort to move just right. And I did try out an Acid Rain figure as well as a Marauder, Inc. figure. I don't recall the number of points of articulation on those but the Omega figure has been interesting for the initial in-hand experience. We do have Fortnite players at the HQ, but I am not one of them. This Omega character could be something that I could work into my G.I.Joe Universe as what a Wraith figure could have been. I like a little sci-fi edge like that in G.I.Joe but it has to really be designed and built well. The actual Wraith figure suffered a couple snapped parts, clunky parts, and ultimately I just did not feel like that figure had some kind of Destro-designed armor. Omega, and I know nothing about the Fortnite Omega, feels like a high tech suit wearing figure.
The Retro Roadblock had a peeling bubble and if not for the under tray inside the bubble loose accessories could have easily have been lost or stolen. But this is modern 21st century packaging from a global company so this is a little bit of a let down to me from my wannabe designer perspective.
Outside of the outer bubbles both figures have the inner tray. There's no real effort at putting these figures in some eye-catching action poses like some of the "G.v.C." through "modern" G.I.Joe figures have had. The Fortnite labels here were fixed to the inner tray feeling very solid in a thicker plastic compared to Roadblocks.
Omega came right out of the inner tray, Roadblock took a little crunchy plastic manipulation but I was happy that I did not run into the tiny transparent little rubber-bands tying the figure and accessories to the inner plastic tray. The scotch tape holding the barrel and ammo down required a little snip to free those accessories. Upon removal, the handles on the large machine gun immediately fell off. And these continued to fall off every time I have since moved this Roadblock accessory.
Attaching the barrel to the big gun I could instantly remember the original 1984 Roadblock figure I got from my best bud back in the day which had a snapped barrel. That's what my Roadblock had for many years until the 2001 Double Blast (basically Roadblock) put a full unbroken machine gun into my hand with a tripod at that.
Speaking of tripod, none was included with this Roadblock. Not a deal breaker as with my limited "modern" G.I.Joe figure collection I have some vehicles and I am very interested in the attachment points that some of the figure accessories will fit onto on some of these vehicles.
I've passed over even just checking out these Retro Figures even on a whim at the original price of something like $12.87 or whatever higher point it was at. The $9.70 price was much more reasonable, even maybe a little too high still. These are still $7.99 figures tops in my mind as there is nothing really all that new to them. I really don't have any background or insider knowledge at my level of collecting but the entirety of the G.I.Joe Retro line figures really look like just random pulls from a library of parts and put through the factory as cost-effectively as possible. That quality of effort should be reflected in a lower price.
I might be wrong but the Fortnite figure looks like an everyday retail price that while the figure might not have the same amount of accessories but might be the better value especially when originality is factored in.
This was the first time I put the gunner mount in my remaining Eaglehawk and I wanted to try Roadblocks machine gun on it. It fits, but it is not swinging out to the side.
The Black Dragon holds the machine gun but the machine gun handles fall off easily.
I like the look of the machine gun on the 2011 VAMP
I did not really have the financial priority when the Renegades and Pursuit of Cobra figures out on the retail shelves, nor was I really in the best position to travel to locations that may (or may not have had) the product available in those years. I like many of these figures quite a bit. Airtight in particular. With a new VAMP, these new but familiar figures were some of what the junior joes* were able to play with, versus any of the older stuff I had concern about breakage or loss with. Surprisingly, many of the "modern" figures that I had expected to hold up to child's play since they were new absolutely failed from very minimal play action. (Strangely, the o-ring figures held up solidly in comparison.)
And the vest has to go. The vests are fine but sometimes they seemed like a cheap cover-up to make a whole new figure in cases. I don't know which figure/s the parts on this Roadblock came from, but the torso feels like it was on a "the Rock" Retaliation figure that I had, the one that had the permanent handle-in-hand.
I really like the tank top here, without the vest on I am feeling that 1984 Roadblock a little more. And I like that there is not that double jointed knee on this figure and the boots are just solid boots. The torso for a more muscular body doesn't have that separate upper/lower torso split joint sticking out too horribly either.
The little I have read or watched on the Retro G.I.Joe figures on the internet seem to praise the packaging more as the stronger part but I think it is worse. The back of the card has no value to me at all. The front gave too much space to the yellow backer portion. It's almost too generic on the front side. And that Roadblock in the picture has a backpack and a tripod...., if I were buying this new with no prior knowledge I would wonder if I was shorted parts.
