The Best Figures Overall
At its best, the GI Joe Classified line offers amazing action figures with great sculpts and a lot of accessories reimagining the legendary toy franchise.
Snake Eyes & Timber v2
This is the one I wanted, a ninja Snake Eyes, not a commando and a white Timber, he’s trusted companion.
Range Viper
The range viper was one of my favorite toy has a kid; this new version has an incredible sculpt for the head and comes with a ton of accessories.
Baroness with Cobra Coil
This is the kind of package GI Joe fans grew up with, a cool action figure with a small vehicle and a few accessories.
Cobra Island Major Bludd
This is the way you modernize an action figure; I hate the 80s Major Bludd but I love the Snake Plisken-inspired look of its 2020s counterpart.
The Worst Figures Overall
Sometimes things don’t pan out the way they should; from bad character choice to poor execution of a good concept, these are the worst action figures from the GI Joe Classified line.
Kamakura
Who’s Kamakura? Releasing obscure and newer characters that 80s fans don’t know is bad idea for a toy line revival.
Copperhead
It’s just bland, comes with only a couple of accessories, no extra head or anything out of the ordinary; this is the bare minimum.
Falcon
Falcon was one of my favorite action figure as a kid; that’s why I’m so pissed about how bad that head sculpt and paint application is; it’s unacceptable.
Gung Ho
How not to modernize a beloved 80s character; this design downplayed everything special about Gung-Ho and turned him into generic muscle dude.
Best Recolored Figures
The easiest for toymaker to save while generating income is to reuse an existing sculpt and give a version of a character with alternate colors; at its best, it almost makes them new characters.
Pofit Director Destro
I affectionately refer to him at Bitcoin Destro because this figure looks like what would happened to the genius if he took the orange pill.
Tiger Force Outback
I prefer this version of Outback to the original; an older, rougher one that looks more compelling and different than plain and boring normal one.
Arctic B.A.T.
Everyone loves B.A.T.s and Hasbro has released many version but the Arctic one comes with a new second head completely different than other B.A.T.s.
Python Patrol Officer
Python Patrol often comes up with weird color combinations; on the Officer these work greatly and between the texture and the color it’s really nice.
Worst Recolored Figures
Sometimes when coming up with a new color scheme or repaint, it’s easy to lose what makes the original successful, here are action figures that unfortunately are in that situation.
SEO Storm Shadow
This action figure is has bad as the Snake Eyes Origins movie it’s based on; Storm Shadow is known for his milky white outfit; here the milk has soured.
Mad Marauders Barbecue
Barbecue’s color are iconic: orange and grey; these muted earthy colors are bad for these characters; there could have started with another figure for the Mad Marauders sub-line.
Desert Commando Snake Eyes
How many Snake Eyes does GI Joe Classified need? They could have used these colors to create a new character but another Snake Eyes that is off brand for the character is just unnecessary.
Python Crimson Guard
It’s called a Crimson Guard; all the “Crimson” figures are red; this is just silly and feels more like a money grab than a genuine effort to recolor a figure.
BONUS: Best Troop Builders
One thing I didn’t do as a kid and I’m start to see the appeal is troop building, getting the few of a same trooper but have slight differences here and there to make them all unique.
Cobra Vipers & Officer
Cobra Vipers are awesome and having a pack of 3 including different forearms and uniform colors is greatly appreciated.
Blue Ninjas
This is exactly how you recolor used sculpts to create new characters that can be used to build troops; lots of accessories and extra heads are a must!
Grunt
A new character re-using previously used parts and coming with an alternate head; this is a really cool idea and a nice value.
Cobra Island Cobra Trooper
I know Hasbro has released a regular version of the Cobra Trooper but the Cobra Island has more accessories which leads to more possibility to customize things.
