Gary Collinson relives his childhood with Hasbro’s G.I. Joe’s Classified Series…
In 1964, it introduced young boys everywhere to the concept of the ‘action figure’ with its pioneering 12-inch military-themed dolls; two decades on, the 3.75-inch A Real American Hero relaunch was proving equally as influential, serving as the successor to Kenner’s game-changing Star Wars line with increased articulation, bundles of accessories, and a hit Saturday morning cartoon show and Marvel comic book series in support; and now, having shifted scale once more, Hasbro’s iconic G.I. Joe brand celebrates its 60th anniversary in the midst of what may well be the IP’s finest incarnation yet in the 6-inch G.I. Joe: Classified Series.
Being from the UK, my introduction to the G.I. Joe brand came in the early-to-mid 1980s when the figures began appearing in the UK’s Battle Action Force comic and invading shelves on Palitoy’s original Action Force cardbacks. This would quickly lead to a full Hasbro relaunch of the U.S. figures and animated series across Europe under the Action Force moniker, by which point I was already hooked. Soon my beloved X-Wing, AT-AT and Ewok Village would find themselves making way for a Skystriker, Cobra Stinger and Transportable Tactical Battle Platform, and while I’d dabble with other toy lines over the next few years, Action Force / G.I. Joe remained my primary collection and go-to action figures of choice for the rest of my playing days (and frustratingly, not so much as a single accessory would survive through to adulthood).
The remit for Hasbro’s G.I. Joe Classified Series was to put a modern, updated spin on our beloved heroes and villains of the 1980s, albeit one that still contained enough of that Real American Hero vibe to pluck the strings of nostalgia for those adult fans and collectors pining for those carefree days of G.I. Joe against Cobra the Enemy. Although I’d bailed on the G.I. Joe toy line some three decades earlier (from digging through the YoJoe! archives, I believe 1989’s Snake Eyes V3 may have been my last “new” figure before tapping out as the brand descended into ever-more outrageous designs and lost itself in a sea of sub-teams), my affection for the 80s figures was enough to pique my interest in this new 6-inch line, and so with the line’s launch in 2020, I picked up my first G.I. Joe figures in over 30 years.
My reaction to the first wave of Classified Series figures was somewhat mixed; sure, it was great to have Joes in hand once again (or in box, as they remained at that point), and the figures themselves looked to be of excellent quality in terms of details, sculpting and articulation, with a decent selection of weapons and accessories. However, while I was impressed by Snake Eyes and Destro in particular, some of the design choices for Scarlett, Duke and Roadblock skewed a little too “modern” for my tastes – a trend that looked to continue throughout the already announced upcoming figures in the line. And so, with a mental note to grab a few of my favourite characters upon their eventual release, my first G.I. Joe figures as an adult collector made their way into storage, and any thoughts on going all-in on the Classified Series soon slipped from my mind.
Fast-forward a year or so, and while casually browsing a small selection of Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins action figures that had been warming the pegs of a local toy shop, I happened upon two figures from wave eight of the Classified Series – Storm Shadow and Cobra Officer – two absolute favourites of my childhood, sculpted magnificently in 6-inch scale, complete with all of the weapons and accessories you could wish for. Not only were they instant purchases, but they were also instant openings (removing a figure from its packaging is not something I’ve done lightly as an adult collector), and with an incredible Storm Shadow figure in hand, obviously it was time to dig out Snake Eyes and the rest of wave one from storage. Sure enough, after gleefully freeing them from their plastic prisons like a child on Christmas morning 1986, my thoughts quickly turned to tracking down new recruits for my Joe and Cobra ranks.
Catching up with the Classified Series releases since those early waves, two things were apparent: firstly, Hasbro had obviously been paying attention to fan feedback, with many of the more recent figures leaning into the traditional ARAH appearances and character quirks rather than the updated style we’d seen with the likes of Duke and Scarlett (a number of the early releases have since been reissued with repainted/re-tweaked versions on “Retro Cardbacks” that replicate the 80s packaging); and secondly, not only do the Classified Series design team know their target market, but they clearly share the same love and reverence for the brand. As such, the Classified Series has quickly developed into an incredible line that’s just absolutely brimming with nostalgia, and so when Hasbro kindly offered to send a couple of Classified Series figures Flickering Myth’s way, I was quick to pull rank and eagerly jumped at the opportunity with a cry of “Yo Joe!”.
First up we have the Action Soldier (Infantry), a deluxe figure released this year alongside the Action Sailor (Recon Diver) as part of the line’s 60th Anniversary celebrations, and fittingly shifting the focus away from A Real American Hero to pay tribute to the original 12-inch G.I. Joe action figures which first hit shelves back in 1964 (presumably we can expect the Action Pilot, Action Marine – and maybe even an Action Nurse? – before the anniversary year is out).
If like me as a kid, you always had that little extra excitement when a new figure came packed with accessories, you’ll be in your element with these 60th Anniversary releases as Hasbro has pulled out all the stops to ensure the Action Soldier has all the necessary equipment and weaponry he needs to fight for freedom wherever there’s trouble. Along with a fabric poncho, hood, helmet, backpack, walkie-talkie, hood, dog tags and tactical vest with removable and interchangeable pouches, the Action Soldier is packing a pistol, double-barrelled assault rifle and LMG, as well as with an M2 Browning heavy machine gun to lay some serious firepower down on those Cobra snakes, Roadblock-style.
Its a nice looking figure in itself, but the wealth of accessories and variety of looks that can be achieved (the 60th Anniversary figures also come with interchangeable heads and hands to alternate between black and white skin) means the Action Soldier presents a great opportunity for army builders to mix up and grow the ranks of their G.I. Joe ‘Greenshirts’. Whether its providing backup to Dusty and company on those dangerous desert missions against Cobra, expanding the loadouts of your other Joes, or just dropping a cool looking infantryman into diorama backgrounds, the Action Soldier (Infantryman) is well worth recruiting to your team.
As it happens, new recruits may certainly be needed as Cobra is bringing some serious heavy firepower of its own to the fight with the Cobra H.I.S.S. Techno-Viper & H.M.S. (HEETSEEK MISSILE SYSTEM), a 6-inch scale modern update on the classic 3.75-inch Cobra S.M.S. (which was itself a repaint of the Joes’ MMS Mobile Missile System, released in the very first A Real American Hero wave of figures, vehicles and accessories from 1982). Complete with a repaint of the Classified Series Techno-Viper to fit the ‘Cobra H.I.S.S.’ colour scheme, the H.M.S. is essentially a large piece of black plastic with wheels on either side and big red plastic missiles on top. If you’ve not stopped reading this already to place your order, then I can assure you, it is as awesome as it sounds.
“Large piece of black plastic” is of course a disservice to the H.M.S., which is a solidly built, sturdy and very nicely detailed piece that serves primarily as a towable expansion to 2022’s Cobra H.I.S.S. HasLab set. The designers have done a great job in recreating the original missile system set from the 3.75-inch line, and the launcher feels scaled up in relation to the figures (if memory serves after all these years), making for an impressive enough standalone playset/display centrepiece for those of us who missed out on the H.I.S.S. (the upcoming Cobra Stinger will no doubt work as a nice alternative). But honestly… those big red plastic missiles carry a payload of nostalgia so strong that I can even forgive the lack of blast effects and just make the noises myself.
As I said earlier, I’d never imagined going “all-in” on G.I. Joe Classified when that first wave arrived back in 2020, but I’m certainly glad I decided to browse through those Snake Eyes peg-warmers otherwise I may have missed out on this fantastic line of action figures which have genuinely taken me back some thirty years. With the Action Soldier, Techno-Viper and H.M.S. now off to reinforce the ranks of my growing Joe and Cobra forces, I’d urge anyone with fond childhood memories of G.I. Joe to take a look into the Classified Series if you haven’t already done so; it really has been going from strength to strength these past few years, and with around 150 figures available from OG Joes through to subteams like Tiger Force, Night Force, Python Patrol and Mad Marauders (not to mention a bunch of hotly-anticipated fan-favourite releases incoming and still to come), there’s sure to be at least one or two (or five, or ten…) that have you feeling like that kid at Christmas once again.
Are you a G.I. Joe Classified Series collector? Were you a fan of the figures back in the day? Be sure to let us know on our socials @FlickeringMyth…
Thank you to Hasbro Pulse for kindly providing us with the Action Soldier (Infantry) and Cobra H.I.S.S. Techno-Viper & H.M.S. (HEETSEEK MISSILE SYSTEM) figures for this article. The other figures and accessories in the photographs are from my personal collection.
Gary Collinson
