There was recently a very fine review of the new Rise of Cobra Shipwreck figure posted by Terrordrome staffer, Chuckles. I am going try not to repeat his review and focus on my own impressions of this figure.
I have never wanted a Shipwreck figure before.
I skipped him on the single cards, and only got him a all because I wanted Copperhead in the comic pack. He was the reason I never picked up that 5-pack that he was in. I saw him as dead-weight. Rather than getting a bargain by dividing the cost over 5 figures I wanted, I divided the cost by 4 and decided it was not worth it.
As a kid, I experienced G.I.Joe in the same three ways that most people did. Toys, Cartoons, and Comics. To me, Shipwreck never measured up in any of them.
In the comics he was essentially a vehicle driver. If something was happening on the Whale or the Flag or that oil rig battle platform, well then he would be there. Doing something useful. And that is about it. Green Shirt infantry, but only near water. Oh, and he also fired the white phosphorous flare that revealed the empty HISS tanks during issue 50's invasion of Springfield. Real helpful, because no other Joe would bother to carry a flare gun.
He had two good episodes of the cartoon. The ones where he is brainwashed into believing that it is the future and the war with Cobra is long over. Pretty cool episodes. Other than that he was comic relief at best. At worst he was a reminder that he cartoon was pretty dumb. We all work so hard to ignore that fact, and then along comes someone like Shipwreck. He joins a top-secret, highly-trained, special missions force by meeting some of the guys and asking, literally, “Mind if I join?” That's all it takes? And then he proceeds to fly Skystrikers into combat. He forced the credibility envelope.
As a toy, he just always seemed lame. I mean, Recondo could ride side by side with him on the Hovercraft on a sea-based mission, but could Shipwreck likewise go on a jungle mission? No way. He would stand out like a sore thumb. His clothing and his gear made him suitable for one thing, staying on the boat.
Point is...I have never liked Shipwreck. At his best he was bringing a “knuckle sandwich” to a gun fight. At worst, he was comic relief where none was called for. He was the straight-man for a talking parrot.
ROC Shipwreck flips all that.
This is a fantastic figure.
Remember him on the cartoon? All his unearned over confidence? This is where that comes from. This is the the Shipwreck that the cartoon Shipwreck dreamed that he was.
Right away, the wool hat makes so much more sense than his Cracker-Jack sailor hat. And it just goes on from there.
The head sculpt is great. Enough of the old to look like Hector X. Delgado, without looking like the grinning cartoon mug in the recent 5 pack.
The reactive armor also looks great. It is cool and hi-tech without being over-bearing. From just a quick once-over, you wouldn't even really notice he has any kind of special armor. It just blends in with his over-all look. A look that says “bad-ass”. The armor is painted with a kind of weathering effect that essentially just keeps it from being flat black. It looks good, and so does that ROC logo on his chest .
My favorite little details from the “shirt” area are the ends of the sleeves and the collar. The sleeves are pulled up past the wrist and onto the hand like a teenage girl reading “Twilight” at a coffee shop and the turtle neck style collar is turned up. I make fun, but it actually does look rather cool on Shipwreck. It has a very functional appearance, as though one were trying to keep warm out in the elements. It is a very nice small detail that reminds me of the original wave of Joe figures. Each had the same basic uniform, but accented and modified as per each individuals needs and tastes. And that is what we get with Shipwreck's minor uniform adjustments. It is the standard ROC era uniform, but it is worn as Shipwreck would wear it.
The torso connection doesn't have a lot of movement with the back pack on, but the arms and hands are just terrific. They can do just about everything that you would want action figure arms to do. He can hold all of his weapons in several different ways.
He's got a great belt with fanny-pack style plastic clip on the front of it. It has some gear on it and a molded-in gun-and-holster. The belt is another nice little detail, but I suspect it also serves another function. Without it, you are confronted with the uncomfortable question of Shipwreck's pants. It seems that the armor goes OVER the pants. So, the pants are tucked into the armor? That can't be comfortable. You aren't supposed to think about it very much, and it looks ok. Unless, of course,you make the mistake of letting the belt slip a little too low and it of camo-blue start to poke through at the hips between the armor and the belt. “What's wrong with that?” you might ask. “My shipwreck is like that and he looks fine!” Does he? Or does he look like he is wearing low-rise hip-huggers and his thong is peeking out.
The blue and gray camouflage is great, especially on this nautical themed Joe. His legs are very posable and seem that they might be made from a slightly softer plastic than previous Joes. Same with the ankles, a huge range of movement coupled with good.....what do you call it when the piece holds rigidly where you place it? Rigidity?
This Shipwreck was swim fins that are different than any we have previously seen on a Joe figure. They are made of a slightly stretchier rubber and held in place with a strap around the back of the ankle, just like on most 1:1 scale swim fins.
For walking around on land, the fins are easily stowed on two pegs at the bottom of Shipwreck's back pack. This just one of several very cool features. Just above these pegs are two embedded airtanks, strapped into the pack. I love that they are about the size and shape of Torpedo's airtanks, implying to me that the Joes order their ear from the same place. Nice detail.
There is a post across the top of the pack which can act as a perch for Polly. Just in from where Polly would sit, there is a small hole on each side into which the diving mask's air hoses plug. This mas is really great. It doesn't work perfectly with the wool hat, but it looks ok. With the mask on, you don't really notice that is a wool hat at all. Anyway, the mask is great. It is clear rubber mostly painted black, and the details are just so realistic. I really like the 25th Torpedo's mask, but this one might be even better.
Shipwreck also comes with a stylized “nautical” bull-pup rifle, a pistol (which I seem to have already lost), a knife, a parrot, and a big spring-loaded nonsense. The pistol and the knife a very nice, but have no where to go and thus might tend to get lost. The rifle is cool. It is the new ROC standard style, but with some kind of harpoon attachment or something.
This figure is great, and just what the ROC line should be. Classic characters re imagined with updated style and gear.
The first custom figure I ever tried to make was a Torpedo geared for land missions. AS my skils got better, I steadily updated that figure and I was becoming quite proud of it. But now Hasbro comes along and releases a figure that perfectly, effortlessly, tops mine. That kind if frustrates me, but I like it none the less.
