Marine Jungle Fighter Review
IndyRich3
Joe. I was at the store yesterday and saw their new MARINE JUNGLE FIGHTER
(their 1999 contribution to the Timeless Collection) and knew immediately that,
since it's $20 less than previous exclusives, I had to have it.
Let me say from the start that $120 is still too much for a new GI Joe. I
don't deny that, nor do I blame anyone else for passing on this one for that
reason alone. But if "worth it" is defined by whether or not you decide to buy
it....then I guess my purchase means it was "worth it" to me.
THE FIGURE: Obviously still the vintage style "Timeless" body that I feel is
superior to anything on the market today. The "everyman" face on the vintage /
TC Joe is hard to beat. Also let me note that with each new TC Joe that I get,
the figure seems to be more tightly put together than the previous one. The
loosest was last year's Grant. This one is tight enough to feel like vintage.
THE UNIFORM: The Marine fatigues are evocative both of the Mitchell Paige and
of vintage. In appearance, they look quite similar to the fatigues on
Paige...but the material feels like vintage quality. I'm glad they opted to
put the Marine emblem on the pocket. I'm also glad they went with a green belt
rather than the tan one that they used in THEN & NOW. Boots are the first use
of the short brown boots I've seen since the vintage years, and are a welcome
touch (Since the figure has the pants pulled down over the boots just like with
Paige, this looks fine....though I still give the edge to the Paige boots for
authenticity). The helmet is superb. Hasbro has always produced the best
helmets of any of the major players in the military action figure field, but
this one goes "above and beyond the call of duty." It has camo cloth covering
the plastic helmet itself. It also fits Joe's head better than some of the
previous TC helmets. The only helmet Hasbro has done that I think is better
than this one would be last year's HEAVY WEAPONS MARINE from KB.
THE ACCESSORIES: As far as weapons, Joe has the WWII rifle, pistol (with
holster), machete (with sheath), four grenades and a flamethrower. Each of
these is strongly reminiscent of the corresponding vintage items. The
flamethrower is extremely cool looking (has a camo pattern), and the machete is
much more in-scale when compared with the one issued with the recent Vietnam
accessory set.
Other accessories include the camo field radio (Hmm...I'm already debating
whether I should switch this one out with the one that came with the footlocker
Joe from last year's Target TC set...since the Target one is not a camo radio,
but the footlocker lid SHOWS a camo radio); canteen (same one as always), and
of course, two dogtags....the traditional vintage-style and the 35th
Anniversary tag. Another VERY nice addition is the United States Marine Corps
flag....which truly enhances the figure when displayed in the shadow box.
THE PATCHES & MEDALS & SHADOW BOX: I put all of this together, because their
function is actually served together as one unit. Some people have griped that
patches and a shadow box are not what they're interested in. Since I'm limited
in how many truly large dioramas I can make, I actually LIKE the shadow box /
patch approach. You see, I'm always looking for attractive new ways to display
my Joes. I've gotten some of those doll cases to put some in...put others on
book shelves, a few in massive dioramas. I must tell you, when you get this
set-up home, untie Joe and put him in an action position that YOU design, and
stick him back inside...there is tremendous power to seeing him behind glass,
posing with Marine medals and flag and all of that. This is a set I'm truly
enjoying and glad to have paid $120 for.
--Rich Brown
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HeadRusch
release? Circa 1995? 96?) I bought it, paid like $80 or $90 for it....
whatever the cost was....(twas my most expensive toy purchase to date), and
was amazed that I had a GI Joe MILITARY FIGURE
with cool box art. And...fao exclusive, "limited", "going to sell out",
etc...and it wasn't a Real American Hero figure....it had a custom
raft.....it was great!!! (AT the time the only other "military style"
figure was the Action Man Force-something figure, which I also got).
I *think* the next years release was the F15 pilot, and it was
EXPENSIVE...but I bought it, and I am SOOOOOOOOOO Glad I did because
it is by FAR, IMHO< the nicest "official Joe product" ever released, bar
none, period, end of story. Again, IMHO......worth every penny.
Gladly paid the money because no other store had anything even CLOSE to
this.
But Then the slide began..............we saw the vintage astronaut suit for
$120 (???) and it was like "man, you can buy a vintage Action Man
setup for less than that, complete!"........plus it wasn't really even GI
Joe, which I know bugged alot of people......
The Golden Knight was unimpressive, yet still cost a premium! THe Green
Beret was VERY expensive, came with none of the "cool items"
you normally associate with the Green Beret (ie: Bazooka,
etc)............and now this year, the Jungle Fighter.
Compare that Jungle Fighter to the new release WWII Flamethrower
figure..........which is, what, 1/5 the cost?
FAO is ripping off the consumers at this point, IMHO, their prices don't
nearly match "what you get" anymore.................
For Example:
KB Exclusive: Heavy Weapons Marine, you got TC figure with camo and boots
and equipment. Real Flak Jacket, metal helmet, metal
weapons, metal mortar, etc. A bunch of stuff. Price? $50 bucks
FAO Exclusive: Green Beret. You got TC figure, basic Green Beret BDU's,
M16, a big shadow box with 1:1 scale patches, flags, etc, all
mounted up. Cost? $120++ right?
This year......KB Exclusive: Deep Sea Diver, comes with a ton of accessories
in a nice display box with real metal bell helmet etc, etc.
Price? $50 bucks. FAO? Your Jungle Fighter. YOu're getting the basic
figure, some accessories, and a basic set of BDU's.
How much? Alot........
I guess if you really don't mind getting ripped off, ie: you "have to have
it" then more power to you, but there reaches a point with me where
I just can't throw money away when the return isn't there........IMHO: FAO
is basically charging you $80 dollars for a wooden display box....
Brant
My .02 cents...
IndyRich3 wrote in message <19991012114436...@ng-fi1.aol.com>...
IndyRich3
>it" then more power to you, but there reaches a point with me where
>I just can't throw money away when the return isn't there........IMHO: FAO
>is basically charging you $80 dollars for a wooden display box....
>
Yeah, but it sure is COOOOL looking! I admit it's probably over-priced....But
the whole setup together, shadow box, medals and patches, along with a
first-rate vintage-style Joe makes this one of the most attractive set-ups in
my collection. Lovin' it and not regrettin' the purchase!
HeadRusch
Brant
IndyRich3 wrote in message <19991012151448...@ng-fi1.aol.com>...
>>I guess if you really don't mind getting ripped off, ie: you "have to have
>>it" then more power to you, but there reaches a point with me where
>>I just can't throw money away when the return isn't there........IMHO: FAO
>>is basically charging you $80 dollars for a wooden display box....
>>
>
>Yeah, but it sure is COOOOL looking! I admit it's probably
over-priced....But
>the whole setup together, shadow box, medals and patches, along with a
>first-rate vintage-style Joe makes this one of the most attractive set-ups
in
>my collection. Lovin' it and not regrettin' the purchase!
>