2013 G.I.Joe Con exclusive Freestyle Review!
Thanks to our good friend Revsears over at ToyNation, we have a great review below of this years G.I.Joe Con Exclusive figure, “Freestyle“. Check out the review below and share your thoughts after the JUMP!
Freestyle is an excellent codename. I have to start by saying that right off the bat, so many figures have been hindered by terrible names over the years, and in recent years we have seen very few new characters introduced, so i’m very pleased we get a new character, that’s female, an immigrant,minority, a new pilot, and she even has a name so cool and Joe esque it feels like a Joe should have already taken it.
Today at the history of G.I.Joe panel Larry Hama said, “without moral and ethical cores you don’t have characters and without characters you don’t have a story.” (Larry Hama) I thought the first interesting thing I could do would be to stack this new Joe up against that qoute. Freestyle comes from a diverse lower income background that by itself points to a resolute spirit that allowed to attain her spot with the Joes. There seems to be potential hinted at here, that she is serious and don’t unwind often and is more gaurded individual. Her ethical code might be one of hardwork, and no nonsense. Hama’s qoute plays out best when looking at a story arc, not a file card, and I think i’d like to see Freestyle get incorporated into future stories to further flesh her out. Her filecad isn’t spectacular like SE, or Hit n Run, but there is a spark of potential there.
On to the review. She makes use of the ROC covergirl/ 25th v 2 lady Jaye body parts except for 25th wild bills lower legs (which is unfortante in my opinion) and a Quarrel/Glenda Scarlet head. Her helmets original came with 30th ace(as pictured above) or 25th lift ticket. I’ve been told her vest is new, but it looks very similar to the canceled comic pack arctic scarlet to me.
It even doesn’t fit in the chest area properly as this one does. When it was rumored we would see a new female character who was a pilot it was expected she would look similar to the scarlet above, but thankful she looks much more original than that, tossing scarlet’s iconic gloves and adding some black and a new skin tone went a long way in making her visually distinct.
above is leaked artwork that was passed around via the forms. Credit to “Jimbo” whomever is (great job if you happen to ever read this!) Its easy to see she translated well into plastic form.
Her weapons are unnecessarily copper colored, but i have plenty to replace them with, and she is a pilot, she really shouldn’t be needing them unless something is very wrong.
with the american flag, and NYC on her sleeves she is deeply rooted as a real american hero, but the flag on her helmet gives a callback to her heritage.
The two helmets also give a great variety in looks. The club also put a lot of effort into the paint apps, which makes the more millitary look (which i prefer) also pop to give her a unique, but thankfully non neon or silly look.
It wasn’t until doing this review did I realize that her head was actually just the Glenda/Quarrel head, the new skin tone does wonder in hiding the lack of original parts.
There is an odd shadow painted above her left glove, I am unsure if this a common error or just on mine.
If you remove the chest gear (which wouldn’t be easy) she does have a peg for where ROC covergirl had a name badge inserted. I don’t really see a reason to.
The only sculpting weakness i can see is Wild Bill’s lower legs, i’ve never liked that deep grove in them, and without straps that would go in that spot, it only accentuates that further, but given the other strengths, it’s easy to overlook.
This, along with Chuckles, and Steeler were the highlights of this years con figures for me. I’m sure a factor was the surprise, but i felt the lack of teal and overall more dark and streamlined military look was the main appeal.
score: 9/10
-revsears
