Review II: Hasbro G.I. Joe Sigma 6 Ninja Commando Snake Eyes Action Figure

continued from previous post....

More Sigma 6 Snake Eyes goodness :) Here's Hasbro G.I. Joe Sigma 6 Ninja Commando Snake Eyes Action Figure wearing the "visual data system with telescopic headgear" which I'd mentioned previously that it looks very much like the 'trifocal goggles' Sam Fisher wears in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell. All you need to do is paint the middle lens a florescent green instead of black.

G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 is a line of military-themed action figures and toys produced by Hasbro, re-imagining the characters of the 1980s toyline, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. Back in 2005, Hasbro released a line of G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 toys based the "Sigma 6" animated series. Although similar in concept to the earlier G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, the Sigma 6 action figures were 8" in height rather than the smaller 3¾" scale figures of the A Real American Hero line.

Hasbro was "rebooting" the franchise with younger versions of the cast - similar but different to their 1980s namesakes - rendered in the popular anime style. Snake Eyes comes with three different masks so that you can gear up Snake Eyes for each different mission.

Hasbro G.I. Joe Sigma 6 Ninja Commando Snake Eyes Action Figure came with a Uzi submachine gun, although it is called the RFB System. A search of RFB came up with the RFB rifle developed by Kel-tec CNC Industries company, USA which looks nothing like the weapon included with this Sigma 6 Snake Eyes set. The RFB is an acronym which stands for Rifle, Forward ejection, Bullpup. The key advantage of the RFB is that it provides a compact and fully ambidextrous package, combined with increased barrel length but shorter overall rifle length, thus allowing for increasing ballistic performance using same cartridge (as compared to rifles with traditional layout).

Snake Eyes also has the Whip-Star: twist the knob to deploy the blades. To use as a zip-line, you attach the figure to the zip-line bar (included), hold the whip-star end and slide the figure down the string. The magnet attached to metal surfaces. The string can be wound around the whip-star for storage.

In the earlier post, I'd covered the other weapons i.e. the double Tonfa swords and Anti-gravity Climbing Cups (similar to what Storm Shadow was equipped with)

Some close-up shots of G.I. Joe Sigma 6 Snake Eyes action figure

Close-up of the Whip-Star Snake Eyes comes with.

And here's the Hasbro G.I. Joe Sigma 6 Ninja Commando Snake Eyes Action Figure with RFB System weapon and short blade / knife.

According to the box packaging, the shorter blade / knife is called the Jinsoku Dagger

I certainly enjoyed posing and taking pictures of this Hasbro G.I. Joe Sigma 6 Ninja Commando Snake Eyes Action Figure. I really like the anime style and approach the designers base the figure on to come up with the ANGULAR look

Being a smaller scale and smaller size figure at approximately 8 inches (200 mm), the entire figure is plastic molded, including the costume. This is not so for most 1/6 scale figures (about 300 mm / 12 inches) as they actually come with fabric costumes and outfits worn over the basic nude body for more realism.

That's where the line is drawn between a collectible figure and a toy. Toys are made for children and hence come with as little loose and tiny parts as far as possible to prevent accidental choking. This Sigma 6 Snake Eyes action figure is obviously a toy.

Collectible figures which are targeted at adult collectors come with ultra realistic and ultra detailed outfits / costumes with accessories and gear including weapons that look almost like the real thing except that they are much smaller in size. Most times you even have to equip and "dress" the collectible figure just like you would an actual person and the outcome of course, is a very realistic looking figure.

It used to be that collectibles were toys of one's childhood. G.I. Joe and Action Man collectors actually collect the vintage figures they had when they were kids because the 12-inch military and adventure themed figures while being targeted at children were anything but simple. Some of the figures were really quite detailed for a toy especially the Action Man Ceremonials.

Toys have come a long way and toy manufacturers always have to innovate and come up with new things to make the toy figure much more interesting and captivating to get the attention of children (their primary target) and adults (their secondary target which has grown a lot bigger). Nowadays, you'll see a lot of toys that cost a lot more on the shelves because the people buying them are adult collectors who can shell out a lot more since they have an income and much bigger wallet.

Anyway, I digress :) Be they toys or collectibles, they are a visual treat for me because I grew up on comics instead of novels and always enjoy flipping through art books and sketch books in the study of the human form and anatomy.

Toys take the 2-D (two dimensional) form one step further as they are realized in 3-D and some of them can certainly qualify as 3-D art, especially with the arrival of new companies which are making and producing highly detailed and scale accurate collectible figures targeted at adult collectors who do not mind paying a bit more to have the realism.

With the advent of superhero movies being released by Marvel and DC, former comic book companies which are now also in the movie-making business as well as Hasbro (a toy company producing movies), toys and action figures are no longer just child's play but also adult collectible!

So I say "Bring it on!" The more, the merrier. More choices, better options :)

Check out Hasbro G.I. Joe Sigma 6 Storm Shadow COBRA Ninja Master Action Figure Reviews HERE and HERE :)

For more on the subject of NINJAs, click on the "Ninja" label at the bottom of this toy blog entry / post.