Mythic Legions Névé- SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review (Ne’ve’)

I have done a YouTube review of this, and it has been up for awhile. You can find it here!

I don’t know how…I guess things got away from me during the end-of-the-school-year concert season…but I never did a proper SpartanNerd.com written review of Névé! (Forgive me…it is pretty hard to type out her name. Also I don’t know how to say it. So sometimes, I am going to do Ne’ve’ instead of the French or whatever is going on there sometimes!)

I’ve had her for a little while, and she has become one of my absolute favorites! Keep reading to see why!

PACKAGING

I purchased this at the Toy Federation in Greer, SC. I was looking for … I wasn’t sure…that new Mythic Legions bear was a possibility. But when I saw her, I knew this was what I wanted! (Notable, today I was there and it was double the price!)

I don’t know…when I saw this, it struck a nerve. I was looking at Alloy. ACTUALLY, I had just purchased the video game Crimson Desert, and she more rightly resembles the Graymanes with that blue warpaint. You can see all that you get in the package clearly.

I really need a new iPhone. There is a bio on the side that basically reads that she is kind of an outcast. She is a frost giant, actually, which begs the question, is that blue warpaint a scar or an injury…does she have frozen blue blood? Her eyes are also solid blue.

The back shows off the other figures from this wave. I looked very hard at the minotaur guy. There are also a pair of dwarves in this set that I missed…(I thought about getting them but came away with Ne’ve’ instead.). We also have some Oni looking guy riding a black unicorn with war spikes.

WHAT DO YOU GET IN THE PACKAGE?

  • Névé figure
  • Shield with a bear emblem
  • Alternate helmeted knight head with metal “horns”
  • Double-headed battle axe
  • a medallion(?)
  • Sword
  • Pair of alternate hands
  • shoulder pauldrons
  • Arrows with different colored fletching (in the plastic still so I didn’t lose them)

Not a bad load out, really.

FIGURE REVIEW

This is a “1.0” female Mythic Legions figure. In other words, she has the same kind of parts and build as the first waves that came out. Most female figures from the past couple of years are of the 2.0 type, with a slimmer build. I only became aware of the differences when I got the Figura Obscura Father Christmas. Beneath his robes is a 2.0 supposedly male knight’s build. (mostly unpainted at that). Later I would get the Undead of Vikenfell skeleton figure, who shared some of those parts, and then I got the 2025 SpartanNerd figure of the year, which was Belualyth the Beastmaster. Essentially a modern lady. AND last week I reviewed the Cosmic Legions Cosmic Ladies. Check that out HERE.

Anyway, my point is, Névé is a bit heftier than some of the more recent ladies. But that fits her MO as a Frost Giant I suppose.

PICTURED: Mythic Legions Névé, Masters of the Universe Classics Battleground Teela (kit bash), MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn, and Masters of the Universe Origins Sharella. Névé feels a little more substantial than any of these.
PICTURED: Mythic Legions Névé fights against Demistros and a zombie build from the Mythic Legions Undead Builder Pack. Demistros (Not technically a Mythic Legions) is sporting one of the recent skull heads from a head pack, this one with vampire teeth.

Névé is super articulated, as are most Mythic Legions. Does that mean she balances well? there are things about her that are top heavy. Her hair is pretty substantial, and those pauldrons hinder her articulation so that her arms can’t help her balance. But it isn’t terrible, just something to keep in mind.

Her sculpt and paint are great as always, and I love the blue and gray details over her more barbaric pieces. She doesn’t seem to be old, but she has gray hair like a senior citizen. Maybe an artifact of being a frost giant? The pauldrons are one of the best colors…it is kind of a silver with a purple hue. This color reminds me of Micro Machines…long ago in the early 1990’s I had the set that changes colors in the sun. One of them was a jetliner in this exact same color. To me, one of the draws to getting this figure was the helmet, which is also in this brilliant color. And the pauldrons look best with the helmet, even if the articulation is compromised.

PICTURED: Mythic Legions Gold Knight II Legion Builder and Mythic Legions Névé.

I feel that Névé is at her best without the knight armor. But we kind of have two characters sort of don’t we. And that is one reason why this is a terrific Mythic Legions figure.

PICTURED: Mythic Legions Terpiculi with bone wing attachments, Névé, and Belualyth with her pet chimera. Notice the medallion hanging from her belt.

ACCESSORIES

I keep talking about those pauldrons and the helmet. The problem with pauldrons like this in Mythic Legions is they are so dumb to get on the shoulders…and the point of them is just that. Shoulder armor. You have to peg them into holes on her back that every Horsemen figure has. And it is such a tight fit. Sometimes I’ve had to use a hairdryer or run hot water to get it to work. Luckily this line isn’t for kids. They would be very frustrated, and parents likely would be too. Other than this problem, I like how they kind of have that “Bowser shell” look to them. That helmet is the exact same helmet we have a few times over, but this time with different side-horns. And of course this is the only one in that silver-purple color.

The next big and obvious accessory is the shield. This is the first time I have this round shield. It works like other Mythic Legions shields in that you could swap the bear emblem out from the middle. I won’t be doing that, but I could with the deer from the Xylernian Guard or the thing from Cosmic Legions Wal-torr the Mad (both would look dumb). What is new tech, though is that there are holes in the shield to install arrows! YES! At first I thought I must have been cheated a bow. But then I realized…that was what the arrows were for!

The double headed axe is nicely detailed, and you can store it or the sword on a loop that is on her belt. The belt has nice details, with an animal skull as the belt buckle. The sword, I know I’m bringing it up again, but it looks like it is a part of the Abyss in Crimson Desert. Also, the Masters of the Universe movie trailer has been showing some interior of Grayskull, and this sword looks like it could belong there. The axe has a sculpted “wooden” handle, with flat-topped curved-under heads. The rope is painted well.

I know these figures cost a little more than other lines (Masterverse, GI Joe Classified Series, Super7 Ultimates), but the Horsemen really are outclassing everyone else, for really not that much more. And the fact that this is a line of “generic” characters, it is like they are really rubbing it in to Hasbro and Mattel maybe for not contracting them anymore.

Oh yeah…I keep almost forgetting. Névé came with a medallion. This was bent in the package. It is a circle with a cross on it, and looks very Viking-ish. I have no idea what this is about. I usually hang it from her belt. It looks good, and I think it is not supposed to be bent or curled, so I’ve tried to flatten it out, but it keeps reverting.

ADDENDUM

This time it has been awhile since I first did the review, and I have some additional “BOOM!” pictures

PICTURED: All Mythic Legions: Sir Godfrey, Sir Uczajk, and Névé. Some of the best looking knights. BOOM!
PICTURED: Masterverse 1987 Masters of the Universe Movie figures, Chronicles 2026 Master of the Universe Movie Battle Cat, who is ridden by Mythic Legions Névé. Also notice the vintage storybooks, and also the popcorn bag I purchased when I saw The Mandalorian and Grogu. Névé has the blonde head from the Cosmic Ladies heads pack. BOOM!

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MYTHIC LEGIONS NE’VE’

I give my ratings based on sculpt, paint, articulation, accessories, and “the feels.” It is excellent in all areas except for articulation. The figure has great articulation…but when you put the pauldrons on you lose the range of motion in the arms. BUT also with the default white-haired head, those braids are just too awesome for her to be able to turn her head. (Same with the blonde head pictured above)

This figure is solid awesome otherwise. It was a moment when you didn’t know you needed something until you saw it. It was that kind of thing. She looks great with Masters of the Universe. I kind of chose skeletons as my faction to collect in Mythic Legions, but knights are turning out to be a close second place.

I am giving Ne’ve’ a 4/5 rating, taking a point only because of that situationally limited articulation. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!

Combiner Wars Thundercracker- SpartanNerd Review

Find the YouTube version of this video HERE.

(Hasbro just released a Studio Series Thundercracker that is Voyager Class. No one out there reading this should get confused…the one I am reviewing is an old toy from 2015). Link to Hasbro Pulse …like they need it.

This is an old toy. By my calculation, maybe 11 years old? But I have seen a few of them on shelves at different toy stores, with different asking prices. I picked up mine at Toy Federation in Greer for $50. I always preferred him to Star Scream simply because Star Scream kind of got on my nerves trying to overthrow Megatron. And kind of a whiny voice and all of that. Yes…eventually I realized it was the same voice as Cobra Commander. Just the same, Thundercracker was a more likable guy to me. And I also preferred the blue color scheme.

As a kid I didn’t have Thundercracker…in fact we had no large Transformers that were popular characters. So why Thundercracker, why now? He is on my mind because of the Energon Universe. He is making himself a main character in that story, switching sides (link to Reddit) realizing most of the Decepticons are really in it just to enjoy the violence. Thundercracker has some respect for human lives, and that makes him different than say … Star Scream, who calls us humans “squishes.” Or Shockwave who really doesn’t respect anyone.

Also, though I have a desire to collect these Leader Class size modern Transformers, and the Combiner Wars is apparently the line where they began making in the way they make them now. So how does he hold up?

PACKAGING

Thundercracker came in this nice window box packaging, where you can see everything in the box very well. One thing of note, there are Autobot symbols all around this box, and this might have dissuaded someone like the SpartanNerd from looking at it, knowing I was looking for a Deception. (My preference, all but a few exceptions…Optimus Prime…etc 🙂 )

I need to remember to look at these boxes that have an Autobot in a comet. Maybe I am more of a Decepticon guy, but Hasbro must believe that only Autobots can sell.

The back shows us an illustration, and tells us pretty much what we already know about Thundercracker being a Transformer who thrives on fear. And then we have the same “17 steps” kind of graphic that Hasbro still uses to tell us how difficult of a transformer this is.

FIGURE REVIEW

What do you get in the box?

This is everything except for the missile, which I lost to unintentional firing. WE NEED A SAFETY!

Well…the thing is he comes with a ton of guns! Most of them are attached to him. But there is one spring-loaded missile launcher. Otherwise you have the impressive and tall Thundercracker in his Leader Class glory. OK. An instruction book also that isn’t that great.

So what about it? Well he stands very well. There are some parts that seem looser than I am used to seeing on new toys. For instance he has a bit of a bobble head. On the subject of his head, the face sculpt looks like Thundercracker, and he has light-piping to make his eyes glow, though it is sadly ineffective. (I would prefer battery powered lights, which the Heatboys Donatello proves can be done).

But his main joints are clicky and work very well. This Transformer hasn’t fallen down on me yet, and I have had him for about three weeks. I especially like the ratchet joints in his knees and in his upper leg area, and he also has clicky shoulders and elbows. There is no wrist articulation, and actually very little you can do with the feet. But they hold the figure up very well. The waist area ties The whole thing together and is an unchanging point for the transformation.

“You not fall down yet? Me Grimlock knock you down!” Age of the Primes Grimlock G2 color scheme vs. Combiner Wars Thundercracker. These two are almost the same color. PICTURED: Super7 Ultimates Cobra BAT, Metal Head, Age of the Primes Grimlock,

He looks good from behind too, with only the front end of the jet with the cockpit and nosecone visible as a backpack, which s what he is supposed to look like in the first place.

One thing I don’t like, though is that there is no way to attach the guns to his upper arms, which would be accurate to the G1 cartoon. And why not? Hasbro missed an opportunity there…speaking of…

ACCESSORIES

Thundercracker has SEVEN guns. That’s a bunch! The two big and obvious blue cannons, the two machine gun types, the missile launcher that he can hold in his hand, and there are two undocumented removable guns on his legs! (It is said that if you remove these you can get more of a show-accurate look)

Now with these you can arrange them in all kinds of ways. You can place them under the wings of the jet however you like. You can combine them into one big weapon sort of like the Power Rangers like to do (the only actual “combiner” kind of feature to this Transformer.) You can attach them to his arms, to his legs, to his wings so many ways.

TRANSFORMATION

It isn’t that difficult, but it does have a quirk. (So far every one I have has such a “quirk.”) Basically you get the arms up and out of the way, pull down the torso, and wrap the legs up behind where his head was. Then you extend the cockpit forward and the wings out. The aforementioned quirk is where the torso connects back to the bottom of the jet. This has to be lined up perfectly or it won’t go.

But to transform him back from his F-15 Eagle Fighter Jet mode, that quirk is the easiest part. There are these tabs that you lift up, and then just press behind in the recess with your fingers. After that this Transformer almost transforms itself.

(I explained everything without tiny details like the feet. You will have to go watch my YouTube video if you want to see how the transformation really works)

The accessories integrate right in to the transformation, and you can place the guns however you want. I prefer to have the big blue cannons on the inside and the machine guns on the outside. The instruction indicate putting the missile launcher under the nosecone, something I dislike very much.

FUN WITH THUNDERCRACKER

You can combine all of the weapons together to create a super weapon. And then nobody will be able to steal the coffee!
I have a Cybertronian base set up, where Heatboys Donatello and Thundercracker are on display among other technological beings. It seems like Super7 Ultimates! Cobra BAT is always getting busted up.
Vintage Shockwave and Shrapnel, along with Studio Series Soundwave with Lazerbeak, and Combiner Wars Thundercracker. Oops, looks like I have Soundwave’s waist twisted backwards. Also, Soundwave is supposed to be Leader Class. But there is a huge size discrepancy. Leader Class should mean pretty much as big as you get without going Titan Class.
My vintage Shockwave really is a centerpiece of my entire toy collection.
You can put the missile launcher on the other side of Grimlock’s tail. That is the best solution. (sarcastic)

THE SPARTANNERD’S RATING OF COMBINER WARS THUNDERCRACKER

It is pretty good for a 10 or 11 year old toy. I understand that this is a re-use of Jetfire’s mold, which is also used for a Skywarp and a Starscream release from the same time period. (There are vestigial slots on his back where Jetfire had some boosters). This means that some of the loose parts are construction related and not only an artifact of sitting in a box for all this time. (You can tell from my pictures that box has been through it.) I think it is pretty dumb that they didn’t give us a better way to deal with the missile launcher in the F-15 jet mode. Placing it on the front is pretty stupid…but you could consider it like another 1980’s nostalgia piece- Galaxian, Galaga, etc. Video games where large guns seem to attach to the front of a jet-like vehicle.

Image from https://www.nintendoclassics.net/2021/02/galaxian-in-shadow-of-galaga.html

Still, he has no stupid problems. I got him because I wanted a Leader Class Thundercracker…the right Transformer for NOW. I like the paint pretty good…the only paint here is a splash of orange for the “fake” cockpit on his belly and the red on his wings. The accessories are great even if the missile launcher is a miss of the big-stupid type. The only thing I dislike about the sculpt besides the lack of a way to attach the guns to the upper arms, is that recess in his shoulder area where the “quirk” of this toy is. I wish there was some way to cover those little holes is all.

But I don’t have enough complaints to subtract any points. The SpartanNerd rates the Combiner Wars Thundercracker a 5/5. He checks all of my boxes, and is exactly what I wanted…a Leader Class Thundercracker. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!

By the way, the Blog and the YouTube Channel are doing very well compared to all the years prior. Thanks for reading and watching!

New Eternia Whiplash- SpartanNerd Review

Click here to see the video version of this review

When I first began to collect MASTERVERSE figures, this one was…around. I saw Whiplash, but was determined to save my money for Masters of the Universe Mega Blocks. Well…we all know how this turned out. The MEGA went away. And one fateful day at Target, I picked up 40 anniversary He-Man and became sort of ravenous for MASTERVERSE figures. I started cherry picking the ones I wanted, of course. No Sun Man…no Netflix CGI figures. None of those. I wanted to recollect my childhood figures.

There weren’t that many of them out there, though. And suddenly I remembered passing up on all of those times I saw Whiplash at Walmart or wherever. So I went to order it online, only to have my order canceled. Ultimately looking at pictures on the internet, etc. he looked really scrawny. And they always show him with a horned helmet and holding a torch…kind of wacky. Then I saw the Cosmic Legions SSKURGGE at the Toy Federation in Greer, and decided this was a better Whiplash figure. I thought I might find a better head somewhere or even have a custom made. (All of the people I contacted about making a custom for this declined, not wanting to work in the Ogre scale.)

But here we are. At the apparent end of MASTERVERSE in the wake of the upcoming Masters of the Universe The Movie. And at the SCMEA (South Carolina Music Educators Conference) that happens in Columbia, SC, I visited LT Toys and Games where they had this on the shelf. I might have seen this sometime in the past three years before, but this time I got it along with GI Joe Classified Series Beach Head. (I ALSO saw Combiner Wars Thundercracker but passed on that…more to come!)

(Both links above refer to Todd Venture videos)

After having the figure in hand, do I have better feelings about it?

PACKAGING

PICTURED: New Eternia Whiplash in box. this box shows evidence of damage. Also we can see recently reviewed figures, Mythic Legions Terpiculi, Transformers Studio Series Soundwave, and GI Joe Classified Series Retro Cardback Beach Head.

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Whiplash comes in the sporty original packaging that the early run of figures used. It has blue a blue window with little call-outs to various Masters of the Universe elements in faded graphics. You can see the figure very well in the window. Unfortunately, there are signs that this Whiplash has been opened before. The cardboard shows some damage and the tape isn’t factory. And also, the crease in the window of the box is cracked. And on opening it, it became apparent that the figure has been at least partially removed. The little ties were loose and the blister was crumpled. But there are more details about this package to cover. You can see the figure inside, but also can see that the weapon appears to be dislodged.

There is artwork on the side depicting the classic appearance of Whiplash…important because this tells us that that helmet is removable!

The back shows Whiplash in New Eternia action with excellent art that reminds me of the art we got with the New Eternia Clawful, which is to say…awesome stuff that the line has been lacking for a few years. The bio reminds us that Whiplash is of the Caligar race, but also gives us a new dimension know as “The Demon Zone.”

The cross sell art shows Mer-Man, Grizzlor, Buzz Off, and Faker. I have all of these figures other than Grizzlier, who I don’t want. They didn’t do him right by not giving him rooted fur.

FIGURE REVIEW

What do you get in the package?

  • Whiplash Figure
  • Torch
  • Spear
  • Axe
  • Punching hands

NOW….he comes with the armor on default from the package. But in my mind, these are technically accessories…I won’t be displaying him with these much. The armor is typical Skeletor type of stuff in purple and blue, but has brown straps. There is a gold belt with purple “stille” (probably misspelled) hanging down. And then there is the helmet, which looks cool and fresh, but is thankfully removable. OK…one more thing. The tail isn’t an accessory, though it is packed away from the figure. You assemble this into the octagonal hole beneath the already installed backpack looking piece of tail hanging from his shoulders.

FIGURE REVIEW

As a figure, my example is very loose. Usually figures are stiff when taken out of a package. More evidence that this specific Whiplash figure has been out of the box already and played with. Important. By design, his legs can’t extend out straight. Mattel wanted him to remain in a squat stance by default evidently. But I am going to count this as a stupid problem. Other figures in this scale can extend their legs out. It makes it seem wrong and a person could try and force it on Whiplash and wind up breaking something.

PICTURED: The Bounty Hunters. MASTERVERSE New Eternia Two Bad, Trap Jaw, and Whiplash. Cosmic Legions Kannox Vull. MASTERVERSE 1987 Movie Beast Man, MASTERVERSE Revelation Triclops and Stinkor (armed with AWOK shotgun). Find all of these reviewed at SpartanNerd.com

The tail is made of a heavy rubber material, and I don’t know how much abuse it could take or if it will break down over time. It IS posable, but also stiff enough that you feel like you could overdo it.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE 1987 Movie He-Man and Evil-Lyn, with New Eternia Whiplash

This tail is a balance point, just the same way that the tail of a real animal is sometimes used. Whiplash has big, flat feet, and this is helpful, but that tail really makes it work. You can prop him up with it, or use it to counterbalance.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Terror Claws Skeletor and Whiplash fight against Thunder Punch He-Man.

Whiplash’s sculpt is very nice. but his paint is lacking except for in his face and on his armor. In the above photo I have him fighting Thunder Punch He-Man with his own raised fists. And Terror Claws Skeletor has his hilarious claws read also.

PICTURED: Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry and MASTERVERSE New Eternia Whiplash

You can see a real quality difference between the Masterverse figure with a lower price point, and the Mythic Legions figure with a higher. The paint and sculpt on the Ninian Infantry soldier is just incredible, making Whiplash’s seem to be $30 less of value 🙂 I wanted to use this example because of the tail. the Mythic Legions tail is more bendable. But I have also broken one of these snake guys’ tail off. There won’t be any danger of that happening with Whiplash.

Whiplash’s colors could be worse.

Yes. You can remove the fire from the torch. PICTURED: Masterverse New Eternia Moss Man and Whiplash. Both menacing green extreme. But Moss Man is so DRAB. Whiplash has accomplished it with style!

A BIG COMPARISON

So, as I mentioned above, I already have had a Whiplash figure…I should say “Whiplash” figure.

PICTURED: Cosmic Legions SSKURGGE and MASTERVERSE New Eternia Whiplash.

So, once again…the Mythic (Cosmic) Legions is clearly MORE incredible than the MASTERVERSE figure. We have to set that aside, however and be subjective for one. SSKURGGE is not the same person as Whiplash. And this is a real difference. He isn’t “The Real Slim Shady,) only a copycat. You should watch my video as I do headswaps and get cracked up…it is pretty funny. Otherwise, these guys are the exact same colors of green. (Find the review of SSKURGGE here).

WHAT DOES HE ADD TO THE COLLECTION

I mean…He’s Whiplash. An essential character!

A great bounty hunter…look as he and Cosmic Legions Kannox Vull bring in GI Joe Classified Series Zarana on Cybertron.

PICTURED: Cosmic Legions Kannox Vull, GI Joe Classified Series Zarana, and MASTERVERSE New Eternia Whiplash

He belongs with a certain trope of characters.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MASTERVERSE NEW ETERNIA WHIPLASH

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Whiplash, Vintage Masters of the Universe Whiplash, and 200x Masters of the Universe Whiplash.

Above is my original whiplash toy. As a kid I had countless hours playing with this. So he doesn’t have a tail anymore 😦 I picked up the 200x version right before I got SSKURRGE. Whiplash gets the feels point all day because of who he is.

I don’t think he is as good as the Cosmic Legions KO version. But then we are really comparing wildly different things that are just in the same color scheme.

I am awarding MASTERVERSE New Eternia Whiplash 4/5. My logic for the lost point…his paint could be better, and his articulation is strange. I feel like the knee issue is a stupid problem especially, and one that is “baked in.”

He has been a blast to play with…way more fun than Thunder Punch He-Man or Moss Man in this same blog review. And there is a nostalgia factor that is also present that I love.

THE SPARTANNERD RATES WHIPLASH A 4/5…do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!

GI Joe Classified Beach Head (Retro Cardback)

See Reviews of Zarana, Jinx, Tunnel Rat, and Law and Order at SpartanNerd.com

See the video review of this product here

I am on a roll picking up the Rawhides subgroup of GI Joes from the 1987 movie. I have Jinx, Tunnel Rat, Law and Order, and now their drill sergeant, Beach Head. (I need to get Lt. Falcon, Big Lob, and Chuckles, if anyone is counting).

I saw this Retro Cardback Beach Head at LT Toys in Columbia SC, and decided it was the perfect time to get one of the GI Joe Classified Series Retro Cardback figures.

As this is my first one, lets take a hard look at the package, which should be a bigger deal than the normal Classified Series stuff.

I mean…it looks like a toy from the 1980’s in modern collectors sensibilities. I have seen a few of these warming the pegs at Walmart…usually Cover Girl or Scarlett. I don’t know why the lady figures don’t sell so well? I seem to enjoy quite a few over the past couple of years. Back to Beach Head, you have a nice illustration with the classic explosion behind him. You can see the figure very well in his bluster bubble, as well as all of his accessories. Really…holding this in hand also brings back some memories. Let’s flip it over…

On the surface, it looks like a cardback from the 1980’s, but dig a little bit to see some differences. There is cross sell art, which is similar, but I don’t know who these characters are, and it doesn’t say who. The bio takes up most of the cardback, and I remember being a kid and cutting these out, only for them to usually get thrown away probably by my mom. She was generally against us having GI Joes by the way. Terrified of guns or that we would join the army. I have an uncle who almost made it to general, and so there we go…another draw towards the military that I am pretty sure scared her to death. I never joined up, but I strongly considered after 9/11. However, my son did go into the infantry, and worries US to death.

Back to the cardback…this bio barely gives us any information. Instead, we get a little bit in five languages. I absolutely think they should print this for other languages…that isn’t what I am saying. I wish a more fleshed out bio wasn’t sacrificed for the real estate on this card it takes to print five languages. (If they did print a different card for each language, that is even more incentive for people to chase down the variants…just saying!)

I love this package enough to keep the cardback. Important to note, it isn’t a collector’s friendly package. I used a pocket knife to cut the blister off without damaging the card. I saw where it is possible to use a hairdryer. I’ll keep the card with any others I pick up and keep using it as a diorama for YouTube videos, etc.

WHAT DO WE GET IN THE PACKAGE?

  • Beach Head Figure
  • Backpack
  • Bandolier
  • Pair of daggers
  • Crossbow
  • Pair of tear gas grenades
  • Pistol with silencer
  • Submachine gun (Demro XF-7 Wasp?)
  • Figure Stand

I kind of thought the retro-cardback style was another way to sell the core characters to nostalgia chasers, and use less plastic (parts and accessories). But that doesn’t seem to be the case with Beach Head. This is pretty much the exact same thing I would have expected from the more classic Classified Series packaging.

FIGURE REVIEW

PICTURED: GI Joe Classified Series Cobra Commander and Retro Cardback Beach Head

Beach Head has all of the same articulation you would expect. BUT my example has a stiff right knee that has a top joint that doesn’t want to move. I used the hair dryer and got it to go, but it is still very stiff. Otherwise he has a ball-jointed head on a posable neck, butterfly joints on the shoulders, bicep swivels, double jointed elbows, swivel wrists with rubbery hands. Ab crunch, waist twist, ball jointed hips, double jointed knees, boot cut shins, rocker ankles. Everything you would expect from a Classified Series figure.

Beach Head is wearing what I would describe as riot gear, however he is clearly an Army Ranger. He has this rubber flack jacket and ammo utility belt. There are red details on the shoulders which I believe are padding because of the weight of this armor and backpack, but it also could be some kind of storage. He has a poster for his pistol, which has a silencer also. There are sheaths for his two daggers…this is very welcome considering that Law and Order didn’t come with a sheath. He doesn’t have a proper way of storing the crossbow or machine gun on his armor.

His sculpt is very good. Mostly this is a uniform sculpt, like the recent Jinx figure I reviewed. You aren’t seeing a lot of human figure, but instead are seeing the costume. In the case of Beach Head, his most iconic look is this look. Military uniform from head to toe, always wearing a ski mask. But it is a great sculpt. You can see the elastic details on his shirt, the ridges on his mask, and the pants look like natural pants. (These have been used before…Sergeant Slaughter has the same pants and deco)

The paint is an area I thought this retro cardback figure might skimp on. It’s true that the accessories could use more paint, but the figure doesn’t seem to have suffered. All of the paint on this figure is well done. There is some of the “molded in colored plastic” effect that does some of the work.

Beach Head inspects the Rawhides. PICTURED: GI Joe Classified Series Jinx, Law, and Tunnel Rat. MIA Lt. Falcon, Big Lob, and Chuckles. I have a feeling I will be getting Big Lob soon…

You can see in the above photo that Beach Head, being from the Retro Cardback, isn’t the least bit worse than the other three.

ACCESSORIES

Beach Head is absolutely loaded. I believe his best accessory is the submachine gun. BUT…it needs more paint apps. It’s true that it captures what the vintage figure came with. But like I said before, it is in the accessories where the paint apps are lacking. This machine gun has a muzzle break and a magazine, both removable. And his hands are very rubbery, allowing you to pose him holding it without problems. Notable, this figure did not come with alternate hands like so many others, but these rubbery hands are a good workaround. This gun, reportedly a Demro FX-7 Wasp, isn’t normally military. I looked it up, and it was possibly used in Vietnam, where actually American military issued weapons were not allowed. But in general, this is more of a police weapon.

PICTURED: All GI Joe Classified Series figures. Cold Slither (Dreadnoks Zartan, Buzzer, Torch, and Ripper), Zarana, and GI Joe Beach Head.

His pistol is average for GI Joe. The bandolier…I am told that this pouch thing he is holding is just that. It holds three ammo cans. You can attach the tear gas grenades to it also. his backpack appears to have the arrows for the crossbow sculpted in. Internet research says that this backpack has a mine detector.

PICTURED: Turtles of Grayskull Skull-Shredder vs. GI Joe Classified Shooter and Beach Head. It looks like they have him with their pistols, but we all know it won’t be that simple…Also pictured my favorite cover of Turtles of Grayskull #1 and the most recent Energon Universe GI Joe story, where the Joes recruit Roadblock. (was that a spoiler?)

SPARTANNERD RATING OF GI JOE CLASSIFIED RETRO CARDBACK BEACH HEAD

  • Sculpt- Point
  • Paint- Point
  • Accessories- Point
  • Articulation- Taking a point off because of his knee issues
  • the feels point- You know it!

Yeah, Beach Head gets the feels point all day because of that special scene in the 1987 GI Joe movie. I recently watched it again just because that movie is awesome…I had it on Beta Max when I was a little kid and watched this movie all of the time…easily once a week. But the best scene in the movie isn’t Nemesis Enforcer, or even the opening music video (though that is undeniably awesome). It is the scene between Jinx and Beach Head. And I am going to write my feelings right now, and you’ll know why I needed Beach Head so much, and also why he gets the Feels Point, even though the SpartanNerd is a Cobra fan.

First of all, Beach Head is inspecting the new recruits, dubbed Rawhides. These are six new bodies being injected into GI Joe by Hasbro, but I digress. Beach Head gives them a looking over and blah, blah, blah Lt. Falcon is AWOL. Jinx is among them. Beach Head trains Big Lob and Tunnel Rat, but then meets Jinx in her training area, which looks kind of ninja-cabin-ish. She is working her katas or something. Here he accuses her of being bad luck, and then she makes a kissy face at him. He doesn’t like this at all, and proceeds to beat her up and then using the gladiator pole shoved in her face says “$#1+ ! Pathetic!” Yep. On a straight to TV movie. I would normally not like this except for what happens next.

As Beach Head begins to leave, she puts on her blindfold and breaks the training pole in two, then beats Beach Head down.

And there you have it. Beach Head gets the feels point. There has never been a time when this movie was on that I didn’t stop what I was doing…almost like saying the Pledge of Allegiance, and just take it in.

So I award GI Joe Classified Series Retro Cardback Beach Head a 4/5. He only loses a point because of his knee problem, but I guess the SpartanNerd loses that point also!

Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!

G.I. Joe Classified Law and Order – SpartanNerd unboxing and Review

See the video review at my YouTube channel here!

As a longtime G.I. Joe fan and now the owner of a real-life German Shepherd, this Classified called my name throughout December. Between nostalgia from the G.I. Joe movie and modern Classified Series design, Law and Order was exactly what the SpartanNerd wanted with some of his Christmas money.

(What I really spent it on was Heatboys TMNT Donatello…you’ll have to wait for that review to drop…let’s just say SOLID 5/5!)


Packaging

Law and Order came in the typical GI Joe Classified Series window box. The last two Classifieds I reviewed came in that dumb windowless box. But I’m not sure they could sell this figure without such a good window where you can especially see the K9 dog.

The side has artwork similar to other GI Joe Classified series figures. I will be removing this and adding it to my diorama.

The back features a photoshop scene from the 1987 GI Joe movie. Law was one of Beach Head’s new recruits in training. Beach Head sent him in to a mockup town to find a bomb. But what Beach Head didn’t know was that Law was going to cheat, calling in Order to help. Order finds the bomb right away and brings it to Beach Head, but wants to play tug-of-war with it. Law gets it away and throws it, where it explodes away from the town. And then Beach Head says a famous line, (but doesn’t cuss this time), “I hope you both get fleas!”

Too bad the figure didn’t come with a bomb accessory. I kind of hoped that I just couldn’t see it in the package, but nope. There would be no hiding it with this window, and there was no surprise bomb this time. (Jokey Smurf reference!)

Of course, the other side of the box is useless, containing the coded bio symbols and a QR code that links to Hasbro’s main site.


What Do You Get in the Box?

  • Law action figure
  • German Shepherd K9 figure “Order”
  • Order has a K9 helmet and, collar, and harness
  • Multiple interchangeable hands
  • Alternate snarling dog head
  • Removable hat
  • Handcuffs
  • Nightstick (tonfa)
  • Uzi submachine gun
  • Pistol
  • Dagger

I mention the K9 helmet, as it wasn’t clear that it was removable. (for all we know it could be hard-sculpted on.)


Articulation

Law

Law features the standard G.I. Joe Classified articulation we’ve come to expect: excellent range of motion at the head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, torso, hips, knees, and ankles.

His removable hat fits well, and his tactical vest appears removable with some effort, but I don’t feel the need to take it off. (There might be a glued seam under one arm. Sculpted details like the flashlight and body cam add realism, making Law feel like a true modern military police officer.

Order

Order can rotate his head and has a slight up and down on his neck joint. He has jointed knees and elbows, as well as ankles on some kind of joint that can be angled in any direction. His tail is also on a ball joint. His front and back legs have “splay” and he can stand very well. There is also a mid-body articulation (do we call this a “torso” on a dog?)

The mouth does not close—Order always has his tongue out in the default head sculpt—You can swap the head for a more menacing “snarling” look.


Accessories

We have a lot of similarities…We can remove our helmets, and have large scary pets! PICTURED: Masterverse New Eternia Battle Armor Skeletor and Panthor, and GI Joe Classified Series Law and Order. Both are posing with their helmet and pet.

The Uzi machine gun is painted green-on-black, and looks like real guns I have likely seen at shows or just around my son who was in the army. I don’t know hardly anything about guns, but this one looks very realistic.

PICTURED: Law leads some NPC GI Joes and Tunnel Rat, while busting Cold Slither. Notice Zartan is escaping! All GI Joe Classified Series figures.

Be careful with these handcuffs. They are made of the thinnest plastic. Honestly they feel like that plastic that Hasbro uses to tie figures into a blister card. Flimsy stuff. There isn’t a way to unlock them…they are permanently closed. If you want to put them on a figure you have to remove their hands.

My son says he believes this pistol is not styled after a real pistol. I tend to believe him…

PICTURED: Masterverse New Eternia Man-E-Faces and GI Joe Classified Law. Both showing off their fictitious pistols.

The knightstick is a nice piece, but I wish the flashlight wasn’t permanently attached to the belt. I know some real police, and these flashlights are also meant to be used as nightsticks if necessary.

The dagger…I never could find a place on the figure where this dagger was supposed to sheath to. This was some kind of oversight at the Hasbro I believe.

Order- OK. This isn’t an accessory if you ask me.

Mythic Legions Belualyth’s Chimera is OK to take apart…but I am not showing this heroic K9 disassembled.

No problem removing his helmet. It comes right off past the ears with a little force. BUT, in order to remove the harness…this is where there is a problem. There is no buckle or snap on this harness, instead you have to remove the head and neck (the neck doesn’t come off easy), and the two back legs.

It works, but it feels wrong—especially for younger collectors or anyone sensitive to pulling apart a dog figure. But he looks great without it on, and I prefer him not to wear it, though I know he is supposed to.

PICTURED: Super7 Ultimates! Snake Eyes Timber and Order. I have nine dogs. I see this scene every day.

Order is of a similar scale to Mythic Legions Belualyth’s Chimera skeleton pet, Super7 Ultimates! Snake Eyes Timber wolf companion, GI Joe Classified Series Gnawgahyde’s Porkbelly warthog is bigger, but I believe this is accurate. (In a fight, my money is on the Warthog)

PICTURED: GI Joe Classified Series Law and Order and also Porkbelly, Gnawgahyde’s pet warthog.

SpartanNerd Rating of GI Joe Classified Series Law and Order

Such a good boy…he has Cobra Commander’s gun!

I am rating GI Joe Classified Series Law and Order a 5/5. I award points for sculpt, paint, articulation, accessories, and “feels.” The set gets all of these, especially the feels point because I also now have a German Shepherd, but also because of my love for the 1980’s GI Joe movie. I believe I will be completing the “team” of Beach Head’s recruits, because now all I need are Beach Head, Jinx, Big Lob, and Lt. Falcon.


I rate GI Joe Classified Series Law and Order a 5/5. Do you agree or disagree? Do you have a German Shepherd of your own?


Let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to like, subscribe, and check out more GI Joe Classified Series reviews on SpartanNerd.com.

SpartanNerd- Action Figure Awards- The Best Figures of 2025

I have a long-form video review HERE. You can find links to every figure reviewed on the SpartanNerd home page, or in the description of the YouTube video linked above.

I am only awarding to figures that I got in 2025. This isn’t necessarily figures that came out in 2025, but that happens to be the case for some of these. The featured image shows Masters of the Universe Classics Vikor and Mythic Legions Legendary Barbarian. Neither were the winners of 2025, I just wanted to use their picture!

GI JOE CLASSIFIED FIGURE OF THE YEAR

I decided that Panthor and Gnawgahyde were candidates. But it isn’t really fair to put Panthor in the pool…I might feel differently also if he was flocked. Gnawgahyde on the other hand is incredible, with that true-to-life accurate sniper rifle and his two pets, Porkbelly and Yobbo. That’s why Gnawgahyde is the GI Joe Classified Figure of the year.

MASTERVERSE FIGURE OF THE YEAR

New Eternia Battle Armor Skeletor is the SpartanNerd MASTERVERSE Figure of the Year. Mattel learned their lesson from the two Battle Armor He-Man figures that we received already…they were lackluster and apparently haven’t sold very well. Skeletor is the opposite of that in every way. A true update, giving him the best axe in MASTERVERSE, a removable helmet, and spikes on his shoulders. He has a chain-mail piece sculpted on his cranium, and also hip armor. You can swap his chest plate quickly and easily…another improvement on the other two. I really considered Roboto, but for my 2025 tastes, I like barbarians and skeletons more than robots (does that make sense?).

LADIES CATEGORY FIGURE OF THE YEAR

I did a ladies category this year, and New Eternia Evil-Lyn was a leading candidate. But she didn’t win. I do love her paint and sculpt. Other nominees were GI Joe Classified Shooter, New Eternia Teela, and the ladies category winner of the year (keep reading!). The lack of paint on Shooter’s weapons brought her down, and the “eye roll” of Teela is what knocked her out. (The others in my comic here are Movie Evil-Lyn and Revlation Evil-Lyn, both acquisitions from previous years)
I used an app called Comic Life to make these comics.
Skeletor’s Throne has three different colors of fire in its LED set. I liked the green for the Snake Mountain throne room the best.
Belualyth the Beastmaster is the Mythic Legions figure of the year. Incredible sculpting and paint details, plus a skeletal snake, vulture, and chimera, which I think is a cow and a big cat crossed with a snake. She is my kind of character! I always play black in Magic the Gathering, I have a collection of skeleton action figures, and this year I also picked up a lot of ladies. (action figure ladies…). That’s why Belualyth is also the ladies category winner of the year.
My mom gave me that miniature Lowe’s bucket. Remember Robbies Ribs from the 1987 Masters of the Universe Movie?
If you don’t know Carolina Mustard-style Barbecue, you should look that up. Even better, try some!

So there you have it!

SPARTANNERD FIGURE OF THE YEAR!

Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments! What was your greatest action figure of the year?