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Combiner Wars Thundercracker- SpartanNerd Review

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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!

Mythic Legions Terpiculi- SpartanNerd Review

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To see the YouTube version of my review of this AMAZING FIGURE, click here!

Way back when the Necronominus Wave dropped, I saw a few figures that I really wanted. Maxillius and Belualyth were two, but also the Terpiculi. And I didn’t pick him up as soon as I saw him. I thought I must have missed him, but then the opportunity came to me to get him off the shelf.

Keep reading to see why he is the greatest skeleton in my collection!

PACKAGING

His packaging is the same packaging as most recent Mythic Legions. It is a big blister card window over a D&D style background featuring a demon and a dragon, with red and blue details and some fire. The back is the same that we saw with Belualyth and the Undead Legion Builder pack. But here is a picture anyway. You can see clearly everything in the package except for the oversized alternate hands hidden behind the Mythic Legions logo.

The cross sell shows Necronominus (the skeleton god who is flying in the center of the artwork,) Belualyth the Beastmaster, who was my 2025 figure of the year, the Terpiculi, and the undead legions builder. I have all of these except the over-the-top skeleton god. And in person he is really incredible, but he is also just a little bit “too much” for the SpartanNerd. The other characters in the artwork are Poxxus, Ilythia, and Arythyr. That I know all of these names means that I am out-nerding most people! I don’t know much about the lore of Mythic Legions, but I do know that these are the evil bosses.

There is a little bio on the side that says that this is truly a monster. If you read Belualyth’s bio, then you know that she led an army of these Terpiculi into battle. So this guy is a legion builder as well.

WHAT DO YOU GET IN THE PACKAGE

  • Terpiculi figure
  • Pair of angled swords
  • Bone or antler meat cleaver
  • Pair of small bird wings
  • tail
  • alternate head that doesn’t have horns
  • oversized alternate hands
  • regular alternate hands

I took it right out of the package and propped him up with the oversized arms. This is what you get right out of the box.

FIGURE REVIEW

I love how the colors match most of the other Mythic Legions skeletons. It is the best bone color…actually looking like old bones look in movies and such. Which I suppose represents real-life decay, bleaching, etc. Something else cool…like Maxillius the Harvester before him, he has “guts” molded in the ribcage.

This figure is basically a Modulok or Multibot kind of character, only based in skeletons, which is actually genius if you think about it. You can rearrange the parts in so many different ways…unlimited ways really if you are willing to combine multiple figures. Which for the SpartanNerd is an actual possibility. I wouldn’t mind owning more than one of these, and for that matter you can use these parts or the parts of other skeleton warriors to add to the fun of this figure.

I thought I might need the hairdryer, but I haven’t had to use it. To the contrary, the more I have messed with the figure, the more loose fitting the pegs are. Be careful with the tail. It is a bendy tail, and the vertebrae on it are angled by default. But if you are too rough with it no doubt your could break it. This already happened with one of the Ninian Infantry figures I have, where the tail separated from he top plug-in joint. I was able to get it back together, but it freaked me out enough so that I was extra cautious with The Mouse King and now with this Terpiculi.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Battle Armor He-Man and Skeletor, with MASTERVERSE Panthor and MOTUC Battle Cat. Does He-Man win this one? Seems he always finds a way.

And just as a default character, he is a walking battle machine. It is strange to only have three weapons for four arms. But he is so lanky and such that some of this is kicking, punching, and tail swipes.

The oversized arms. You can remove the chicken wings and the regular arms, and peg the oversized arms in where they were. Use the hornless head, and then you have a gorilla skeleton!

PICTURED: Mythic Legions Belualyth and the Terpiculi in an MTG “nightmare” configuration using Maxillius alien head.

These two photos represent a couple of nightmares. Above I have Maxillius default head put here, with the chicken wings for the arms, and the legs reverse jointed to make a chicken monster. Below I have the oversized arms and Maxillius’ blood wings halo thing.

A FANTASTIC UPGRADE

I already purchased the skeleton wings to use with my other warriors, but they are very natural for this figure.

PICTURED: Masterverse New Etheria Hordak, Revelation Scare Glow, Mythic Legions Maxxilius the Harvester, Belualyth’s chimera pet, several skull heads, and Mythic Legions Terpiculi on the worst flight stand you ever saw.

The bone wings are huge! Very impressive…there is really nothing like it. If you get the Terpiculi, you should definitely pay the extra $20 for the wings.

WHY IS THE TERPICULI THE GREATEST SKELETON FIGURE

Let’s compare the figures below. On the far left I have The Undead of Vikenfell, who is getting weaker and weaker and constantly has trouble standing. Maybe he (or she?) is too small and light for their own good. At the back we have Demistros, one of the first Mythic Legions skeletons I had, and a great boss for the skeleton tribe. I have MASTERVERSE New Eternia Viking Skeletor’s head swapped on, and you can see he really isn’t much of a skeleton warrior. Mostly a dark knight with an evil head. On the right I have the disrobed Maxillius the Harvester, who is basically a grim reaper. And he is the most anatomical of the skeletons and would be the greatest, but I broke his neck around October 2025 and have had to Gorilla Glue it a couple of times. I was able to swap his heads for this review without issue, thankfully. A big difference in the Terpiculi and Maxillius is the pelvis…Terpiculi has the regular 1.0 waist, while Maxillius has a properly designed pelvis. (There is a belt piece on the Terpiculi providing privacy for what looks like a diaper!). But that durability problem makes me worry with messing with Maxillius.

Terpiculi is the best because he feels like you need to mess with him…it is like he is inviting you to disassemble him and reassemble him in a different way. He is a Spooky Scary Skeletons figure, for sure!

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MYTHIC LEGIONS TERPICULI

Sculpt- 1 point. Excellent work!

Paint- 1 point. Love the color!

Accessories- 1 point. This figure IS accessories basically. Plus there is a whole bone-wings add-on that is perfect!

Articulation- 1 point. I haven’t had to use a hairdryer. I want to say that he is getting looser and looser the more I mess with it. It hasn’t been enough of a problem to deduct a point…it isn’t a “stupid problem” yet.

Feels Point- Look at the picture below, and tell me if he gets the “Feels Point”. Of course he does! And even if a person isn’t into Mythic Legions specifically, but loves creepy monsters. Well the Terpiculi belongs in that monster fan’s collection. I can’t imagine a collector of horror figures would be unhappy with the Terpiculi!

THE SPARTANNERD RATES THE MYTHIC LEGIONS TERPICULI A 5/5. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!

GI Joe Classified Beach Head (Retro Cardback)

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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!

GI Joe Classified Jinx and Zarana- Action figure showdown

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I’ve done a couple of action figure showdowns…Black Falcon vs. Demistros, Battle Armor He-Man (He-Men?), King vs. King vs. King. And now a version featuring the ladies.

I picked up Zarana and Jinx at the Toy Federation in Greer, SC. (Also Studio Series Soundwave). Why these two?

My favorite scene from he 1987 GI Joe movie was where Beach Head is training with Jinx. (I in fact love the whole part of Beach Head in this movie!) Beach Head interrupts Jinx while she is training, and proceeds to kick her butt…then PG-13 cussing at her (remember…this movie released on TV only!) As he begins to leave, she puts on her blindfold, breaks the training pole into two, and then beats the snot out of Beach Head.

Zarana is THE girl on the Dreadnoks team. There might be more, but I don’t know them. She is Zartan’s sister, and this came crashing back to me when I got the 2025 SDCC Cold Slither set. As you open it up, Zarana is sitting in the ticket booth. I knew then I would be picking her up if she was available. So here we are.

A “good girl” and a “bad girl.” Who will win?

PACKAGING

Zarana’s packaging

The back of Zarana’s packaging

Jinx’s packaging. More modern, but less splashy.
The back of Jinx’s packaging.

Both figures come in the kind of GI Joe Classified packaging you expect. I believe that Jinx’s is more recent, while Zarana’s appears to come from one of the early waves. As such, Jinx package is more sporty and as a consequence boring, while Zarana has actual illustrated comic-style art on her package. I am not figuring the packaging into the head-to-head score. I am grateful that neither was in a windowless package! So what will I use to score? The same criteria I always use. Sculpt, Paint, Accessories, Articulation, and the feels point.

FIGURE RUNDOWNS

What do you get in Jinx’s package?

  • Jinx figure
  • alternate head
  • Double-bladed Naginata (Bo staff with sai on both ends)
  • alternate fists
  • katana with sheath
  • Bandana
  • choker necklace (I’m counting this as it is easily removable)

What do you get in Zarana’s package?

  • Zarana figure
  • alternate hair
  • machine gun with skill saw blade
  • backpack
  • heat knife
  • ice-pick style dagger

The figure articulations are exactly the same. Notable…I hadn’t payed attention to this before…they both have butterfly shoulder joints! This is just now making it into Mythic Legions, for instance. And it will be a feature of the upcoming Masters of the Universe Chronicles line. And so once again they both receive a point. Jinx 2 points, Zarana 2 points. Jinx feels like the more important to have great articulation, as a martial artist. I suppose it is worth saying that Zarana’s upper arm pads kind of restrict how far up you can raise her arms…but actually it isn’t bad enough to count off a point.

The sculpts and paints. Here is where there is more a clear winner.

PICTURED: Super7 Ultimates Snake Eyes and GI Joe Classified Series Jinx.

Jinx is a red action figure. Hasbro has painted details over the red jumpsuit. And her shoes are not military…they are workout shoes. And if you use the alternate head, that is also molded in red plastic. Her arms are bare, but she has a flowery tattoo printed on her arm. Her face is a strong representation of the character, which is to say she aint no Scarlett or Baroness. In the movie, before she tries sparring with Beach Head, she makes a kissy face at him…and this ticks him off. He isn’t about playing around. But I don’t think he would have had the same reaction with Scarlett or Cover Girl. She just isn’t very pretty if you ask me. I’m just not a fan of that red plastic and sparse paint…do the clothes make the woman? They do in Jinx’s case, because this is all she has going for her. You could put almost any other female figure’s head on this body and it could work to make a new ninja.

PICTURED: GI Joe Classified Series Cold Slither with Zarana.

Zarana is a different story…and I don’t think she’s pretty either. More like tough. But clearly more care was put into sculpting the details into her denim. Every tiny hook, buckle, strap, etc. is sculpted and has a paint hit. Her boots cover all of her lower legs and end with knee guards at the top. And this is painted and includes stirrups. Her jeans have large rips with pink tights (leggings?) visible underneath. I looked up an image of the vintage figure thinking this might suppose to be exposed flesh, but no it was pink back then also. I believe it was stylish patches, but they have updated it for the fashion of the 2020’s. Her top…this exposes a midriff with … abs! I looked at all of my female action figures, and none of them have abs like this. (Masters of the Universe Classics Battleground Teela barely has abs). This crop-top is pink with silver details and a brown strap. You get my point…her sculpt and paint are far superior to what Jinx has going on. Her face is very Dreadnok. Not pretty…more like an “I will mess you up” kind of face. She has shoulder protection that is also pink. Her hair is two-toned…or maybe even three shades. She’s a beast!

So Zarana gets these two points.

Accessories.

OK…I eventually got a Beach Head! Review coming soon. (PICTURED: GI Joe Classified Retro Cardback Beach Head)

They both have a similar number of accessories actually. I do wish Jinx came with a gun. On the other hand, she came with hands (see what I did there)? You can count her blindfold and also her choker as accessories. But on this line of thinking, you probably could remove Zarana’s top. (I’m not into customizing like this, but you probably could with a hair dryer). Jinx’s accessories tell a story of a ninja. Especially the katana and naginata. Both are painted well and she has no trouble posing with them. Zarana’s accessories are a little bit wingnut…a machine gun with a skill saw on the end? It took me a little while to figure it out, but the “heat knife” is an electric turkey carving knife! My grandma used to use one…but hers didn’t heat up. So I guess Zarana can cut the turkey and cook it at the same time! She has a backpack which also serves a storage for that knife. I believe Jinx wins this one only barely…she can’t be who she is without her weapons. Zarana’s stuff is in line with what a Dreadnok would have as a weapon.

PICTURED: GI Joe Classified Zarana vs. Night Force Shooter. Shooter is “cuter” than either of them in this review.

Zarana- Articulation, Sculpt, paint- Three points.

Jinx- Articulation, Accessories…and THE FEELS POINT.- Three points

So why would I give the feels point to Jinx and not Zarana? Well I wanted both figures, so there’s that. But Jinx is in my favorite GI Joe The Movie scene (besides that hair-raising introduction music video. CObra–coBRA!) I just needed to have her, which also gives me most of the Rawhides movie scene. While Zarana is of Cobra and is a Dreadnok, which I also love.

So these ladies tie in this contest. It was my contest anyway. I said this could happen!

BUT LET’S GET OBJECTIVE

Zarana is clearly a better action figure when you take away the feels point. Just better paint and sculpt. You can tell she is huge on personality even if you don’t know anything about her character. These two tie in my contest, but if I put them against Mythic Legions or MASTERVERSE or any other modern action figures aimed at the SpartanNerd, then actually Jinx is more like a 3/5 and Zarana is a 5/5.

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

SpartanNerd Cabin Fever-Cold Slither Concert Time

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See yesterday’s action figure photography post about the snow here.

An icicle spike, right at my tire.

Yeah…I’m going even more koo-koo crazy today…but at least I got out and drove to Walmart…it was dangerous at least on the way there. You have to worry about other drivers being nuts…I know I drive real slow over sheets of ice, while the cars pile up behind me. What is the hurry anyway? To slide off the road and crash into a tree?

My GI Joe Classified Series shelf has been in disarray, so I decided to use some of my boredom to fix it up. I thought I would make the Cold Slither look like the cover of the comic. So I cut the box up…(it was hard to bring myself to do that) and then got to setting them up.

My copy of the Cold Slither one shot by Tim Seeley. Seeley is more known for his work on Masters of the Universe.

You can pose them pretty close to the pose on the art. Unfortunately, their hair is too stiff to pose it like a fan is blowing it or something. (Once I saw Diamante in concert. She literally has fans on the edge of the stage to blow her incredible hair!) Torch is only barely balanced in that crouched pose. I added a little color filter to make it a little more in line with the comics colors. I glued some dice to the amplifiers to make them stand…they aren’t in the comic cover, but I can’t do the comic cover perfect anyway. The figures to a good job of standing like it, though.

Well, the Cold Slither concert went great. They played all the classics, plus a cover of “Am I Evil.” What was happening at the back of the venue?

Looks like Sgt. Slaughter led the Night Force to arrest Cobra Commander and Gnawgahyde. Cobra Commander was just trying to pay his bouncer, and then here come the Joes just messing things up. (I grew up typically a Cobra guy).

That packaging is so good, this back-of-the box really captures this seedy place where Cold Slither would hold a concert. I added kind of a smoky filter to make it even better.

Links to reviews of the figures above

Sgt Slaughter

Shooter and Tunnel Rat

Law and Order

Gnawgahyde, Porkbelly, and Yobbo

I never did a review of Cobra Commander. By the way, he is one of the most commonly seen GI Joe Classified figures. I believe they “over printed” him.

A lull in the action (figures)…Snow photos!

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I don’t have any more to review. Today it snowed like…seriously a foot. It has been forever since there has been something like fifteen hours of non-stop snowfall in South Carolina. Maybe 1987 or 1988?

The power didn’t go out, but you are stuck in the house. What to do? Get some action figure photos!

You can see…we usually just get little ice. Which is annoying. It isn’t pretty. It’s dangerous. It keeps you from even walking outside sometimes. And the risk of power outage, etc is also greater. We already had one such event this year. But then, look at how deep this snow is! It is actually deeper than the Snow Cat is tall.

Some bad Photo Shop, and this looks better than some comics art.

MASTERVERSE Fisto is being robbed on an alien planet, by Cosmic Legions Kannox Vull. True thing, Kannox leg fell off into the snow, and I had to dig around to find it. (I regard this figure with disdain. That’s why he’s the robber.)

This snow is so deep also that Battle Cat and Boreus (the horse in the picture above) can’t even stand…it comes all the way up to their belly.

At the end of the day, time to eat some steaks and read some comics.

Anyone recognize this piece of panel? Let me know in the comments! It is from one of my favorite series.

“I am interested in the powder that explodes!” Classic!

I wrote this at 11:30 at night, when snow was still coming down. I just don’t want to get stir crazy…also then comes the temptation to impulse buy things on the internet. For instance the two figures up for pre-order on Four Horsemen are very cool. Are they $90 cool? I should wait until I am of sound mind and not bored body before making such a purchase. I also keep looking at Toxitron on Big Bad Toy Store…Toxic Waste Optimus Prime. Seems like something right up my alley! But should I….