Toy Review: Paris Pursuit Snake Eyes & Movie Storm Shadow

Paris Pursuit Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow

Apparently the GI Joe movie toy line is looking pretty successful. They was a flood of figures at the launch a few weeks back, and after visiting the toy stores this weekend, it looks as if their number has dwindled significantly. During the launch, I decided to secure the Hall of Heroes and 25th Anniversary figures that I had missed out on and left the others for later. I was pretty sure about this decision after having seen the first Snake Eyes release and the female figures (these were the only ones I was after). Suffice to say I wasn’t impressed.

That is until Timster’s review made me see the light. Too late it seemed, since the only figures available at retail were the ugly female characters I passed on and other slow movers that will probably warm the pegs until the movie comes out in August.

This eventuality necessitates the expansion of our area of investigation from the anchor point, outward, in a spiralling pattern. Naturally, the next stop will be Greenhills. A search of Shoppesville reveals that the suspect continues to elude us, but a shift in the investigation reveals evidence he may gravitate to the better stocked stores in VMall.

I’ve been watching a lot of CSI lately.

So I pass by Babe’s (across from Toy Kingdom in VMall) and what do you know, they still have the figure I want. However, as with most of their popular items you’ll need to purchase 2 of the pegwarmers to get 1 snake eyes. Well, given the case assortments these days and the realities of the toy industry, this isn’t a bad compromise for a collector (and what kid wouldn’t want MORE toys?).

Yay!

Just so he doesn’t get lonely, I pick up a regular Storm Shadow for him to play with:

You’ll notice the difference in the packaging from the classic line and the 25th Anniversary toys. It’s alot more compact and offers more protection for the toy itself, while still offering the nice character artwork and a redesigned ID card in the back. While I prefer the old cards, I can appreciate the reasons for the change. It offers mint collectors a smaller package to store, and saves toy dealers on freight costs and shelf space I imagine. It’s also harder to rip these open (you hear stories of figures taken from the cards during events) since there’s a nice molded tray holding everything in place under the bubble.

Accessories are the name of the game with 3.75″ toys (which is one of the reasons I reamain unconvinced about the mini Marvel line) and these movie toys don’t dissappoint. Snake Eyes comes with a sword and scabbard, a pistol, a rifle, and Timber, his pet wolf. The trench coat is probably removable, but it would be pointless since the sleeves are sculpted.

One note: I hate hate hate the new pegs for the backpacks on these new figures. None of them seem to be secure. Snake Eye’s scabbard keeps falling off. To make matters worse, his sword is loose in the sheath and falls out constantly.

Storm Shadow comes with more than his nemesis. 2 swords (the scabbards are glued to his back), a set of claws, a pistol (with provided holster glued on his hip), a rifle/launcher thing with glowy ice cream cone, and what looks like a frisbee thrower that is about as tall as he is. That last one seems to be a running gimmick in the line, much like it was in the Sigma 6 8″ figure line. At least on that one, the weapons were almost in scale. With these guys it looks ridiculous. Snake Eyes is saved from it since Hasbro gave you Timber as an include and can’t justify another hunk of plastic.

Sculpt wise, I actually prefer Storm Shadow. Sure, Snake Eyes is undeniable cool, but even a blind monkey with Parkinson’s could give you a good looking Snake Eyes figure. He’s black with a visor and a sword. They don’t even try to give us any really interesting features on his uniform. It’s a guy in black shirt and pants, with a black mask and a black visor, with an nondescript black coat with a black sword sheath strapped to his back. With black guns. And a black knife.

Storm Shadow on the other hand has a ton of detail worked into his sculpt. There are straps and seams and buttons apparent on his coat, and it looks like he’s wearing Addidas. Or Nikes? The designers even gave us some texture to his scabbards (unlike the plain smooth tube that Snake has) and sculpted in a holster for his pistol. I guess a commando like Snake knows how to smuggle ordanance into secure locations. No cavity searches please. Again, he’s mostly white, but at least his weapons aren’t.

Plus he has that nifty glowy ice cream cone thingamajig. It’s green. And glowy. Maybe if you lick it…

Aticulation is the reverse. Snake Eye’s joint work is several levels above Storm Shadow’s for one simple reason: his coat is open. You would not believe how much that white coat limits Storm Shadow’s mobility. That pose above where he’s “running”? That’s it. You won’t get any kicks from him.

Snake Eye, on the other hand enjoys the full articulation of his line, despite the coat. Ball jointed neck and shoulders, Hasbro ball joint elbows (this is that annoying joint that is kind of a cross between ball and hinge joint and only allows a 45 degree or less movement), swivel wrists, ab crunch, the upgraded hip joint assembly that the joes use, double hinged knees, and ball jointed ankles. All of these allow for some very nice posing, and the dog tag/figure stand pack in gives you even more options.

Despite the drawbacks, I don’t regret either of these purchases. At p450 retail, they’re not exactly cheap, though they are in keeping with today’s market and about half as costly as any other line avaialable. It’s going to be pretty hard to find the Snake Eyes right now, but Storm Shadow is relatively available. I’d suggest picking him up as soon as humanly possible to avoid that, “damn, I wish I’d picked him up when it was humanly possible” feeling.