Toy Review: Hall of Heroes Beachhead

Beachhead

So, thanks to Bim of Comicology, I went out and bought a Hall of Heroes Beachead. “Wait,” you ask, “you went out and dropped p800 on this thing just because some dude who reads your blog went and asked you to review it?

Yes.

I am THAT prone to suggestion. I regularly find myself buying p150 worth of McDonald’s food just so I can get an itty-bitty ice cream cone, or paying p100 for a bottle of coke to get a “free” pizza at Pizza Hut. I am a the consumer that marketing department heads have wet dreams about.

So here he is. An HOH Beachhead. To tell you the truth, I’m glad Bim asked me to review him because this figure is a hell of a lot of fun. If you want to hear about the packaging, read one of my other GI Joe reviews. It’s basically the same except it has an illustration of Beachead. duh. I’ve said it before in my other 3.75″ figure reviews, but accessories are the entire point of this scale and Beachhead has a ton of them. Here’s the list:

• A Backpack (looks just like the original but this time it has a removable…)
• 2 piece Crossbow (bow and handle separate, just like RoC Scarlett’s)
•  Flak Vest (removable, but I wouldn’t recommend it)
•  Satchel (has a place for the extra…)
•  Magazines (2 pieces)
•  Pistol
•  Rifles (2 pieces)
•  Gold Display Stand

I like how he can carry everything listed above on him. He’s got a holster for the pistol on his leg, a slot for the extra magazine on the satchel, and the crossbow plugs right into the backpack. There are a few issues with these things though. One, his pistol doesn’t really slide all the way down into the holster, so tends to fall out. I’m not sure if it’s a quality control issue or a mismatch between the mold of the pistol and the figure, but it is very annoying. Two, the crossbow is very loose on the backpack and since it breaksdown, it tends to fall apart at the slightest touch. I’ve taken to leaving the little clear rubber band on it to keep it in place. I’m glad to say that the magazines are snug in either the gray rifle or the satchel.

The flak vest is removable, but it takes some work and you may end up stretching or tearing it if you’re not careful. If you remove his head it makes things easier. Underneath, his sweater is sculpted with the little ribs you see on his arms. It really is amazing that they gave him this amount of detail. You don’t see this kind of work in this scale really, as evidenced by the new Marvel Universe toys. I wish they had given us a seperate unmasked head as they did in the Beachhead/Dail Tone comic pack. That would have made this a must have. As it is, I’m thinking of getting that pack just for the head, even if the colors are slightly lighter than this release.

The rest of his sculpt is very well done. His balaclava is sculpted as two pieces unlike Shockwave’s (Shockblast?). He’s got a ton more ammo on his flak jacket aside from the ones in his satchel(this guy must be a really bad shot if he carries this many mags), a couple of nice pockets and a coil of red rope on his shoulder. He’s also got somemore red rope on his backpack. Neither is removable, but it’s a nice touch, and points for painting it rather than leaving it black. There is one sculpt detail I didn’t like and that’s the knife he has in his right boot. It’s about the ugliest piece of work I’ve seen and totally unexpected. I don’t have a proper picture of it, but it’s wide and flat and looks like something you’d see on those cheap soldier playsets with the guns that don’t fit them.

Articulation is the norm for Joes that are based on the first round of 25th anniversary figures. He’s got the double-hinge knees that joint-junkies love, but he’s also got the horrible Hasbro elbow (a combination ball and post joint that takes the place of a bicep cut and a elbow hinge) and no frigging thigh cut. The lack of that swivel on the thigh is a serious oversight in the GI Joe line and limits the number of poses you can give them.

But those are little things that most collectors won’t even notice, especially if you don’t goof with them as much as I do. For a display collector, these guys are perfect. For anyone that wants a couple of good 1/18th scale guns, this is a good buy; a great figure and several weapons. For Mint On Card guys, the Hall of Heroes is just beautiful; sturdy packaging with gold foil and a nice window.

Is he worth the p800 that this line costs? Not unless you’re very picky. You can get the aforementioned comic pack (which is relatively abundant in retail toy stores), with an almost identical figure plus an extra head (just lighter and with fewer guns) and a second figure for the same price. I chose to get this one because the darker uniform matches better with my commando Snake Eyes and I needed the extra guns. There was also a single pack, though those have dissappeared from shelves rather quickly after the Revenge of Cobra toy line launch.

And one last pic, just because that rifle looks so damned, good…