Let's start the year's reviews with something slightly different, shall we? It's rare to see complementary toy lines in today's day and age, isn't it? Sure, you'd get cases like the Transformers Studio Series 86 line and Generations Selects to help bolster the Generation 1 figures on shelves (because we need more of those...). Still, those feel like an extension, compared to a complement. Compare that to the '80s, and 90's Lego sets, particularly the Space themed sets where, even in separate lines, the sets still complemented each other, helped make Space feel a lot grander in scope. I bring this up because since learning of Valaverse's Action Force line, it's felt intended (at least partially) to complement the G.I. Joe Classified line. Valaverse heavily promoted the line to the dedicated G.I. Joe fans. The company owner is a former Hasbro designer that helped work on (among other brands) G.I. Joe and was likely aware of the Classified line long before the general public did. Combine that with the history of Action Force as a brand name is directly tied to the Joes, as Action Force was the name many G.I Joe: A Real American Hero toys and moulds were brought into the United Kingdom, even the inclusion of today's review subject, Robert Rudolph Remus, was one of the first real-life people to be included in the Real American Hero toyline under his wrestling persona, Sgt. Slaughter. While the Valaverse Action Force is its universe, with its own story its own characters, it feels like the intention was always to balance the legacies of the brands (a history and heritage I do recommend looking up, as it is a fascinating story). That's why today we're reviewing that main bridge, the big hook to try and convert fans of Classified. Welcome to the Slaughter House.
One thing to bring up early on, this is not based on any version of Slaughter from the Real American Hero toyline. As far as I'm aware, this is an original design based on his wrestling persona. Based on the bio on the Valaverse website, this is a Slaughter that is somewhat past his prime. But, he still has a "toughened veteran" feel and is viewed as a threat to the Action Force's enemies: the Swarm (among other threats? I haven't read the comics they've been putting out on the story, I don't know if Bone Collector is an enemy, a mercenary, or something else). You get the feel of a veteran pulled out of retirement with this figure, but there's still enough of a sense of youth to the figure that allows him to still work as a Drill Sergeant. While he may not be the one breaking recruits in, there's still a sense of "recruits are probably still terrified of this man". There's still a sense of authority to him. Among one other in particular, the figure reminds me of a teacher at my old high school who was in charge of the school's Cadet Program. When in uniform, he also had that sense of authority to him.
While this does complement the Classified series, there are distinct differences compared to how Classified handles certain elements, Specific elements of the engineering are different. For example, Sculpt was kept a high priority for Slaughter, whereas many Classified figures prioritize articulation. Not to say that Slaughter is rigid, just that there were some compromises he makes that the Classified line doesn't, and vice versa. The way the stomach, for example: while it is as articulated as the Classified series, it's more natural to the way the human body works, thanks to the upper body and the hips having joints built into the stomach to handle an ab crunch and hip spin, compared to Classified's far more visible ratchet hinge. On the flip side of that, Slaughter's neck is more limited than necks like Duke's, and the extra joints incorporated in Duke's neck, and hips allow him to maintain the articulation without having visible gaps in the sculpt. However, this is only an issue in Slaughter's neck, as the dark green pants and jacket help hide the gap.
One thing that does unobjectively put the Classified line to shame is the accessories. One thing I should mention is that there is a known issue with the first wave of Action Force toys, where the joints and ports are too stiff out of the box. Included is a letter from Valaverse regarding ways to help fix this, as it's mostly down to the internal seal of the joints. This issue is something that will be addressed for Wave 2 and onwards. I don't bring this up to bring down the figure, even though it affects my toy copy (mainly the hands). This wave of toys was kickstarted, the company itself is still young, and the transparency about the issue is appreciated. With that said, what do you get with the sarge? You get a wide variety of alternate hands, with both hands having a trigger hand, a neutral gripping hand, a fist, and a relaxed/ "Come on, try me!" hand. The right hand also gets a pointing hand, so you could do things like having a pointing contest with Cobra Commander. Unlike the Classified line, these hands use a very stiff plastic, meaning that the unique gripping hands are the only way you'll be able to get him to hold his two weapons: a revolver and a knife, both of which have dedicated holsters and sheaths on his thighs. Out of the two weapons, I prefer the knife thanks to sculpted details like the eagle head on the handle, but both weapons put many of the Classified lines weapons to shame thanks to them being beautifully painted. It's nice to have a silver revolver and silver blade. Slaughter also comes with a removable hat and sunglasses, the hat itself is a snug fit that won't easily come off unless you knock it, but the same can't be said for the sunglasses. It's the one major flaw I have with this toy, as I would have prefered to have a different head sculpt with the glasses moulded on. If you have Profit Director Destro, you'll be very familiar with how frustrating the glasses can be, and this pair has the same issue. I'll probably be getting some glue eventually and gluing them onto the head due to him never removing them in the cartoon (at least from memory. Again, not a wrestling fan). The final accessory is another that I wish the Classified line would come with, a display stand. It's nothing spectacular, as there are no painted details on it, but all the moulding detail helps give it a distinct look without becoming distracting. Considering as the designer, Bobby Vala, has gone on record saying the reason Classified doesn't come with things like stands and alternate hands is the perceived value of toylines like Marvel Legends and Star Wars: The Black Series, I'm not surprised to see all of these accessories here, and they all help bring life to the figure.
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| No, I'm not a photographer. Why do you think I mainly use promo images? |
While I can't say that this has convinced me to go all-in on Action Force, as many of the designs are a bit hit and miss for me (though if I could, I would probably get that Wasp Raider, nice to see Waspinator getting some love) it's hard to deny how good of a figure this is. You can tell that this was done with a lot of care put into it. This toy feels like an uncompromised love letter to the 80's military action figures. This figure does achieve what I believe the goals of this line are: a balance of old and new ideas, modernizing the concept of the military action figure while respecting the legacy of Action Force, its predecessor Action Man, and his American brother in arms, G.I. Joe. If you can only get one figure from the line, this is the one I recommend getting, though I don't think you could go wrong with any of them. Just be aware that this is a smaller company. These likely won't be as readily available as something like a Classified figure (though if you live in Australia, that's not saying much because Classified isn't readily available anyway). See you next week for the start of the Golden Disc Collection.
