Rock ‘n Roll was my first G.I. Joe figure back in the ’80s and became my favorite Joe, so I was hotly anticipating his Classified version, especially after I saw the sculpting by @2dtoys. Unfortunately the final paint scheme was a bit of a disappointment to me as I was wanting a more classic look and didn’t love the tan shirt or the tattoos. I got used to the embellishments and I was still hotly anticipating the arrival of the figure, so I was very happy that BBTS got him in stock early. Let’s take a look!
This wave features a newer style of plastic free packaging and has a fun digital render of the figure in a G.I. Joe specific environment and a lovely portrait of Rock ‘n Roll on the front. The same portrait is on the left side and the insert tray with the figure and the back features more renders showing off the contents of the box. One interesting thing about the box is the tan part of his shirt looks way more green than it does on the figure and I actually like that color scheme a bit more.
The figure comes with a big machine gun, two ammo belts, ammo container, pistol, walkie, helmet, and two extra hands (fist and devil horns).
The pistol is a basic black gun with a little bit of detail to it and it fits well in the holster. They didn’t make the barrel open for a blast effect.
The walkie is cast in a fairly flexible brown plastic and has a little painted detail with green accents and a black screen. It has a peg that attaches to the back of the belt. Sometimes Rocky’s massive lats bend the antennae a bit, but you can eliminate that by placing the walkie at an angle. I really like the inclusion of this type of gear to the figures.
The machine gun is also cast in a fairly soft black plastic and does bend a bit at the end of the barrel. There is a hole in the barrel, but my blast effects wouldn’t stay in there. The gun has a set of green plastic bipod legs that swivel in and out of position.
The ammo box has two different sets of pegs and is designed to either peg onto the gun itself (with the shorter ammo belt) or Rock ‘n Roll’s belt (with the longer ammo belt).
The extra hands are a fist and a hand throwing the devil horns. The fist is super appreciated as I think all of the Joes need the ability to punch Cobras out! The devil horn hand is a little on the corny side, but also a fun little bit of character building through accessories. My impression of Craig from the comics is that he was more of a classic rock guy, not a metal head, but this works too. The bracelets are also overlays and not glued down, so be careful when swapping the hands that you don’t lose one.
The helmet is cast in a softer plastic and pops on and off easily enough but stays on well while posing the figure. I love all the detail they packed into it and while I’m usually looking for more classic styling in this line, I like the more modern helmet look here. It goes well with Breaker and Roadblock’s helmets.
Sculpting on Rock ‘n Roll is fantastic. There are a bunch of bearded tough guys in this line, but they somehow manage to make them all look cool and unique. Rock ‘n Roll has a solid, muscular build that’s just shy of a traditional super-hero physique and the clothing all has nicely realized wrinkles and cloth textures. I also like all the detail packed in the belts, pouches, bracelets and straps. The shirt is a little plain, but that works to make his crossed bullet belts the star of the show and I also like that they incorporated that very specific original 13 style collar into his shirt design.
The articulation is on par with the rest of Classified, though I noticed his joints were all good out of the box and I had no overly loose parts or things that were too tight like the hips. All of it moves pretty well and I was surprised that such a buff figure could hold that large of a gun convincingly. Rock ‘n Roll has:
- Ball and socket head, lower neck, and waist
- Swivel/hinge shoulders, wrists, hips, and ankles
- Double hinged knees and elbows
- Bicep, thigh, and boot swivel
- Hinged mid-torso, drop-down hips, and butterfly pecs
He gets pretty good range of motion in the neck looking up, though I do still miss the hinge in the necks on these newer figures especially when I’m putting them in a firing from the ground position.
Paint is a bit of a mixed bag. While I do not like the addition of the tan to his color scheme, I’ve grown used to it, but it has got to be some of the sloppiest paint application I’ve seen on this line. They barely hit the lines with that tan, especially the pieces where the shirt is part green and part tan on the shoulders. The bullet belts are cast in a tan-ish plastic that I think is supposed to be gold, but doesn’t quite work for me. I don’t love the tattoos as a design element (except the mom one, that’s fun), but they are solidly applied and clear. I like that they added a wash to the hair and beard, but the eyes seem a little old-school simplistic and not the usual face printing. There is a wealth of buckles and clasps and pouch fasteners on Rock ‘n Roll’s gear that go unpainted and cry out for detail work and paint washes more than the typical G.I. Joe Classified figure does for me. Something about that shade of brown, I think.
Overall, even with all my design quibbles and sloppy paints I ended up really liking this figure. The new elements have grown on me and aren’t as objectionable in person as I felt they were initially and he’s got the solid playability and fun accessories that have made the classified line a favorite of mine. I still can’t wait to see somebody do a classic re-paint and I hope he is high on the list for a retro-carded release, but I’m glad I have him now this Yo Joe June.
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