How do you make a snowman happy?
The ranks of the ’83 Joes are filling out nicely, with Snow Job making his Classified debut. His debut comes at a deluxe price, but there’s a ton of new here so that’s the way the snow fort crumbles.
In a curious turn of events, getting an action figure on skis is as rare today as it was 40 years ago. Snow job has always stood out that way, providing a very specialized service in the action figure world.
I’ve never been on a pair of skis in my life, so I tend to live vicariously through Snow Job, doing all of my slooshing through him.
Snow Job replicates much of what was great about the original figure. There’s a little bit of Snow Serpent in here, along with some new parts for a fully arctic body from head to toe. The sculpting continues the high standards we’ve come to expect with the Classified line.
Despite what should be a lot of bulk, Snow Job is very well articulated, with an uninhibited top and bottom torso articulation. His hips are slightly hindered by the bottom of his jacket, but you can still get a pretty good range due to the softer plastic. His elbows and knees have a great range, and his ankles in particular let you get him into a good skiing crouch.
There are a few differences in this version of Snow Job and his vintage counterpart. There are a bit more brown accents on his pouches and some subtle gray, neither of which I mind.
I do kind of miss the white boots and gloves, as I felt it would blend better with the snowy backdrop he would find himself in.
You get pretty much every kind of option for how you want his head to be displayed. He comes with both an exposed-hair head and one with the open face ski mask that you can swap how you want. The hood is a separate piece, as are the goggles, and he comes with a hood down piece that can slide around his neck, so you have plenty of variety for how you want him presented. It’s a little tight getting the heads in and out of the hood, but with some finagling everything slips into place.
He’s loaded with appropriate accessories. Of course, he comes with a pair of skis and ski poles, a pair of snow shoes, a sniper rifle with removable magazine, and a pistol. There’s a rather burly backpack that attaches to his back that can hold everything, so once again all the accessories (sans heads) can be attached to the figure.. The straps for the skis are fairly tight so it’s a bit difficult getting them to slide in easily, but I think it might loosen up after a while.
The skis peg onto his feet, although with no side to anchor them they do have a tendency to slip off-kilter. But otherwise he looks great, although much like with his boots, I kind of miss the white skis which again I think would blend into the snowy background better. I guess we’re not sticking strictly with snow stealth with this version of Snow Job.
Thankfully, both of his hands feature up-down hinges, so you can get his hands into good coming-down-the-slope positions for holding his poles. That, along with his decent crouching ability, really enhance the overall effect.
Despite a few aesthetic/color grievances, this is another winner in my current favorite ongoing line. This man needs a Battle Bear ASAP.
Source: Fwoosh
