I was pretty happy with the first Classified Beach Head, so I didn’t think I really needed this one until I saw it. The more classic vest and vivid green colors called to me and he does address one of my main issues with that figure. Let’s take a look at G.I. Joe Classified Retro Beach Head.
While I do have a lot of nostalgia for the old card art from the A Real American Hero line, it’s not really why I collect these. It’s kinda interesting that they did the explosion back for this Beach Head figure since his original figure had the digital explosion.
Beach Head comes with a bunch of accessories that he can carry on his person including a rifle with removeable magazine and suppressor, a pistol with removeable suppressor, a backpack, a satchel, a crossbow, two knives, and two grenades. His submachine gun is a good match for his vintage weapon though it’s cast in green plastic here instead of the vintage gray. I’m not sure why it’s green since the magazines are gray to match the design on his vest. The plastic is fairly stiff, but the stock is fairly thin, so it can be bent easily when you are posing the figure. The suppressor and magazine stay on securely and when the suppressor is on, the standard Classified blast effects fit as well.
The pistol looks like re-use from Stalker, is cast in black plastic, and includes a removeable suppressor.
I’ve never been a big fan of the squared-off design of this suppressor, but the pistol itself has a nice classic feel to it and fits well into the thigh holster.
The pack is re-use from the original Beach Head, which makes sense because it was fairly classic in styling. My favorite feature is that the crossbow that was originally just sculpted detail on the vintage pack is another removeable weapon. This line has issues with packs staying on and I’d say this one stays on better than most, though the interaction with the bag can be a little fiddly.
The knives are removeable from two sheathes on the right leg which is another detail straight from the original figure that is now functional here. I love it when Classified does this. The boot knife looks like re-use from Dusty and the thigh knife looks familiar, but I can’t quite place it. I do like that they both have silver painted blades.
Finally, Beach Head gets the explosive bag and grenades from the retro Snake Eyes. Both are cast in black plastic which is effective, though I do miss the detail of the itty-bitty writing from the Snake Eyes grenades on these ones. The grenades fit well in the hands and can clip to the bag strap. The vintage ammo bag was a slightly different design, but this works for me.
The sculpting here is a lot of re-use, with the majority looking to be the retro Snake Eyes with the original Classified Beach Head’s neck and head and new vest and belt. The final effect is pretty classic feeling. The new vest and belt are separate pieces, so it does allows for more waist and ab crunch movement than the first Beach Head. The articulation is Classified standard with:
- Swivel/hinge shoulders, wrists, hips, and ankles
- Swivel biceps, boots, and thighs
- Ball and socket lower neck, head, and waist
- Hinged pectorals, neck, and ab crunch
- Double hinged knees and elbows
The nice thing about the re-use of the original Classified neck is this figure has a hinged neck and can look up better than more recent figures. The paint is pretty standard for the line with most of the parts cast in the final plastic color with some limited detail paint.
The eyes are really sharp, though the eyebrows feel placed ever so slightly off, so they seem slightly short to me. It’s like they are a millimeter too high and too close together. It’s not something I really notice in person, but I see in close up photos. I also wish they added a little bit more of the green paint for the camouflage pants. I could always go for more weathering and some more details like belt buckles and buttons, but overall paint is fairly effective.
Overall, I got what I was looking for with this retro release, the new parts combine well with older pieces to give me that more classic Beach Head feel. I especially like the vibrant green and looking at this guy, I can practically hear the voice actor from the cartoon berating the rawhide recruits.
Source: Fwoosh
