No, we aren’t having a G.I. Joe themed cookout. Barbecue is a man, not just a cooking method! Gabriel “Barbecue” Kelly is the Joe’s resident Fireman and the last of the elusive Target exclusive Cobra Island wave of G.I. Joe Classified action figures. Let’s take a look!
Barbecue comes on the familiar G.I. Joe Classified card with a big window up front and some killer artwork wrapping around the sides. I particularly like the feeling of heat radiating off of this card art. Since the Target exclusives are moving to Python Patrol and Tiger Force with their next releases, I wonder what the new back of the box art will be. My figure got kicked around quite a bit in shipping and while the outer box was rightly smashed, this protected my figure, so I’m good with it!
Barbecue comes with a short axe, a longer axe, a foam gun, a pack, and a tube that connects the pack to the gun.
The pack is pretty essential to Barbecue’s function, so I’m glad the thing attaches securely and hasn’t been falling off like we’ve seen with some recent Joes. The pack has a peg on the left side to connect the hose to the gun and a clip on the right side for the axe. The axe clips in there pretty tightly, so it also stays on without an issue and the hose attaches to the nozzle gun securely. The pack is cast in black and the tanks are painted orange. There’s a little bit of slop with the orange paint, but I really like the decals on the back of the tank for a bit of extra detail.
Both axes are cast in black plastic with silver paint for accents. I’m glad the blades got the bright and shiny paint treatment as it adds a more realistic and finished feel than a plain black weapon. The larger axe is just big enough to get the figure in a two-handed grip, which I wasn’t sure would be possible since his chest is pretty bulky. The smaller axe fits perfectly in one hand, has the finger guard that I really associate with Barbecue’s axe from the original toy and it can be worn on the hip. It seems like a possibly dangerous storage option, but I’m just glad he can get all his stuff stored on his person.
The nozzle gun fits securely in the holster and has a small hole in the barrel that can fit the smaller accessories that came with recent Marvel Legends figures like the Deluxe Black Widow. The gun attaches at a peg to a flexible hose that attaches to the pack and it is flexible enough to not get in the way of posing. He’s not short on accessories, but if I had my way, I would have liked an unmasked head.
Sculpting on this guy is good, with a lot of nice detail in his helmet, chest gear, and pack. He definitely feels very close to his original figure in design, with just a little bit more detail packed into the helmet and armor. Barbecue is based on a Destro Body, so that puts him a little taller and bulkier than the average Joe, especially since his chest is covered in a thicker overlay. I wish they had the budget to make the chest a new sculpt so that he’d be less bulky and retain more articulation. On the other hand, I can kind of ignore the bulk and write it off as heat-protective gear and I do like the bulky profile when he’s all geared up with his equipment.
Articulation is hindered by that torso overlay. A lot of times I can get some movement in the ab crunch underneath overlays on Classified torsos, but it is rock solid here. Fortunately the waist ball joint can get some good forward and backward movement and tilt, so he’s not completely stiff. I also noticed his hip joints are extremely tight, so look out for that. The wrists hinge up/down which is nice, but the thick gloves and gauntlets don’t allow much range of movement. The combo of neck hinge and ball and sockets lets him look up and tilt his head well. Barbecue has:
- Swivel/hinge shoulders, wrists, hips, and ankles
- Bicep and thigh swivel
- Double hinged knees and elbows
- Ball and socket head, waist, and neck
- Hinged neck, ab crunch, drop-down hips, and butterfly hinged pecs
Paint is pretty solid with mostly clean applications on a figure that is mostly cast in his base colors. The steel gray of the
“armor” pieces feels suitably metallic and the silver parts add a nice polish to the look. I also like the pop of color from the tiny little green dial on the chest barrel.
Overall Barbecue is a solid entry in the Classified line if not a home run. He’s a little stiffer than some of his line mates, but still a lot of fun to pose with his accessories and he adds some nice color variety to the Joe shelf. As much time as I have spent complaining about the availability of the Cobra Island exclusives, I do have to say this figure was very easy for me to obtain and was still available to order from Target as I’m writing this, so thank you Hasbro for making adjustments to the availability and ordering process! I hope things keep moving in this direction, and the ease of ordering the latest Target exclusive Classified figures makes me think it will.
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Source: The Fwoosh
