Snow Job (Pursuit of Cobra)

November 2, 2011 | By More


 

As much as I was impressed with the vintage Snow Job being an “Adventure on  a Blister Card,” the Pursuit of Cobra version of the arctic GI Joe amps it up a bit more. As with most of the line, he comes with pretty decent amount of a gear and is a good character update.

Appearance:

Snow Job is obviously a cold weather specialist. The vintage version appeared to be more Alpine skier,where the new version looks like a survivalist in for a long trek in very cold weather. This guy looks like he is in for a long haul to somewhere cold and isolated.

One of the biggest updates was to his head. Gone  is the the furry parka head. It was replaced with a knit tuke and earmuffs. I suspect these are probably noise protection muffs, but I’m not sure. His bright red beard has been detailed with a bit of frost. One thing has remained constant, though. The big black non-removable goggles. The character is still recognizable here, and that is what is important. In fairness, the hood is still there, just pushed back.

Snow Job’s overall color scheme gets an update, as well. The pure white snow suit is out, and has been replaced with some modern cold weather camo gear. The camo is doens as green blotches on this white jacket and pants. This is more of a blob style camo, than the digital camo we see in the news all the time. The green really does remind me of what foliage looks like peeking through snow. One minor addition to his jacket is the Pursuit of Cobra style Joe logo on his chest. It’s there, but it’s small and doesn’t really stand out.

The Star Wars team could take some lessons here on how to camo and detail front and back of a figure, not just the front. My only complaint on the camo is there is none on his knees, which makes them stand out.

The jacket and pants are really bulky just like they should be. Cold weather gear isn’t all just polar fleece folks.

The next detail I thought was cool at first, and after I thought about, I’m not as certain. The gloves are are bulky winter gloves. They even have a bright yellow reflective strip on them like some ski gloves. Would a covert operative really want this? I like the gloves, but I really wonder about that yellow piece, now.

Also, the bulky right hand might seem okay for skiing, but doesn’t seem gun friendly. Almost seems like he should have had either a glommit or a bare right hand with a glove on a string hanging from his wrist. Maybe he’s afraid of  a Snow Serpent pulling his left hand and making him smack himself with his right.

Finishing up his outfit is a pair of green boots. You can’t see too much of them due to the legs, but they are boots and nothing to get too excited about.

Fun:

Snow gear is bulky. As such, it can be a bit restrictive in movement. Snow Job here suffers a bit in that area. His head is limited a bit by the high collar on his jacket. The bottom of the jacket severely limits the movement of hips. No sitting or kneeling poses for this guy.

Remember I said this guy comes with a lot of gear? The picture to the right has him carrying it all. I didn’t realize I didn’t have the bed roll elastic banded to him until it was too late. It will fit on him, as well.

Just like the vintage figure, Snow Job is outfitted with skis and and ski poles. Both fit on this pack, and both have been upgraded. The poles aren’t just plain black anymore. They’re silver with black handles and yellow loops. The skis have a more distinct shape to them, as well as some extra detailing on nose end. The bindings even get a splash of paint this time around.

Now for the love it or hate it feature. The skis can be combined with the poles and bed roll to make a sort of lean to structure. Ironically, when he first came out there was a lot of chatter on the proper way to assemble it. A tiny drawing on the card or on a piece of paper would have went a long way here. The shelter is decent enough. With all the focus on the Discovery Channel on wilderness survival with what you have on you, seems like a natural choice.

There’s quite a bit more gear here. There’s a small backpacker type stove with a frying pan that pegs on to it. The pan has a folding handle that I’m a little concerned with the long term survival of the hinge on. To fuel this, I’m assuming, he’s carrying a gas can. To me this big red can makes no sense. One, it’s a big red target that goes BOOM when hit. Two, if he’s on ski’s why would he need gas?

The pack has a built in radio with a hand unit that pegs to the side of it. The pack also has a small silver grid that holds the skis and poles. I’m sure in true camping fashion this does something else, but I couldn’t figure it out.

The last item that pegs into the pack is his sniper rifle. This seems like a pretty big piece of weaponry to be skiing with, but I’ll allow it since it pegs to the pack. Unfortunately, between the bulk of his clothes and glove and his limited movement, I can’t seem to get him in a good pose with it. It’s too bad he didn’t come with a pistol or small side arm in addition.

The last piece of gear is a climbers axe. We’ll assume he has to climb and ski. Otherwise, why would he have it?  It’s a nice enough piece, and I’m sure it will save his life if he falls down a crevasse.

Overall:

Okay, this isn’t a perfect figure. But he’s a pretty good update to a classic character. The blister really doesn’t do just to all his gear, either.

As I was writing this I was reminded of what Ace Allgood from The Trecnhes forum was saying recently on the What’s On Joe Mind? Podcast about the vintage Adventure Team stuff.  He was describing how each of the sets was packed like an adventure unto itself and really give kids ideas to spark their imagination. The more I thought about this figure, he really fits that mold. Change that Joe logo to the classic “AT” one, and the figure would still make sense.

Engineernerd Score: 92/100

 

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Category: Featured, GI Joe, Toy Reviews

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  1. Errex says:

    This is a mighty fine action figure. The wind shelter thingie is a really clever addition and it is always nice to get so much gear in these figures.

  2. Tom says:

    Probably my favorite figure from wave 1 simply because of all the gear he comes with. You rightly pointed out the articulation issues but weighed against the aesthetics and accessories I find it to hard to knock off too many points. I hadn’t really thought about the gloves but now that you mention it, the yellow does seem out of place. I also had not thought about the Adventure Team connection but that is spot on as well. Great figure, great review!