The paintwork was adequate. Most things are molded in the appropriate colors and the paintwork on the face is clean. The intricate pattern on the hat is sloppy, but not so much that it worries me. I would’ve liked to have seen a little more work on his medals and ribbons (he is the highest ranking G.I. Joe after all), then just the thin strip. And there’s a patch missing from the right arm as well. Again, there’s just not much middle ground here.
The articulation works pretty well, mostly in the limbs. The ball-ankles & hips and the double-hinge knees really help with the poses to compensate for the lopsided legs. The arms also have great range with the ball-shoulders and elbows, swivels wrists too. The odd angle of the neck makes for just a swivel joint there and I’ve never been able to get much good range out of the torso joint on this style of figure.
Keel-Haul got a fair amount of accessories, but it’s hard to beat coming packaged with a 7ft long Aircraft Carrier as he originally did. He includes a standard pistol (that missing holster would’ve come in handy) and then some actually cool accessories: a flare gun, binoculars, a coffee mug, and a special type of stand that can hold a flag. I originally had one of these with Duke and an American flag. It’s cool again here and I love the joke that Keel-Haul still comes with a flag, just not the Flagg. I think the coffee mug is likely my favorite accessory of the group though.
Overall, Keel-Haul is probably best called serviceable. I can mix him in with my Joes. I’ll see him in there and he’ll blend in. It would’ve been great if he were a standout though. Figures like Lifeline & Footloose have earned their spot in the front by being great figures. I love Keel-Haul so much that I want to put him up front, but this figure doesn’t belong there. Again, it’s not a knock on the Club, they have to work with what they can and they did some cool stuff with the accessories and getting Boss Fight to do the head, but there are a lot of good Keel-Haul customs out there, also made form repurposed pieces. I kinda wish the Club had looked a little closer at those on this one.
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Man, those arm cuts that show the blue beneath the coat would kill this figure for me entirely, especially at the insane collector’s club pricing.
Yeah, I just chalk that up to a toy being a toy, but I can see that for others.
Poor figure.
Harsh comment. lol
I like him pretty well overall, but I’m kind of in the same boat as you, Noisy: I loved G.I. Joe more as a kid and continued to collect them (sometimes exclusively) up until around 2009. Hasbro just started losing me with their difficult to obtain SDCC exclusives and the Club’s overpriced offerings. There are some guys in the new set that are really tempting (Muskrat and Spearhead and Max come to mind) but I’m really just not going to bite at their prices.
I’d rather support a new line like Vitruvian Hacks or the Cthulhu line.
I’m not sure what I want to do. I just wish we were getting more “ultimate” Joes. It doesn’t feel like it.
Wait. That’s really the flag he comes with? REALLY? A rectangle of cardboard?! Not soft goods, not a tampo printed ‘waving’ plastic.
*sigh*
Yeah, it’s probably the wrong thing for me to focus on, given the leg problem, a lack of holsters and all that. Can’t help it, it just stands out so much as half-a$$ed…
I’m glad it’s cardboard honestly. A soft goods one would just be draped all the time. I’d need a 1:18th hanger to prop it up. And wavy plastic would be weirder, I think.
It’s ironic that you lost most of your Flagg to a flood of all things, Noisy. 🙁
Going by the next to last pic, Robert Duvall might have made a cool Keel-Haul back in the 80’s. I think the one thing all reviewers agree upon is that they like the coffee mug.
The damn thing couldn’t go anywhere but the floor!
And I do love the mug. lol
Great review, as always. This figure looked so much better in the promo shots. Now I’m glad I had to cancel my BBTS order for this (and a few other sub figures) for budgetary reasons.
Thanks! Yeah, 2.0 just didn’t end up with the same charm as the first offering. I’m not sure what to do on 3.0.
Well never had as a kid so nothing to compare other than cartoon and comic appearances. I would be okay eith the fig but do see the hiccups. Still what have looks good.
That’s a good sum up.
He looks like that snide SNL guy with the whiny voice and a fake ‘stache. Not Sudeikis, the other guy.
Those hips and broken thumb stumps aren’t doing him any favors, either.
Never even *saw* the Flagg in stores, so losing even part of that prime piece of Joe real estate must have been heartbreaking.
Will Forte?
(typical how you remember something .00005 seconds AFTER you hit “post”!)
There’s a certain actor he resembles to me, but I can’t come up with the name. Will Forte is who you’re thinking of though!
On a Flagg related note, one of the comic shops I visit had a Flagg in the store one weekend. It was relatively complete; I’d say 75-80% was there. I went back the next day and the guy behind the toy counter said it didn’t even last an hour after they put it on display; someone snatched it up quick.
Oh yeah! I think about the pieces I have left all the time. I could probably get a few hundred just for those. I think I have most of the deck as I recall.