Action Figure Review: Cobra Ninjas Slice & Dice from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 

   Ready for some Ninja Force action? I hope so because today I've got a giant sized review that's packed with so ninja goodness that you'll likely exclaim "Everybody was Kung Fu fighting!" G.I. Joe's Ninja Force was a subset of the A Real American Hero line that was began in 1992, a year when the G.I. Joe brand was still trying to find it's place in the early 1990s toy market that tended to feature figures that were brighter and bolder than the 1980s. Subsets galore tried to court popular themes, color schemes, and social issues and Ninja Force featured brightly colored ninjas with built-in action features (a new step for the G.I. Joe line) that sought to capitalize on the still growing popularity of ninjas (now of the Teenage Mutant Turtle variety). If I go back and look at my toy interests in 1992, this was a year that I didn't pay as much attention to G.I. Joe as I did in others. The only figure I originally has was Destro v3 (though 4 years later, in middle school, I obtained the DEF Shockwave v3 through a trade and that guy has since been one of my favorites) as I was more focused on Toy Biz's Marvel Superheroes and X-Men, Kenner's Terminator 2, Aliens, and Batman Returns, Tiger's Land of the Lost, Mattel's Key Force, Mighty Max, and King Arthur and the Knights of Justice, Galoob's Micro Machines, and Playmates' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Oh, and Snailiens from JPI. Yes, I'm shocked that I purchased more Snailiens in 1992 than I did G.I. Joe. Crazy! I'm making up for that with the Classified Series, though, aren't I? Slice and Dice were both released in the first series of Ninja Force figures and have been a popular Cobra duo ever since. Let's check out this pair of ninjas after the break...

Action Figure Review: Doom Slayer from Doom: The Dark Ages by McFarlane Toys

 

   I'm a pretty big fan of Doom but it's been around 6 years since I last reviewed anything related to Doom. I blame that on there just not being a lot of merchandise based on the games. This year Doom: The Dark Ages released and I absolutely loved it. With the mixture of the traditional Doom aesthetic with a world that felt like a swords and sorcery locale mixed with advanced technology (kind of like Eternia, now that I think about it), Doom: The Dark Ages really mixed things up in a fun way, resulting in a game that felt like you were inside of a heavy metal album cover. McFarlane has released a few Doom figures over the years but this is the first based on Doom: The Dark Ages (they've also released the giant mech suit, the Atlan) and it was the inaugural figure in McFarlane Toys' new Elite Edition line of figures. What's elite about them? They do come with a nice amount of accessories and they're touted as having "an incredibly detailed sculpt with premium paint applications." OK. What else does it mean that these are part of the Elite Edition series? They cost around $50 to $60 dollars. That seems a bit steep for a McFarlane Toys mass market release but this guy sold out crazy fast and is selling on the secondary market for two to three times the original price, so I guess there are plenty of Doom fans desperate for Doom Slayers in their collection. Ready to check out the Elite Edition of the Doom Slayer? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: The Donner Party from Operation: Monster Force by Big Bad Workshop and Fresh Monkey Fiction

 

   I'm really a fan of Big Bad Workshop and Fresh Monkey Fiction's Operation: Monster Force line and today I'm reviewing what is absolutely my favorite figure from them to date: The Donner Party. Yes, while it's one figure who definitely gives off Frankenstein's Monster-like vibes, the character still goes by the name The Donner Party. Why's that? Well, according to the comic included on his packaging and in the bios found online, he's actually a being made from the remains of some of the half-eaten corpses left behind from the ill-fated Donner Party from their disastrous winter of 1846-1847 in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Put back together by a mad scientist known only as The Devil's Caretaker, the Donner Party has spent the past two centuries following and keeping a protective watch over the descendants of the relatives of the folks who make up his body. After a descendant of the Donner family, a woman named Isola Donner who is one of the four women in the world with purple eyes, is taken by the Forgotten King, The Donner Party comes out of hiding and joins up with Operation: Monster Force to help them find the whereabouts of their greatest foe. 

   Wow! That's one heck of a story. I love how instead of just giving us a slightly different take on the Frankenstein Monster, Operation: Monster Force has instead transplanted the character into an American context, steeping him in elements of western and pioneer folklore. He's an incredible figure and one of the standouts of the line to date. Ready to see what Big Bad Workshop and Fresh Monkey Fiction have cooking here? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Courtney "Cover Girl" Krieger (Retro) from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 

   I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Now that we're all stuffed, let's jump in again with some action figure reviews! I'm still way, way behind on reviewing G.I. Joe: Classified Series figures but I'm trying to catch up. Today I'm checking out another of the Retro series releases and this time it's a Retro series figure that actually adheres more to the Sunbow animated series rather than to the vintage A real American Hero action figure: Courtney "Cover Girl" Krieger. The first Classified Series Cover Girl was released in early 2023, right when Hasbro was starting to use the now infamous "plastic-free" packaging. Not only was this a radical departure from how action figures have traditionally been packaged but it also was a series of figures that had some weird issues with the faces. The Classified Series has always been really strong when it comes to the headsculpts and face printing but figures from this particular wave like Cover Girl, Falcon, and the standard Outback all had odd looking portraits and/or face printing. This one really isn't a redo of that figure, though. In fact, I'm pretty sure the only reused part is her torso. Everything else is either new or sourced from somewhere else. She's a pretty interesting figure as with her blonde hair with a different headsculpt and a fairly different outfit, she could easily pass for a new character instead of Cover Girl. I believe Cover Girl only appeared like this in the original Sunbow animated G.I. Joe miniseries and was later changed to a more toy accurate design (she was also blonde in the 2009 Rise of Cobra film, where she was portrayed by Karolína Kurková, so this is definitely a more obscure take on the character. Ready to check out Cover Girl? Then join me after the break...

Barbecue's Bonfire 12/1/2025 Livestream Tonight on YouTube at 8:30pm EST

 I'll post a link in a few hours. Be there or be square!

*Update* Here's the link!: https://youtube.com/live/CzDmVmBl9Cg?feature=share

Action Figure Review: Doctor Caligari from Operation: Monster Force by Big Bad Workshop and Fresh Monkey Fiction

 

   Big Bad Workshop and Fresh Monkey Fiction's Operation: Monster Force action figures first dropped near the end of 2024 but this year they managed to get the second series out during the month of October! I had hopes to get at least one of the new ones reviewed for 31 Days of Toy Terror or Re-Halloween but, alas, it was not meant to be. How about squeezing one in before Thanksgiving? Absolutely! Operation: Monster Force is really drawing from across the realms of horror and the weird for inspiration and today we're looking at Doctor Caligari, a new take on the character from the 1920 German expressionist horror classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. In Monster Force, Doctor Caligari has been reduced to a brain in a jar who now uses his knowledge and expertise on dreams and somnambulism to create an army for the Forgotten King . Besides the silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, there also seems to be a lot of inspiration from the word of Mike Mignola and the Hellboy universe in this guy. I really like him! How'd he turn out? Let's find out after the break...

Action Figure Review: Dreadnok Monkeywrench from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 

   Do I gush over each new G.I. Joe: Classified Series release that I review? Often, sure, but hear me out: Monkeywrench is easily a top five figure of the year. Heck, he's easily a top three figure of 2025. That's right, Monkeywrench. A 1986 Dreadnok with a harpoon gun. Seriously, though; Hasbro's Joe team has taken each of the Dreadnoks released in the Classified Series and just radically improved them while still keeping them recognizable. Monekywrench was my first Dreadnok as a kid as the 1986 and 1987 lines were out when I first got into G.I. Joe. He's a cool figure, don't get me wrong, but the vintage Monekywrench was never one of my favorites. Honestly, as a young kid I'm not sure I quite knew what to make of the Dreadnoks. I got more into them as a teenager and young adult getting back into collecting the line in the late 90s/ early 200s and now they're easily one of the best 'subsets' of the Classified Series. Monkeywrench is incredible. Off hand, the only 2025 release I can think of that I like more than Monkeywrench is Crystal Ball. Am I the only one that kind of feels like Hasbro really goes out of their way to elevate some of the more average figures from the vintage line? Let's take a look Bill Winkie, (better known as Monkeywrench) a Welshman born on Guy Fawkes Day who left his hometown of Rhyl to make his way through London's East End and eventually to Australia to join up with the Dreadnoks.