This item was provided free of charge to us by Hasbro and their PR company for review and photography. The views in this review remain my own.
While I was a huge G.I. Joe, or rather Action Force, fan growing up I have been very selective over my purchases in the Classified Series. I look for figures that bring me some level of nostalgia and whose design I do like - and the newly released Cobra Infantry is one that presses both the nostalgia and design button.
The Cobra Infantry is part of the 3rd General Wave of the Classified Series and is number 24 in the line. We have the usual blue outer box, with a red Cobra card back and coloring on the art panels front and to the right-hand side.
The back of the box uses a simple montage image of the Classified Joes and the opportunity is still not being taken to revisit the old Character Bio cards that were a feature on the original carded figures.
The Cobra Infantry is essentially the same figure as the Exclusive Cobra Trooper released in 2020 and is cast predominantly in a blue plastic with the inset textured panels of the uniform picked out in a darker blue. A red Cobra symbol is actually part of the sculpt and is neatly painted. Other detail which could have been painted, such as the straps on the combat vest and the boots, are left in the base colour.
The Trooper features a generic head sculpt with a black mask covering all but the eyes. This exposed section of the face is painted over the base colour of the head (blue) and that means some of the skin colour can, and does, bleed onto the rest f the head. You are then supplied with a helmet piece that sits neatly over the top to finish the Infantry look, although the figure looks just as good without the helmet.
The Cobra Infantry is well kitted out, although not as well as his Exclusive Counterpart. Missing from the general release are the larger rifle, the goggles and the red arm sash. Considering the price for the exclusive and the general release are the same - it does leave you feeling a little shortchanged.
All the Cobra Infantry weapons are cast in black with no other paint apps. We start with a combat knife that fits into either hand and then slots into the upper holster on the vest when not in use. The two handguns fit in either hand also, both hands having a trigger finger. Again, holsters are provided when not n use - one to the side on the right and one round the back on the left.
Finally, we have an automatic rifle of sorts and this can be held right or left-handed, with sufficient articulation for two-handed posing. Like many of the Classified figures, and like the older Joe's themselves, the rifle can be slung on the back by plugging it into either of the lower two holes on the figures back. The upper hole appears to be a different size and would likely fit a backpack or similar - allowing parts from other figures to be swapped around the Joe's and Cobra Soldiers as we did in the 1980s.
Articulation on the Classified Series is excellent and exceeds even the Marvel Legends line from Hasbro in terms of joints and options. The Cobra Infantry has 23 joints that can be seen and used. I suspect there may be a further joint under the combat vest but that cannot be used due to the shape and bulk of the vest leaving a waist swivel as the main point of movement on the torso.
Upper articulation includes a double joint neck that can be moved at the base and where it connects to the head. The arms start with butterfly shoulders and also includes biceps swivels and double joint elbows - allowing a full range of posing options, even allowing him to be posed drawing any of his weapons from their holsters, including the knife.
The legs include double joint knees and a swivel at both the thigh and the boot cut. The Infantry Trooper can kneel, and sit down, and is very stable and easy to stand across a number of stances in between either neutral or more dynamic.
The Cobra Infantry is a fantastic army builder and I am so glad Hasbro has got it out into general release after the initial Cobra Trooper and the Cobra Viper were held as exclusives. For the same price as the exclusive Trooper, you do get fewer accessories in this set which is a shame and it would have been nice for Hasbro to add some other value if they didn't want to directly replicate the content of the exclusive - another rifle for example.
The Cobra Infantry is a brilliantly articulated figure with a fantastic sculpt, bringing the Cobra Trooper into a modern-day military setting without losing the familiarity of the original. The paint is applied well to create the two-tone blue, with just a small issue around the painting of the exposed face.
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
action figures, reviews, review, articulation, hasbro, g.i. joe, gi joe, classified, cobra, infantry
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