Hasbro GI JOE: Sigma Six
Storm Shadow review

I LOVE Gi Joe. Lets get that out of the way before we begin. The “Gi Joe: A Real American Hero” series is my ALL TIME favorite Toy Line. I can even remember an afternoon in 1982 when my mother brought me to “Woolworths” (A popular retail store back in the day) when I, as usual, ran straight to the “Toys” section and began to scope out what I was going to beg her to buy me. It’s really funny that I can vividly remember looking into one of their display cases at a new line of figures I have never seen before. They were called “Gi Joe”, but they were much smaller. Now I had plenty of 12 inch Gi Joes in my Collection at the time, but these were different! My mother then bought me the figure called "Breaker" (that I still own) and it was an immediate love affair that lasted through high school, college, wrestling and continues to this day.

The reason why I am telling you this long story is that when I heard that Hasbro was “updating” GiJoe: A Real American Hero for the new millennium. I was not only skeptical, but very pissed off! I am not a big fan of using the“Anime” style for existing characters. (It’s the reason I don’t like comic books anymore) Now I happen to be a fan of Anime, but I believe that it’s a different animal. (As they say in the old school)

So when I heard that this new Gi Joe “Sigma Six” Series was out, I had to see it for myself. I bought Storm Shadow, as he looked the best of the bunch. Let’s see how he fared…

Packaging 10/10

This has to be the best packaging I have seen in a looooong time. It really displays the figure and all the accessories very well. I also like how the top and bottom caps of the packaging can be removed and made into a weapons case. The foam insert that is inside the packaging can be inserted into this case and it absolutely looks great! There are also two clasps that are used to snap the footlocker shut. The back of the packaging has pictures of all the characters and an updated “File Card”. This was one of the coolest things about the 3 ¾ series. The File Card gave you that little information that gave the character life. You can tell that a lot of time was put into designing these cases and it really shows. I am impressed!

Sculpt 9/10

Now these are 8” figures, and I always said, I would love to see these characters in a larger format. But what I envisioned was a McFarlane type of sculpt. Where the figure could be more detailed because of the larger size. These are sculpted in an Anime style, which seems to be the big thing these days. (Ever watch TV on Saturday mornings?) I didn’t think I would like it as much as I do. Storm Shadow looks clean and smooth and even though again, he is done in the Anime style, I still see the Storm Shadow of old in here. Great stuff! Snake Eyes, who I also bought, looked like a cricket to me.

Paint 9/10

Nowadays if you are a collector you should be used to getting a little paint wash or bleeding on your figures, and to be completely fair, Storm Shadow does not have a complicated uniform. He’s basically just a white ninja! My figures eyes were perfect and so was the Cobra insignia on his chest. So I guess he passed the test.

Accessories 10/10

Now this is where this figure excels! There are a TON of accessories that come with Storm Shadow. All of his Ninja necessities are here like, the Ashiko and Shuko (Foot and Hand Claws), Nunchakus with deployable blades, the Ninja-To Sword, the Wakizashi (short sword), a grappling hook, a pair of Sai Swords, a Bo Staff which holds both swords on either end, and a cool looking Sword Stand.

I like the attention to detail they gave his sword by making it a regular curved samurai type sword. Contrary to popular belief, the ninjas' sword did not have any kind of specific design. The straight-blade, square tsuba swords are a product of Hollywood. The actual ninja sword looked just like the samurai's daito or katana.

All these weapons fit firmly in either hand and look awesome. Most importantly, there is a place to store the extras you are not using at the moment, and when you have as many toys as I do, this really helps.

The figure also comes with a set of instructions and a poster showing all of the Sigma Six figures as well as the vehicles.

Articulation 8/10

I found Storm Shadow to be very poseable. There are ball joints in his neck, shoulders, and hips. His elbows, wrists, ankles, and knees are on what they call “Pin Joints”. His waist and chest are also poseable, so he can get into some great poses and I found all of the joints very tight. The only problem was limited poseability in his elbows. I wish they were a little more poseable. The bicep constricts the movement of the forearm at times.

Outfit 10/10

There is really nothing much to a ninja’s uniform. He has his white pants and a red sash. It does look cool and I am glad they picked this version of Storm Shadow to update, because if you read the latter issues of the GiJoe Comic, he was starting to look kind of goofy. I like the plain jane Ninja look the best.

 

 

Overall 8/10

Great, fun figure! I am amazed that I liked it and am even thinking about getting the rest of them. While I would prefer a more “realistic” incarnation of these characters, I do like these and think they will fit in well with the rest of the Joes in my display case. Storm Shadow did not receive a perfect score because of the limited poseability in his arms and the price tag. 15 bucks!! But after seeing how much he comes with and the quality of this figure, I do believe he is worth it. (10 or 12 dollars would be the number Hasbro!) I still have yet to see the cartoon, but now I am really looking forward to seeing it. I am also, more of a displayer than a player, (I like that saying) but either way if you get one of these new figures, you can bet you will have fun. Trust me, if an old school GiJoe man like me likes them, you will too.