Packaging: The new "G.I. Joe vs. Cobra" series has a lot of red, white, and blue on the boxes, but mostly blue. Just like the "Hall of Fame" Joes, these boxes do not really mention the Real American Hero line or spend much time tying the 3.75 inch Joes with the 12 inch series. That is a shame, since I do not collect the smaller series and I would like to get some history on that series when I read the "G.I. Joe vs. Cobra" boxes! At least the File Cards are back, and that gives you a history of the particular character. In this case, "OCEAN ASSAULT" features Wet Suit. The Wet Suit character is Brian C. Forrest, SN# 832-5547-LS11. His Specialty is S.E.A.L. and Underwater Demolition is his secondary specialty. His pay grade is E-6 and he was born on Myrtle Beach, S.C. He is regarded as the "nastiest combination of shark, eel, and stingray." The box is colorfully illustrated and looks like an Action Man or Real American Heroes box.
Headsculpt and Figure: The headsculpt is new and different, presumably it is the only one that will be used for Wet Suit. The Wet Suit headsculpt looks alot like Pvt. Scott Baker (Eric Bruskotter), the surfer character from the excellent television series about the Vietnam War; "Tour of Duty (1987-1990)." Eric Bruskotter played the naive surfer-dude that enlisted into the Army along with his twin brother. Pvt. Baker was a regular character during the first season. The body is Action Man style, not "super-articulated" and the hands are the big Action Man hands, not Gung-Ho Grip. The figure has black swim booties painted on his feet. Becuase Wet Suit has a muscular looking face, the Action Man body is very appropriate for Wet-Suit.
Gear: The figure is wearing a wetsuit which is well tailored and says "G.I. Joe" on the sleeve. The rest of the gear is an M-16, Diving Knife & holster; and the Sail Board which is constructed for play and is nice and sturdy. The sail is made of a hard acrylic, which can even be re-painted. This is the kind of toy that could probably survive a dive from a second or third story window. But that would deifinitely violate any warranties. The Sail Board allows the figure to fire missiles and has a radar on it. The figure has a hard plastic harness and ropes which attach it to the Sail Board so it can be launched into the air and become a Para Glider. Sure, how can you launch a Sail Board into the air and turn it into a Para Glider? It would take being towed by a powerboat. Considering all of the rafts and surf boards and sea sleds that Hasbro has issued to G.I. Joe, a power boat is long overdue. However, there is no boat towing this Sailboard, so Wet Suit has to wait for a strong gust of wind.
Overall: Nice headsculpt, and a Sailboard which is almost identical to the one by Max Steel. This Sailboard does not float, and if a child were to put it into the pool, it would be constantly floating upside down. It works fine on land, but then why not issue a Sail-Cart? In the Para Glider mode it looks a lot better, IMHO. This is a good value for kids, at $19.99 you get a collectible action figure and a vehicle.
Grade: B+
