Art Design: Window carded action figure from the Valor vs. Venom line of 12" GI Joe action figures. Like other sets, a File Card is included and Beachhead's real name is Wayne R. Sneeden and he is a Ranger.
Headsculpt: Beachhead looks like one of the clean-cut GI Joes from the Pearl Harbor commemorative sets. This is the second version of Beachhead which has been issued as a 12" GI Joe. The first Beachhead did not have a mask. Many of the GI Joe faces in the past couple of years are close cousins of previous sculpts. It seems like Hasbro is just changing the sculpting on the hair style or the lips or the nose so that the face is just slightly different. It may cost less to modify the existing headsculpt molds instead of creating new ones from scratch. The illustration on the box shows Beachhead as having red hair and a crew-cut with a widow's peak, but the figure has brown hair which is combed into a mini-bouffant or surfer's peak. Not a major difference, but the face in the illustration looked a lot sharper.
Articulation: This is one of those figures with the "Sweater" articulation, which means he is wearing a sweater and his arms are fatter than Hoss Cartright's. That translates into limited articulation. The waist and legs are the minimum basic articulation.
Outfit: What makes this figure so cool is his dark green outfit with the black patches. The hands have molded-on brown gloves which really look great against the green and black outfit. Awesome color combination, but Beachhead would have to be in a very green tropical forest in order to blend in with this outfit.
The Mask: The green mask is too cool for school! It would be a great mask for any fans of Spider-Man who want to kitbash a Scorpion figure. The mask is easy to remove, and it is hard to explain how radically exciting it is to pull the mask on and off the figure.
The Gear: Beachhead also has a big bulky brown rubber harness from which to tie the rope (string) that connects to the rappeling rope and hook and the rifle. As a practical matter, it works. You can shoot the hook and then pull the figure up with the string. As with any toy, you need to be slightly gentle or else the string will pull the tab off the harness. The only down side to this set is the knuckle-knife that is included. If you look at the blade (see the photos), it is round and thin and it looks like a butter knife.
Overall: This is another outstanding set from GI Joe at the low price of $9.99. GI Joe often seems to pack more value into its lowest price sets.
Grade: A
