Dollar General Shipwreck

by KansasBrawler

My first G.I. Joe comic-reading experience was in high school when Devil’s Due relaunched the title. I’ll freely admit, some of their stories could be hit or miss, however I think the one area where theyexcelled far more often than they fell short was in their new character designs. Hands down, one of my favorite redesigns was the one they gave to Shipwreck. The design was so well-liked that a version of it quickly showed up in the SpyTroops line, making some nice synergy between the comics property and the action figure line. I liked that figure and I liked that design, so you can imagine how happy I was when the first pictures of Dollar General Shipwreck started showing up online.

I think when Joe fans saw the head for RoC Shipwreck for the first time, the first thought was how to best make a Devil’s Due Shiprwreck. Hasbro had already put out the nice Beachhead body with the commando sweater and with as many times as that body saw use, it was pretty easy to find a spare one to repaint blue and gray to make a quick and dirty Devil’s Due Shipwreck. However, the second PoC Desert Snake-Eyes was even better and it makes sense that Hasbro used it. The detailing on the body is nice plus it has added wrist articulation. His legs come from Renegades Duke and that’s the only little criticism I have. The legs are good, but since the Law legs existed and they’re essentially the same mold,I would have preferred that Hasbro had used them since they don’t have the notch in the leg for the pistol to attach to. Don’t get me wrong, I like that we got the Renegades Duke pistol, but considering he only came with one, there’s no need to use the legs that were specifically designed to carry a spare when there isn’t a spare to be carried. I don’t mind innovative ways to store gear on figures, but that notch looks a little out of place if he doesn’t have a pistol to carry on it.

For accessories, we again see that this is definitely a cheaper wave. The accessories are okay, but there aren’t that many of them. As I’ve already mentioned, Shipwreck gets one of Renegades Duke’s pistols and that’s a really neat design. However, the fact that they included the pistol with the extra tab to attach to his leg seems unnecessary. I would rather have gotten one of the regular pistols and the Law legs. Barring that, I would have liked to have seen him get one of each so Shipwreck could just always have his spare gun on his leg and keep that long divot in his right thigh covered up. His other accessory is the scuba pack and mask that the RoC version came with. I’ve never been a huge fan of this accessory and in this context it doesn’t make as much sense. With the RoC version, I could accept that because I think the reactive armor would be usable in all environments. However, a commando wearing a sweater and BDU pants probably wouldn’t be jumping into the water in that gear. I’m not sure what sort of vest would be a better fit for this look, but I think with all the of different vests and webgear the line created during its run, there must be something that would look all right with a land-ops Shipwreck.

The paint on this figure is definitely interesting. Again, Shipwreck has six colors, which isn’t bad for a figure anymore, but like Dollar General Snake Eyes, a lot of the pieces appear to be molded in the color needed. What’s really odd is that the two buttons on the pad on his left shoulder get painted white while other larger and more important details, like the straps on his legs or his neck missed out on getting painted the proper color. The paint apps for the buttons are subtle and honestly, I had to bust out a magnifying glass to make sure they were painted and not a flaw, but sure enough, there are little paint dots on those tiny buttons. I don’t mind that the paint team did that, however, I find it odd that something that tiny got attention but glaring flaws like Shipwreck’s blue neck got missed.

While Dollar General Shipwreck is a figure that could be made very simply by a customizer, I’m really glad Hasbro made an official one. As much as I like looking at parts to customize with, I don’t have the budget or skills necessary to customize Joe figures (plus it’s a lot harder to do since they’ve changed body construction). I’m also glad that this design from Devil’s Due got some love from Hasbro. DDP doesn’t get a lot of respect from the community writ large, but that was the first G.I. Joe comic stuff I ever read so from a nostalgia standpoint, it holds a pretty special place in my heart. The Shipwreck redesign was great and I honestly really prefer it to the Village People sailor look.