Shipwreck (2005)
Okay, I know Shipwreck looks inherently weird here. He’s long-legged and short-torsoed (is that a word?) like many other figures from the early to mid 2000s GI Joe lines, or what we collector geeks call the “new sculpt” era. But look past the proportions, and you might see a Shipwreck concept that was both new and useful.
When most children of the 80’s who were GI Joe collectors think of the team’s preeminent sailor, they think of 1985 Shipwreck. Maybe folks who were of kid collector age in the 90’s would also remember the diver Shipwreck. In either case, Shippy was a limited use figure, outside of hanging out on the deck of the Flagg, or diving in the sea.
But here, short torso and all, is a Shipwreck that can be used on land missions of all sorts. It’s the sort of thing that I’ve heard collectors clamor for with other naval guys like Wet Suit. In fact, Wet Suit was outfitted in a similar fashion in a recent convention exclusive set.
Shipwreck is also equipped with a couple of accessories that were prevalent in the Valor vs. Venom series which I haven’t mentioned before. One of them is a wrist mounted attachment that according to the instructions can accommodate a pistol or knife. Why the Joes would need or want to carry weapons on their wrists is beyond me, but what do I know? The other accessory is a kind of modified paintball gun that was featured in the ending of the Valor vs. Venom CG animation. Both of these things were available with umpteen figures.
The majority of the figure (except the arms) would be used for the DTC Footloose, as well as the Hulkbuster Troopers in the “Epic Tunnel Clash” set for the 2008 Incredible Hulk movie line. I remember reading the Generalsjoes review for this figure and the reviewer stated that this figure should’ve been Wet-Suit altogether.
I have the blue version that came with the patrol boat. Who needs a paintball gun when you have three machine guns and two torpeedos!
Can’t go wrong with having our navy guys in camo variants. It always looked cool when Torpedo and Wet-Suit geared up for a land mission in the comics. (I’m thinking of the fourth Yearbook in particular.)
Rob, on non-Joe related news, I hope everything is well with you both in regards to that other “special delivery.” All the best, man.
Bad mold!
Try as a I might (and I have), I can’t take Shipwreck seriously.
this figure is pretty good despite the proportions.
It’s interesting that the “new-sculpt” figures’ proportions (longer legs, shorter torso, bigger hands, massive shoulders) bear some similarity to Playmates’ Exo-Squad figures from the early ’90s:
http://figure-archive.net/photos/v015/_00046390.jpg
The designs of the G.I. Joe and Cobra “mechs” released in the line also greatly resemble the Exofleet and Neosapien E-Frames, respectively.
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