Beachhead (2004)

A word of advice: if you decide to get into the “new sculpt” era of Joes, be careful. There was so much product released between the years 2002 through 2007, it’ll make your head spin so much, you’ll end up with a loose neckball. Another word of advice, and this isn’t so much a commercial as it is a necessity to avoid going absolutely insane matching up weapons and accessories, you owe it to yourself to pick up James Kavanaugh’s RAHC Guide. The man put years into the project and it’s an exhaustive reference to the second generation of o-ring GI Joes.

Now on to Beachhead. I’ll get it out of the way first. Yes, this era of Joes had its issues with proportion. It also had issues with odd weapon and accessory choices. But what I feel it did well was take familiar characters and run them through new designs that brought a fresh look to the line. Sure, the basic elements of Beachhead are here, but there’s enough of a twist to bring some new interest to an old favorite. The chest armor is a big departure from the original look, replacing the more familiar vest. It’s a nice change, and the light armor is a design concept that’s still around on some Joes today.

This version of Beachhead is a repaint of the main line figure, and was available at a low price point in specialty stores like Family Dollar and Dollar General. I prefer the paint job here, as the green is much less bright than the previous version, and the subdued color of the chest armor is also a nice touch (the original was “shoot me here” silver).

A final word of advice: if you decide to seek out the two CGI features released during the era (Spy Troops and Valor Vs. Venom) cover your ears or mute the audio when watching Beachhead’s scenes in Spy Troops. I think someone took the meaning of his codename the wrong way, as the usually hard-nosed ranger is portrayed as a stereotypical surfer type. A most heinous move, dude.