Footloose (2005)

By Past Nastification

Say, it’s Shipwreck!

Wait, that’s not Shipwreck, but only because it has Alpine arms! It’s… Footloose?

Yes, it’s Footloose.

Despite being a near head-to-toe repaint, not to mention the too-short chest/back, this is a pretty enjoyable figure. Most of the body, even the head, came from an earlier boat driver/SEAL version of Shipwreck. Topping the parts off with a helmet instead of a boonie hat is, amazingly, enough to sell them as Footloose instead of Shipwreck. The mustache is painted, but the goatee is left unpainted. This makes a small but important difference, too.

This figure has no camouflage, and works better as Footloose without it, because the previously mentioned Shipwreck figure used camouflage. So did its repaint. But as Footloose, it pulls from green and brown from the original ’86 Footloose palette, and uses black instead of charcoal.

On a quick side note: this figure could have been repainted with tiger stripes and a darker skin tone as a great Stalker figure. Can anyone travel back in time and let Hasbro know?

Sometimes good figures don’t require a lot of effort and succeed because of it. The success is due to Hasbro NOT trying to make this look exactly like the original Footloose. The design is similar, but not identical. Like many New Sculpt era figures, there’s some breathing space between the original ARAH era design and the updated design.

Footloose’s accessories make the figure. The included rifle, which can be disassembled, is perfect. The floating utility belt, backpack, and knife are also solid accessories. Which brings us back to the helmet, which makes this figure Footloose.

Well done, Hasbro!