Leatherneck (2014)
Say what you will about modern GI Joe vs the o-ring of old, the new style of construction sure lends itself well to kitbashing. For years, fans had been creating custom figures through the judicious reuse of existing parts, and the melding of various arms, legs, torsos, etc. Hasbro did the same from the earliest years of the Real American Hero era, creating new characters from old parts. With the advent of removable web gear and the like as part of the o-ringless figures, the possibilities seem endless. I can’t help but be impressed with the range of characters that have been produced in the style.
Leatherneck’s base figure is, obviously, Retaliation Roadblock. As everyone else who’s talked about this figure has already noted, he’s huge. Even in comparison to the generally taller modern figures, The mold is a towering presence. I’m not too bothered by it, as I find the height variations to be one of the strengths of the modern Joe toys. Well, except when I’m trying to cram one of these giants into a vehicle. There is something to be said for the consistency of the 80s and 90s toys.
Since I can still see a lot of the Retaliation figure in this guy, the really important thing for me is deciding whether to call him Leatherblock or Roadneck.
This’ll be great, since I never got the 25th Anniversary version.
I always wanted Leatherneck as a kid but i had to make do with the “Giraf patrol” version.
Leatherneck did quite well in the second season of the cartoon; appearing a lot so i thought i share some trivia.
On the Australian vhs release of “Lets play soldier” and “Rotten egg”, both episodes had scenes which were removed for some reason.
Cool action figure!
After so many versions of Leatherneck, he finally gets his own head! That alone makes this figure worthwhile.
I paid through the nose to get the modern version included in the Mission Brazil convention set since he wore the more “classic” colors, but I was still stoked to hear about this figure. I’m not sure about the size, though. Seems to me that this buck would have worked better for Gung-Ho, who is a heavyweight and roughly the same build as Roadblock, going by the vintage comics and cartoon series alone. But Leatherneck? Not so much.
And what is up with the missing paint from his mustache? Looks like he’s already seen some backyard patrol action fresh off the box.
It’s still a great figure, though. Hardcore Leatherneck fans ought to love this guy.
Great figure. Needs a bit of touch up work on his hair (sideburns, specifically) and the marine logo, but for a figure that was, realistically, under seven bucks I can’t complain one whit about that.
While Roadblock is sort of supposed to be the biggest person on the team, and just a hug guy in general, Leatherneck always seems to have been a big guy, too.