Lt. Falcon (2003)
Looking through a present day lens, the early small scale Joe convention exclusives have a sense of being a bit of an afterthought in comparison to their later counterparts. While the set was intriguing in terms of bringing along new factions and reusing interesting troop molds, the storyline around them doesn’t grab one’s attention. In fact, this set is probably my lowest ranked and doesn’t qualify as a “gotta have it” con sets. Being just the second large con set created, however, you have to give the club a pass for trying something beyond another pure trooper set. After all, considering the o-ring Cobra army builder fascination in the early 2000s, you probably could have sold a different set of repainted Cobra troop builders each year and called it good. I know I would have bought them. Heck, I picked up six sets of the Urban Cobra Strike Team (which is mostly a nice set, but I digress).
This Lt. Falcon is a classic case of a disappointing replacement of original figure parts. His 1987 waist and legs have been replicated using the same elements we saw in Joe’s 1983 lineup. The difference in sculpt style between Falcon’s top and bottom is quite stark. 1982-83’s trousers lacked the realism and drape of later, baggier britches. Bummer. At some point, he also confused his backpack with Red Star’s. Maybe the antenna threw him off.
The extra paint apps the club provided are always a nice bonus, and the two-tone stripe camo is a unique departure from Falcon’s first uniform. The weirdly waxy molded flesh color is a bit off-putting, especially when compared to the vintage figures.
Lt. Falcon’s filecard really shoehorns him into the theme’s setting. He’s not just a part of the Joe force going to the island, he actually likes infiltrating it. It’s kind of a weekend hobby thing for him. You know, when he’s not taking his dates to GI Joe HQ.
I like the camo on this one, but maybe it’s the waxiness on the figure that gives this Falcon more of a knock-off or generic vibe.
The fact that a new Falcon got released is good since Hasbro ignored the character in the 2000’s. Though, only getting him a con set was somewhat frustrating when we kept seeing Duke/Snake Eyes ad naseum.
But, the figure quality from this set leaves a lot to be desired. Like you said, the lower body really didn’t work. And, the skin toned plastic is a little eerie. At the time, it seemed like they wanted the figures to be Tiger Force, but didn’t want to commit to Tiger Force. So, you get this color scheme that is kind of busy without being better than the ’87, ’88 or ’91 release.
The accessores were a failure, too. I get trying to replicate the missing originals (assuming they were missing). But, it was this adherence to keep things “similar” to vintage that held back a lot of convention offerings. Once they were comfortable straying from the core of vintage, the figs got a little more interesting.
I would have liked to have seen Falcon take a more front and center role from 2000 and up. I am still curious as to how, who, why, in the design and marketing backgrounds, Duke was pulled to the front and center for the “GvC” era.
The camo is kinda cool, but it doesn’t do much that the original doesn’t have already. I’d never even noticed the Red Star backpack substitution, but that and the Masterkey M4 (i.e. shotgun) are examples of someone putting effort into the figure.
Hasbro should have invested in duplicate molds.
Looks like a nice figure. Not perfect but worth owning if you have the $$.