Shipwreck (2002)
Shipwreck went from traditional sailor to combat diver in the Battle Corps era, and Hasbro was happy to keep him in that role for his next few iterations. I can’t help but remember the mold being used to create the character Stinky Diver in Action League Now. The Real American Hero Collection paired him up with Sidetrack, and was available in limited outlets at its time of release.
The accessories are held over from the Battle Corps “tree” although there’s no missile launcher to heft this time around. The scuba mask’s material isn’t quite as flexible as past versions, but I wonder if that isn’t due to age. In any case, the thing is a chore to keep in place.
I’ve said before that I’m not find of paint washes on some action figures, particularly those that aren’t meant to look realistic. Washes can look good on hyper detailed McFarlane-ensue toy lines, but they just don’t mesh with the rivet and o-ring style of classic GI Joes.
I was fortunate to be able to pick up the final wave of Real American Hero Collection figures for a reasonable price at a local comic convention back in 2002. At the time, the sets, especially Serpentor and the Crimson Twins, were going way too high via eBay. I’m glad I got them when I did. I break out these series of figured on occasion because some are interesting departures from the originals, and the others that offer slightly modified paint jobs provide a little variety in the ranks.
I’ve seen multiples of the Shipwreck/Sidetrack 2-pack at a comic shop near me. How much they’re being sold for? $29.99. EACH.
The wash makes him look as though he’s been diving in places that are not too clean.
@Acer
$29.99 U.S seems a bit much for a 200x repaint/repack figure. Then again, if your ever in “Comic kingdom” in Sydney, take note of the overpriced surplus T.P.M Darth Maul’s
As a scuba diver myself, I do like the diver figures. I have the “cleaner” version of this mold and it’s a great figure although I use him as Wet Down rather than the repainted Torpedo.
Seems like this mold and Wet Suit were done to death, but I guess it was over a decade. Still, this doesn’t bring anything to Shipwreck that the original ’94 didn’t already do. And I agree about the paint washes on O-ring figures, especially if they’re overdone.
For my money, this is the best figure mold from 1994. The problem with the 2002 release, though, is that is basically identical to the ’94, only with lighter plastic and paint wipes. So, there’s really no reason to get one outside of being a completist. Plus, this figure had just been released in 1998, so it really seemed like overkill to get it again so soon.
As for this wave of figures, they are likely the rarest non-convention figures released since the vintage days. There are likely as few as 5,000 of them, and maybe even lower than that. There was a time when all of these guys were really high priced. But, time seems to have softened prices quite a bit on all but the Serpentor figure. I remember being online (via dial up!) in Feb of 2002 when these guys were first offered, worried that my order would get through before the inevitable sell out. Hard to believe that was nearly 15 years ago!
Great camo!
I remember Stinky Diver!You mean that was Shipwreck!!Another reason to hate that show!! I thought he was Torpedo.