Snake Eyes (2012 Dollar General)

Have I written too often about Snake Eyes? I apologize if I have, but love him or hate him, you can’t deny his presence. You also can’t deny his wardrobe changes. Though most are of the black and grey variety, he did add a splash of color in 1991. I still have an intense appreciation for that figure; I daresay its my favorite next to the original and ’85 versions.

When I saw pictures of the Dollar General figures, Snake Eyes was a must buy, since he’s an homage to ’91. I was excited for a modern style figure, kind of a rarity for me. I have to report that having the figure in hand, I’m a bit disappointed. Like the Storm Shadow from the same assortment, Snake Eyes is a good approximation of the original. The parts combination, however doesn’t quite come together in terms of fit. It’s the issue that Dave from Flag Points has brought up in several podcasts, the modern figures are inconsistent. Specifically, the size and style of parts can vary from figure to figure. The ’83-’94 figure parts for the most part are easily interchangeable, and though there are differences in bulk from early to late figures, and also the early straight arm and neck ball differences, I can pretty much Frankenstein a figure without much trouble.

Not so with the modern era. That’s where my disappointment comes in. Snakes has the inverse problem of Shipwreck from this series. The neck ball for this torso and the head used result in a short neck. The kicking Storm Shadow arms are a nice representation of the ’91 figures gauntlets, but the elbows don’t have much range of motion. Finally, the torso has a few holes in it due to the chest knives and belt clips that were part of the base figure.

Finally, the vest. It’s just too bulky. I would have preferred something along the lines of the smaller 30th RoC webgear. I don’t mean to be too hard on the figure; I do appreciate the effort at replicating a classic mold in the modern era. But there are limits on what can be accomplished without new tooling.