Tom “Torch” Winken (2014 Kre-O)

The GI Joe Kre-O line wouldn’t have been complete without the inclusion of Zartan’s crude crew of miscreants, the Dreadnoks. As early as Wave 2, we got Ripper, a nice interpretation of the 1980s figure, complete with his “jaws of life.” Torch continues the trend of the ‘Noks coming to the brick world, and I have to say that I’ve never seen a cuter toy version of a crazed biker gang member. Just look at that skull necklace. Very cool. I think the grey left arm paint is meant to represent his bicep band, but it looks strange since it covers most of the arm. Ripper had the same sort of deco, only in gold. An odd choice, considering the tampo details on other figures’ arms.

Watch out for the hoses on figures like Torch, Blowtorch and the Tele-Viper. Over the few years these have been available, there are quite a few reports of the ends breaking off. It may be wise to display them without the hoses attached. Those bits are quite fiddly even when they aren’t damaged, so I don’t mind taking them off the figures. It’s really been my only gripe with the GI Joe Kreons overall.

The real bummer about the end of the GI Joe Kre-O line however, is the fact that we didn’t get to complete a set of the original three Dreadnoks. Buzzer is my favorite, and the parts certainly exist to make him, along with his trademark chainsaw. Oh well, maybe he’ll show up in a con set someday.