Having reviewed two of the new GI Joe Classified Series figures, it's probably time to discuss the packaging.
Like most of Hasbro's 6"-scale figures, the new Joes are sold in boxes, rather than on cards - and not the shaped boxes of Marvel Legends, just normal rectangles. A cut-out window on the front allows us to see the figure; the window is obliquely shaped like a star (specifically, the star in the GI Joe logo), though one large enough to wrap around the sides and still have the points cut off. The Joes are in totally blue boxes, while Cobra gets a few touches of red. The figures are numbered on top and on the left hand side.
Speaking of the left, that side of the box has the character's name and some graphics that rank their skills. The back has no specific info about the character within - no filecards here, sadly - but there is a really cool painting showing all the currently available characters (plus a few hints at what the future might hold). It looks like an old-fashioned Drew Struzan movie poster, which is awesome.
That's not the only art to be found: the right side of the packaging has original art of the character within, so once these make it into stores, you'll be able to tell who's who just by looking at the side. That's a cool idea, but the downside is that everybody has a different artist. Scarlett, for instance, gets a piece by Phil Noto. It's beautiful and dynamic, but that sets an awfully high bar for every other artist to clear. It's like when Marvel Universe started with Frank Cho art on the cards, then later switched to Mike Deodato: what would otherwise be fine becomes disappointing by comparison.
Still, this is some nice, solid package design. It's not flashy and it's not simply a reference to the old toys, but it's eye-catching and presents the figure inside well.
I don't know if this is the best place to put this, but I just wanted to say that I appreciated what was said in the review of Scarlett about her head sculpt and the hair coloring of the figure. It kind of bothered me to see people on some other toy sites and forums complaining about how they think she is ugly and going so far as to replace her head with one from the Target exclusive Black Widow figure. Aside from the weirdness about the toy not being "hot enough" with head it comes with, they did a great job with the freckling and as a parent of a ginger, surprised to see a somewhat realistic approach to red hair as opposed to what we usually get.
But the classified line is impressive all around, and I look forward to the reviews of the rest of the line.
Okay, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and all that, but I agree that Scarlett is perfectly attractive as is. I mean, Black Widow is a spy and one who often relies on being attractive to lure in her targets. Scarlett is a front-line soldier. I expect her to have blemishes and stuff, because it's not like she's going to be focusing too much on makeup or concealer.
The only thing I'm disappointed with so far is the lack of the more familiar Cobra grunts like the old Cobra Troopers, the basic Vipers or B.A.T.s. I mean, I'm sure they're coming, but still.
But, man, oh, man, I can hardly wait to see what their take on the Crimson Guard will be. Since the Cobra-themed boxes are already red and black, I can only imagine how good the Siegies will look in-package.
I'm with you guys: she's super cute as-is...