Packaging: This is a 2002 style box which has the G.I. Joe logo draped in the U.S. Flag. Hopefully, Hasbro may be donating some money to the 9-11 survivors fund and/or a Veterans fund, or the World War II War Memorial? Of course, the red, white, and blue motif helps to make the box very colorful and attractive. The color scheme of the U.S. Flag is probably as bright as any could be, and this bright color combination translates very well to the G.I. Joe logo. Aside from the patriotic feeling which the new Hasbro boxes may inspire, the art design is very original in using the colors of the Flag. Whether it is the design, or the Flag colors, or both; the new boxes are a lot more visually appealing than the old ones. In this regard, Hasbro has made a lot of progress in packaging G.I. Joe. Collectors can remember the original Timeless Collection green boxes as compared to the black and gold foil boxes of the TC III series.
The window box amply shows the gear and the figure which is for sale. The illustrations on the Royal Marine Commando box remind me of the film, "The Longest Day" which seemed to have a lot of British actors who had that woodchuck face. Don't ask me why Hollywood portrayed some of the British actors as having gigantic teeth, but this Hasbro box has a Royal Marine Commando who is drawn as having to walk around with all of his front teeth hanging out of his mouth. He resembles the gopher from "Caddyshack." Fans of cinema remember Richard Burton, Dirk Bogarde, Patrick Macnee, David Niven, Patrick McGoohan, and many other British stars of the 1950s who did not look anything like the illustration on the Hasbro box!
The Headsculpt: Fortunately for collectors, whoever drew the box art was not providing pictures for the sculptor. The headsculpt on this Royal Marine is classic! He looks a bit like a young David Niven or Clark Gable. The face is full of nobility and has a certain savoir faire look which you would expect from a sophisticated character.
The Outfit: WOW!! Once again, it seems like someone from the ORIGINAL 1964 team is calling the shots! This uniform is nice and solid. It is not made of the translucent wafer-like material that sometimes passes for cloth. This outfit feels like one of the vintage G.I. Joe uniforms. It is well tailored, sewn properly, and quality materials are used. The pants are right out of 1964, and this entire set looks like it may have been manufactured back in the 1960s and somehow lost in storage until now.
Gear: The Royal Marine Commando brings a fair amount of gear. He has a very nice beret and a helmet. A Colt .45 and cloth holster are included along with a knife and scabbard and an outstanding Bren machine gun which has wood colored grips, stock, and handle and a folding bi-pod, retractible sights and a removable ammo clip. Insignia stickers are included, like back in the 1960s. A couple of clip-on packs are also included for the plastic web-belt. The boots are detailed and look great.
Negatives: The clip-on packs have a clip which is about 3/4 the size of the plastic web-belt. So as soon as the figure was moved around the little packs popped off the web-belt. The plastic web-belt also feels cheap. It is something like what Formative SOTW was using five years ago. For some unknown reason, Hasbro has been using the cheapie web-belts lately, as if some genius over at Hasbro decided that was the accessory that they would use for cutting corners on costs. Of course, once I took the photos, I tossed the plastic web-belt and put the clip-on packs on a cloth web belt that looks more like what this soldier would have worn in World War II.
Overall: It really could not get any better than this set. If Hasbro had included a cloth web-belt in this set, I would have probably had some kind of flashback into 1966 and never returned. For those folks who have felt betrayed by the way Hasbro has sometimes taken the cheap road with G.I. Joe; this Royal Marine Commando is the kind of set that can re- inspire your faith in good old G.I. Joe.
Grade: A+
