Welcome to another Dan's ToyBox review. Today, we're going somewhat retro with a figure that's been on the shelves for a bit now. The Hasbro G.I. Joe Retro Card Series Baroness Action Figure. Clad in her black leather outfit, the Baroness exudes beauty and danger.
Accessories 7/10
The Retro Card Baroness comes packed with two pistols, one submachine gun, her sniper rifle, a display stand, and a pair of removable glasses. As we are used to getting more packed with the classifies series, these retro card styles are, evidently, designed to be more reminiscent of the 80's toys. I do like the detail on each of her weapons though and the separate glasses are a nice touch. As I've mentioned in other Joe reviews, the fact that Hasbro is going with more realistic weapon designs makes these figures more enjoyable to have. I didn't start collecting Joes, seriously, until this year, but I've seen some of the earlier figures and, I'm really not a huge fan of the "nerf" style guns. My chief complaint though is that, thanks to her hair sculpt, you really cannot plug either of her bigger guns into the port on her back. Generally, Joe figures can carry just about all of their accessories on the figure. Not so in this case. Missed opportunity here, for a shoulder strap for the sniper rifle and submachine gun.
Appearance 8/10
This is the first version of the Baroness that I own, and I understand that there are some differences between the retro card version and the classified. If any readers have the other version, please shoot me an email with the differences. I'll add them here and give you credit. For our purposes though, I think this is an excellent representation of the Baroness. The glossy sections on her leather outfit perfectly complement the matte finish on the rest. The cobra emblem is a bright red, standing out quite well against the black background. The detail on her face, flesh tone, eye paint, and even "make up" applications are very clean and evenly applied. To be frank, probably my only gripe in her appearance would be the small grooves carved into the sides of her head for her glasses. While it's nice to have those to keep the glasses in place, it is distracting when posing her without them.
This is a shame, because you can see that her facial features are exceptionally well detailed. Truth be told though, the odds of my displaying her without her glasses are slim anyhow, simply because I'm so preoccupied with accuracy. I would imagine that someone with more skill and talent than I possess could fill those slots in and paint the fill to match her skin. Frankly, this is my biggest complaint with her looks, and it's easily rectified by putting the glasses on, so, I really have nothing to complain about.
Articulation 5/10
Typically, the articulation on the G.I. Joe figures tends to be a strength. Unfortunately, that's not the case with the retro card Baroness. Her head movement is strictly limited by her hair sculpt, which is disappointing. Her shoulders work well and have decent butterfly joint movement, which helps offset the lack of bicep swivel. Her elbows are single jointed and have the swivel built in. This limits her range of motion and gives her arms an unnaturally stiff look to them, regardless of pose. Her wrists function as they should. Her upper torso joint turns but has very little motion otherwise. Fortunately, her waist seems to be on a ball peg, allowing for torsion, tilt, and some crunch. This helps make up for the poor upper torso joint. I was also disappointed with her legs. Baroness can't seem to do a decent split, even though her legs will kick forward very nicely. The thigh cuts are stiff and even though I've worked them, they still feel sticky at times. Her knees bend reasonably well, though not as deep as I'd hoped, and her ankles also feel limited in their scope of hinge and pivot. This is probably the most disappointing Joe figure I have, in terms of articulation/engineering.
Affordability 7/10
As with other Retro Card Joe figures, the Baroness retails at $24.99 locally. I feel that, though this is in line with other toylines, it's a bit overpriced given the concerns I've listed above. I'm still trying to figure out why the retro cards are $3 more than the classified series figures in stores. I'm not going to complain though, as long as pricing stays that way!
Overall, as much as I like having most of the Cobra High Command, the Baroness feels lacking to me. Sure, she does look great and comes with some cool gear, but I want to be able to pose her better and get some more dynamic shots, especially with that sniper rifle. She looks good on display, but I feel there is a lot more that we could have enjoyed with the figure, so with that in mind, the Hasbro G. I. Joe Retro Card Baroness earns:
6.75 out of 10 ToyBoxes.
While Destro may love the Baroness, I'm only mildly infatuated with her. Thanks as always for supporting Dan's ToyBox, until next time... GEEK OUT!!!