Thanks for checking out Dan's ToyBox. Today we're taking a look at the Hasbro G.I. Joe Classified Series Mutt & Junkyard (#113) two pack. I happened upon this in a Target while visiting Garden City on Long Island and was surprised when it rang up on sale!
The real name of Mutt is Stanley R. Perlmutter, and he holds the rank of army specialist SP-4 (E-4). He hails from Iselin, New Jersey. His primary military specialty is as a dog handler, and his secondary military specialty is in infantry. At times, he is referred to as a (staff sergeant) E-6.
Mutt's military background includes graduating from the Jungle Warfare Training School, being attached to a cadre at the Special Ops School and serving as an adviser to the Security and Enforcement Committee. He is skilled in the use of the M-16, M-14, M1911A1 auto pistol, and MAC-11.
Mutt is known for his natural affinity with animals and for having trained several pet dogs exceptionally well during his youth. The most intelligent of these dogs was Junkyard, who joined Mutt in the army. It is implied that Junkyard is more popular than Mutt due to his friendlier nature.
There's a bit of background on our characters, so without further ado... Let's Discuss: Hasbro G.I. Joe Classified Series #113 Mutt & Junkyard!
Accessories: 9/10
Mutt and Junkyard come with a pretty solid array of accessories. Junkyard has a removable spike collar and two head sculpts, one with a snarling mouth, the other with his tongue flopping out, ready to lick a Cobra soldier to death! Mutt comes with a removable helmet, one pair of goggles for the helmet, and another pair for him to wear. He also has a facemask/air filtration unit that fits around his mouth and nose. He comes with multiple hands. A pair of weapons holding hands, a pair of items holding hands, a flat, saluting hand, a pointing hand and a pair of relaxed hands. Additionally, he comes with an M-16 rifle, police baton, combat knife and semi-automatic pistol. Sadly, as you can see in the pictures, both his baton and rifle are warped from the packaging. Thank goodness for sales pricing. I'll heat these up and straighten them out at some point. I'm pleased with the range of accessories included with the two figures and the detail on each is excellent. Hasbro shows with the Joe line that they can put out some great additional materials. One of these days they'll do it across the board and collectors will be filled with joy.
Appearance: 9.5/10
Both of these figures look amazing. Starting with Junkyard, the sculpted detail, painted applications, and design are excellent. I like the fact that when you swap heads out, you can take the spiked collar off and the attention to detail on the collar alone is really well done. Both the head sculpts are painted very, very well. The attention to detail around his mouth and muzzle for both head sculpts is tremendous with virtually no paint issues at all. As closely as I looked, I really couldn't find anything amiss with the applications. The teeth are very clean, the tongue and pink of his gums is realistic looking. Even the detail for Junkyard's eyes is meticulously applied. The color change, as befitting this breed of dog is very accurate. G.I. Joe fans know Junkyard is a Rottweiler, and Hasbro nailed the look. I have a Husky/Rottweiler mix and though she has the Husky coat, she's got all the Rotty traits, included the two "Rott Dots" above her eyes, similar to Junkyard. His harness is also done very well, though the handle is a bit tough to get into Mutt's hand while retaining a natural look. I will admit, Junkyard is probably my favorite piece in this set.
Mutt is also put together very nicely. The amount of paint applied to give us an amazing, updated look to his uniform really helps him stand out on the display. I think the two best details are the tattoo on his right arm and the gauntlet on his left. He wears the gauntlet to absorb bite pressure when training Junkyard and the detail on it is superb. Looking closely, you can see the scratches, scuffs, and bite marks from training sessions. I think, honestly, my only real wish would be to see a wash applied to the overall uniform. This would be nice on all the Joe figures, as it would give depth and realism to the look. As Mutt stands, the green of his uniform, while looking nice, does give him sort of the old "Green Army Men" appearance. It just looks a bit too much like plastic for me. Otherwise, the paint apps on his face, some uniform details, and trim, are applied very cleanly, giving Mutt a solid appearance.
Articulation: 7/10
I would love to give the figures a higher articulation score, but there are some problems. Starting with Junkyard. His head sits on a ball peg but the range is very limited. He can look up and down a bit, thanks to a joint in the neck, but side to side is virtually non-existent unless you rotate the head upward or downward. This gives an unnatural look to the pose. His legs have multiple points of articulation, but I discovered problems with the second joint on his hind legs. Getting either of them to move was terrible, which meant a hot bath. I did get them unstuck and was able to eventually get him into some realistic sitting and laying down poses, but still am having some problems. Other than that joint, the hindlegs can angle outward and the rest of the joints all work nicely. The ankles on all four legs rotate and hinge up and down as well, which is helpful. The forelegs can also swing out wide, to help him appear to crouch as if he's ready to lunch. The joints on his forelegs work good enough which is nice.
Mutt, on the other hand, has some hindrance issues thanks to his combat vest. Starting at the top, his head will turn side to side and does have some up/down motion, but not as much as other Joe figures I own. The shoulders work fine with full rotation, but the butterfly joints are nearly useless with minimal forward/backward motion. His bicep swivel and elbow joints work fine, though the elbows won't bend in as deep due to the sleeve and gauntlet sculpts. Thanks to the vest, you can forget about any crunch action. The crunch is there, but extremely limited. His waist is on a ball, which allows for easy rotation and additional crunch. His legs are on the drop-down pins and can reach very wide splits. They can kick forward very well, and the thigh cuts are serviceable. His knees work fine and can bend in very deep. There is a good boot cut, if that's something you enjoy, and the ankles have excellent hinge and pivot range.
Affordability: 10/10
Thankfully this pack is starting to drop in price as clearance sales take over. Originally priced at $44.99, I got mine at a Target, on sale for $31.99 and am seeing this as low as $28 on sale now. If you don't yet have a set, grab one before they're gone.
Overall, this is a really fun set to have on the G.I. Joe Classified display. As I mentioned earlier, Junkyard is easily my favorite part of this package but together, the pair are really fun to have. I'm happy to give the Hasbro G.I. Joe Classified Series #113 Mutt & Junkyard a solid:
9 out of 10 ToyBoxes
As always, thank you for checking out Dan's ToyBox. I've got some more great G.I. Joe reviews coming, so be sure to check back! Until next time... GEEK OUT!!!