Toy
name: General "Hawk" Abernathy Assortment: Valor vs. Venom
Wave 4 Price: MSRP $7.99 Availability: September/October
2004
Well,
it's about flippin' time. While I really don't mind Duke getting all the attention
in the main Joeline, it's always nice to see the real man tossing orders around
get his time in the spotlight, too. Ever since Duke came out of 1983 leading
the Joe team with his chiseled jaw and lady-killing attitude, Hawk has been
a vague shadow in the background...at least to the vast majority of people who
give G.I. Joe a passing glance. Truth be told, in the comic world, ole Hawk
has always been the number one man, and even though his figures have been repainted
versions of his '92 Talking Battle Commander for the past 4 years, with this
release, we're finally getting a new sculpt Hawk and a version of Hawk to make
us Hawk fans proud.
No longer toting
the lame "Tomahawk" moniker, Hasbro has gotten more creative with
his codename, and even throughout the entirety of the Valor Vs. Venom movie,
called the General only by his short name.
Now, even though
it's taken forever and a day to get a new sculpt of General Abernathy, was it
really worth the wait? I say, emphatically, yes.
Figure Mold
This is G.I.
Joe done right, and proof that Hasbro still has the capabilities to produce
a military accurate, well detailed, downright terrific looking G.I. Joe figure...not
only that, but a great update to a classic character that retains all of the
characteristics of that character and updates it to modern times as it should.
Seems almost too good to be true.
We start off
with the head sculpt, a great rendition of General Hawk from the determined
face to the general's cap and nicely sculpted stars on the side of the hat.
His hair is blonde (not gray as seen on the DVD... ;) ) and he looks as the
good General should look at his age and in this day. His mold is nicely proportioned
with broad shoulders, but not too broad, and a thick torso and arms. His jacket
is nicely sculpted and well adorned with a holstered pistol and two grenades.
It flows seamlessly into the rubberized coat-tails that limit articulation a
little bit, but looks just plain great sculpted the way it is. From his dress
jacket to his military pants...to his leather gloves to the brown-leather boots,
this figure looks as General Hawk should look, taking cues from his classic
versions and really making them work in new sculpt form.
The little touches
are excellent as well...those small pouches on his jacket and the dull gray
stripes up the middle of his boots. All of these little items are small additions
to an already excellent mold that make this figure even better. Just to make
him a little battle ready, they tossed some kneepads on his legs as well, which
normally might not work, but in this case, actually look like they belong. Great
stuff.
Paint Applications/Color Choices
Like the mold
itself, the color scheme of this figure is about as close to spot on perfect
as you can get. A deep, dark green base for the jacket, suit, and hat, with
some nice gold trim on the stars and in the applicable places throughout the
mold. The leathery brown gloves look terrific, and everything just comes together
perfectly. Just so this version of Hawk isn't stuck in green and brown neverland,
they throw in some gray on the boots and kneepads, which works very well...the
silver of the grenades only helps to brighten up the look of the figure as well.
This is one of those figures that just manages to hit on all cylinders and quickly
become a favorite of mine, destined to be my dafault Hawk figure in the times
to come.
Accessories
For someone
sculpted to be a behind the scenes non-field leader type, Hawk comes with all
sorts of way to put some serious hurtin' on the COBRA forces. He comes with
a standard machine gun...something not too large, but a nice heavy caliber,
and something that he looks great holding. He also comes with a pistol originally
sculpted during the Spy Troops line. Lastly he comes with a pair of what appear
to be new sculpt grenades. I'm not sure if they've been used before or not,
but they're definitely different than Big Ben's, and those are the only ones
I recall seeing before. I'm not sure why Hawk comes with them, but they're pretty
cool and it's nice to see him come with a decent number of weapons at his disposal.
Final Comments
All you have
to do is look at my screenname to know that I'm a Hawk-faithful. The man behind
the team is the man, period, and I'm very excited to see Hasbro finally get
our venerable General out in new sculpt form. Not only are they finally able
to get him released, but they didn't have to butcher his codename, and the figure
is a fantastic one, to boot! Even without all of the other great figures released
in Wave 4, this one would have caught my eye and made me a fan of the Wave...as
it stands it's one terrific figure in a lineup of them, and gives me great hopes
to see what Hasbro can continue to produce in the future. Even though the Overkill
figure that's packaged with this guy is a repaint, you should definitely pick
up this pack, especially if you're a Hawk fan. It's a great figure and the two
pack comes with scores of cool accessories...not only that, but the Overkill
is the best one release as well, in my opinion. Buy it!
Well,
it's about flippin' time. While I really don't mind Duke getting all the attention
in the main Joeline, it's always nice to see the real man tossing orders around
get his time in the spotlight, too. Ever since Duke came out of 1983 leading
the Joe team with his chiseled jaw and lady-killing attitude, Hawk has been
a vague shadow in the background...at least to the vast majority of people who
give G.I. Joe a passing glance. Truth be told, in the comic world, ole Hawk
has always been the number one man, and even though his figures have been repainted
versions of his '92 Talking Battle Commander for the past 4 years, with this
release, we're finally getting a new sculpt Hawk and a version of Hawk to make
us Hawk fans proud.
