Toy
name: Dr. Link Talbot Assortment: Valor vs. Venom
Wave 4 Price: MSRP $7.99 Availability: September/October
2004
Okay,
admit it...when you first heard about this character you couldn't help but chuckle
at least a little bit. I can see the Joe team needing a veterinarian about as
much as COBRA might need an interior decorator. But once you look at it in context,
it makes some sense, especially considering the current theme running throughout
the ongoing Joeverse. COBRA is using the DNA of animals to create hybrid super
soldiers...it only makes sense that you employ someone with a working knowledge
of science and animals to assist in combating this threat. Combine that with
the fact that Link is a former Navy SEAL and a Kung Fu champ, and it doesn't
seem so far fetched.
As a member
of G.I. Joe's ever-growing support staff, Link can almost fit right in, although
I have to admit this current incarnation of him looks pretty silly. Cut off
sweat shirt and sweat pants just doesn't seem to work in a special forces military
environment, but G.I. Joe's been drifting from that for a while now and in it's
current state, Link doesn't seem quite so odd. I still would have preferred
to see him come with a labcoat, though...that would have made a nice difference
and made him look more professional.
Figure Mold
I touched on
this slightly above, but more as a concept than actual execution. Execution-wise,
Link's mold is pretty decent, really. His head sculpt has some great character
and looks like a new recruit might look. I'm hoping all military buffs have
long since given up the notion of close-cropped hair and clean shaven soldiers
as part of the Joe team, and as such, Link works. His hair style is pretty modern
and pretty effective, and it's nice to see a new African American member of
the team.
The fact that
he's wearing what he's wearing is a source of minor discontent to me, but the
sculpting is done pretty well. The smooth, softly wrinkled mold looks like the
sweat suit that it's supposed to represent and gets the point across pretty
effectively. I like the small additions of quilted padding on his legs and back,
which adds some much needed detail to what would have been a very plain mold.
The shoulder pads on his cut off shirt are interesting additions as well, and
break up some monotony in the torso mold, too, something which is always appreciated.
Some things
don't especially fit with this mold, however. His arms end up looking pretty
bizarre with elbow pads that just seem to erupt from his bare skin and those
strange cylinders on the edge of his gloves. I like the look of his gloves over
all...thick and nicely padded, but all in all, his self-growing elbow pads just
make the arms look a little strange. Had a little strap been sculpted or even
just painted somewhere it would look fine, but as it is, it just doesn't quite
look right.
Paint Applications/Color Choices
This is an item
that probably could have been improved. I can see a Joe running around with
sweatpants, I guess...but pink sweatpants? Hmm...combine this with the yellow
pads and the figure looks a little bright for me. At least he's a member of
the support staff and not normally in the field of combat, but still, I'm not
wild about those colors. His white shirt and the tampo of his Kung Fu successes
on his chest are all done well, and everything else flows smoothly...just not
wild about those pants.
Accessories
Accessories?
What accessories? :/ I get the impression that the Spy Drone used up all the
accessory money for this two-pack, so we get pretty much nothing with Link.
A repaint of the original Eels dart gun and the same wrist communicator that
everyone gets is pretty much all she wrote. Link doesn't need much, I suppose,
but perhaps one of the laptops that came with Dr. Mindbender, or like I said,
some sort of removable labcoat would have been much appreciated.
Final Comments
Not a bad addition
to the Joeteam, and I mean that seriously. His mold is silly, his colors are
bright, and his specialty is downright hilarious, but I like him, for some strange
reason. I plan on acquiring a labcoat for him somewhere and working him into
my support staff, more as a researcher and less as a vet, but the fact that
I can work him into the Joe ranks is a plus for him. He's definitely not the
shining star of this wave, but he's one of the few new Joe characters and I
think he works pretty well. Considering that he comes packaged with a possible
army builder will help his position, I think...and makes this pack fall a little
higher on the "buy" list.
Okay,
admit it...when you first heard about this character you couldn't help but chuckle
at least a little bit. I can see the Joe team needing a veterinarian about as
much as COBRA might need an interior decorator. But once you look at it in context,
it makes some sense, especially considering the current theme running throughout
the ongoing Joeverse. COBRA is using the DNA of animals to create hybrid super
soldiers...it only makes sense that you employ someone with a working knowledge
of science and animals to assist in combating this threat. Combine that with
the fact that Link is a former Navy SEAL and a Kung Fu champ, and it doesn't
seem so far fetched.
