Flint was a figure I always coveted. It seems like my friends all had a Flint, so I played with that figure a lot, but this is the first Flint figure I’ve owned. I’ve been looking forward to this one, so let’s check out G.I. Joe’s warrant officer, Flint!
I really like the style of the artwork on the side of this one and I while I do like the portrait on the figure, I do wish it looked a little more like this artwork.
Flint comes with a pistol, a shotgun, and his hat. The pistol is familiar since it and the holster appears to be re-used from Duke, but it works for me. I could always go for a little more paint detail, but if it is going to be plain plastic, I like plain black plastic.
The shotgun is a sci-fi take on Flint’s classic weapon from his original figure. I happen to like the look of this one, and while I’ve heard the hinge feature doesn’t make sense for a pump-action shotgun, I think it’s a neat little feature and gives you more pose options and it is easy to ignore if you don’t like it.
Part of why I like the weapon, it does have a little paint detail on the pump and the shotgun shells that makes the overall figure feel a bit more finished. The shotgun can store in a sleeve on the back of the figure. I think the thing is designed to point up, but I like the look of it pointed down a bit more. It stays in there pretty well either way. The shotgun can use some of the effects from the recent Marvel Legends Black Widow, but I feel like the muzzle flash is a little small for a shotgun, so I only used the smoke.
The hat pops off and stays on fairly tightly and looks natural on there. Sometimes removeable hats can look a little overlarge, but this works well and I like the option to take it off.
Flint is missing his pack from his version 1 figure and I’m assuming that’s because of the shotgun holder, but he does feel a little light on gear when compared to his fellow Joes. The sculpting is really great because he’s based on a figure I already loved a lot, Classified Duke. I thought he was complete Duke re-use outside of the head and vest, but the chest is also new since Duke has a t-shirt under his collared shirt while Flint does not.
I am a little torn about the re-use of Duke. On one hand, I think about the amount of re-use in the original 13 Joes and this feels right in line with that. On the other hand, the original Flint figure was all new. Despite re-using a lot of Duke, the overlay goes a long way toward making this feel like a new figure and bulks him up a bit. I think I might have preferred a more slimmed down web gear, but I can’t fault Flint the extra protections of the armored chest and back plate, plus I feel like it moderns him up just enough to be cool, but not make him unrecognizable. I do wish they had made new bicep and forearm pieces so his sleeves could be rolled all the way up. I also like how unique his face looks, very different from Duke.
The articulation is typical for the Classified line, though the chest overlay does get in the way of the ab crunch. Fortunately, the chest piece is separate from the belt, so the waist still swivels well and if you work it a bit, he can crunch forward underneath the overlay. Flint has:
- Swivel/hinge shoulders, wrists, hips, and ankles
- Swivel biceps, thighs, and boots
- Hinged Butterfly pecs, drop-down hips, and neck
- Drop-down hinged hips
- Ball and socket waist, lower neck, and head
Paint is pretty good on Flint with a nice camo pattern and effective face printing. I like the slight fade on his haircut and all the shotgun shell details on his gun and web gear. I think Flint has a nice balance of detail paint and plain plastic and I appreciate the classic nature of his overall color scheme.
Overall, I’d say this is another home run for the line and Flint is a ton of fun to play with and pose with his fellow Joes, especially Lady Jaye. This figure strikes a perfect balance between modern and classic ARAH for my taste and it’s making me desperate to see them take on some of my Joe faves like Rock ‘n Roll and Spirit.
