Rather than start a new thread, I'm going to add on to this one: Sci-Fi and Lifeline: First Impressions.
Sci-Fi is sort of a sentimental favourite of mine because he was technically the first 4" Joe I ever bought--and ostensibly to do a custom from. My intent was to do a Robocop custom from the figure, but that never happened. Sci-Fi became the first of my RAH collection, which grew to about 300 different figures over the follwing decade. So this update........well, it speaks directly to me.
And what does it say?
Sci-Fi equals BAD-ASS, kids.
Think neon green is for pansies? Pshaw, think beyond the green. The guy is essentially a walking battery, to power the laser rifle he carries. Oh, its not like the red/blue lasers of the cartoon show, nope.......my mental picture has always been that Sci-Fi fires a green laser beam.
Dunno why, can't speak to any logic behind it.......just long felt it. His laser weapon is more......."intelligent" in its application, to my mind anyways. He's a target designator--lasing enemy hardware for destruction by other GIJOE munitions. He anti-vehicle in that a held-bean can melt into an engine block........just takes maybe a minute longer and some steadiness. And if the bad guys rush him, he can set the gun to blind them*, or to set their clothing on fire. Just enough of a distraction to get away.
Tell me that's not bad-ass in and of itself? Yeah, I like Sci-Fi.
The figure is as detailed as I could ever wish for, holds his weapon just right ( he's a southpaw, apparently--if you take your cues from how the figure is packaged) and has the two helmets. After some swapping back and forth i like the look of the open faced helmet more. Just bad-ass.
Lifeline.
Y'know.........one of the distinctions I made for myself years ago about GIJOE was that the comics and the cartoons were horse-hooey. They are just junk, just dumb and try as I might I just could never get into them, or get past the silliness. I cherry pick what I like from them and I just forsake the rest.
My canon.......the only canon I really respect, comes from the toys themselves. Lifeline is a good example, because all the nonsense about him being a gun-phobic (whatever) pacifist is just a load of bunk to me.
The toy comes with a gun...........ergo the character packs a gun, in my opinion. Running onto a battle field waving just your ideals gets you shot, and is therefore stupid. The filecards have always been just non-specific and vague enough that there's loads of room for interpretation about any given character.
The cartoons and comics often throw that into the hash. Beachhead is a good example: hair-trigger temper in the cartoons, but claims he "doesn't get angry, he get's even" on the filecard. So which way is it, because it can't be both.
Lifeline is the same argument.
So he comes with a gun and a SWEET rifle it is--and he looks good wielding. The figure itself: incredible, but the highlight of the set is the medical gear and the litter.
Right away the set get's you involved with the rest of your collection because, darn it........you now need a "hapless Harry" to play the victim and to get strapped to the litter. Hey, that is where I chose to ...ahem.....volunteer one of my Steel Brigade troopers to take a bullet for the team.
I swapped his balaclava head for a spare bald Serpentor head--because the "pained" express it wears is just appropriate.
I hooked up the IV, gave the poor sod some oxygen and tucked his SB helmet 'tween his legs.
Yeah, Lifeline now pretty much becomes a "two-figures-in-one" kinda deal for me.......because ol' hapless Harry is going wherever Lifeline goes now. I might have to conscript some other SB's to carry the litter now.
Like the previous figures mentioned in this thread, my opinions of them are that they are solid updates and upgrades from their original versions. If you liked the originals, you should probably find yourself liking these new versions.