G.I. Joe Classified Series Steel Corps Troopers, Collectible Action Figure, 95, 6-Inch Action Figures for Boys & Girls,with 28 Accessory Pieces

As a fan and collector who's really into the Gi Joe Classified series, I think this 2-pack army builder looks pretty sweet even though their are some flaws to gripe about. First, the package looks great and I really like the front artwork that's a homage to the 1986 Gi Joe Movie opening with Statue of Liberty. Then we get to the male and female steel brigade figures, design is a nice update to the original vintage figure and articulation is good. My main concern is they are reused molds of older figures and they haven't aged well thanks to the softer plastic that Hasbro switched to. Male version uses Cobra Island Beachhead's torso and arms and Snake Eyes' legs with pins and female version uses the movie Scarlett body and arms with Lady Jaye's legs. This makes the latter harder to pose because of the single joint arms instead of the better double joint arms used by the more recent female figures like Retro Scarlett and Agent Helix. I also have a bit of a hard time having them stand up or posing them with the jetpacks on like they're about to fall. Compared to Grunt and 60th anniversary Action Soldier, these Steel Corp Troopers are inferior but not too bad, I prefer the other two as better Infantry troopers to army build. Next, we have the accessories stored in a grey cargo box and these are the main reasons for buying this pack. It comes with two jetpacks, male and female sized JUMP Helmets, three weapons repainted from the Cobra Viper 3-Pack, two knifes and a bunch of weapon effects including some new ones. The two scramble jetpacks are of course outstanding and the coolest thing about this pack, each are nicely sculpted and come with two pairs of jetpack blast effects to simulate their blasting off. The peg size only works for the male trooper and sticks out for the female trooper. These jetpacks can be use for other male Classified figures like Duke and Stalker but might fit all the way tight depending on the back peg hole. The JUMP Helmets also only fit the ball neck size of the two figures it comes with so you can't reuse them for other Classified figures unless they have a similar neck size mold. The three weapons are blat effects are pretty much the same reuse that's been seen in other army builder packs starting with the Cobra Viper set. Plastic of the guns feel weaker and less sturdy and blast effects are now colored in red dye instead of orange. Still look great on when equipped on other figures. Last, I think the retail price for this pack makes sense as you are getting two figures and a good amount of accessories but the reuse of parts and older weapons makes it harder to recommend based on some flaws. You can save some money by just buying multiple Grunts for $25 each as they all also come with a Steel Corp helmet and a pair of weapons. The Action Soldier is also superior as they come with more accessories for $35. Overall, the best thing about buying this pack is the jetpacks for your Classified Joe figures.

Arrived perfect .

I was one of the kids who ordered the Steel Brigade "You Can Be A Joe" figure in 1988 or so and I remember my excitement when I got it. These new figures really are reminiscent of that look, and not only is there a Steel Brigade -- err, Corps figure, but a female version of the team as well! I do wish there had been an unmasked head that we could use for these, but as far as what I ordered, it's exactly as advertised and I'm very impressed and find this 2-figure set to be a lot of fun. And it looks cool!

First up the Steel Corp, or rather originally the Steel Brigade was a rather brilliant Hasbro mail in special figure that Hasbro offered for most of the years that the 3 1/2 inch GI Joe ran, starting in the third year. It was basically a generic Army Builder figure that the child got to customize. So it was him as a GI Joe. The child sent in an order form that included a questionaire about the figures code name, specialties etc. And thus the kid would themselves get to join GI Joe. A few weeks later the child would receive his Steel Brigade figure, with a custom file card showing his name, the codename and skills he had selected. The figures were all (mostly) the same. The kit included the figure, a backpack, a rifle (exact one varied over time but always had a bayonet) The file card print out and a Steel Brigade Patch. Uniquely in the line these were the only GI Joe team "Army Builders". While Cobra had tons of generic Stormtrooper type infantry and officers, all the other GI Joe good guy characters were named specialists. In recent years Hasbro had let the Action Force trademark and the Steel Brigade Trademark names lapse. Allowing Balaverse to create their own 6 inch figure line using those names. So Hasbro rebranded the GI Joe Steel Brigade to Steel Corps. (Why they didn't use Steel Battalion instead is anybody's guess) So now we have this $58 offering of 2 Generic Troop builder Steel Corps figures. And yes lets say it up front the price is a bit steep for these 2 figures. In keeping with the style of the original toys, these figures are a near total reuse of existing molds and tooling. The male Steel Corp figure uses Beach Head or Firefly's upper body and arms, and Snake Eyes hips and legs. With someone elses boots. The Female Steel Corp is a full reuse of the Snake Eyes Movie version of Scarlett. The set does come with 4 unique heads. 2 Steel Corps standard heads, male and female, and 2 green and gold other heads? Possibly Jet trooper heads? The helmets on these look suspiciously like the Doom Slayer from the Doom Video games. Also Male and female sized. Part of the problem is somehow when they frankensteined together the parts that they used to kitbash these figures, each one somehow lost maybe a half inch in height. Making them among the shorter GI Joes. To add to this all of the green soft rubber armor overlay parts make the male seem much much broader than he should. Giving him odd proportions. The base body colors for both are light blue shirts with army green armor pieces and light tan khaki pants. It's an odd look, but it does match the original. So the figures are a tad Meh. The female figure doesn't even use the newer double elbow joint female body, and the male uses older non pinless body parts. Where the set does make up for it is in accessories. They come with 2 GI Joe Scramble Jet Packs, perfectly recreated in 1/12 scale. This seems an odd choice as Steel Brigade never comes with these nor is seen wearing them in cartoons or comics. But what the heck, we got the Jetpacks. One step closer to the full Statue of Liberty scene. Weapons include 2 pistols, 2 knives and 3 nicely painted different rifles. With removeable Ammo cartridges. And they include a ton of effects parts. Which is probably the main reason for many of us to get this set. They have 4 Jetpack Exhaust effect parts. And they have the same basic set of gunfire effects that came with the Viper 3 pack, but in a new darker blood red color instead of light orange. How much you like this will depend on how much you like the kitbashed figures that make up the set. You will love the Jetpacks and effects no question. But honestly if you just want 2 STeel Corps figures, without the Jetpacks and gunfire effects parts, you are almost better off getting 2 more Grunt figures and just putting the Green Steel Corp Helmet that comes with him on them. Now that we have the Jetpack you just know they are going to sneak out a "Starduster" figure. The GI Joe Cereal Mascot character. Probably as a comicon special release.

As a G.I.JOE CLASSIFIED collector the classic J.u.m.p. is a must have, the Steel Corp Troopers not so much. But that's why they sold it as such to justify the price point. Good figures overall popularity not concerned.