Classified SHIPWRECK

 - SHIPWRECK -

NAME - SHIPWRECK

TOY LINE - G.I. Joe Classified

YEAR RELEASED - 2024

ORIGINAL FIGURE RELEASE - 1985

The Background...

    The G.I. Joe Sailor, Shipwreck, was originally a part of Wave 4 of the G.I. Joe action figure line.  This is often considered one of the best years in the line.  He made numerous appearances in the cartoons where his adventures included hanging out with ruffians in a Cobra bar, disguising himself as a zany, blonde entertainer playing a saxophone, and falling in love with a former female Cobra Eel named Mara.  In the comic he joined in with several missions, but one notable moment was his introduction where he was in charge of assembling the Tactical Battle Platform.   

    Anytime our family goes on some kind of trip or vacation, I'm thinking to myself - "what figure would be good to take pictures of there?"  Since we have thrown down a few beach trips over the years, I've had to consider what figures are good for the beach and ocean.  Over the years I used Transformers like Beachcomber and Seaspray and classic G.I. Joe figures like Zanzibar and the Cobra Eels.

    In 2024, I wasn't really sure I should take... then a few days before vacation I was lucky enough to score the Classified Shipwreck on clearance at Wal-Mart.  The mystery was now solved.

Classified vs. the original...

        So what stands out about the original Shipwreck that the new one would need to have to be properly done?  Obviously, the overall look with the sailor uniform and his hat are essential.  You also have to have the accessories of the boarding hooks, flintlock pistol, and his chatty parrot - Polly.

    Classified Shipwreck nails the uniform perfectly!  In addition, in the media, sometimes Shipwreck did not have his hat revealing his shaggy brown hair.  So this new figure gets both - a hair piece with the hat, and one without.  Nice!  Shipwreck also sports 2 tattoos... one that is older and maybe a little fuzzy, and a crisper, newer one.

    Realistically, the flintlock pistol would not be very effective battling Cobra... but it is iconic to his figure.  Here Shipwreck gets both the flintlock and a standard military pistol to use.  Very cool, now he can use whichever one suits him at the time... or both if you want!

    The boarding hooks...  Well, I guess I never really understood how those worked back in the day.  However, Now they have given Shipwreck a grappling hook, which I assume could be used for "boarding" as well.  Unfortunately, for whatever reason, Hasbro does not provide you with a string or "rope" to go with it.  So I got my own... thank you very much Hasbro.

    Finally, you get Polly.  No Shipwreck could ever be considered complete without his trusty parrot companion.  Polly looks sculpted well enough and they were clever to give him a "peg-leg" to attach him to Shipwreck's shoulder or wrist.  It would have been cool though, if Polly was outfitted with extra wing accessories like Spirit's eagle Freedom, but it is what it is.

Final Rating...

    Classified Shipwreck is definitely a faithful re-creation of the original figure along with some nice upgrades!!  I prefer to display my figure with the shaggy hair and the flintlock pistol.  I also like to place Polly on his shoulder like the original card art (you would break Polly's feet if you attempted to do this with the original figure).  This figure is getting handed an excellent rating of 5 out of 5 Salty Dogs!!!  (I dunno...  He called Cutter a salty dog in the Marvel comic).  I really like this figure!

    What do you think of this figure?