FSS 4.0 - Sneak Peek, Outback, and...

Sometimes it's all about the timing.

Everyone who signed up for the FSS 4.0 figures has been patiently waiting and wondering when the last three figures would drop. Once thew shipping schedule got really rolling, they should have come out during the annual convention. Realistically? No, I didn't expect them, but it would have been cool for the folks at home to get them while the convention was rolling. <evil laugh>

It seemed like it took forever! There was finally an email that stated that they would be shipping around July 22nd. Then there was another email that stated that they would ship during the last week of July.

Well, damn... That worked out pretty well for me! With my little side diversion of my quadruple bypass surgery, the arrival of the figures late in July was just what the doctor ordered. Well, maybe not the doctor, but it was a nice bit of fun during the early stages of my recovery. Shoot, I even walked up to the mail box all by myself to grab them.

Okay, you may ask... "Tom, how long are you going to milk this open heart surgery thing?" I've got a seven inch scar along the center of my chest; I'm running with this for a long time! I've frikkin' earned it!

Anyway, let's get to the figures. Fred and Justin will probably do much longer and more in depth reviews, I'm just going to touch on quick highlights and thoughts. As of this date, I'm beating both of them to online reviews! I'll take my victories where I can get them!

First up is Tiger Force Sneak Peek. Interesting build by the Club and very effective as well. Like most of the Cub figures, there's a great deal of reuse of parts. There's really nothing new from the figure itself. Airborne head and helmet, Snake Eyes torso, Shock Trooper arms and legs, Scrap Iron vest. But it all works well together. Sneak Peek is a good, solid build. I like the color pallet of the Tiger Force theme. Right now, this is the only modern update of Sneak Peek out there. He's slated for another release during FSS 5.0, supposedly in his more traditional colors and maybe with a different vest.

The only new piece with Sneak Peek is his periscope. Brand new item from the Club and it works well. Nicely sculpted, Sneak Peek gets his iconic piece of equipment. The other stuff is okay, nothing too impressive. The M-16 is a bit dated and the radio and binoculars are nice pieces.

Overall, Sneak Peek is a strong figure and one of the better figures from FSS 4.0.

Next up we have Tiger Force Outback. The color palette is actually based on the European version of Tiger Force Outback, complete with a head full of white hair and beard. The head sculpt is brand new, at least since the Zombie Initiative convention set. An excellent head sculpt by the way. Pretty standard body reuse, I think it's made up of 25th anniversary bits with the newer swivel/pivot wrists. The tiger face on his shirt is nicely done, very crisp and clean.

The gear is decent enough. Nice backpack, but the machine gun and the knife are a bit lacking. The knife is a bit too big to me. I'm sure it's fine for hacking through the jungles, but it just seems too large. The machine gun looks great, but the handle is a bit too big for his hands. Accessories are the least issue to me. If the figure is well done, I can forgive the less than stellar gear.

Another strong figure from the Club to wrap up FSS 4.0!

Next up, we have Tiger Force Jinx! Oh wait a minute... Nope. I was really expecting a Tiger Force Jinx as the 13th "mystery" figure. The early clue from the Club was that the figure would be a female character with a new head sculpt.
I really didn't care too much about spoilers, so I saw who #13 was online before I got the shipment. Much to everyone's surprise, we got a modern update of a Club original figure, Carla "Doc" Greer. The Club released her as part of a convention set several years ago, way back when they were still using the o-ring bodies.

I think she's a mix of a Lady Jaye torso with maybe RoC Cover Girl arms and legs? Whatever. The parts work well together along with a brand new head sculpt. Not having the original Carla Greer figure, I'm quite pleased that the Club has included some more diversity into the GI Joe team. Some may think that Hasbro has been less ethnically diverse than they should have been back in the 80's-90's series. Tough call, but I don't buy it. Based on the file cards, the GI Joe team was quite ethnically diverse. Whatever. Race/gender/ethnicity just needs to stop being such a big damn deal in the 1/1 world. We are who we are.

Overall, Doc is another strong figure from the Club.

The Club wrapped up FSS 4.0 on a very strong note with three very well done figures. Stay tuned for a quick look back at all of the figures from FSS 4.0!