In a generic sense, Hasbro has basically made a female counterpart to the Renegades Storm Shadow. The sculpt here is just as good as SS, the anatomy spot-on, and there are some nice extra details like the addition of a blindfold sculpted over the mask.
There are some deviations from her classic look. I originally thought that was because Jinx does share her figure with the modern Jinx from Retaliation. The figure was also available in a limited variant white deco with an unmasked, movie head sculpt and a black/yellow version will be available… sometime between now and next year. Some of the details like the covered feet, the wraps on the forearms, and the shin guards likely come from film details, but neither of them really explain why the neckline was changed.
But you know what? I don’t really mind one bit. The open neck looks fine as do the covered feet and different cuffs. I did have to laugh because the folks at Hasbro managed to find an old comic image of Jinx where her neck was obscured so there’d be no discrepancy though. Also, on a related packaging note. Jinx’s real name is still listed as classified on the file card, but the file card has to call her Kim Arashikage. Might be time to update those file cards, Hasbro…
Articulation is really good on this figure. I would say great, but the lack of thigh swivels did annoy me here or there while I was taking pictures. Jinx is pretty close to being on par with last year’s Storm Shadow. The wrists are simple swivels instead of ball-joints, but that’s understandable due to the small size. One big upgrade though is the ankles – Jinx features that new peg-in-the-foot I keep raving about. It really helps pose her because I can adjust those just about any way I need. There is one drawback here though – the peg holes are still in the heel of her feet and are too shallow for the standard stand. Oops.
Paint was similarly good. The black detailing was sharp throughout, the dragon tampo looks great, and the eyes are painted well – all that’s really not right here is the that exposed face isn’t quite painted as fully as it should be. It’s almost good enough to overlook. I know some of the pics make it look really noticeable, but luckily the head is only like a half-inch tall in real life and it looks sharp for the most part.
For accessories, Jinx includes her classic staff (it’s kinda her thing) and a pair of swords with a backpack to stow them in. I was a little disappointed by the pack because it’s not the one shown in the press images, nor is it similar to the classic one. It’s a minor nitpick, but I think she looks better with one sword over each shoulder and the backpack they substituted in leaves both swords going the same way. It still looks fine, but the press image looks better.
Overall, I’m very happy with this figure. Jinx was a big “why didn’t they make…” figure for me when the line first switched to Rise of Cobra product. I’ve still got a laundry list of Joes I want redone and I’d like to see Hasbro get back to figures like this at retail sooner rather than later, but for now I’ve at least got Club Exclusives and SDCC Exclusives to keep rounding out my collection. And there is that Joe subscription too. (man, I wish I knew what to do about that… I want to sign up, but the prices are killing me)
Anyway, long story short, Jinx is another great entry in the 25th/30th/whatever Joe collection we’ve got going. It’s awesome to be able to add her in, but perhaps even better is that Hasbro now has a great generic female ninja buck. Let’s hope it seems some use beyond Jinx.
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Nice…That peg in foot ankles is the best thing I have seen in a while..the retaliation Joe trooper has it and it works so amazingly well.
Did you know your second paragraph is repeated after the first time? Just letting ya know.
Thanks for catching that! All fixed! (Reviewapalooza can get the best of ya sometimes!)
Cool man! Yeah putting up a ton of reviews at once can be tough…Joe fest in the pg days was a production so I know all about it. You guys are doing a wonderful job with palooza however
Thanks!
This is probably my favorite “25th and up” style GI Joe.
She’s definitely up there! I’m still jaded by Lifeline though. So glad to finally have him!
At first, I was wanting a more faithful “covered neck” version, but especially after seeing her in person, I have no problem with it.
Great figure!
Careful we can’t get too slavish to vintage designs… 😉 LOL
Well it’s not like I was demanding her feet be exposed or something. 😀
Actually this figure may be what keeps me from ever buying any more GI Joe figures in the future. One of my favorites from when I was a kid, and made into a SDCC exclusive and virtually impossible to get if you didn’t go to the Con. I’ve pretty much had it with Hasbro putting the Main and Variant versions of the figures as con exclusives.
EXACTLY!
It’s even worse if you live outside the USA, like the other 95% of the population of the planet.
I’m hoping they do a “fully covered” Jinx later on. I hates holes in my collections . . . almost as much as I hate location-specific exclusives.
It is annoying to make fan faves as exclusives, I’ll give you that.
But I wouldn’t consider ≈ $30 shipped on eBay “virtually impossible to get”.
And if you refuse to use eBay?
Especially since I’ve seen so many auctions that are restricted to American buyers only?
I can see that point of view, but I think I feel more lucky towards it. The retail line has been annoying coming & going from the movie stuff (even more annoying with Transformers) so I’m happy to have something consistent to chew on. Basically, at least there’s something.
I know that’s not as easily true for folks like Beedo (& maybe you) that live outside of the country, but for me it’s better than no update figures at all.
Hope to find her next month at the toy show. Last year I saw the Zarana cards and that was it.
I had all but given up on Zarana until Vault found her last month! I don’t know that she’s worth what I paid for her (and now I feel even more like I need to get that 7pk of Dreadnoks), but I’m glad he saw her snagged her for me.
One of my regulars when I was younger, and another casualty of the “lost in storage” incident”. 🙁 I think I had all the classic female Joes, except Lady Jaye (only saw her once) and Cover Girl (couldn’t afford the tank), so it wasn’t a total plastic sausage fest.
I am annoyed that this version is another exclusive I’ll never see, like Zarana(s), but holding out hope that we do see her in the re-relaunch of the movie line, which I have noticed has already hit clearance, here. :/
One thing I would like to see in reviews like this, when you have an “update” of a classic figure, is a comparison shot of the original, even if it’s pulled from YoJoe.com or wherever (like I said in the DCIE Starman review the other day, a comparison shot with the DCD Starman), so we can see how the figure has (hopefully) improved since it was first made, whether just in general standards or what have you.
Genreals Joes’ review shows a side-by-side of the two Jinx figures:
http://generalsjoes.com/reviews/2012/exclusives/sdcc_jinx_red.html
“Comparison Time” is that Pixel guy’s thing. 😉
I would’ve taken the pic if I still had Jinx, but I’m pretty sure she was a flood-lost Joe. I can look into providing a link to a comparison shot like Xenos did, but I wouldn’t want to take their content outright.
I was talking about putting up a comparison shot (with full accreditation if possible) so we can compare how much has changed since the original first hit shelves “X years” ago. Better sculpting, and hopefully articulation, obviously, among other things.
cool, thanks. but how many variants are there? did the other guy swap the white unmasked head onto the red body? and what will the y/blk version look like? aaaarrrggghhh!!! LOL
The primary version was red, the variant version was the white movie one. Hasbro never said anything about what ratio.
The red version is just everything pictured here.
The white version had the unmasked head (the red Jinx would have short spiky hair) and different accessories.
Another stellar review, Noisy! Just one quick question though: Are you guys gonna finish reviewing the ML wave 2 figures soon, especially the BAF Zola?
Thanks! Yes, I do want to get back around to Arnim Zola. It took me awhile to finish him up and in the meantime I’ve built up a lot of “current” stuff, but Reviewapalooza is helping clear that out. I’ve talked to Vault about a “Zola Week” in the near future to get to the last five (Fantomex, Thunderball, Piledriver, Daken, & Zola himself).
I can’t sign up for the subscription… I only want Big Boa, and I can’t spend another $300 on figures I otherwise have no need for… meaning I have to live with a big boa sized hole
there are worse things, I guess
I am very lucky a friend was able to get her for me too…
Big Bad Toy Store has each of the subscription figures up individually:
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.aspx?menu=2340&company=0&category=6855
They’re worth checking up on every so often, especially as the “Sold Out” ones keep popping back into availability as other collectors re-evaluate their priorities and cancel their pre-orders.
AACK! She has become the bane of my collecting. My wife got laid off when she was offered so I had no shot at all, damnit.
Maybe someday
But I firmly beleive she should have been at regular retail.
Seconded!
Jinx is definitely one of those long awaited figures. I had the original one back in the 80s, and I’m glad to have this updated version. I was seriously tempted to buy the more rare Kim in white so I could head swap the two, but $50+ for essentially a head is a bit much. That’s 3rd party Transformer pricing. Hopefully Retaliation Jinx will have a good head I can put on SDCC Jinx.
The GI JOE Fan sub Jinx is pretty kool too, but I’m not sure I want to spend that kind of money on Joes.
Yeah, I’m thinking the same. Wait for a cheap movie Jinx to have an unmasked version of this one. 🙂
What standard stand are you using? I used the Jinx stand included that seems to be standard and she fits on it fine. Has been posed for over a month without moving at all.