Sunday, March 9, 2014

Review 1: Hot Toys "G.I. Joe Retaliation" 1/6 Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock Collectible Figure

Roadblock is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and cartoon series. He is the G.I. Joe Team's Heavy Machine Gunner and debuted in 1984. Roadblock is one of the most prominent African-Americans in the series. Roadblock's real name is Marvin F. Hinton and he was born in Biloxi, Mississippi. His primary function in G.I. Joe is as a heavy machine gunner and his secondary function is as a cook. He is portrayed by Dwayne Johnson in the 2013 film "G.I. Joe: Retaliation".

In the film, Roadblock is second-in-command to Duke, and is among the survivors of the military air-strike on G.I. Joe orchestrated by Zartan, who was at the time posing as the President of the United States. Leading Flint, Lady Jaye, Snake Eyes and Jinx, Roadblock successfully stops Cobra by beating Firefly in combat, and using his briefcase to stop the Cobra Zeus satellites. Roadblock later vows to avenge Duke by capturing the Cobra Commander.


This is my first part review of the recently released Hot Toys "G.I. Joe Retaliation" 1/6th scale Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock 12-inch tall Collectible Figure, which was part of my February 2014 haul (posted HERE). One of the nice things of this figure (for me) is the amazing details of his tattoos which were not covered in the preview pictures (posted HERE). Scroll down to see the pictures :)



Hot Toys "G.I. Joe Retaliation" 1/6th scale Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock 12-inch tall Collectible Figure comes with: Authentic and detailed fully realized likeness of Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock in his military uniform and armor in the G.I. Joe Retaliation movie. He stands approximately 30 cm tall and his Muscular body has over over 30 points of articulations. Three (3) pairs of interchangeable gloved palms including: One (1) pair of fists, One (1) pair of palms for holding gun, One (1) pair of relaxed palms. His Costume consists of: One (1) military camouflage uniform with tactical armor vest, One (1) black t-shirt, Two (2) holsters. Weapons: One (1) machine gun, One (1) pair of brass knuckles, One (1) pair of daggers attachable to the brass knuckles, One (1) knife attachable to the brass knuckles, One (1) baton attachable to the brass knuckles, Two (2) pistols attachable to the brass knuckles. One (1) pistol with silencer. Accessories: One (1) wrist watch, One (1) electronic device, Figure stand with Roadblock nameplate and the movie logo


Hot Toys "G.I. Joe Retaliation" 1/6th scale Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock 12-inch tall Collectible Figure straight out of the box. Scroll down to see the turnaround views / images. Hot Toys improved on the uniform by making it tighter to show off his ripped and bulging muscles.


Close-up pictures / shots of Hot Toys "G.I. Joe Retaliation" 1/6th scale Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock head sculpt. It doesn't get any better than this in terms of likeness and resemblance to the actor Dwayne Johnson who plays Roadblock. I noticed that both ROCK and Roadblock begins with "R" which is stenciled onto his tactical armor vest.


Roadblock's tactical armor vest is very well designed and I really like the details on it. At the back of the armor vest there's a stencil of a skull and bones as well.


Hot Toys figures almost always comes with the all important Instruction Sheet and Roadblock is no different. There are instructions to tell you how to put the accessories on the figure, how to remove the tactical armor vest and uniform top in order to switch to the black T-shirt and also how to assemble the weapon parts as well as what not to do with the head and body. Click on the picture below for a bigger and better view.


There's even an additional instruction to caution you on the zipper. Just take note that the 1/6 scale zipper works the same way as the 1/1 scale (actual size) zipper. You have to align the two ends before you can zip it up.


When you remove both the tactical armor vest and uniform top, you will discover that there's a plastic sheet wrapped around 12-inch Roadblock's body. No, this is not part of his slimming regime but I think a means to protect the tattoo from being rubbed off the body.


Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has two tattoos and so does Hot Toys "G.I. Joe Retaliation" 1/6th scale Roadblock 12-inch tall Collectible Figure. It's cool that Hot Toys reproduced / replicated Dwayne Johnson's tattoos in 1/6 scale. One is a modern single design of a bull on his right upper arm. However, his second tattoo was a departure from modern tattoo design, being a traditional Samoan style of tattoo all over his left shoulder. (source: Special Tattoos) Scroll down to see the tattoo body of 1/6 scale Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock :)


The bull head tattoo on Johnson’s right arm corresponds to his Western zodiac birth sign of Taurus, the Brahma Bull. The tattoo is a long-horn type of steer and is a fairly straightforward outline style of design. The eyes of the bull are also colored in red.


The tattooing on his left arm and shoulder is traditional Samoan style tattooing, done by Po’oino Yrondi – a famous Tahitian tattooist in Hawai’i. It incorporates traditional tribal patterns and symbols representing Johnson himself, his wife and daughter, his family and spirit guides. This extensive half sleeve wraps all the way around the upper arm, over the shoulder and onto the chest. A later session extended the section on his chest, adding a large symbolic warrior face over his heart.


What Does Dwayne’s Polynesian Tattoo Mean? In early 2003, Dwayne traveled to Hawaii to have his family history tattooed on him — a Samoan tradition. He reveals the meanings of his tattoo on the Special Tattoos site HERE.

Related posts i.e. other 1/6 scale bodies with tattoos:
May 3, 2008 – Chow Yun-Fat as Sao Feng, "Howling Wind" in "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" by Hot Toys reviewed HERE
March 3, 2010 – Hot Toys MMS113 "Blade II" 1/6 scale Wesley Snipes as Blade Collectible Figure (pictures HERE)
June 29, 2010 – Brother Production presents Revenge of the Replicant posted HERE
July 9, 2010 – Triad Toys EBS Tyrus 12-Inch Figure also came with tattoos (pictures HERE)
December 24, 2010 – Brother Production "Dirty Johnny" (Bruce Willis as John McClane) figure (reviewed HERE)
October 2, 2013 – Hot Toys The Expendables 2 1/6 scale Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross 12-inch Figure posted HERE

NEXT: Hot Toys "G.I. Joe Retaliation" 1/6th scale Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock Collectible Figure brandishing his firearms (a look at the accessories that come with this figure).

1 comment:

Gorgon said...

Incredible likeness. gone were the days when you had to guess. heheh. having official license also helps. heheh