G.I. Joe Classified Series Quick Kick review

Quick Kick was another immediate favorite of the original G.I. Joe A Real American Hero line. He was leaning into the big martial arts fad of the mid 1980s. Like Gung-Ho, he wasn’t afraid to go shirtless and he had a cool specialty.

In the comics he was portrayed as a formidable fighter while the cartoon made him a movie-quipping stuntman. I loved both portrayals and his figure was awesome. Quick Kick has been a character from my beloved 1985 roster I’ve been anxiously awaiting.

Let’s see if Hasbro knocked him out or if I need to send him to the moon, Amber.

Package:  Unlike McFarlane Toys, which found one packaging scheme they like and have stuck with it from the start, this is the third major change for the Classified Series line. The window is back, but now the front features a boring black color scheme with blue accents. Of course, the window allows for easily catching any paint flaws or missing/stolen parts so that’s the big win.

Hasbro made some slight enhancements to the side presentation as well. The portrait on the right side is still large and colorful. Over on the left side the skill stats are larger so I can actually make them out. And now the skills are much smaller on the back. The QR code still isn’t useful.

On the skill chart code, Quick Kicks scored 3s in martial arts, intelligence and bladed weapons and a 2 in infiltration.

I love the rear artwork, which was formerly what was on the front. It’s an action shot/render with the requisite Easter Eggs. This one is taken straight from Pyramid of Darkness with QK out in the frozen tundra walking on ice ready for battle.

In the background is Storm Shadow and a pair of leopard seals likely about to attack Alpine and Bazooka. I love this action shots and am so happy they didn’t get ditched in the package redesign.

Likeness: For the first few years, the Classified Series team straddled the line in terms of how they wanted to design the figures. Go completely new with a few nods to the Real American Hero aesthetics or simply make the RAH line in 6″ format.

At this point it’s all about the latter. Quick Kick doesn’t even have the Joe Pro communication device.

What we do get is an awesome figure completely faithful to the 1985 look. Sandals? Bah, Quick Kick is the master of his body and can shut out simple things like the cold. His head sculpt is calm without being too intense. QK’s hair flows over his headband. Over the years his hair has been different lengths. It’s not draping over his shoulders without being cropped too neatly like his RAH figure.

Quick Kick seems to have a newly sculpted muscular torso. It’s got plenty of definition while thankfully coming up smaller than the Gung-Ho torso. The red shoulder strap is no longer over his left side and drapes across his chest, a subtle change from the RAH and cartoon look.

It has detailing with stitching and fasteners. He’s got three shuriken tucked away in half sleeves. It would have amazing if they were removable, but I could see them getting lost quickly.

QK’s lined belt is similar to the original. The big difference is it’s cast in a light grey and the pockets are no longer blue. His pants have some piping, but still retain the flared-out cuffs.

A distinctive aspect to his look is the bare feet. Hasbro didn’t bother — nor need to — update the look with sandals. This is his classic look and they stuck with them. As far as bare feet go, they look fine with good individual toe sculpting. That’s all I probably need to ever state about another dude’s feet.

Paint: Despite the shirtless look, there were plenty of opportunities to botch the paint job. The headband is clean though one of the faint strands of hair has more white than black.

That is a very understandable paint flaw given how closely I needed to look to see it was off. The silver on the shuriken was very clean. Ditto for the belt buckle.

Quick Kick’s pants get a little razzle dazzle now with a pattern along the sides. The extra paint app stops at his lower thigh. I don’t hate it (?) though I would love to understand the reason for breaking up the all-black look. Assuming there’s more than just breaking up the all-black look.

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Scale:  Quick Kick was drawn in the comics and portrayed on the show as the same height as the other regular size Joes.

Articulation: I wasn’t expecting any issues with Quick Kick’s articulation and that confidence was rewarded. He’s got very fluid joints without any too stiff to move comfortably or any floppy, loose joints either.

QK’s ankle strength was important in terms of balance for high kicks. His base is solid so he can hit those kicking poses with little trouble.

The wrist hinge joint also helps convey more elaborate fighting stances.

Whether he’s battling random Cobra troopers or trying to delay Storm Shadow long enough for Snake Eyes to tag in, Quick Kick has stellar articulation.

Quick Kick has:

• head
• neck (barbell joint)
• shoulders (butterfly)
• elbow (double-jointed)
• wrist
• wrist hinge
• mid-torso
• torso
• waist
• hips (ball-jointed)
• drop down hips
• knees (double-jointed)
• ankles

Accessories: Quick Kick has a great accessory allotment. Of the ’85 squad, only Snake Eyes had better gear and that largely had to do with having a wolf sidekick.

For his Classified Series debut, QK has a pair of katanas. The grip is nicely detailed, and the pommel has a unique setup as well.

He also has a pair of nunchaku. The grips likewise have solid detailing. It would have been a nice surprise if the chain were poseable, but that likely would have warranted a higher price point.

The chain portion seems somewhat small, but a longer chain would have tough to store.

What is cool is Quick Kick’s RAH figure only came with one katana and one nunchaku, so his CS version doubles up his weapons.

That’s not all. He’s one of the rare CS figures to get swappable hands. QK has a set of fists and chop hands. It was cool of the CS team to include all the essential hand options for the Joe’s martial arts expert.

He can store the katanas on his backpack. This time it’s red and a little larger than the RAH version.

The nunchaku fit into loops on his belt. For some added fun, Quick Kick gets a shuriken-in motion effect piece. I think this is the first accessory we’ve seen like this in the CS line.

It’s a cool and well-timed use for it. This piece is sculpted in a translucent light blue with the solid piece painted silver.

In maybe the greatest hard to beat accessory for 2024, Quick Kick comes with a Frozen Fudgee bar.

This is another nod to his cartoon backstory. Bazooka will be thrilled. The individual bar bits are sculpted and there’s a touch of silver to account for the silver inner wrapping. That’s a quality add-on.

Finally, Quick Kick gets an alternate head sculpt channeling his inner Bruce Lee. The expression makes it look like QK is sizing up his opponent and has figured out his weak spot.

 

It’s hard not to see this head sculpt and not hear some random sound effects.

Worth It? Quick Kick is going for $24.99. With this accessory rollout, it’s hard to argue that he doesn’t provide a great value for the price tag.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Quick Kick is one of my favorite Joes and the CS team delivered an excellent update to the Real American Hero figure.

Where to Get It?  I’ve spotted the wave with Airborne, Quick Kick, Quick Kick is available right now on Amazon.

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