G.I. Joe Classified Series Chuckles review
Chuckles is the fourth Joe from the 1987 Real American Hero to get a G.I. Joe Classified Series figure. It’s probably not a coincidence that three of the four were heavily featured in G.I. Joe: The Movie.
Unlike the others, Chuckles was the San Diego Comic Con 2023 exclusive figure. That meant he got the special packaging and a higher price tag.
Let’s see if the Joe’s undercover agent is another strong addition to the line or a joke of a release.
Package: As a SDCC exclusive Chuckles gets a top tier presentation. The packaging is set up like a portable device of sorts with a view screen from the Crimson Strike Team’s perspective watching Chuckles running off with their secret documents. Chuckles’ expression is hilarious and the outrage of Baroness and the Crimson Twins is pretty funny too.
The dial readout and the circuitry along the side shows how Chuckles was tapping into Extensive Enterprise communication. I really dig the clever way the packaging team incorporated Chuckles’ number in the Classified Series line.
In the interior, we get a fun Family Circus style panel making his escape from the Coconut Palm a squad of Crimson B.A.T.s armed only with a titanium briefcase.
Over on the right there’s a cool image of Chuckles making off with his spoils with what appears to be a Cobra attack helicopter in the background. Annoyingly, Chuckles skills sets aren’t anywhere on the packaging.
His bio on Hasbro Pulse is at least new:
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: guy walks into a bar on Cobra Island, the Coconut Palm to be exact. After tossing back a few with the locals this Chuckles fellow, kind of a joker, discovers there’s a hidden safe upstairs with a briefcase full of secret documents and millions in gold. So the trick is, can he nab the case and 23 skidoo without blowing his cover or will the Crimson Strike Team bring down a world of hurt on him? Either way at least he got lei’d.
Likeness: Chuckles has a new torso to show off his Hawaiin shirt and white T-shirt underneath. The figure is a pretty solid translation of the Real American Hero version.
The only new additions are the gold watch that appears to be counting down something and the Joe Pro on his belt. Chuckles has a strong stern portrait with good detailing on his hair.
That doesn’t carry over to his right hand, which oddly lacks the basic detail like sculpted fingernails. The fingers are also rounded without much separation between them even while next to each other.
Besides the right hand, the sculpt is very well done. The belt has good detail and his cargo pants, holster and sheath.
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Paint: Thanks to his floral Hawaiin shirt, Chuckles is one of the more colorful Joes. The tampo on his shirt is excellent with a vibrant pink and green leaves that stand out surprisingly well against the light blue shirt.
His green pants match up well to the original figure model.
Scale: While he was portrayed as a big mountain of a dude in The Movie, Chuckles was typically drawn in the comic like a regular height guy though still burly. His Classified Series figure is actually pretty short and slim compared to the average figure.
I suppose that makes sense that the Joes would send in a dude that isn’t physically intimidating to blend in better, but it was surprising his figure is so slender.
Articulation: Chuckles might be smaller than I’d like, but he’s got the same level of superior articulation I’ve come to expect from your regular Classified Series figure. You may want to secure the holster with some superglue to prevent it from riding up along his shoulders.
His butterfly shoulders aid with double grip on the pistol poses. The detachable hips aid in deep crouching poses as well. He’s got a pretty strong center of balance and can handle one leg poses easily enough.
Chuckles has:
- head
- neck
- shoulders (butterfly)
- elbow (double-jointed)
- wrist
- wrist hinge
- mid-torso
- torso
- waist
- hips (ball-jointed)
- drop down hips
- knees (double-jointed)
- ankles
Accessories: Chuckles has a good haul of accessories even if he’s lacking that big signature accessory to sell that he’s a deluxe/premium figure.
He’s got a set of handcuffs that will fit around Chuckles’ wrist once you remove the hands.
A neat complementary accessory is snapped handcuffs to show Chuckles is making his escape from Cobra clutches.
Next up are said swappable fists. Just in case things get hairy, these fists have brass knuckles. That’s a very cool accessory and one that can hopefully work with a figure like Big Boa.
Chuckles also has some binoculars. These have a good amount of detail and fit into his hands with no trouble. That makes sense for an undercover agent. They also attach easily to the back of his belt.
Next up are a set of sunglasses with a neat polarized red paint on the lenses. He also has a file folder with a Polaroid of the Crimson B.A.T.
Additionally, he’s got a set of headphones as Chuckles is listening in on Cobra conversations.
That listening device looks more than a little familiar as it’s based on the Soundwave mold. It’s black so maybe it’s Soundblaster?
For quieter situations, Chuckles has a knife with a bold silver blade.
To help store all the gear, Chuckles gets a brown briefcase. It opens up and can fit the majority of the accessories.
He’s also got a lei to help sell the illusion that Chuckles is just a regular tourist enjoying his vacation.
When it’s time for a firefight, he has his standard pistol. It’s well detailed as you’d expect and fits snugly into his chest holster.
Finally, he’s got an alternate portrait. This features cuts, a black eye and a missing tooth. The sunglasses help hide the battle-damaged look, but the missing tooth does prevent it from being a casual happy expression.
Worth It? Chuckles was $41.99. Cool packaging aside, Chuckles doesn’t have nearly enough to justify the deluxe price point. Scrap Iron came with an anti-tank drone and he was only $3 more.
The deluxe price Dr. Mindbender also had a somewhat questionable price, but he had a cloth robe. I like Chuckles but this was a rare surplus price just because for the Classified Series.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Chuckles is a strong figure with a ton of cool accessories. I wish he were a bit bigger and $5 cheaper since he doesn’t offer a true deluxe set of accessories like other figures.
Where to Get It? You won’t find Chuckles easily. The best hope is eBay or check Hasbro Pulse for possible restocks.