REVIEW: GI Joe 25th Anniversary - Pilot Scarlett

25th Anniversary Pilot Scarlett | Produced by Hasbro | Released October 2008

Scarlett first learned Martial Arts from her father and three brothers, who are all Martial Arts instructors. She began her training at age nine and was awarded a black belt at 15. She graduated summa cum laude from two Ivy League universities and went on to excel in training courses at all four branches of the armed forces. The Cobra organization often mistakes her for just a pretty face rather than a member of the elite GI Joe team, which makes her perfect for undercover missions, on which she uses various aliases. She is a naturally gifted pilot who has flown in some of the most advanced military aircraft in the world and is one of the GI Joe team's helicopter pilots.

Pilot Scarlett 25th Anniversary International Glenda O'Hara What?

Pilot Scarlett (as I'll call her from now on) comes from 2008's Wave 11 from the GI Joe 25th Anniversary series. Technically she's also from the ''International Collection,'' which basically means she's not the usual Scarlett. Allow me to 'splain: Hasbro license the GI Joe figures to various territories around the world and, as part of that deal, the characters are often localised. In Britain, for example, the ''Action Force'' characters come from a number of different countries (rather than the Joes, who are purely an American team) and in Brazil, Scarlett is the team's pilot, known as Glenda.(albeit with a new head sculpt.) This figure is an amalgamation of her various varying appearances, with the familiar Scarlett head and the blue-and-white of Glenda combined. So now you know and knowing... well, you know.

Packaging Shots

Pilot Scarlett

Although not as lifelike or well-made as the more recent figures, there are some of the 25th Anniversary GI Joes that don't look too out-of-place beside the Rise/Pursuit of Cobra figures and Pilot Scarlett certainly falls into this category.

The basic sculpt is pretty good. Although Hasbro has (wisely) avoided oversexualising her with a low-cut top or overly-large breasts, she has enough of the feminine about her to set her apart from the male Joes. Granted, a lot of her female silhouette is masked by her flight gear (and when her helmet is in place, at first glance she could be mistaken for a member of the GI Joe Junior Brigade) but her slighter frame and stature certainly set her apart from the guys.

Scarlett's face is certainly that of a woman. Again, Hasbro has done a good job of making her look plausible as a combatant but also retained her female looks. I especially like the way her hair has been sculpted in a French braid, a good combination of practical and decorative.

The flight suit looks good, even if it is a simply-designed look. There's not much in the way of storage space or detail on her fatigues (which are a little tighter than the guys tend to wear...) but it's augmented with a few nice details - she's clearly a girl who knows how to accessorise!

Her gauntlet-like gloves may not really be standard military issue but they do break-up what could have been a pretty plain design. There's a nice detail here: two Shuriken on her left wrist, a little nod to her Martial Arts background. It's too bad they're simply molded on, but then again, that could have perhaps been accessory overkill. 

Her lower legs are clad in what I assume are those straps used by pilots to avoid blacking-out under high G turns (by restricting blood flow to the legs) although if anybody knows better, let me know. Again, they break-up the limb's shape well and add some detail to the figure.

Articulation isn't to the level seen in the more recent figures, with knees that consist of a single joint (rather than the double-joint used in more modern Joes.) As a result her legs are restricted to bending to about 90 degrees, so she can't kneel back on her haunches, for example. However, she's still pretty limber and you'll probably be able to pose her in any stance you see fit to try.

There's no waist articulation but her torso does feature a joint. Unfortunately the flight vest tends to restrict movement here though. Aside from that though, her articulation is pretty good.

Scarlett's paintwork isn't bad. I like that it's a pretty muted colour scheme, but the application is a little sloppy. The harnesses on her flight gear are painted white (on blue plastic) but in many places they just stop-short or are very broadly painted. Her face is good, though and the paint app is clean here.

Extras

Pilot Scarlett includes a pistol and her trademark crossbow pistol, both produced in a very cheap-looking drab green (I've since replaced her weapons with a black plastic pistol I had as a spare from another Joe and it looks much better). There's a pilot's helmet that's not a bad cast and the paintwork - if a little cartoony - is cleanly applied. She also includes a blue parachute pack and her own stand.

The core uniform is augmented with a removable flight vest/harness. I didn't attempt to take it off fully though, as it looks as if it could be awkward to get back on. It's an OK accessory but I'd have preferred to see the a working holster (rather than the gun-molded-in one as seen her), so her sidearm could be stored there and a more lifelike palette would have been a bonus, too.

Final Thoughts

I'm not a fan of the older-style of GI Joe figures: I find the colour-schemes are too neon-bright and they're too ''big'' as characters. I much prefer the more muted approach seen in the Pursuit of Cobra line, which adds an element of realism without losing the core Joe-ness. I do, however, quite like this version of Scarlett. Whilst she's maybe a little day-glo compared to some of the other guys, she's not so over-the-top as to appear out-of-place and she's certainly more lifelike than, say, Tunnel Rat.

It's nice also to have some women in the line. I know the Rise of Cobra figures included a number of the female Joes (and Cobra's Baroness) but so far, the Pursuit... line has consisted purely of males. I'm not sure why that is, given that the GI Joe team's ranks feature a number of female characters and even the header cards describe them as ''a unit of  highly-trained men and women.'' Oh well.

Hopefully we'll see some of the ladies putting-in an appearance soon in the Renegades line. Until then, though, Pilot Scarlett is certainly a solid addition to the line-up.

Scores

Sculpt	B+
Paint	C+
Articulation	C+
Production Quality	C+
Final Score	B-

Image Gallery