6 INCH: GNAWGAHYDE

As a kid, there were figures that I wouldn't go near. Figures I would never buy. Being a visual guy, it was often times, because of how they looked. Sometimes, it was their personality from, usually, the cartoon. If anything, I think the comic had a greater impact of who I wanted than the cartoon. As an older adult, as compared to a younger adult (2002 Theme Year me vs almost 25 years later Classified me), apparently my tastes and interests have changed. 

When it comes to THIS guy, good lord. That was one ugly figure. I understand that Hasbro started to work on facial expressions. Now, one has to understand, there was a point in my experience when I realized the faces of the GI Joe figures didn't look anything like the drawn card art, the cartoon or the comic. To be specific, I think I was looking at my beloved Falcon figure and realizing he doesn't look like his card art. That realization helped kill my love and interest. This same sort of brain cell firing is what made me lose love for Star Wars, but in some ways, I knew right off the bat but continued to put up with it. (ie; Stormtroopers can't turn their heads. why not? And then, why aren't there knee and elbow joints? I can't pose them like in the movies!)

What Hasbro was able to accomplish with the Theme Year era, in some ways to me, is pretty magical. The head sculpts got better. For the most part, the sizing was decent. It was only on occasion big head or small heads would show up. Back to the subject at hand, Gnawgahyde was not only ugly in his original form, but I felt he suffered from the big head aspect. Yet, Hasbro made a Classified version of Crocodile Mile and my weird azz chose to purchase him. I even had vague ideas of what I wanted to do with him. I haven't had him long, but I think I bought him in hopes that I'd come up with ideas for him in the my JoeVerse. Don't get me wrong here. I accept that Gnawgahyde is a character in the standard JoeVerse and that he is a Dreadnok. I'm not changing that. 

All that aside, I've stated before I was trying not to go the Dreadnok route. Either I didn't want to get into them because I'd feel the need to write them in properly into my JoeVerse. Also, I was kind of trying to figure out how to MTF 'em, which I feel would be incredibly difficult. With the Vietnam figures by MTF, I think it might be more doable to make Dreadnoks. I'm still on the fence about purchasing the whole slew of them. I'd like the original 3; Torch, Ripper, Buzzer. I suppose if Hasbro finally makes Thrasher, that'll be the catalyst for me to dive in. (Cuz I want a Thrasher)

This figure isn't bad. I can't say he's my cup of tea, but he's different enough that I'm sure I can make him work. Certainly, he fits in with other non-military/exotic figures; Crystal Ball, Shadow Tracker, Raptor, Mindbender, etc. 

At the moment, Gnawgahyde has no real role in the Zedd Universe other than he's a Dreadnok and he just does whatever his file card says he does.