Crimson Guard Retro GI Joe Classified Series Walmart Exclusive Review
Affiliate links in post. See Disclosure Policy.
Check out our in hand review of the Walmart Exclusive Crimson Guard Retro GI Joe Classified Series figure plus we compare him to his vintage and version 1 release.
The Walmart exclusive GI Joe Classified Series Crimson Guard’s have not shipped yet from the big box retailer known for destroying the packaging we love but I have the Toy Sorceress for hooking me up with this figure! She score this figure early from Frank and Son’s so we can provide this review for you! In a surprise reveal San Diego Comic Con 2023, we saw that the Crimson Guard will be coming to the GI Joe Classified Series Retro Cardback line, which was shocking because we still had not received the version release in hand yet and the figure already looked retro inspired to begin with. Those days are behind us now as we dive into the details and compare the Retro Crimson Guard with his vintage counterpart from 1985 and his version 1 GI Joe Classified Series release.
Packaging
The Retro Crimson Guard is a literal blast from the past featuring the extra large classic cardback styling with an updated illustration on the front. You can see the Crimson Guard in all of this glory as he is displayed on a clear bubble (no plastic free packaging here!)! The cross sell shows the upcoming Storm Shadow, Zartan, and Snake Eyes figures, which will be great to add this small sub-line.
File Card
The file card is ginormous and it is translated into 4 other languages, which takes up most of the space on the file card. The illustration is the same as the art on the front and it really pulls on those nostalgic strings.
YouTube Review
We also did a review, which you can view on your Toy Habits YouTube channel.
Figure Details
The Retro Crimson Guard has a brighter crimson paint app with some other small paint app changes that were updated throughout the figure so let’s take a closer look at the figure and show you some of the details!
This version of the Crimson Guard has me perplexed as the paint app and other details on the figure deviate from the vintage figure (which we take a look at below). That said, this figure looks amazing from all angles and we love the classic throwback nature to the first Crimson Guard that came out in 1985.
From all angles, this figure brings back so many feels from the 1980’s and they did a great job putting the silver accents in all of the right places. You can also see the silver stripes running down the legs but they are mostly covered up by the holster and the knife sheath.
The faceshield is painted silver with a black visor, giving it a very distinct look! The insignias and ranks really pop against the brighter crimson color and look fantastic! The classic Cobra symbol also stands out against his chest and looks amazing in 6″ scale!
The silver rope around his right shoulder is a nice touch and really makes figure look premium! The Cobra symbol on the left arm is perfect and adds that extra splash of nostalgia.
Moving down to the lower half of the figure, there are some small paint apps on the front of the waist but nothing to see from behind.
Weapons and Acessories
The Crimson Guard comes with a pistol, a small knife, a sword, sheath, and his retro inspired AK48A rifle with bayonet, and a red backpack with a silver Cobra symbol on the back.
The sword fits nicely in the sheath and can attach to his backpack or you can plug into a port on the left side of his belt.
The small knife has a very detailed handle that has a snake on the end of the handle.
The pistol has some nice texturing to it and it also has a port for blast effects, which you can see down below. The pistol fits snug in the red holster and the black gun really stands out against the crimson color.
The AK48A with bayonet looks awesome and can be stowed on the backpack pack as well!
These blast effects from with the Viper 3-Pack and look amazing when attached to the pistol and the AK48A. The only limitation is that the larger smoke effects can’t attach to the front of the assault rifle because the bayonet gets in the way.
Vintage and Version 1 Comparisons
It’s a Crimson Guard party as we compare this version with his vintage counterpart from 1985 and the version 1 release from the GI Joe Classified Series.
Vintage Figure
First, starting off with his vintage figure counterpart, the Crimson color is much brighter on the Retro Cardback version than the original release. It’s so bright that it had me wondering if they should have used the darker paint app on the v1 release instead of this one. You can see the detail on the backpack that mirrors the vintage release and the red holster on the side. That is about where the similarities end as the face shield on the Retro Cardback version is painted silver and not black like the vintage figure.
Version 1 Release
The similarities and differences really stand out when you put the version 1 release next to the Retro figure. Most notably is the brighter crimson color on the Retro figure.
One interesting thing to note is the angles on face shield on the Retro figure really stand out with the silver paint app. You can also see that they swapped out the color of the visors that go over the eyes on each figure with the opposite colors. The Retro figure also has a very nice silver paint app on the rope as well as his ranks on his shoulders.
The main difference in the packout between the Retro and version 1 release is the inclusion of a figure stand and the red backpack. All of the other accessories are the same.
Be sure to check out GI Joe Shop Pages where you can find handy links to buy all your favorite GI Joe figures, vehicles and playsets!
