Presenting the G.I. Joe Arctic Trooper Snow Job from the G.I. Joe Arctic Ambush 50th Anniversary Exclusive Action Figure 2-Pack [Featuring Snow Job vs. Arctic B.A.T.] by Hasbro.
According to his filecard, Snow Job is Staff Sergeant Harlan W. Moore, a “major Olympic Biathlon contender. He enlisted initially for the special training and support privileges that the army gives to Olympic champions. However, to the consternation of Army PR flacks, Snow Job volunteered and was accepted into the G.I. Joe team. Qualified expert: all NATO long-range marksman rifles, XMLR-3A laser rifle.”
Speaking of laser rifles, when the first G.I. Joe Snow Job figure came out in 1983, I considered him a chase figure and struggled to get one because he was one of the few G.I. Joe action figures that carried the laser rifle that the Joes used in the cartoons.
Anyway, aside from being an expert marksman and Olympic level skier, Snow Job is known for pulling scams. In the G.I. Joe comic books, Snow Job was able to scam Rock’N’Roll out of a few bucks in order to date the sister of Gung-Ho – who was, yes, a model, but who also happened to be 9 years old. This particular Snow-Job is a reissue of the G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Snow Job . He came in a two-pack along with a Cobra Arctic Battle Android Trooper.
PROS
FIRST: Just like the G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary Lowlight, Snow Job comes with a LOT of accessories and is one of the few G.I. Joes that can carry all of them.
The 50th Anniversary G.I. Snow Job main armament is a Czechoslovakia made, bolt-action, 2 round Falcon 12,7 mm calibre sniper rifle with what is most likely a Meopta Z 10x50 scope and no suppressor. (That’s gotta make a lot of noise).
Snow Job has no visible secondary weapon, not even a side-arm or knife. He does however have an ice pick that can be used in battle.
Snow Job’s backpack has a detachable rack where you can mount his rifle, the rifle’s bi-pod, a white cloth tarp, the ice-pick, a canister of gasoline, what looks like a satellite phone, a small gas-stove, and! Snow Job’s most important piece of equipment: His frying pan – which in some worlds counts as a secondary weapon. You supposedly can mount the skis on his back as well, but the studs on the back are just too small for the skis. We were able to do it with blue-tack.
CONS
Unfortunately there are more cons than pros with this figure.
FIRST: Snow job cannot really hold his rifle. This is because Snow Job does not have the modern wrist articulation that most of the new figures have, and because of the Falcon sniper rifle’s bullup design which puts the magazine and action in the buttstock and its trigger mechanism is a bit more forward than most rifles. So Snow Job has to extend his arm more just to grip the rifle. Ironically, bullups are supposed to reduce the length of a weapon.
SECOND: Articulation. Even without his flak jacket - which tends to get in the way - Snow Job has a a few articulation issues. Aside from the missing wrists:
ARTICULATION:
Snow Job’s Head is mounted on a ball joint on a neck hinge but he can’t do more than turn his head because his beard prevents this.
Upper torso is also on a ball joint allowing it to swivel and tilt.
Ball jointed shoulders with swivel
Single direction elbows, no forearm swivel.
360° wrists. As mentioned, Snow Job does not have the new wrist swivels.
Waist swivel
Ball jointed legs
Double jointed, single-direction knees
Boot/ankle tilt and swivel: Snow Job’s feet cannot tilt forward or back because of the flare of his pants.
Still it is possible to get some nice ski poses out of him:
BUYER/COLLECTORS RECOMMENDATION: Well it’s not every day that you find a figure that can go camping. The rifle is really a problem and one that isn’t readily solved because you need a rifle that can be stored on his back-pack. None come to mind. But if you don’t mind that, this is a very nice modern upgrade to a classic G.I. Joe figure. A new G.I. Joe Arctic Ambush 50th Anniversary Exclusive Action Figure 2-Pack will set you back around US$17.45 on Amazon – and you get the Arctic B.A.T. as well.
It’s available HERE.