Grunt is a GI Joe who doesn’t get much hype due to his generic look compared to his more colorful comrades, but I’ve always had a soft spot for him. It helps that I’ve been invested in GI Joe since the beginning of Marvel comics and he was heavily featured early on. And then he also had a big starring role in one of the best GI Joes cartoon episodes.
I don’t remember Grunt falling into my order to collect Real American Hero O13, but I liked the fact that he was a Joe everywhere he was just a consistent, steady soldier.
Given the better looking Joes, I figured it would be a while before Grunt got his Classified series figure, but Hasbro clearly has some love for the original line. Let’s see if Joe’s logo becomes such a memorable and exciting figure.
Wrap: I miss the window packaging, but I love those cleverly designed images on the front. The Grunt one is perhaps my favorite because it’s a homage to one of the chapters of Snake Eyes’ origin where Grunt, Rock N Roll, Scarlett and Snake Eyes are on a mission that goes horribly wrong and the Crashing helicopter destroys Snake Eyes’ face.
It’s an incredibly deep cut and shows the love of knowledge embedded in the images and characters themselves. The corner shows all the accessories included and a portrait of Grunt below. Your preference may vary.
On the skill chart code, Grunt rolls a base 1 in everything from infantryman to small arms, melee combat, and artillery.
Resemblance: Grunt uses the Stalker base, which is a cool nod to the original Joes basically sharing a few molds. This helps give it that vintage look with the ribbed collar and cuffs and basic boots.
His head is well sculpted. I love the determined, focused expression that makes him look like he’s willing to do whatever it takes to take down Cobra.
Considering how reusable Stalker is, I really wish Hasbro would go the route it did with Tripwire, where you can swap out parts for a more classic look. I like the idea of the web gear with the abundance of pouches and the flip-up data pad, but I wish Hasbro had also included the existing classic harness used for Stalker to go with a complete classic look.
This modern look isn’t bad, but I really like that Grunt has such a basic, simplistic look. Grunt’s harness is packed with details with four magazine pouches, the Joe Pro, a sheath for his knife paying homage to the original look, a flip-up data pad, and a card with his E-4 rank and last name of Graves. .
Grunt has a separate belt that tends to rotate. You’ll of course know you’ve got it facing the right way when the Hasbro H is in the front. Nice classic scream. This places the holster near the back of his left hip.
Although he has thigh boots and pouches like Stalker, they are different to mix up the visuals slightly. The right has a slightly larger pocket than the left.
Paint: Grunt’s outfit didn’t cause much stress for the painting team, but the Classified Series team found some cool ways to provide additional decorating opportunities.
Grunt’s harness also has detailed paint with a touch of black on the side pouches. The American flag on his gear is tiny and the stripes line up better than I expected. Sure, there are no stars, but that would be extremely difficult to do for something the naked eye could barely make out anyway.
His pouches actually have green paint for the buckles and zippers. It’s a nice touch. The gloves are two-tone with some green accents to mix in the brown.
Finally, he doesn’t have lipstick issues or wonky alignment of face paint with tight applications to his eyebrows, eyes, and lips.
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Ladder: Grunt is the definition of the average Joe, so he fits in very well with his fellow O13 Joes and looks up to guys like Gung-Ho, Roadblock, and Sgt. Slaughter.
Joint: Hasbro’s marching orders with the line were basically to make the smoothest, easiest to pose detailed 6″ figure.
Grunt’s articulation is just as good as Stalker’s thanks to the harness not interfering with mid-torso movement. This is something that is problematic with the Firefly ver range. 1 and Beach Head, so it’s nice to see Hasbro talked about it this time.
Grunt has:
- head
- neck
- shoulders (butterfly)
- elbow (double joint)
- wrist
- wrist hinge
- mid-torso
- torso
- size
- hips (ball jointed)
- lower your hips
- knees (double jointed)
- ankles
Accessories: Grunt is packed with plenty of accessories as well as a few metrics to make him an army builder as well.
He has a pistol that fits in the rear hip holster.
Next comes his classic backpack. It’s not too complex and it’s just basic support for all of his gear on a mission.
This time, Grunt’s knife is removable. It is stored in the sheath of his harness.
To complete the classic look, Grunt offers the standard headset we’ve seen so far with Rock N Roll and Roadblock. I like the idea of a uniform helmet for the Joes and this one has enough detail to not look too boring.
When it comes to weapons, Grunt has some fun equipment. He gets his M-16 with a removable clip. The plastic on the gun is soft because the barrel has been bent.
Finally, he gets another vintage weapon with the standard laser rifle from the cartoon. This is a very good secondary weapon, unless you plan to use the last attachment.
Grunt also has a Steel Corps style helmet with polarized lens.
It completely covers the face, making Grunt a viable option for Joe’s army build.
It’s worth it? Grunt might be the best value Joe of the year since Target immediately had it for $11.99 instead of the dance where you have to wait for them to drop below $24.99.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10
Grunt is a very good figure with some interesting additions to make him more than just a basic Joe with a great price tag that makes him an easy candidate for Joe Figure of the Year.
Where to get it? For Grunt, the best option is Target, which has it in-store for $12. In the absence of Target, you can also pick it up on Amazon or Entertainment Earth.
As an Amazon, Entertainment Earth, and Target Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.