GI Joe

All posts tagged GI Joe

RETRO REVIEW – NINJA FORCE – SNAKE EYES

Posted by Mighty Mike on September 8, 2026
Posted in: Retro. Tagged: , , , .

Ninja Force was a martial arts-themed sub-line released in the early 1990s. The toys featured built-in spring-loaded “Real Ninja Action” that allowed them to perform kicks or chopping attacks. The toys also featured bright colours and divided fans at the time as it moved away from more realistic military style toys.

Name: Snake Eyes
Line: Ninja Force
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Released: 1993
Price: Then: $4.99 USD, Now: $30 – $100 USD
Scale: 3.75 Inches in height.
Accessories: Multiple weapons

When I was growing up, I didn’t get any GI Joe figures until about 1992/1993. Considered the “worst” years by most GI Joe collectors. I also didn’t get a lot of figures from these two years either. I didn’t have too many characters besides Firefly V2, Night Creeper V2 and Astro Viper V2 that I remember and a few vehicles.

But I did enjoy their small size and articulation. Fast forward to later in life, and my fondness for the Ninja Force figures has grown, so I wanted to collect the whole line and buy a lot of the toys I didn’t have. 

Thankfully at the time, these toys were still very cheap and unloved, making it not too hard to buy and complete the series.

SCULPTING

This is at least the fifth version of Snake Eyes that had been released up until that point. Overall, it’s not a badly sculpted toy in my opinion. He’s not entirely covered in all black for once. This makes it easier to see all the sculpted details on the toy.

Snake Eyes doesn’t come with the standard GI Joe legs either as the legs he does have make it easier to perform his “Ninja Action” feature. I’m curious as to if he came with the standard legs if this would make a lot of difference or not. Other than making it more difficult to use his action feature.

Comparing him to previous releases, I don’t think any of them strike me as definitive, sculpting-wise. With the exception of V2 Snake Eyes.

PAINT

There’s a little bit of blue and silver paint to break up the black plastic and highlight some details on the toy. I think it looks alright, but perhaps a darker shade of blue might suit the toy instead. However, I’m well aware that these particular GI Joe toys around this time went for brighter, the better colour schemes.

ARTICULATION

Snake Eyes has pretty much the standard GI Joe articulation with the exception of his legs. He’s still pretty easy to pose and I enjoyed playing around with him when taking photos. His “Ninja Action” feature is a  “ Basami Slice” where you squeeze his legs together and his arms will move.

ACCESSORIES

You get a number of swords and other weapons for Snake Eyes and a stand for him too. The weapons mostly fit into his hands without too much trouble, but, sometimes won’t always stay there when played with. For example, the claws don’t really like to stay on. 

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

I don’t think you will have too many issues with Snake Eyes. Unless you are buying a loose version and either he is not complete or his action feature could be broken.

PRICE

I got my Snake Eyes for a reasonable price off eBay, MOC and promptly freed him from his plastic prison. Just pay a price you are happy with.

OVERALL

This is a good figure, but unfortunately could have been better without a “Ninja Action” feature gimmick. I really think it takes away from the play value instead of adding to it. It’s still a very nice Snake Eyes toy, and I wish they had released it in all black at some point, too. I would say not essential to your GI Joe collection, unless you are collecting Ninja Force toys like me.

Like Mike’s Toy Blog on Facebook to stay up to date with new posts and content!

This page copyright 2026 Mike’s Toy Blog. All rights reserved.

RETRO REVIEW – HASBRO GI JOE NINJA FORCE – SCARLETT

Posted by Mighty Mike on July 22, 2026
Posted in: Retro. Tagged: , , , .

Ninja Force was a martial arts-themed sub-line released in the early 1990s. The toys featured built-in spring-loaded “Real Ninja Action” that allowed them to perform kicks or chopping attacks. The toys also featured bright colours and divided fans at the time, as it moved away from more realistic military-style toys.

Name: Scarlett
Line: Ninja Force
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Released: 1993
Price: Then: $4.99 USD, Now: $30 – $100 USD
Scale: 3.75 Inches in height
Accessories: Multiple weapons

When I first saw the Ninja Force toys in store, I was drawn towards them by the hot pink packaging. I picked up Night Creeper as my first figure from that series, as I really liked the look of the character, and he remains one of my favourite GI Joe toys ever.

I didn’t get too many more of the Ninja Force figures when I was younger, unfortunately, but did collect them later in life. 

I intend to cover most of the Ninja Force figures on my website at some point, and I’m starting with Scarlett.

SCULPTING

This is probably going to be a general complaint of GI Joe female toys – most of them really didn’t look that good, and Scarlett unfortunately doesn’t look as good as she could be. Compare her to the Chun Li toy also released around the same time, and they could have done a little bit more to make her look better, like they did with that figure. 

The body, however, is pretty good! Plenty of small details all over. I kinda think this was a missed opportunity to make a female asian ninja character instead. But it is what it is. 

I’m not a fan of the figure’s head sculpt, but the rest of the figure is good.

PAINT

Paint is mainly used for the details on the costume, and it’s used fairly well. You have the dark green and flesh tones, as well as black and gold for the armour. Overall, it’s very neat and not too sloppy. But sometimes you will get a bit of slop here and there.

ARTICULATION

Scarlett has most of the standard GI Joe articulation – except when it comes to her legs, which have her “real ninja action” feature of being able to kick. This limits her leg movement a little bit. Which is a shame because these figures would benefit from the standard GI Joe articulation the most.

You can still get her in a good number of poses, and she can hold most of her weapons quite well. No problems standing up either.

ACCESSORIES

Scarlett comes with a lot of weapons that are all cast in bright yellow plastic. They stand out a lot, but also some suit her too. You get a number of swords and other ninja-themed weapons. There’s a good amount of choice here.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

I don’t think you will have too many problems with this figure. The Ninja Force toys can’t be taken apart easily due to having spring-loaded features inside them. Which is a bit of a let-down, but I can understand why that is the case. However, that will make it pretty much indestructible.  

PRICE

I got Scarlett for a good price loose, and she’s not too expensive carded either, compared to other figures. Considering that Ninja Force is not necessarily liked by GI Joe fans, I don’t think you’ll have too much trouble tracking this figure down.

OVERALL

This is a good figure, but not a great one. There are things I like about it and things I don’t. It’s not the worst figure ever made, but I think a lot more work should have gone into its design. I think it’s only worth picking up if you are putting together a Ninja Force collection and aiming for completeness of that collection.

Like Mike’s Toy Blog on Facebook to stay up to date with new posts and content!

This page copyright 2026 Mike’s Toy Blog. All rights reserved.