HCC788 - NUNCHUK - G.I. Joe Ninja Force/Shadow Ninjas 1992/1994 action figure review!

[@bravesirkevin]

Feel like Nunchuk's file card was written by someone who really liked the Karate Kid. It's the story of an italian kid from the greater NYC area who lands up in California where a Japanese sensei teaches him martial arts. His first name is Ralph, like Ralph Macchio. Dojo's file card also has some Karate Kid flavour.. His surname is Russo, and they talk about his smart mouth.

[@G7M9W]

Totally agree. The mention of the blind master in Denver is a good nod to the comics, since that's where *the* Blind Master was living/teaching for a time and ties Nunchuk into Larry Hama's overall Arashikage plot.

[@Tim85-y2q]

Not to mention Nunchuks are specifically associated with Okinawa.

[@freddyhat9796]

Legend has it Hasbro's first batch of Nunchuck figures actually did turn invisible but the entire production run got lost on a hot sunny day.

[@breandan3280]

His sword most closely resembles a Chinese dao saber, which is obviously not a samurai or ninja weapon at all. I had this figure as a kid, and he was a favorite. I thought the idea of a camo ninja was pretty neat.

[@affoster79]

Those Shadow Ninja weapons look supernatural. I feel like they come in handy fighting ghosts and evil spirts.

[@lo1bo2]

I'm impressed how quickly that hot/cold water gimmick worked. Thought maybe it wouldn't be as effective after so many years.

[@johnsoehnlen4781]

My favorite figure of the Ninja Force. HCC 788 is correct on his conclusions about 90s figures. After 1992, Hasbro definitely cut costs and corners or they allocated funds in the wrong way. The Shadow Ninjas tried to combine two gimmicks (spring loaded arms and color change). It was like Hasbro wanted to combine Ninja Force with the Eco Warriors. However, the gimmicks were fun for us early 90s kids. Ninja Force helped turn a lot of us away from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to G.I.Joe (as long as we stayed away from the DIC series). The weapons trees were cheap but they provided us with extra weapons for our older joes. The spring loaded missile launchers were fun. The spring loaded arms were fun too. Hasbro cut costs and corners in 1982 and 1983 at the beginning and did it again in 1993 and 1994 at the end.

[@Tim85-y2q]

I always liked this figure the most of the Ninja Force subline (though the update of Storm Shadow is pretty good too.) It sounds weird, but he looks exactly like how I imagine "a ninja in the army" should look.

[@Toybountyhunter1974]

One of the very last figures I ever got was V1 of Nunchuk. By the time he came out I was a teen and was only collecting figures which means Nunchuk is still on my shelf and in minty shape as he was never played with....well...ahem...never played with in any rough way.

[@DreamMadeProductions]

Another awesome vid. I had largely dropped out of GI Joe by 1992 and was long gone by 1994. After the figures and vehicles stopped resembling realistic military I moved on. My cousin had some Ninja Force but not Nunchuk so it is interesting to see it. If not for the gemic he would at home with a lot of the more realistic figures in the 80s. Drop the sword for pistol or rifle and you would have had good side kick to classic Snake Eyes. Too bad they went and ruined it with the color change. Looking forward to the next one.. and to the return of Cobra Convergence.

[@andrewandrew4568]

Great video as always. I was out of GI Joe by this time but the ninja craze could not be stopped. Who needs guns for your army men when you have bits of wood attached together with a chain?

[@Canoby]

I'm subbed to several real world melee weapons discussion channels that cast much doubt upon nunchukus as practical weapons, but I have to admit this guy was one of my more favorite Ninja Force figs

[@calanon534]

It's one of those things that will be debated until the end of time, because I highly doubt anyone is going to get into a real fight with nunchukus versus near-peer weapons and near-peer adversaries in real life, playing for keeps. Especially in Arizona. It's the same debate gun guys have over Mouse Guns (calibers .22LR, .25ACP and .32ACP) versus "real calibers" (9x19mm Para and larger). While Mouse Guns have indeed been proven effective enough to defend or take life, you're going to have that one group of people who will forever say "anything smaller than a .45 isn't going to do the job!" and then whip out ballistics charts to prove their point.

[@benzero75]

Every figure on that back of that card was awesomely detailed and high quality. 1992 was a good year.

[@johnsoehnlen4781]

Absolutely agree with you. That was the year I really got into collecting G.I JOE.

[@brushstroke3733]

Nunchuck was just released for GI Joe Classified today. Knowing nothing about him, I came straight to HCC788 to learn his history. Your channel is a great resource for all Cobra (and Joe) fans! Cobra converge!!!

[@Reycalaverax]

this was my life as a kid i loooove them

[@drozwalker9]

These 90s reviews are introductions to new characters and gimmicks within GI Joe for me. However, watching Ninja movies either in the theater or on cable TV was a common thing during weekends.

[@willarms5510]

The real shame about Nunchuk having his action gimmik instead of standard articulation is that he would have made a great stand in (in say, my collection) for the later Devil's Due character Kamakura. I've always wondered is Nunchuk was in any way some visual inspiration for Kamakura.

[@Pegwarmers]

Great Episode! It's always good to see Ninja Force get some love.

[@reginaldchesterfield8110]

“Because denver is where you go to train for mystic fighting” hahahahhahaha 😂🤣😅

[@violagreene4643]

This is the one Ninja Force review I've been looking forward to.

[@VorpalDerringer]

Here's a hot take: Nunchuk is a better ninja figure than the Ninja force versions of Snake Eyes or Storm Shadow, any of the other ninja force figures on either side, Snake Eyes v4, Jinx, and Storm Shadow V1. Why? He has camouflage. Snake Eyes V1, 2, and 3 are all in black, they're trying to blend into shadows, Storm Shadow v2 has some kind of camouflage going on, and then Nunchuk. All these other "ninjas" are really martial artists who aren't planning on sneaking around. Nunchuk V1 is a great figure burdened by a poorly designed nunchaku weapon which can break, like mine did. This does leave him with his awesome looking sword, thought, I liked the sword. The inviso-power gimmick is...just sad. When you look at the half dozen bandwagoning attempts Hasbro did, the sub-teams, the gimmicks...It gets cheap and reeks of desperation. In the 80's, Hasbro was leading the way with o-ring figures and loads and loads of vehicles and playsets. And they're reduced to following trends not making them. Nunchuk showed the potential Ninja Force had and wasted.

[@Kuikkamies]

Nunchuck was a great toy in the bath and shower, where he would meld with the water and attack unsuspecting enemies. The pink made him pop more on the store shelf, and that's why I picked it up. Snake Eye was a shelf warmer here, because he was dull grey,

[@lordsubziro2824]

Great review as always. I believe the point placed before the word 9mm normally represens the symbol for the word "caliber", not a decimal point. But, since the words caliber and millimeter are different diameters on bullets, it might be just a misprint on the file card. Of course I'm not an expert, just an average Joe (even though that's not my name).

[@christopherlacher3544]

Can't wait to see what's in store for COBRA CONVERGENCE this year bro!! Glad you are back in the swing of things.

[@mechaman7818]

5:48 This joke pleased me greatly.

[@Eternalclassic]

Great review. Nunchuk V2 looks like it could glow in the dark. Yo Joe!

[@D3rpp00l]

"Get me closer! I wanna hit em with my chucks!" -Nunchuk riding on the Battlewagon (Probably...)

[@lesteralvarez903]

Good review. This figure is really good for a 1992 figure. He reminds me of the Karate Kid. Wax On... Wax Off...

[@bcbarnes82]

i totally agree with you regarding 90s joes. cynicism and apathy seemed to have crept into the line. constant repaints, fad chasing and gimmicky subteams looked like a money grab from a corporation that had lost the way with its flagship brand. just look at the filecards and blueprints from that era filled with patronising dumbed down language.

[@manofaction1807]

The DIC cartoon did them no favors...

[@johnsoehnlen4781]

@@manofaction1807 I'm so glad I never saw it as a kid. It would have ruined G.I.JOE for me.

[@manofaction1807]

@@johnsoehnlen4781 It did more to ruin more for the brand then anyone will ever acknowledge.

[@BillLionaire12]

Just got the classified version today...awesome figure!

[@jerryrichburg2458]

I guess I just got home from work. Good to see you again.

[@mikaelschaefer7720]

Loved ninja force hated shadow ninja like you said not like I was running around dropping figures in water all the time unless it was bath time wave one I just hated the less move ability for a dumb gimmick I could do on my own a karate chop

[@Th3Xp3rt]

I liked his converse sneakers, logo on the inside as was typical. Or, as the file card would have probably said; Convert baseball shoes.

[@robvegas9354]

Great figure. The ninja gimmick kind of holds him back from being awesome though. I got all of first batch of the ninja force in one go with money from a paper round back then. Never got any of the colour change dudes though. Great video!!!

[@marcharrell6360]

Tiger force was a terrible oversight consideration about Vietnam Conflict and all

[@ghostman5620]

kids of 1994 deserved better.........................and those kids, now adults, get no better from Hasbro's GI Joe line.

[@nathanwebb3371]

He’s a great toy (v1) he’s more military than most of the regular joes of his year.

[@marcossierra4011]

I have him small and big without mask he's cool I used to have his first green figure

[@brushstroke3733]

I will always blame Quebec for the lack of file cards on newer figures like GI Joe Classified. (Everything sold in Quebec must have both English and French language versions of anything printed that comes with the product.)

[@jamiesands3331]

True words RE: 90's figures

[@Thom893]

Mr. Hooded Cobra Coco, have you ever thought about doing a series in which you compare the different versions of the same vehicle. The way the you compare different versions of characters. IE how many versions of the armadillo are there...original, Slaughters Marauders, 25th anniversary. Same with the Sky Hawk, there are many versions of that as well. Just saying that that would be an interesting video to watch.

[@theb5800]

Take a shot every time hoodie finds a mistake :)

[@PrivateAccountXSG]

I agree with many of the weirdo ninja force figures. I really liked slice and dice though

[@joshuachristian5443]

90s G.I.Joe toys, hell, 90s toys in general! Gag me with a florescent colored rubber mannequin leg.

[@dabigork]

Little fact about the Bruce Lee nuncuc scene he broke the nose of stunt man in that scene the stunt man was Jackie Chan

[@yojoe2059]

Great review! Thanks!

[@TheLilith1978]

I liked version one quite bit and it one better figures from 90s

[@marshallsnyder145]

hey i have those same bowls in my dishware!

[@theygone6962]

Kicking man kicking

[@jonathanulrich4905]

Nice figure best of x force I mean ninja force.

[@slavinben4484]

there is a variant that allowed movement at the waist

[@joemartin5669]

Nunchuck..the ninja in hightop sneakers

[@TerryTurner]

😎👍

[@jasonesler2716]

Didn’t UK have a problem with nunchucks? I think I watched a thing on TAMT and nunchucks were not allowed. Just a thought...🤷🏼‍♂️

[@ALIEN-DUDE]

In the 80s ninjas were seen as evil according to old twats in suits who dictate UK entertainment.

[@bigdaddy0614]

We know there's no one off screen. His wife left him

[@johnsoehnlen4781]

I have all the 1992 ninja force. I thought they were awesome as a kid. Nunchuk was my favorite ninja force figure. I only have 1 shadow force figure, Snake Eyes. The Shadow Force line is definitely a disappointment.

[@misfit666_usmc6]

Yo da LA heeeeee yo da layyyyy awwwww.... yooooooo daaaaaa layyyyyyyyyy awwwwwwww...... OHHHHHHHHHHH YEAAAAAAHHHHHHHH.... have you done alpine? I can't find it 😫

[@calanon534]

Mr. Pine was a personal favorite of mine in the cartoons. I hope he does one soon..

[@danielherrin]

When we getting a Budo review?

[@travismiller4320]

14:54 but havelock looks cooler spelled like it is on file card

[@andrewphillips8341]

So solider, do you want a shotgun, a grenade launcher or a laser rifle: No I want sticks tide together that are far more dangerous to me than they ever will be to the enemy.

[@ALIEN-DUDE]

Ok soldier, (send him out first as a distraction)

[@kdisley]

How many nuns would a nunchuck chuck if a nunchuck could chuck nuns...? It tickles my sense of humour that ver2 has the colour-change gimmick, and he has the same accessories as a _non-colour-changing_ version of the _original_ colour-change character, Zartan...

[@codyneuburg1825]

I have him

[@johnsoehnlen4781]

So do I.

[@evanjohanson9860]

he'll have to borrow snake-eye's nunchuks in mid battle.... that's embarrassing. i wonder how the translucent weapons would have looked if they were issued with eighties figures. Futuristic or highly fantasy like, maybe?

[@joemartin5669]

88 Spearhead

[@russelllemieux]

Laxidasical approach

[@Actionfigurexpert]

Pp aw man you made one mistake when you showed the carded z a r t a n you call this version 3

[@robertheaney9055]

Is it just me or dose the shadow ninja version face looks sad

[@Viktir123]

The color schemes on them is disgusting.

[@wraith6776]

never a fan of the action features.