It’s probably no secret that I’m not that big into Christmas these days, but in an effort to project the spirit of a Yuletide winter wonderland, I’m going to embark on a trio of snow-related GI JOE reviews, with two landing this week and the third next week. And what better JOE to kick things off with but Snow Job! With his big beard, fondness of frolicking in the snow and handing out gifts of righteous death to all those naughty Cobra troops, he’s practically the JOEs answer to Santa Claus!

I think I mentioned back when I reviewed Torpedo, that my favorite RAH figures were the ones that came with a lot of accessories and were super specialized. That’s probably because I got my start with GI JOE on the original12-inch figures, which were all about accessorizing and gearing up for different missions. Well, Snow Job certainly fits that bill as he is a full-on Deluxe, which means he comes in a bigger than average box and has a ton of extra goodies. I also have a fondness for Snow Job because he was one of the first RAH figures I ever got. My memory is a little uncertain as to whether it was him or Tripwire, but I do know that when I got Snow Job I also got the Polar Bear with him!

Superficially, Classified Snow Job sticks pretty close to the original RAH figure, but to be fair there really wasn’t a lot to work with there as he was basically just in a white snow suit with a few minor details of paint. This updated version takes that idea and runs with it, and boy does it look fantastic! The white Arctic fatigues are still here with some very pale gray added here and there to break up the monotony of the white, plus black boots and gloves. But he now has a bunch of brown gear added, including a chest harness with some pouches, a belt with some more pouches, and a holster strapped to his right thigh. The brown works surprisingly well with the otherwise monochrome deco, making for a super sharp and clean looking figure!

As for the head, you have the option of going with the hood up or down. The hooded head has a tight fitting cowl and the hood is a separate piece that fits around the head itself. You also have the option of putting on his polarized goggles and wearing them up on his forehead or down over his eyes. The head sculpt is very well done with a full red beard and obviously offers a lot more personality and character than the vintage figure.

To display him with the hood down, there’s a hood piece that fits on the figure like a collar to go with the second head. It’s mostly the same portrait, but now with his full coif of ginger hair on full display. I do like this head a bit better than the first, but I’ll still likely be displaying him all bundled up most of the time.

Snow Job comes with a lot of stuff, and amazingly he can store everything on his person, but before we get to kitting him all out, we’ll take a quick look at his sidearm. It’s a pretty standard looking automatic pistol with a nicely detailed sculpt. There’s a hole in the barrel so you can use any effect parts you have from other JOE weapons. He can wield it in either hand and it fits well into the holster.

And then there’s all this! Snow Job’s backpack is not only beautifully sculpted and detailed, but it can carry every other accessory that comes with the figure. And that’s pretty impressive considering his equipment consists of skis, poles, snow shoes, and a sniper rifle. The skis slide into straps on the sides, the poles clip in behind them, the snow shoes tab in at the bottom and the rifle slides right down the middle. This guy is no joke, because I remember how bad it was walking to school in the snow just carrying a few books and my lunch.

The snow shoes peg into the bottom of his feet and also slide onto the fronts of his boots. Not only are these great in the snow, but they do a decent job of helping to stabilize the figure with all that weight on his back.

The skis also peg into the bottoms of his feet, similar to the RAH figure, and he can grip the poles with ease to help him swoosh through Cobra camps with guns blazing in the middle of the night like a blur of white death. Part of me wishes they had kept the skis white, but the black is fine. I also like that they painted in the fixtures brown, as well as the tips of the ski poles silver.

And finally, you get a really cool sniper rifle. This is an absolutely gorgeous sculpt with plenty of detail and a removable magazine. Like the pistol, it has a hole in the barrel to work with any effect parts you have lying around.

Snow Job represents everything that makes the Classified line so outstanding to me. He’s a wonderful update to the original toy, perfectly riding that line between respecting the source material and adding some unique and original beats. He’s also got a great collection of equipment and can even carry everything he owns, thanks to the clever design of that backpack. The only shame here is that I no longer live in a climate where I can take him out and play with him in the snow. Actually, scratch that… I never want to live anywhere where it snows ever again. I’ll make do with styrofoam and crumpled tissue paper just fine.