For decades now, lovers of Indiana Jones have had few toys offered to them by manufacturers. Little has really been available from these films, and what was available wasn't spectacular. And there was very little other than 4-inch figures.

For example, for 12-inch figure collectors such as myself, there has been just about one Indiana Jones 12-inch action figure available, and its cost was high, though it was a nice figure, from the photos I've seen of it. (At the price they wanted for it, I've never set eyes on one myself.)

Hasbro, in anticipation of huge interest in the new film, has released a large number of toys based on the entire series of films, not just the new one. Among those toys is a series of 12-inch action figures based on their recent G.I. Joe body.

From Raiders of the Lost Ark come the Cairo Swordsman, Whip-Action Indiana Jones and Talking Indiana Jones. From Kingdom of the Crystal Skull comes Mutt Williams.

And while I'm not reviewing them here, also available are (or soon will be) a German Officer from The Last Crusade and Russian Officer Dovchenko from Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Each figure is packed in a brown and gold Indiana Jones-themed box with a bowed window displaying the figure, and photos on the back of the figure and all its features, as well as a photo from the film that each figure features in.

Not all figures have special play features, but each has its own merits and detractions.

The Lost Ark has been found

The Cairo Swordsman seems an unusual figure to create, since he appears in Raiders of the Lost Ark for about 12 seconds. But the scene he features in may be considered one of the most memorable scenes in film history, so I'm glad he's available. Here he is in his full glory, using the super-articulated G.I. Joe body, which is a huge plus. His skin is a ruddy copper tone, and his face sculpt is excellent. He has a removable black banded turban, a black robe with bright red sash around the waist and boots. He comes with his saber and two deadly snakes.

The super-articulated body features double-jointed elbows and knees, allowing for a much wider range of poses. He has the recently developed G.I. Joe Gung Ho grip, which has his pointer finger and the other three fingers (grouped) movable on a hinge, allowing the hand to open and close and to grip things.

Mutt Williams has a decent likeness to Shia Labeouf, who plays him in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. He is depicted here without his leather jacket, but with his jeans and T-shirt, motorcycle boots, a belt with sword and scabbard and a throwing knife. He has "Sword Slashing Knife Throwing Action!", which means the sword can be placed in his right hand and a post sticking out his back can be pressed, making his arm swing down, "slashing" his sword, and he can, in fact, throw the ridiculously stubby, oversized knife. To allow this movement, his right elbow is very loose, and his right hand has a new spring-loaded gripping hand I've not seen before from Hasbro.

Whip-Cracking Indiana Jones has similar action in his right arm, and includes a very nice rubber whip that can actually flop around very nicely when you push the piston at his back. This Indiana comes also with pants, dirtied-up shirt, messenger bag, belt with holster and pistol and very nice boots. His face looks far more like Fess Parker (look him up) than Harrison Ford. Sadly, this figure's hat is molded onto his head, which may be a disappointment to some. When you push his whip-cracking button, an electronic whip-action sound is played.

Talking Indiana Jones is dressed in brown pants, dirtied-up shirt and leather jacket. This Indiana has a rubber whip, and also a pre-coiled whip that can attach to his belt. Also, he has a holster and pistol, very nice boots and (thankfully) a hat that is removable.

The talking technology in this figure is interesting. Pushing a button on his belly not only triggers sound clips by Harrison Ford from the films, but also pulls his jaw down, and his mouth moves as if he were talking. This is achieved using a hard plastic head underneath a soft rubber face layer. The teeth and tongue are visible inside the mouth, and they move as the button is pushed. The stretching of the mouth is fairly realistic and quite a nice effect, if just a tad creepy at times.

This Indy has a "Classic Collection" G.I. Joe body, including the non-articulated "lobster claw" hands (as we collectors got to know them), which are actually cut along the index finger in order that Indy might hold a gun properly.

The facial likenesses of Mutt and Cairo are very nice. Indiana's, however, is passable at best, and the holes in the shirts of the two slashing figures are a sad defacement of an otherwise nice shirt for no real benefit. But there's one thing that collectors like myself must remember when we buy these figures—these figures are not intended for us. Serious collectors will likely find fairer game when Sideshow Toy releases its forthcoming Indiana figure in the late summer or early fall. No, these are for kids. You know, to play with. And for that purpose, they are quite good!