Originally at: http://www.zedsjoesite.com/review/pocn301/pocn301.html
Ah reviews and don't you love being so far behind that it feels you cannot catch up. Anyway I have a two parter this time of some mixed POC and 30th GI Joes. Of late I have been very much cherry picking the Joe selection. Primarily I have to say I am just tired of so many repaints of the same characters like Snake Eyes, Croc Master, ect, but there have been moments of coolness in GI Joe too despite some heavy repainting and recycling of molds. While nothing is ever perfect, there are some noteworthy (and what should be noteworthy but fall a tad short) moments here. The struggle is where to begin and with distribution the way it is there is a sense of "catch as catch can" with GI Joe of late. Still I have managed to catch more than a few so let's dive in and see what there is to see.
First up is a figure that I must admit was the most disappointing of the latest crop, Blowtorch.
Back in the day I really liked Blowtorch. I still do in fact. He brings some color without sacrificing too much in realism which is hard to do and was especially hard in the early years of GI Joe. While some balk at the red and yellow he was painted in I always enjoyed it a great deal and welcomed Blowtorch into my collection early on. However, the 25th anniversary figure did have some major flaws, most notably the hands. When I saw that he was being re-released I had assumed the hands would be fixed, unfortunately I was way off base.
From all outward appearances this is just a straight up repaint of the 25th figure and as such a blown opportunity for Hasbro to correct an error. I passed on the 25th version for this reason and to be honest I might have passed on this one if I had realized the hands were still a problem. When I saw him though this info had not been confirmed and it was hard to see if the hands were different in the package. Add to that, the "catch as catch can" factor and you see why I jumped on this figure ASAP. I have not seen him since so I am kind of glad I did jump to him. He could be better though.
The accessory choice is kind of odd. It appears that Hasbro had the idea of just tossing random stuff in with him to give him that "Oh, Loads of gear" reaction. Of course he has the blowtorch, backpack, and helmet which are staples of the character. This time he also comes with a gun, which makes sense if you think about it since he never had one and he can't be shooting fire all the time. So on that one I will forgive.
Blowtorch also (strangely) comes with a axe (that looks like it is better suited for Barbeque) and what appears to be a fire extinguisher. It could be argued this is an oxygen tank, but either way it is more firefighter gear than fire starter gear. Both of these accessories are recycled as well, which makes their inclusion even more dubious. So he has a lot of gear. There is also a piece that is, to say the least, a head scratcher.
Blowtorch receives the mines which first came with POC Firefly. Why? Good question and I have no answer. The inclusion of these accessories are odd to say the least. Blowtorch has no where to attach them as Firefly did. I am sure someone, somewhere is going to say they are some sort of firebomb or something, but still the point is their inclusion is confounding. Blowtorch had plenty before the mines were added so why? It really comes across as adding something for something's sake rather than having a ton of gear.
So I know I have been kind of cruel to this figure, but I will state now that the rest of him is good. Cool head sculpt, the body is good as well. In other words, despite my knocks I will not say he is a terrible figure, but defiantly flawed in many ways.
So what is the verdict? If you passed on 25th and you like Blowtorch I would say get him. I think it has been made very clear that Hasbro has no intention of releasing him with better hands. After 2 releases they should have done so. If you have the 25th then pass on this guy easy. He brings nothing new to the mix besides gray gloves and some accessories that can be found elsewhere.
Next, on to the backbone of the Cobra forces, the Cobra Trooper:
I have to admit, when I heard there was yet another new trooper I was scratching my head. Do we really need yet another one? Truth is no, we don't. Troopers or "blueshirts" as they have become affectionately called have been produced in massive amounts the past few years. Ever since the TRU Exclusive Blueshirts pack it seems every time these guys get a tweak some in the GI Joe community got haywire. This time Hasbro has gone a different route though and made a new (well new to the Trooper anyway) mold from mostly old parts. This works on some levels and not so on others, but the overall figure is pretty good. However I cannot look at him and not think "Give Snake Eyes his pants back." The legs for Wave 3 SE are cool but also distinct, it's a tough call to say if this is a good or bad addition to the figure because you instantly know where some of the parts come from.
While normally this might not be a big deal, when you look over the last POC Waves as a whole, the reuse gets a bit annoying cause there are already a few straight repaints in the waves (Temple Snake Eyes, Croc Master, Blowtorch) and it's a bit hard to get behind a Trooper that uses already used parts. Still it's not a bad figure in the slightest but pushes that edge of what one can withstand in recycling. Yes, we know the whole "But Hasbro has budgets ect to deal with." and "Oh but they have always recycled" apology arguments. At the same time we also have heard the counters to those arguments in equal amounts. Fact is this figure recycles parts and it is something to note whatever your personal opinion might be on the matter.
In case you can't tell I am going back and forth a bunch on this figure.
He, of course, has a ton of stuff but actually less than most of the POC figs. He has an RPG (which I am positive is the same one from the Indy line, but I didn't do a comparison), Snake Eyes pistol with silencer (which while some maintain will be valuable later, at the rate Hasbro is redoing it will probably be easy to track down in years to come), a rifle, ect. ect. All is good basic gear for the figure.
He also comes with some rolled up barbed wire that while cool I have a hard time thinking of a purpose for. It's just sort of a spring of wire that really can do nothing but sit there. I do like it but it's not something I would call a deal breaker with this figure.
So this one is a tough call, I like him but at the same time I don't see a reason to redo my entire army with him. At this point I think I am just going to toss him in with the rest of my blueshirts and just get the one. I have actually seen this figure a few times since I bought him (oddly he seems to be the last one to sell out). However, I don't have a great deal of desire to build up my blueshirt army. Still he adds a bit of variety to the troops while keeping the basics the same. In that way he works to add something.
With that in mind it really is a personal call on purchasing this figure or not. I think you need to evaluate your army, your goals with your army and how this figure might or might not fit in with those factors. He works for me because while I want some level of uniformity in my Cobra Forces I also want there to be a reflection of the fact Cobra doesn't have the resources to give the troops the same uniform (also I like different heights in the troops too, but that is another story). Cobra does what it can and in that vein makes some different but uniform troopers. However, I can see how some might want their troops all to have the exact same uniform as well, so like I said it's a judgment call based on your personal goals and resources.
Now to a figure that actually surprised me: Jungle BAT.
I admit when I saw the pictures of this figure I sarcastically said "Oh boy, another repaint." When I got him in hand I have to say though, I was impressed. The mold is the same BAT we have seen several times now since the 25th line. I like the mold and have grabbed a few and several repaints as well. This time the figure is a different animal though, he just seems cooler with that Jungle camo. The camo is much more impressive in person too. The camera doesn't do the pattern justice as it does slightly miss some of the slight changes of color. But what makes this figure shine is the fact it is a worn mold that has been repurposed for a new specialty. That makes it cool for reasons I cannot quite put into words. It makes him unique even though he is the same figure we have seen over and over.
He includes Heavy Duty's gattling gun and pack for inexplicable reasons, but he gun is just so cool I kind of let it slide. The gun is too heavy for the BAT to hold one handed though, which is a bit disappointing since I would imagine it using the gun while also using an arm attachment. He also has the same battle damaged head we are used to, but it is fun to have anyway.
And yes he has more. Of course he has the typical BAT accessories which really would have been enough. He also comes with a rifle (that I confess I gave to the Cobra Trooper cause I thought it suited him better) and a machete (I guess Hasbro thought even robots need to clear a path) and a bandolier which is odd, but after so much stuff you kind of let that go.
Of all the repaints, I say grab this one if you can. He is different while being uniform. I think this is something that might have worked if Hasbro had tried it with the Cobra Trooper and the Cobra Viper as well, but such is life. He is a fun and different take on the same old, same old. At least these last wave of POC gave us that much.
Stay tuned for some more as I play catch up with GI Joe over the next few days.
