Rise of Cobra - Jungle Assault Ripcord

Posting by vince04 » Fri Oct 23, 2009 1:40 pm

The first time I heard that the ROC wave 5 is coming out, I'm really fascinated by this Ripcord variant. I told myself I would like to have this figure if I saw it on sale at the pegs.

A lot of people seem to disregard this Ripcord variant, mainly because they say his ugly head is a butt of jokes, just another Ripcord, a Hasbro waste of plastic, Wayans "hater", etc., etc. Add to the fact that the MUCH HYPED, all new "International Toy of the Year ", new variant of Snake Eyes - the City Strike, is included on wave 5.

But for me, I loved this figure right from the start. You may wonder why I like this variant so much, so now, I try to make a short review of this mostly overlooked figure from wave 5.

Ripcord is, at most, my favorite figure of ROC wave 5. He wears a brown digital camouflage pattern, which can blend well in the jungle environment.





Ripcord is stripped down: his equipment included the Pit Commando hat and vest, ROC Shipwreck's belt, three assault rifles, a jungle bolo, stand, and the usual pencil missile launcher.

Upon closer inspection, underneath the vest is the reactive impact armor torso used in the RIA Duke / Ripcord. Ripcord's arms and hands were taken from Desert Ambush Duke, which IMHO is the best arms on the ROC line suitable for assault rifles.


Ripcord's thigh, legs and boots were taken from 25th Dusty / ROC Pit Commando. Shown here posing ala "Andres Bonifacio atapang a-tao, hindi a-takbo". :D (Andres Bonafacio; so courageous he wont run away from a fight!)

Holding his assault rifles:

Some Articulated Poses

Group shots:

Pros:
- Great articulation and poseability.
- Awesome camo pattern.
- Cool accessories.
- Another military-themed figure from Hasbro.

Cons:
- The price.
- The scarcity of ROC wave 5 on local stores.
- The pencil launcher should have been replaced by a backpack or other useful military accessory.

My verdict: 8.5 / 10

Review on GI joe 7-pack Invasion in Cobra Island

Here is a continuation of Dominusdjinn's collection of newly acquired Invasion of Cobra Island seven action figure packs:

RECONDO

The Good - reissuing a real classic which used to have limited articulation during the early 80's seems to be getting popular, in this case with Recondo. The Figure boasts a new head mold and a splendid detachable cap to boot. His jungle oufit blends neatly and yes for me he is suitable for the invasion to Cobra Island.




The Great - Hasbro paid extra attention to little details on this figure, everything to the mustache. Stuff like the wrapped rifle, backpack clips and strap buckles are wonderfully depicted and based from the original vintage figure. A good tribute for an original and well designed character.

The Sucky - yes you can easily identify a combo of recyclable parts. go hasbro :|

Recommendation - If you are a vintage lover, you would love this figure for all the nostalgia it holds. If your an ROC collector, well you might think twice since your looking at a figure whose specialization was popular nearly 3 decades ago, and might not blend well with the current state-of-the-art military look. For what its worth Recondo is still a genuine and classic military trooper.

A firm 6.5 out of 10. Get me some gnats Recondo!


OUTBACK

The Good - its a good thing that they reissued Outback in a color that apart from the original outfit that went with the CLAW and FLAK cannon vehicle pack.




The Bad - he still for me too short of a fella I imagined him to be in a scale in comparison with the other 1:18 GI joe figures.

Recommendation - Well it wont hurt to get this variation of Outback, which I recall similar to the Nightforce version. Of course the white shirt survivalist is the most popular version that we old collectors remember, and this grey shirt is a new taste for me. To be realistic, a white shirt isnt advised when traveling through a Cobra jungle.

A 7.0 out of 10 in my book. Survive the attack Outback!


CHUCKLES

The Nice - At last an undercover, deep inflitration agent joins the 25th joe line! I was waiting for a figure that would be a good spy to boot, and Chuckles was good choice!



The Good - A good new head mold, a single side webgear with holster, cool shirt and a M.A.Rs briefcase adds to the delight for this classic figure.

The Recommendation - Chuckes is one of those mix-match figures, but since they worked hard to improve the quality through detail, I will let this one slide. Chuckles is a good and neat figure to have, and suits well with the invasion theme.

A nice swell grade of 7.0 will suit him. Dig your hawain shirt dude!


ZAP

The Underestimated - People would think whats so special having a greenshirt with a bazooka? You will know its just one of those Frankenstein mixes with maybe Bazooka's head tossed in. Well that was the initial response for Zap, it would be an ordinary joe. I stand corrected when I saw the head mold, the unique green color of his outfit, and his new webgear. He isnt just an ordinary joe with a bazooka, he's zap and he's ready to bring some serious pounding to Cobra!




The Expected - yes its a rehash of parts from re-hasbro. Nicely done I got to admit, at least they didnt use some common Flash or greenshirt helmet, or Bazooka's ordinance or it will be too cheezy to get the pack. Well yeah he is the only greenshirt thats enlisted for the invasion (though they could had made a Repeater or Recoil rather than this classic member of the original 13).

The Verdict - Get the figure. he is cool and photos dont do him justice. If he doesnt suit the 7pack, he is much suitable for your office desk or bedroom cabinet.



Realization gave me enlightenment so I give the figure a sturdy 7.5 out of 10.



WETSUIT:

The Great - its a diver figure thats two steps away from the generic Torpedo figure. Thank you hasbro for giving it a new backpack, diving gear and head. Speaking of heads, his face kinda looks like the resolute duke, making me wonder if the figure was intended for Wetsuit or some SRO diver Duke that was gone and scrapped.



The Lame - it still have the standard accessory Torpedo clones have, the timeless harpoon.

The Recommendation - Wetsuit is one of my favorites when I was a kid. It had a different color, quite bright but yet still military. So even if it came with the standard diver gear and figure, its still wetsuit in my book.

A Cool 8.0 in my book.

RIPCORD:

The Cool - A H.A.L.O trooper! Bravo Hasbro. It has all the nice details I can remember from the original classic 80's figure, plus the articulation and increased detail. Love the camo, painted facemask and the details on the webgear.

The Not so Cool - in all the things to forget, a hole for the oxygen hose to connect to...bummer.

The Ugly - I remember that Ripcord to be a dashing boyfriend of Cindy the comics known for his bravado and charm. And lo and behold he looks like old fart Red Star...maybe theyre related in a way. And Ripcords just blonde. Plus the gun...I always loved the vintage one versus this current one (its no pit commando accessory right?)

The Verdict - Overall you have a vintage accurate classic re-edition and may I say an improvement. All except for that old-grunt face. Display him with the headgear on or better yet just replace the head altogether.

Its a 7.0 out of 10 for me. It could have been a 8.0 but Redstar's head isn't right...




HIT & RUN


The Excellent - now this is an old time favorite that appeared at the latter half of the 80's golden age of GI joe characters. Youre looking at a very good adaptation of the classic figure hit and run, with all the paint and camo details. The big improvement is found underneath the recolored Airborne helmet is a good-looking neat figure. Armed with his trusty old gun with his backpack and yes the overused grappling hook is a well composed action figure.



The Good - good in the sense even if Hit&Run is made out of frankenstien parts and accessories, its is consistent with the basic look of the classic figure.

The Lacking - I used to remember that this character lugs around a big bag where you can attach and wind up the grappling hook. It would have been swell if Hasbro incorporated that.

The Verdict - Hit&Run is nice sturdy figure. Nicely done, composed, designed and painted from parts and accessories from nearly four 25th figures. Not bad. I forgive you Hasbro.

Points go for an 8.5 out of 10. Add 0.5 if it ever came with the bag.

Review: Cobra 7 pack Invasion of COBRA Island

Dominusdjinn just pasted by my place last night to show off his new acquisition: The Invasion of COBRA Island Seven-packs. We had fun opening the sets and setting them loose, so I decided to take some shots of this elusive collection and to come out with a review. So here it goes:


DR. MINDBENDER

The Great - The doctor's back meaner than ever before. His physical attributes has improved, better looking abdominals and pecs, better looking head, detailed webgear and new set of arms. Years certainly passed compared to the original vintage series. He also has an impressive looking cape to match.

The Not so Great - In proportion to his body, the recolored crimson guard legs look puny against his muscular torso. This makes him those stereotype body builders that forget workout their lower limbs. The choice of accessories too is quite disappointing, since he is still armed with that original cattle prong he is so known to have (and honestly I dont know what it is).

The Sucky - they could have chosen a better figure version to base Dr. Mindbender updated 25th series release. Sure the outfit is iconic, but Hasbro should had thought twice how a demented dentist turned insane mastermind would dress up for today's modern battle.

The Recommendation: If you plan to army build, your stuck with this repetitive figure in your collection. For the 1st set it would be fine, then the 2nd set you could probably trade it off to someone else, and the 3rd set you would probably customize. By the Nth set you would be screaming how to get rid of him. They could had released a non-unique figure for his set.

My personal rating is 6/10. Not too shabby for the evil doctor.

COBRA LAMPREY

The Great - For me this is great revamp of the older Cobra driver of the COBRA MORAY. The outfit is updated, you have a nifty helmet that has a removable face plate, tubes behind the helmet gives it a realistic touch, and has a modern look all in all.

The Good - The figure doesn't look too much like its 80's counterpart and Hasbro has successfully updated the figure to a considerable realistic dimension, even if it has to balance with some of those advanced gear like the helmet, breathing apparatus and its unidentified weapon.



The Not so Bad - Hasbro giving out aquatic troopers is quite nice, and this is the only 25th figure that I observed that didn't have have swim gear and fins to match. Maybe because of its amphibious functions, the Lamprey is what I see a versatile trooper, though its choice of bright colors over it dull grey does makes it a wee bit off.

The Recommendation - The Lamprey has some recycled parts from existing figures, which now Hasbro is pretty popular giving us new figs by just introducing a recolored collection of assorted body parts. For the Lamprey it does has little effect, and because of its fancy accessories it does look acceptable in an average collector's standards.

A good fair 6.5 for me. I just hope if ever the MORAY is released, the Lamprey gets a better paint job.


COBRA AIR VIPER

The Good - The Air Viper is a handsome figure of COBRA colors and gear. For a viper suited for aerial missions, this figure punches a good hit of what an organized and well funded enemy pilot would look like. I love the little paint details and its color composition for this Cobra figure.



The Sucky - For all the innovations done on the 25th line, Hasbro could had worked its legs a little to give that holster on his chest gear some purpose rather than being some rubbery prop. Now you cant figure out how to handle the handgun when you dont need it, and there's no nifty place to hide it. And what's the name? Air viper? Isnt it supposed to be Stratoviper? Did the license expire again?

The Recommendation - For display purposes, here is a vintage accurate figure for your collection. Yes it might be too tall for your vintage night raven, but the Air Viper a good display pilot to stand right next to it.

A nice 7.5 / 1o in my book.


THE NIGHT CREEPER

The Great - Finally an Iron Grenadier addition to Destro's combat guild! I am glad to see that we have a good old ninja figure close to our heart apart from all the COBRA ninja figures that has been on the market. The figure is nicely painted with its preppy purple and crimsonness, all with the camo detail marks to boot.

The Better - The painted crossbow really rocks! I love the little accessories that come with painted flavor. A unique chest armor not found on other figures is also good.

The Lacking - more weapons could have worked out. For all the intricate painting, the backpack seems to0 bland. Plus looking at the ankles, the figure seems to suffer some limited articulation. Shucks! Say bye-bye to cool ninja dramatic poses with this fella.



The Recommendation - though its color combo is quite questionable for this ninja to exercise subterfuge when its all bright with maroon and its limited poseability, the Creeper is still a nice addition to COBRA armies, ahem...DESTRO armies I mean. Overall it is a cool figure to have, though the ROC two-pack version is much better buy with its green color scheme.

My personal rating is 6.5/10.


THE RANGE VIPER

The Best - I feel in love with this figure the 1st time I saw it. Being a COBRA unit really rocks if you're a Range viper, having a kick-ass grenade launcher, a heavy machine gun and a scary mask makes it all worth it. You might find some recycled parts but hey it blends in pretty nicely.




The Good - well a unique head mold would do, but yes Hasbro is guilty to have Beachheads skull right underneath that menacing mask of his. Again it would have been swell to have a unique head, but hey I cant complain, at least its not just another Firefly or Stormshadow recolored head.



The Recommendation - he is too me one of the factors that make the seven pack set worth getting. Not only you get a mean Cobra figure with a lot of firepower, but you also get a quality figure with overall good blend of aesthetic design. One might debate that yellow accessories can give you away in the heat of battle, it works well for the Range Viper. I just hope this figure does show up in single packs in the not so distant future.

A 9.0 out of 10. And don't ask me why...its so obvious.



COBRA B.A.T


The Overlooked - What another BAT? We already had the single pack one, the Hall of Heroes version, the DVD pack one and even the Black Resolute version, so whats new with this? The HOH has the battle damaged version, and this version doesn't have a backpack of interchangeable gear, but hey for a fraction of the price the HOH version demands, this little robot is an affordable alternate. You have the little spores in the canister, the replacement head and chest plate, a machine gun and the purple plant that comes with this figure. Quite a haul for a package price.



The Recommendation - You can never get enough of BATS in your collection whatever it may be, battledamaged or not it is still quite a find and a good substitute over those sold pricey by toy hoarders. I like the sense yes it has it all less the backpack of goodies. Its not *B.A.D to get another BAT.



A good 7.5 in my book, could have been a solid 8.0 if it came with the backpack and weapons.

* - Battle Android Destroyed


THE ALLEY VIPER

The BEST -This to my observation and I guess everyone who has the set agree the best figure in the whole pack. The array of weapons it came with, its attention to the bright yet vintage urban camo, its improved detachable helmet, riot shield with hidden nightstick and almost all new body parts makes the Alley Viper a very desirable asset into any Gi joe collection.



The Improvement - the only improvement I can spot would be the lousy snap-on of the grappling gun to the backpack, which is too loose to hold. A minor setback though for a figure so awesome to describe.

The Recommendation - Keep one and in all your luck get more! I just hope it comes out in urban grey and blue too!

9.5/10 in my Joe bible.