Rise of Cobra - Desert Viper

review by Daniel Enriquez

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- The pencil launcher should have been replaced by a backpack or other useful military accessory.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

Rise of Cobra - City Strike Snake Eyes

Resolute Snake Eyes ::
Post by mickeyrdj » Sun Oct 11, 2009 3:14 pm

got lucky in getting this fig.. thanks for the heads-up Toreador.. ;)

anyway.. not much to review in this fig.. he is basically the same as the ROC Rescue Mission Snake Eyes with grey colors and new head sculpt..some who got this fig and some who saw the fig up-close didn't like the fig.. some say they want it black.. for me i think this one's a keeper.. :D

Now on to the pics.. ;)

This is actually named as "City Strike Snake Eyes" but everyone knows that this is his Resolute look..





Comparison Pics ::
together with the RM SE.. if one has either i still recommend to get the one you dun have.. ;)
both figs for me have some sort of touch/effect or lets say "iba ang dating.."


Gear ::
i like how he can hold his rifle.. the butt of the rifle really is held up against his shoulders.. as if the rifle was fit exactly for SE..


Im not good with gun names.. but these look like baby guns hehe.. (i got the other one from RM SE)
also i dun get why they gave him snow spiked shoes.. wierd.. :roll:

I gave his back pack (similar to the Arctic Assault SE) to the ROC Snow Job (the one that ca me with the Rockslide ATAV)

Note also that he came with a hand gun.. i didnt want to place it in his hand because it kinda loosened it.. this happend to my RM SE..


Resolute Snake Eyes and Duke ::
how to appreciate your CS SE better? have him stand beside Duke.. \m/
raiding team.. hehe..



Overall, i'd give this fig (9.5/10)

I really like this fig.. been waiting for this and was surprised it came out earlier than i expected.. thanks to help of toreador and got lucky im in the area..

My only issue on this fig is that his ankles cant bend.. its good they didnt give this fig that crappy missile launcher.. ;)

Rise of Cobra - Storm Shadow Arashikage Cycle

review by Daniel Enriquez

Rise of Cobra - Paris Pursuit Baroness

The Best:

The new baroness is a new improvised version of the drag-queen faced circus feature predecessor. The head sculpt is pretty much decent over the older one (about five times if you ask me) and its choice of skin complexion is much fairer (I dont recall the actress having a tan).



The Better:

Aside from the new head mold, the figure sports a new look with its skirt, which allows more movement and articulation thanks to the readily split halves. Now the figure has more range of action and although the skirt may still restrain the Baroness of poses most 25th figures can do, the toy feature is a big improvement.

The Splendid:

Guns and more guns. Two rifles and two submachine guns that are not MARs manufactured (Spare us hasbro of all the unbelievable reality designs please).



The Lamo:

Still you can do away with the pencil launcher. In this case its no longer a pencil it launches but some two prong nano-missile that can double as nostril plug.


The Verdict:

Even with the weird launcher, the Paris Pursuit Baroness is a better figure to get. So if you already have the ROC Baroness still get this one. For those who don't have a Baroness, get this one instead of the fugly original ROC version.

A generous 8.5 / 10 for me. I dig chicks with guns and garments.



review by Daniel Enriquez

Rise of Cobra - The Doctor (White Variant)

The Good:

The Doctor comes in an alternative color scheme to delight collectors. The variant has a white robe and white arms at match the coat.

The Well-ok-should-have-been:

Since they were thinking of bringing in another variant, Hasbro could had included variant weapons with this doctor edition.

The Poor:

The Doctor is not advised to display itself on a lonesome without the white robe, since the arms are white too. This leaves an action figure with white arms over its black body, somewhat like a skinny reversed colored panda.






The Excellent:

Despite the cheezy move of Hasbro to further drain our pockets with color variants, the figure shows a whole new design, and array of accessories that is unique for this line. The doctor has a pretty decent coat, its black undergarment riddled with all sorts of nice detail (similar to Edward Scissorhands) and the only figure I can think off that comes with a wig and an alternative removable mouthpiece that is attached through its neck. The figure also carries a briefcase filled with nanomite containers, a rifle, and a grabber device that replaces those kiddy pencil launchers.

The Verdict:

The Doctor is a well designed action figure for the Rise of Cobra line. The release of this white variant makes heads turn and crave for more. I was surprised these figures arrived this soon on retail, and as fast it comes the faster it disappears. Hasbro might employ yet another tactic to get more of our money for the same mold, however if the figure is an impressive as the Doctor, I would gladly oblige.

A flat and firm 9.0/10 ...wonderful indeed!

Rise of Cobra - Cobra Paratrooper Review

The Best - Its a modern day Imperial Tie fighter pilot that joined the ranks of Cobra. The black outfit really rocks!



The Bit-off - It came with a rotor craft far different from IG Vindicator. Having the figure go attached to it is kinda hard, since the handlebars dont fit well and the backpack stalk never keeps itself in place. The rotorcraft also doubles as a pencil launcher but again I cant seem to position it right without having the figure topple down.



The Unknown - I got this figure loose from ebay, and so far I can tell its missing some accessories. The fins, the headgear and the machine gun magazine I have to replace with my other paratrooper. I cant say if it does come with the gear.


The Quality - material used for the figure is lighter and less rubber-like compared to its 25th predecessor. Perhaps Hasbro cutting some corners in production cost. Still looks great though holding both you can actually feel the difference.



The Verdict - The version really works well for me, aesthetically black is beautiful. Saw these from Glenn when he got it from the toycon, and want to get one to add to the collection. Its a sure buy for me once it comes out from retail, a definite army builder.

a generous 8.5/10....they should be making more figs like this one. ;D

Rise of Cobra - Elite Viper

Here is another figure review that belongs to Dominusdjinn (ghad..all I do now is review his stuff). He wasn't able to get just one but 3 of these lovely critters.

The Wonderful - I really don't aim to get all these wierd looking Rise of Cobra vipers, basically because they have odd looking heads and bulky body armor. However the elite viper is different; it has a conservatively designed head, a believable body armor, battle axe and realistic/current weaponry. I also love the nice drybrushing applied to achieve the metal body armor look :)



The Sad - its again given this oversized pencil launcher that you cant have him pose for long.

The Recommedation - Among all the sci-fi Cobra movie troopers you can collect, this for me is a definite buy. Two submachine guns, a gun in a holster, a backbreaking battle axe, drybrushed body armour and a backpack fills his accessory line. A Good buy indeed.

A generous 8.5 of 10. Gather them now!

Rise of Cobra - Cobra Gunship Review

Dominusdjinns stuff is on a roll, this time his brother's Rise of Cobra Gunship!

The Design - The Cobra gunship is a rotor-less aircraft. I am quite disappointed with the size and scale of the vehicle, comparing it to the one depicted on the Rise of Cobra movie. It lacks the troop carrying capacity as shown in the feature. The size really sucks big time.


I like the fish-like design though it would have been a realistic touch to have turbines or a visible engine of sorts for its mobility. The grey color gives it a prototype feel.





The Features - The Cobra gunship carries some unique product features that gives it more value and playability:

• The Cockpit has room for one figure, and it seems Hasbro cut some design costs by having it swivel sideways rather than the conventional top. One feature that I do like is the pipes or hoses that the figure has on its harness can attach to slots found within the cockpit, somewhat like some breathing apparatus or life support.

• A bomb hatch that can deploy 3 tiny red bombs.
• Engine covers with hinges that reveal detailed engine ports.
• Launching missiles on the sides
• Working landing gear

The Figure - Firefly looks definitely cooler with the flight harness it has! The helmet is similar to the vintage gyro viper (which i believe it was its original intended release than Firefly) with variants of red or grey. Firefly has a basic grey mold, nothing we are not used to, less the camo.


The Recommedation - although its size and scale is an issue, it becomes a definite buy for the collectors who would love to collect all the figures and vehicles in the ROC movie. For me, I would settle for Firefly alone.

My rating is 5.5 out of 10. Release a bigger vehicle Hasbro!

Rise of Cobra - Anthony "Flash" Gambello Review

Here is my own figure review on Rise of Cobra's Flash:

The Great - The figure itself looks like an entirely complete mold. Its body armor is unique too, with the shoulder armor and pelvis guard. A better improved revamp on the good old Flash figure we used to know. The red and black scheme isnt bad at all, its something getting used to, though many might view him more an adversary than a real joe.

The Excellent - the figure comes with a wonderfully designed and unique helmet for Flash. It has little fancy details running over its head, with a transparent googles incorporated to the helmet's design. Aside from the fancy helmet, the figure also carries a large laser gun and a moderately sized laser rifle. Even the overgrown missile launcher isn't as bad as I initially thought.

The Lame - with all its nice and crafty new accessories, what compensates over this lovely red and black figure is the use of thread for its laser accessory, connected to the rear of its back. They could have spent more on sturdier and longer rubber tubing than resorting to a poorly designed weapon.

The Recommendation - The updated Flash is a remarkable figure for me, even if it has a sadomasochistic rubber mask under the well designed helmet. The colors are neat, comes with laser weapons we never seen before and yes it suits the figure as a modern day high-tech joe trooper. Despite the rope accessory, the figure is accurate to the figure found on the Rise of Cobra Video game.

My personal score is 9 out of 10. Flash is a smash!