TRU Attack on the Pit Headquarters GI Joe Battle Pack (Part 1)

Love it or hate it, “GI Joe: Rise of Cobra” brought a bunch of new figures to collectors. Because of the realistic nature of the film, most of the figures took on a more realistic look as well.

The two Joe team members we live the film through are Duke and Ripcord. I’m sure they were thought to be the ones kids would want the most and so they turn up in a number of times in the line. In this case in the Attack on the Pit battle pack that was exclusive to Toys R Us. And that is where we start our three part look at this set.

Duke:

I have to say I almost bought this set at full price. I didn’t managed to snag it later on for about half price. I was really impressed with it in the box. And when I got Duke out, I wondered if I should have left it in the box.

This version of Duke looks more like he’s ready to go duck hunting than Cobra battling. He’s got camo pants and vest over a long sleeve shirt. It’s not a bad look, just doesn’t look very uniform like.

I suspect this figure might be cobbled together from a number of other figures. The head is an obvious re-use. I also think the legs are reused from the Desert Ambush Duke. And this is where the trouble starts.

I’m guessing the torso and pelvis for this figure were not designed to be used with these legs. The hips seem tight like they are too big for their sockets. Also, I think this combination has lead to one of the legs to be slightly shorter than the other. I suspect this because I struggled to get Duke to stand firmly on his own. While holding his left foot firmly down, his right doesn’t seem to wan to find a solid pose.

The torso continues to cause other problems. The neck is coming out an angle I don’t think this head was intended for. Because of this, Duke looks a bit hunched over instead of straight up and down like a good soldier should be. The bulk of the vest only makes this look worse. Also, this combination limits the front to back nodding movement of the head.

The arms of this figure aren’t bad. They look good for what they are. However, I do have one slight nit. There’s no wrist articulation. Which makes it really difficult for him to hold a rifle in in anything like a useful pose.

Ripcord:

Ripcord’s character was pretty heavily retooled for the film. He went from being a white HALO Jumper to a black combat soldier/pilot. Where Duke is somewhere between a Joe outfit and a regular Army uniform, the Ripcord in this set has fully signed up for the Joe team.

He is decked out in camo pants and a vest that has that GI Joe tech look. The blue urban camo on his pants matches a number of the other Joes, such as Cover Girl and the Pit Commando.  His long sleeve zip shirt has the Joe team insignia on the left arm.

Sadly, Ripcord shares the same torso and pelvis as Duke. And some of the same issues.

While he doesn’t share the same legs as Duke, I still struggle to get Ripcord to stand in a solid pose. I wonder if there was some mixing and matching done with the knees and lower legs of this figure. The right knee has the look of a sculpted knee pad and the left looks like big blob. The hips work better here, though.

Ripcord also has an odd hunched over look as well. I don’t think it’s as pronounced on him, but it’s still there. His head tilt is better, but he still can’t look up. The head seems a bit better proportioned to this body, as well.

The arms here are skinnier and fully sleeved. The sleeve cuffs allow for the much needed wrist articulation.

As for the vest, I’m just not sure. It’s okay. It just looks more urban than military to me.

Accessories:

In the package each of the figures is rubber banded in place with a couple of accessories. The action poses really help hide the flaws of these figures.

Both Ripcord and Duke come with the same accessories. A  pistol and a rifle. Both have seen a fair amount of use in the Rise of Cobra line. They are light on detail and have no paint, but they serve their purpose well enough.

Also, included on the box are file cards for all the figures in the package. I much prefer the individual printed cards we used to see with some of the vintage vehicles to ones you have to cut out, but I haven’t been saving any of the Rise of Cobra ones anyway.

Inside the box are stands for all the figures, as well, they are the standard GI Joe Rise of Cobra dog tag looking thing with the characters name printed on them. While I appreciate stands for displays, I’d much prefer figures that can stand on their own.

Overall:

Well, like I said above, once I opened it up I wasn’t sure I was as happy with this set. Being I paid only slight more for a molepod and 5 figures than I would have for an individual molepod puts it in perspective. But still, I’d like to feel that I got decent figures for my money. Instead, I feel like I got figures that were slapped together and put in a pretty pack so I’d buy them.

Engineernerd Score: Duke 75/100 Ripcord 78/100

 

 

 

Tags: Attack on the Pit, Cobra, Duke, GI Joe, Hasbro, Review, Ripcord, Rise of Cobra

Category: Featured, GI Joe, Toy Reviews