Marauder Gun Runner Items (Part 1)

I thought it would be nice to give my action figures some presents for the holidays this year. So I ordered some specific things from Marauder Gun Runners for a few of them.

First up is an item they had long before Hasbro did it for SDCC this year, a Megatron style P-38. Now, I’m not a huge Transformers fan, but as a child of the 80’s, I understand this weapon’s special place in geek culture. This was my first order from Marauder and I have to say I was really impressed with the detail. This is a nice little gun, even the scope looks right. My only complaint is that the handle is a little large front to back to get in some figures hands, but most new figures have enough flex this shouldn’t be an issue. They also offer this gun in a greyish silver.

I’ve kind of regretted that I didn’t get the Reactive Armor version of  Heavy Duty. Truth be told, I just liked the camo version better. However, The camo version only came with a huge oversize Gatling gun.  The armored version came with a better weapon. To make up for this I ordered the short barrel “Micro Gattling Gun” from Marauder. I’m fairly please with it. The attention to detail is pretty good hear. I love the grip on the back handle. It’s pretty easy to pose a figure with as well. My only regret is that it is a tad smaller than I thought it would be. Well, at least for Heavy Duty. I might have to order the longer barreled version at some point for him, although this version is probably more tactical.

 

The last one is this group is the ubiquitous Han Solo blaster. Yes, Hasbro has made some pretty good versions of this one over the years. I wanted to order this one just to see how it stacked up. And I have to say it stacked up really well. The detail is better than the one that came with the Vintage collection Bespin Luke. No, it doesn’t have the silver tip, but honestly I could paint it better than Hasbro did.

The picture on the left shows the two weapons. The top is the version that came with the figure and the bottom is the Marauder versions. I had thought the Hasbro looked good until I put them side by side. They the differences really show. The lines on the handle make a big difference. And while the detail under the scope is there on the Hasbro version, it is soft and doesn’t have the depth of the Marauder one.

One of the things I love most about this pistol and the Megatron one is you can see the triggers. That little detail really ads to the overall realism.

There was a little side bonus with this gun I wasn’t expecting. It still fits in Luke’s holster. Yes it looks a little bulk, but it should. I was actually surprised that it fit so nice without any modification.

Overall:

I really think the Han pistol illustrates the difference between the off the card weapons you get with your figures and their. Not to say any of Hasbro’s stuff is bad, it’s just not the attention to fine detail that Marauder shows. Will Jimmy in his sandbox notice the difference? No probably not. However, if you are a diorama builder and just want some of those weapons to match the detail you put in the set pieces, you couldn’t go wrong here.

I ordered some other items from them as well, that I will be looking at coming up. But in the mean time, I have to say I couldn’t be happier with everything I ordered.

Engineernerd Score: 98/100

 

Tags: 1:18, Accessories, GI Joe, Guns, Han Solo, Megatron

Category: Featured, GI Joe, Toy Reviews