Battle-Kata Roadblock (Retaliation)
As an adult collector, I find it difficult sometimes to go along with some of the design decisions Hasbro makes, one recent example being the portrayal of the Roadblock character in the action figure line for the upcoming G.I. Joe Retaliation movie.
The figure from the first wave was an automatic pass for me, with the slightly reduced leg articulation and the useless right hand sculpt that is only functional if you are willing to put up with the oversized spring loaded extras.
However, picking the Battle-Kata Roadblock version from the second wave of figures was not an automatic shoe-in either, because of the bulky holsters attached to his thighs. But let’s not get ahead and start commenting about the overall sculpture.
Roadblock uses a larger body mold than the rest of the characters, and it doesn’t look like he re-uses pieces from previous G.I. Joe figures. The level of detail sculpted on the new movie-style uniform is very satisfying but also the forearms have a very impressive array of veins and muscles sculpted in.
The really outstanding piece is Roadblock’s head, as it is the absolute best likeness I have ever seen of actor/wrestler Dwayne Johnson, a.k.a The Rock done as an action figure, barring the larger scale WWE figures or some Scorpion King toy I had not yet seen.
Battle-Kata Roadblock received the full articulation array one would expect from a G.I. Joe ninja figure, consisting of:
• Ball jointed neck.
• Pegged hinge shoulders.
• Pegged hinge elbows.
• Pegged hinge wrists.
• Floating torso.
• Ball jointed hips (T-Bar)
• Double hinged knees.
• Pegged hinge ankles.
• Rocker feet.
And all of these joints work great, although, with all the gear on, the hip joints become somewhat impaired by the pieces hanging from the belt bumping against the oversized holsters I mentioned at the beginning of this review.
Roadblock’s body is molded entirely from a medium green plastic, with dark gray and black details added for the uniform and flesh color applications on the neck and forearms. The color of this flesh paint matches well plastic the head is made of and there is also a ninja tattoo painted in red over the right forearm.
Roadblock comes with a rather high number of accessories, among them a large utility vest made from black rubber designed with a lot of sheaths to hold most of the extra pieces from the Battle-Kata weapon system.
This systems seems to consist of a couple of handles with the capability of connecting to a variety of weapons. The accessories included are a couple of knife blades, a couple of double edged dagger blades, a baton and a couple of large machine pistols of questionable design. These firearm attachments are the reason Battle-Kata Roadblock requires the giant holsters at his sides.
All of the Battle-Kata pieces are surprisingly well detailed and fit rather snugly either on the utility vest or on the figure, and the overall execution of the weapon system is actually quite neat. In addition to the Battle –Kata pieces, Roadblock also comes armed with a Browning heavy machine gun and a separate tripod piece, which is a nice nod to the original character design.
In the end, I was quite pleasantly surprised by how well this version of Roadblock turned out. Sure, the holsters will prevent him from fitting inside narrow cockpits, but then again, his size alone would also make it difficult for this figure to interact with vehicles in any way other than standing at gunnery stations.
Errex Score: 90/100
Category: Featured, GI Joe, Toy Reviews
I will most likely be picking this one up, I’ve seen it several places but wanted to wait until after the Convention to pick it up