Tunnel Rat (GI Joe: Renegades)

January 11, 2012 | By More


Tunnel Rat was the character I was most worried about making a translation from animation to figure. Not only did Hasbro do a great job with him. They gave him a ton of accessories to boot.

Appearance:

This version of T-Rat is quite a bit more buff than I had pictured him. It’s not unbelievable, he’s obviously a good soldier, so physical conditioning would be part of his training.

The trademark here is obviously the coveralls. The hanging down portion is a separate piece and it is done really well. You can see the construction of the straps and the piece really looks like the top of overalls. The color is a perfect representation of Carhart’s

T.R.’s upper body is a pretty generic t-shirt. I’m guessing this is a generic buck we will see other figures built on. I’m not 100% sure, but I don’t think this is Renegade Duke’s chest and arms. He doesn’t look quite that big to me.

To set him apart, he has some web gear for his back pack. The gear is unlike most other gear in that it doesn’t come off without popping his arms off. In conjunction with that, he has a separate scarf piece. The Joe team is getting good at these scarves, and this one is no exception.

His head is slightly limited in its’ movement by the scarf, but that doesn’t keep him from looking good. His red watch cap is covering up a head of black hear.

The face is not quite how I would have pictured it based on the animation. It is Asian and young, but seems to be missing something overall. The one thing I’m sure that is missing is the bit of scruff on his chin that the animation version sports.

Another pair of fingerless gloves here. These are a bit more substantial than Scarlet’s gloves. The cuff on the left one appears to be protecting a wrist watch. However, there is no paint on the watch, so it looks really odd.

The pouches on his legs are fairly well done. Lots of detailing. I’m guess he’s a pack rat.

The one thing I’m really not sure about is the color of his boots. They’re just really green. I would’ve like to have seen a dark brown here.

Fun:

While not really a fighter in the cartoon, Tunnel Rat looks to be a well round soldier. To that end, he’s like a Boy Scout: Prepared. He comes with a ton of gear. And considering the sparseness of Duke and Scarlet, it’s a bit of a surprise.

The most obvious piece of gear in the blister is the bomb disposal robot. Out of the package I like it a little less. The arm on is pretty much a solid piece. The antennas pivot as a single piece. Ironically, the wheels are pressed on to metal axles. In general, the piece is well detailed, but leaves me wanting more. To control it, there is a generic version of the laptop ROC Cover Girl Came with.

He also comes with a good portion of the POC Snow Job had. The cook stove, folding pan and phone are all from there. The shovel is from the VAMP.

For weapons he has two. A heavy machine gun with a bipod and a revolver. Again this breaks from the Renegades pattern, as these are more real world guns that the other have. I like the silver revolver with the black handle. Pretty nifty small piece.

The last two pieces of equipment he has are some of my favorite because they aren’t weapons. The first is large Maglite style flashlight. The only thing that would make it better is a little silver paint for the reflector end.

His last accessory is a multi-tool with a screwdriver sticking out of one end. It reminds me of a Gerber one I have, but it’s hard to tell at that scale. Neat little piece, though. Practical thing for bomb disarming, as well.

Overall:

I really don’t have any complaints here. He doesn’t have the whiskers on his chin, but he’s a great translation of the Renegades Tunnel Rat to the real world line. The fact that he comes with a bunch of gear doesn’t hurt either. While the robot wasn’t perfect, it’s a neat add on. Like I said I have nothing to complain about.

Engineernerd Score: 97/100

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Category: Featured, GI Joe, Toy Reviews

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  1. While I think this is only an OK representation of the Renegades character model, the figure is really appreciated for being a better toy than the 25AC version. I don’t even have Renegades Tunnel Rat yet and I can tell from pictures that he’s overall more functional and less awkward looking than the one that came in the comic 2 packs from the end of 25AC.

    It is funny that he comes with no Renegades style weaponry though most of his accessories (the magnum and the machine gun) are a tribute to the vintage/25AC figure. I guess even Hasbro knows what people will probably be using him for.

  2. Engineernerd says:

    I was never a Tunnel Rat fan until Renegades. I just wish the robot was a little cooler.