Friday, February 15, 2013

GI Joe Retaliation: Cobra Trooper

After a near one year delay the second live action G.I. Joe film, Retaliation is slated for release next month.  With the movie comes more toys from Hasbro.  I grabbed a few figures last year when the first two waves were available at retail before Hasbro recalled the toys after the announcement was made that the move was being pushed back to 2013.  I can't believe that it's taken me this long to finally get around to taking a look at the new Cobra Trooper.

Cobra Trooper photo GoShooterProjectandYardsellr024.jpg

I'm not sure what to make of the new packaging.  While it's much brighter in color than the Rise of Cobra toys were, I don't care for the image of Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson being plastered on everything!  At least the figure inside the packaging looks cool.

Cobra Trooper photo GoShooterProjectandYardsellr025.jpg

The back of the blister card is much better, although there isn't as much character specific info as I'd like to see.

Cobra Trooper photo GoShooterProjectandYardsellr029.jpg

Stripping the figure of it's webgear and accessories will give you a good look at the figure's construction.  Like all G.I. Joe figures, the figure is a frankenstein; using parts from previous figures to form a new figure.  I believe the head sculpt is new, but I swear it looks familiar.

Cobra Trooper photo GoShooterProjectandYardsellr027.jpg   Cobra Trooper photo GoShooterProjectandYardsellr026.jpg

In addition to the real working parachute, the Cobra Trooper is also given two sets of webgear, a helmet, black pistol and a semi-automatic rifle.

Cobra Trooper photo GoShooterProjectandYardsellr030.jpg

The parachute webgear easily attaches to the figure, however I never took the time to attach the actual parachute.  I figured it would be cumbersome and get in the way when trying to display the figure on my shelves.

Cobra Trooper photo GoShooterProjectandYardsellr031.jpg

The parachute itself is made of a nylon like material and is rather large.  I love the huge, red Cobra symbol.  If I was a kid I'd be all over this toy, throwing him up in the air and watching him float down.  First thing I wondered when I saw this toy was if the Official G.I. Joe Collector's Club would be using this figure as a part of their annual parachute figure drop?

From what I've seen of the Retaliation toys thus far I like.  It appears that Hasbro is making an effort to combine some classic elements of the A Real American Hero toy line with the modern movie elements.  I doubt I'll be buying much from the line this year as I'm trying to keep my focus on Transformers, but I'm glad I grabbed this figure last year.  I may eventually grab one more to keep sealed and add it to my Cobra collection I have displayed around the top of my toy room.  Fun stuff.

Cobra Trooper photo GoShooterProjectandYardsellr032.jpg


5 comments:

  1. I've stared at this guy for a while and I think the head is very reminiscent of Firefly. Maybe.

    ReplyDelete
  2. While this isn't what I was referring to in my email to you, this is a great looking new release!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Only figure I've got from the line is Cobra Commander since hes so hard to find.. but over all disappointed in the quality of ALL of Hasbro's figures lately... these are suffering as well from cheaper made plastic, rubbery hands that fall off.

    Have you seen the new Iron Man 3 toys.. they are just so crappy.. too bad since Iron Man 2 figures were great.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It seems now that the first wave (or was it 2 waves) of figures that were released last year are even harder to find now. I grabbed a few new Cobra figures from the Joe Colton wave so I'll have to see if the quality has gotten better or worse.

      The Pursuit of Cobra and 30th Anniversary figures were awesome, but I've noticed not so great changes with a lot of Hasbro's toys recently.

      As for Iron Man 3, yeah...not feeling those or the Ultimate Spider-Man stuff. Will probably get the new IM3 Marvel Legends, but that's it.

      Delete