GI Joe: Valor vs. Venom - Cobra Swamp Rat (Single Pack)

Hasbro released budget versions of many of their Valor vs. Venom figures at retailers such as Dollar General and Family Dollar. I believe these particular packs retailed for $3 each and sold pretty well if memory serves me correct. I know I originally tracked down and bought many of these single packs when they were on store shelves. 

The blister cards are small, but still contain some good artwork though the bubble that stores the included accessories does hinder the view of the artwork. The back of the card does feature a smaller file card done in the same style as the 2 packs.

The Swamp Rat is one of the new V-Troops created by Cobra's Dr. Mindbender. His latest experiments fused Cobra troopers with various animal DNA. The Swamp Rat is one of Cobra's newest amphibious troopers. While I like this figure, this particular version doesn't come packaged with additional armor bits that make this figure look like a swamp rat. Without the original helmet, this figure looks a little creepy with the bald head and the mask that is attached over the nose and mouth of the trooper. I do like the combination of the olive green and gray used for his outfit. He has two holsters molded onto the sides of his legs, however doesn't have any weapons that will fit these.

Speaking of accessories, this Swamp Rat is packaged with a black back pack, a black Uzi and a black assault rifle. I believe all three of these accessories are unique to this release.

I love the whole V-Troops gimmick, yet this figure suffers from the missing gear that the 2 pack version comes with. At the time of it's release it was well worth it's $3 price tag, but now many online sellers on the secondary market want $10+ for many of these single packaged figures. At that price I simply can't recommend these unless you are a hardcore Joe fan.

Matchbox: 2023 Collection, 014/100 - Dodge Sweptside Pickup

Dodge Sweptside Pickup

Matchbox: 2023 Collection, 011/100 - 1980 AMC Eagle

1980 AMC Eagle

I can't say that I was all too familiar with the AMC Eagle, but it was fun doing a little research on this 4x4 crossover vehicle. As for this Matchbox vehicle, I love the metalflake brown paint and the pseudo wood paneling along the sides of the vehicle. The wheels are also a standout on this particular model.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem - Leonardo

 A new TMNT animated movie is just around the corner and with that comes a new plethora of toys. While I'm not the biggest fan of the Turtles, the look of these figures immediately captivated me. While the animation style of the upcoming Mutant Mayhem movie doesn't appeal to me, the character designs look great, especially in plastic form. 

Finally we'll take a look at Leonardo, "the leader". While Raphael is my favorite turtle, I think Leonardo is the best overall looking figure in this new Mutant Mayhem series.

Packaging is your basic blister card, the bubble show casing the character and their included weapons and accessories. The back of the card has a small bio card as well as a cross sell of the other figures included in the initial wave.

Playmates Toys took a less is more approach to these figures. What I mean by that is the paint apps are minimum, which helped keep the price point to just $10 per figure. There is some detail sculpted into the figure, such as scars on the chest or the intricate pattern to the turtle shell on the back. Blue paint was added to the bandana, elbow/knee pads and bandages around the wrists. The belt is removeable and has holsters on the rear to store his katana weapons. I think Leonardo has the best overall look of the bunch as he resembles his other iterations better.

In addition to his katana blades, he includes a stand with additional weapons (including a slice of pizza!) attached. These can be removed pretty easily by twisting them off or use a small pair of clippers. He also comes with a baby turtle of himself, pre-mutation.

Articulation isn't bad as there are points located in the neck, shoulders, wrists and hips. You have to keep in mind the price point of the figure, but all things considered it's a pretty posable figure. The shell can make them a little top heavy, but I was able to pull off several poses that would stand on their own unassisted.

Final impressions: Positive. Great character design, great sculpt, decent articulation. While I may not be thrilled about the new movie, the toy line based on the new movie is off to a great start thus far. As of this post, these figures are now widely available at local retail stores such as Target and Walmart and seem to be pretty plentiful. If you're a turtle fan, you probably already bought these on day one, but if you are a casual fan such as myself these are a nice, inexpensive treat.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem - Michaelangelo

A new TMNT animated movie is just around the corner and with that comes a new plethora of toys. While I'm not the biggest fan of the Turtles, the look of these figures immediately captivated me. While the animation style of the upcoming Mutant Mayhem movie doesn't appeal to me, the character designs look great, especially in plastic form. 

Next up we'll take a look at Michaelangelo, "the comedian". At first look I think Mikey looks a little like Dopey from Snow White, although the toy does a better job at making him look less goofy. Like with all the turtles, Mikey is a different size and different shade of green.

Packaging is your basic blister card, the bubble show casing the character and their included weapons and accessories. The back of the card has a small bio card as well as a cross sell of the other figures included in the initial wave.

Playmates Toys took a less is more approach to these figures. What I mean by that is the paint apps are minimum, which helped keep the price point to just $10 per figure. There is some detail sculpted into the figure, such as scars on the chest or the intricate pattern to the turtle shell on the back. Orange paint was added to the bandana, elbow/knee pads and bandages around the wrists. The belt is removeable and has holsters on the rear to store his weapons.

In addition to his nunchucks, he includes a stand with additional weapons attached. These can be removed pretty easily by twisting them off or use a small pair of clippers. He also comes with a baby turtle of himself, pre-mutation.

Articulation isn't bad as there are points located in the neck, shoulders, wrists and hips. You have to keep in mind the price point of the figure, but all things considered it's a pretty posable figure. The shell can make them a little top heavy, but I was able to pull off several poses that would stand on their own unassisted.

Final impressions: Positive. Good character design, good sculpt, decent articulation. While I may not be thrilled about the new movie, the toy line based on the new movie is off to a great start thus far. As of this post, these figures are now widely available at local retail stores such as Target and Walmart and seem to be pretty plentiful. If you're a turtle fan, you probably already bought these on day one, but if you are a casual fan such as myself these are a nice, inexpensive treat.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem - Donatello

A new TMNT animated movie is just around the corner and with that comes a new plethora of toys. While I'm not the biggest fan of the Turtles, the look of these figures immediately captivated me. While the animation style of the upcoming Mutant Mayhem movie doesn't appeal to me, the character designs look great, especially in plastic form. 

Next up we'll take a look at Donatello, "the brains". The "Theodore" of the group, of course they had to alter Donny's look by making him look a little more dorky and adding black rim glasses. I guess in a stereotypical way it does make sense, but I'm still not sure how I feel about this slight redesign to the character

Packaging is your basic blister card, the bubble show casing the character and their included weapons and accessories. The back of the card has a small bio card as well as a cross sell of the other figures included in the initial wave.

Playmates Toys took a less is more approach to these figures. What I mean by that is the paint apps are minimum, which helped keep the price point to just $10 per figure. There is some detail sculpted into the figure, such as scars on the chest or the intricate pattern to the turtle shell on the back. Purple paint was added to the bandana, elbow/knee pads and bandages around the wrists. The belt is removeable and has holsters on the rear to store his bo weapon. The fanny pack he's wearing is made of a softer plastic and can be removed as well. The glasses barely stay in his face/head...at least on my copy.

In addition to his bo staff, he includes a stand with additional weapons (including a slice of pizza!) attached. These can be removed pretty easily by twisting them off or use a small pair of clippers. He also comes with a baby turtle of himself, pre-mutation.

Articulation isn't bad as there are points located in the neck, shoulders, wrists and hips. You have to keep in mind the price point of the figure, but all things considered it's a pretty posable figure. The shell can make them a little top heavy, but I was able to pull off several poses that would stand on their own unassisted.

Final impressions: Positive. Decent character design, good sculpt, decent articulation. While I may not be thrilled about the new movie, the toy line based on the new movie is off to a great start thus far. As of this post, these figures are now widely available at local retail stores such as Target and Walmart and seem to be pretty plentiful. If you're a turtle fan, you probably already bought these on day one, but if you are a casual fan such as myself these are a nice, inexpensive treat.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem - Raphael

A new TMNT animated movie is just around the corner and with that comes a new plethora of toys. While I'm not the biggest fan of the Turtles, the look of these figures immediately captivated me. While the animation style of the upcoming Mutant Mayhem movie doesn't appeal to me, the character designs look great, especially in plastic form. 

We'll kick things off with Raphael, "the angry one". Raph was always my favorite of the 4 turtles and I like how this time around the turtles and their accompanying toys are different sizes. Raphael is noticeably much larger than the others.

Packaging is your basic blister card, the bubble show casing the character and their included weapons and accessories. The back of the card has a small bio card as well as a cross sell of the other figures included in the initial wave.

Playmates Toys took a less is more approach to these figures. What I mean by that is the paint apps are minimum, which helped keep the price point to just $10 per figure. There is some detail sculpted into the figure, such as scars on the chest or the intricate pattern to the turtle shell on the back. Red paint was added to the bandana, elbow/knee pads and bandages around the wrists. The belt is removeable and has two holsters on the front to store his weapons.

In addition to his sai weapons, he includes a stand with additional weapons (and a pizza slice) attached. These can be removed pretty easily by twisting them off or use a small pair of clippers. He also comes with a baby turtle of himself, pre-mutation.

Articulation isn't bad as there are points located in the neck, shoulders, wrists and hips. You have to keep in mind the price point of the figure, but all things considered it's a pretty posable figure. The shell can make them a little top heavy, but I was able to pull off several poses that would stand on their own unassisted.

Final impressions: Positive. Good character design, good sculpt, decent articulation. While I may not be thrilled about the new movie, the toy line based on the new movie is off to a great start thus far. As of this post, these figures are now widely available at local retail stores such as Target and Walmart and seem to be pretty plentiful. If you're a turtle fan, you probably already bought these on day one, but if you are a casual fan such as myself these are a nice, inexpensive treat.