Iok
02-29-2012, 07:28 AM
To be honest, I'm kind of disappointed with the Slaughter's Marauders pack. It's not terrible but there are no stand-out figures here, really. However, in an attempt to get the remaining figures Reviewed at That Figures, I've put together two Mini-Reviews of Mercenary (AKA Mercer) and Spirit Iron-Knife.
Mercenary
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZV1l5DPYnvs/T00MagZt3vI/AAAAAAAALWI/706AyJ2KtAY/s1600/Mercenary+Mercer.JPG
That Figures: REVIEW: GI Joe Slaughter's Marauders Battle Set - Felix ''Mercenary'' Stratton (http://that-figures.blogspot.com/2012/02/review-gi-joe-slaughters-marauders_29.html)
To be honest, there's nothing massively wrong with Mercenary - but at the same time, there's really very little to get excited about here. I'm sure fans of the original figure - or GI Joe: The Movie - will dig that he's been given this update but to be honest, unless you're a collector who collects for nostalgia purposes, I don't think you'll really find much get fired-up about here.
Everything is fairly well done - the accessories look good and - knife aside - fit well into his hands. A holster would have been nice but I can just about live without that. The sculpt is fine for what it is and fans will certainly recognise this figure as Mercer but much as I hate to say it, he's just a little bit on the bland side.
Acceptable, but kind of dull.
Final Score: B
Spirit Iron-Knife
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RxdAlb6S9vY/T00ssfiZyoI/AAAAAAAALZg/-GnoJQbz_n8/s1600/Spirit+Iron+Knife.JPG
That Figures: REVIEW: GI Joe Slaughter's Marauders Battle Set - Spirit Iron-Knife (http://that-figures.blogspot.com/2012/02/review-gi-joe-slaughters-marauders_6800.html)
Spirit Iron-Knife could - and should - have been a lot better. Sadly, whilst the basic figure's design is pretty neat, Hasbro really dropped the ball with his accessories. The rifle - although a nice tribute to the earlier figures' weapons - is sadly nigh-on impossible to pose him with, due to the weird hilt design. Put simply, he cannot hold the weapon in any kind of shooting pose and so it's relegated to looking like something he's just found lying around and decided to carry around with him.
I'm also not a massive fan of the vest/webbing he comes equipped with, as it appears more like a cast-off, ''spare'' part Hasbro had lying around than anything else and - unless I'm missing something here - I don't recall seeing him wear anything like this. Which would be fine if this was a Pursuit of Cobra-style update to the character (like that released as a Toys R Us exclusive) but given how most of the Slaughter's Marauders figures are supposed to represent the ''original'' designs, this seems an odd move.
With better accessories, Spirit Iron-Knife could have been a pretty neat figure. As it is though, it feels more like this is a work-in-progress of what we should expect, rather than the actual release.
A potentially cool figure spoilt by below-average accessories.
Final Score: B
Mercenary
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZV1l5DPYnvs/T00MagZt3vI/AAAAAAAALWI/706AyJ2KtAY/s1600/Mercenary+Mercer.JPG
That Figures: REVIEW: GI Joe Slaughter's Marauders Battle Set - Felix ''Mercenary'' Stratton (http://that-figures.blogspot.com/2012/02/review-gi-joe-slaughters-marauders_29.html)
To be honest, there's nothing massively wrong with Mercenary - but at the same time, there's really very little to get excited about here. I'm sure fans of the original figure - or GI Joe: The Movie - will dig that he's been given this update but to be honest, unless you're a collector who collects for nostalgia purposes, I don't think you'll really find much get fired-up about here.
Everything is fairly well done - the accessories look good and - knife aside - fit well into his hands. A holster would have been nice but I can just about live without that. The sculpt is fine for what it is and fans will certainly recognise this figure as Mercer but much as I hate to say it, he's just a little bit on the bland side.
Acceptable, but kind of dull.
Final Score: B
Spirit Iron-Knife
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RxdAlb6S9vY/T00ssfiZyoI/AAAAAAAALZg/-GnoJQbz_n8/s1600/Spirit+Iron+Knife.JPG
That Figures: REVIEW: GI Joe Slaughter's Marauders Battle Set - Spirit Iron-Knife (http://that-figures.blogspot.com/2012/02/review-gi-joe-slaughters-marauders_6800.html)
Spirit Iron-Knife could - and should - have been a lot better. Sadly, whilst the basic figure's design is pretty neat, Hasbro really dropped the ball with his accessories. The rifle - although a nice tribute to the earlier figures' weapons - is sadly nigh-on impossible to pose him with, due to the weird hilt design. Put simply, he cannot hold the weapon in any kind of shooting pose and so it's relegated to looking like something he's just found lying around and decided to carry around with him.
I'm also not a massive fan of the vest/webbing he comes equipped with, as it appears more like a cast-off, ''spare'' part Hasbro had lying around than anything else and - unless I'm missing something here - I don't recall seeing him wear anything like this. Which would be fine if this was a Pursuit of Cobra-style update to the character (like that released as a Toys R Us exclusive) but given how most of the Slaughter's Marauders figures are supposed to represent the ''original'' designs, this seems an odd move.
With better accessories, Spirit Iron-Knife could have been a pretty neat figure. As it is though, it feels more like this is a work-in-progress of what we should expect, rather than the actual release.
A potentially cool figure spoilt by below-average accessories.
Final Score: B