| STEEL BRIGADE: Desert Battle (POC wave 5) Pics + Review!!
It's no secret as a kid I was a big fan of the Steel Brigade figure... it was the 1st GI Joe with the concept of making him you... yes you as a kid/fan being a member of the GI Joe Team, as a mail away, you'd fill out your specialties... give him a code name (mine was incidentally called "Hot Shot") & when he came in... send yourself into battle against Cobra... my brothers & I would send Steel Brigade, Star Duster, & Crazy Legs on many an adventure as kids, representing the youth of the team.
Steel Brigade has seen a couple incarnations over the years... but hasn't "quite" made it to the modern era ... sure there was a Hulk set, Pitt Commando bolstered the awesome helmet, & there was an exclusive 5-pack that was cancelled... but as friends of mine can tell you, I pushed to get this guy back in the ranks with the design team @ Joecon in 2010, & in 2011 he's finally arrived!!
Made up from all previous parts, reissued figures, & gear, POC waves 5 & 6 were basically made with little lead in time to help quench fandom's thirst for more Joe until the 30th anniversary came about & with Renegades also being pushed back to that time-frame it seemed Joe needed some filler waves on the quick. The good news is that Steel Brigade might just be the best of the batch. Made from the amazing Shock Trooper limbs & Snake Eyes (Desert Battle/wave 3) torso, Steely is an amazing fully-articulated figure with Resolute Beachhead's... well head... only with the paint job in signature SB colors, it looks like an entirely different figure & you might have to look twice to take it all in.
The gear is the same helmet we saw on Pitt Commando, Reso-Beachhead's turtle neck, Shock Trooper's web gear, Duke's bandolier (you may want to remove this as it inhibits one of the shoulders to lay flat) & (the Tiger Force version's) backpack, Zap's backpack, ammo, & MK 153 SMAW, Roadblock '86's M249 MK 46 Mod 0 Para Saw & M122 tripod, a FN SCAR-H assault rifle, & the classic-styled M4 SOPMOD rifle w/ACOG bayonet. All of which you can switch out easily for more troop building possibilities. The figure is very versatile yet bulky in a believable way thanks to the nicely designed Shock Trooper limbs, & you'll find you can get him in many cool poses with ease.
Possibly the BEST figure in waves 5-6 of POC, you may actually see this figure continue on in 30th as we have seen Steel Brigade 30th style box art of him from Joecon 2011, & this is a good thing, as he makes for a Joe troop builders dream, a solid figure, great gear, with a classic history unlike any in the Joe-verse, this is where you can again be part of the team. YO JOE!
***** Highly Recommended.
*special thanks to Hiss Tank member "Playful" for the detailed weapons id.
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Steel Brigade @ Sonic: "If I get a Guy-Hop, I send it back."
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