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View Poll Results: How does the new TRU GI JOE DESERT 5-PACK rank? | |||
1 (lowest) | 24 | 15.29% | |
2 | 11 | 7.01% | |
3 | 13 | 8.28% | |
4 | 11 | 7.01% | |
5 | 12 | 7.64% | |
6 | 8 | 5.10% | |
67 | 26 | 16.56% | |
8 | 24 | 15.29% | |
9 | 17 | 10.83% | |
10 (highest) | 11 | 7.01% | |
Voters: 157. You may not vote on this poll |
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Thread Tools |
11-29-2009, 04:47 PM | #1 |
Knuckle Massage!
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: CT sometimes Tokyo
Posts: 8,288
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TOYS R US is back again as being one of the 2 most exclusive heavy carriers of GI Joe in the last decade. Offering the most troop builder worthy installments in Modern Joe, this time they are bringing a new 5-pack in the form of a desert theme for the current ROC line. This “Desert Disguise 5-pack” is 1 of 2 Troop builders packs offered at TRU for a very collector friendly price of $19.99. Both packs offer one opposing character in disguise (in this set it’s Zartan in disguise as a desert ops Joe) along with 4 other characters of the opposing team (this set Joes). Although made of repaints (as 95% of exclusives are) unique to this pack is not only the characters inside (none of them offered in modern Joe previously except Zartan) but also all new constructs on the 4 Joes.
Early information had conflicted in the reports from Cons (where this set debuted) as some were saying early on the 2 sets were a Target exclusive vs a TRU exclusive from Hasbro’s sources, but it was made concrete @ JoeCon ‘09 that the 2 Disguise 5-Packs were in fact exclusive to TRU. All decked out in new original digital desert camo for this set, it’s one of the 1st examples in Modern Era Joe showing how the camo is becoming more realistic modern military & seems to be a trend with GI Joe going forward into 2010. Weapons are available for each member & the overall theme is successful, & will defiantly make a great addition for your desert ranks as well as your Joe character roster. DIAL TONE: Starting off ,we have probably the most controversial character in the lineup included in this pack with the female code named "Dial Tone." Her humble beginnings as a character introduced in the Resolute animation continuity, Dial Tone was an unnamed talented female Joe that was decided upon by the Resolute creative team that she needed a code name due to her significance & amount of lines she had in the Resolute animation. That goal was achieved when Warren Ellis dubbed her “Dial Tone” after a roster of names had been presented as “ok“ by Hasbro & he found Dial Tone to be the most amusing code name of the bunch. Because of this, the GI Joe known as Dial Tone has been altered in the new continuity as a new character & has officially made her presence in Resolute, the IDW comics, & EA video game. Fans had been vocal that their old “energy source” friend from ARAH & the ‘87 movie B.E.T. fame had been short credited & did not like his absence from the modern roster with a hip female replacement. Like it or not the new Dial-Tone is here to stay, but at least now she has some back story & I have to say I like what they did. According to the EA game the Joe named Jill Morelli is the original Dial-Tone Jack Morelli’s sister (& Hasbro’s creative team’s naming sense of humor w/ "Jack" & "Jill"), & joined GI Joe when her brother went missing on a Joe mission in hopes that she would someday find him again, & as such took on her brother’s original code name. Sound good to you? It does to me, & I’m happy to have this new female Dial Tone in my ranks, as I liked the Resolute character, & to me this type of change is no more a change of interest for the modern Joe universe than having the Baroness engaged to Duke before their new line of work. In the end, the female Dial Tone in this new universe is here for the foreseeable future, & that’s not going to change any time soon... thus oldskool fans should learn to adjust as she‘s a different take than you remember but she‘s also a fun character, so please give her a chance. Now even though she may not strongly resemble her Resolute counterpart she does offer a similar flavor using already available parts. She has the ROC Cover Girl body (that has some previous ‘09 5-pack Lady Jaye parts) which has a nice range of motion, topped off with Helix’s head. Now as much as would have liked to have seen unique head used here for Dial Tone (or even a new bob-cut hair piece) I understand with an exclusive that may not be possible. Helix’s head was the best of the pre-made tooling & it serves DT pretty well. She also has pants instead of a skirt, now to me that would have been a great moment to see new tooling used here, but I can understand that this is just not possible, as Hasbro would not want to tool such a piece that is so unique to just DT, as it would probably not get much reuse in future figures. What we do have is a similar color palette sense on DT in all her media incarnations & an overall pretty good construct on the figure. My only other qualm with this construct is her neck looks a tad long with the Helix head, but it is still within reason. The Lady Jaye “popped" collar might have looked better here, because of the aforementioned elongated neck. DT comes with the same TAR-21 (Assault Rifle) as ROC Cover Girl, a ROC stand, & a labtop. While I think a pistol might have been better suited for DT, the labtop is perfect & she is my overall favorite addition in this set. Last edited by Steel Brigade; 12-28-2023 at 04:59 PM.. |
11-29-2009, 04:50 PM | #2 |
Knuckle Massage!
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: CT sometimes Tokyo
Posts: 8,288
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FOOTLOOSE: When Hasbro leaked early on in the 2009 Q&A’s that Footloose would be included with an upcoming exclusive multi-pack, fans couldn’t help but clamor for a classic Joe that was perhaps ARAH inspired & unseen at the time. Debate ensued & most figured that he would be made from previously released parts but the combinations that were guessed where far from the truth. Hopeful for a newly molded Footloose trademark helmet & head plus in classic ARAH woodland camo, fans were surprised to see that Footloose was desert ready & constructed of a ROC Sgt Stone body with a cleverly repainted Airborne head. Well many voiced their disappointment at the figure, but I could still be happy in that it was yet another new Joe to be added to our current ranks... even in this desert incarnation. No longer a trippy burn-out, Footloose’s new ROC filecard makes him a tough drill sergeant & most likely the guy in charge of this desert brigade.
As aforementioned, his construct is a Sgt Stone body with Airborne’s head painted with a mustache. The look works overall & makes Foot look rugged, while the head is a good enough use not to be immediately recognizable in the new color plus facial hair. Foot comes with the Pitt Commando’s tact vest, rifle, face shield helmet (w/ROC Joe logo) & a roc stand. It may not be the ARAH inspired Footloose many wanted, but it does make a pretty good desert themed incarnation of the the character & is the 1st time Footloose has been made available for the current modern age figures. Last edited by Steel Brigade; 12-28-2023 at 05:00 PM.. |
11-29-2009, 04:51 PM | #3 |
Knuckle Massage!
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: CT sometimes Tokyo
Posts: 8,288
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LAW: Many (like myself) probably remember Law best as the Spanish flavored wise-cracker in the ‘87 Movie... He was part of Beachhead’s infamous set of “raw-hides.” Well military policeman Christopher Lavigne is back with a warm pallette that still can make this Texan of Spanish decent, this time in Desert fatigues. I’ve had a few Law figures over the years & it’s nice to see this classic ARAH movie character back in action with ROC even coming with his original mold canine German Shepard “Order.”
The whole body construct is that of ROC Zartan, this unfortunately has limited arm motion but on the plus side was a frame made for a military policeman look in the ROC Movie so you can see why it’s being used for our own classic MP here. The head is the same one used on Dusty / Pit Commando in darker tones. He is the most fully loaded of the troops in this pack including his nightstick, the Pitt Commando’s face shield helmet w/a MP logo on it, FN2000 (Assault Rifle), Colt M1911-A1 with Flashlight attachment (Handgun), ROC stand & 2003 released Widescope's swat shield. The shield is HUGE & much more impressive than what we saw with the Pit Commando, it has the Joe ROC logo on it & some neat detailed scratches as well as a view hole. As previously mentioned, he also comes with the original ‘87 mold of his trusty dog Order who is a bit small & lightly detailed by modern standards, but still works well enough for this release. He can hold all of his gear well enough & is a solid offering in this collection. OT: Make sure you take a careful look at Order’s leash before you buy. I noticed some of these have the same problem that Order had back in 2000 where the plastic is so hard on the leash that it splits at the loop in manufacturing. It will be hard to pick out in the box but if you look carefully enough, you can see a split if it‘s happened. I did overtime on this to make sure I got one that was solid & avoid putting the loop on the Law’s hand as you can easily split it yourself with a little force as the plastic is so hard & brittle, & I like my figs mint so I’m not taking the chance & just don’t have him hold the loop at all. I can assure you my collection has no splits here my friends. Last edited by Steel Brigade; 12-28-2023 at 04:58 PM.. |
11-29-2009, 04:51 PM | #4 |
Knuckle Massage!
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: CT sometimes Tokyo
Posts: 8,288
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REPEATER: My brothers & I had Repeater back in the ARAH days, he had a chiseled chin & looked like he could battle his way through 1000 Cobras no problem. Well the big guy‘s back but with a slightly more PC look than you may remember him. Although pictured Caucasian on the file card, Repeater is definitely Afro-American. While I have no problems & understand the need for a politically correct change in a very white trooped box, my only qualm is that yet another Joe heavy gunner is of a black background. This makes all 3 heavy weapons guys in ROC of African heritage... Now with the characters they had to choose from in the box, Repeater is the least iconic & was the best choice for the change, as fans would be even more vocal if it had been Footloose or Law (I think.) It’s just kind of strange to me that every heavy gunner in ROC is African American, & I it seems a stereotype now within GI Joe lol.
The construct is a complete Sgt. Stone body & tact vest with a 25th Serpentor head. This was the same head used on the TRU Speed Metal character & works well enough here in the new flesh tone. It overall gives Repeater a nice beefy look without looking to much like his ROC heavy machine gunner equivalents. Repeater comes with the previously unreleased Resolute Roadblock’s heavy machine gun, which is fantastic & I like it much better than the 25th version. He also comes with RB’s machine gun belt (which can be plugged into 2 spots), ShockBlast’s cap, & a ROC stand. OT: Be sure before you buy that you take a good look at the limbs on your figures, I noticed in this set a Repeater with 2 of the same forearm joint before I bought. Last edited by Steel Brigade; 12-28-2023 at 04:59 PM.. |
11-29-2009, 04:52 PM | #5 |
Knuckle Massage!
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: CT sometimes Tokyo
Posts: 8,288
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ZARTAN: Zartan is the one enemy included in this set & he is a complete repaint of the original ROC Zartan. While the body construct is good on this figure the arms have a restricted sense of motion compared to most ROC figures but collectors at this point should know what to expect w/this guy. One thing I like more about this Zartan for sure is the coloring of the hair, skin, face paint etc., as it looks much more like the film actor than the previous single release with these color changes. The desert camo is like all of the other figures in this set & is much more detailed than most of the previous Zartan body repaint’s (minus the TRU ex. Pitt Trooper) paint apps. Another highlight for me about this set is that all of the camo is unified, but things like boots, belts etc. are sometimes different in color between the characters. Like Zartan has brown boots as opposed to the tan boots Law has, or the black boots on Foot & Repeater, or violet/brown boots found on DT.
Zartan includes the extra hat wearing “disguise” head, classic-styled Zartan backpack (that the unused head can fit in), futuristic bayonet rifle, & ROC stand that the previous Zartan release had. Overall Zartan is probably the least exciting inclusion of figures in this set, but seeing that he only has 1 Movie incarnation out so far, it’s great seeing him here & in a idea that works vs. some of the more overused ROC characters. Packed with new characters for ROC, I for one was very greatful to see this set come out as I love adding new troops to my ranks over revised characters again & again. This set is great overall value & does offer some unique gear but more importantly it offers unique characters that maybe their only incarnation for quite sometime. The stronger of the 2 TRU 5-pack sets in my opinion, I recommend getting this set for your collection as it is one of the better overall exclusive offerings for the price this year!! Highly Recommended. Last edited by Steel Brigade; 12-28-2023 at 04:59 PM.. |
11-29-2009, 04:54 PM | #6 |
Banned
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 2,485
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I love Dial Tone in this set, and Order is good too...but not Law, too generic. Kickin' review
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11-29-2009, 05:22 PM | #7 |
Don't call me Dataframe!
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Boston
Posts: 2,590
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Good review, thanks alot.....pass for me though, I still walk by them and "debate" a few words under by breath about how I wish they were done old school instead of revamps. The figues look good, just not for me.
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11-29-2009, 05:24 PM | #8 |
Knuckle Massage!
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: CT sometimes Tokyo
Posts: 8,288
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Thanks for the feedback guys! I think it's a great set but always nice to hear everyones opinion.
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11-29-2009, 05:31 PM | #9 |
Night Force
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Texas
Posts: 15,441
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Cool pics and poses. Excellent review. I'm not sure about the camo on these figs though thus my middle of the road rating. I need to see it in person to decide for sure.
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11-29-2009, 05:34 PM | #10 |
Lexi Belle fan
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: San Jose, CA
Posts: 4,210
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sigh.... Tila Tequila.... I mean Dial Tone
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