Well, it took 6 waves, but we finally got the new Roadblock figure we were all waiting for when Heavy Duty first started appearing (and never really stopped). It was a decent version of the character, except for the stubby neck and odd proportions, but Hasbro was very quick to fix it, and did a great job with it, too. My original review for the Wave 6 Roadblock was probably a little on the harsh side, mostly because I only had the short-necked version available to me at the time, but now I can really explore how the figure looks and what makes it a good one.
First of all, let me talk about Tiger Force a little bit…as a kid, I was a Joe-aholic (as I am now) so I bought everything that came out. That being said, I wasn’t a big Tiger Force fan, since essentially, I was buying the same figure twice, and often the TF version was inferior. As a kid, I had much more fun using the original Duke, Flint, Recondo, etc, even though there were some TF figures that I loved. As fate would have it, the original Tiger Force Roadblock was one of those figures. His darker uniform combined with the ultra-cool tiger-pattern helmet really drew me to this figure and I liked him a lot. Since then, my enjoyment for Tiger Force has increased quite a bit. As an older collector, I enjoy some of the more eclectic color schemes, and figures like the European Tiger Force collection really drew my interest. I also really liked the Toys R Us boxed set as well. So, as an adult, I have a new affinity for Tiger Force…but does this figure really warrant a TF update?
I think it’s a little hit or miss. The figure itself is still a great mold. Large, bulky torso with the cool quilted vest…this time with the proper length neck. His vest this time is a little bit of a duller orange (at least it appears to be) and has an interesting pattern of tiger stripes across it. I really like the pattern and it looks cool in its placement, and the stripes on the wristbands are great as well. A very cool tiger-like pattern for the Tiger Force figure and the already orange-hued vest is a great combination.
If this had been the only change, I might not like the figure quite so much, but Hasbro also added a nice dark paint mask to the pants. Instead of the olive green, he now sports pure black BDU’s with brown straps and holsters. A very appealing scheme and a nice change from the original.
This figure is remarkably similar to the Wave 6 version…orange vest, with solid dark pants…that might make it slightly hard to justify a purchase, and I’d agree with that. The Tiger Force pattern, while interesting, is not enough to heartily recommend dropping $8.00 for this 2-pack, especially since Wild Bill isn’t all that exciting either. If there was one pack to leave on the pegs from this wave, it’s probably this one.
Well, it took 6 waves, but we finally got the new Roadblock figure we were all waiting for when Heavy Duty first started appearing (and never really stopped). It was a decent version of the character, except for the stubby neck and odd proportions, but Hasbro was very quick to fix it, and did a great job with it, too. My original review for the Wave 6 Roadblock was probably a little on the harsh side, mostly because I only had the short-necked version available to me at the time, but now I can really explore how the figure looks and what makes it a good one.
