Well, the two reviews on Friday left a somewhat bad taste in my mouth, so I gotta wash that out with two of the more stellar figures in the second wave of Pursuit of Cobra. With these two reviews, the entire 2010 run of Pursuit of Cobra figures has been reviewed, and I’ve only got a pair of Alpha vehicles left to cover.
Actually, now that I think about it, I still have the Wolfhound I need to get posted, too, but I haven’t been able to drive myself to get that one done yet. We’ll see.
Anyway, to check out the reviews of these two figures, you can hit up the Pursuit of Cobra Review Page or just check out the links below to go direct.
Good to see a General Hawk Dio-story again 🙂
And I contemplated not getting the Zartan, as I had already purchased one on Ebay, but I’m glad I did. The production figure’s cowl is a lot better formed and seems to sit on the figure better.
Has there been any Dreadnok connection referenced with any of the new releases, or some “clue” that could be a Dreadnok nod? Or is Zartan more or less not being connected to them to stand on his own? As I think about it, did the original Zartan have much to do with Dreadnoks from a toy perspective? Does it matter?
I didn’t know about this version of Zartan
http://www.thegijoeindex.com/joeindex/usfigures/04/zartan5/
Any overall toy and character evolution write-ups around on Zartan?
What are the Sandstorm reports? (Other than the Price Waterhouse one)
Referencing the Zartan review – what are the Sandstorm reports? (Other than the Price Waterhouse one)
The Night, er, Jungle Viper is average to blah with more interesting accessories (that are gimmicky).
And Raptor, er, Zartan. I’m going to try and figure out how to use the o-rings version bird suit with this one.
I’m kinda in disagreement with you on these guys, Justin. The JV is, in my mind, the best figure of Wave 2 by leaps and bounds. The gille-blades are so well integrated they don’t hinder any pose the trooper would make wearing them, and without them, it’s such a great figure…I agree with your star rating, just not your written criticisms. On the other hand, Zartan is just so…meh. I like the design, and agree with you that his split personality lends itself well to multiple design choices, but the figure itself is just, as a whole, mostly OK. I don’t believe the Sandstorm disguise at all…mainly the lack of a shirt. 😉 He ends up looking more like a Dreadnok than a Joe, but his face is too “nice” to be a ‘Nok. IMO, the disguise is a “just miss”. I’d rate this Z a 3 at best.
Just my opinion. Again, great pics, well thought out reviews, and I LOVE the dio-comic. I took some pics of the JV’s over the weekend that you can see on my Flickr page by clicking my name, so seeing the review and dio is timely and certainly pertaining to my interests.
Happy Monday!
Scott – the Doom Cycle with Storm Rider are part of the Pursuit of Cobra line and make the Dreadnok connection.
GREAT SCOTT!
look at those close-up shots of Zartan’s head. that is absolutely horrific. it looks like he was attacked by a rabid hamster.
the jungle viper’s right eye didnt fare much better either. there’s not much else on that guy that can be fudged up, but there you go.
seriously, there’s no way i could even remotely enjoy my figs if i wasnt able to choose paint jobs on the toy aisle but rather was saddled with online “selections”.
that being said….both of those figs are at the top of my faves list for PoC thus far!
just with cleaner paint apps.
im sure ill catch hell for this…..again…..wont be the last time….
jungle viper….
if you are in you backyard, setting up battles, holding your figures in your hand, uttering “doosh! doosh! doosh!” while ever-so-slightly waving them back to signify recoil, then plucking the target figure over with your other hand…
then yes…the jungle viper would be a hard figure to play with and would likely frustrate a child.
if you are doing what any toy collecting adult(!?!?) should be doing with toys…which is either MOCing them or setting up on display…then the jungle viper is a fantastic figure.
ive said it before….these should be/are $7 statues. not “doosh! doosh! doosh!” entertainment.
“Referencing the Zartan review – what are the Sandstorm reports? (Other than the Price Waterhouse one)”
Fogger, Hasbro made reference at JoeCon in 2009 that the G.I. Joe disguise that comes with Zartan is for “Sandstorm” a new Joe character who Zartan killed and disguised himself as. However, many folks didn’t notice that…
Justin
Ah, I missed that. Any idea if that was supposed to be the same Sandstorm that was going to come with the RAM, in those canceled Target sets?
Agreed 788. I’ve posed and reposed my JV multiple times and I love him. Though I’ve not gotten a 2nd one, I will. And I never buy 2 figures of the same character. The complaint of him not being able to hold his weapon in both hands seems to be in accurate. I’ve created many poses where only his night scope and his rifle or coming out of his suit while he’s enveloped inside. I’ve even posed him in crouching and one-legged to minimize his profile and he’s held in every pose. Fantastic figure.
I like the idea of Zartan ACTUALLY replacing his head with people he kills…*pop!*
Too much?
i dont get all the griping about the jungle viper’s pupil-less eyes.
not hearing that gripe about zartan…or destro…..and traditionally their eyes GLOW green.
so why the hate for the jungle viper’s Riddick eyes?
the lahti l-39 actually is used as a sniper rifle since newer armor on tanks is able to withstand shots from the l-39. but it’s still used for helicopters.
The Jungle Viper I didn’t like quite as much as I expected, I’d still give it a 9/10. The eye is poorly painted and it’s a bit tricky to set up. And the gun seems a bit more awkward than I’d expect in a sniper rifle; he seems like more of an ambusher than a sniper.
I’ve said before that I love this zartan, and all his accessories make him a good value.
Wow, am I glad I bought the preproduction version of Zartan; the head is ten times more menacing.
I wish I’d bought the preproduction Arctic Destro, too; I hate the green eyes on the retail version.
Thanks for the dio-story! Halfway through, I imagined it would end with them unmasking these “monsters” and finding that they were really human … followed by Scooby-Doo music 🙂
Well, at long last, I can say that I really love BOTH of these figures immensely.
Actually, for the most part, I really haven’t seen or gotten ANY of these new figures that I don’t like at all. Sure, I’m not a big fan of the stupid “Ninja action” SE or SS coming up, but even those seem to have been decently done this time around and not at all as pathetic as the Ninja Force line of old. However, just because I don’t HATE those figures for that exact reason, also doesn’t make them any closer to the top of my likes list than the bottom. Aside from those two, the only other single figures that I won’t be buying and don’t really like at all, are the “Arctic Destro” and the sad repaint of that lame so-called “CC” from “Rise of Crapville”, but I digress…
What makes this review in particular so cool, aside from having great product to work from, is that I had already planned on taking and combining specific elements from these two figures, and creating a modern/PoC style Raptor to go in my collection. Even better, during the reading of the review on Zartan, I decided that since I had the preproduction Zartan already, I would buy an extra store version later and assemble a permanent Sandstorm figure to go into my Joe collection with Dusty, and possibly Night Fox, if I decide to spring for that crappy AWE Striker to get him. That way, I end up with Zartan, Sandstorm, Raptor AND Jungle Viper, as well as a possible new version of Night Viper once I tweak the one I strip down to build my Raptor…
There are several others that lend themselves to really solid combinations for other characters yet unseen in modern/PoC style…Such as Recondo with SNow Job’s gun, along with a few other choice elements and we have Gnawgahyde (somewhat). …Now, what to do with that damn HISS Driver to make it somewhat salvageable..?
Thanks for a great review, Justin!