It’s four reviews in one!
To say I was excited to receive the Amazon Exclusive G.I. Joe: Renegades 4-Pack in the mail last week would be a massive understatement. Ever since I heard the animated style tooling was being pushed aside for more “realistic” figures, I’ve had a clamoring to see what these animated figures would have looked like…and now I have that chance!
It’s a somewhat funny dichotomy, though, because honestly I don’t see much “G.I. Joe: Renegades” in the Storm Shadow figure, even in the animated design. Just read my thoughts below if you’re interested!
- Amazon Exclusive G.I. Joe: Renegades Storm Shadow
- Amazon Exclusive G.I. Joe: Renegades Ninja Viper
- Amazon Exclusive G.I. Joe: Renegades Snake Eyes
- Amazon Exclusive G.I. Joe: Renegades Duke
The reviews are all hosted in the G.I. Joe: Renegades/30th Anniversary Review Page as well. Next up… G.I. Joe: Retaliation figures (finally)! Coming this week.
Duke: The knee pads are such a minor detail but because they are so light they are the first thing my eye is drawn to. So big.
SS and NV: They may be light on the accessories, but ninja weapons are not hard to come by. I don’t see the appeal here, and definitely am surprised you ranked this Storm Shadow as high as 30th Storm Shadow. Maybe it’s the Sigma 6 appeal.
SE: Love the trenchcoat, but the grey is very light. I don’t remember his colours being such a contrast on the show. You’re right, though, after this figure calling the first Renegades Snake Eyes that is a joke. I’m curious about the visor. The lines really don’t line up. Is this a common problem? You don’t mention anything about it…
I too was surprised that no mention was made of the wonky visor.
Visor really didn’t bug me that much. So much of the Renegades aesthetic was built on a very classic “hand drawn” style, that it seemed to fit that nicely.
I think a lot of it is the Sigma 6/animated appeal. Both Storm Shadow’s are wildly successful for different reasons and fit different elements of my love for G.I. Joe.
The 30th Anniversary Storm Shadow is obviously a hyper-realistic, extremely well detailed and accessorized masterpiece, where the animated one is a fun, kid-friendly, stylistic marvel where Hasbro has been one of the few companies able to conform their figures to an animated look without sacrificing articulation. That doesn’t happen often.
Whoa, somebody has been putting in some work. Nice job!
I swapped Duke’s cartoony vest out for the one from the 30th Wave 1 Duke and fell in love. He’s my favorite figure of the set and I LOVE his knee pads. I think the problem is, as Joe collectors, we’re used to such dinky, undersized knee pads that these are a shock. But they just add a nice bulk and balance to the figure for me. The Renegades Ripcord had similarly bulgy knees that I really dug.
It’s weird. Now I look at my PoC Wave 3 Snake Eyes and his progeny and lament their tiny, ineffectual knee coasters. The Snake Eyes from this pack has cool knee pads, though.
Unfortunately, he’s my least favorite from this set, but still immensely cool. I didn’t realize the swords were painted until I got him in hand, which is appreciated. But he’s a little too animated for my taste, his legs are a bit on the rubbery side, and the coat does limit his potential a bit.
The ninjas are the meat of the sandwich for me. My brain can accept them as either stylized or normal (I opt for normal). I’ve never touched the figures with the hip joints that people kept moaning about, so I was bracing myself for when I actually got these in hand. Turns out, the hips are great and people were afraid of their own shadow.
I just ordered the Renegade pack, should be in Wednesday. I’m pretty stoked about that set now, after reading your reviews GJ I decided maybe they’re worth a shot after all.
On a side note, I just got my Retaliation pack in and that Roadblock hand thing and gun is terrible!! Awesome figure, but the accessories suck and his hand sucks. I’m working on trying to find diff hands for him. God why couldn’t they just give him a BFG or two instead of that rocket launcher garbage?!? He can’t even hold it up, and the shoulder thing doesn’t stay on either. I wouldn’t recommend this figure for anyone, unless you want to change the hands and throw the accessories away.
Oh oh oh I need to add, the new CC is freakin amazing! Finally have something to replace my ’83 with!!
Wow! I’m more excited now than I was when I first heard of this set. I think it is absolutely awesome that these have sold out twice. Renegades and articulated figs have a strong fan base. At first I thought the large knee pads on Duke were too big but they have really started to grow on me. They give him a cool “armored” look. I can’t wait to get these. Again, why did they make those Retaliation toys?
This Duke’s torso is the same as v1. They look the same when you look at pictures of them side by side. The arms are different though.
One second look Duke’s torso is the same but his arms are Law’s arms. He does have his original torso though.