With Voltar and Darklon’s release in the convention set from a few years ago, Metalhead became the most wanted individual as part of the Iron Grenadier corps. So much so that a custom version offered at the New Jersey Collectors Convention became a highly desirable item on the secondary market. The Club enlisted the aid of Boss Fight Studio to design and sculpt the head, and I assume they did the build for the figure as well, and by and large it’s successful.
I think it could have been a bit better.
When it comes to developing these modern updates, you must always walk a fine line between paying tribute to the vintage and trying something new, especially in the case of Metalhead, who has such a different and unique vintage appearance. You can sacrifice an homage to bring something new and different to the table, or pick an element from that classic figure to build around. We ended up with sort of a mixture of the two.
First and foremost, the head sculpt is just terrific. It has loads of character, from the mullet-like hairdo, to the crosshair etched goggles, and the grimace encased inside the crazed beard. Even if nothing else on the figure resembled the Iron Grenadier explosives expert, you’d know exactly who it is.
Using pretty slender arms was an interesting design element here, especially considering those ’90 era figures tend to be on the bulkier side. They tried to make up for it with the extra bulky Jungle Viper legs, which I actually really love for Metalhead. Deco is relatively straight forward, with the familiar black, red, gray, and just the slightest hint of gold.
I’m not sold on the build. I realize that the Club (and Boss Fight) were going for some vintage elements with the strap patterns of Snake Eyes’ webgear, not to mention the knife sheath, but combining the extra large webgear with the extra slender torso and arms just makes for a somewhat odd combination. It’s almost as if the bulky webgear exentuates the skinny parts underneath (and vice versa) so it appears to be more drastic than it really is. At some point I’ll likely swap out the webgear as a test, because I really do love most of the figure, it’s just those parts together don’t jive really well in my eyes.
Accessories
As I mentioned, he’s using the PoC Snake Eyes webgear, which is an awesome vest, even if a bit oversized in this case. He also comes with a knife for his sheath, the great Retaliation Cobra Commander laser gun, and the Pursuit of Cobra Duke missile launchers, which suit the character so perfectly it’s almost scary. I’m not one of those vintage devotees who won’t accept a Metalhead without rocket launchers attached at each thigh…I think what he comes with is pretty much perfect. The color matching of the rockets and the launcher/backpack is pretty flawless as well.
There is a lot to love about this Metalhead. His new head sculpt is really perfect. The range of motion on his arms and legs is excellent. The deco is spot on, and I so much want this to be my favorite Convention figure ever. But that oversized webgear combined with the extra-scrawny torso and arms just makes for a weird combo. Thankfully webgear is easy to swap, and I’ll kick some stuff around to see if anything else grabs me. Beyond the issue with Metalhead looking a bit too skinny, most of the figure is great, and will look awesome among the other score of Iron Grenadiers.
Now we need some Nullifiers and TARGATs!
Metalhead
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
3.8
Summary
Metalhead is a figure I want to love, and I almost do. The head sculpt is spectacular, Boss Fight Studio at their best, but the combination of large, gapping webgear and slim body makes for a figure that just doesn’t mesh real well. He doesn’t look like he goes together. The articulation is great, the paint scheme is pretty nice, there are just a couple minor choices that I might have preferred. Ultimately he’s a good addition to the Convention set and offers a great template to build from, I just wanted Metalhead to be perfect. He isn’t quite.
Destro’s diver troops have had a convoluted history throughout the Real American Hero mythology. Emerging in 1990, somewhat separate from the majority of Destro’s troops, Undertow sort of became amalgamated with Cobra right off the bat, especially in the DiC animated series. Their colors never really matched typical Iron Grenadier colors (though to be fair, neither did Nullifier, TARGAT, or several others) and in fact, during G.I. Joe’s 2000 release, they became official Cobra underwater troopers.
When the Collectors Club reintroduced the Iron Grenadiers for the 2005 Convention Set, the Undertow was conspicuously absent…a fact that the Club rectified several years later, releasing him as their annual incentive figure in a great Iron Grenadier deco. When Undertow was announced as part of this year’s Convention set, many folks wondered which one it would be… the Iron Grenadier deco, or the 1990 deco?
With Iron Anvils and General Mayhem in the set, the IG deco is the one that made the most sense, and honestly, it looks pretty nice, too. It’s fair to mention, however, that the 50th Anniversary Eel, released this summer, bears a pretty striking resemblance to this Undertow, but still, it’s nice to have another squad of Destro troopers in hand.
Undertow uses Torpedo’s torso, Retaliation Snake Eyes upper arms, Torpedo lower arms, and Retailation Snake Eyes’ legs, all of which combine together to portray a decent wet suit look and feel. Mixing the more modern parts in there, though, offers better range of motion and sculpting than we saw originally. As I already mentioned, Undertow uses the Iron Grenadier paint scheme, a mixture of black, gray, and red with just a hint of gold, and it looks really nice, complimenting the rest of the Iron Grenadier corps quite well.
Accessories
Undertow comes with the typical weapons allotment. The Cobra Eel Speargun along with Torpedo’s backpack, and the familiar facemask, trident, and underwater sled that they are so well known for. It’s a pretty great selection of weapons, and I love that the sled is included as well. Those miniature vehicles that came with certain figures are among my favorites in the line.
Undertow is a pretty basic upgrade, but one that works well within the confines of the Convention Set. I have no doubt that we’ll eventually see a classically deco’d version either in the FSS or elsewhere, but this version will be a great placeholder until that happens.
Undertow
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
3.2
Summary
Using a variation of the formula for the 50th Anniversary Eel, the end result is the same – a figure that represents an underwater operative well, but also can work as a land based trooper, too. The Retaliation Snake Eyes legs can maintain the wet suit aesthetic, but also allow for walking, not just swimming. The formula works, the more modern parts add some nice range of motion, and the paint apps matching the o-ring GIJCC exclusive from a few years back make for some great integration into the IG core.
The Collectors Club has proven in recent years that they understand the appeal of newer parts and whenever possible, they will go to the Pursuit of Cobra or newer well to get pieces that do not look dated and archaic next to other figures in the same set.
For that reason, I really don’t understand the choice for Undertow Officer here. I can see that if there’s a big demand for a vintage rehash, but the only way to do it right is to go old school… I can see the Club doing that. But this isn’t that. This is the Club developing a new character and seemingly purposefully choosing outdated and tired looking parts to satisfy their requirements for this character. Not a big fan.
As it is, the 25th Anniversary Scarlett figure doesn’t belong on the same plane of existence as figures designed over the past few years. Her sculpt is soft and almost animated in nature, with clunky joints, and a weird architecture. Heck, I didn’t even like them using it for Quarrel in the first FSS, though I can understand why they did.
I really don’t understand them using it here.
Yes, I know technically this isn’t the 25th Anniversary Scarlett, it’s the dive suit Baroness, but actually that’s almost worse. Along with the clugey base figure, this figure has permanently attached flippers and stubby arms, which ends up looking wholly out of place compared to its more recent compatriots. I mean seriously. Just standing this figure in a group of other Convention figures immediately places it in a different era…it barely looks like the same toy line. The existing Pilot Scarlett head sculpt and the dated body just do not look right among all these later generation peers, and even with a relatively nice Undertow-themed paint scheme to tie her into the other Iron Grenadier divers.
Accessories
Undertow Officer comes with the same Undertow mask as her troopers, the Torpedo backpack, and the same webgear and laser gun that the original dive suit Baroness came with. The flippers are permanently attached to her feet, so I’m not sure those count as accessories, but she does come with the trident and golden barracuda of the original Undertows. Pretty basic accessory compliment here.
Frankly, I’d be against Hasbro themselves using these parts if this figure was a ten dollar retail release, but as a Convention figure, which should come at premium quality for a premium price, I’m exceptionally disappointed in this one. I can’t really think of an excuse why a figure like this would make it into a convention set, and really hope that some care is taken to prevent it from happening again in the future.
Undertow Officer
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
1.8
Summary
A new character that strangely uses old school 25th Anniversary Scarlett parts which does the figure no favors and makes it stand out among the more modern parts surrounding it. The soft sculpting, strange articulation build, and permanently attached flippers combine to produce a figure that is a low light of not just this set but the last several sets.
Like Big Brawler and Dial Tone, the Club used the 2003 Toys “R” Us Tiger Force set as an inspiration for Stalker, and I’m glad to say, this time the execution was pretty spectacular.
I do feel the need to say up front that I would have loved Stalker even more if they’d went with the blue and orange, but even as is, this update is really well done.
Using a combination of G.I. Joe: Retaliation parts, with arms from the G.I. Joe Trooper and legs from Ultimate Duke, Stalker has a really nice look and feel, with detailed sculpting etched into his baggy uniform, which manages to maintain a great sense of articulation mixed among all the wrinkles and design aesthetics. I really love those G.I. Joe Trooper arms especially, with the wrapped wrist devices and range of motion in the elbows. Little touches like the tactical holster on the right leg also make a huge difference, and Stalker ends up looking awesomely military even as he runs around in yellow tiger stripes.
Of course its the new head sculpt that really sets him apart. Boss Fight Studio turns in another remarkable work of art with a great rendition of Stalker, featuring a great looking open-mouth sneer and a head that nearly perfectly fits the existing beret. Not only does the head look great, but doing it without a beret gives the Club future flexibility to add other headgear to it (like a knit cap perhaps?).
From the next generation parts choices to the great new head sculpt, immediately Stalker stands apart from many other figures in this set. The color scheme helps, too. With a black jacket, similar to his Talking Battle Commander version, Stalker has just the right trim of yellow throughout his uniform, on his wrists and on the beret. His legs have a terrific tiger stripe pattern of yellow and black, managing to fit the theme really well, while calling back to previous iterations of the character.
Accessories
I’ve already mentioned the removable beret, but Stalker also has the great G.I. Joe: Retaliation Snake Eyes webgear in the awesome shade of green that I love. His backpack is the Pursuit of Cobra Snow Job one with a removable phone and antenna, as well as a hole to hook his large machine gun into. Yes, Stalker also comes with the mammoth machine gun that Retaliation Roadblock came with, which disassembles into several smaller parts. Of course he also comes with a pistol for his holster and a machine gun as well.
Stalker is the whole package. As the Convention Tiger Force team leader, he has a fantastic new head sculpt, a great build, and some really fun accessories. He’s a great addition to the Tiger Force team and excellent Convention figure.
Sgt. Stalker
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4.6
Summary
Like Dial Tone and Big Brawler, Sgt. Stalker comes from the Toys “R” Us 6 Pack, and where the other two had some shortcomings, Stalker succeeds. A great new head sculpt by Boss Fight Studio, some excellent modernized parts choices, a really exciting new deco, and an impressive allotment of accessories brings to life an exceptionally nice Tiger Force update.
Not being one of those fans who was desperate for modern updates to all vintage Tiger Force figures, I don’t have a personal attachment to seeing those designs updated, but I know a lot of folks do. When Recondo was listed in the Convention brochure, I figured it was a slam dunk that he’d appear with his familiar blue hat and gray/green color scheme that we’d all seen as a kid, piloting the Tiger Fly helicopter. Instead, the Collectors Club threw a hanging curve ball and gave us an unreleased version of Recondo, originally seen in the same pre-sales catalog as Sabretooth.
It was an interesting choice. I can understand why it would upset some people, because many folks out there feel like they need all of those vintage versions updated. But on the flip side, going the unproduced route is a more intriguing move, because it’s something that hasn’t been done before. However, on the other hand, it just so happens that the unproduced Recondo is in a color scheme exceptionally similar to Tiger Force Flint, so in that way, Recondo seems somewhat uninspired.
At the end of the day, you can only really judge the figure by your own personal enjoyment of it, and Recondo excites me about as much as any Tiger Force figure does… which ain’t much.
That being said, there are elements to enjoy here. Granted, the 25th Anniversary era head sculpt is pretty soft and dated when compared to its peers, but it’s Recondo, that much is inarguable. I love that the Club improved the arms, going with Kwinn rather than the bulbous Flint arms of the 25th Anniversary version. Recondo desperately needs those new arms, and these work amazingly well. Even though the color scheme so lock step in line with Flint, it is still pretty nice, with great shades of green, brown, and black, looking almost more jungle-like than Recondo’s original tan and light green. Purely on his own merits, the figure is fun.
Accessories
I would imagine because of Wreckage’s weapon choice, this Recondo doesn’t come with his trademark shotgun, instead sporting the great wrapped sniper rifle that the Pursuit of Cobra version of the character came with. I approve. He also has his familiar backpack, removable boonie hat, and the truly bizarre jungle knife that Shadow Tracker originally came with. The knife was a really strange choice, but individually it doesn’t make or break the character. As we’ve seen since day one, the hat has some trouble staying on his head, but for display purposes, it works.
Recondo was an early favorite character of mine that remained somewhat under utilized in the comics and cartoons, but every time he did appear, he made an impact. This figure takes the spirit of the character and does some interesting things with it, and I like that the Club went unproduced with the deco, even though to many folks it will feel like a missed opportunity. In actual execution, the figure is nice, poses well, and has some crisp paint applications. A decent enough update.
Recondo
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
3.1
Summary
Utilizing mostly the 25th Anniversary parts, the figure succeeds by at least addressing the worst area of the original, which were the arms. There are still some limitation to the older parts, but as a whole, it’s not a bad update at all. The Club elected to use his unreleased paint scheme rather than duplicate the vintage version, which was a nice twist, though it may upset some vintage purists.
