Like the Steel Brigade trooper, this particular iteration of the Iron Grenadier has been released a few times to compliment the Pursuit of Cobra City Strike Destro, one of the coolest PoC figures ever done (and one in desperate need of one of these “carry forward” releases).  I’ve always loved the Iron Grenadiers, and that love doesn’t falter with these versions, even though they are essentially re-releases of the past versions.

In actuality, this 50th Anniversary Iron Grenadier does have some cosmetic changes with the color pallet of the camouflage, and I actually like those color changes quite a bit.  The figure foundation itself is the same as we’ve seen, built off the same formula as the City Strike Destro with a terrific padded uniform, yet thanks to the revolutionary sculpting and design of the latter year G.I. Joe figures, even with the thick padded uniform, they still manage to retain great elbow articulation and range of motion.  It’s pretty impressive, actually.

Where the previous two versions of this figure had elaborate gray and white camouflage, this particular version mixes it up a bit and changes out the darker gray with what looks to be a light blue/gray.  The overall appearance is similar to the previous heavy weapons soldier, but adds just enough variety to keep things interesting.  I’m not sure if it was a specific, purposeful change, or just happenstance, but the results are nice.  It at least adds some variety to the three separate times the figure has already been released to retail.

Accessories

Iron Grenadier comes with much the same gear as previous iterations did.  The old school heavy machine gun (that originally came with Para-Viper) as well as the backpack and stedi-cam assault weapon.  The machine gun belt is there, too, as well as the awesome, oversized tactical vest that is such a great one.  Yes, the gear is all the same, but the gear isn’t too bad.

The re-release of the Iron Grenadier, similar to the Steel Brigade, presents another opportunity for would be army builders to acquire somewhat difficult to obtain troops for their squads.  I think the Iron Grenadier was a bit more difficult to find, and these colors are a nice variation of the common theme.  Ultimately I think I can better find a place in my collection for the Iron Grenadier than the Steel Brigade.