By and large, the Pursuit of Cobra has been a lovefest. Hasbro has been on a roll, and most of the figures released for this line to date have been home runs, or at the very least a solid double or triple.
Well, nobody’s perfect, I guess.
These two figures come from each side of the spectrum…one of them has pretty much nothing of merit, while the other one is just chock full of lost potential. The end result is still a couple of disappointments. Check out the Pursuit of Cobra Review Page, or hit the links below to go direct:
couldnt even buy snake eyes…that harness makes him look like hes should be sitting in a rollercoaster. unless the system dicates that one star is the minimum a reviewed toy can get…that one star is charitable.
i picked up recondo………and set him right back down.
Zartan also has a bit of a neck problem, but the hood is enough to hide it and he has plenty else going for him.
I don’t know what the thinking was behind that Snake Eyes, but he’ll clog up the shelves and keep JV & Recondo hard to find.
Great reviews, as always. Just a theory on Recondo’s mask:
I’ve seen pics where that is attached to the back of his backpack. Does it fasten there? I’ve heard stories of people who venture into the jungle in India putting masks on their backs. Apparently, tigers like to attack from behind. If they see eyes looking at them, though, they stay away.
I love the look of this Recondo, but the neck issue seriously irks me. This Snake Eyes just fails.
Thanks for the review, Justin. I’ve picked up that Snake Eyes a couple of times (if for no other reason money was burning a hole in my pocket), but can’t pull the trigger by the time I make it to the register. After that review I’m glad I didn’t pull the trigger.
Agree with you 100% on Snake Eyes. If the Sigma 6 character looks more realistic you know you’re on to a loser 😉 It’s just so disparate in terms of build – the body is clearly from another figure as the head doesn’t fit at all. Plus a quick comparison between him and the W1 Snake Eyes just makes him look worse and worse.
I think my biggest problem with Recondo is his head. I don’t like his bald pate, and that baldness doesn’t help the hat stay on at all. In that respect, the Assault on Cobra Island version was much better.
The secret reason to buy that Snake Eyes is that you can swipe his head for your Resolute SE, so he doesn’t have the night vision goggles. Other than that, yeah; he’s a dog.
Just playing with the Recondo figure I’ve had on my desk since buying him. I love him, but he’s just so close to being perfect it is frustrating. However, I don’t know if anyone else noticed this, but this figure can do the best prone firing position of any figure I’ve found yet since the 25th Anniversary line. So there is one plus for his deformed neck, too bad we can’t have the awesome prone firing position as well as the ability to what for Jungle Vipers in the Canopy.
So, Snake Eyes son of Mogh, makes him slightly more interesting but still way over done.
And where’s the mention that not-Recondo is really Gnawhyde? Explains the accessories slightly more.
From a customizing point of view, Snake Eyes is kind of a dream come true. That bulkly armor will work perfectly for a heavy tank driver or heavily armored trooper. With him clogging shelves he’ll eventually sell at discount prices which will be great for those of us who customize.
I actually like the Snake Eyes figure more but it shouldn’t of been Snake Eyes. A good Cobra trooper would of been much better.
The head and lame-o half sculpted wrist rockets of Recondo are enough to kill him, but add in the every color in the freakin rainbow outfit and gear and he’s just NOT a jungle trooper. Still, nothing a repaint and forearm switch can’t fix 😉
You know, the PoC Recondo head works really well on RoC Benchpress’ body, and vice-versa. Not only that, you come away from the deal with a much better “Blaine” from Predator. Just add on RoC reactive armor Heavy Duty’s minigun and everything becomes right with the world.
Snake Eyes with Tornado Kick is just a hot mess.
Wow, way harsh on the SE. Kind of an “I already know he sucks, so let me write up that he sucks because he sucks” review. And then you give a glowing review to a Destro with a squirt gun and bird poop on his head?
That said though… I don’t like him AS Snake Eyes. From that perspective, I understand some of the issues. Personally though, I look at his parts and his arsenal and I see what Hasbro (and myself) could make with it. There’s a lot of possibilities. I maintain that his biggest flaw is that he’s Snake Eyes.
Recondo didn’t do a whole lot for me as-is, but the head, hat, gun, and backpack/traps made for a simple and effective start to a Gnawgahyde custom.
Oh, and if your bear traps need an extension cord, I think you’re doing it wrong.
snakes is an easy skip. i held the one recondo i found in my hands for a long time before setting him back down though. just too busy. can he hold all his gear? it looks like ONE trap and ONE hatchet can clip to his backpack, but not both at a time? also, the mask is pretty weird, and i wish there was some kind of explanation for it.
My problem with Tornado Snake-Eyes is that I shouldn’t think “Why isn’t this Kamakura?” when I see a new Snake-Eyes. If I can dig up an action feature free torso, I think he might be worth something.
Hawkwinter – as pointed out in the review those aren’t wrist rockets but seem to be more like Tranquilizer darts.
Monkey boy – I think the mask is a nod to his tribal connections.
I am surprised at your harsh verdict on Snake Eyes. That head looks dumb on him, but I’ve never been a big fan of that head sculpt anyway.
The action feature sounds dumb, but as others noted, his body’s fine for customizing; how is it any worse than Accelerator Suits?
Regarding Recondo’s neck: is it just his neck? If I popped his head onto a better neck stem, would it work better?
Recondo is frustrating because the concept is so much stronger than the execution. Lots of cool attempted detail, but the results were sloppy. As the sculpt stands, I think it would have made a much better Gung Ho. It doesn’t really bother me because at least the attempt is still a step in a good direction.
Unlike Snake Eyes.
I’ve never seen a more egregious example of mandatory Snake Eyes syndrome. It’s literally a throw away figure. Without guns, he’s not even worth salvaging for accessories. I sold the two that came in my case lot to a friend’s vintage toy store.
@ meyerc13
Yes I know they are “supposed” to be tranquilizer darts but they look like wrist rockets so I call them such and the problem I have with them is the sloppy, half-sunken-into-the-figure sculpting on them. It’s half-assed at best.
Regardless I still say both of these figures are better than Destro.
Just for those curious, as long as you are fine with Recondo carrying a gun in each hand, he can hold all of his accessories. His vest has a hole on each side that the hatchets can plug into, both bear traps can fit on his packpack (one on the left side on the cord and one on the right on a plug) and the mask can fit over the red button on the backpack (don’t know if this is intentional) or on Recondo’s face.
I consider him a figure that can hold all gear.
@barbeque17: thanks! that’s exactly what i wanted to know. also, i think MAYBE recondo is looking down so that the mask can fit on the BACK of his head, like the anti-tiger mask that Swivel-Arm Beer-Grip mentioned. if this is intentional then it makes the figure cooler in my opinion, but it’d be nice to get some official word from hasbro on this.
oh and justin my review of jungle viper is up on OAFE.net if you wanna check it out. 😉
Recondo is in the mail for me, that Snake-Eyes isn’t (thankfully), though I do have need of his lower Legs and Arms…