Marauder "Gun Runners" Custom Weapons System
Series Three

In the past few years the only thing really consistent about the progression of the G.I. Joe brand was it's inconsistency. Changes in sculpting, style, format and even slight changes in scale (even before the Sigma 6 phenomenon) gave buyers a wide range of quality and end product. Sometimes it was even tough to tell that certain figures were from the same toyline! So leave it to a "little guy" like Marauder "Gun Runners" to finally bring some solid consistent effort to the 1:18 action figure world. Someone who is intimately in touch with what the collectors are looking for. Someone who elicits feedback, and actually acts upon it, and someone who has a real strong, powerful desire to make the products we want. Over the past year and a half (almost) since Marauder's debut at the 2005 G.I. Joe Convention, their product has been the epitome of "consistent". High quality, functional, realistic, and fun weaponry for our 1:18 action figures, be they G.I. Joe or whatever else. Now Marauder is branching out slightly, going for a more "accessory" laden assortment, something dio-story guys like me are excited about. Series three is the first time he's dipped into these waters, and I've gotta say, I remain very pleased with the results.

While Series Three definitely has some great weapons in here, it really shines in the accessory department, and as someone who is constantly striving to find good gear to work with my Joes, I am almost giddy at the thought of Marauder John really getting into the dio prop and accessory scene. If he continues releasing items like this at the quality they are here, I think many of us will be very, very happy.

I'll cover the weapons first, since I think those will still get a lot of attention (as they should).

The third series comes with two different AK-47's, one with a bayonet and one without. Both of the assault rifles also feature removable magazines! An extremely cool additional feature for some added realism in your dio's. I will say that the removable magazines are done with somewhat mixed results. I'd heard a few complaints that the clips were somewhat loose and came out at a moment's notice. I must mention that this was not at all the case with mine. I made sure the magazines were pushed in tightly and gave the weapons pretty serious "shake tests" and did not lose a single clip (out of the three weapons) during those tests. But you do still need to be cautious. On one of my weapons, when I was putting it in a Viper's hand, I did bump the clip slightly and it fell out pretty easily under those circumstances. So, as can be expected for weapons of this small size, there may be some loose fits with the clips. For the most part, though I have had no problems where the clip spontaneously falls out as I've heard in other places. Not only that, but two of my weapons worked pretty well with the clips hooked tight inside. Just make sure you press in tightly, and they should stay secure.

Even if the clips weren't removable, I would give these weapons extremely high marks if only due to the design and detailing. So far Marauder has put out several different variations of the AK-47/AK-74, and so far they have really succeeded in making each model different and unique enough to warrant an additional purchase. I really love the way this weapon looks, and would highly recommend it even if there wasn't the cool removable clip.

This third series of weapons also features the ever popular German Luger. While this is an older weapon, and not one I had a special need for, I'm sure with all of the World War II buffs collecting Ultimate Soldier and BBI 1:18 military figures, this could be a very desirable item for them. Not to mention it still makes a pretty cool sidearm for COBRA Commander. It is a very uniquely designed and well-known pistol and it's presented in pretty much perfect detail. All of the metal trimming is very nicely sculpted and this looks like a pretty darn near perfect representation of the well-known German sidearm.

Another very cool pistol-sized addition is the .357 Magnum pistol that Marauder "Gun Runners" has released this time around. They have gone pretty detailed and realistic with this weapon as they always do, and we get a fantastic handle texture, individually sculpted chambers and an absolutely perfect looking snub-nosed barrel. It is a beautiful version of this pretty famous pistol.

Marauder, for one of the first times, goes with a trigger guard on this particular pistol as well, which makes it look all the more realistic, but makes it a bit tougher for your common G.I. Joe figure to hold it as well as he might some other guns. Even with this trigger guard, though, the handle is designed very nicely and the pistol itself is remarkably easy to hold. It's very nicely sculpted, very nicely sized and is a great little weapon that packs a punch. How about a long-barreled version, John? ;)

Next up is another cool little weapon, a sawed off double barreled shotgun. Just imagine the damage your typical Headhunter could do whipping this thing out and blasting away! The sculpting on this weapon is pretty sparse, but the weapon is designed with simplicity in mind in the first place, so it still ends up looking very realistic. The lines and detail spots are all in the right places, and the rounded handle makes the gun effortless to hold, especially for the newer "soft plastic hand" figures. Like the Magnum, this shotgun has the trigger guard, but it doesn't seem to impact the way a figure can hold the gun at all. It works very well, and I find myself really loving the double barrel look. Another small weapon that really does some damage.

This weapon will immediately look familiar to fans of the Star Wars franchise, yet has it's own base in reality as well. Lucas based the weapons that many of his troopers carry around off the British Sterling submachine gun. So rather than face the wrath of Lucas lawyers, Marauder simply released their own excellent version of the Sterling. I'm not a real fan of older weapons especially, so I don't necessarily have a place in my armory for the Sterling, but I can only imagine that Star Wars collectors and customizers are going absolutely gaga over this weapon (as they should). It is impeccably designed and manages to look VERY similar to the familiar Storm Trooper weapons, yet still maintains a very real world feel. The patterened handle, trigger guard, and intricately designed barrel all look very nice, and this version of the Sterling has a great folding stock as well. There is a tiny peg under the front barrel that holds the stock in place, but it's quite simple to pull it free and swing it around to the rear of the gun (where it is kept in place by a peg system just above and behind the handle). Without the stock the weapon still looks pretty nice:

And here is the stock fully extended:

You end up with a very nice, versatile submachine gun that just happens to look a whole lot like the familiar weapon that is carted around in the Star Wars movies. How can you go wrong? Very nicely done here.

That covers the actual firearms in Series Three, but there's plenty more to go around. First of all, what good are a load of weapons if you've got no place to keep them? Well, Marauder comes through in a HUGE way by releasing an exceptional gun rack! Textured in realistic looking woodgrain, the gun rack works nearly perfectly!

With a nice wide base with a decent sized recepticle for the butts of the rifles, this rack is almost perfectly designed to accomodate many different types of weapons. I've found it's sculpted to work quite nicely with the AK-47 variations, but almost any other weapon I've tried of similar sizes has worked as well.

The holes in the rack are a great size, managing to hold weapons securely even if there's only one in there...but if you end up stacking a few deep per rack it still works very, very well. I can't find a whole lot to say about the gunrack, but it doesn't need much praise. It fills a gaping hole in a lot of Joe fans' arsenals, and with the woodgrain pattern and overall design asthetics, it looks like it works about as well as you can possibly imagine.

One of the non-firearms included in Series Three is the claymore mine. Designed to stick into the ground and blast at enemies, the claymore is sculpted very nicely and looks like it will serve its purpos well. The two prongs are thick, but not overly thick and I found that they stick into the ground pretty nicely (as long as the ground is soft enough). The curved surface of the mine itself looks great and just as it should. A pretty nice little addition to any armory.

I was extremely surprised by the flashlight when I first saw it. I mean, flashlights aren't exactly new to the Joe realm...both Outback and Tunnel Rat are well known for their illuminating accessories. This one, however, just blows them away, from a detail point of view. Expertly sculpted with a nice lined surface and a fantastically sculpted on/off switch, this light looks like it was shrunk down from an original, but suffers no loss of detail. The separated battery cover and lamp are also great elements. This looks like a great little light that will compliment your Joes perfectly. The light itself is actually thin enough to be held well in classic Joe hands, too.

Grenades are another item that aren't exactly lacking in your typical Joe collection, but these grenades, like the flashlights, just look so much nicer. A simple, smooth sculpted surface and very nicely detailed pin and "spoon" give you a pretty simple grenade that is very affordible and looks great to boot. It also fits pretty seamlessly into your typical Joe's hand.

There are a huge number of knives that come (or came) with Joes of all shapes and sizes, but this about as good as it gets. The blade itself is actually tapered to a sharpened edge! The handle is nice and ridgid, but also detailed with some very cool lines, and the knob on the bottom of the handle is very nicely done, too. From the serated blade to the thick handle (but just thin enough to be nicely held by classic Joe hands!) this survival knife is flat out excellent. A great way to stockpile some of these blades for every day use!

Pretty much everything I said about the knife can be attributed to the machete as well, which is just simply great. The smooth handle looks like a real machete looks, and is thick enough to be held well by G.I. Joe hands (which a lot of the classic machetes were not). Like the knife, the blade is actually tapered to a sharpened edge, which is a great detail. The handle also has that flair on the end that you see on so many machetes (that I, admittedly, have no idea of the purpose for). All in all, from tip to handle, this is one fine looking blade and a must have for any jungle operative.

When Marauder John first showed me his Series Three line up at the Con this past year, the phone was what immediately struck me. Here in the 21st century, your much more likely to find phones in use than your typical walkie talkies, and the sculpting on this phone is just plain phenomenal. From the individually sculpted number keys to the recessed LCD screen, and even a nice little bit of detailing on the top...this phone looks exceptionally realistic. Size-wize it works well, too. It's thin enough to be held by the side by pretty much any classic Joe figure out there, yet for the new figures with the soft hands, it can even be held in a more realistic manner. All in all, it is a fantastic little phone that could provide countless uses. I highly recommend it, it's one of those things you may never think that you'll need until you have one...then you'll be using it all the time!

All of the above items are available in the Series Three set from Marauder "Gun Runners" If you buy the full set you will get everything shown above (just one gun rack as opposed to the four I have pictured above, of course). That is a great bargain and I think folks will find a use for pretty much everything included. The set in it's entirety is only $8.99 as well, which is really a bargain considering all of the great items you get. It's pretty much a no-brainer.

However, Marauder does also have another item not available in the set...the "helmet mic".

Nothing is more obnoxious than a really cool old school Joe figure with a gaping hole in the side of his helmet where a microphone should go. I don't know about you, but that really gets under my skin. Yet, you'll often find when you hop on eBay to pick up that elusive head gear, you'll be taking out a home equity loan just to cover it! Microphone prices have gone through the roof recently, especially for the ever elusive Heavy Metal, and this mic is a perfect substitute. For those folks who want something to plug into that empty space, but don't care if the color is original and don't care to spend a hundred bones getting it, this is just what you're looking for. In fact, while you can get repros on eBay currently for $15.00 (and the original will run you a whopping $75!!) you can pick up this helmet mic for a paltry .99. Yeah. Ninety-nine cents. Well worth the price to finally fill that helmet cavity in your tank driver figure that's been annoying the heck out of you for twenty years. Below is a side by side comparison:

As you can see, except for the color and some very minor sculpting differences, this is the perfect replacement for your tank driver's microphone, and it costs a fraction of the price. Even with the different color, it looks really great sitting in that spot, and is a heck of a lot better than that empty flippin' hole staring you in the face.

This is only available separately, though, and is not included in the "full set" purchase.

There's also something else to look forward to, though John doesn't quite have the timeline yet. A beret was also supposed to be released with Series Three, but there were errors in the production process and the final result was quite a bit smaller than intended. As a result, it does not fit on many Joe heads at all. I went through a number of them, and found that it sat on the Valor Vs. Venom Gung Ho's head okay, but was actually a little loose and didn't fit snug. Here's a little sample:

As you can see, it's something that WILL be cool once Marauder John gets the details worked out, but as of this moment, they're too small and not very functional. Once there's a better size, though, I'm pretty excited to see how these turn out. The sculpting is top notch, and they manage to look like realistic berets even in sculpted form. The versions I got here were hard plastic...I'm not sure if the final versions will be a more rubber material or not, but time will tell.

Overall, even though Series Three was a somewhat smaller series focused on lots of accessories as well as weapons, I think it was a very successful series. Lots of great gear this time around, with a very useful gunrack, mobile phone, and flashlight, not to mention the great .357 Magnum and sawed off shotgun. The AK-47 with removable clip is a great design that does have some minor problems with the clips staying secure, but I think those issues are pretty minor, and personally they worked fairly well for me. I still recommend them, just with a caveat that the magazines might slip out if you're not careful.

All in all, another terrific line up from the most consistent producer of 1:18 gear out there right now. From what I hear as well there are some fantastic diorama themed gear sets in the works, too, so absolutely keep your eyes open, because I think fans of 1:18 scale dio props will be near ecstatic with what's waiting in the wings from Marauder "Gun Runners"

Keep up the awesome work, John, and everyone, show him how much you love the product! Hit his site and buy 'em up!