Marauder "Gun Runners" I.D.S. Battle Stands
I think most folks out there are aware of the saying "you don't know what you've got until it's gone"...well, in the case of the Marauder I.D.S. Battle Stands, the opposite is true. You didn't know what you were missing until you had it.
I've only been moderately interested in battle stands over the years. Sure they were really handy for standing up my vast array of G.I. Joe figures, but they were only barley functional, and had some pretty specific restrictions. Each figure was relegated to being a certain distance apart, and forming little squads of troopers didn't work all that well, as the stands hit against each other and figures couldn't really be close together. Things only got worse with the Anniversary figures. In fact, at first, with only one foot peg per stand, putting the figures in any standing pose other than standing straight up caused the stands to tilt and the figures to stand askew. So, they were nice for basic stances, but nothing more advanced. Well, as he did with the weapons, Marauder "Gun Runners" has redefined the term "Battle Stand".
The I.D.S. Battle Stand is brilliant in its simplicity. First of all, it's very, very thin, yet still quite sturdy. This gives us a nice stable place for the figure to stand up, yet the stands are slim enough to rest on top of each other and not be too askew. The stand has pegs for the vintage style figure feet as well as the more modern Anniversary (or Rise of COBRA) figures. These newer pegs are also fairly compatible with Star Mars and Marvel Universe as well. Sometimes the peg holes need a little work to fit, but it still works fairly well, and is perfect for G.I. Joe. In fact, I think the fast majority of Hasbro figures will work with the newer, slimmer peg style. So for folks who are married to the vintage style, these will work just as well for you as they will for fans of the newer stuff.
But of course the truly unique facet of these battle stands are the interlocking capabilities. There is just so much potential for customization here that I may not even be able to cover it all in this one review.
Upon first glance, it's obvious with the Jigsaw shape that this stand is meant to interact and interlock with others. In fact, you can only buy these stands in twenty count chunks. Obviously this means they can all interlock and stand on a shelf in a much more capable manner, fitting neatly together so figures can stand in a vast variety of different ways. You can rotate each individual stand in a bunch of different ways to customize it how you want it. Whether it's dozens of troopers standing at attention, a squad of Spec Ops Troopers loading their gear for a mission, or even two dozen Joes and COBRA's locked in an intense firefight, there is so many different ways to make these stands do what you want them to do.
But, as the infamous Ron Popeil would say... "that's not all!" No, there is so much more that this I.D.S. Battle Stand system can do, it's really amazing that nobody thought of any of this before.
And there's still plenty of other display opportunities...the I.D.S. Battle Stand is also three dimensional! These stands have been designed in such a way to not only interlock flat on the surface, but also in a great "step system". Yes, that's right, the battle stands can also interlock going up to create a display "step" as well as just a simple battle stand. How cool is that?
So, in short, the I.D.S. Battle Stands are some of the most unique, most functional, and most exceptional display stands on the market today. They work with scores of different action figure types and styles, and I simply cannot recommend them enough. Marauder "Gun Runners" continues to redefine action figure accessorization, which is what happens when the guy who runs the place is a diehard fan as well as a smart business man. I greatly look forward to seeing what the Marauder folks come up with next, they are hitting home run after home run.
Don't hesitate to grab some of these stands, they are worth every penny. Marauder, "Gun Runners" currently has a few different bulk deals of these things, and they're all worth the cash:
Keep in mind that every different arrangement you see in this review was done with a single set of 20 stands.
If you display your figures in any type of pose or any kind of loose style, you will find some use somewhere for these battle stands. They're unique, customizable, and infinitely functional, and they get my absolute highest recommendation.
GRADE: 
