Heavy Duty (Heavy Weapons Specialist)

JERRY: I’ll go ahead and save you some time by stating that if you are only intending to pick up one Heavy Duty figure in the Rise of Cobra line, make sure that you pick up the Reactive Impact Armored version.  The accessories are much, much better and overall the figure is just more fun.  Strangely enough, I initially picked up the camouflaged version because I thought he could fill in for Heavy Duty in my 25th anniversary collection.  While this version of Heavy Duty isn’t a bad figure, he does have one enormous fault which is completely inexcusable.

JERRY: The figure itself is a nice blend of a standard military appearance with quite a bit of character due to Heavy Duty’s imposing size and unique appearance.  Heavy Duty’s is dressed in black combat boots, a dark green t-shirt, and camouflage pants with a removable camouflage vest.  It takes a little effort, but the vest can be removed to effectively give the figure two fairly unique looks.  Just so that no one confuses him with Roadblock, Double Blast, or Mr. Eko, Heavy Duty makes sure to wear a belt that features the initials “HD.”  The Belt is also removable, although I’m not sure who else would want to wear it; Maybe Hard Drive?

JUSTIN: This figure really doesn't do a whole lot for me at all. I know Heavy Duty has this look during the Attack on the Pit, but honestly the figure just looks sort of clunky and not nearly as "future tech" as the Reactive Armor guys. The second version of Heavy Duty is vastly superior to this one.

JERRY: One strange feature I will point out is that while Heavy Duty is wearing knee pads, only his left knee pad is black.  The right knee pad is left the same greenish/tan color as his pants.  While I initially figured this was just a quality control oversight on my figure, I have noticed others mentioning this as well.  There are a few other small details which warrant mentioning, including a blue tattoo on HD’s left shoulder (which kind of looks like the Autobot symbol) and what is perhaps an earring on his left ear. 

JERRY: When I initially picked Heavy Duty up, I didn’t mind that his primary weapon was also the mandatory BFG monstrosity since that fit the character perfectly.  The original Heavy Duty figure had a huge missile firing rig as did the Sigma 6 Heavy Duty, so it only made since that this version would have his own spring loaded instrument of death.  Unfortunately, where those previous figures could adequately hold their huge weapons, this version cannot.  Not only is the mini gun far too large and improperly designed to be held by the figure, but there is also a very rigid plastic sling attached to the weapon which prohibits the figure from holding the weapon in any kind of reasonable pose.  I understand that Hasbro wants to include a gimmick with each of these figures, but at least make sure they work, especially when the gimmick accessory is so integral to the figure.  The mini gun can attach to a separate ammo belt which then attaches to HD’s backpack, a simple black backpack designed for carrying ammo.  The backpack is very nicely designed, as it actually has an attached frame with straps that attach to the figure like a real rucksack and the “HD” initials on the pack.  It is extremely similar to the backpack which comes with Reactive Impact Armor Heavy Duty, but the inclusion of actual straps versus the simple back plug of the other figure’s pack helps this accessory to stand out.

JUSTIN: As it is, I'm not a big fan of the figure, and the huge ass chain gun only serves to reinforce that negative opinion. I don't mind if Hasbro wants to include those spring-loaded weapons as secondary choices, but making the character's primary weapon one of those rediculous oversized clunkers is just a bummer. There are a couple of saving graces, though. The backpack with rubber straps is terrific, and really approximates the movie look fairly well. That's almost a reason to get this figure as it is, just to put on the Reactive Armor version and have a really movie accurate version of the Joe Heavy Weapons Specialist. That, plus the heavy caliber machine gun is pretty bad ass, too. I hate the oversized chain gun, but actually the rest of his gear isn't all that bad and suits the character well. Combine this figure with the Reactive Armor version, and you end up with a pretty bad ass Heavy Duty.

JERRY: The other two weapons are much more satisfying than the BFG, as the figure can actually hold them.  The first is a unique assault rifle with an under the barrel grenade launcher.  While elements of the gun do bear resemblance to a variety of real weapons, I don’t recognize this as being a real weapon.  The second weapon also appears to be some variation of a Steyr TMP with an attached silencer.  Both weapons are so far unique to Heavy Duty and look pretty cool.  I’m still just saddened that Heavy Duty cannot hold his main weapon which he is known for, as if he could this would be a fantastic figure.

JUSTIN: I agree. The figure isn't all that inspiring, and the main weapon issues only lessens the appeal. I do like the secondary weapons, but not enough to drop $8 on the figure, and I much prefer the Reactive Armor version in pretty much every way.

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