G.I. Joe: The Pursuit of Cobra - Dusty

At the risk of repeating myself ad nauseum when it comes to environmentally specific figures, I'm not normally a big fan of figures that can only work in one particular place on the world, or in one specific function. I like my figures to be able to operate in numerous capacities. Dusty is quite obviously best suited for a desert environment, yet still manages to be probably the coolest Joe figure in the Pursuit of Cobra second wave. I think that really speaks to just how incredible this figure is.

The amount of raw detail littered throughout this figure is absolutely astounding, and it's not even the obvious details, it's the subtle things. From a well-sculpted textured turtleneck to the angled shoulder pads, and the slimmed down sculpted-on flak vest, this figure is absolutely incredible. He looks nicely futuristic, but also extremely military in nature.

To go along with the desert theme, Dusty also has this terrific overspray on his face and arms that portray a very cool "dirty" effect that is just another cool aspect to an already neat figure.

Along with a nicely slimmed down, yet well sculpted upper body, Dusty has amazingly detailed baggy pants, kneepads, and a very strange (yet interesting) secondary with large pouches and some cool looking thigh pads. I'm not exactly sure what the purpose of this item is, but it looks cool and adds the right amount of bulk to offset the top and bottom halves.

These thigh pads also function without hindering articulation, and the range of motion in his elbows is excellent as well. Head to toe, Dusty is just a fantastic action figure and a nearly flawless update for the character.

Speaking of "head", Dusty also comes with a alternate head, which is equally amazing. The facemask and wrap around sculpted hood over his brimmed cap is a very cool look, and I absolutely love how you can see into the goggles and see the face underneath. So bad ass.

Along with this second head, Dusty has a nice assortment of other accessories, including the rubberized cloth around his neck, blending in perfectly with the actual cloth cape that goes down his back. His two submachine guns are awesome, easily carried and nicely detailed, to boot.

To go with the head, he also has a very nicely sculpted standard military helmet with a set of goggles that wrap around it. Sure, those goggles are too big to fit on his head itself, but they look fantastic on the helmet itself.

Last, but not least, he's got a set of barbed wire. I'm not exactly sure why or what it's designed for, but it's there all the same. He doesn't come with a ton of accessories compared to some of the other Pursuit of Cobra figures, but the quality of the gear makes up for it in a big way.

The base Dusty figure is pretty cool. Once you start piling on all of this gear, the figure only gets better, yet still manages to retain full functionality and articulation. I've been looking forward to this figure for a very, very long time, and I'm happy to report he meets all of my expectations in spades. Truly fantastic.

GRADE:

Buy this figure NOW at BigBadToyStore.com!