Road Pig

Officially one of the strangest characters Larry Hama wrote into comic book immortality, Road Pig was not your run of the mill Dreadnok. Within the confines of the Marvel series, he had multiple personality disorder, shifting between Donald, a kind and gentle lunk who had a crush on Zarana, and Road Pig, a loud, strong, and belligerent wild man who only lived to destroy whatever was around him.

I'm not entirely sure why this personality in the comic evolved, since the filecard made no mention of it, but it just goes to show what Larry Hama did to make these characters unique. Let's face it, for the most part Road Pig is sort of a speed bump in the long history of G.I. Joe...not many folks out there remember him. But if you ran across him in the comics, he left an impression simply because of that twist to his background. Pretty cool.

Back in the 80's design techniques hadn't quite evolved to where they are now, so when Hasbro tried to go to great lengths to make Road Pig look large and muscular, he looked mostly chubby and soft. Back then, though, you got the point, and you could tell he was a muscle-bound guy and the strong man of the Dreadnoks. Well, nothing has changed!

Hasbro designers elected to use the Resolute Roadblock tooling for Road Pig, which means he is a good sight taller than most other figures and is loaded with well defined and sculpted musculature. A perfect body choice, if I do say so. On top of that body they gave him a whole new head sculpt which pretty much perfects the character of Road Pig. That sneer and flat top just scream Billy Idol, which is a perfect inspiration, I think.

Along with recreating the sculpting that we're familiar with, Road Pig is also littered with some very nice paint details that are evocative of his classic version, yet also bring something new. He still has his familiar Anarchy tattoo, but they also added a snake tattoo on his chest which was something that the G.I. Joe Collectors' Club had added to the figure with their Convention Set in 2004.

From head to toe, this figure looks great, but when it comes to Road Pig, I think the accessories are what really sets this figure apart.

Yes the black pants and white hair (with the red stripe, natch) are all hallmarks of Road Pig. But even more than that are his mammoth football pads, which are recreated in amazing, exacting detail for this updated figure. If you want an idea of just how far toy design and detail has come in the last 20 years, just look at these two accessories next to each other. Astounding.

Along with the pads, he comes with a smashed up road sign for Alligator Alley, which is simply awesome. I have no idea who thinks this stuff up, but that is a brilliant touch for the figure. Something we haven't seen before and something I never would have thought of. Last, but not least, his cinder block hammer, and holy crap is that a great update as well. It slips very nicely into a holder on the back of his shoulder pads and is decoed in both wood and concrete colors, just for realism sake. Every divot, every chunk, every grain of wood is sculpted in meticulous detail. I am in LOVE with this hammer. So pretty.

For whatever reason, Road Pig also comes with a curved scimitar, though I'm not sure why. I wouldn't have even known it was his, except that the ever observent Phil from YoJoe.com pointed out that Road Pig's filecard states that he uses a "saber". Go figure. It's a neat sword, but is much more appropriate for Taurus..errr... Bull. He has now appropriated this weapon.

Even though he was a later generation Dreadnok, Road Pig certainly was one of the more distinctive ones and as such, he gets a big investment of tooling dollars in the 7-pack. Well worth it in my opinion, and the end result is fantastic. Great parts choices, an awesome new head, and some amazing accessories. This guy alone practically justifies buying this set...the best thing is, there are two more figures that are just gravy.

GRADE:

Pre-Order this great 7-Pack at Big Bad Toy Store now!