Discount Store/Dollar Store Duke (Running Change)

As great as it was getting a revamped Original 13 in the 25th Anniversary line, I think most of us would agree that the tooling got sort of tired after a little while. Hasbro's design skills were evolving at an amazing pace, yet those Original 13 parts just didn't seem to be keeping up.

Well, when the last wave of 25th Anniversary figures were in the planning stages, someone decided to give Zap some fancier legs and better belts. The end result was a figure that looked very much like the Original 13 versions we were used to, but with some extra holsters, an awesome canteen, and most importantly a little bit more "beef". It really made a huge difference. With the original release of Duke, we got that original 13 look in green as many of us were likely thrilled to see, leaving the door open for many customizers. So, if this is a running change of that Duke, what's up with the gray?

The way I see it is two fold... first and foremost, the gray and black is a pretty cool "night ops" color scheme that is a bit more toned down than the previous green version. But most importantly, this shade of gray just happens to match the Sunbow cartoon model of Breaker perfectly. Yep, in the old 80's cartoon, Breaker was not in green, he was in gray. Pretty much this exact shade of gray. So now, thanks to this base figure and some head swapping and webgear swapping, you can have the version of Breaker you've always wanted, if you're a cartoon fan.

Strictly from a toy standpoint, this version of Duke is pretty sweet as well. He has the slightly updated original 13 parts, which means his articulation is great, and he's got more detail than previous releases that might have looked similar. The ankle holster is awesome, and I love the belt with removable pistol and canteen as well. Including the black chest straps are great, too, because even the 25th Anniversary version of Short Fuze came with the twin strap webgear instead of the one you see above that he should have been equipped with. Yes, this figure kills a bunch of birds with one stone.

ACCESSORIES

This version of Duke comes with a single pistol for his two holsters (a mild disappointment, I suppose, though I personally have about 37 of those pistols kicking around). He also has the excellent Pursuit of Cobra Dusty helmet and a great, if somewhat generic, M-16 rifle. Nothing extraordinary, but all of it makes sense and allows one to equip this guy as a generic soldier if so desired.

I am truly amazed at the mileage the Hasbro designers have gotten out of his budget assortment of figures. The fact that twelve different figures were able to be made under such tight financial restrictions, and they managed to all be pretty darn good is just a testament to the creativitiy and skills that these folks posess. Another great figure in this assortment.

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