There are certain things in life these days…death, taxes, and repaints in the G.I. Joe line. Whether we like it or not, they are here to stay, and love them or hate them, everyone is going to have to accept them. But they tend to get a little easier to accept when the repaint is at least decent.
So, is Duke decent?
Definitely. Since my younger days, Duke has always been a favorite of mine. Yeah, most of my Joe-related life has been sent in silent awe of the Marvel G.I. Joe comic where Duke seemed only a hapless Hawk wannabe. But my first introduction to this fine world of pseudo-military fiction was Duke handspringing through scorching lasers and saving Scarlett’s life with a wink in his eye and that cocky grin. Ever since that moment, my first REAL introduction to G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Duke has been an important cornerstone to the mythos…a take-no-prisoners Top Shirt, and one bad mamma jamma (to shamelessly quote Chris Jericho).
However, throughout the line, I felt his figures somewhat lacking. The first version was classic…but his almost dress uniform didn’t lend itself it field combat very well. The Tiger Force one suffers the same fate, obviously…his version in ’92 was probably my favorite of the entire RAH run (a fact certain to generate me some hatemail) and while the later 2001 version worked hard to improve on that mold, the pasty skin and dark hair just fell a little short. Sure, that desert trooper version in the 90’s was an excellent all around figure…it just wasn’t distinct enough to be the Joe field commander. I won’t bother mentioning the Star Brigade version, although the head sculpt on that one was by far the best version of Duke in the line.
Then, there was Wave 1…bleh. The mold was simplistic and with the molded-on helmet, he was destined for the storage drawer…of course the lack of O-ring didn’t help matters any. But Wave 4 came along…and I quickly had a Duke I could use. His head sculpt is dead on to what I imagine Sgt. Conrad Hauser’s being. No smarmy grin, just a stoic look of confidence and a nice trim buzzcut. Add that to his great mold, which is one of the better ones proportion-wise…it crams a lot of detail into a small space, and something about those twin chest holsters just seems way too cool. Then we have all of his added articulation…the swivel wrists, jointed ankles…this guy can do it all, plus he came with a rockin’ Delta Force helmet and M4 Carbine that everyone has been looking for. The Wave 4 Duke was the total package. And it’s because of this that I don’t mind the repaint so much. For one thing, based on an already cool mold, they went ahead and made this Duke a “Night Force” Duke. I really dig the fact that Hasbro is at least taking the care to make this recent rash of repaints serve a purpose. And what is there not to like about Night Force? Taking established characters and dressing them down in black and dark colored uniforms for night operations is nothing but good stuff in my book.
But, that being said, I still think this version of Duke is at least a little inferior to the last. Anyone who has read my reviews knows that I like color. Lots of color. That’s something this guy does NOT have. He is pretty much dark green/black and tan/brown and that’s it. It makes for a pretty dull color scheme, but it’s a color scheme that does serve a purpose, I suppose. Overall, I still think the Wave 4 version will get more use than this one, but if they were going to repaint a figure, I think they picked a decent one to use and gave him a new palette that isn’t too offensive.
Not only that, but they did give him some pretty neat accessories. The Alley Viper facemask is something seen on every Alley Viper from ’93, so it’s not such a big deal…but I love those gauntlets and boots. For some reason they seem pretty neat and would make a good accessory to some of the more powerful COBRA troops. And finally, they gave him his M4 again, which is great, because I can never get enough of those guns…they are GREAT.
Over all, not a bad figure. Suffers from “repaint-itis” but I have no other real complaints.
Definitely. Since my younger days, Duke has always been a favorite of mine. Yeah, most of my Joe-related life has been sent in silent awe of the Marvel G.I. Joe comic where Duke seemed only a hapless Hawk wannabe. But my first introduction to this fine world of pseudo-military fiction was Duke handspringing through scorching lasers and saving Scarlett’s life with a wink in his eye and that cocky grin. Ever since that moment, my first REAL introduction to G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Duke has been an important cornerstone to the mythos…a take-no-prisoners Top Shirt, and one bad mamma jamma (to shamelessly quote Chris Jericho).
