Built To Rule - Raging Typhoon
Undoubtedly the one shining star in everyone's opinion of the BTR line is that the substandard Wave 3 Blowtorch seemed to be getting revitalized, this time in his classic colors. Not only that, but the BTR "nubs" on the arms and legs would fit right in with his patterned uniform. But every picture we saw was a little small and hard to make out. So how it this Blowtorch figure up close and personal?
Pretty darn nice. The Wave 3 uniform design actually lends itself to the classic color scheme fantastically. Compared to the original Blowtorch, they kept the color pattern almost identical...and yet, it still works for this new figure. They didn't seem to just slap the color there for the sake of slapping it, they applied it correctly, and yet it still matches up to the original. Very good decisions and nice execution by the Hasbro design team.
Also, those arm and leg knobs we all know and love (hrmmm...) really do seem to blend in very well and works just fine on this figure. The helmet also looks great in this color scheme and all around the figure is very nice.
I was actually somewhat surprised at the initial reaction to the public opinion of Blowtorch. Given the choice of a green/silver and black color scheme or bright yellow and red, I would think your average Joefan would prefer the darker hues, considering everyone is always so negative on the "neon age". Yet when the figure was released, everyone seemed to love it...even more than the Wave 3 version. I couldn't help but agree with the public opinion, but I like those funky colors.
A nice little side benefit of the BTR treatment is a new hand sculpt and some more malleable legs, which fix a couple of glaring problems with the original version. But this figure is not perfect. The lack of gloves on a flamethrower figure is almost mind boggling...I really don't know why that little detail would be missed considering how important it is to the figure.
But this is just one complaint on an overall good figure. My major concern is I'm not sure how useful a flamethrower is these days, but he makes a great firefighter and overall a neat addition to the team.
But come on now...that's my opinion on the figure...but this is a $30.00 piece. There has to be more to it than that, right? Well, as it turns out the vehicle is pretty neat, too...although I am slowly growing a little weary of the BTR concept.
The Raging Typhoon itself is a large and solid vehicle. There are tons of pieces...TONS. I'm talking bags and bags and bags of parts. As someone who never really had an interest in lego-syle building blocks assembling these vehicles gets a little tiresome. It took me a good solid hour and a half to build this thing, and while it's neat, I'm not sure it's neat enough to warrant the long assembly time. But of course, I'm not a huge fan of water vehicles anyway.
The vehicle is large and has two nice and solid pontoons which definitely seem to have the right effect. They look like they could carry this massive offensive vehicle to it's destination. The basic design of the vehicle is neat as well. It's wide and long, with room to carry lots of figures and some space in back for troop carrying as well. The hull is nice and streamlined, as are the side pontoons, and I love those armored canopies, very similar to the ones on the Armadillo, which is still my overall favorite BTR vehicle, and probably the only one I'll actually use. The Water Mocassin and COBRA Raven may see some action as well, but I'm not sure I'll use this beast. I find myself really liking the fans on back. they serve their purpose well and the pivoting ones in back allow the small reconassaince vehicle to do what it needs to do, too.
Add all of this up with the generous weapon compliment and you have a very solid vehicle that could tackle pretty much any COBRA watercraft out there. I'd love to see this thing go up against a Moray Hydrofoil, although I like the Hydrofoil so much more, I'd probably have it sink this thing like a rock.
As neat and powerful as the primary mode is, I actually find myself enjoying the secondary modes a little more...again, maybe it's my bias against water-based vehicles, but that's just how I feel about it. But, speaking of these secondary vehicles, what do we have?
This is the second boat mode. A lot smaller and more built for speed, it's a neat little speedboat, but not one I see myself using a whole lot. I'd take the Devilfish over this one pretty much any day, although the design is sleek and cool, and it has a pretty nice weapon compliment.
Ah, the infamous "Land Luge" rears it's ugly head again. Built from the reconassaince vehicle, this is something I will NEVER use, and I really hope they don't bring us too many more of this questionable type of vehicle.
This is the third secondary vehicle, which is a pretty neat little aircraft. A little too science fiction and too out there for something I'd use a whole lot. But it's design is pretty slick and it's got a pretty nice assortment of weapons. Against pretty much any COBRA aircraft, though I'd see this thing taking a dive very quickly.
Here is the fourth secondary vehicle, and this one is actually pretty cool. A large, armored transport, I love the design and the impact that this thing has. It's obviously not a fast attack vehicle- it's built for toughness and defense and I think works perfectly in this format. The wheels are spread far apart it has a solid body and lots of armor in front and at all ends. The large gatling/rocket launcher is a nice addition to the side. The twin machine guns and rockets on the front just add to the power of this monster, and it is just a cool, solid transport. It's got a lot of storage space in the back and lots of steel up front. While not as overly impressive as the Armadillo, it makes a neat support vehicle and is a nice draw to the Raging Typhoon.
But overall is the vehicle worth it? Well, after more than a handful of BTR vehicles, I find myself tiring of it a little bit. With large vehicles like this, it takes a lot of time to put them together and the end result just doesn't seem worth it. Realistically, it's a vehicle I may not even use, and after spending almost two hours putting it together, it seems almost a waste. The overall look is all right. I like the vehicle designs, but they just don't really integrate well enough into the Joe universe, which is all right, because they're really not meant to.
If it wasn't for the Blowtorch figure and some interesting secondary vehicle modes, I would feel like this set really wasn't worth the money. Even as it stands, I'm not sure paying $30.00 for this thing is in anyone's best interest. I'd save up the extra $5.00 and pick up the Patriot Grizzly, or use it to buy two packs. Fans of BTR will love this vehicle...it's probably in the top three of BTR so far, but for the regular vehicle enthusiasts, even with the Blowtorch figure, it ain't worth it.
Here are some more pics of this set in all of its different modes:
