Review – Resolute GI Joe Battle Pack
Well, you just can’t have a Resolute Cobra set without a Resolute GI Joe set. And, unlike the Attack/Defense of Cobra Island sets, this year it’s the Joe set that outshines the Cobra set. Well, it does in MY humble opinion anyway, and since it’s my review I’m the one that matters! Anyway, on to the review, and similar to the Cobra review I’ll start with the retreads/repaints, and intermix plenty of photos, with some comparison shots thrown in for good measure.
First up is a figure that fortunately isn’t a total repaint, just a retread. We’ve already gotten two versions of Resolute Duke beforehand, both the single-carded, cartoon-accurate version (one of my all time favorites by the way, both because he’s a badass figure and because he looks a lot like me) and the helmeted rocket-pack version from the Resolute 5-pack. This version of Duke is a take on the character as seen during the assault on the Siberian missile silo with Scarlett. Duke uses Arctic 25th Snake Eyes’s body, with Resolute Duke’s legs and arms, and a new headsculpt. The new head makes Duke look older and more grizzled (and mean!) than his previous Resolute counterparts. His hair has more detail, and is sculpted in more of a squared-off fashion. He also has the earpieces, lower face cover, and microphone that he did in the cartoon. This isn’t a terrible figure and it’s very cartoon accurate, and I applaud Hasbro for not just repainting Resolute Duke like they did with Cobra Commander. But it’s still a pretty meh figure, especially considering the badass unreleased (but still available from certain sources) Arctic Threat Duke from the PoC line. One nice little detail I noticed (and that several other Joes have too in various places) was a tiny little tricolor Resolute symbol on his belt buckle. For accessories, Duke comes with the same black and silver assault rifle and M1911 .45 that the previous versions had.
Next up is yet another version of Snake Eyes. Unlike Duke, this IS a straight repaint of City Strike Snake Eyes. The main differences between Resolute SE and City Strike SE are lighter shades of gray, gray on the legs instead of black, and green (green?) goggles. I think with the goggles, the designers were going for the scene where he switches to night vision to see the Cobra troopers on the docks when he’s gliding in, but I don’t like it very much. The big news here are the accessory changes. Resolute SE has the same backpack, but now he Duke’s assault rifle too in a solid black color for a more stealthy finish. If there was one tiny little complaint with City Strike SE, it was that his sword and sheath were just a tad too long and looked kind of goofy if not positioned perfectly. Well, Snakes has a new shorter sword and sheath. I kind of like this change, but I wish the sword had a tad more blade and a tad less handle. The really big news here is the inclusion of the glider pack that Snakes used to glide in to the island where he was to face Storm Shadow. It’s black and gray and spring loaded, so pushing a button on the back snaps out the wings. There are swing-out handles on the ends of the wings for Snakes to grab onto. For gliding ability, there is a thin mesh fabric attached to the wings. The fabric has clips on the bottom of it to attach to SE’s ankles, giving him that same “flying squirrel” appearance from the cartoon. I really, really like this piece of equipment, but I don’t think that fabric is durable enough for the long haul. Toss it into storage with your guns and such, and it’ll probably come out with holes sooner or later. I’m not going to complain too much about this figure being a repaint, because it’s a repaint of one of my favorite figures EVER, and the new accessories are very nice. I just wish the goggles weren’t freaking GREEN (though I’m sure a little paint will fix that).
The next figure is everyone’s favorite gourmet chef turned heavy machine gunner, Roadblock. This is the third time we’ve gotten this body mold, with the first time being Night Adder and the second being the Roadblock included with the Wal-Mart exclusive Outpost Defender. I absolutely love this mold, as it’s freaking HUGE. Roadblock towers a full head over the other figures in this pack, just as a guy who can handhold a .50 cal Browning should. He’s painted in much more cartoon accurate colors this time, and they’re definitely a homage to the original version of Roadblock. His pants are orangey-brown, and he uses Night Adder’s vest repainted green. The vest is VERY nicely detailed, with the pockets and details painted a slightly darker shade of green than the vest underneath. This gives the vest a worn, washed effect that works VERY nicely. There’s also well-detailed bullets around the waist and up on the shoulder pads. For accessories, Roadblock comes with the same machine gun TRU Repeater had, painted in green and gunmetal and accompanied by an ammo belt. The big gun has a post molded into it so Roadie can carry it on his back. The other two accessories are kind of puzzling. There’s um, a mortar shell. Why Roadie has a mortar shell and no mortar is beyond me. Perhaps he’s gonna slam in on a plate and toss it at Cobras, Saving Private Ryan-style. There’s also…a pickaxe. A freaking BIG pickaxe. It comes up to the shoulder on a regular sized Joe, and also has a post on it so Roadblock can carry it on his back. Why they included THIS accessory is almost as puzzling as the mortar shell. Apparently Roadblock likes to go mining on leave, as well as cooking.
Next up is everyone’s favorite female counter-intelligence operative, Scarlett. I feel that we’ve been hard-pressed for a good Scarlett figure since the 25th-style started. The original anniversary 5-pack version had that goofy leg attachment that limited her usefulness in vehicles, and a head that was permanently tilted down. Pilot Scarlett was of course a pilot and more a homage to Glenda than anything else. As far as RoC figures went, the first version of Scarlett in her fatigues sucked because she didn’t look very kickass in them and because the figure had kind of a monkey face. My favorite Scarlett to date was the Reactive Impact Armor RoC Scarlett. She was bad in black, had her hair down, and looked both kickass AND beautiful, just as Scarlett should. Well, that Scarlett just got booted off the island in favor of Resolute Scarlett. Resolute Scarlett is ALMOST perfect. For starters, her uniform and color scheme VERY closely mimic her original comic appearance, with Resolute touches like knee and shoulder pads thrown in. For another, this Scarlett has a very pretty face, like the one in the cartoon did. There’s just one problem…her head is just a TAD too big for her body. If it was say, the same size as the 25th pack Scarlett but with the more beautifully sculpted face, she’d be absolutely perfect. Anyway, this is the best Scarlett BY FAR, and I now have a new Scarlett for my Joeverse. Scarlett comes with a crossbow (of course) and a scoped rifle that very closely resembles a US Marine Corps M40. I LOVE sniper rifles and I love this rifle, both because it’s very nicely detailed and because now Scarlett can have a sniper duel with Zartan.
Next up is Flint. Flint of course uses Resolute Duke’s body like the rest of the figures here, but with a black painted shirt, green camo pants, and tan vest/body armor. The highlights here are the new headsculpt, which I think captures Flint perfectly, and the vest/armor. It’s got great detail all over, from the buttons on the pouches to the shotgun shells molded to the left strap. Flint also has a small container of shotgun shells strapped to his left wrist that can be removed if you pull off his hand. For accessories, Flint has his familiar green pistol-grip shotgun and a .45. While there’s not a lot new here either figure-wise or weapon-wise, I think this figure so perfectly captures Flint that I think I have a new Joeverse Flint as well as a Scarlett. It perfectly captures the essence of the classic while updating him just a tad for modern combat.
Continuing the “modern update” theme is Beachhead. Beachhead again uses original Resolute Duke’s body, with a green shirt, brown camo legs, and black vest/body armor. Beachhead has a green scarf around his neck that prevents the figure’s neck from looking too long for the head. The head is well done, there’s very nice detail on the pouches and such around the vest, and the right shoulder of the vest has something new…a removable knife in a sheath. Beachhead comes with an olive and silver version of Duke’s assault rifle and yet another 1911 .45. Again, there’s not a whole lot new or groundbreaking here, just a fantastic modern update of a classic figure.
Finally, there’s Stalker. Stalker differs from his original look more than most of the rest. Stalker looks like a grizzled old veteran in this incarnation, and he’s got a pretty mean look, too…as well as what I can best describe as dreadlocks pulled back and tied in a pony tail. Just from the look sculpted onto Stalker’s face, I doubt too many people are going to call him a sissy for having a ponytail. Stalker changes the body construction up just a tad, too. He’s still got Resolute Duke’s legs, but he uses City Strike/Resolute SE’s upper body and arms. Further differentiating himself, Stalker’s also got actual web gear instead of a combination body armor/vest. Similar to Beachhead, Stalker has a removable knife in a sheath on the right shoulder of his webgear. Also similar to Beachhead (in fact, it’s the exact same piece), Stalker has a green scarf around his neck so that his neck doesn’t appear too long for the head and carries the same olive Duke assault rifle and 1911 .45. Stalker’s much more of a new take on a classic character than an update like the rest of the figures, but I really, really like what they did with him, and the sculpting and paint apps on the head and hair especially are spot on.
I really, really like this set, and I LOVE the updates to Roadblock, Scarlett, Stalker, Flint, and Beachhead. It’s AMAZING how the paint apps and accessories can take essentially the same figure (Resolute Duke) and make a great update of classic characters over and over again. I don’t mind the use of Duke’s legs over and over, but I wish they had pulled off that stupid molded-on gun and put an actual holster on the figures. Other than the few flaws listed with the figures (Scarlett’s head, SE’s green goggles, and Roadblock’s strange accessories) I wish that the weaponry was a tad more varied. Duke’s assault rifle is nice and the recolors do a bit to help, but I’d still like to see at least Beachhead and Stalker get different guns. Also, I love me some M1911 .45s, but was it really necessary to include, oh, EIGHT of them in this set? Further, an update on Flint’s shotgun would have been welcome as well, because we’ve gotten that same gun a bunch of times now. But all in all this is a great set, a great update on classic characters, and well worth the $35-40 this set will cost you. And if you’re reading this and you haven’t WATCHED Resolute, get on youtube or go to the store and pick up the DVD, so you can understand what all the fuss is about.
I’ll tell ya, that just makes me want to yell “YO JOE!”
