And it's time yet again for another Ol Yeller review, this time on a brand-spanking new Rise of Cobra exclusive figure. Toys R Us has certainly gotten its fair share of RoC exclusives, starting with the excellent Resolute-styled Firefly and the accessory laden Barbecue, and continuing with items such as the troop-builder five packs. New year, new exclusives: a repainted Water Moccasin, and "Arctic Threat" versions of Shipwreck and Doc. All I have received so far is Doc, but you can count on reviews on the other two items when I get them.
Doc uses the body of 25th Anniversary Arctic Snake Eyes with a new hood, and 25th Anniversary Doc's head. This version of Doc is, in a word, bright. I would somewhat question the decision to have my military medic glowing like the Las Vegas strip in any situation, but I know what Hasbro was trying to do here: make Doc more of an Arctic rescue figure than a medic. Doc's jacket is International Distress/hunter orange for easy location in snowy conditions. His pants are bright yellow, with black kneepads and boots. A nice bright blue highlights the tops of the bots, the gloves, and Doc's helmet (the same helmet from 25th Doc). There are silver accents on the hood, jacket, and pants.
Arctic Threat Doc, like most of the other TRU exclusive figures, comes pretty loaded with accessories. Besides his helmet, Doc has his medical bag, flare gun, some other type of gun, the same kind of removable cleats included with 25th Arctic SE, and the same accessory-laden backpack included with 25th Comic 2-pack Firefly. The medical bag is repainted this time in white with red accents. The flare gun remains silver, while the cleats are also now silver. The other gun (a heat gun?) is bright red with a small yellow reservoir of some sort on it. The backpack is blue with black bars. Open the backpack to check out all the accessories...wire snips, flashlight, gas can, and plastic explosives are all removable. The gas can is now blue and is apparently a water can (it says "H2O" on it) and the flashlight is bright orange as well. Why Doc would need plastic explosive is somewhat questionable, but maybe it's for either intentionally causing avalanches or for blasting through ice to get to a patient. Doc also has the same stretcher included with 25th Doc, but with a fitting piece of Arctic equipment for it...a blanket. The blanket is gray microfiber, and has a black elastic loop sewn to it on one end. I'm sure there's a reason why the loop's there, but I can't determine it. A timbit to the first person to come up with the answer (and to who figures out what the heck the red and yellow gun is!)
There are a heck of a lot of neat little paint apps here. Doc sports the RoC Joe eagle-head logo on the shoulder of his jacket, his helmet, and on the backpack. The back of his jacket and the backpack as well say "Rescue." Speaking of the backpack, besides the aforementioned removable accessories, all the non-removable accessories in the backpack are painted as well, which I just flat love.
Complaints are few. One possible complaint is of course, the bright colors...you'll either love or hate them. The head and hood have to be completely removed to put on the medical bag...not a big deal, but it can be annoying. If you remove the hood, Doc's neck is waaayyy too long. The only other complaint is the hood does not completely cover the hole in the figure's top right shoulder, which was used to mount the hood on 25th Arctic SE.
All in all, this is a pretty good exclusive figure. He's neat enough to make you want him, but probably not neat enough to warrant a wide release. Whether or not you decide to pick him up will hinge on if you like the bright colors and/or want another cold-weather themed Joe.
Pics:
