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[olyeller01]

You guys are in luck, because Ol Yeller came across something that is pretty...freaking...new today.  I was just in TRU yesterday and noticed that the pegs were running low on single pack Joes, so I went back today hoping that they stocked em up with some new wave stuff overnight (I was hoping for City Strike Snake Eyes, of course).  No luck on that...but they did have the new Joe and Cobra troop-builder 5 packs.  The Joe pack contains Dial-Tone, Zartan, Law & Order, Footloose, & Repeater while the Cobra pack contains the MARS Trooper, MARS Officer, Neo-Viper, Elite-Viper, and Duke in "Infiltrator Gear."  The Joes are all in desert camo, the Cobras mostly black.  I'll review both packs.

I'll start with the Joe pack.

Dial-Tone - an all new take on an old character.  Easily the biggest disappointment when the set was revealed, because we heard we were getting Dial-Tone...only to get THIS Dial-Tone instead of our beloved 80's one.  Obviously intended to be based on Resolute DT, this DT is clearly RoC Cover Girl's body with Agent Helix's head with plain brown hair.  She comes with one of the bullpup rifles, a pistol, and a laptop.  While decent-looking, there's two main problems with this figure I see.  1.  It's not 80's Dial-Tone.  2. On my figure the paint app for her hair did not extend to the hair that hangs down below her hair and ears, so her hair is flesh-colored on the inside and looks pretty crappy.  C'mon Hasbro!

Zartan - a desert-colored repaint of the Zartan figure.  Comes with the same accessories, minus the cool knives and sword.  Does make a pretty decent desert-camo MP (with brown hair this time) but otherwise a pretty MEH figure just like the RoC Zartan.

Law & Order - now we're getting somewhere.  Law is a Zartan repaint with a different head.  Sorry, I know the head's been used before, but I don't remember whose it is and I don't feel like digging through my Joes to find it.  Law comes equipped with a bullpup rifle, the same night stick as Alley Viper, Pit Commando's riot helmet (painted black, with "MP" on it), a freaking HUGE riot shield (way bigger than Pit Commando's), and Order the dog, of course, who is supposed to be (I guess) a German Shepherd.  Likes?  His accessories are pretty cool, and it's nice to get another canine that's not a variant of Junkyard.  Dislikes?  Law doesn't look beefy enough without a vest (easily changed with some extra Pit Commando gear) and the spikes on Order's collar aren't painted.  Which is easily changed, but is annoying when the Junkyard variant's collar spikes in the Cobra pack ARE painted. 

Footloose - Footloose is a Sgt. Stone repaint.  I THINK his head is 25th Breaker's head minus the whiskers and plus a mustache, but I'm not sure.  He LOOKS a lot like the classic figure from a physical standpoint, anyway.  Footloose has some pretty decent gear too, as he too has Pit Commando's riot helmet (with a new Joe eagle logo on it), Pit Commando's vest, and Pit Commando's badass assault rifle.  You know, the same one outfitted with the double mag, foregrip, and Surefire light?  I like Footloose and his gear...but I definitely would have preferred him in green.

Repeater - Repeater also closely resembles his original counterpart with one big change...Repeater is now black.  Dunno why...I guess GI Joe now has affirmative action.  Repeater is ALSO a Sgt. Stone repaint.  He's outfitted with Stone's vest, Shockwave's cap, and a BIG FREAKING GUN that is really, really awesome.  Black and silver with three grips (pistol, on top, and on the side) and an ammo belt that can be pulled completely through the weapon, this is one awesome gun that looks like it could really do some damage.  The gun is almost as long as the figure...when stood on end it reaches up to Repeater's ear.  Likes? The big freaking gun, of course.  Dislikes?  The cap doesn't stay on his head well, making it easy to lose, and of course the BFG, though awesome, is difficult to pose ol' Repeater with. 

Overall this isn't a bad pack, but it isn't great either.  While we technically get four "new" characters that we haven't seen in either RoC or 25th style, they are some straight up, totally rehashed repaints.  I could have done without the Zartan, Dial-Tone is an absolute disappointment, Law needs more gear (though what he does have is pretty cool), and Footloose and Repeater are pretty decent...but how much better (and how much more sense would it have made) for Hasbro to release ALL FOUR of the new characters in single pack form in their classic colors...and classic sex, in the case of Dial Tone?  Or at least in a five/seven pack...

Bottom line on this pack depends on if you can live without Footloose and Repeater (and L&O to a lesser extent) and if you dig the Joes in their desert camo.  At $19.99 US it's not a bad value at $4 per figure IF YOU CAN LIVE WITH A BUNCH OF BLATANT REPAINTS.  And if the sets had been any higher than $19.99 I wouldn't have bought them. 

[olyeller01]

Now for the Cobra set.

MARS Trooper - pretty much the same guy that came in the movie preview pack, right down to the same accessories.

MARS Officer - see above.

Neo Viper - love him or hate him, this is the same Neo-Viper in the BLAH black & silver that we've already seen a thousand times.  You know, I'm building up quite a Neo Viper army just from purchasing all these multi-packs...

Elite-Viper - already acknowledged as one of the best troop-builders in the RoC line, this Elite-Viper is much the same as the previous one with a few minor differences.  This EV's body is colored the same as the original, with a minor difference.  The "wash" effect on his body armor isn't as strong as on the single pack EV, and Hasbro added a black Cobra sigil to the middle of the chestplate.  They also switched up his accessories...EV has the same pistol and backpack but now comes with a solid black Junkyard variant with a reddish-pink collar.  And I'm sure we all wondered about original EV's holster, which was located next to his kneecap.  Wouldn't the pistol smack you in the knee when you run?  Maybe, but now we know the TRUE intention of the holster.  THIS Elite-Viper comes with the same black pistol grip riot shotgun packaged with Flint, Bench Press, & Night Adder.  And the shotgun fits perfectly in the holster, stays in place, and looks freaking awesome.  So now Night Adder can have backup when he's out patrolling the lines.  While Elite-Viper doesn't come with his axes, it's a small price to pay for the shotgun and the guard dog.  This is the best iteration of the figure yet.  I really, REALLY like the reduced wash effect and the Cobra sigil, while the shotgun in the holster just screams "badass."

Finally, we have "Infiltrator Gear" Duke.  While I'm quite sure many of you out there are groaning at the thought of yet another Duke, this one is different.  Duke uses the Airborne body combined with "Desert Ambush" Duke's head.  His uniform is black with dark blue-gray accents on the knee and elbow pads and webgear. He has Resolute Duke's black fingerless gloved hands, with bronze accents on his grenade and carabiner on his webgear.  He uses "Desert Ambush" Duke's helmet, also recolored in black.  The helmet includes the night vision goggles DA Duke's helmet had, and also includes Shockwave's gas mask, 25th 5 pack #2 Snake Eyes' backpack, a good ol' M1911 .45, and Pit Commando's double magged, flashlighted assault rifle again.  I believe NIGHT STRIKE Duke would have been a better name for this Duke than "Infiltrator Gear."  He looks friggin awesome, and all his accessories complement the night attack theme.  You don't have to leave this guy a Duke, either.  Though he obviously has Channing Tatum's mug, his hair is recolored blonde.  I don't know if this is as a homage to the original Duke or not, but I like the effect and it makes him almost a different character.  I plan on using him as such, probably as a Cobra Night Strike operative. 

So how's this five pack?  If you troop build, it's great.  Personally I wanted some more MARS troopers to pilot my recent Razorback acquisition, and I don't mind another Neo Viper.  I LOVE the Elite Viper, and Night Strike/Infiltrator Duke is one of my favorite figures OF THE ENTIRE LINE, including 25th.  If it wouldn't be so costly I'd army build HIM and have one heck of a Night Attack squad that could be either Joe OR Cobra.  The figure is THAT GOOD, and the pics don't do it justice. 

One thing that really, really irks me.  The original MARS trooper "movie preview" 3 pack cost me $24.99 here in the US, and STILL goes for that (online exclusive).  This TRU 5 pack retails for $19.99 and includes TWO Mars Troopers, as well as three other figures.  Two of the other figures included are WAY BETTER than the MARS Troopers.  Is it just me or does the math not add up here? 

I know I'll be tarred and maple-leafed if I don't show you guys some pics of these figures, so here ya go:
http://s635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/olyeller01/Figure%20Reviews/

[Scramble]

Sorry you were lackluster about the Joe set, it looks great to me. I'm a big fan of Repeater and I enjoy Lady Dialtone. That Zartan is the best that mold's looked yet.

You did make me give Duke a closer look, though. Looks pretty good, although I'd like to see it in hand. Unfortunately, because all the army builders in that pack are so commonly available, I doubt people will be buying them in multiples and getting rid of spare Dukes.

[Kronz]

I hope to see these in Canada, though I doubt they'd be nearly as affordable here. I reckon $40 is as low as they'd go on regular price at TRU here. Still, I'd buy them and maybe even a couple of the Cobra sets.

Is Order made using the original mold?

[thatcarlguy]

I'd probably buy the Joe set for the purpose of repainting them all. It would be like an art project.

I like the female Dialtone. I think what happened is he retired and got married and had some kids but before he left he trained up this girl to replace him and she did such a good job he let her keep the name. (thats how I explain it all in my head).

[Jay]

Roadblock, Heavy Duty, now Repeater... why does Hasbro always make the machine gunners black?

Hell, they also did it in 1997 with Rock'n'Roll!!

[Pete The Greek]

The Joe set is a fail for me.

[Jay]

The Joe set is a fail for me.

Agreed.
The only ones I'd want enough would be Law & Order and Footloose, and even then the former, I would give a new head and use Zartan's body, so really it's more I'd need Law's accessories and dog than the full figure itself.