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[olyeller01]

I was pleased to see elsewhere that these sets were hitting Canada.  Glad to see you guys are getting some exclusives after all.  I happened to pick all three up myself today, so here goes.  I'll do separate posts so you guys don't have to read so much in just one    And I'll be doing the review as I open the guys up, so you'll be getting first impressions!

First off is the Gung-Ho/Copperhead set.  Gung-Ho is dressed to appear as he did in Resolute (white shirt, gray vest/hat, dark bluish-gray pants).  His torso and arms appear to be from Rock n Roll, among others, while his legs are the standard legs used on a lot of the RoC figures including the Pit Commando.  The head is the same sculpt as used on the other Gung-Hos and on Leatherneck, while his vest is a repaint of Resolute Cobra Trooper's.  For accessories, Gung-Ho comes with both the grenade launcher that was included with the "Cobra Island" Range Viper, the nice looking rifle included with "Cobra Island" Ripcord/Altitude, and a black backpack that is the same as Resolute Cobra Trooper's.

Copperhead is pretty much a straight repaint of the previous versions, but with better hands than the 5-pack Roadblock hands the comic 2-pack one had. (he can actually hold a weapon in both).  The only difference I can see is now Copperhead has a sheath on his right leg for a rather nasty-looking knife that was included with a few other Joes (it resembles a small machete, which makes sense for a guy who is supposed to spend a lot of time in the swamp).  Copperhead is painted in his most realistic scheme yet...no bright teal blue and neon green for this guy, he's in a olive drab helmet & wifebeater (with red Cobra logo), yellow shoulder harness (the only thing I would change) and medium brown/dark brown pants.  He comes equipped with a black version of the Viper's rifle, a black M60 w/tripod and ammo belt that was originally included with the cartoon Roadblock, and a black backpack that is a copy of General Hawk's.  Customizers take note: the paint scheme on this Copperhead would make the easiest starting point yet for a custom 25th Sgt. Slaughter.

Is this pack worth the $13.68 (US)?  It depends.  If you are a big Resolute fan, it definitely is just for Gung Ho.  If you're a Copperhead fan but wish he was more realistic or if you want a great starting point for a custom 25th Sarge, it's also worth it.  I really like three of the four heavy weapons included with this set, and they must be taken into consideration as well.  I don't like the M60 as much because the tripod makes it difficult for figures to hold, let alone hold without falling over.  If you hate repaints of previously released figures or figures that are made of mix-n-match parts, avoid it at all costs.

[olyeller01]

Next up is the Shockblast(wave)/Night Creeper pack.

Shockwave is a repaint of the comic 2 pack Shockwave (I refuse to call him Shockblast just because somebody bought his real name out from under Hasbro).  His body & his cap are repainted in a bluish-gray/medium gray camo pattern that looks very nice and very urban.  All of his webgear and his balaclava are black.  From there though, the color choice goes right downhill for me.  Shockwave's vest and helmet are a light green color that just doesn't do it for me.  Black or charcoal gray would have been much better choices, in my opinion.  For accessories Shockwave again comes with the same pistols (black this time), gasmask, hat, & helmet that the comic pack one had, but he also comes with the same shotgun and big, honkin' Bowie knife that were included with Lt. Falcon. 

Night Creeper is ALMOST a straight repaint of the "Cobra Island" Night Creeper.  The only difference is he uses Stalker's arms instead of the "Cobra Island" version's Flint arms.  I actually like these arms much better than the ones on the "Cobra Island" Night Creeper.  Night Creeper is painted in a nice looking medium blue with blue/gray/black camo on the legs.  All the pieces that were silver on CI NC are the same on WM NC, excluding the cleats.  Yes, those accursed cleats from CI NC are back on WM NC, so the same standing issues carry over.  WM NC's webgear is brown instead of black like on the CI NC, but I think it fits the figure very well.  There is also a small black Cobra sigil on the left breastplate that I think looks pretty cool.  WM NC comes with the same crossbow, backpack (now in black) and wavy sword that CI NC did. 

Worth the money?  Again, if you hate repaints, probably not.  If you're looking for a Night Creeper officer for your troop-built CI NCs, then yes.  If you missed out on the comic pack Shockwave, then also yes.  Shockwave is an awesome figure with some great gear, I just really hate the green vest and helmet.  A repaint of Shockwave's helmet and vest could make him an awesome figure, and I'm also just positively drooling about gearing him up with Pit Commando's riot gear. 

This is probably the weakest of the three Wal-Mart packs.  Which brings us to...

[olyeller01]

We now come to the Tunnel Rat/Monkeywrench 2-pack, the only one of the three that has a character we haven't gotten before.  One thing to note: not just one but BOTH of these guys appear to be based on famous people.

Tunnel Rat/Larry Hama is a straight repaint of the comic 2 pack version.  This Tunnel Rat paint scheme differs from the comic pack version in that Wal-Mart Tunnel Rat's shirt is black instead of green, his pants are dark green instead of black, and his bandanna, webgear, and gloves are a light green instead of black.  The bullets on WM TR's bandolier are red/copper instead of dark gray/silver, as well.  Other small differences: WM TR's bandanna has a camo scheme, but he is missing the camo paint that comic pack TR has on his arms and face. 
While I like the color scheme and WM TR is indeed a nice looking figure, I just wish the green on his webgear and bandanna was not quite so bright-looking.  For gear WM TR comes with the same machine gun, pistol and TNT bag as his comic pack counterpart but he also now has a black version of Airborne's backpack.

And now we come to last but not least, Monkeywrench.  I said at the start of this review that both figures in this pack resembled famous people.  Tunnel Rat, it is well-known in the Joe community, was modeled after the incomparable Larry Hama, writer of both the original filecards and the GI Joe comics.  So just who does Monkeywrench look like?

Well just the one and only deadliest man in the world.  The man who doesn't do push ups, he pushes the Earth down.  The man who doesn't sleep, only waits.  Yes friends, Monkeywrench very closely resembles...

CHUCK NORRIS.

I believe this was alluded to previously in a post I read on another board...when this figure was shown at Comic-con, someone in the room yelled out that they'd made a Chuck Norris figure, to much laughter.  Well, Monkeywrench does very closely resemble Chuck Norris, complete down to the red headband.  Besides the Chuck Norris head, Monkeywrench's body is a straight repaint of original 25th 5-pack Gung Ho.  Instead of an eagle-and-globe tattoo on the chest, MW has a rather neat-looking Dreadnok tat on his left bicep.  For accessories, the figure comes with a black satchel, a black bandolier with grenades, Eel's rifle, and Scrap-Iron's pistol for a sidearm. 

A few notes on the accessories...Scrap-Iron's pistol looks kind of goofy in the holster.  The handle of the gun sticks out too far and the gun does not appear to be far enough down in the holster even when it's all the way in.  I also don't really like the use of the Eel's gun, mainly because it's just not my favorite weapon.  But one clever sculpting note on the bandolier...there is a small space between the second and third grenade on the bandolier which just happens to be the perfect spot to place the strap for the satchel when you want ol' Monkeywrench to wear both.  Hidden beneath the bandolier is Major Bludd's multitude of dog tags.  I know what they were trying to do (make MW look like he had a chain) and the tags are hidden for the most part, but considering that that part is so strongly associated with Bludd it seems like a somewhat odd choice.  ARAH purists and customizers should keep in mind that conspicuously absent from the accessories are the silver shades that the original ARAH figure had. 

Bottom line on this two pack?  While I don't really like this Tunnel Rat as much as I like the comic pack one, he would still make a great Night Force Tunnel Rat.  Some gear, hand, and head swapping with the comic pack one could make him an interesting figure as well (which I think I will try).  I really like the Monkeywrench figure even though there are a few flaws that keep him from being a home run.  I also look forward to all the customizing possibilities.  I can't wait to see a custom Walker Texas Ranger!

In the meantime, if I get up in the morning and all of my Joes are laying down with their heads cracked from vicious roundhouse kicks with only Monkeywrench left standing, I'll be sure to let you know 

I'll try and add pics to my photobucket collection tomorrow.

[Kronz]

who said they are hitting Canada? I mean, I will take your word but I don't think I've heard any reports yet.

edit: derp that's why I should check the Ontario board first

sweet!

[morgardee]

Well just the one and only deadliest man in the world.  The man who doesn't do push ups, he pushes the Earth down.  The man who doesn't sleep, only waits.  Yes friends, Monkeywrench very closely resembles...

CHUCK NORRIS.

Isn't it the same head as Outback?

[Redmao]

Same head as Outback who I'm using as Chuck Norris since he had reddish blond hair (and his Karate Kommando figure has bright orange hair).

I was watching Missing in Action 2 days ago and I'm seriously thinking on putting Outback's head on Comic pack Duke's green body and some SE's webbing.

Quote from MIA 3: I don't step on toes, I step on necks!

[olyeller01]

Same head as Outback who I'm using as Chuck Norris since he had reddish blond hair (and his Karate Kommando figure has bright orange hair).
I

Hmm I thought that head looked familiar.  I didn't catch the Chuck Norris effect so much with Outback, though.  But Monkeywrench's head REALLY looks like him.

[Realboss]

Chuck Norris kicks A@#!