Why is The Baroness so awesome? Is it the leather? Is it her accent? Is it because she wears sunglases at night? To keep track of the visions in my eyes while she's deceiving me, cutting my security? Don't switch the blade on the guy in shades, cuz you've got it made, with the guy in shades. Dude, seriously, what the hell is that song about?
Name: Baroness (Paris Pursuit)
Line: GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Released: Summer 2009
Scale: 3.75 in. (figure is about 3.80 in. tall)
Accessories: Guns, Stand
Sponsor Listings: Past Generation Toys-$9.95, Amazon-$9.99, BigBadToyStore.com-$14.99
Just once, I'd like to see sharp hair on a G.I. Joe figure, at least just the tips, and Baroness's is almost there. The fringe is more chisel-tipped than usual so it looks more natural. What looks weird is the stream of hair on the right ride, it seriously looks like they took a razor to it and cut off a big piece. Maybe there was too much there getting in the way of articulation so they sliced it off, fair enough.
The figure looks skinny, and I think it mostly has to do with the head being a tiny little bit too big. Or maybe it's an illusion created by the skinny ankles? One of my greatest pet-peeves, high-heels, and this figure has them. Their major function is to create balance issues and make you look silly as you walk around on your tippy-toes, not the best thing for military operations. Another thing, the figure is about as tall as the other figures, but remember, it's on its tip-toes, so if it didn't have high-heels it would be significantly smaller than the others. With a slightly-too-big head, lol.
On to the good stuff, the face is smirky and sassy, perfect for Baroness. Coupled with the hair floating on her shoulders, you just want to cuddle this tigress and hope she doesn't bite your face off. Or maybe you do? The whole outfit is chock-full of wrinkles and folds where they belong, makes it seem like the leather coat is form-fitting, tailor-made. The bumps on the belt aren't just cheaply painted-on, they're all sculpted. The weapons look cool as always and fit in either hand snugly.
Sculpt Score: 7 / 10
Well, I'm sure there's paint on this figure, just gotta find it, lol. The body is a mix of gloss black and "normal" black, the gloves and boots being gloss, the rest being normal. There are vertical gloss stripes on the torso, but as you can see from the pictures, not very noticeable either way. The Cobra symbol on the shoulder wasn't there in the movie, but it looks cool, though I think Baroness would look better with a Cobra Pin on her lapel instead of that iron-on logo. I don't hate the hair, the brown isn't painted correctly, not even coherently, but it has a distinctive color-pattern often seen in comic-book hair. There's no way this was planned, but it's a happy mistake, makes it look like a cartoon, but still looks out of place on a realistic figure like this. I love the sharply-painted lips, and along with the high eye-brow, they accentuate the smirk. Hasbro did the best they could with the paint-mask on the belt. There are lots and lots of tiny raised bumps and each is painted individually (at least it seems that way to me). I would have just painted it all silver then given it a heavy wash of black, simpler I think, but that would bump up costs. There are also two dots of silver at the collar for the buttons there. Neat.
Paint Score: 7 / 10
Gotta love the elbows, they bend much more than 90-degrees so Baroness can hold rifles more naturally. Being all black, the joints aren't as visible on this figure, making for a sleeker sculpt. All joints are tight and move fluidly, I keep forgetting to mention that most of the joints are click-joints for added stability. The neck is restricted by the hair of course, she can't face up. The pivot in the torso has a full range, though the side-to-side is a little limited. I'm not sure how they could have worked around the skirt being so limiting to the legs, at least it looks good.
Articulation Score: 7 / 10
You know you want it. This figure I mean, you know you want to buy it! When have you ever NOT checked-out a woman when she's walking down the street, tricked-out in a leather? And not just guys, you ladies look too and go Daaaamn! Check those threads! I gotta get me one of those! And that's my best impression of a woman, thankyoupleasedon'tkillme. This figure has built-in attitude, much like Helix, making them instantly-likeable, nothing boring about this toy.
Well, the all-black designs of the movie (and seemingly every freaking movie) get old VERY quickly. At least Baroness isn't just a hunk of dull black plastic...there are shiny bits on it after all, hah. The guns are great, but like always, no holsters to store them in, no straps to hang them on the shoulders with. How is the Baroness supposed to carry 4 heavy weapons AND a GIANT missile-launcher?! Well, that's easy, she carries them with her Steel Crusher vehicle, sold separately of course, though that would be one hell of an accessory!
Don't let the pictures here fool you, the skirt isnt meant to be removeable, I disassembled both figures to exchange their belts. That's another fun thing about GI Joe figures, mostly easily-swappable parts! You can create all sorts of funny-looking characters with a little mixing and matching. In the end, Baroness isn't as fun as other Joe figures because of the immobile legs and dependency on the base to stay up-right. It is possible to stand her on her own, but those high-heels are a pain to work with.
Fun Score: 7 / 10
With 4 guns AND a giant missile-launcher, Baroness has...about the same value as the other ROC figures. I'm glad Hasbro didn't skimp on the weapons because of the M.L., but I guess we got stiffed with no other accessories except guns. No suitcase or nefarious remote control or a little gun that shoots squiggly lines that makes stuff get pushed really, really hard. I would have liked a hat, is all I'm saying. I'm still not feeling the justification for the $8 price-tag. Oh, wait, Target has G.I. Joes for $6 now! That's a lot closer to what many, many, if not most Joe-collectors say is a fair price. This should help move this product to make room for the new stuff.
As a customizer, sometimes I forget that not everyone looks at a toy and says, oh cool, I can make a sexier Scarlett with these two figures, make a second custom with the spare parts, then sell it and make my money back. Most collectors look at the same wave of figures on the pegs month after month and become depressed, they don't want to buy the same Ripcord or Duke over and over, they want the new stuff, and that can't happen if these figures are almost $10 after tax. So thank you Target, and Toys R Us for the sale before, for helping army-builders and customizers buy cheaper fodder to clear the pegs for the new waves to come. And note, the rifle in the lower-right picture isn't one that's included, I don't know where the actual one went, these things are small, har har.
Update: Barbecue17 says there is a nanomite kill-switch accessory included, which is removeable from the missile launcher (which I dont have, d'oh!)
Value Score: 6 / 10
7 / 10 - Figure is on the skinny-side, but has a great head-sculpt.
7 / 10 - Can't really tell if there are paint mistakes, lol, so what the hell, 8 it is.
7 / 10 - All G.I. Joe Cobra articulation is there, but the legs and head are very restricted.
7 / 10 - I wear my suuuun-glasses at night, so I can, so I can, watch you weave then breathe your story-lines...
6 / 10 - Standard value for a GI Joe figure. 5 is acceptable, 6 just means you won't hate yourself as much for buying it.
72 / 100 - This is a Good Toy
Nifty figure with many interesting weapons for your amassing armies.
-DrNightmare
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