I'm not a big Gi Joe collector and my knowledge regarding the line is limited, I'll admit. That's why I thought I'd start fresh with the Resolute line that's here in honor of the yet to be released online show of the same name. First up for review in the GI Joe Resolute line is the lynchpin of Cobra schemes, the Cobra Trooper. This is a nice figure that manages to do a lot of great things despite its small size.
Check out the rest of the review...
I'm actually really surprised at how well sculpted this figure is. He's got a lot of real world details you wouldn't normally expect to find on a figure of this size. Examples include things like his shoelaces, the zipper on his vest, and texture on his shirt underneath the vest. The rest of his costume looks great too with wrinkles and cloth bunches in all the right places, straps, pouches, and pads in great locations to make him look appropriately soldier-like. His face sculpt is partially covered by a mask but it looks good, if a bit generic. The accessories look great and more realistic than a lot of GI Joe weapons which is another nice tough. All in all I think this guy just looks more real and functional than Cobras I've seen in the past, which isn't unwelcome in my opinion. Most of his body parts look accurate and his proportions are generally good from head to toe. I can't help but think his left leg looks like it should actually be a right leg, just reversed; in other words butt cheek facing forward, but I might just be seeing things. Can anyone confirm this? His backpack is hard to get into the peg on his back due to issues with the vest and back hole lining up and his helmet is way too loose to stay on when he's upside down, so I wish they could've sculpted it tighter.
Sculpt Score: 8 / 10 - Lots of small details for a small toy, generally good proportions and shapes, face sculpt is generic but works, might be a part switch issue, but if not it just looks a little off, accessories are a little hard to attach.
From my initial perceptions this figure is the best painted of the three Resolute singles so far, but definitely not perfect. His colors are much more muted than GI Joe standards that I'm aware of, continuing the more realistic look that these seem to be pushing. The light blue is nice and while it doesn't look inherently evil, it looks sneaky and roguish enough to work.It's accented well by the darker blue of his vest and boots as well as the matte black accessories like pouches, gloves, and mask. I also really like the slate gray being used for the various pads on his costume. His face and hair are again pretty generic, this time in the paint department and my figure suffers from some poor eye applications, with one eye aimed a little up and out instead of straight on. It might be hard to see in the photos, but it's a little easier to tell in person. I guess this is the crazy crosseyed guy of the group, every group has one. Other than that application are pretty solid, the only rampant problem is a little bit of overspray across color changes like from his mask to his face and around his boot line. Nothing about this paint job really stands out as excellent, it just does a good job of getting the work done, kind of like Cobra Troopers.
Paint Score: 7 / 10 - Nothing spectacular, but nothing terrible either, colors all work well together, face is generic here too, mostly good applications, weird eyes.
Cobra Trooper has pretty standard GI Joe articulation, which is a great thing for a 3 3/4" figure to have. There are a lot of different points and this means you can put him in a ton of different positions. The play value is really high, yet posing is a little harder, especially without his stand, because he has particularly small feet and getting him to hold positions naturally can be quite a challenge. All of his joints work well, nothing is stuck and nothing is too loose either. Everything has a full range of motion except for his right foot which is limited vertically by his pantleg. The great thing about this articulation is that, minus the hips, it all blends in so well with the sculpt. The pads on his knees and elbows really help achieve this effect, but in a lot of positions, you'd never know he had joints. The hips are the exact opposite because they look pretty bad, you just have to come to terms with them and it's not an issue. The only articulation I'd add here is some sort of leg swivel, possible at the thigh or knee, because some leg positions can look crazy with just a foot swivel that wouldn't look so bad with a knee swivel.
Articulation Score: 8 / 10 - Lots of articulation that all works well and has free movement ranges, blends in well with sculpt except for hips, could maybe use a couple more points.
If Hasbro has gotten anything right with GI Joe figures, it's that they've made them just about as fun as possible. The most important thing is the articulation which is splendid for a figure of this size and makes these guys so much fun to put in battles or place on your shelf. They're also exaggerated military characters, and most kids love the idea of military heroes as it is, so making them bigger, bolder, and more unique is just another step forward. Cobra Trooper meets all of these guidelines but also includes a veritable boatload of accessories and weapons that are a joy to attach, reattach, and beat up Duke with. The card he comes on is also fun with nice comic style artwork and a biography of the character. There's not much more they could've done to make this figure more fun; I am genuinely surprised at how much I've enjoyed him so far.
Fun Score: 10 / 10 - Great exaggerated character design, a lot of articulation, tons of accessories, great card,
I couldn't initially decide whether this figure was worth the price or not, but the more I've thought about it, I realized, compared to other $7 purchases, he's definitely an improvement. I initially compared him to Infinite Heroes figures which are around the same price range is just a hair cheaper, and you can see from my reviews so far that this is a much better figure with higher quality across the board, more articulation, and a multitude more accessories. You're getting a small toy for the money, though it's one that includes a lot of accessories and play value that's going to last you a lot longer than a cheaper version like "The Corps" which don't have the unique character designs and style. There's a reason GI Joe has lasted for so long, it's because they're something people enjoy at a fair price and this figure continues that trend. He's well made, well designed, and has everything a kid or collector needs to have fun.
Value Score: 9 / 10 - May be small, but includes accessories galore, high quality control, sturdy construction, attention to detail.
Summary
8
7
8
10
9
Overall Score: 84 / 100 - This is a Great Toy
He may not be perfectly sculpted, painted, or have every point of articulation know to man, but Resolute Cobra Trooper iss fun and worth your money, which are the two most important factors in any toy purchase.
P.S. This could be the figure I'm giving away this month, just leave a comment for a chance to win (if he's the one).
-The Articulated One
