Now that the 25th Line is slowing down to make room for the Movie Line I think this is a good tome to select some of the best and worst of the Line.

Today we cover Improved Figures

Some 25th Figures already had new versions made of them. Same outfit but with new "improved" parts. Questions for you are. Which figure benefited the most from being "Improved"? Which figure benefited the least? Which figure was fine the way they were? Which figure needs to be "Improved" next.

Baroness gained the most with the makeover. She looked really freaky before. If anyone needed plastic surgery it was her.

Flint improved the least. I know people wanted gloves on Flint. His first Version had all the problem's Duke had. Yet I think from appearance wise it captured Flint Essence. Not impressed with the new arms. Yes they can move more. I don't understand the head change. Flint was almost my pick for who was fine just the they were.

Beachhead gets that position. His Improved version is more 1986 accurate but his prior version was one pretty nifty and bad ass looking figure. What he lacked in accuracy he made up in attitude.

Falcon needs to be Improved. The star of the Animated Movie and one best molds from the ARAH needs a better 25th figure than the one he has now. Kinda strange how some lesser characters get mostly all new parts and Falcon gets scraps. He has a new head (that doesn't fit his character) but gets Duke's body. That body is fine for Duke and Flint. They can make a Improved Falcon with existing parts. Most of Dusty fits the bill.

I don't know, I really loved the new Beachhead figure. When I opened it I was totally blown away that they were able to improve so much over the prior version. I think it captures the feel of both Beachhead and the original figure better than the other one did. Though I was not feeling the need for a new Beachhead at that point, I was ecstatic when I got it.

Flint...I really don't understand why he has had 3 head molds. I would have expected the one in the 5-pack to just use the smaller Tiger Force head. But it instead used a head that has kind of a longer face.

I think if we are going to talk worst figures....I'm probably only thinking this because it was my recent disappointment. And I know many will disagree, but I really don't like Resolute Cobra Commander at all. The fact that they used plastic where cloth was necessary renders the figure pretty, but useless. Once I got him out of the package, there wasn't much I could do with him because some of the joints are only there to help the figure keep its balance, but do nothing for posing it since there is a limited range of motion to both the legs and arms. I know when the cartoon finally hits, I'm going to be wishing that we had gotten a different Resolute character instead. If Resolute takes off and more figures come out, I'd really love to see a CC with soft goods. The design is great, but the execution is limiting.

I'm totally with you on Baroness. I love that new 5-pack figure. I do appreciate that the 1st one has hair that matches the way it waves on the card art. But the newer figure is just great.

I also think Shipwreck is greatly improved. His head proportions just look better now imo. Those 5-packs were overall a good purchase.

Most improved: Zartan. The first Zartan was OK, but the revamped one with the swamp skier pops much more. It looks more accurate to the original toy, seems more dynamic (removable armor helps here). A fantastic upgrade. Baroness obviously benefited from her five pack upgrade, though the MASS device Baroness sucked.

Least improved: I really like the new 5-pack Flint (but I had to swap the head for the original. I think the arms make the figure more poseable (=more fun) and it's nice that he's got a backpack hole now. The new shotgun is great, too. A worthy update. I think least improved would be Storm Shadow. I like the new bits on the 5 pack version, but I don't like the gray. I don't see the need to buy another version of this mold to get a better color scheme, though. And the original Storm Shadow was fine how he was.

Didn't need to be improved: Lady Jaye. The 5 pack Lady Jaye is cool, but I could have lived without it. That said, if I knew they were releasing her last year, I probably would have skipped the Revenge of Cobra DVD pack.

Needs a revamp bad: I've got a few for this list. But the most important are Scarlett and Roadblock.
Scarlett needs the same articulation upgrade that Lady Jaye got in the 5 pack. The original Lady Jaye figure had better articulation than the first 5 pack Scarlett to begin with, and now that we've got a near-perfect LJ, I'm wondering where Scarlett is. I hoped that the Resolute Scarlett would come out in single pack form and be the definitive version, but it looks like that line's (unfortunately) on hiatus until the movie stuff is over with.
Roadblock needs a big beefy sculpt like Bazooka. I don't like that RB looks puny next to Bazooka (who rules). I hoped Hasbro would upgrade him for Resolute as well, but apparently, no dice.

Scarlett mostly just needs her posture, and hips fixed. Straightening her lower legs would help, but some sdjustment to the backs of her thighs, at the knees would give her much better range of motion, and she could keep the rotational joint.

I absolutely hate what they've done with the five pack Vipers. It's bad enough that they destroyed what was the best rifle grip in the line, but the new helmets are horrible. The chrome is a nice touch, but the outer helmet doesn't fit tight enough against the inner.

Zartan has to be the most improved. I liked the updated armor on the first version, but I didn't like the shirt. He also lost his fairly iconic arm armor. The second version is almost exactly what I want for a 25th Zartan.

They still need to release a Duke in his original colors, with the improved arm mold, and a properly scaled head, that isn't screaming. Due to its size and sculpt, I'm currently turning a TF Duke head into a female head. It's not taking a lot of alteration.

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Agreed...especially because of the RB head sculpt. It wasn't awful, but has more room for improvement than some of the figures that did get updated.

I was actually thinking about how I would have preferred Resolute Roadblock to some of the other later figures (like Resolute CC or blue Firefly).

Maybe if we are lucky, Hasbro can find a way to squeeze that onto shelves along with the release of Resolute. Star Wars DVD releases (and Indy) often see 2 sets of 3-packs released to coincide with the release date. If we even got a 2-pack, it would be something. Or maybe a pack-in like the Snake Eyes that came with the miniseries? I know I am going to be watching Resolute holding out hope for more figures.

I gotta agree 5 Pack Baroness was one of the figures who needed improvement and got it big time.

With a V1 head, 5 Pack Flint is pretty good. Although I just don't get the distorted head thing.

5 Pack Lady Jaye proves the third time is the charm. The paint and body fixes really brings her together.

I loved the new Beachhead. The headsculpt and new vest made all the difference.V1 was cool, but a little generic. Now V2 is going to be my team leader for my Ranger/Assaulters.

Duke is maddening in that they keep missing the mark. Resolute Duke is a whole other animal and aside from his molded pistol is pretty cool. But Duke V1? I just want a V1 with fixed crotch, arms (preferably not Flint arms) TF Duke's backpack (in proper color) M32 submachine gun (actually based on an early straight magazine version of the MP5) binoculars and helmet. They've got all the parts, just put them together.

Same thing with Gung-Ho. Every V1 single I've seen has his arms backwards. Even recent re-releases have this problem. But the new comic pack doesn't. And its the same mold! Just different paint apps. If these were old screw ARAH figs, it'd be a no-brainer fix. But I'm really afraid of the semi-destructive hammer/block or Pliers/Ziplock methods.

Falcon was a major disappointment. He was one of the coolest figs and they screwed it up. I'm rather afraid of the alleged (or did it get confirmed) Night Force Falcon. Look, give him a Dusty/Recondo body, Flint arms (I don't care if it has gloves) the V1 head and a decent tiger striping and you're golden.

What about Televiper? Actually both versions are Ok, although V1 could use Viper V2's new hands. But they need the original accessories! Radio backpack and that sonic-blaster-radio-tv gun thingy the original came with.

Shippy is also hit and miss. I liked that the five pack came with usable hands, but that's about it. I liked the V1 head sculpt better. V3 just reminds too much of the creepy Burger King head.

I think the Shipwreck and Baroness, and the chrome Cobra Commander were the best improvements thus far. The Beach head's I could go either way on, I liked both.

The Duke is just disheartening for Duke fans. So Many different takes, but none hit the Mark.
I know they won't ever release another one that is perfect, since there are 9,000 versions out there right now clogging the shelves that are not perfect.
I think they could stick a General Hawk 5 pack head on the regular upper torso of Duke, combined with the lower Torso of 5 pack Flint (fixed crotch), the correct arm mold, TF Duke's accessories.. Dammit Please just make one.

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I forgot about Gung-ho. He's gotta go back to the gym. I don't the figure but keep him because it is the only version of the character. Resolute Duke is nice figure but appearance wise it is not the classic look.

Oh, I forgot to talk about Scarlett. If they fixed her crotch and legs she'd be pretty good. I think the only improvement over the original 5 pack one is that some have had a backpack hole added. Of course I haven't found that version. The torso is versatile, they used it for Diver Baroness, and Pilot Scarlett. I just wish Diver Baroness had been given a little more thought. Like removable fins, an actual face with a Torpedo style dive mask really would've improved the figure.

Part of me thinks that H wants us to buy all the Dukes they make, so that we can eventually cobble together a decent V1. Like the MASS Device. Collect all the parts and build your own Duke.