Over on General's Joes, guest contributor Monte Williams discourses the most Overrated/Underrated modern era figures. http://generalsjoes.com/2011/12/16/most ... -by-monte/

I have to admit I only disagreed with 3 of them, and even then only slightly.

Pit Commando was a great figure because it led to things like the PoC multi mission accessories and Steel Brigade figure. It showed Hasbro got that a repaint would be ok if it came with some good re-used accessories. The base figure isn't the best, I agree with that. But nobody bought it for the base figure. The concept brought the 3 3/4" inch figure closer in line to the 12" counter parts, in that one figure could be outfitted for several different missions or purposes. It is the closest we've gotten to an accessory pack since 86.

Arctic Destro underrated? Maybe because his peg warming status is legendary. The figure itself is alright. Not great, just alright. I love his accessories, but the figure is a single use and specific time of the year purposed, figure that stuck around so long on shelves he might has well have been parachute Scarlett. The figure just leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but kind of like the burp after a so-so meal.

Rocket Launching Duke with Aliens pulse rifle. This figure gets tons of cool points for me and I've seen some really cool customs come out of this figure's parts, but to claim it as the Duke doesn't sit right with me. As of right now DVD flag waiving, mouth screaming, jet pack wearing Duke is the best so far with I'd probably go with Resolute single carded Duke coming in 2nd. I'm hoping we eventually get a SE/SS super Duke from Hasbro that has the best of all worlds. But this Duke, isn't the Duke. He's just another Duke like the 43 other versions of him.

What do you guys think?

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I agree on a few of them, except arctic Destro, but only because of the way the detailing on his arms limits his articulation, eliminating the use of the ball joint.

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What I posted on Hisstank:

Pit commando-Very much agreed, I like the accessory complement but I do feel many have gone overboard with it.

Duke-OK I don't agree here as the fig reminds me of my least fav duke, I will say IMO the most undertated duke is the Resolute boxed set one though and the POC is miles behind IMO.

Flash-Very cool fig, I agree wholeheartedly.

Snake Eyes City Strike-oh oby, how many arguements have I had on this board over this figure. Some have gotten down right nasty but I agree it's overrated.

Trakker-Agreed

General Hawk-Eh he's ok but I don't agree with you, sorry.

Destro-WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE, a very underrated figure IMO as well. I think his pegwarming has doomed him.

Spirt-I didn't realize people liked this fig, I hated it for the "smacked in the face with a frying pan look" myself.

Skydive-ok but not great, so have to disagree,

I like that Duke alot....However, sometimes all it takes for a figure is a styling cue from the past to put it over the edge, and make it "THE" version. I think if the figure had a larger belt sculpted on or something breaking up the bottom so his legs don't appear so gangly, and his trademark chest banodlier, it would be perfect.
Resolute Duke didn't have either of those things as well, but is a great figure as well.

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I didn't realize people loved that Spirit. That figure is awful. PIT Commando is an awesome toy. Simple but fun. Trakker simply isn't a good figure. But that was a nice read, anyway.

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Oh yea, Trakker. Not a GI Joe figure, that's a MASK figure. I don't collect MASK, Trakker is of no use to me.

RoC Hawk is a super useful figure, customs wise, even with his gangly legs.

A figure I thought was overrated because he is sooooo terrible is 25A Blowtorch. His movement is restricted almost to the point of rendering him useless.

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I like that Duke.
Might be not the ultimate Duke, but it's still a nice and fun figure.

Trakker is cool too just for the fact that I like that the character can be part of my Joe roster.
I wish his helmet looked closer to the one he had in the cartoon, though.

Resolute Snake is also very cool. Might have been dethroned by the recent PoC Snake Eyes, but he's still a fun figure to play with and his gear is awesome.

I admit that the Pit Commando's success is due to his awesome equipment. It's a fun figure as a generic soldier though.

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Ok, keep in mind that I have a pretty short memory for figures these days. So my Overrated/Underrated figures are recent releases.

Overrated
Recent Cobra Trooper. Don't get me wrong that is a cool figure but people are going nuts for him army building him by the dozens. I like him but not any more than any other Cobra trooper. I get the improvements, but I don't care for the torso. It looks more like a wet suit. At least with the Viper the torso has the vest to cover it up. He's just ok to me.

Renegades Cobra Commander. I thought I would really like this design. But in hand he just looks extremely skinny. It just isn't CC to me.

Underrated
PoC Recondo. So much hate for this figure because it wasn't the Cobra Island Recondo homage. And it wasn't. It took the cool aspects and tried to carry the character forward. Once you fix the downward look of the head he's a pretty cool figure. His vest and accessories are awesome. Take that all away and he's still an interesting figure. Maybe not great but certainly not worth the hate. But with the gear he rocks.

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Overrated: Cobra Shock Trooper, without the gasmask on, he has this mouth line on his skimask that, to me, reminds me of a muppet or something. Also, it's like putting Cobra emblems on a SWAT guy, there's nothing that Cobra about him. Fairly cool figure, bland addition to Cobra. Also, his elbows don't bend in enough for my tastes.

agreed on cobra trooper pluv,

I have varying shades of agreement with most of these. On the whole they worked awesome for those of us who like to pop and swap.

That Pitt commando is sitting on my shelf as the following LBCs: Topside, Barricade , Long Arm, Airborne II (Packer) Tollbooth and Scoop,

I am still looking for the Duke ( I was unemployed when it came out) for my LBC Dodger and to finish an LBC Fast Draw

Flash had selling points (he is currently my sci fi until the figure is released, then a head swap will make him an updated red spot)

That General Hawk is currently an LBC of Mace and Cross Country and the green one is an LBC of Recoil

City Strike Snake Eyes is currently in use as a Kamakura (could never track that one down) and a black ops Stretcher (Just add Ripwayne's head and an old JVC flat cap)

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I'm the exact opposite on a lot of these. So much so that I didn't buy a lot of the undderrated figures because they just don't do anything for me.

Flash: too generic.
Duke: while the sculpt is likeable enough, POC jungle Duke is my go to Duke. He's just got that Rambo feel.
City Strike Snake Eyes. Sleek, lean and minimalist. I love it.
Matt Trakker. Meh. The headsculpt is nice, but the rest just kind of bores me.
Hawk is definitely underrated. Neat accessories, good posability, and simple. He really works as a commando type.
Arctic Destro. The snow/ frost effect was just bad. I love the Grenadiers, suitcase full of cash version.
Spirit: I can't say why, but I absolutely love him, even if his eyebrows are too thick and his head is really square.
Skydive. Here I do agree. This guy is all kinds of awesome.
Pit Commando: he's got a tiny head. He's about as ho-hum as you can get in design and color, but the accessories, dude. Just that gas mask alone made me want multiples. And yeah, I bought four. They roll in my TRU Heroes Swat van.

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Pit commando: Disagree. The awesomeness in this figure is his versatility. He is easily 6 figures in one thanks to all his gear. Strip away his gear and he has a perfect generic plain base body that just begs to be customized into just about anyone. The details on his vest, the monocle, the awesome tricked out gun, and best of all the Steel Brigade helmet!! Yes, he is hindered by a small head and unfunctional arms, but that is an artifact of the lame-ass 25th designs.

Duke: Disagree. Great figure, awesome gear, wonderful headsculpt. But put him next to Jungle Duke, and both figure-wise and gear-wise, he fades into mediocrity by comparison.

Flash: Agree. Great figure all around. Has totally replaced the OG 13 version in my display.

Snake Eyes: Agree. I remember people going absolutely nuts for this figure, but I think that is a result of how cool he was in the Resolute cartoon, and that he was rumored to be canceled, more so than his inherent design. Some were paying outrageous sums for him on ebay, and now he pegwarms at Ross for $4! He's a cool figure, nice to see a Snake Eyes that isn't the same old all in black. But in my opinion, he doesn't even make it into my top 5 Snake Eyes versions. And I also agree the headsculpt is not too interesting.

Trakker: Strongly disagree! While it was a fun bit of nostalgia to get a MASK dude worked into the Joe line, the figure itself is a worthless hunk of crap, with articulation not much better than Start Wars figures, and lanky, wired looking proportions. His reissued gear was also a letdown.

General Hawk: Agree. Not as Hawk, but a great generic base figure with some cool gear and good articulation. Love his rifle! I use him as a senior intel officer, given his older looking headsculpt. He also serves as an XO (executive officer).

Destro: Disagree. Nice detailed sculpt, but it just doesn't strike me as Destro. Boring gear, and thanks to his shoulder pads, his movement is restricted in raising arms to the side. But most of all I AM SICK TO DEATH OF SEEING HIM at any and all Targets for the past year instead of any hint of newer figures. Burn in hell Arctic Destro, burn in hell!

Spirit: Agree!!! People like this hunk of crap?? He looks like a caveman with down's syndrome, his webgear is ill-fitting, lazy and has the thickest, sloppiest paint apps I have ever seen on a Joe product.

Skydive: Agree. This figure just looks amazing. PoC you are sorely missed!

In general:
25th: overrated
RoC: underrated
PoC: gets the respect it deserves
Renegades: waaaaaay overrated. (I mean the actual ultra-bland 'toon figs, not the 30th)

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i havent paid much attention what figures other people liked because, well i guess it doesnt really matter to me. but spirit is the ONLY figure on that list that i like and own. i fully admit i only have interest in characters that look like their original figure looked. i have no interests in updates. i guess in my fantasy world people dont change clothes. i also dont like figures solely on the basis that they have good articulation or bad.

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Personally I loved City Strike/Resolute Snake Eyes. But ti each their own. Fun read in any case. And great pics.

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