Got these today. The vehicles (AWE, FANG, CLAW, SHARC, & Firebat) were also released but I were sold out once I got to the store.

Some quick thoughts:

Tiger Duke's arms aren't entirely fixed - the cut is now at the cuff but they still can't bend 90 degrees at the elbow.

It's good to have Duke's submachinegun, binoculars, & backpack... now if only my Battle Pack Duke had a back hole!

Mutt's mask swings up & down & is attached via holes on the side ofhis helmet (when attached, it kind of looks like the Night Viper chin guard)

Junkyard has very disappointing paint applications. I think it's a different mold from the DTC one. Oh, Junkyard is anatomically correct, BTW.

The Para-Viper... is actually a Para-Eel. He has his swim fins strapped to his legs.

The Para-Viper is a little too clunky for me to play with... reminds me of the accessory overload during the 90's.

The Para-Viper has a knife in a sheath strapped to the lower right leg... I'm not sure if it's non-removable or mine is just stuck.

The Para-Viper has an MP5A3 and a really long machine gun with a removable side-loading magazine, folding stock & removable bipod. Both the bipod & magazine fall off at a glance. The really long machine gun has a long bayonet molded to it.

The Para-Viper has removable goggles. And a removable helmet. And a NEW head. It's not Beach Head.

Croc Master... ahh... Croc Master... there's not much you can do with Croc Master. This new figure is just more detailed. He even has a bite mark on his right bicep.

At least the croc is better than the baby VvV croc.

The Bazooka Trooper is the biggest disappointment for me. I was expecting him to blend in with the Battle Pack Troopers which I troop built but instead the Bazooka Trooper is baby blue. Like the SRO Cobra Commander (or the MASS crystals Commander, I can never tell which is which). Anyway, the Trooper is GLOSS baby blue (The Commander is flat baby blue).

The Bazooka Trooper's card says it's from the comic. Can anyone tell me which specific issue they showed up in?

Finally... the most anticipated figure of this wave: Wraith. Or "Mercenary Wraith" as the card states. The figure uses the '89 Snake Eyes body underneath all that armor.

And underneath the pivoting visor is... Tony Stark!

Be careful with the little wires that connect Wraith's arm cannons to his arm. I broke all three on his right arm just posing him for the photos.

Wraith's P90 is HUGE. He can't even hold it. I don't think any 25A figure can. They made it accurate in terms of detail (not scale), but in doing so, they kept the original handle. Which means none of your figures can hold it. Just get a Marauder P90 with the modified handle, it's more accurate scale-wise too.

On to the photos:







































































- JM

Wow, thanks to Mutt I can now have a 3 3/4" Freddie Mercury!

I'm going to guess we get an Annihilator made from the Wrath parts.

Para Viper just doesn't do it for me. He's way to busy for my tastes. BBi accessory syndrome.

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Duke is awful. Surprise!

The others all have some positives, but all four Cobras are pretty cool. I must buy this wave from BBTS, and soon. I have a suspicion that this will be the hardest wave to find at retail.

Thanks for the pics.

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I can't agree with this statement more.

I'm digging CrocMaster, Duke (even though his elbows still suck! ), and Wraith. The rest I may pick up after I get these others first.

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Croc Master, baby! A bite scar on his arm? Find me the Hasbro designer that came up with that and give him a big Bugs-Bunny-in-drag smooch for me.

Mutt's loose fitting muzzle is the big lose here for me. What's the point of a muzzle that doesn't cover the mouth? Oh well, the figure looks fine without it, but the dog handler with a muzzle was one of Mutt's defining characteristics.

Thanks chrysophylax!

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Wraith is actually Der Fuhrer? Jesus, what's with that HUGE P90? C'mon, Hasbro.

And the Para Viper is full of win, especially that FG-42/anti-tank rifle hybrid of his.

Ha ha - "Fixed" duke arms = a relocated swivel, but still "LASER BLAST" elbows? Am I missing something or was it the swivel and not the elbow that you guys have been complaining about all this time? Cuz I figured it was the elbow. Doesn't bother me none, so... I find that amusing.

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Personally I hated the "I Cut Myself" Emo Duke mid-forearm swivel.

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I didn't mind that as much as I hated the fact that he couldn't bend his arms.

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I think the prevailing sentiment was that the Duke mid-forearm swivel was the part that most folks were complaining about, but I hate the elbow joint much more myself.

Justin

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The Duke arms were two bad things together that made the arms really really bad instead of just bad.

The elbow joint was horrible because it was so limited in motion. The arms straight down or just bent a wee bit were about all you were getting out of him so in a line that was talking articulation it was odd to be even more limited that the RAH line.

Then on top of that you throw in the horrible joint. Most of the figures in the line did a pretty good job of hiding the joint so it didn't notice it. Poor old Duke though you could see that joint from a mile off. It's like Dr Frankenstien had poorly sown some hands and forearms on Duke.

Oh and the constant reuse of the arms to ruin other figures really helped to bring out the hate for Duke arms.

I complained about both

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Yea, the location of the swivel never even registered as a problem for me. Sure it would have made more sense to put it at the end of the cuffed sleeves, but it never bothered me at all. That Flint could not hold his shotgun 'shotgun style' seemed much more of an issue, though I didn't really loose much sleep over that either.

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I don't know if you were being sarcastic or not with the Tony Stark mention. I know hardly anything about the character Wraith, but considering his appearance it was logical for me to draw the connection to Iron Man. The face under the visor has a 'stache and looks strongly like it could be Stark.

If that was the intention then to me this is a far cooler cross-over (Iron Man/G.I. Joe) than Matt Trakker (MASK/G.I. Joe). Can't wait for the inevitable customizer repaints of Wraith in Iron Man colours.

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Can we get a pic of Wraith's removable gear?

Also, a pic of Junkyard's "junk" would be worth the lulz.

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