Well, this is it: I've finally decided to start reposting my old "Alexx Shorts" G.I. Joe reviews. They're the reviews that lead to what eventually became this blog! I'll be posting them in straight copy-and-paste format, separating them with bold dotted lines so you know where they begin and end, and then I'll post some final thoughts on what I think of the figure currently.
For those unfamiliar: I used to take random pictures here and there, but by the time the Rise of Cobra toys came out, I was getting annoying with how much people had been bashing the figures which were clearly better than the previous 25th Anniversary offerings. I set out to show people how awesome they were, and things went from there, forming into "Alexx Shorts", named so because I thought I was going to keep to a short format with a few pictures. I did not do that.
Can you tell how SUPER excited I was for army builders and accessories?
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I found a Pit Commando! Mind the "A" part. One Pit Commando. What do you expect, though? This guy is the first accessory pack in YEARS! Okay, so he's not officially an accessory pack, but he's got so much stuff that you might as well call him that. The figure itself is a repainted Dusty, but with all that stuff on him you can't really tell. Most of my reviews try to weasel you into buying something you normally wouldn't, but, if you're not planning on buying this one....what the heck is wrong with you? Do you love G.I. Joe? Do you love accessories? Come on!
So I'll get down to the only reason I bother to cover this guy: I took pictures! Lots of pictures! I'll start with some simple stuff.
This is your basic Pit Commando.
So is this!
And this! Look at that awesome Steel Brigade helmet. Don't ya love that?
Pit Commando's can do many things. Here, they can carry BIG 'OL BACKPACKS:
They can also shoot stuff: BANG BANG!
Some of them like to gas it up and try out the masks!
Neat gun, huh? Wonder what the heck that is. Any gun people know if that's a real gun?
Anyway, shooting stuff is their specialty! Some even improvise:
I know it's not supposed to go like that, but it seems cool enough.
Another thing that Pit Commandos do well is follow orders! Go get 'em guys!
...BUT, if it's one thing that random faceless Pit Commandos do, it's DIE!
DEATH MONTAGE!!
OKAY, okay....sometimes they can get the enemy too...
Awesome, right? The only reason you should have for NOT having this in your collection (or many of them) is that you can't find them! No excuses! Buy in bulk!
...Oh, also, some little things to add: The sight thingy on the boonie hat has these little pegs on it that fit right into the holes on the side of the helmet (where the visor goes):
In fact, remove any visor from any 25th helmet and this fits nice and snug! Thought you oughta know.
Second: Regarding the random resizing of weapons...
The rifle that the Commando comes with is the same one that PP Snake Eyes comes with, only smaller! Strange. I like that they added all the extra junk to the rifle, but why is it smaller now?
Anyway, just some random stuff while I was playing with the figure!
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It's hard to say whether or not this one stood the test of time. I mean, we don't have any other troopers as generic as this - AND YES, I'm counting the recent G.I. Joe Trooper from the last movie. He is AWESOME, but so awesome that I don't see them as generic, even if that's what they're supposed to be. Not like this hapless mook of a Pit Trooper.
So yeah, I could see people still using him nowadays, because he could easily fill up the background of any scene (with Joe Troopers in the foreground, 'cause they're awesome). On the other hand, he's using the old 25th Dusty body, which doesn't have great elbows, hindering some two-handed gun poses. Plus...I don't know, some things can only be felt by holding the figure. You hold and move that 25th Dusty body and it's obviously inferior to the other Rise of Cobra stuff and everything after it.
It was great for it's time, of course! TONS of accessories, generic enough to get by the basic 25th body, and fun to set up and knock down. I'm just not sure if I'm as enamored with it now as I was then. Like I said: He has uses, but....he's just kind of "meh" nowadays. On the other hand, you're not gona find a better, totally useless looking soldier to get mowed down in the background. And that's not an insult! Sometimes an army builder should be super basic! The Joe Trooper, for instance, is the opposite - I can't help making them do badass things. Just don't have the heart to see them torn up. These Pit Troopers are so much obvious fodder that they'd be wearing red in Star Trek!
So, in the end, I probably wouldn't bother picking these up, unless you run into them in a lot. Great for it's time, but not really worth it, nowadays.
Probably wouldn't hunt this guy down, I've got a small force of Power Team/ World Peacekeepers to be the greenshirts! Do like that riot shield though!
ReplyDeleteYeah one of his main draws was the accessories! Even if I don't mess with 'em much anymore, I still used the heck out of his accessories.
DeleteTotally got this figure just for that MGS Snake's pistol.
ReplyDeleteThen I lost it.
Other than that, wasn't really impressed with this guy. His taped together rifle is kind of neat. But really, this was just about the stuff he came with, really illustrating why RoC and PoC was a phenomenal toyline.
For a while, I was using the City Strike Duke (the reactive armor Duke with the blue camo pants) and a black twisty tie as a bandanna for a Joe Solid Snake. Later, I got the Sky Sweeper repaint of the Firebat (great little vehicle) and the pilot, Air Raid, makes an even better Solid Snake with a black twisty.
Never did find that City Strike Duke, around that time. The Jungle Duke would made for a good Solid Snake with a little paint, though!
DeleteOk incase you still don't know. those rifles are G-36s the one up top is the full length version and the one on the bottom is the G-36c Compact/Commando so it's an overall shorter rifle.
ReplyDeleteAh, so they're like sisters! Interesting, thanks!
DeleteAnd the shotgun in the gas mask picture is the widely beloved Pancor Jackhammer, a fully automatic cylinder magazine jobby with an absurdly high ratio of film appearances to actual guns produced.
ReplyDeleteIt's also one of the best weapons in Fallout Tactics, if you've ever seen that. Four ammo loadouts mean it can be good against anything from raiders to killbots.
I think someone mentioned it waaay back in the now destroyed thread for this post, so I do remember it being some sorta shotgun. Good to know it showed up in a game!
DeleteEnded up with a few of these figures. Rather good for a 25th body. A minor trimming of the plastic around the elbow joint allows for improved bend. Slowly upgrading them, maybe I might give them some Marauder task force hands...
ReplyDeleteI'd be interested to see the results of that!
DeleteWas this the first figure to come with that gas mask? I associate it with the PoC Shock Troopers and Alley-Vipers. Anyhow on the Joe side I only ever troop-built the Steel Brigade guys from 30th, who seem like a logical progression from this dude.
ReplyDeleteI believe it was...possibly. I'd have to check. The gasmask may have come with a 25th figure, but I'm not sure.
DeleteAnd yeah, I bought at least two or three Steel Brigade guys, and they became my official Joe troops, until the Retaliation Joe Trooper, which is SO AWESOME, so I bought four of those suckers.