Alexx Shorts: RoC Reactive Armor Duke (7/17/09)

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.


More Reactive Armor!  This one was bought and rebought many times, for customs:

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This was second on my list of "OMG I need this" but I wasn't so much excited about the character as I was about the reactive armor. It's the perfect thing to go with the accelerator armors that I'll be getting! So, this one will be a short-short, showing a bit of Duke (that most of you are already familiar with) but mostly the fact that he's very versatile!

As you can see, this one has great two-handed weapon holding ability! I did have the minor problem of a very loose right wrist, but I did the old super glue trick and it's right as rain (super glue trick being the application of glue to the wrist plug and constant movement until it dries, but doesn't stick the hand in place). I am loving the display of weapons so far in this line, as well! Each figure usually comes with a standard or two, and then a totally unique weapon! Well, maybe not each figure, but many of them have so far. Duke comes with that awesome little thing he's holding in the first pic....and a knife, of sorts...

It's cool that the knife fits in the sheath on his leg, but come on! That's an awl, not a knife! At least he's ready to make more holes in his belt at any time.  Anyway, he also comes with the standard giant launcher, and I've got a joke ready since I missed it in Scarlett's review:

Finally, this reactive armor just looks good no matter what!

Zartan is improved, like, ten-fold! Heck, I already liked Zartan's headsculpt as it is, it just needed a better body to go with it. Speaking of that, though, I really thought Snake Eyes should have had some reactive armor, and I think I was right!

I think that's a HUGE improvement and gives him more of a movie look than the actual figure does. Don't get me wrong, the figure is cool....but it's just Snake Eyes. They went a little too far with the standard SE look, and I don't see why he doesn't have the armor like the rest of 'em.

Anyway, that's about it! Not a lot of pics this time around, but I think it would have been even more full of headswaps and mix 'n matches than any of the other ones so far, and that starts to get away from the actual Duke figure. So that's that!

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This honestly shouldn't have been a favorite.  I like to see color!  Plus: Shouldn't Snake Eyes be the only one in all black?

I can't help it, though.  I'm also a fan of the armored look, and these just look so cool!  And they still look cool!  The quick and easy customs I made from them still work for me, and I like the uniform look for the team.  I mean, this wouldn't be an all-the-time thing, but more for stealth missions or something.  Plus, it sort of bled over from Sigma 6, in terms of my own personal stories.  Feels like similar suits. 

Match that with the fact that they have great range of motion in the arms, can hold just about anything, and are slim enough to wear belts, and you've got a great all-around figure for just about anything.  Thankfully they've used this mold elsewhere as well, since it's a great item to have under armor (like I said: The body is thin enough to wear most gear) and it looks great without anything on it, or with some color splashed in between the armor parts. 

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Joe fans (or fans of the scale) were still buying and rebuying these figures for customs.