Alexx Shorts: RoC Paris Pursuit Baroness (8/23/09)

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.



Sorry, Paris!

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Yeah, so I broke down and bought a Baroness. I wasn't planning on it, though, I will admit that the first version tempted me with the little platform she comes with (for the Gunship). I couldn't get by the face though, and that was the reason I wasn't going to buy this one either. I took a look at the package, however, and saw cool guns and a basic body that looked good, plus the fact that she came with the nanomite killswitch! The face wasn't looking too bad either, so I bought her. I'll tell ya....I'm actually not disappointed that I did! After messing around with the figure, the face kinda grew on me (and neither of the other Baroness heads look good at all) and if you can get by that and do some minor cutting on the longcoat, then you've got a pretty cool figure!

First of all, like I said, you've got to cut up the skirt of the coat a bit to free the leg articulation. The legs won't move much without the modification.

As usual, with these sorts of things, I just cut where there were already creases on the front. On the back, I started from the seperation point and just cut upward, trying to keep it straight. Once you're done, you've got much more that you can do with her!

As you can tell from those, she's got a great range! What helps is the really cool array of weapons:

Part of the kicker for me buying this one is that nanomite killswitch attached to the launcher.

It's removeable! I knew I had to have that little peice, for the sake of the Paris scene from the movie. Once you cut the skirt a bit (like I showed), you can even shove it in there a bit to mimic where she stows it in the movie:

Another reason I bought this one was for this awesome rifle:

Another futuristic looking gun for this line, and I'm loving all of them so far! Considering how this is going so far, though, I wouldn't be surprised if someone came in and told me that's a real gun!

Anyway, other than that, she thankfully has a great ability to hold all these guns:

You know...save for the standard giant launcher. The handles are too big for her little hands, but it's not like anyone is going to be giving her that monster:

I'm much more impressed with this figure than I thought I'd be, and I gotta say, I think this one is a buy. I recommend it! Give the face a good look, and I think you'll like it better than the first one (unless the first one didn't bother you, of course). If you still can't get by it, well, I wish I could say that the other heads work, but they don't! The figure itself is really good, though, so give it a thought!

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This is one of those accessory-laden figures that's best at the beginning of a collection; not so much at the end.  I see the accessory pic and understand that I was SUPER excited for all the guns, back then!  Now I look at my current drawer tower of accessories and I'm like: "NOPE."  Thanks, Past Alexx.  I'm sure Future Alexx will be saying that to me again later on.

Anyway: Not a bad figure!  She REALLY needs the cuts, though.  They're easy to make, and if you can find a head to swap on her, she's got a great range of movement for any custom!  And heck, after reading this review again (and digging out the figure) I think I do still agree with Past Alexx that the head ain't bad.  It's a terrible likeness of the actor who played the role, but it's not bad as an older Baroness.  Because...look at it.  That's not the face of a young woman.  That's not a bad thing, either!  It's just bad if you want it to portray the person playing the role.

I doubt anyone is gona track this down, but I wouldn't underestimate it, if you want a female figure with a longcoat that only needs minor modification to move well.  We don't have many, and any that they make almost always get the short end of the stick on leg articulation.  I'd still give this one a look!