Disappointment after disappointment was all I found going after the G.I. Joe Retaliation Trooper figure when they first came out. They sold out at the distribution event at the SMX Convention Center. I tried buying from Ebay, and a couple forums, but they'd always go for way more than I was willing to pay. Thankfully, there was another distribution event last Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013 at Toy Kingdom Megamall and they were released again along with other Joe figures! It just sucked that they sold out there, too, and I wasn't able to attend.
On a whim, I decided to go to Megamall the next day just to try my luck because I figured they restock sometimes. And lo and behold, they were there!
Each customer can only get ONE! That's how they defend against hoarding and I agree with that practice; I was just so desperate for a second Trooper. I tried tweeting everybody, asking for someone to come down so they can sign up for one and I can just get it from them. A couple people offered to help and I am grateful for that, but before any of my friends were able to come, a guy showed up and bought other figures. I asked him if he could include the Trooper in his list and he did! I just paid for it. Thanks, random guy. You rock.
And like most things from which you expect a great deal, they would often times disappoint you. The Trooper has been regarded as the best figure in the first two waves of this entire series, and while there's solid truth to that, I was still not as happy with these Troopers as I expected to be. Don't get me wrong - they aren't bad figures. They're fantastic, in fact! I just expected them to be the creme de le creme of army builder figures with no faults whatsoever.
They have everything you could ever want from an army builder figure: great articulation, lots of accessories, interchangeable heads, multiple display options and amazing sculpt. It's just that it seems like whole is less than the sum of its parts.
Let's talk about the figure's greatest strength first. Ironically, it also turns out to be what keeps this figure from being toy of the year material - the accessories.
Accessories
All in all, the G.I. Joe Retaliation Trooper figure comes with a whopping 16 accessories, if you count the alternate head.
- Alternate head
- Removable webgear
- Dual sheath for the knives
- two kinves
- two semi auto pistols
- two revolvers
- three goofy-ass looking rifles
- a shovel
- backpack
- gas mask
- cape
All of his accessories can be worn at the same time. That's right - ALL 16! That is, if you can get the goddamned thing to stand.
The sheath plugs into his belt, and the two knives can be securely stored in it. Each pistol is carried on his backpack, in a position that seems like it's more useful for his teammates than himself. The shovel plugs neatly into the backpack, while the gas mask is securely stored in its own special place on the top of the backpack. It fits the alternate head quite snugly, too.
The cape goes over his shoulders very neatly and it stays in place; it won't even get in the way of articulation much. The backpack's peg is very long, which should accommodate the hole in the Trooper's back and the hold on the cape. The two goofy-ass bullpup rifles can be secured onto these tabs on the pack, as well. He can just hold the last weird looking gun.
I appreciate that Hasbro has included all of these accessories; it makes the figure seem like it's worth much more than what it's priced. There's only one teeny tiny drawback: he can't really stand when he has that much gear on him. His back is too heavy and it pulls the entire figure backward. You can solve this by tilting him forward, but then any position like that makes him look like he's planting rice. Trust me, I've tried over and over and over.
When holstered, the pistol handles look fine protruding out of the pack, but the pistols themselves look pretty goofy. The same goes to the rifles he's packed with. I couldn't really use any of those for display because, well... they're butt ass ugly. The knives could use some paint, but they'd look pretty neat when you're done with em'.
By far, my favorite accessory is the alternate head. The face and hairstyle really remind me of Soap MacTavish. And because of that, I gave that Trooper the SA80, a British standard issue assault rifle (even though Soap is actually Scottish.)
I gave the other one with the helmet on a SCAR-L (or H, I dunno) that came from Beachhead and Snake Eyes.
Sculpt
No complaints with the sculpt on the figure itself. Every tiny detail is molded in with all the creases and indentations. Let's start from the top, going down.
The alternate face is amazing. It looks like it it was 3D printed or something and copied from a much bigger 6" figure. Although I would've appreciated a little more expression on that face, it does the job. It looks a little stoic, is all. I love the helmet, though. It seriously does look like Master Chief's, but only with a blue visor instead of gold.
The webgear is amazing. It has all these pockets and clasps and other cool stuff. It could've used a little more shading and wash, but that's for another section. Sleeves are as good as it gets - they're sculpted in a way that allows maximum range of motion. I absolutely LOVE the way this figure can shoulder a gun. It's better than any other Joe figure I've played with so far.
The pants are pretty much your standard G.I. Joe legs until you get to the ankles. Instead of having boots, you've got swiveling pant legs, which look cool but don't move very nicely.
What I do have a problem with are the accessories - they look goofy. The rifles are weird! Some of them even have extra plastic coming off of 'em, like cheap knock-offs. I am amazed at how well they fit into their holsters, though.
Paint
I was actually surprised at how clean the paint is. The eyes on the alternate head aren't messed up, even though they're ridiculously tiny. At no point in the figure would you notice any bleeding of the colors, even where the hair and the skin meet. Everything's so neat! Maybe a little too neat.
The Trooper's uniform is a nice military green, and the webgear is all black. Cape on the variant is solid brown, as well as the gas mask. The shovel is orange and I think that works, in its own way. I don't really like how the guns and knives are all colored the same shade of gray, but you can solve that with a little acrylic paint.
I would have loved a little more wash on the uniform, to give the nice shade of dull green a little more character. It would've worked to make each individual figure look a little unique, too, kinda like the way they did it for the Steel Brigade. But other than that tiny gripe, top notch work on the paint.
Articulation
Articulation on the G.I. Joe Trooper is quite unique. It has the standard number of joints, but they way they move is different because of the way the figure is sculpted.
The head is a ball joint, which allows it to be popped off for head replacement. It can go 360 degrees around and can move up and down a little bit. The scarf around his neck doesn't hinder movement all that much. Its ball-hinge shoulder can rotate and twist 360 degrees, move up and down a really impressive range.
What impressed me the most are his elbows and his wrists. The range of motion on the ball-hinged elbows allows him to hold a rifle almost perfectly; it's amazing! The right wrist with the trigger finger hand tilts up and down to hold a rifle, while the left moves in and out to support it. I love how it was practically designed to pose with a weapon.
In the midsection, he has chest articulation, but no waist. The webgear barely restricts movement, so no worries there. He has the standard ball jointed T-bar hips, and double jointed knees. The ankles are where it gets iffy. His feet tilt forward backward nicely, but not so much forward, and when you twist the foot around, it moves in a certain angle that allows for wide stances. This is all because of the way the pant leg is sculpted.
Overall (TL;DR)
The G.I. Joe Retaliation Trooper is a fantastic action figure. Building an army with this figure and the Steel Brigade figures makes for an awesomely diverse, yet very similar figure set with all the display options. The sculpt is great, the paint is clean but dull and the articulation's really good. It's great he's got so many accessories but they only really hinder his ability to stand and some of them are just plain ugly. If you've got other gear to give him instead of his stock stuff, this is almost the perfect figure.
Score: 4.8 out of 5