Okay, I've had time now to open Destro and look over all four figures in this wave again. I'm looking at them from two angles, the first is if they're good toys and the second if they hit the mark as collectibles. The second is less important to me, but unfortunately where two of them fall.
Low-Light
I was most looking forward to Low-Light and Shadow Tracker. I've been wanting them since seeing them at the GI Joe con last year. Low-Light is the one I'm most disappointed in for a couple of reasons. The first being the fragility of the accessories. He's an example of what can be accomplished at this scale, with the level of detail and the amount of accessories, but now that it's been proven that it can be done, it doesn't necessarily mean it should.
The rifle is nice, but the collapsible stock is fragile and trying to pose the figure with it extended puts pressure on it that I’m afraid will cause it to break if I’m not careful with it. Same with the scope. The tiny pegs worry me whether it’s putting the scope on the gun or on the holster on his leg. One wrong move and it’s broken and worthless. The radio set is the same way, especialy the antenna. It’s tiny and since it’s a separate piece, I’m thinking that short of storing it in a box, I’m either going to lose the antenna or break it. To a lesser extent, the spotter scope is the same, with the legs being something I’m afraid I’m going to snap if I’m not extremely careful with it.
Just taking the accessories out of the package I had a momentary lapse and nearly broke the barrel off the UZI. I was able to bend it back but it’s weakened now and will probably come apart eventually. The gun case is nice and I like the fact that you can use it as both a backpack or a case. It was kind of a bitch to get open and, again, I was worried about breaking a tab or something. The backpack is a decent piece, though, and it’s nice that you can put a couple of the accessories in it. That’s actually one of the best pieces of the set.
Overall, Lowlight looks great and he does have some good articulation, but I’m so paranoid about breaking or loosing accessories that I don’t feel that he makes a good toy. I think to make him really playable, I’d replace some of his equipment with Marauder’s stuff and store his accessories away so that they don’t get lost or damaged. So while I was most looking forward to Low-Light, ultimately I’m the most disappointed in him.
Shadow Tracker
Shadow Tracker was my second most anticipated figure and he fares better than Low-Light, in my opinion. My major gripe with him is the amount of accessories he comes with and the complete lack of his ability to carry most of them. While other figures in the line have working holsters and sheaths, Tracker has only one working sheath and then a hole in his leg for another bayonet. Why not cut down on the number of accessories and spend that money on a sheath or two? The other major issue is his hair. The arrow backpack is actually a decent piece but unless you cut his hair, you can’t put that on him. I don’t want to buy a toy and the first thing out of the package I have to do to it is cut it up with an X-acto knife. And I think even if I do that, the hair is still going to get in the way of the backpack. I may have to look at some photos online to see what others did.
As a toy, though, he fare better than Low-Light. His accessories aren’t really as fragile and except for the fact that he can’t carry most of them, they work well. Even the net trap has some possibilities. He could have easily been better with one leg sheath instead of a hole for a knife and maybe change up his vest so that there was a better way to attach some accessories. The only other issue I have with him is the lack of ankle articulation. If they’d sculpted the pants just a little different it would have been greatly improved.
Still, I like Shadow Tracker and I think with the right selection of his accessories, he makes an excellent enemy for the new Spirit figure.
Skydive
I liked Skydive just because of the ridiculous accessories. Seeing him all together in person, he’s a really cool looking figure. All of the accessories fit well on the figure and the winged backpack, while kind of weird, works well and looks cool as ****. Under all the skydiving accessories, Skydive also makes for a decent looking commando figure. Drop him behind enemy lines, drop his gear and he’s ready to go. Most of the money on this figure is in the backpack and harness accessories so I can’t blame Hasbro for not giving him more than a pistol, but I think pulling a rifle from another figure and including it with him would add some playability.
While I thought Skydive looked cool, I wasn’t really in a hurry to get him. Now, though, he’s one of the top two figures of this wave for me. The other being Shadow Tracker.
Destro
I was really disappointed to find out that Destro didn’t come with the Aliens style steady-gun but the gatling gun he does come with is pretty cool, although I don’t care for the ammo belt just kind of hanging out into space. There’s no backpack or anything to attach it to so it’s kind of odd. The steady-gun part of the rig seems to work okay, but it takes a little doing to get it into a position that looks like it should work as intended.
This is one of the better looking Destro figs, IMO. He’s huge and looks mean as ****. The armor pieces work well and the integrated holster works for the pistol that’s included. I think he’d look equally good with a big grenade launcher or something. I like the paint scheme even. It just all works. Oh, and the brief case of money? Excellent! That’s just a cool accessory for a weapons dealer. It’s a nice touch. I’m hoping that the rumored Iron Grenadiers that BBTS posted the other day are real and that they complement this version of Destro in some way. It would be cool to surround the boss with some equally badass looking henchmen. Of the four figures, I like Destro about equally as well as Shadow Tracker but do think that he makes a somewhat better toy than ST because all his accessories seem to work well.
I’m still glad to have the Low-Light figure and maybe as I spend more time with him my opinion will change. The figure itself is fine, I found most of the faults with the accessories. It just feels like kind of a letdown for a figure that I’ve been waiting almost a year for.
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