I was doing some gift shopping on Entertainmentearth.com, and they had a deal going on where if you buy a certain amount of merchandise, you get free shipping. So I was looking around to see if there was anything else I wanted to order, and this set popped up and was exactly enough to bring my total up to what was required for free shipping. Sure, it would have been less expensive to just pay shipping on the one item, but I've had my eyes on this set for a while, and it has been out of stock. So why not?
One of the reasons I wanted this set is Dr Mindbender, everyone's favorite evil orthodontist. Anybody that rocks a cape without a shirt, as well as a monocle, makes for a classy figure in my book. I'll even forgive him for his part in creating Serpentor. Oddly enough, he has no nipples. An oversight? Or did he lose them in some evil experiment? The world may never know the full extent of Dr Mindbender's secrets.
Moving on, we have a Lamprey, one of Cobra's amphibious assault troopers. Basically they are Cobra Eels, but with more experience. I think his outfit looks more like a flight suit, but whatever. The clear dome on his helmet is removable, neat!
One of the other main reasons I wanted this set is for the Range-Viper. I had one when I was a kid, and I really dig that skull-like helmet. This new, updated version has a removable helmet which is both a good thing and a bad thing. It's good because removable helmets are cool, but bad because it has eye holes. The original had red lenses over the eyes, and I think that is a cooler look than regular eyes looking through. Still a cool figure!
The Alley-Viper is the main reason that I wanted this set. Again, it's a figure that I had when I was a kid. I am partial to Cobra figures that are ridiculous, and the Alley-Viper is a great example of that. Bright orange camouflage? I love it! This is definitely my favorite figure of the set, and if they put out a set that was just a few of these guys, I would definitely consider buying it. He has a crazy riot shield as well as a couple different guns.
Up next is the Night Creeper. He's a ninja, apparently. In the world of G.I. Joe, a ninja can wear a purple outfit. That's just the way it is. He's got a crossbow and a sword with a wavy looking blade.
I already have a regular B.A.T., and I wouldn't mind having a couple of them, but I am glad that this one is different. It has battle damage! The chestplate and head can both be swapped for undamaged versions. Instead of all the swappable arms, this B.A.T. has one set of arms, a couple guns, and a new backpack to hold the spores for mutant creeping vines they apparently use in battle (fully grown purple mutant creeping vines also included, though not pictured).
The final figure in the set is the Air-Viper. It's not the most flashy figure, but I like his look. He comes with a pistol that doesn't fit well in either of his hands unless he holds it by the barrel. I'm sure he prefers to do all of his fighting from a cockpit anyway.
All in all, I'd say this is a good set. I was only particularly interested in three of the figures, but it's cool to get three completely new to me trooper figures as well as another B.A.T. figure. It's a good deal, and works out to less than six dollars per figure, which is slightly cheaper than a single figure at retail. It also comes with a good variety of weapons for the figures, some of which aren't even pictured here. My Joe to Cobra ratio was already skewed in Cobra's favor, and the addition of this set isn't doing the Joes any favors. Good thing we all know that Cobra troopers are such terrible shots!
You may have noticed that I like throwbacks to 80s style G.I. Joe. This deluxe figure set is a Target exclusive, and is somewhat hard to find at the moment. I've only seen the one that I bought today. This set is a nice blend of the old and the new of G.I. Joe. The main reason I wanted this is the SNAKE armor, which has been updated by painting it in black and calling it Serpent Armor. It's pretty cool! It pulls apart, and a figure can fit inside. I was a little worried since this is a straight reuse of the original version, that a modern Joe figure wouldn't fit inside, but the included figure fits inside with no problems. There are four interchangeable weapons that fit on the ends of the arms. And you get to apply the stickers yourself, something I always dig about the Joe toys.
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