Power Team Review - Green Beret & SAS

About a week ago, my wife and I stopped by a local Big Lots and I checked out the toy department to see what kind of "stuff" Big Lots had in stock. I was pleasantly surprised by the first signs of Christmas - Power Team figures at Big Lots! Yesterday, I finally picked up a couple of them - the Green Beret and the SAS soldier. So here's my review of these two guys.

I'm usually very pleased with Power Team figures in general, but when Hasbro cranks out high dollar molded shirt, minimal accessory figures, Power Team just kicks the big H's butt! Power Team figures come with cloth uniforms, usually a load of decently detailed accessories, and a $10.00 price tag that is hard to beat.

I have two big complaints about Power Team figures - the body style and the head sculpts. The body style is amazingly articulated. These guys have some of the best artic around for 12" figures. Rugged, tough and kid-friendly - they are great! But, for me personally, there are minimal limitations on the knee and elbow joints and they wind up looking a little goofy. Besides, I'm partial to the Hasbro super articulated body style, so I'm biased.

The head sculpts range from goofy looking to incredible detail. The two guys I picked were primarily for their head sculpts.

The first on the review block is the Green Beret - not much on the accessory department, but an excellent head sculpt.

The second is the SAS trooper. Again, great head sculpt and pretty good gear with this guy.

Here's a look at the package back. I'm hoping the deluxe set with the UAV shows up again this year. I don't want to miss it again! Most of these guys are great for kit bashing and restocking your 1/6th scale goodies. It's a tough market out there for 1/6th scale stuff!

Here's a close up of the Green Beret. I just like this sculpt. Detailed, a bit aged, five o'clock shadow. There is some character in this face!

Here he is outfitted with most of his gear. The vest is very high quality, very well made. His jeans are well done as well. Plus, he's wearing sneakers! How cool is that!

Here's a look at the GB's gear. Not much to look at. PT holsters are well made but not belt/web gear friendly. Not too thrilled with the AK-47 "ish" weapon. It will wind up in a box buried somewhere. The watch is nicely made and the head set is not so great. Everything else is pretty decent.

Here's a close up of the SAS guy. Another great head sculpt. He's got some pock-marks on the sides of his chin, nice natural lines in the face. Again, there's a character behind this head sculpt.

Here he is outfitted in his gear. The SAS troop has much more gear than the Green Beret and it's all pretty well made.

Here's a look at his gear. The hat? Not so much. The rifle? A British SA80 - this weapon is awesome! Excellent detailing and paint apps. Okay, it's not fine detail, but for the price, it's pretty damn sweet! There's a canteen and three pouches that fit on the web belt (another win) and a pretty decent back pack that has space to store stuff inside. The camo netting thingy? I guess it's a scarf or something. It's well made, but I'm not sure what to do with it.

I'm very pleased with these two figures. They are well made, have excellent head sculpts and decently made gear. I highly recommend Power Team figures for all 1/6th scale soldier collectors!

Too bad I'm going to cut their heads off!

HEY!

YEAH, YOU!

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G. I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra - Amazing Crazy Fun

Well, I hit the theater today to see G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. It was amazing crazy fun. It was a blast! A roller coaster ride of larger than life heroes and villains. Just some brief thoughts...

The Baroness - Hot Hot Hot! Very much the villainess! Not thrilled with the nanomite explanation for her turn to evil, overall very good portrayal.

Stormshadow - excellent portrayal - visually exciting, well played, very cool.

Snake Eyes - not totally thrilled - very cool portrayal, but something not quite right. Didn't like the mouth on the costume. Vow of silence vs. injury - not so much.

Delta 6 suits - exciting sequence, lot's of fun!

James McCullen - very cool! Over the top bad guy!

The Doctor - interesting, creepy, well portrayed

Dr. Mindbender - briefly seen, but very creepy cool. Hope he's around for sequels!

Lt. Stone - Brendan Fraser's character - Cool! I like the guy - decent actor, suits being part of this team of heroes.

The Commander and Destro - not enough of them - I would have preferred that they had gotten away like in the novelization. They'll figure out a way to get free for the sequel(s).

Scarlett - looked awesome, didn't like the non-emotional aspect. The Snake Eyes/Scarlett relationship was downplayed - needed to be more a part of the two characters.

The Vipers - neo's, elites, whatever - not impressed at first, but I learned to like them much more very quickly. First thoughts were that they were basically mindless automatons. Maybe the neo-vipers were, but once other vipers were involved in conversations, they seemed more relevant to the story, not just targets for the Joe team.

The Pitt - amazing, amazing, amazing - too much to see in one showing. Going to have to slo-mo the DVD when it comes out!

Zartan - Arnold Vosloo - very creepy, minor role, but well done - and now he's the... wow!

Still too much spinning in my head - more thoughts later.

I hope it makes a ton of money this opening weekend and sequels are in the future! What a great way to head toward the 50th anniversary of G.I. Joe!

40 years in the making...

I've been a G.I. Joe fan for a long time. I have no idea when this picture was taken, but I'm guessing that I was around 7 or 8, sometime around 1969-70. I'm the one on the left, by the way. That's my cousin, Randy, behind the G.I. Joe building.

My cousin lived in Massachusetts and his mom used to go to the Hasbro company store and buy him the coolest G.I. Joe stuff. He always had some awesome stuff. I wonder if he still does?

I played with Joe for many years after that, but as I got older, my Joe toys were very worn out and wound up in the trash. My poor yellow AT helicopter was probably more glue than plastic before it was finally "retired."

Years went by, the Real American Heroes line came out in 1982 and the infection was full on. From then on, I've been collecting G.I. Joe pretty regularly. Big guys and small guys.

And now, here I am, seven days away from the release of "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra." G.I. Joe finally makes it to the big screen.

It looks like it's going to be a helluva' lot of fun and I'm sure I'll have a big goofy smile on my face during the entire movie.


Watching "The Mummy" tonight on TV, only because it was directed by Stephen Sommers and he's directing "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" and there will probably be movie trailers. And there were trailers - looks great!

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Seven days away...

I can't wait...

Mission Prep

I decided to show the big Joes some appreciation. Can't go wrong with these guys!