5
–Sgt Airborne
The Retaliation 3-packs are chock full of
great figures. Besides being a fun figure by his own right, Sgt Airborne can
also be very useful for customs.
The torso, arms and legs are sculpted with
details like pouches, armor, zippers and tabs. These parts can be useful to
make an updated Wild Bill, Ace, Sky Patrol or even Payload or Star Brigade.
Airborne’s head was originally to be
released with Renegades Law and Order.
Although that did not work out, I’m glad Hasbro found a way to use it.
Airborne’s head is sculpted with a balaclava with openings for the eyes, nose
and mouth. It is perfect to make a SWAT team member, a terrorist, a bank robber
or even a snow trooper.
In summary, from head to –toe, Airborne is
nothing but useful parts. They are generic enough to be versatile while still
being well sculpted and detailed. Sgt Airborne is definitely worth picking up
for fodder if you have a chance.
4
– Kwinn
Who is Kwinn? Only the most requested
character-never-to-be-made-into-a-figure ever (His Valor vs Venom version
doesn’t count). Any fan who grew up reading the original Marvel comics knows
who Kwinn is since he was an important character in the first 25 issues. Enough
history, Hasbro has finally released him as a figure and knocked it out of the
park. Once you have one for your collection, I suggest you pick up more for
your fodder bin. You won’t be disappointed.
First off, the torso and upper arms are
reused from Rise of Cobra Sgt Stone. The shirt is generic enough to be used for
any number of characters like Dusty, Recondo, Falcon or Duke. The sleeves are
rolled up. The bare lower arms are well sculpted and the right length to work
with most figures (Contrary to Sgt Stone’s original extra long arms). The hands
feature the extra articulation and are bare (no gloves) as well. For me, it
will be time to update some characters like Breaker, Rock & Roll and Clutch
that should not have gloves.
However, Kwinn also features some new
elements: his legs are sculpted with shorts. These can be used to make a Valor
Vs Venom Alpine or any type of adventurer, hunter or safari explorer figure.
Kwinn also comes with a ton of gear. Some
of it, like the hunting rifle and the M2, is extremely well crafted and is
useful for several figures.
3
– Ultimate Duke
It is safe to say that Ultimate Duke was
one of the most anticipated figures from the entire Retaliation line. It is
easy to see why. The sculpting and details are excellent. The paint
applications are numerous and well executed and he comes equipped with a ton of
weapons as well as a new drone and a cool alternate head.
These same reasons make Ultimate Duke a
cool base figure to use for customs. The legs are newly sculpted with folds and
a holster on the right side. They are nice and bulky and could be used for a
variety of different soldier types including desert and arctic troops. The
ankles are the new ‘’rocker’’ style and include the pant detail that
effectively camouflages the articulation point. The torso and upper arms are
re-used from the GI Joe Trooper and are very similar to the hugely popular
Cobra Shock Trooper. They are generic enough to be used in different ways yet
they have the right amount of sculpted details. The forearms are new. The left
forearm has a small screen/tech detail sculpted on. This would make a great,
downsized version of the Sigma 6 gauntlet or could be used for several
different characters like Hi-Tech, Med-Alert or updated Mainframe or Dial-Tone.
The Channing Tatum head is pretty useless
in my opinion. However, the alternate head is pure gold. Originally released
with the 5 POA Night Fox, the alternate head is clad with a SWAT-type helmet
and goggles. I have already used this head to make an updated version of Battle
Corps Beachhead, but it could also be used for Shockwave, a DEF Trooper, a SWAT
officer, a SHIELD soldier or even for a new Cobra Viper.
2
– Beachhead / Snake Eyes (3-Pack)
The Pursuit of Cobra wave 3 Snake Eyes is
considered by many fans to be the pinnacle of Snake Eyes. It is hard to argue
with that. The ribbed shirt, the detailed pants, the working holsters and the
super detailed sculpting all contribute to make that Snake Eyes a fan favorite.
After he was released, Hasbro re-used the same tooling (or some of it) to make
several more fan favorites like Steel Brigade Trooper, Cobra Trooper, DG
Shipwreck, Stalker and Lifeline. Now, in the Retaliation line, these great
parts make an appearance on a couple of figures and I could not be more
pleased.
Beachhead and Snake Eyes share the same
body construction. I won’t describe the re-use potential for these parts as
Hasbro has already proven it by re-using so often with brilliant results.
Several customizers have already used these bodies to create updated versions
of the original 13 as well as various other characters.
The only thing keeping these figures from
the number 1 spot on the list is the fact that the tooling was not introduced
in the Retaliation line.
1
– Firefly (3-Pack)
Here we are at number 1. So what makes
3-pack Firefly worthy of the number 1 spot? Basically, every one of his parts
can have multiple uses.
His head is clad in a balaclava and can be
used for a ninja, a masked robber, a terrorist, a special forces operative or
even a diver.
His legs are from 30th Lifeline
and share some parts with the famous PoC Snake Eyes. However, they throw a new
kneecap into the mix: one without kneepads. This increases the versatility of
these legs in my opinion. Now we can mix and match the upper legs between
Firefly and Snake Eyes to change the holsters and pockets from one to the
other.
His arms are also from Lifeline and feature
great, sculpted detail yet are generic enough to be used for almost any figure
that needs long sleeves. The hands are fully articulated and feature no
details, so they can be easily painted in flesh tones.
Then we have the newly tooled torso. It
features a jacket over a shirt detail. Hasbro has already used this torso on
their concept case Flint and Hit & Run. It also makes a great base for an
updated Dial-Tone.
The webgear is useful as well. Any piece
can be cut away or modded to make it look different. Again, I’ll cite my
Dial-Tone as an example. The backpack is pretty generic and can be used to
outfit practically any figure that needs one.
All in all, 3-pack Firefly packs a pretty
good punch as far as customs potential. If you have a chance to pick up any
extra 3-packs at a decent price, I highly recommend adding as many as you can
to your fodder box.
Best
of the Rest
There you have it, my top 10 most useful
Retaliation figures for customs. I thought that I would mention a couple of
others that could be considered the best of the rest.
A
few figures Okay, I know what you’re thinking. This is OB’s first top ten list
and he’s already off his rocker. How can a 5-point of articulation piece of poo
poo figure be one of Retaliation’s most useful figures? Well, one answer: his
head. Look around the interwebs and you’ll see that Clutch’s head has been used
in several fantastic customs. It could be used for Rock & Roll, Hollow
Point, a modern Clutch, private military contractors and other characters. For good reason, the head sculpt is great
and full of personality. The sunglasses and baseball cap are modern designs and
the beard is very well sculpted.
Despite the body being basically worthless,
the cool factor of the head and the fact that it is compatible with ME Joes
makes it good enough for Clutch to get a mention on the list.
I went back and forth about including
Ultimate Storm Shadow on the list. Like Red Ninja, his parts are probably only
goos to make other ninjas. Although Storm Shadow features great sculpting,
articulation and accessories, I chose Red Ninja over him because of the armored
wrists and shinpads. These details offer something new to our fodder bins,
whereas Ultimate Storm Shadow parts (although exceptionally well sculpted) are
similar to what has been around since the 25th anniversary days.
And lastly, we could make the case for the Cobra Combat Ninja. Built from mostly PoC Shock Trooper parts, the CCN definitely has some some useful components. However, he doesn't offer much in the way of new elements: two heads and a helmet, so I scored him lower. However, if you come across him, don't pass him up. He is worth buying for customs or army building.