This afternoon's haul.
No sign of Wave 1 figs or the vehicles.

I'm very pleased with POC Wave 1 .The wave is awesome ,the figures equally awesome ,well most of them .
Hasbro went with the ARAH / 25th style of packaging and I am glad they did so .

I discarded all of my ROC cards instead of collecting them like I did for 25th simply bcoz I hate the design .
Anyways ,I am back to collecting the cards .Each card features the regular file card on the back with a nice dio depicting the figure in action .The front artwork is as usual ,very nice with painted artwork representing the figure .

Now ,onto more juicy goodies .

Regardless of whether you are a hardcore GI Joe collector or a casual collector ,these 3 figures are a must have ; Alley Viper ,Beach Head and Firefly .Buy more than one if you have to because you won't regret it .
Now ,each of these guys looks cool ,comes with loads of weapons and accesories ,and is value for money since you are getting 2 figures for the price of 1 .

Allow me to elaborate further .Strip BH and FF off their helmet / alternate head and vest and you have the regular versions that at first glance ,bears resemblance to their ARAH / 25th selves .Gear them up and you get the armored ,no nonsense versions and they have no problems fighting an army .
Hasbro could have given us both sans the helmet and vest and collectors will still grab 'em but they went the extra mile and produce detailed helmets and vests .

(On a side note ,BH's helmet bears resemblance to Jin ROh / Kerberos while FF's alternate head borrow designs from Sil ,the creature from Species or Green Goblin ,Spidey's arch rival.)

As for Alley Viper ,attach his Resolute Helmet ,remove the shield and you get the urban assault trooper .
Equipped with his primary gear and AV is ready to take on a horde of angry rioteers .

Hence ,I like to refer to these 3 as having dual versions ;the Lite and the Heavy varieties .

On the other hand ,the team leaders of opposite factions ,Duke and CC are rather light in the accesories department .
Snow Job can be considered as a deluxe figure with mini playset due to the huge amount of accesories included plus the white cloth is actually a tent .He can store all his stuff by attaching them to the backpack .

Below I will offer my 2 cents on each figure .I will start with the least likeable figure and end the review with the best
figure .

REVIEW
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1) Cobra Commander

The Good
- comes with a new shiny face mask ,similar to Viper from Cobra 5 Pack .
- body armor repainted in crimson red .
- Cobra emblem on the staff also painted red .

The Bad
- it's a repainted CC from ROC .
- rather lacking in accesories .
- mini HISS not included .

Verdict
Buy only if you are a CC fan ,or like me, you are buying a case and ended up owning him .

2) Snake Eyes

The Good
- SE's face is painted ,well part of it anyway .ROC SE offerings should have been so .
- Timber features a gimmick ; press down the tail and its head move upwards in a barking fashion .

The Bad
- no knife or knife sheathe included .
- no leg articulation on Timber .

Verdict
I love the hybrid and ninja versions of Snake Eyes but not the commando .
This fig is definitely a step up from 25th Commando version and like the rest of wave 1 ,he fits the modern era
definition .While wave 1 SE is acceptable ,I can't say the same for wave 2 which features a Tornado Kick gimmick .
The gimmick works by raising one of his leg upwards and twisting his waist for several turns before releasing .
This results in SE doing his imitation of Ken or Ryu's helicopter kick .

3) Duke

The Good
- the paintjob is detailed and excellent ,with spots of mud covering his lower arms and his lower pants painted in
muddy colors to indicate Duke wading thru swamps .
- his backpack features real elastic bands so you can store his gun in between the straps .
- the belt and pouches cum harness is new and it fits nicely on him .

The Bad
- while you can store his torch inside the 'pack ,there's enuf unused space to probably store another gun .
- he comes with a pistol but there's no working holster and I cant find a gap to slot it in .

Verdict
Each Duke release keeps getting better and better beginning from the 25th series .As with BH ,SE and SS ,he's
packed at two per case .Somehow I feel he's gonna be a peg warmer .Duke sports muscular arms and the good
thing is they don't restrict his upper and lower arms movements' .

4) Snow Job

The Good
- this guy is jam packed with accesories and as shown in the pic below ,you can store them all around his
backpack .
- a bonus working tent is most welcome .

The Bad
- carrying all that stuff means he has some difficulty in standing .

Verdict
He's a must buy ,at least one for the amount of accesories and the portable tent .
Swap the head and you can troop build your Joe arctic team .
I hope Hasbro comes out with more of this playset function for upcoming figures .

5) Storm Shadow

The Good
- he can store almost all of his weapons within himself .(refer to the pic below)
- the chain for the grappling claws is made of steel .Plus you can attach his swords into them to make it a deadlier
weapon .
- the waist armor or whatchamacallit is not removable .
- all six swords (4 long ones and 2 shorts) are attacheable to form a dual bladed weapon .Hence you are getting 3
pairs of it .

The Bad
- i don't like his "Arabian" head sculpt .
- Hasbro reused ROC SS's torso ,arms and legs .The sneakers just don't fit him .
- his hands do not have a tight grip on the claws .

Verdict
Again ,a must buy for SE and SS collectors .Buy a few to fit your ninja team .His weapons are deadly ,and they
sure kick ass .I will be making some adjustments to this figure later .

6) Beach Head

The Good
- awesome all new helmet and vest .
- many weapons included .
- looks a lot better than his ARAH / 25th versions .

The Bad
- there are 2 knife sheathes but only 1 knife included .
- the wire that attaches to his left leg hinders his leg articulation and it keeps coming off .Gonna cut it off .
- just like Duke ,he carries a pistol but there's no holster .

Verdict
- Highly recommended .The vest is highly detailed ,there's many molded pouches ,ammo clips and even a binocular
(not removable) .I removed the filter and it looks a lot better on him .One thing bugs me though ;the inclusion of a
pair of flippers .BH is a land specialist .

7) Firefly

The Good
- awesome alternate futuristic head ,detailed heavy vest ,cool arm protectors .
- sonar mines are attacheable to his backpack .
- arm protectors can be stored behind his vest .

The Bad
- hmm ,I can't think of anything bad .well maybe the inclusion of some hand grenades ?heh...

Verdict
Seriously ,whether you're a Joe collector or not ,get one of this badboy .He fits well as a futuristic trooper .

8) Alley viper

The Good
- man ,another figure with more accesories than your fingers can count .
- this is a repaint of the 25th Defense Of Cobra Island 7 Pack version ,which never made it to Malaysia .
- alternate Resolute helmet and goggles !
- 2 knives included that fits into both sheathes ,something that Beach Head lacks .

The Bad
- well ,I would have preferred the helmet and shield painted in black or dark grey .And get rid of those tiger
stripes .

Verdict
This guy is a definite troop builder and once again ,is highly sought after by collectors .
Hasbro should have included 2 per case but instead ,is making him hard to find just like the 7 pack .
However ,Alley Viper makes a return in wave 2 ,so that's some good news .

9) Quick Kick

The Good
- obviously an updated version from the 25th DVD Pack .
- he's no longer bare footed and his shirt is removable .Same for the practise gloves .

The Bad
- I didn't own the 25th version so I don't have any comment .

Verdict
Just got him this afternoon and already ,I am liking him .
It's also nice of Hasbro to price him at RM39.90 unlike the previous Arctic Doc and Shippy .

10) Spirit

The Good
- modern quiver and bow ,plus he has a military look that suits him better than the Native American 25th Anni
version .
- his vest is a repaint of Pit Commando .

The Bad
- darker green similar to Duke's pants is more fitting for a jungle assault op .
- only one arrow is included while the rest are moulded on the quiver .

Verdict
As with Quick Kick ,I bought him at TRU today .Although Freedom is not included ,his accesories made up for it .

As requested by cranx ,here's some comparison shots of BH and FF .I included their 25th versions as well .





Filter is removed from BH's helmet

more pics ...



All accesories stored onto the backpack



Predator team - Blaine ,Dutch and Billy











AV uses the same torso ,upper arms and upper legs as 25th Wave 7 SE.



Using the alternate AV's helmet ,I can create another AV .Need to swap out the lower arms first but with this ,I can double my AVs .



This post has been edited by darkshadow: Aug 14 2010, 09:51 PM

Thanks guys .cranx, indeed Beach is shorter than FF.by about half a head.

Thanks bro.Good score with the AV.'how many case do you figure arrived at Isetan?
so did you bought Spirit?

i am itching for another HISS.though it'll be another BIB for a few years.
and you only got 1 AV?somebody beat you to the rest?

cheers for building up your AV squad..
damn,when will TRU get them in.no vehicles,no wave 1....sucks.

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Added on August 15, 2010, 9:33 pmcheers on your haul.
you picked up the good ones too.
where did you buy yours?

This post has been edited by darkshadow: Aug 15 2010, 09:33 PM

now that most of us Joe collectors ,hardcore or casual have picked up their figures ,you guys are satisfied with the POC line rite?

this is indeed a huge step up from the crappy ROC line.
and thank goodnes no more oversize lame missile launcher gimmick.

one more thing I wanna highlight is that the hips on each POC fig are tight ,unlike the wobbly leg issue faced by 25th and ROC line.

there's a few must haves from ROC namely Eels with Wave Crusher ,Para Viper (love the black paintjob on both) ,Pit Commando and the two CS SE from wave 5 and Target.SS was a real letdown.plus no FF among regular lineup ,except for the rarity TRU exc.

up till now ,i never bother to buy ROC Destro, even when he's selling for RM 10.on the other hand ,POC Heavy Armored Destro is worth buying at least 2.not excited bout wave 2 Arctic Destro though.

oh yeah ,I love desert based US marines hence ,Desert Ambush Duke deserves a mention.and he's the figure that I bought the most ,at 21.

gonna trim down on Wave 2 as 4 of the figures are mediocre. Gonna get about 5 of Dusty (desert fatiques and that freaking awesome alternate head )
as for the hyped up Jungle Viper ,he's not that exciting in my book.all those camoflage leaves are actually more of a hindrance and he looks like some demon from hell.So getting 6 of him is enuf for me.

So,no one's getting the Resolute 7 Packs?
i'm gonna get 'em next month ,pricey and all.

well you may not build an army of Alley Vipers but you sure can build a squad of them.
since when did FF became a Joe? cool poses by the trio.

jediwalker , i agree the reactive armor is cool..well ,at least for the torso and arms,not so much on the legs.
yeah, ROC COllection 2 Wave 2 and Collection 1 Wave 5 came in small quantities..few figs reached PG shops.
and C1 W4 was nowhere in sight (Red Fang ,Kamakura).

i didnt have Helix but no big deal.just attached TRU Joe 5 Pack Dialtone on a ROC Baroness / Desert Ambush Scarlett and you get a cool Helix.just paint her hair black.

it is possible to get a squad of 5.revision case for wave 2 will include 1 AV.not sure bout revision wave 1 though.
for revision , our hope lies with TRU to bring em in.
fact is, most of the collectors' haul from the past week consist of 1 AV but they had to buy several other POC figs to be entitled to 1 AV.

i was fortunate to score 3 ROC Para Vipers.those 3 lead my team of 11 blue 25th Para Vipers.

---

Added on August 16, 2010, 2:42 pmbro, you are listing the cool figs before they arrived..
we wont be seeing wave 3 POC for this year ,most likely.


This post has been edited by darkshadow: Aug 16 2010, 02:42 PM

Everyone is hunting for more POC Alley Viper.It is understandable though.
One piece of good news is that for Wave 2 Jungle Viper ,it's packed at 2 per case so you guys should be able to build up your troops.



This post has been edited by darkshadow: Aug 16 2010, 04:20 PM

Guys, I would like to run a poll for G.I. Joe Rise Of Cobra toys.
Please include your answer for each question below.
Your participation is most welcome and appreciated.

Note
-----
For the figures ,they can be anyone from the basic carded to vehicles drivers to multipacks as long as they are part of ROC .
For questions 1 ,2 and 3, it doesn't matter if you own them or not .
So here we go.


1) Name 5 ROC FIGURES that you like

-
-
-
-
-

2) Name 5 ROC FIGURES that you dislike

-
-
-
-
-

3) Name 3 ROC VEHICLES that you like

-
-
-

4) Name your FAVOURITE ROC ACTION FIGURE and VEHICLE that YOU OWN

-

I'll start the ball rolling .


1) Name 5 ROC FIGURES that you like

- Eel Viper
- Para Viper
- Desert Ambush Duke
- CS Snake Eyes
- Accelerator Suit Duke

2) Name 5 ROC FIGURES that you dislike

- Destro (he tops the list)
- Breaker
- Zartan
- Neo Viper
- Kamakura

3) Name 3 ROC VEHICLES that you like

- R.H.I.N.O
- Cobra Gunship
- Mantis CRaft Attack

4) Name your FAVOURITE ROC ACTION FIGURE and VEHICLE that YOU OWN

- Para Viper and Mantis Craft

Wow, that sure is fast. Thanks for your participation ,guys!
tsg, join the poll man.that goes for few other Joe collectors out there. You know who you are .

It appears that almost everyone dislikes poor Breaker .The only good thing going for him is the laptop.
Also, almost everyone loves CS SE. Odinn, you included both variations of him .
cranx, I'm gonna assume the three anonymous blue camo outfitted Joes being Shipwreck ,Breaker and Cover Girl ?
As for vehicles ,everyone chose R.H.I.N.O .Congrats to those who own that wonderful piece of vehicle .
I'm still hunting for it but it's not gonna make it to Malaysia .Oh well..

i agree that blue camo makes no sense.camo usage is generally meant for jungle and desert based missions.
maybe it makes sense for Shippy to wear blue camo but not the rest.heck,as if to lead by example, even Hawk sports that color.
as for Cover Girl, she is simply hideous.She looks like some neanthedral ape.
Baroness face is also horrendous but thank goodness ,her outfit makes up for that error in design.

I just dont have the feel for Ice Viper or any of the ROC Viper variations ,yet I ended up with lots of Neo Vipers due to purchasing the Rescue Mission ,5 Pack Cobra and Attack on Pit HQ.

as for Destro,I simply just cant accept the one from wave 1.the baggy outfit and the oversized holster does not do justice to the man.and the fact that two of his huge guns are attacheable via the holes on both sides of his hips.
same thing applies to the SRO 3 Pack version.

The only way to build your AV squad ,then team (let's not even think about an army) is for dept. stores and TRU to bring in Wave 1 and its subsequent revision case .

Or you can source from ebay.com .even then ,most of the listed AVs have receive bidding .