SDCC Zarana (i've been hoping year after year since 2008 for a 25th based ARAH Zarana and finally she's here..Zartan ,here comes your bad ass sis and 'Noks,better wise up!)



Cold Slither Zarana version from Season 1's cartoon




Renegades
------------

Duke's a pure win(stern,no-nonsense new face sculpt ,reuse of POC Wave 3 SE's upper legs with silencer holder)
CC's a drag queen!(gimme a break)
and FF (looks pretty much like Sideshow's version, sans camo paintjob on the jacket.awesome!)



SE (ROC CSSE repaint with new backpack and gun..boring )



Hazard Viper (repaint of ROC Volcano Viper...score two for boring effect )



Techno Viper (sweet mutha' ,indeed what I had hoped for.Another one for troop building!and he comes with a cone and shovel plus pistol and working holster..damn)




Conclusion
------------

Things are looking good for me as I don't need more than one of each figure (maybe 2 Duke and 2 FF) ,with the exception of troop building Techno Viper.
Also ,Hasbro implements their 25th /ROC /POC designs for the Renegades line rather than going with a more anime ,ala Star Wars Clone Wars look.

This post has been edited by darkshadow: Feb 13 2011, 11:19 AM

POC Wave 5 & 6
-----------------

Viper (reuse of ST's torso and legs ,with 25th Viper's head and vest.hmm?still no removable helmet??)



Croc Master (it's the same 25th Anni figure with the addition of some cobras and a snake straight from ROC Crimson Neo-Viper)



Crazylegs (yippee!)



Blowtorch (same 25th Anni figure with new cannisters and pickaxe.yawnnn)



Cobra Trooper (Resolute Trooper's head and helmet ,with POC Wave 3 SE's upper legs..again !Will grab a squad though)

CC (Resolute version with new vest and new accesories..yawnnn)



Steel Brigade (reminiscent of his ARAH figure.Comes with 25th AOCI Zap's bazooka and backpack with removbable shells)



General Hawk (25th Dusty's helmet,Resolute Duke's legs and Resolute Destro's briefcase..awesome updated version)



SE Temple Guardian(Resolute Comic Pack SS helmet and legs with new torso and arms,Dusty's scarf equals another passable figure)



Iron Grenadier (damn,this guys packs a punch ,and since POC Wave 4 Destro is heavily armored, so must his elite guard)



Rock Viper (25th Anni Shockwave helmet and head ,Resolute Duke torso and and upper legs,POC Wave 2 SE lower arms and legs,ROC Arctic SE backpack ...this guy's a mere part swap and repaint.)



Conclusion
-------------

Thank goodness, the figures in both waves are not potential troop builders for me.phew!
A couple of IGs,squad of Cobra Trooper ,2 Crazylegs, 3 Hawk and 1 each of the rest are enuf for me.Already owned enuf Vipers and Croc Masters as it is.

This post has been edited by darkshadow: Feb 13 2011, 11:31 AM

Vehicles
----------

VAMP with new driver



Crimson HISS Tank (sleek and cool ,red perfectly representing Cobra snake emblem colors)



Black Dragon Gunship (from Renegades)



Conclusion
------------

Gonna grab a VAMP since i skipped POC's version.The driver looks good too.
HISS is awesome and so is the new driver..damn ,another HISS for me...

thanks..yup, hasbro is trying to cash in on the demand for more POC by using the lazy method.

---

Added on February 14, 2011, 12:40 amI did mentioned it on the post preceding the Renegades post.just didnt include the pic.

"25th Anniversary style Skystriker will be on shelves Fall 2011. Looks like the original. Comes with ACE. It is retooled. It will hold 1 figure, not 2 because they couldnt make it to hold 2 of the new figures.No Parachute either."


This post has been edited by darkshadow: Feb 14 2011, 12:40 AM

Yeah, I understand now.Any sightings with cost savings, I'll keep to myself from now onwards.
Thanks for highlighting this, dzirhan.

Now this is indeed a SS worth getting more than 1.Comes with a shitload of ninja weapons.



I am extremely excited that another of my all time fav Joe is getting the updated treatment ,Sci-Fi!
Plus he comes with two interchangeable helmets!
A partially opened visor and fully closed visor.



This post has been edited by darkshadow: Feb 14 2011, 04:09 PM

here's a pic of 'Noks though Gnawgahyde and Zanzibar are not pictured.



and here's my Noks.

Today's haul @RM70 per set.One of my SS's backpack is missing from the box.damn!





This post has been edited by darkshadow: Feb 19 2011, 08:00 PM

Some mods on my Resolute Destro and Baroness.
For Destro ,the trench coat extending all the way to his lower legs are obviously and absolutely obstructing his leg movements .that's a huge NO NO for me.
For Baroness, her wider facial chin construction and the puffy hairstyle make her head appear larger than the rest of the body.
I thinned off the chin area and carved out a portion of the front hair (see the pics) .Left the rest of hairstyle intact coz i like the Elvira look .

My POC Mega Haul has arrived !
This completes my wave 3 and wave 4 needs .
I'm not getting wave 3 Duke and SS as I've decided not to collect every POC figure ,no thanks to the crappy upcoming waves 5 and 6.

I've no idea coz I bought these out of packaging.
As for Destro,if I have a 7th, I'll sell it to you.

Will post a review in the next few days.I spent a little time "playing" with Low LIght ,Destro and Sky Dive and I gotta say,I'm amazed at the amount of accesories included for both.Low Light is a pure win,hands down.Joints are tight for all 3,which is a plus and even Sky Dive who has the least accesories comes out a winner due to his awesome backpack.

I'll be doing a review on each POC wave 4 figures ,with a gap of 2-3 days in between.Lazy to do a complete wave 4 review in one shot.


POC Wave 4 Mini Review

Low Light
------------


The Good
------------

- Comes with a sheer amount of accesories ,almost on par with 1/6 military figures .This goes to show that if Hasbro design team has inspiration ,and given the green light by Hasbro to proceed with production ,each new released figure will include tons of accesories .

- LL retains his ARAH look but with updated accesories ,this version puts the ARAH to shame .

-Sniper rifle comprises of 5 removable parts ;the rifle itself ,silencer ,adjustable sliding stock ,scope and bipod (not adjustable though).Sweet!

-The backpack has ample storage space and can be opened entirely as shown in the pics.Unlike POC FF's backpack where there's limited storage.

-Comes with a 2-piece scope.

-The knife is a new design and one side of it is painted silver.

-A bullet tray with peg for a single removable tiny bullet.Way cool!

-The "highlight of Low Light" is his rifle case.He can wear it behind his back or hand carry .

-His left wrist includes a swivel joint for better grip of the rifle.

The Bad
-----------

-The rifle scope can't stay on the pegs properly .

-Since the scope can be stored on his left hip ,the extra scope storage in the case should be replaced with storage for the silencer .

-The antenna on his comm device tends to fall off easily.I might apply super glue so it sticks on permanently .

The Verdict
--------------

This is a must buy figure ,whether you like Low Light's character or you just need him for a custom.
The huge amount of accesories alone is reason enuf to get him.
While the rifle case can be attached to his back ,followed with his backpack, both adds weight thus LL is unable to stand properly.
The backpack is new and it looks awesome .
His legs are reusable from POC Beach Head and this is evident from the tiny peg on his lower left leg .



Insane accesories





Ample storage space on the backpack ,plus inside view of rifle case



A sniper on a mission



Case and 'pack attached on figure .Don't make sense coz of weight distribution



Sniper on the job



Sniper with spotter in action





This post has been edited by darkshadow: Feb 28 2011, 07:16 PM

Thanks !
Yeah,I'm a regular troop builder.
As for Shadow Tracker,I'm not feeling him .There's no place for him in my Joeverse .
Bought them at retail pricing from one of my sources.

Will post pics of STs later .Gonna finish the reviews for the remaining Wave 4 first .

yeah ,i agree.damn Hasblow M'sia for not bringing in waves 3 and 4.
it's been months and months with no news at all.
anyway,you can source for those waves from online shops but there's the matter of shipping costs.

POC Wave 4 Mini Review
----------------------------

Skydive
------------

The Good
-----------

- Comes with a cool looking ,new jetpack .By pressing the middle button ,both wings expand .However ,you can
manually retract one or both wings ,as shown in the pic below.
- Utilises the ROC Reactive Armor torso and legs ,which by itself are great looking parts and a personal favorite of
mine.
- Both missiles are stored onto the jetpack ,hence Skydive can carry all his accesories with him ,something that's
lacking in some ROC /POC figures.
- His pants sports a camo theme that's not overly done and nicely complements the rest of his outfit.

The Bad
----------

- Skydive is sorely in need of one or two guns.
- He is considered by some as the weakest figure of the wave ,and for the entire POC line ,there's one weak figure
(wave 1 CC ,wave 2 SE ,wave 3 SS and the upcoming wave 5 CC) .Fortunately ,the weak link factor is limited to
just one figure ,unlike ROC where there's at least 2 per wave.
- The high collar on the vest strictly hinders his head movement and the vest's lower straps obstruct his legs'
movement.

The Verdict
-------------

Well ,Skydive is not the weakest figure IMO .The cool jetpack more than makes up for his lack of accesories .Besides ,I can give him a rifle /SMG from my spare pile to bulk up his offense.
Whether you are loving the figure or just the 'pack or needing him for part bashing ,you can't go wrong with Skydive.
And that's why I purchased 3 Skydive.












This post has been edited by darkshadow: Mar 3 2011, 07:08 PM

nice haul..more AVs eh?
btw, i've finished my first SWAT member custom .will post him ASAP.

Here's my new custom .
This custom features a bounty hunter of the wild west ,Shadow Hunter and his trusted sidekick ,Knightmare.
It was getting dark before i could finish the last few remaining shots hence the pics looked blurry .

thanks.
i didnt think of him as Van Helsing till you pointed it out .

---

Added on March 6, 2011, 1:30 pmThank you ,bro.
Glad you like it.

This post has been edited by darkshadow: Mar 6 2011, 01:30 PM

Thank you.I suppose it's a 2 in 1 custom then.

I don't have a SWAT team yet .For now,I've completed just the squad leader.
The remaining members for my Alpha Team are 3 assaulters , 1 breacher and 1 sniper .
Will need to get a couple of STs.
After completing Alpha team ,I will proceed to Bravo team comprising of 6 customized STs.
Damn, too many customs to do .And I havent finished my 2nd zombie custom.

SWAT SQUAD LEADER











Rather low on accesories ,being that he's the leader.



Negotiating with a bank robber



A professional hitman quick custom .Just can't resist doing this one.
Man, the McCullen figure sure has good potential for a number of customs .Need to get a few more.





Inspired by 1/6 Very Hot CIA Sad Night Ops V.1 and Soldier Story CIA Sad Night Ops V.2

I can't help you much coz painting vehicles is not my area of specialty.
However, from what I'd been told, you dont need expensive airbrush.Just purchase a can of black spray (not the Arrow brand though) say Mr Hobby or Mr Color or Citadel.
As for preventing bubbles ,just apply 2-3 light layers of paint instead of 1 heavy concentrated layer.
For sealer, there's Mr Hobby Topcoat which costs about RM40-50 a can.I think there's 2 types of sealer ,gloss or dull coat.Hope this helps.

As for my Squad Leader, the shotgun shells are painted by me.