25th Ann. GI Joe Wave 1 Two Pack Duke and Cobra Commander

Package Description
In “The Commander Escapes!” (Comic #24), BARONESS returns from the dead, ZARTAN and WILD WEASEL make their first (unnamed) appearances, and STORM SHADOW may not be as loyal to COBRA as first believed.

Appearance

DUKE
This Duke figure is a repaint from the 25th Anniversary 5 packs, as is the Cobra Commander that comes with him. The sculpt is reasonably detailed, with pockets, buckles, and even shoe laces included. The torso joint is obvious and ugly on the figure, but the shoulder strap helps to hide it. I also don’t like the cuts for the wrist on this figure, because they’re highly visible on the light skin tone and lack of paint on other areas of the figure. The elbows don’t look as bad on this figure as some other 25th figures though, and I don’t have any problems with the leg sculpt.

This figure’s biggest problem compared to the 5 pack version is the coloring. A brighter green and brown are used on this figure. The colors match the colors of the comic book closer than the other version, but as a result look less realistic. The brighter color make the hard plastic stand out more, and my personal preference is for figures that soften the plastic look. I like the face sculpt though, and the detailing on the weapons is superb. Overall, Duke needs some paint and a paint wash to soften the appearance, but any other problems are hardly noticeable when on display.

COBRA COMMANDER
Cobra Commander is similar to Duke in that he has brighter colors of blue and yellow than his counterpart in the 25th Ann. 5 pack. I’m ok with the brighter blue, but the yellow stands out on display and looks unnatural and unrealistic. In addition, the details aren’t painted on this figure as they were in the 5 pack, such as painting the gloves and buckles on his holster. Like Duke, color wise it seems that Hasbro didn’t put as much effort into these figures as they did the 5 packs.

The sculpt and proportions on Cobra Commander are good, and the joints are much less noticeable. His gun doesn’t look as good as Duke’s, but I really like the gun holster on his back. He suffers from a common problem that his elbows are wider at the bottom than the top, but its can be hidden by bending his arms some. He could benefit from some texturing with a black paint wash, but he looks ok when he’s in a group of figures. Unfortuneately he’s brighter than the blue cobra troopers, which doesn’t look as good as the darker blue. Overall though, he looks good fighting Duke.

Articulation
Both figures have articulation expected from 25th Anniversary figures. Both have double jointed knees, ball jointed ankles and elbows, a ball jointed torso and a gun holster. The elbows on both don’t bend 90 degrees, and the heads can’t look up very far. Both have a typical range of movement and there’s nothing particularly special about either figure in articulation.

Poseability
These figures go best on display with each other and with other two packs, because the painting style is a little different than the single packs and 5 packs. Another problem I’ve had is they seem to hold their guns a little awkwardly, and its hard to get them in their best poses. But they look good standing on their display bases and with action poses, so these are still versatile figures. My preference is to put them with other two pack figures, but they can be integrated into a larger collection with a little bit of effort.

Final Judgment: 5
I feel these figures could have been better, because I’ve seen them better in the 5 packs. But these still look good on display, and can be worked into an 25th Anniversary collection. The included comic was good too, and actually got me interested in getting more of these 2 packs, so there is an added value to the comic 2 pack. For the figures though, I can’t raise the score above adequate.

SCALE

10. My favorite possession.

9. My favorite action figure.

8. One of my favorite action figures.

7. An excellent action figure.

6. A good, but not exceptional action figure.

5. An adequate action figure.

4. Not worth the money I spent.

3. I'll give it to somebody's kid.

2. I'll give it to somebody's dog.

1. It's going to lose a fight with my car.