G.I.Joe: Pursuit Of Cobra Dusty (Desert Combat Specialist) Figure

G.I.Joe fans can rejoice as the long drought of product is over; “Pursuit of Cobra” has arrived and Hasbro outdid themselves with these products.

I personally was resistant to the idea of Hasbro’s newest sub-line of G.I.Joe figures called “Pursuit of Cobra.” It’s not that I thought the figures looked bad; I am just one of those collectors who grew up in the 80’s and prefer my Joes to resemble the classic figures from long ago. I was a huge fan of Hasbro’s 25th Anniversary line from several years ago but was completely turned off by last year’s “Rise of Cobra” line (which had nothing to do with my opinions of the movie itself).

That being said, “Pursuit of Cobra” figures and vehicles are much more in line with the 25th Anniversary line even though the line follows the movie storyline. We even have some 25th Anniversary-like figures thrown in to this line like the upcoming Low Light figure.

When the first two waves of “Pursuit of Cobra” figures finally hit retail shelves a few weeks ago, I decided to pick up a few despite my reservations of these not being “25th Anniversary” figures. One figure that caught my eye was the new Joe team member Dusty. I already had the 25th Anniversary version with which I was very happy, but I was impressed with how cool the updates looked despite the fact this new version looked quite different from the one I already had. This is the first “Pursuit of Cobra” figure I actually purchased and opened.

As I opened this figure, I was immediately impressed with the amount of gear provided with this figure. The original figure had only a backpack and rifle. This new version comes with two rifles, barbwire, a removable piece of desert camo cloth, a figure stand and two different head sculpts. One head has removable goggles and a helmet, and the other comes with a non-removable gas hood. This figure is really decked out and ready for some serious desert warefare.
The second thing I noticed about this figure was the incredible detail. The head sculpt with removable helmet and goggles allows you to see Dusty’s face covered with speckled dirt, as one might expect from someone spending his days in the sands of the desert. This speckled dirt pattern also appears on the figure’s arms where his bare arms are exposed by rolled-up sleeves. The paint apps on this figure are outstanding.

The third and final thing I noticed was the articulation on the figure. It comes with the standard joints one would expect from a modern G.I.Joe figure including ankle joints. Although the figure has no wrist articulation, he is able to hold his weapons nicely in both hands. He also seems to fit well in most Joe vehicles, so no issues there. The only minor flaw I found was the soft-goods desert camo cape. It’s not that it looks bad on the figure; in fact it looks quite nice and can be removed at will. The flaw is the cloth itself. Around the edges of the cape, the string has a tendency to unravel a bit which can be a bit of a pain. This isn’t a major drawback but does make for a minor annoyance, especially when you are trying to put the cape back on the figure because the strings tend to pop up through the neck hole.

I have only handled a few of the figures so far in Hasbro’s “Pursuit of Cobra” line, but I have been extremely impressed with the ones I have tried. Hasbro really pulled out all the stops with this line to deliver a top-notch product. If you are someone who may have steered away from Joe in recent years, then I highly recommend you come back and give these figures a try. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Appearance 20/20
Articulation 9/10
Poseability 9/10
Final Judgment 39/40