Snagged Sigma Six Soldiers Series

[Paul M Kelly]

[Filbey]

They look great!congrats! ;D

[Grayfox]

You, Mr PMK, take excellent pictures [of cool looking figures]!

[Your_Number1_Fan]

Thanks for the pics. Now i don't have to take em /me=lazy

So far, TunnelRat and Duke are my fav figures from the line. The others are really close behind though. Tunnel Ray is a great figure (didn't think I'd like him at first).

Your Number1 Fan

[Lightwolfer]

Neat, gotta pick me up some of those. Tunnel Rat's arms look waaaaay too long, though.

[xevolizer]

I got the Rat and the Bat.

[misterd]

Went to TRU Wed, they had nothing. Saturday, 3 of the 4 were there. My timing just blows. (Note: They have tons of the Wv1 Commandos stitting above the shelves - I'm guessing they expect the line to sell well).

I still consider myself to be primarily a TF collector, but there's no question that right now S6, being new, is the line I'm most excited about. After being so totally blown away by the Commandos, though, I'm left feeling a bit let down this time around. But only a bit.

To be fair, the figure I most wanted - Kamakameleon - wasn't on the shelves, so I "settled" for T-Rat, SeaDook, and the Ninja BAT.

The most important question, given the cheaper price point, is "what did we lose" and the answer is, thankfully, "not much." The bodies are basically the same, and still include the wrist comm and dog tag (on the Joes, anyway). Most notably absent are the weapons lockers, but while those were a nice feature, their loss shouldn't alienate any collector. More significantly, there is less cloth and fewer accessories, and I find those accessories generally less impressive. I'd say what was lost doesn't hurt the toy, but it definately deserves that $5 price drop.

Ninja BAT Unlike just about everyone else, this figure held little allure for me. I prefer my Joe characters to be human, and the replacement of the Cobra soldiers with BATS just doesn't sit well with me. Nor does the very anime-like design of the Ninja BAT seem appropriate for the Joe universe, even if we are talking S6. Anyway, expectations can be a crappy thing, and many of you have probably heard the pregnant doging and moaning about the BATs. I can say it's all true, but thank's to expectation's other edge, I've found myself pleasantly suprised, at least in some ways.

The design of the BAT itself is terrific, and they manage to give the 'bot just enough character to make it intersting, but not enough to detract from being a robot. I particularly like the (non-functioning) suction cup feet. His chest plate also comes off, revealing golden gears and cogs (I guess something of a call back to the visible mechanics of the original BATs).

His accessories are weak, by far the weakest in the line so far. He has a purple-handled sword with a translucent energy blade, two similarly designed daggers (which can combine into a bigger dagger), and a rifle/laser gun. The knives don't fit in the BAT's small hands too well unless combined, but when combined they don't hold together well either. The sword and rifle are fine, but uninspired, particularly in comaprison to the rest of the S6 line up. Also note that the BAT has 4 peg holes in the back to store these weapons, but only one weapon can be stored at a time due to their size. Seems like bad planning to me.

I assume the lack of accessories is due to the action features, of which he has two (unless you count the chest panel). First are a pair of trigger-spring arm blades, which are effective but, again, unspectatular. They are also very easy to spring accidentally.

The feature that has brought the loudest cries is the "grapple claw" - the BATs left forearm can detach and stretch about 7-8 inches on a black cord. Push a button in the belly, and the cord zips back quick. The mechanism works flawlessly, but there are three problems caused by this feature: First, in order for it to work there is no elbow joint in the left arm. Second, the attachment between lower and upper arm is not very secure, and it's all too easy for the lower arm to just end up dangling. Finally, the point of this claw, according to the text, is to reach out and grab Joes, but the claw is just too damn tiny for this.

In the end, you can still use the arm and get some kick ass poses even without the elbow, but the problems caused by this gimmick are greater than the benefits. It would have made more sense to give up on a sleek, symmetrical design, and instead give the BAT a bulkier left forearm which completely housed the grappling mechanism. It might have made for an uglier toy, and preculded using the spring blade, but I suspect it would have made the overall product more satisfying.

In the end, if you are at all interested there's enough good to justify a purchase, but not nearly enough is done right to justify using this as a troop builder. Please let's not buy a bunch of BATS and send Hasbro the wrong message.

SCUBA Duke
The main complaint here is, of course, that it's Duke. A minor change - new head, even new hair color, and it could just as easily have been WetSuit or Torpedo. Oh well. Not really fair to judge a toy based on the existence of a prior one, is it? On its own merits, SCUBA Duke is pretty nifty.

The body is standard S6, similar to Duke except he has long sleeves and boots more appropriate for a wet suit. The base color is black with "sea blue" trim- basically primary blue with just a touch of green; not nearly enough to be teal or aqua, but enough to evoke water. Skin tone is much redder - he could be Spirit's half brother - and some black camo makeup is on his face. Overall I much prefer this look to the Commando figure.

The plastic accessories include a pair of swim fins, a small air tank, mask, 2 hoses, 2 switch fire guns, underwater sled, and missile launcher.

The fins, mask and tank are pretty much a given for any figure such as this, but there is some nice work done with them.

The switchfires are the same ones from Commando Duke, but cast in blue plastic.

The sled is primary blue with some neon green highlights. There are a pair of propellers which can rotate 90 degree. The switchfires slide into the back and act as handles, and hold in rather well. The missile launcher slides in underneath, but unlike the Commando accessories, there is nothing to keep it locked into place, and it slides out too easily. Finally there is a targeting display which can be raised.

The missile launcher is pretty standard. Blue with neon green and black highlights, it can connect with either the sled or a switchfire, but as mentioned earlier, there is no locking mechanism to hold it in place, so things come apart much too easily. The missile (black w/ green tip) comes out with as much force as safety standards will allow.

Lastly we have his cloth accessory - an elastic harness similar to Snake Eyes'. This has blue plastic"shoulder pads", a pair of blue plastic retangles on the belt (which I can only assume are weights) and a pair of blue clips to hold the switchfires. A blue connector in the back holds the straps togther. Overall it's very understated, but greatly enhances the look of the "naked" figure.

I definately give Thumbs Up to SCUBA Duke. I would have loved a stand that holds the figure in a "swimming" position, and the flimsy connection between accessories is quite annoying, the sort of thing I can't imagine happening with the Commando figures. However these are minor gripes given the overall price.

Tunnel Rat
So far TR seems to be winning the most raves, and it's well deserved. A solid figure, well worth the $10, even if I can see several ways he could have been better.

The body is basically standard S6, but shorter. I'm not sure if the change is in the torso or the legs or both and I'm feeling too lazy to find a ruler. His arms are thin and gangly, which somehow fits the character. Colors are an appropriate black and brown.

The head sculpt is currently my favorite in the S6 line (kicking Spirit to the curb). Longish brown hair and side burns stick out from under a black knit cap. Angluar facial features, and arched eyebrows over almond-shaped eyes give the impression that he's ready to do business. There's not a hint of the cartoon character's buffoonery. IMO the only flaw is that the cap lacks any texture.

Tunnel Rat comes with a fair amount of accessories, comparable in number to a Commando, but without so many extra touches.

The butterfly knife is what most people have gone gaga for. Opened up it measures between 1.5-2 inches long - a little oversized, but appropriate for the line's style. It fits firmly in his grasp but I would have also liked a peg on the handle so he could wear it on his body.

TRat eschews the standard S6 glasses for a pair of green goggles, which are held on with an elastic strap. These look nice on the head, and may be safely worn over the eyes, or raised on his forehead.

He has a black submachine gun with green highligts. It has a foward handle and non-removable banana clip, and an elastic strap. The figure comes packaged with the SMG in hand, and the strap around his neck, but unfortunately the strap is just a touch too short, and he can't hold the gun level with the strap like that. Sadly there is no mounting peg here either

Rounding out his firepower are a black automatic pistol and a pair of round grenades, all of which DO have mounting pegs. The pistol is in proper scale and is easily held. The clip is removable clip and shows green (?) bullets. The grenades are a little oversized and will probably stretch out his fingers if held too long. Thankfully they look just fine as a fashion accessory.

Like Duke, TRat's cloth accessory is a web harness, but thankfully they didn't recycle any of the previously existing ones. The harness is connected to a wide gray plastic belt with sculpted pouches and six mounting holes. Two more mounting holes are located on the chest straps. The only problem with the harness is that the bronze-painted belt buckle doesn't hold together very well.

The last, and largest, accessory is T-Rat's sledpack, which would be a useless accessory for almost any other character, but works perfectly here. The sled pack may be mounted in the holes on TRat's back (there are corresponding holes in the harness as well). The four wheel design is simple but gets the job done. The rear wheels may slide out on metal (yay!) arms, extending it's total length by about 2 inches. There are two lights on the top of the sled which can rotate 360 degrees. The only change I would have made to this, were it on a Commando budget, would be to put the lights on bendy wires. Note that the lights may be pulled off the sled and mounted in standard peg holes. Have fun!

Overall, the toys are worth the price, and worth investing in for any fan of the series. However, where the Commando toys often seemed to go the extra distance for quality, I find that the deluxe toys are missing those touches, and only some of it can be attributed to cost.

[CrazyBirdMan]

I wish I would have know the feet were suction cups before I bought the bot. He's still cool, but suction cup feet?

[eMummy]

thanks for the review! I'll definitely pick up TR if I see it in the store, I don't think I'll want scuba duke or the ninja bat now. I really want Long Range and Cobra Commander tho!

[miguel]

the suction cups are cool

[misterd]

Suction cups are WAY cool. Cooler if they worked, but perfect design element for an inflitration bot.

[CrazyBirdMan]

But he's also a ninja-bot. What if he kicks someone in the chest and then his foot sticks?

[misterd]

I like that idea. Sounds like a specialized attack! Kicks Armored Snake Eyes in the chest and grabs hold. Leaps up with the other leg, swings SE down, and comes landing on top of him. Now, with SE down and his foothold secure, the BAT begins to repeatedly stomp SE into the concrete. Before you know it, SE's ribs are ground to dust.

More seriously (as serious as a hypothetical toy discussion can be), I would imagine the suction cups involve some voluntary air intake to create the suction - he won't stick to things he doesn't want to. Also suction cups tend to work only on smooth surfaces. He can use claws to climb concrete or wood buildings, and the suction cups for glass or steel.

[generalhawk]

Those are some very cool theories on the function of Ninja B.A.T.s suction cup feet! I just pretend they're little jet thrusters.

Justin