Packaging - ***1/2
If you’ve ever read my reviews before, you know that boxes are nothing more than functional transportation vessels to me. I immediately rip them apart to get at the goodies inside. However, these figures come on a standard blister card. The card features nice desert camo themed background with nice BBI graphics. The back features pictures of these figures as well as other figures in the line. The blister allows full viewing of the figures and all the pieces are easily removed.

Sculpting - ***
The head sculpt on these figures are pretty nice. I have several of the BBI 12” figures and I get a kick out of the fact that BBI has successfully sculpted some of these guys to look just like the bigger 1/6 guys. Each figure in the line has a unique sculpt (if they’re not covered by a balaclava hood).

Paint - **1/2
I had a bit of a hard time scoring this one. BBI has a good reputation for attention to detail and one of the things they do in this is give figures a “weathered” look. Their soldiers often have muddied boots and dusty weapons. This detail is more easily captured at the 1/6 level. When you try to do it at the 1/18 scale, it loses something. The paint ops here tried to capture shading on the ripples in the clothing and tried for weathering on other parts but unfortunately looks like they just smudged paint in the appropriate areas. The skin on the figures is just a standard one-color wash with no shading. It’s OK but nothing special. You can see in the close up head shot that my Sniper has a paint problem on the tip of his nose. I hate to score it this low because I really like these figures but I couldn’t justify a ***.

Articulation/Body  - ***
These figures are pretty flexible and can strike many poses. I count 16 points of articulation, including a mid-bicep swivel joint that allows greater movement for striking shooters poses. The only real problem I have with these guys is this category is the fact that their pants are bloused at the boots to give it an authentic military look, but this places the joint high in the ankle and makes the figures somewhat difficult to stand up.

Accessories -  ****
Each figure come with an abundance of gear. Each has a molded “web” belt loaded with pouches, canteen, mags, etc., a long gun, pistol (that measures about 3/8” long!) and assorted gear relating to their specialty, such as gas mask, radios and a sledge hammer.

Play Factor - ***1/2
I always rank the figures on this category because after all, it is supposed to be a toy. These figures are perfect for adult collectors and older kids who won’t be abusing them. While they are pretty sturdy and could take quite a bit of abuse, there are way to many small pieces and the joints have a tendency to come out when trying to move them too far.

Value - ***1/2
I got these guys for $20 for the set from Good Stuff To Go. At $4 apiece, these guys are cheaper than similar scale GI Joes and Star Wars guys and similar to the 21st Century XD guys.

Overall - ***
These are pretty cool figures. I only wish I would have gotten the Humvee that is available with the set. There is also a Navy SEAL set in this line, which is pretty much the same figures with a different paint scheme and an additional diver figure. There is also a SWAT set of figures that I happened to purchase a few months ago. This is also an EXCELLENT set. I would recommend these figures to adult collectors or for older, more careful kids. My old digital camera doesn’t do justice to the detail and overall nice quality of the figures.

Where to Buy:
Toys R Us is getting quite a variety of these in currently.

About the Reviewer:
Mark D is an avid action figure collector old enough to have gotten vintage GI Joes for Christmas as a kid, but still young enough to play with his toys. He collects mostly vintage AT GI Joe stuff but still likes to grab the cool stuff that comes out now, especially law enforcement figures and accessories. He's been a regular at The Sandbox (alt.toys.gi-joe) since he first came on line about five years ago. He's always looking to swap with other Joe-head and assist them in finding the hard to find stuff. You can contact him at mmdals1@aol.com or visit his site at www.the-precinct.com

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