Packaging - **1/2
The best part of the packaging here is that Hasbro didn’t use any more space than what was absolutely necessary. There’s just enough room to contain the figure, give some minor info and details, and hang it on the shelf. Everything looks cool, and they have all the bare essentials as far as character info.

Now the bad stuff: if you don’t like twisty ties (and I think most of us don’t) then you will encounter an extraordinary amount of aggravation in trying to remove these figures from their trays. As if that weren’t enough, there are also some plastic stretchy bands and lots of tape that have to be removed as well. Apparently Hasbro was scared that these guys were gonna come to life and escape, so they took every measure to prevent that.

They also prevented me from being calm and patient while removing them. And yes, you’ll have to at least partially destroy the packaging to remove the figures. At the back bottom of the package there are two little flaps that (after removing the freakin’ tape that holds them) allow the bottom to open up. After pulling up the plastic bubble a little bit up off the card (which cannot be done without a little bit of damage), you can slide the tray out. That’s where the battle with twisties, overly tight stretchies, and tape begins. You can then, with moderate difficulty, slide the tray back under the bubble, bring the bottom back up and re-secure it to the back with the flaps, and wa-lah, the figure is back in the package and ready for storage. Like I said, a little damage is inevitable, but if you want to salvage the package for the figures’ re-entry and subsequent storage, it can be done.

Sculpting - ***
The sculpts on these are surprisingly good (I say “surprisingly” because first of all, it’s Hasbro, and second of all, the low price). Duke’s sculpt is outstanding, but the paint job hurts it. The head sculpt is great, and the shirt and vest are well sculpted. The hands and feet are both about the right size, though I think the hands could be just a *tad* smaller and the feet just a *tad* bigger. The ears, mouth, narrow eyes, and nose all resemble Duke from the movie very well, and Hasbro deserves props for pulling off a human likeness this good (Ripcord looks pretty dead-on too, though I didn’t get him). The main problem is that Duke slightly resembles a Brontosaurus. His neck is way too long, and there’s nothing to cover it up. Also, his waist isn’t down low enough, making his pants look like they’re pulled up too high and giving him a sort of Steve Urkel look. 

Cobra Commander has the same neck and waist problems, but his outfit covers them up so that you can’t tell. As for the evil commander himself, his mask can be removed to reveal a well-sculpted and finely-detailed scarred head which slightly resembles the bad side of Hot Toys’ Two-Face. His chest armor and pants are also very well sculpted, though his feet/shoes are slightly too big. The mask is also well-sculpted and fits well on his head. Though falling just short of perfection, both these guys were done up right in this category overall.

Paint - Duke **; Cobra ***1/2
There’s not much paint on Duke, but Hasbro managed to screw up what little paint was required. The main quip I have is his hair, which is the wrong color. It’s supposed to be dark brown, but instead they went with a yucky light brown-yellowish color, and they used this same color on his scar. Fortunately, the paint job is at least nice and neat, and the eyes are well done. Also, the toboggan covers up the hair on his head, so I’m glad they included it. 

The light red paint on Cobra’s head is well distributed, letting the “skin color” underneath kind of fade in and out. As with Duke, the eyes were painted with good detail. My only quip on Cobra’s paint job is the paint on his wide-open grin, which is a little sloppy. The paint on his armor looks great as well, and thus Cobra’s overall paint job—where a little more paint was required than with Duke—is close to perfect.

Articulation  - Duke ****; Cobra ***
I was really impressed with how good the articulation on these figures are, considering the low price. Duke’s articulation is as good as (in some cases, better) than anything Sideshow has done. The only thing that higher end sixth-scale figures have that he doesn’t is a chest joint, which is okay, considering that this is just a kid’s toy and not an adult collectible. Duke’s joints are smooth and tight, and include a ball-jointed neck that allow him to look any direction and up and down with ease. He also has double-jointed elbows, forearms that can turn 360 degrees, cut wrists and ankles, arms and legs that can move any direction, jointed hands that can open and close to grip accessories, etc. You name it. The only problem is that Duke can’t stand well on his own because of his boots, but it can still be done once you get him in the right position—and he can take some really deep stances. 

Cobra comes with everything Duke does except good legs. They don’t bend back very far at the knee, there are no cut ankles, and they don’t turn 360 degrees from the knees like Duke’s can. Also, the knee joints are not very smooth, but more like the joints from Sideshow’s old Buck body where they move in “notches”.  Cobra’s leg issues only cost him one star though, since he can still take several poses and has the same articulation as Duke from the waist up (the chest armor prevents the legs from moving too far up and the head from moving too far down, but the articulation is still there). And unlike Duke, he can stand on his own easily.

Outfit - Duke ***1/2; Cobra ***
Here we get sort of a mixed bag. Duke’s toboggan and pants are real fabric, and his boots are actual rubber, but his shirt is merely sculpted and painted on. His vest is made of a softer plastic I think, and isn’t sculpted on or anything, but can’t be removed unless you want to take a knife or scissors to it. Cobra has a plate of chest armor that is actually removable, and a black trench coat made of a thin nylon material, and then of course there’s his removable mask, made of a flexible clear plastic.

However, his pants and shoes are painted/sculpted. Why Hasbro chose to go half-and-half with these outfits is beyond me (to save money I suppose), but had they chosen to go all the way with the actual fabric and material, I would give a perfect score on both and a higher overall. Nevertheless, it must be kept in mind that these are not high-end sixth-scale figures; not even close. These are just kids’ toys, and considering that along with the price, Hasbro gave us far more than they could have gotten away with. 

Accessories - *1/2
These guys only come with one accessory apiece, which is a little disappointing. However, the ones they have are really cool and are well-sculpted. Duke comes with his LW820 assault rifle and C.C. has his stainless steel combat knife. The rifle (which includes a strap made of a stretchy fabric) fits well in Duke’s hands (his index finger can move separately from the rest of his hand and can actually fit around the trigger) and Cobra wields his combat knife with relative ease, though it fell out several times when I was posing him.  An extra accessory or two would have been great, but at least what little we get is pretty dang awesome.

Fun Factor -  ****
With great weapons and superb articulation, any kid would have a blast with these. In fact, I tried convincing one of my coworkers to get at least one of these for his 5-year-old son, who saw the movie and loved it. Not sure if he ever picked one up for him or not, fearing that they would get broken too quickly (which is unlikely since they’re pretty sturdy), but I’ll keep trying. These are great for the shelf and the sandbox alike. 

Value - ***
I picked these up for $16 apiece at Wal-Mart, and you’ll likely pay a dollar more or less than that if you go somewhere else. They’re actually scarce on ebay right now, and they cost more on there anyway, especially with shipping costs factored in. At $15-$17, you’re getting what you’re paying for and then some.

Considering that many six-inch figures that don’t have near the quality as far as outfit or articulation run up in the same price range (and many of the poorly done 12” Hasbro figures in the past cost more), you’ll definitely feel like you’re getting a bargain. 

Things to Watch Out For -
Nada.  Once again, these are kids’ toys and thus are made to take some beatings. I suppose you ought to take care in removing Cobra’s mask since it does not come off too easily, and his head could be pulled loose in the process.