Review of Slaughter's Marauders G.I. Joe action figures
Big Bad Toy Store Exclusive

Introduction

Big Bad Toy Store has two very cool - and very large - G.I. Joe exclusives available right now. I'm reviewing one of them tonight, called Slaughter's Marauders. This set includes 7 figures, which I have in order in the photos: Vincent "Falcon" Falcone, Gabriel "Barbecue" Kelly, Low-Light, Spirit Iron-Knife, David "Red Dog" Taputapu, Varujan "Bull" Ayvazyan, and Felix "Mercenary" Stratton. I have the second set here as well, but I thought I'd give each set its due independently. The second set is called Dreadnoks, and I'll be looking at them soon.

These figures are done up in the classic 80's Joe style, with plenty of articulation and a good set of accessories. These single packs of seven figures run $50 at Big Bad Toy Store, or just $90 for the two sets combined. Not bad, considering that makes each figure just about $7 each if you buy the sets individually, or less than $6.50 each if you buy both sets together!

Packaging - ***1/2
While I took a shot of the package, I ended up skipping it since I had so many cool photos of the figures themselves. It's a pretty standard wide, flat box with a big window so you can see all seven figures clearly. It's also marked with a big BBTS exclusive sticker, and there's some personalization for each character. In fact, there's a character card for each on the back that you can cut out for your collection!

Better yet, it's pretty collector friendly. You might end up cutting a piece of tape here and there, and if you remove the rubber bands holding the accessories in their hands, you might find it tough to keep them in place back in the package. But there are no twisties, bands or other restraints holding the figures themselves in place. Then again, once you scissor those character cards out of the back, it's not going to make much difference.

Sculpting - ***1/2
I'm quite impressed with the work we've been seeing in the small scale Joe line the last couple years, and these sets are great examples. Remember, these figures are all about 4" tall.

The portraits are all strong without being extreme, and there is a ton of small sculpted details on the costumes and accessories. There's textures, wrinkles, buttons, buckles, and all sorts of tiny extras sculpted with sharp definition.

Is there re-use here from some past figures? Yep, there sure is, but they manage to produce some visually unique figures nonetheless.

The hands are designed to work with the accessories, and they all do it well. Every one of the figures stands great on his own, but there's a small display stand included just in case.

Paint - ***1/2
While some of the pieces are molded in the color, there's also plenty of paint work, as well as some tampo work.

The eyes are surprisingly clean and sharp, especially considering the scale on these. The tattoos appear to be tampo style work, and these are cleanly applied. There could be a bit more detail work on the paint side, since most of the colors are pretty broad in their coverage, but it's a minor quibble.

All of the figures are colorful, whether they have any camo or not. There's even a wash used on Barbecue Kelly that looks like soot and ash on his armor! It all looks terrific, and considering the scale, is quite impressive.

Articulation - ***
I'm one of those people that has a major complaint with standard Joe articulation, which is always going to frustrate me and drop my score. If you love the usual design, you'll love these.

There's the ball jointed neck, and it works pretty well on most of the figures. It works better on a couple than on some that are a bit more restricted by their outfits, but overall it's a good joint.

There's pin/disc style ball shoulders and elbows as well, and they work well on most of the figures. The large biceps on Red Dog restrict his elbows a little, but he's really the only one with the issue.

All the figures have pin knees and pin ankles as well, and again, these all work great. All of them also have a ball chest joint, and some even have a cut waist.

So why the lower score? Because they all have the traditional ball hips, without any sort of knee or thigh cut. The hips themselves are good (and they use the metal posts, making them virtually indestructible), but without any sort of cut on the upper leg, the poses are greatly restricted. This has always bugged me, and it looks like it will continue to do so. However, like I said - if you're happy with the usual Joe articulation, then you'll be happy with these.

Accessories - ***1/2
Everybody comes with a good assortment of extras, some of which I didn't even manage to get into the photos.

There's handguns (some with silencers), knifes, rifles, flame throwers - plenty of weapons. As I mentioned, one of the handguns has a removable silencer, and there's even a gun with a breach that breaks open, and a site that pops up and down! That's pretty amazing for weapons in this scale.

Some have their own unique take on weaponry - Barbecue Kelly has his flame thrower, Spirit Iron-Knife has his big Bowie blade, the Bull has two revolvers, and Red Dog comes with...a football. He can even hold it in his hand, thanks to a slit in one side.

Along with all the weapons, a couple of the figures have removable head gear. Falcone's beret can come off, and the snow goggles on Low-Light are also removable.  Red Dog is wearing both a rope head band and a necklace that can be removed.

I already mentioned this earlier, but each figure comes with a plastic Joe stand as well, personalized with their own nameplate. You don't have to use them to keep them standing, but they look pretty good with the stands as well.

Fun Factor - ****
These were THE toys of the 80's, and they've translated great to a new century. I might not be a huge little Joe fan (I grew up on the sixth scale variety, and never made the switch), but I can tell an amazing toy when I see it. With plenty of accessories and articulation, these are the perfect conflict action figure.

Value - ***1/2
You can get these for under $6.50 each. That was an excellent price a couple years ago, let alone today. While there's some re-use here, let's also not forget that these are exclusives.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing - these are great toys, well made and sturdy. They could stand up to a round in the sand box, they'll certainly stand up to basic handling.

Overall - ***1/2
If you're kids are looking for more heroes to add to their Joe army, this set is a great buy. I haven't been paying a lot of attention to Joes in the last couple years, but I gotta say that I'm quite impressed with the work across the board here.

I've included a ton of photos, so be sure to scroll all the way down to see them all. I'll be hitting up the Dreadnoks soon!

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***
Accessories - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ****
Value - ***1/2
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Most of my past Joe reviews have been of the guest variety - 

- like Zartan

- but I hit up Pit Commando and Shipwreck.

- Sideshow is doing a sixth scale series of figures, and I had a guest review of Snake Eyes.

- in the regular Joe series, there was a guest review of the VAMP vehicle.

- let's not forget the 25th Anniversary series, including these figures, and these figures.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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