GI Joe 3.75" Pursuit of Cobra Shadow Tracker

Awww yeah!

If you don't think even for a moment he looks anything like any thing in the GI Joe line before him, it's because he isn't meant to!  Or at least he's meant to look like something else, something like...The Predator!

First we had Pursuit of Cobra Duke.  Then we got Recondo, followed by Spirit.  And all three figures were part of the Jungle Assault themed characters in the line but had very strong likenesses to characters from the original Predator movie.

Recondo looked suspiciously like Blain (Jesse Ventura), Spirit like Billy Sole (Sonny Landham) and Duke, while he didn't much look like Arnold Schwarzenegger's Dutch, is attired very much like him (and is also the leader, so yeah.)  So then it's no surprise that they would finally come up with a character that looks like the title character of the classic movie.

I'd been waiting for this figure to arrive in Singapore for a long time, so much so that I'd almost lost all interest in getting him.  So when I finally did see him at the local flea market, I almost passed because I'd kinda grown lukewarm about it.  Also, he was priced at S$22 (US$17).

But then I convinced myself of how much I liked the Arnie's Predator (and that all the rest were just not that good).  I also wanted to complete the Predator sub-theme within the Joes so this guy was a must-have.  So I tried my luck and managed to get Shadow Tracker for S$20--reasonable considering the large department stores don't bring in the newer GI Joe stuff anymore.

But just how would Hasbro pull off making a human look like an alien hunter? Well, let's find out!

Like: Dreadlocks, mon!  A simple and elegant solution to mimic the Predator's head tails.  They've given the Shadow Tracker a real shock of 'locks so that his hair has some real body.  The dreads are also so detailed that you can see the texture in each 'lock.

His dreads are a two-piece affair with a base piece for his inner 'locks and and a top layer forming his fringe and back 'locks.  It's got a real 3D effect going because it is in fact 3D! :P

Special mention goes to the translucent green mask and the creepy black eyes with white pupils, which are sharply painted.  The mask lets just enough color past that you can see a stange shade of his brown skin tone and what could be black face paint or possibly his skull.

Like: That he's got more weapons that he can carry!  But it doesn't mean he's got no way to carry all of his equipment.  In fact, he's got plenty of weapon peg slots...But more on that later!  Shadow Tracker comes with: an elaborate spear of seemingly alien design, a modern bow, a quiver with a detachable arrow, a bolas, a net (with drawstring), a short sword, a dagger, a machete, another larger silver jagged-edged dagger, and a modified sickle.  I just ran out of breath writing that.

Like: That his vest has two holes in the back and an attached sheath for his dagger between them, at the small of his back.

Like: The spear has another hole so you can peg in his bolas.  Hell yeah!

Like: That he's got a hinged right wrist so he can properly be put in a bow firing pose!  Better yet, his wrist hinges allow him to wield his large array of knives with all sorts of flourish!

The fingers on his right hand are molded so that an arrow notched between them but that two hooked digits also add to his machete-brandishing brilliance!  And that hand, oh that same right hand, makes him look like he knows all sorts of martial arts moves that no alien has the earthly right to know!!!

His left hand is hinged but in an up/down fashion as opposed to the more commonly seen left to right hinge. What does this mean?  Well, more kick-assery  posing with blades!

Right Wrist "Slapping"

Left Wrist "Stabbing"

Like: That they chose to give him pale dark skin (a paradox!) because it resembles the skin of the Predator, while at the same time making him very much a human being with a scary mask and hair.  Herein lies the trick of making a human look like our favorite hunter-killer alien (except for all you Alien fans, of course. ;P)

Dislike: Or more like disppointed that his mask isn't removable.  It's stuck straight onto his face.

Dislike: That the mask and 'dreads severly limit his head articualtion.  Limited to swivel by mask and vest, not the dreads--those are flexi enough to that the can bend to accomodate the head turns.  Still, his head can safely move about halfway to the right and left efore popping off.  Down is ok, but up is out of the question because of his bulky hair.  Tilting either way is also fine.

Dislike:  That his 'locks block his top vest hole in the back (that's for his quiver) unless you turn his head either way to the openings in the back of his hair.

RATINGS

Aesthetics: 8.5/10 - Great "Predator" look, great choice of skin color and of course, those marvelous dreadlocks.  His head sculpt really steals the show.  But other than that, he's an ordinary Joe (or rather, ordinary COBRA, uh, dude...) in the looks department.  I'm also not a huge fan of his neon green trimmings.  Perhaps it was meant to reflect the color of the Predator's luminous blood?  But in al fairness, they didn't overdo him with neon green, so his colors are acceptable--I just don't think he'd blend in well in a jungle!

Poseability: 9.5/10 - Plenty of weapons, plenty of places to put them, and those brilliantly hinged wrists.  Excellent ankle hinges also allow him to point his toes very well, and he's also got great metal ball-joints for his hips/legs, which allow 90 degree bend forward and almost 90 straight out to the side. He does lose some points for the slightly troblesome head, but when it stays on, the head can look very menacing indeed.

Fun: 10/10 - There's no end to the fun you can have with the "Predator" terrorizing Dutch and gang, killing Blain and BILLIEEEEEEE!!!  And what's more fun than a litle crossover with our favorite planet-hopping alien hunter than to have him visit all our fave planets from across all our fave brands?

Even if you just wanted to use him as a regular (and I use hat erm loosely) COBRA troop, he looks unique enough that he'll pop out on the shelf and and even outshine the likes of the more human looking Joes.

Value: 9.5/10 - 11 accessories, a figure stand, a vest, lots of great head tooling really make Shadow Tracker worthwhile.  The extra wrist joints are also  very welcome bonus and the effort put in is very much worth every cent you put into the figure.  And really, across the board, GI JOes are right not the absolute best when it comes to bang for your buck.

Overall: 9.4/10 - Shadow Tracker is not just possibly the best Joe figure ever, he's also one of the best 3.75 inch scale figures I've seen with a few special exceptions.  (Yes, World War Hulk is my absolute fave...)  Recondo/Blain from this same Pursuit of COBRA line was excellent but Shadow Tracker is better.

Chase away the leader...

Recondo may have free head movement (baldness has its benefits) but he ain't got no hinged wrists madness.  Both the figures come with good, useful stuff, with 'Tracker just just simply having a ton more tools for a-killin'!

I like this figure so much that I hope that they need to reuse Shadow Tracker's head sculpt on a different guy with different colors--more predators so that COBRA can have their own Predator squad!

Blow away the big mouth...

Kill off the minority...

Then take the show on the road!

STGCC Day 3: The Motherload

Even the Predator and Iron Man couldn't stop me from getting good deals

You could say I was looking forward to the last day of Singapore Toy, Games, and Comic Convention the most.  Why?  Because of one thing and one thing only: DEALS! On toys!

And what a bunch of stuff I got.  I know I've written plenty over the last 3 days, so I'll keep this review of Day 3 short on words and long on pictures; pictures of the swag I snagged for cheap!

For those of you who frequent CV and are on my Christmas list (you know who you are), there might be one or two things here you might find in your X'mas stocking come the 25th! ;D

Deal #1: DC Universe Classics for 2 for S$15 (US$11.50) or 5 for S$30 (US$23).

It was a pity I'd paid S$20 total for Mr. Terrific and Firestorm from the same store on Day 2, otherwise I'd sprung for the latter deal.  As a result, I picked up the dynamic duo (no, not that one) of Booster Gold and Blue Beetle for $15!  Other figures they had were Ocean Warrior Aquaman (I was really tempted but have gold Aquaman on the way), blue variant Wildcat, and Commander Steel.  Not great variety but a really great deal if you need to plug the holes in your collection.

Deal #2: Masters of the Universe Classics Battle Armor He-Man and He-Ro for S$40 (US$30.10) each.

After factoring in shipping to Singapore, MOTUC figures come to S$32.50 each if you order directly from Matty without the subscription. 

Considering that they usually sell for S$50 apiece, it's a great deal. You also get to examine the figures for flaws and pick the ones with good paint. :) So I snagged these two studs to accompany the Evil-Lyn I bought on Day 2!


Deal #3: DCUC Spectre for S$15 (US$11.50), DCUC Modern Blue Beetle for S$25 ($19.20).

I'm now just one arm away from completing Darkseid.  He's not a CnC figure I really wanted to get, but I just found myself slowly gathering his parts for reasonable prices. One more piece of the puzzle to go! (I'm looking at you Dr. Midnite...)

Blue Beetle I snagged for the Rangerlord--his Sith influence over me even when he's not in the country is still strong (Yes, my Master...)  BB was priced at $30, but I got $5 off from Vincent at Toyrealm, so thanks, man! :)


Deal # 4: NECA Street Fighter IV Chun Li for S$10!!! (US$7.70)

She'll go nicely with either my Charlie outfit or gray camo Guiles.  I just need to decide which I prefer and open it!

Deal #5: GI Joe Pursuit of Cobra Desert Battle Duke for S$16 ($US12.30).

You can find Joes cheaper in the States, but in Singapore, this is a deal, especially for a newer figure.  I didn't too much fancy the double plasma cannons that come with Duke, but the head sculpt on this one was too good to pass up.  They got him looking like the Jungle Assault Duke sans headband.  They've also made him less skinny than the JA Duke.  I think this is possibly the best non-movie Duke head sculpt to date!  Then again, I always say that, don't I?

Deal # 6: Indiana Jones Dr Elsa Schneider for S$10! ($US7.70)

A rare figure and for cheap! The head sculpt on this one also surprised me--it looks too darn good!  She completes the rare quartet I'm looking from the Last Crusade: Colonel Vogel, The Grail Knight and her!  Oh wait, I still need Henry Jones Sr. Duh!  Where's Sean Connery when you need him?

Deal #7: Revoltech White Convoy (Ultra Magnus) for S$20 (US$15.40).

These usually cost at least S$10 more at the cheapest, so this was a good find.  I've resisted buying into this line because the Transformers they make may be highly poseable, but they're not transformable.  So much for sticking to my principles. Heh.


Deal #8: Takara Tomy Transformers Animated Soundblaster (Activator) for S$10 ($US7.70)

There were lots of these and Skywarp, which I have already from the Hasbro release.  I like the way they mostly transform at the push of a tab, so it was cool to find one that I didn't already have because they didn;t produc it before.

Deal #9: Marvel Universe Secret Wars 2-pack: Ultron and Reed Richards for S$10! (US$7.70)

I don't have a picture of this because Cavalock grabbed it for me when he was there earlier.  Another great deal--it cost exactly a third of what it would at retail.  I'd ben stalling on this one because of the poor Reed Richards buck.  Ultron was cool but I didn't want to shell out at retail for a couple of guys with no accessories.  Mr. Fantastic was also decidely as boring as he could ever be a s toy.  But hey, I wasn;t gonna turn it down for 10 bucks!  Thanks, Cavalock! :)

Day 3 Convention Rating: 9/10!

Nifty Star Wars Hoth Hanger display.  Cool!  (Literally)

Going into the final day, I wasn't sure if any of the vendors would slash prices by much.  But credit to them, they did and it turned out to be all the last day of a Con should be--a day of wheeling and dealing!

While I didn't turn up early at all (I got there at 6pm and had 2 hours before the end of the Con), I got the feeling that it didn't matter because there were too many deals to take advantage of anyway. In fact if I'd been there earlier, I'd probably be broke seven ways to Sunday!




Overall Convention Rating: 8.4/10

They had to forcibly remove me from the premises.

A very successful and satisfying Con overall.  Well organized with panels, signings, screenings, and of course, the star writers and artists to back it up.  I was certainly entertained!  Perhaps it was a little bit smaller that last year vendor-wise, but I think it made for a better experience because it was a lot less messy. Also, you could plan ahead because of the excellent printed guides and timetables at the signings.  I loved the staff and volunteers there as well, they were all helpful and glad to be there.



Here's hoping next year's STGCC turns out bigger and better!