Monthly Archives: January 2022

Jan 5 2022

GI JOE Classified: B.A.T. (Battle Android Trooper) by Hasbro

When I look back at Sunbow’s GI JOE cartoon, it’s amazing how they managed to make it so exciting when everyone was firing guns at everyone else, but nobody was hitting anyone. Sure, they found creative ways around this by featuring more melee combat. But the ultimate workaround was the introduction of the Battle Android Troopers. The BATs put the JOEs up against enemy robot soldiers that they could shoot, blow up, tear apart, and smash to pieces. As a kid, I loved the BATs, and I especially loved how it made the combat in the cartoon far more visceral.

It was only a matter of time before the BATs found their way into the 6-inch Classified line, and here they are! I actually have a ton of these on pre-order through a bunch of online retailers, but Amazon had some BATs in Stock last week and I was able to get an order in for one, which arrived a couple days ago. I was going to wait to review him until the rest of my BATs arrived, but who knows when that will be, so let’s go ahead and check out this lone BAT.

As time rolls on, The Classified series seems to be more confident with sticking to the original Real American Hero designs, and that’s quite evident with this BAT figure. There is one major difference, and that’s the armored chest plate that covers the window of circuitry that was always on display in the original figure. Of course, it was important to show that circuit panel in the cartoon so nobody could mistake them as real people. With that not being an issue any longer, Hasbro decided to button these guys up!

But when you take it off, you still get that panel of exposed circuits, including some prominent red and yellow components. I actually like the idea of the armor plate option, but I would have preferred an additional transparent chest plate for the more classic look. In fact, not including such a piece seems like a really big oversight. Sure, you can just go without the plate at all, but then you’ve got nothing protecting all that stuff, and I assume it’s probably pretty important to the BATs functions.

Everything else here is pretty much on point! The BAT wears black fatigues with bright yellow boots, belt, and holster with thigh strap. His other thigh is encircled with a silver strap. He has a yellow sholder strap to the left of his chest holding a pair of canister-style grenades, both left as bare gray plastic. I don’t know that these colors ever made any sense, but they sure look so iconic and snappy together. The sculpt features all the usual rumples and wrinkles in the fatigues, and I especially love all the fine detail in his robotic arms, which are exposed from the elbows down.

The head retains all the classic charm of the original RAH design. Was the featureless silver face plate supposed to be a tribute to Cobra Commander? I dunno. But the lack of any semblance of a face is both creepy and badass. There are two silver vents on the back of the helmet and a crested comb running up the middle of the helmet, and the whole thing looks slightly (and appropriately) too small to have an actual human head in it. It’s simple and absolutely awesome!

The backpack offers storage for all three of the BAT’s arm attachments. Two can plug into the top compartments and one can plug up into the side. The Classified BAT has two detachable fists, so you can equip the extra attachments on the left or right arm, or have him dual-wield!

Similar to the RAH figure, the attachments include a laser gun, a powerful looking pincer-claw, and a torch. These are easy to pop on and off, and they look really good. I’m particularly excited about getting some more BATs so I can make specialists like Double-Claw BAT, Double Laser Gun BAT, and… well, you get the idea.

The BAT also comes with a pistol, which fits into his holster and can be wielded in either of his normal hands.

The articulation here is pretty standard stuff for this line. The double jointing in the elbows is made very obvious because of the exposed robot arms. The dog-bone connectors in the hips on my figure are a little tight. But the one wonderful surprise here was the inclusion of the extra crunches in the shoulders. I don’t think I caught that in the promo pictures, and I was delighted to see it when I got the figure in hand.

And finally, The BAT includes two battle damaged pieces, which include a second chest piece and head. I like the head a lot, especially the way it shows off one of the eyes behind the damaged faceplate. The chest piece is well done also, with some tears to the metal and an impact crater that looks like he took a dead-on punch from Sgt. Slaughter himself! Still, I wish we got a chest piece that was a bit more damaged and showed a bit more of that circuitry underneath. A damaged arm attachment would have been pretty cool too. Hell, if Hasbro wants to double-dip, I’d be down for a two-pack of BATs with more interchangeable damaged parts.

“Stay behind him… he’s deflecting all the bullets!”

In the end, this is an absolutely fantastic figure! Indeed, I’d say the only thing that holds it back from being a Perfect Ten would be the lack of a clear chest plate. Still, I have to tell myself this is the Classified version, and these guys just aren’t supposed to go into action with their circuitry on display. I think the best compliment I can pay the Classified BAT is that after getting one in hand, I’m happy to have a bunch more pre-ordered and on the way! This may be one of my favorite figures the line has produced yet.

Jan 3 2022

Mythic Legions (All-Stars 4): Bryophytus by The Four Horsemen

There were two Masters of the Universe homages in the last All-Stars Wave from Mythic Legions. I looked at Mephitor (Not-Stinkor!) last time, and today I’m having a look at Bryophytus, who is most definitely an overt nod to Mossman, and a new sub-race of Orcs called Lichen Orcs!

If I understand it correctly, Bryophytus’ name is a class of vegetation, but I’m not one of them saladology scientists, so don’t quote me on that. Bryo (No way I’m typing that name every time!) is the protector of his tribe of veggie covered Orcs, that dwell in a secluded area of Mythoss known as The Swale! He has the power to control the plant life around him, making him sound a bit like Mythoss’ answer to Swamp Thing!

And wow! This combination of flocking on the Orc body works amazingly well! Here he is in his most basic form and with the head that I think works best as a Moss Man homage, but I’ll talk more about that in a minute. The Orc body is indeed flocked with a green stubble that feels like a cross between Astroturf and damp packing material. Don’t get me wrong, I think it looks great, even with the joint areas left bare to prevent it from being shaved off by articulating those points. It’s even got some yellowish bits mixed in so that it’s not all uniform green. And what a shade of green it is! Deep, dark, and spinach-y, like Bryo is chock full of vitamins and ruffage! It’s worth noting he does not smell like a pine-scented air freshener for your car. Which I suppose could be a pro or con, depending on your personal taste. And luckily Bryo isn’t wearing a whole lot so he can showcase his flocking. What he does have is a knightly yellow-gold armored belt with deep copper colored hip armor and a shaggy sash to conceal his twig and berries. He has similar copper wrist bracers, and lower leg armor, also taken from the Knight figures, but his feet are left bare to show off more mossy goodness. We’ve seen all these parts before and the combination works quite well.

The head I chose to start with is the less aggressive looking one, at least to me, although he does still looks like a tough customer. His Orc nature comes out in his pointed ears, broad nose, deep set yellow eyes, and jutting teeth that rise up from the corners of his dower mouth. He also sports a glorious moss beard! I think this head really showcases how wonderful the transition from painted plastic to moss works on the figure.

And here’s the second head, along with his shoulder armor attached. The armor pieces match the rest of his armor in both style and color and look damn good. They even serve to conceal the bald parts of the shoulders. The moss coverage on this head isn’t quite as lush as the previous one, but I still think it looks great. Again, the first head feels more inline with his role of noble protector, but the second one is a tempting choice for display. Both are great, and it’s kind of mind-blowing that neither head sculpt was designed with this type of flocking in mind!

Bryo also comes with a decent assortment of accessories, many of which are a little less common… at least among the figures I’ve reviewed thus far. First off, you get his staff with a smooth copper shaft and a gnarled branch cradling a green orb at the top. It’s an excellent accessory for the character, and no doubt used to wield his mystical plant-based powers. If you trespass in The Swale, you’re probably going to get attacked by trees before you even catch a glimpse of Bryo!

Next up is the dagger, which is also a welcome treat, as I haven’t seen it in quite a while. This one was introduced with Advent of Decay, and I think it was used frequently among the Elves and maybe some of the new Vampyrs. The sheath is sculpted with an eye motif and painted gold to match the hilt, with an S-shaped guard, while the blade is short, simple, and curved. I love the fact that they included a sheath with this tiny weapon, and it makes me hope that someday T4H will design sword scabbards and make them retroactively available in multi-packs so I can hand them out to all my figures. The dagger’s sheath has a clip on the back so it can be carried on the standard issue brown belt, but it requires a modicum of care, as I’ve had one of the clips snap off one of my Elf daggers.

And finally, we get a heavy mace, which I believe was originally designed for the Dwarf figures. I only recall seeing this stout smashing weapon a few times so far, making it another welcome addition. It’s certainly not an organic-themed weapon, but I think it works here because it goes well with his armor bits.

As much as I loved Mephitor, I think I’ll give the nod to Bryo as my favorite of this MOTU pair. With the added flocking, Bryo just stands out as one of the more unique figures in this line, and it sure took a lot more effort than a mere repaint. Indeed, the homage is so on point, that if you showed me this figure without the familiar armor bits, and told me it was part of an upcoming line of MOTU figures, I’d be inclined to believe you. What’s more, the flocking seems pretty durable. I have had a few crumbs come off, but I think a lot of those were already loose in the package and waiting to jump ship! Either way, I love this guy! Next week, I’ll shoot for a look at the last figure I picked up in this assortment. And he’s a big boi!