PERSONAL COLLECTION #6: Night Ranger Quad with Duke

"At ease, boys and girls. As per blog author's orders, today I will give a review of... well, I will review a bit of myself, and pretty much this "Night Ranger Quad" ATV for all those who give a damn about Sigma 6 and the many versions of yours truly that Hasbro has released during the recent years of this toy line."

"First of all, you have to pardon the rather grainy quality of the images, since the photographer (and author of this blog review) is still ill-equipped with the necessary equipment to take decent, professional-quality photos... Other than a crummy 2-megapixel Sony Ericsson k610i cellphone. Lemme just place this helmet on the rack and, if all is fine with you readers, then let us proceed."

"Aside from my cool-looking blue helmet, I am also issued with this nifty-looking NV - or to those unfamiliar with military tech jargon, "night vision" - goggles. Granted that it's not as cool as Snake Eyes' Night Ops headgear, but it still does the job."

"And, with a gentle push of the handlebars, up comes this night vision camera sensor HUD - that's "heads up display" for you military tech jargon noobs - at the front of the ATV..."

"...And by pressing on the gas tank cap..."

*ka-chakk!* "...The ATV's hood armor opens up to reveal more of the rocket launchers underneath it."

"Looking closer underneath the front hood, you can see a simulated suspension system for the front wheels. Hey, notice that the Quad has real rubber tires! But uh, if you ask me, I would've preferred that Hasbro made real spring suspension and steering system rather than that spring-action NV HUD camera and rocket launcher pop-up armor gimmick."

"But it still simulates "real" suspension and steering... Somehow. As you can see as I demonstrate how the front wheels adapt as I lean myself, along with the bike, to my right..."

"...And now to my left. Cool! Ain't it?! Whoopee..."

"OOPSIES!!!"

*THUD!* "Ehnn..."

*BOF!* "Ooooooh... My... ...Family jewels..."

"...There goes... ...my hopes for... ...Conrad Hauser Junior."

"Moving on to the front of the Quad, we have a grappling hook attachmed to a faux-winch system..."

"...And some bright green spring-launched rockets, reminiscent of G.I. Joe's neon-colored weapons during the '90's, which contributed to the blog author's decision to quit collecting 3.75-inch G.I. Joe figures."

"Now if you could help me prop the Quad up a bit... Okay, now... At least, we can see that there is REAL suspension for the Quad's rear wheels. Though the suspension travel ain't all that far, it's still a cool addition to this vehicle."

"Now on the equipment rack, the Quad comes equipped with a pickaxe, a shovel, and some extra rockets. As one can clearly see, this Quad is well-equipped for a mission. Except for an extra tire and a tire pump in case of a flat. And some extra fuel."

"There is also a knife and my trusty ol' Switchfire pistol. Kii-yahhh! Yo soy mucho macho! Ayiyiyiyiyi!!!"

"Uhmmm... Dunno where I'll put these, though. I wasn't equipped with a holster and a scabbard."

"Aha. I can see that the knife can be placed onto the slot on my thighs. Kinda dangerous for me, though -- carrying an unprotected knife on my leg like this."

"Well, I guess that concludes this review. As you can see, this Quad fits well for its intended night ops theme, especially the color scheme (hey, I made a rhyme). This is still a cool vehicle for the Sigma 6 line, though it could've been a bit better."

"Oh, hi there, Timber. What have you and the Silent One have been up to lately?"

"Hey, waitaminnit... You're not thinking what I'm..."

"Oh, no you DON'T. You're not gonna pee on those new tires, you mangy mutt!"

"Now scram! Vamoose!! Before I chop you into itty bitty pieces like your namesake!!!"

"And don't ya ever think of sprayin' your fluids onto this Quad, ya hear?!"

"Dogs and their masters..." *Tappity tap* "???"

"Er..."

"Oh, hi there, Snakes! I see you're heavily equipped right now. So... Uhm... How did the mission go?"

"This axe? Uh... I was uh... Just demonstrating the uhhh... By the way: nice shiny swords you have there!"

*chomp* "?!! Uhhhmmm..."

"Okay, hafta go now. See you in the bridge in 10 minutes SHARP... For a mission debrief. Noooneeenooonneeenooo..."

PERSONAL COLLECTION #5: Sigma Strike Duke

Suffering from writer's block a couple of days now after being so pissed off at the Customs for greedily taking advantage of some items shipped over to me by a friend overseas, I decided to just write about another item in my action figure collection.

I wanted to post pictures of the items in question, but it would only spoil things down the road when I finally get to feature each of those items in another one of my "Personal Collection" posts.

I've never been a Duke fan -- not during the ARAH 3.75" figure days, and even up until now. And I personally think Duke's been overexposed in the Sigma 6 'verse due to the number of versions Hasbro made of him (Snake Eyes also had several versions out, but he's my favorite character so... so I'm biased! Shoot me! *lols*).

But I've always had this fascination about the Sigma Strike Duke, ever since I first saw this version in the reviews section of Sigma 6 Central early this year. During that time this was still being sold abroad and on evilBay in the range of $24 up, and I can only vaguely remember seeing this on the store shelves last year (probably glanced on it, but since they were priced way higher locally back then I might have selectively erased any traces of this in my memory). So I guess anyone can imagine my surprise when I came across this item on sale for around $15.50 about six weeks ago. Such dumb luck! It was payday and I had the dough to shell out for the two remaining items on display, but finally decided to pick up just one.

The first thing I noticed about the figure after removing it from the box, is that it is a bit heavier than one would usually expect of a Sigma 6 figure. This might be because the figure was sculpted with body armor, thicker arms and legs, to simulate a full-armored, battle-ready Duke. The downside to this is that the upper body weight seems to make the hip joints loose, or this could also be a manufacturing defect. And the arms were molded in black plastic, so the flesh parts on the elbow joint instantly chipped off when I first moved the joints.

The helmet slightly resembles the ones used in the HALO video games, hence some people calling this the HALO Duke. My only gripe with this headgear is that the visor/faceplate seems loose and easily detaches from the helmet. Otherwise, it really complements the overall look of the figure. Duke's removable shoulder armor also nicely adds to the overall bulk of the figure.

For the backpack, Sigma Strike Duke is supplied with a variable-payload mission-specific weapons system (or that's what I would like to call it) with a battery operated (3 x AA-size) backpack/jetpack which, by pressing three different buttons located at the top of the pack, produces several sound effects and also triggers either the red LED lights on the jumpjet's boosters or the green LED lights on the main weapon. The red button triggers the "power-up mode" sound of the backpack, and makes the jumpjets' LED's flash. Pressing the blue button triggers the thruster sound of the jumpjets and also makes the red LED's light up. The green button activates the sound and light effects for the weapon systems. The jumpjet's nozzles can be rotated, and there is a switch on the lower part of the backpack which has settings for "on", "off", and "demo" which was the default setting when the figure was still in the box, so one can sample some of the sound effects.

Sigma Strike Duke's backup weapon is a Switchfire pistol which comes with a holster that attaches to the right thigh of the figure. Too bad that the holster's peg mounts are smaller than the standard pegs found on Sigma 6 figures. Maybe this indicates that the holster is an integral part of the Sigma Strike weapons system, but I'm not sure about that one, though.

As for the main weapon systems, Sigma Strike Duke carries four large weapons, all of which activates a cool sound effect whenever a weapon is attached and detached:

Perhaps the least useful of these weapons is the Power Cutter Saw. I cannot see it's usefulness in battle -- perhaps in rescue and structure breach situations this may have some kind of use. Pressing the green button on the backpack activates the saw sound effect and lights up the blade.

The Flame Blaster flamethrower is something I would prefer over the Cutter Saw anytime. Green button on the backpack activates a flame sound effect and lights up the flamethrower nozzle and tank. Weapon also fires a spring-loaded flame projectile.

The Power Pulse Blaster is a better weapon than the previous two, IMO. Again, pressing the green button activates lights and sounds but also firing the spring-loaded weapon projectile will trigger a missile firing sound effect along with a whistle and then, boom! A nice touch if I may say so myself.

And finally -- the biggest of the BFG weapons systems of the Sigma Strike Duke -- the Laser Cannon. This weapon is BIG. In fact, it is so big that the figure can hardly support it's weight, especially with those loose hip joints. It can be quite tricky to pose the figure with this weapon. The barrel has a hinge which allows the weapon to be folded. Again, green button on the backpack triggers a very cool laser sound combined with a strobing green light effect.

I can say that this is an excellent figure to add to one's Sigma 6 collection, especially with the reduced prices now. But since Hasbro is paving way for the new figures (not Sigma 6, sadly, but still 8-inch figures), stock availability might be of a problem nowadays. Good thing I went to the mall that day.

PERSONAL COLLECTION #4: Sigma 6 LONG RANGE

I have to admit : I wasn't a fan of the Sigma 6 line, nor was I into collecting action figures again after I sold off my 60+ 3.75" G.I. Joe figure collection to a friend six years ago. It was a stupid yet very necessary decision I had to make, back then. The good thing was that I sold them all to someone I know, so they'll always be in good hands.

And, after six years of action figure abstinence, here I am again: collecting action figures. Jaded at what the local Mini4WD racing scene had become (a new haven for small-time gamblers and cockfight enthusiasts, IMO), I sought after another more meaningful and rewarding hobby.

But, it was almost too late: after hesitating for so long due to the initial, prohibitive prices of Sigma 6 figures around two years ago (each figure was priced at around P1,300 back then), I was now only left to choose from the few remaining varieties available on store shelves. So when I saw this next figure on the shelf, I knew I had to pick this one up real soon, or be sorry again.

Long Range is Sigma 6's resident transportation specialist and target acquisition expert. This figure's main weapon is a large (and by "large", I do mean large -- when fully assembled, the rifle stands taller than Long Range himself) sniper rifle, which has a strong resemblance to a Barrett sniper rifle.

The rifle is made up of separate pieces: the body which includes the stock, two barrel configurations, scope, tripod (which is made up of three separate pieces itself), and a grenade launcher. The rifle also has a neat "recoil" effect when you slide the bolt back.

His secondary weapon is a sawed-off shotgun which even has a fold-down double barrel. The shotgun also has a keychain attached (most probably the keys to the R.O.C.C.). Too bad that I only got a Long Range figure recently -- they released a limited series variant (1000 - 1500 pieces only) that had a black skull attached to the keychain.

Long Range also has a nasty looking knife with a serrated blade.

I love the overall look of this figure. He has a distinctive head sculpt which has a short ponytail and a scar running over his left eye, that gives him a battle-hardened appearance. And his knee-length trenchcoat really serves to distinguish him from the rest of his teammates. His subdued color scheme was well thought-out, perfect for a sniper to remain undetected.

Highly recommended.

Congratulations, MacGyver!!!

I recently read at the Joe Battlelines forum, that our fellow member Mac won for Best Sigma 6 and Custom Of The Year, over at Commando Customs.

To say that this gal (you heard that right, Mac's a 'she') does amazing custom figures would be an understatement. And, to prove my point, may I present some of Mac's customs:

Shipwreck

I personally like Mac's treatment of Shipwreck over Hasbro's "Sigma-ized" version. That one may look scary tough, but in this custom version Shippy demands respect while still looking as tough as ever, always ready to kick some Cobra butt.




















MacGyver

Mac's all-time favorite character (hence her nick), she really made a good-looking custom of the man who can do anything with his Swiss Army Knife.

It even has MacGyver's don't-leave-home-without-it kit, which includes the Knife.






















Murdoc

What would McGyver be without his persistent nemesis? This custom Murdoc looks deadly serious, getting ready to make MacGyver's life harder than it was the last time.





















Scarlett

I believe this was the pièce de résistance. I have no idea how she did it, but Mac really pushed the envelope on this one.




Way to go, Mac! You deserved to win. Here's to more of Mac's customs in the future.