This can also be viewed on my blog
http://gijoetoyblog.blogspot.com/2009/1 ... eview.html.
Just got my hands on the unreleased Desert Battle Ripcord and going to give you guys a quick review of him.
bare bones
no helmet required to kick tail
Ready for jump
Overall this is a really cool figure! The wings are very well designed and are spring loaded. The winged back pack has a very long peg to help it go through the web gear and stay put. The flight suit is well designed but the pouches and air tubes tend to fall off. Speaking of stuff falling off, if I were you I would expect to super glue the pouches and tubes down to both the helmet and the flight suit, otherwise he will fall apart constantly and you will lose parts. His pistol fits snug at his ankle and his helmet is soft plastic that kinda molds to Ripcords face. The boosters and rockets that attach to the flight pack can be swiveled with little risk of them falling off. Do not expect for him to be able to shoulder his rifle or even a sub machine gun with his gear on, pretty much one handed guns only. Their are some great design aspects such as his air tubes being made of very soft rubbery material instead of hard plastic like the para viper hoses(which SHOULD make him able to look around easier). The vests connector joints are also very well done and don't give him hips or add any significant bulk such as seen in many other figures(TRU exclusive Firefly). My main gripe with him is his helmet, it seems like his helmet has been created... off center. You can never get it quite centered because... it isn't exactly straight to begin with. I had this figure shipped straight from factory so it is possible that upon its official release this will be fixed but as it stands mine is a little off. Also don't expect any left, right, up, down movement for his head when his gear is on due to the collar piece.
Even with all the quirks he is still awesome, he oozes style and if you think of him more as a vehicle than a pose-able figure he instantly gets much cooler. Love the blue highlights, love the wings, love the gear(especially after some gluing and cutting on the collar), and in all honesty his design is fantastic. Good job Hasbro, keep up the good work!
8.5 out of 10
