Iron Grenadier (2011 30th Anniversary)

Wow, just wow. Now this is a heavily armed trooper. From head to toe, from uniform to weaponry, this guy looks ready to do some serious damage. Again, the mold is mostly reused from a previous release, this time the City Strike Destro. With this heavily armed trooper, the padded, bulky armor works perfectly. The head is new, and is based on the vintage Iron Grenadier design.

It’s nice to see Destro’s troops in the modern line, and specialized troops at that. The 30th anniversary version is not painted in the urban camo of this year’s previous release, but I think it actually looks better and makes for a paint scheme that is not too busy. Sure, the color scheme doesn’t completely follow the traditional black, red and gold of Destro’s troops, but I don’t have a problem with it. The greys really bring to mind an urban assault force, which certainly goes well with City Strike Destro’s color scheme. The best aspect of the deco is in the weathering on the armor, especially the shoulder pad. There’s also some very nice gold detailing on the helmet. It’s little details like these that I really enjoy seeing on a figure.

The Iron Grenadiers have always looked intimidating; now they have the firepower to back it up. I’d certainly like to see more Cobra heavy weapons troopers released in the modern line.