Specialist Dusty (2015)
When I first saw press photos of the 50th anniversary’s Sneak Attack set earlier this year, I thought oh wow, Hasbro is totally ripping off NECA’s 8-bit video game paint job deco. Then I realized Dusty and Bazooka were simply outfitted in a new type of night-fighting garb. That’s cool too, I suppose.
I’m all for new and different paint schemes when it comes to GI Joe figures. From the Adventure Team to the Eco Warriors, I find myself gravitating to the more colorful side of the toy spectrum. The two Joes in this pack are most certainly that. While black and or grey and maybe dark greens and browns have worked for Night Force in the past, I’m glad the decision was made to go in a more bold direction. I’ve nothing against the drab relistic military uniforms, but I also loves me some hot pink and multi-colored troops. Who knows, if these exclusives continue, maybe we’ll see more team members in this new “after dark” style. Wait, that sounded a little inappropriate for a toy soldier blog. Anyway, you know what I mean.
The smashing together of Pursuit of Cobra Dusty and Duke parts makes for an interesting figure. The PoC desert Duke is nicely generic anyway, and having Dusty’s head slapped on top of it comes out pretty well. The only odd bit of business is the fact that Dusty’s desert cape doesn’t sit quite right over the Duke mold’s shoulders. I’m not too concerned about it, considering this guy isn’t likely to blend into much regardless of his extra coverings.
I’m also loving the color coordinated weapons, by the way. Very Battle Corps.
I saw someone use this figure in a parts-swap with the ROC Kamakura–it can really gel if you also add the legs and do a little painting on the waist.
I think he’d work better with covered arms. No self respecting desert dweller would ever spend time out in the field with exposed skin. The cape is odd, too. It’s nice they included the additional accessories, but it really seems out of place and makes him look like a guy dressing up in a super hero costume.
Nice figure! I do not like his colors.
For a moment, i thought it was a new incarnation of DEF Muskrat
When Hasbro went all brown for Cobra’s “PoC look”, I didn’t immediately understand that they were expected to be Night Desert colors. I think the colors here are too bright for that; replace the white camo with black and it might work. The figure isn’t bad, but the sleeveless look with a cape seems… overdressed? And a blue beret might give him a ’91 Dusty look, albeit in blue.