Playability:

This is a tricky category to write on considering that I was handling the prototypes that are far more fragile than the finished product. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the weapons work well with both RAH and GvC sculpts. According to Marauder John, all of his accessories are designed with RAH in mind. However, the softer hands of the GvC era sculpts mean that almost all of the gear presented here will work with the newer style troops. The one exception is the samurai sword that features a very slender grip. It works well with RAH figures like Storm Shadow v2 but the newer sculpts I tried had a harder time grasping it. However, I was far more concerned with the firearms than I was the melee weapon so this didn’t prove to be much of a problem. However, aside from that minor issue I had no problem getting any of my Joe figures to hold the new Marauder gear. (I wish I could say the same about some of the Hasbro gear but alas, that is a topic for another day.) My wave one gear has held up EXTREMELY well over the past few months so I can say with certainty that wave 2 will be up to any task you put before it.

Honestly, there’s not much more that I can say without turning into a ranting fan boy. Wave 2 has surpassed wave 1 in terms of detail and selection while offering the same “tight fits” and durability as the first series. For a small company, Marauder has once again proven itself capable of playing with the “big boys” and holding it’s own in terms of quality of product and price. With a complete set of weapons retailing for around $12.00, you can’t argue with the value for your dollar. (Try building the same number of weapons using the bbi gear packs at TRU—it isn’t going to happen.) Not only has Marauder produced weapons that fans will like—but they’ve also put out weapons that Joe collectors will want. My advice is simple: take a look at the rest of the pics in this review now and start your shopping lists. Once these figures hit in March, start placing your orders because wave 2 will make a splash that will completely eclipse the sales of wave 1.

 

 

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