Sunday, March 13, 2011

Conrad "Duke" Hauser: G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Wave 3


Conrad "Duke" Hauser from the G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Wave 3. What I find strange about this particular figure of Duke is that Hasbro decided to break from the rest of the Pursuit of Cobra line - which started out with a more modern, grittier presentation of the G.I. Joe world and took a step back to present a new Conrad "Duke" Hauser with a look more akin to the G.I. Joe Resolute line - in fact, the paint scheme is almost identical and the only major difference between the G.I. Joe Resolute Duke and this Conrad "Duke" Hauser is the dropping of his flak vest in favor of the more modern body armor. So he's clearly an odd man out. Conrad "Duke" Hauser also differs from the traditional Duke because of the almost invisible scar on his left cheek ruining his American "Captain America" looks. 


Conrad "Duke" Hauser comes as shown bearing only three weapons. A back-pack powered "Deplaz" (DP-SM - which stands for Shoulder Mounted Dual Plasma Cannon - so technically it should be a SM-DP). A rifle with an under-slung shot-gun that looks like it came out of Ridley Scott's Aliens and another shoulder supported single shot missile launcher.



While it looks cool, the Deplaz is bulky and unwieldy - especially in its storage position. I'm not really sure you want that hanging on your back as you go running into combat, and while you have it with you, there's no sitting down unless you move it into firing position.


But when the Deplaz is in firing position, as intimidating as it looks, there isn't any literature on how it's actually supposed to be used. There are no hand-holds for Conrad "Duke" Hauser, nor does anyone seem to know how to fire it. Is this a beam weapon (As the name connotes) or a rocket-launcher (As each of those points on the Deplaz come off)? If it's a beam weapon, it doesn't look like the Deplaz has enough power in that back-pack. 

Here's a look at the Deplaz without the mounted points at its end. 

Next up is the shoulder mounted missile launcher. Note the "Halo" like mounting of his rifle at his back. At this point, I'd like to mention that you can actually remove the arms from the Deplaz launcher and mount both the missile launcher and his rifle there, but it looks really, really weird. This looks better.


We should also point out that Conrad "Duke" Hauser's missile launcher has a hole that has no purpose. Either the weapon is a surplus from something else that also came with a mount or they're looking forward to releasing  vehicle or gear that can be used with him in the future. 


Conrad "Duke" Hauser's detail is exquisite. I'm unfortunately not familiar with the insignia on his right shoulder. The only improvement I'd love to see would be additional removable armor plating perhaps or even having that chest plate being made optional.  


Conrad "Duke" Hauser is quite common in the black market here in the Philippines and retails for around PhP500 to PhP 1,000 depending upon whom you ask. 

Hey Snake Eyes! Do you think we have too much gear?

4 comments:

  1. Awesome review, dude. I'm picking up a Duke for about P450 tomorrow and that Snake Eyes for P700. Not bad, right?

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  2. Hey yeah! That's a steal. I got Duke for P500 and Snake Eyes for P1,000. Buying them individually really jacks up their price so now I'm always on the lookout for sets.

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  3. So I was able to get the figures and I absolutely hate Duke's weapons. You're right, he's the odd one out because the other Joes have realistic enough weapons. Good thing I have Marauders guns to give him.

    Thing is, G.I. Joe lore always has been about cutting edge tech that borders on the ridiculous, so I guess this is forgivable.

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  4. He's an homage to Colonial Marines from James Cameron's Aliens (as the jungle joes and Shadow tracker were an homage to Predator). The Bulky backpack is remniscent of the Powerloader, His outfit is like a colonial marine and his Rifle is a re imagination of the iconic pulse rifle.

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