Review – Marauder Task Force Urban Ops

Fans of G.I. Joe and Acid Rain action figures who are looking for a few more characters to add to their collections likely already know about the Marauder Gun Runners series of toys. Produced through a Kickstarter project, these military action figures shipped to backers last year and offer up a mind-blowing number of customization options. Seriously, I started to count the pieces included with this figure but got lost because there are so many small parts. Shown in these pics are only some of the tiny accessories that came with the toy.

Size Concerns

The very first thing I want to get out of the way are my concerns with the size of the Marauder Task Force figures: They’re simply too big to fit perfectly with G.I. Joe and Acid Rain action figures. The above photo with the Cobra The Enemy figure from 2007 (review here) shows how the Marauder action figure is about a half-head taller than the Hasbro toy.

And above we see one of the Acid Rain figures from the The Winged Victory of Samothrace set (pics here) along with the Marauder toy. Again, the Marauder action figure towers over the other toy, highlighting the only negative I see in the Marauder figure. If the toy was a little shorter it would fit perfectly with the G.I. Joe and Acid Rain lines. As it is, though, we’ll have to pretend that all of the Marauder figures are bulkier and tower over characters from the other lines.

Articulation

The Marauder action figure features:

• Head – Ball-jointed neck with a great range of movement in all directions except looking up.
  
• Torso – Ball-jointed waist that allows the figure to swivel left and right and tip slightly forward.
  
• Arms – Swivel-hinge shoulders and elbows and swivel wrists.
  
• Legs – Ball-jointed hips, double-hinged knees, and swivel-hinge feet.

The articulation is generally excellent and comparable with what we see in Hasbro’s G.I. Joe action figures. The joints are a little stiff in spots, but working at them a little seems to free any problems and quickly gives the toy a better range of motion.

Interchangeable Accessories

In the above photo, the knife on the shoulder and three pouches on the vest (which is removable) are all separate pieces that plugged into holes in the vest and the figure’s arm. And the knife comes out of that sheath! Dotted across the action figure’s body are numerous sockets where accessories like these can be plugged in, but the very first thing I realized is that we’re gonna want some glue to hold things in place. And it was that realization that led me to . . .

Perfect Customization Buck!

The Marauder action figures (Marauder website) make a great base for any customizers to work from. Mixing and matching heads, vests, pouches, and other accessories and gluing the parts permanently together offers up a wide variety of design options . . . and that’s before you even start trying any cutting or painting of the figures! Unlike the G.I. Joe and Acid Rain action figures I’m comfortable stating that the Marauder action figures are definitely best left to adults, though a talented artist with glue could probably construct a figure that’s perfectly safe for kids to play with. Just glue those tiny bits on tight!

Closing Thoughts

Marauder’s action figure series, once we accept the size difference with G.I. Joe and Acid Rain, blends well with the existing 3.75-inch scale military action figures and offers up more customization options than I ever expected. The quality of the toy is excellent, and if you’re a customizer than you will want a bucket of these toys and parts because you’re going to keep finding new ways to mix and match all of the bits.

For an extremely in-depth review with dozens of photos you must see the Generals Joes Marauder review. Over 100 photos of the various colorways and an amazing overview of the toy, the Generals Joes review should answer any questions you may still have about the figure.

Good job, Marauder! Now get to work on a vehicle for the series!!!