Review – World War Robot EMGY-TRG Dropcloth

Say hello to the World War Robot* EMGY-TRG Dropcloth action figure. This 12-inch scale robot action figure (standing roughly 14-inches tall, which makes him taller than the average human) may very well be the best work from 3A so far. Rugged, beautiful, and painted as beautifully as anything we’ve seen so far in the series this robot should be yours if you plan to own just one toy in this line. Unfortunately, this is the membership exclusive version of the bot so finding one now is likely to set you back some major bucks. But let’s not think about that right now.

Packaging

The Dropcloth robot comes packaged in a box very similar to the Shadow Zombie 12-inch scale action figure (review here). These boxes really do remind me of old model kit boxes, and the artwork is a great work that makes the box (even if you weren’t keeping it for the next time you move) a must-keep collectible. The box is every bit as much a work of art as the toy, with the combination of Ashley Wood’s robot painting and minimalist graphic design coming together in a way that has me excited to get my hands on the upcoming 3a magazine.

Tiny, Articulated Fingers

Dropcloth features the same sort of hand/finger design that we’ve seen on the smaller Bertie action figures (7-pack master review here). These fingers — each joint in each digit is articulated — are fragile, but they feel a bit more durable than on the smaller Berties. I suspect it’s the size of the fingers in relation to the Bertie’s fingers, but I’m a little less worried about posing these fingers. I’m not saying I’m not worried at all — these are still fairly fragile joints and too much force will very likely snap a finger — but I’m less worried about breaking this toy than I have been some of the earlier World War Robot toys.

Is That All That’s Articulated?

Not at all! The robot has a twist somewhere around the waist (hard to pinpoint with the gear and skirt), ball-jointed hips, hinged knees, ball-jointed ankles, a ball-jointed neck (that allows it’s silly head to be slightly posed), twisty wrists, hinged elbows, twist joints just below the upper arm/shoulder connector, and double ball-jointed shoulders. The double ball shoulders are especially cool, since they give you a much wider range of arm movement than you get with any single ball-jointed arm. How does the double ball work? Imagine a barbell connecting the torso to the upper arm and you’re pretty close to visualizing this joint. You can also click on some of these photos to study the larger images; this particular shot clearly shows the shoulder joint.

Pouches Everywhere!

Dropcloth comes ready for battle, with a holstered pistol and enough pouches to carry whatever sort of nasty gear the bot will need in a fight. There’s nothing new or special about these pouches that we haven’t seen before, but it’s nice to see 3A isn’t skimping on the extras when they design these toys. After reading some tutorials on customizing 12-inch scale action figures I’m going to guess that the pouches are soaked in water during the weathering process; the folds and look of the cloth here almost exactly match what I’ve seen in tutorials that demonstrate wetting cloth to get it to fold and lay in natural shapes.

Ready to Kick Ass!

Dropcloth comes equipped with the already-mentioned pistol, two rifles, a baton, and a massive riot shield. One minor complaint with the toy is that he has more gear than he can handle! I wish the rifles had included straps so that Dropcloth could swing them over his shoulders, or maybe straps on the shield so that he could wear it on his back, but these are minor issues and all I did was drop the shield, baton, and one of the rifles back in the box and pose Dropcloth with one rifle. If I’d broken down about bought the 4-pack when it was released I would have posed at least one of them with a shield, but as it is I’m happy with Dropcloth ready for a fight with his rifle. I should snap a pic of the 3A toy shelf; Dropcloth looks great next to Large Martin.

Who Should Buy These Toys?

So you’ve been following along as I review these various World War Robot* action figures but you’ve yet to take the plunge into buying them. Should you? That’s tough to say, and your answer has to depend entirely on how willing you are to skip several mass-market releases in exchange for a single robot toy. Dropcloth here, for example, will set you back $100** if you pre-order one of the retail versions from Sideshow Collectibles. So that’s roughly giving up six DC Universe Classics action figures. In my opinion, this robot toy is worth well more than six of Mattel’s DC action figures. Dropcloth is bigger, better painted, and looks far, far more impressive on a shelf than any six DC Universe Classics action figures. But that’s just my opinion and you’ve gotta decide for yourself what better suits your own tastes.

Will I Keep Buying These?

Yes, but I’m being selective about the robots that I buy. I’m still unhappy with the amount of time it takes for these to be delivered — I ordered on January 29 and the robot arrived on June 19 — but the quality and durability continues to improve and I just love how these look and feel. I’ve skipped a few of the last 3A releases, but at the moment I’m waiting on six 3A orders to be delivered. I’m getting to the point I am not worried about the durability of the new toys, but I wish following the 3A news was easier than their forums; I just don’t have time to spend searching forums. Fortunately one 3A member, Gimbat, posts news updates to Twitter) so I get most news, but it’s still not an easy line to keep up with. But the toys are awesome.

Two Bots in One Box!

When I popped open the shipping carton there was also the Peaceday Square, a slightly modified Square (original Squares reviewed here) that now has pouches. It’s basically exactly the same physically as the other Squares — except for the clips on the sides where the pouches connect — so there’s nothing to say about this toy except that the Square sure does look great with the pouches.

I doubt anyone ordered the EMGY Dropcloth set just to get the Square, but it was cool of 3A to modify the Square and include an extra with Dropcloth. I’m keeping this Square, even though he’s almost identical to the others I’ve already got, and I hope 3A does another retail release of Squares that use the modified design and pouches. I suspect I’m not alone in liking how the toy looks with pouches.

Closing Thoughts

I’ve got a serious love/hate relationship with the entire World War Robot toy line, but with each new release the toys improve and my hate meter drops as my love meter climbs. Dropcloth is superior to the smaller Berties — which is tough — because it feels even more durable and has a great weight when held. And other than some sticky joints — the wrists were stuck and required force to move them — there were no problems when I removed the toy from the box. Great work, and an excellent addition to my 3A shelf.

For another look at EMGY Dropcloth see this photo review at AFTimes. There’s not much in the way of text here, but if you wanna see more photos of the toy then this is the spot. And once you’re done with that then you can see my Dropcloth set at Flickr and then the Dropcloth photo thread at the 3A forum.

*Affiliate link: Orders using this link earn battlegrip.com cash, which is applied to buying toys.
**Affiliate link: Orders using this link earn battlegrip.com cash, which is applied to buying toys.

Philip Reed should really open his NOM Commanders pack and see if those figures are as good as Dropcloth here. They’re not robots, though, so he’s not quite as excited about them as he is Dropcloth.