Review: Hasbro 3-3/4″ Gi Joe Renegades Law and Order

Well, I wanted to review something other than GI Joe figures, but honestly there are really some lackluster figures being released right now especially some movie tie in figures that happen to be exceptionally awful… I won’t mention any names let’s just say Smishmengers! It looks like we have some good Marvel Universe figures coming soon as well as Gi Joe Retaliation figures that appear to be a good mix of movie tie in/adult collector releases.

The Facts

• Name: Christopher M. Lavigne
• Original figure released in 1987 as part of the Gi Joe RAH series 6
• Current version released in 2011 as part of the Gi Joe Renegades line
• Original face sculpt was modeled after former Hasbro VP Kirk Bozigian
• M.P.’s are responsible for the security of an military installation
• Formerly walked the beat in Houston’s 5^th ward
• Trained dog handler
• Airborne qualified

Sculpt/Paint

Law has an expertly sculpted face and is slightly more adult looking than his cartoon counterpart. He has great facial features, excellent bone structure, and wavy hair that is nicely sculpted and painted. His torso, arms and legs all appear to be fresh sculpts and capture some nice details such as; folds and wrinkles in his pants and shirt, and a scar on his right forearm. His gloves have some nice padding sculpted into the tops or some extra realism. His vest is well equipped with pockets and pouches galore, the badge is a little over sized but it is a nice touch. Finally…I repeat finally we have holsters for side arms, two to be exact both on his right side mind you, but there are two holsters and two side arms! The paint is a nice combo of olive drab, blue, and gray. And as stated before his face is well sculpted and features nicely painted hair, eyes, and eyebrows. Order is painted light brown and has a wash over his fur to give him some nice realism, just wish the sculpt was a little better, his back legs and tail are molded together and given what Hasbro did with the past 10 versions of Timber, I think they could have done a better job with Order.

Articulation

Hasbro continues to lead the pack in articulation with this line of Joes. We’ve got one each of the patented north south and east west wrist joints, nice head movement, the independent knee caps, and his arms have a nice range of motion even with his vest on. Very poseable especially with the number of accessories he comes with.

Accessories

Law has some nice “real world” accessories, a night stick, handcuffs, helmet, visor, colt python style revolver, tactical style SMG and shotgun. His automatic handgun features a removable silencer which can also be placed on the SMG. There is also a walkie-talkie on the front of his vest that is removable. I like the fact that this particular figure from the renegades line comes with more realistic weapons than some of the other figures in the line. Law of course has a dog named Order; whose leash is molded directly into his harness, how hard would it be to include a metal chain here? Like the one that comes with Storm Shadow V39! Order’s vest is nice though, good pouch detail, Hasbro could have went a step further and added a working pouch to one side, it would have just made the dog a little more special.

Pros

1. Nice accessories that would work great in a diorama or display.
2. Great head sculpt
3. Good poseability
4. Sidearm holsters!
5. I like the realistically toned paint job; blue, gray, and green.

Cons

1. Molded in leash for Order is just cheesy and lazy
2. Tail and back legs of Order are molded together
3. Visor is a little hard to see through, I think Hasbro needs to switch to a thin, rigid style clear plastic for these things; it will just add so much more realism and not look like Law’s head is in a fish bowl.
4. Badge is a little oversized… hmm big dog, big badge… what is he compensating for…?
5. Obviously an MP, but his new file card states that he works as a prison guard… I miss Larry Hama writing file cards as strange as some of them were…

Not one of my favorite figures as a kid, but this new version is nicely detailed comes with cool accessories, and one of the main things I look for, is a figure that can hold all of his own gear. These two are not  going to be part of a special victims unit any time soon; he’s got snakes to catch!

YO JOE!