Well, unable to take it any longer, I finally broke down and purchased a ROC Reactive Impact Armour Duke from eBay seller
ws_toys and in my estimation it was well worth the expenditure.
I was somewhat nonplussed initially by the design of the armour suit when the first pictures leaked out, but as I've had more time to acquaint myself with it the design's grown on me quite a bit, and now, with a three dimensional example of it here in front of me, I have to say that this is a very cool costume indeed.
It's not just the design of the figure's costume that I like, however, as I'll explain in a moment. But first, let's take a look at our boy here:
The likeness is recognizable, if perhaps a bit longer in the jaw than the real deal. Some people have criticized the figure as being too lanky, but if the figure's head might sit higher above his shoulders than does Channing Tatum's, it's not a big problem for me, and in any case, the photo makes his neck look longer than it really is, as it's hunched forward and makes him look funny when you try and get him to look straight ahead, as I did in the photo.
Here we can see one of my only major complaints against the figure, that being that his neck is tilted so far forward (the other being that his torso can really bend forward very much), but it's still something I can easily overlook. Check out the knife scabbard attached to his right leg as well.
Next up, weapons and accessories. RIA Duke comes with a combination display stand/life-size dog-tag with the G.I. Joe eagle sigil on the bottom, the obligatory giant bazooka which has the nice touch of a soft plastic handles so kids won't snap it off too easily, a somewhat stylized FN F2000 assault rifle, a small knife that fits into the scabbard attached to his leg, a pistol that I'm guessing is an HK USP Match variant, and, in a touch of the truly bizarre, what looks like a cut-down MP7 that's had the pistol grip moved to the back of the gun, leaving the magazine feed exposed, and a skeleton shoulder stock that's longer than the weapon itself.
As I mentioned, Duke's long, lanky frame and unobstructed joints allow him to grip these tools of the trade easily and realistically, unlike numerous other Joes that have come before him such as his
Resolute counterpart and Gung-Ho, and the shape of his hands (with dual trigger fingers) allows him to handle even tricky weapons like the Marauder P90 with ease.
My favourite weapon for this guy, however, is the Marauder XM-8. Unlike most other Joes, he can actually grip it properly, owing to his long arms. It matches the techy look of his armour and really seems at home in hands, almost as if it was made for him...
Crouched shooting poses come easily too, thanks to the range of motion afforded by the legs.
Movie Duke versus movie Bio-Vipers?
Of course, armour this cool needs a suitable helmet, and I'm currently working on trying to customize one of my own.
Well, if you wanted to know about Reactive Impact Armour Duke, now you know, and knowing is half the battle.
