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Manufacturer Information:
M & C Toy Centre LTD.
Unit 813
8th Floor
Peninsula Centre
67 Mody Road
Tsim Sha Tsui East
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Website
The Package:
The officer comes in a colorful, predominately blue/black/green, windowed box (13 inches high x 9 1/4 inches wide x 2 3/4 inches deep) that gives you a good view of the contents. The back of the package shows photos of other SWAT figures and vehicles that are available. [Please note that, on the back of the box, the individual figures, including this one, are shown with various diorama pieces--tires, barrels, boxes, barriers/traffic cones, a ladder, etc--those items only come with the more expensive, 'deluxe' versions, which are packaged in a larger box than this one. Actually, I don't even know if they make the larger boxed versions anymore, as I haven't seen them in years. Maybe you should update your box art, M & C Toy, to reflect the product better?] The box is taped shut, which a single pull from a knife/scissors easily rectifies. The figure and his sniper rifle are secured to the interior plastic tray with two twisty ties. Most of the accessories just pop out of the tray, but a few are taped to secure them. You could put everything back in the box with relative ease, which makes them pretty collector friendly. And, as the basic shape of the box is rectangular, they're easy to store for those that like to keep their toys unopened and in mint condition.
The Officer:
Head sculpts and ethnicity generally vary for these Power Team Elite figures, so the one you find in the store will probably look different than mine (however, that said, I've never seen a PTE SWAT that wasn't Caucasian--M & C Toy seems to reserve their more ethnically diverse heads for the World Peacekeepers line). Mine has short, blond hair (with well-sculpted locks) and blue eyes. On the bad side, I already have this head sculpt on another PTE figure (World Peacekeepers Ranger) in my collection, which was a turnoff. While my Big! Lots had two of the Sniper figure, they both had this same head, so I didn't have a choice. In fact, all the SWAT figures in the store, that were multiples of the same character, sported identical mugs. What the heck? How about some more variety when you pack a case, M & C Toy? It's not like you don't have tons of heads to choose from (I've seen photos of the loads of different melons M & C Toy has for their PTE guys, on their website), so, in my opinion, packing a case with multiples of the same head like this is just lazy. I'll end up displaying him with his ski mask and gear covering the face, so that the duplication won't be noticeable to casual observers of my PTE collection, but, still, it bothers me--I guess I'll just have to think of them as long lost twins, separated at birth, who went on to pursue different career paths. Anyway, enough of that rant. The black gloves are permanently sculpted on and have a fair amount of detail such as a textured surface and seams. He has the usual impressive M & C Toy 3rd-Generation body articulation: Ball-jointed neck, shoulders, chest, waist, and hips; triple-jointed knees and elbows; cut joints in the biceps, thighs, and wrists, and pivot ankles. Some of the joints are a little on the loose side, but he stands on his own and poses well, even when fully geared-up.
Accessories:
The Sniper comes with a nice pile of gear and weapons, and, happily for me, most of it I don't already have from other PTE figures. Sure, the same pistol, knife, blade sheath, jump suit, belt/strap assembly, boots, and ski mask the other SWATs come with make an appearance, but the rest of the stuff is specific to the Sniper. You get:
- A long (largest PTE gun I've purchased to date) sniper rifle. This is molded in black plastic with tan/olive paint on most of the gun's body. There's a fair amount of sculpted detail, including screw/bolt heads. Unfortunately, unlike many PTE guns, the scope is not removable. An elastic band is attached via two metal rings and allows your officer to carry his weapon over his shoulder/back if you like.
- A silver laptop computer. It opens/closes with a rotating pin-type joint and has a clasp in the front so it stays closed (none of that bendy plastic crap that wears out and breaks with repeated use here--man, I hate those cheap joints). The interior keyboard and screen are just decals, rather than sculpted; they're a little crooked, but the images are sharp. The attention to detail is such that the screen shows a building floor plan with Power Team members, terrorists, and hostages marked with different colored dots--neat!
- A square-shaped, black bag with silver painted clasps. This doesn't open; it's one solid, sculpted piece. Tabs on the back allow you to hook in on a belt. I like to stick it on front of the tan vest and imagine it holds the ammo for his sniper rifle.
- A black M1911 pistol. It fits snugly in his leg holster. This sports quite a bit of sculpted detail, including a flashlight/laser sight mounted below the barrel.
- A knife. It's molded in black plastic with the blade painted silver. There's some nice detail, including a blood groove, serrations, and handle/butt indentations.
- An olive/tan sheath, with black painted highlights, for said knife. The fit of the knife is pretty loose though--the blade tends to fall out when gravity gives it the chance. A slot on the back allows you to attach it to any belt/strap of your choice.
- Headphones with attached microphone. The band and mike are molded in black plastic, while the ear covers are olive. The band has a little give to it, which is good, as it can bend a bit to accommodate different sized melons. This even sports three points of articulation: The microphone rotates as do the ear covers (which also helps when fitting it to different size heads)--nice!
- A black ski mask. There's some gray material around the eyeslot that tends to poke out when you slip it over his head. You'll have to mess around with this a little bit to keep it inside where it belongs (TIP: the knife is a good tool for tucking it away).
- Night vision goggles. This comes in two pieces, the strap assembly for attaching it to the head and the actual goggles themselves. The strap assembly consists of a rubbery ring, that goes around the head, above the eyes, and an elastic strap that goes under the chin--once this is on, it stays put. The goggles themselves are molded out of a hard, rubbery, black plastic and have a lot of sculpted detail. My biggest complaint with this item is that the goggles just pop in and out of a slot on the head strap, rather than pivoting up and down with a joint, which would be more realistic. If you want to pose him with the goggles on, but the eyes exposed, you have to push the strap up onto his forehead, which is less than ideal.
- Black binoculars/range finder. This is molded in black plastic. The strap is more rubbery and rotates at pivot joints where the two ends joins the viewing instrument. As the sniper also has night vision goggles, I usually leave this hanging around his neck.
- A dark-blue, nylon, jump-suit. It opens and close in the front via a velcro strip. There's also a pocket, on the left shoulder (probably for putting a radio in--this figure doesn't come with one, but all the other SWATs do--the knife and sheath fit in it, if you want to do that). It doesn't have a hood (I mention this because the other two SWAT jumpsuits I own do have one). By itself, it doesn't look all that exciting, but it looks great with all the other gear and vest on top of it. Tailoring is good; I didn't notice any stray threads or other imperfections.
- A tan vest with the word 'POLICE' printed on the front in black. There's a velcro flap, underneath the hole for the left arm, for taking it off/putting it on. Having only one flap makes this a bit of a chore, but it's not too bad (in comparison, the rubbery vests, that the other SWATs come with, have flaps on both sides, which makes things easier). There's also a short length of belt on the front of the vest that is ideal for placing his black bag (especially since the vest covers up his "real" belt). The stitching on this is very professional looking and neatly done. I really like this item, aside from the great quality, because the color contrasts strongly with the dark blue jumpsuit and makes him stand out from the other SWAT figures, which are more uniform in appearance.
- A fairly-complex belt/strap assembly. It wraps around the waist, groin, and thighs. The belt opens and closes via a triangular buckle on the front. A black plastic holster (for the pistol) is strapped around the left thigh. Three, black, rubbery gun clips (this is one, solid, sculpted piece--the clips aren't removable) are secured to the left thigh. You can adjust the fit on many of the straps, via the buckles (they tend to be loose when you take the figure out of the package). I recommend not taking this off, if you can help it, as it's a bit of a chore to remove and then put back on again.
- Black, rubbery boots. Nice sculpt on these with such details as laces, treads, stitching, etc.
Cost:
The price on these single, boxed, PTE figures went up a dollar ($7.99 to $9.00) compared to last year (2006). It's a modest increase, especially compared to some of the insane prices other toy manufacturers are trying to get away with these days. These are still one of the best values you can find on the toy market today, and I wholeheartedly recommend their purchase. This guy was a particularly good buy for me (ignoring the duplicate head sculpt), because he came with a lot of accessories that I didn't already have (that's one of the major determining factors for me when it comes to buying new PTE figures--I get tired of getting the same stuff over and over again).
Final Analysis:
PROS:
- Excellent price. There's lots of play value here for $9.
- Large, highly articulated figure.
- Good selection and quantity of accessories.
- Visually, best of the six SWAT figures in my opinion--unlike the others, who look too much alike, he stands out in the group (largely due to his tan vest and unique head gear).
- Nice, inexpensive fodder for 1:6-scale kitbashers/customizers.
- These are also great for those that want to purchase an entire sixth-scale SWAT team for little money [the entire set of six figures (Sniper, Breacher, Cover-Man, Pick-Up Man, Rear Guard, and Point-Man) will only run you $54 + tax--cheaper than what some companies charge for a single 1:6-scale figure].
CONS:
- Price went up a buck.
- Night vision goggles don't flip up and down.
- Knife fits loosely in sheath.
- I already have this head sculpt on my World Peacekeepers Ranger--both of the Snipers in Big! Lots had the same head, so I didn't have a choice. Some more variety in a case would be nice.
- The SWAT figures, in comparison to the World Peacekeepers, tend to look a little too much alike, as they wear pretty much the same gear and share a lot of accessories. Granted, a squad of officers should have some uniformity, but, I'd still like to see some more individuality between figures. This figure does stand out, but the other five squad members do not.
- Same accessories/design as previous years. The individually-boxed PTE World Peacekeepers got an overhaul this year, it would have been nice if the SWAT line shook things up a little too.
- These figures tend to have some loose joints, particularly in the legs and arms, that may make posing/standing troublesome.
- Overall quality is relatively lacking compared to more expensive 1:6-scale figures made by other manufacturers. However, the price does much to compensate for this.
Where to Buy:
I've only seen them at our local Big! Lots, but M & C Toy's official website (see link at the beginning of the review) has an international list of stores that are supposed to carry these, so you'll want to check that out if you're having trouble locating some in your area.
In addition to these 1:6 scale figures and vehicles, M & C Toy also makes 1:18th-scale military figures/vehicles/playsets which may be of particular interest to 3-3/4 inch G.I.JOE: Real American Hero fans.
For Parents:
M & C Toy recommends this figure for ages three and up.
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