Big Bad Toy Store's GI Joe "Dreadnoks" Exclusive battle Set review

Here we have part 2 of BBTS' exclusive GI Joe sets, the Dreadnoks Battle Set. Like the Slaughter's Marauders set in the last review you get 7 figures but this time they're all new characters to the lines with no repeats. Zanzibar, Burn Out, Clyde "Gnaw" Hyde, Road Pig, Thunder, Zandar, and Zanya have never had modern figures made as of yet. They all however are original Dreadnoks members tho Thunder's name use to be Thrasher and Clyde was Gnawgahyde, name changes usually being copyright cases. Either way you get 7 brand new figures.

Sculpting on all of these are top notch and it really shows in the brand new headsculpts. From Road Pig's scowl to Zanzibar's facial scars, every detail can be seen. Zanya, Zartan's daughter has an excellent sculpted head of dreads as does Burn Out. Dreadlocks are often very hard to capture sculpt-wise and here we see them in minute 1:18 scale done right. The bodies while re-uses are matched perfectly and have great sculpted detail.

Articulation is the same across each figure with no major surprises. All the Dreadnoks have the same range of motion and points of articulation. While there are no hinged wrists here there's also no weird knees. Each character can pose just about any way you'd need them to in battle or stealing someone's vehicle. Some characters have long gloves that turn fully while others turn at the wrist. These variations in articulation add a little extra touch to the characters that have them like Thunder and Zanya.

As mentioned earlier each body is a mix of re-used parts but were picked perfectly by Hasbro to represent the character. The battle-cut Storm Shadow body was used for Zanzibar where so the cuts match his facial scars. Zandar's upper arms are Zartan's, fitting as he's his brother. Re-uses like this save Hasbro on tooling costs keeping the cost of figures down while giving us a brand new character.

Paint apps are top notch in this set and there's a lot of detail on the accessories/removable clothing as well. Zanzibar and Road Pig have detailed arm tattoos, the fur on Clyde's vest is highlighted, and every piercing on Zanya's face are painted on along with some great fishnet arm stocking design. The color choices for Zandar may seem a bit on the pastel side but that's how the vintage character looked, tho his scarf is huge this time around.

The character backstories on the back of the box are well written and informative. This reveals that nobody really likes Road Pig that much and Clyde likes to cover himself in rancid hog fat. To keep his scent hidden while poaching of course. You get seven stands included in the box and the figures are easily removed. Their weapons may give you trouble as some are tiny and taped in well.

Speaking of weapons the assortment in this set is amazing. Burn Out's flamethrower gear and sawed off shotgun, Zanzibar's flintlock and cutlass, to Road Pig's Brick hammer are all sculpted and painted great. Road Pig's brick is so well detailed it could pass as the real thing and the removable clothing that characters like he and Thunder wear have cool metallic scuffing. Clyde has a removable back knife and Zanzibar can stow three of his weapons on his person in various holsters and sheathes. This is always a bonus.

So what's the verdict? This set is even cooler than the Marauders one. You get 7 brand new figures all with a ton of great accessories, nicely painted and articulated for only $49. You have to order them from Big Bad Toy Store directly because they're an exclusive set but at this price you're paying less than retail for each figure. My favorite of this set is Road Pig. Everyone I knew owned him as a kid and his cinder block hammer was iconic for the character. So head over to BBTS and get your set while they're still in stock because popular characters like Zander, Zanzibar, and Road Pig will have it sold out quickly.