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[MagicWazard]

Hey guys,

I recently ordered this several-year-old Tactical Mission set off of Amazon for a reasonable $23 and some change, along with a couple more items that should be arriving in the next couple days (which I'll be showing off when I receive):



Now, upon removing the set from the shipping box, I noticed the figures aren't what I expected.  Every image of the set that you see online (on Amazon, Toys 'R Us, and Walmart) shows the set containing the following figures:



That is, Marauder Ravage and night-themed versions of Shadow and Fixer (and a much lighter cyan version of Gills).  And even the packaging for the set I DID receive depicts the figure variants shown in the online image. Instead of Marauder Ravage, I got Crash, and instead of night-themed versions of Shadow and Fixer, I got desert-themed versions. I was initially kind of disappointed, since the figures weren't exactly what I was expecting; but then, I remembered I had this Special Forces Units 10-pack on my wish list...

 

...and the Ravage, Fixer, and Shadow in that Special Force Units pack are what I was expecting to receive in this set, but didn't due to the fact that alternate figures were packed in instead!  My original plans were to figure out what I was going to do with the 3 redundant figures I would be getting from both sets, but instead, I wound up with 2 cool variants I didn't know about, and a 3rd figure I wasn't expecting to get from either set!  So in a weird way, I kind of lucked out. (Assuming, of course, that when I get that 10-pack, that none of the figures vary from that picture too! )  Oh, and the batteries in the cannon are still good, too.

I will admit I kind of like the cyan version of Gills a little better; it's less similar to the 2015 Elite version of Gills I already have.

[AWCramer]

The one you received is the Total Soldier version of that pack. (we still have a few of these floating around our stores, in fact I picked it up a while ago for my sons birthday)
The pictured version with Ravage is from the series before. I think we're getting an Elite version of this set that comes with Diesel.

Here's a pic.  Its still got the TS branding probably cos its an international release but has the Elite wave versions of Gills and Shadow/Plague

[MagicWazard]

Ah, so the contents were updated, but it used the old packaging (which happens to be dated 2012). I've only recently just started following the brand with any particular amount of attention, so I'm not familiar with most of the retail product from a few years ago, or any of their revisions/variants. (Like I said, this came from Amazon; they don't carry this at retail any more.) In any event, the figure variants wound up being a bit of a pleasant surprise. I still plan on getting that Special Forces Units 10-pack, so eventually I'll have the variants I was expecting from this pack.

It also feels nice to finally have a darn guard tower! I've been wanting one for, like, almost 30 years now, since G.I. Joe hasn't made one since the mid-80's, and The Corps! finally provided me with one. (The PTE guard towers are nice, but I actually preferred the design and proportions of the Corps! version.) Shame it doesn't come with a ladder, but I'm sure I can 3D model and print one of my own.

The raft is great, too. I've got a Cobra Night Landing Raft from the 2014 assortment, which is very similar in size and form, and this easily holds its own against the Joe counterpart. Shame the guns aren't mounted more forward, but hey, at least they were thoughtful enough to include removable flexible ammo belts. (I was hoping the guns would be interchangeable with the searchlight on the tower, but that doesn't seem to be the case on this version.  I have another set with a tower on order, and that one has a similar machinegun in place of the searchlight--the "arm" that holds the gun probably has a different sized mounting hole than the one that holds the searchlight.)

[Lanardolicious]

Here's one of my latest acquisitions all the way from Germany I looked to find this one.

Attachments:

[MagicWazard]

Another one of my Amazon purchases arrived today, and once again, fate played a trick on me. It's a little frustrating, but kind of funny, so check this out:

I had ordered a single carded figure with one of the light & sound cannons; not so much for the cannon, but for the figure. Now, the description did indicate the figure would vary (since it was part of an assortment), but all the pictures I saw for this product showed off these two specific figures--a rather angry-looking fellow in red, and a stern-looking commando in blue:



I would have been happy with either one of them (though I was kind of hoping for Blue), but look who I got instead:




Yup--the Ravage figure I was expecting in the previous set, but didn't get. Now, on the one hand, I don't have Ravage yet, so this could be considered a win. On the other hand, I still plan on getting that 10-pack shown above, which includes Ravage; and, that means I'll wind up with a duplicate Ravage, despite dodging a bullet with the Tactical Mission set failing to include him as expected. So I'm considering returning it to Amazon, as I'm not sure how much value it has to me. I guess I could keep this, and use the duplicate Ravage figure to do a headswap with a duplicate Ogre figure I already have for a quick kitbash, but I don't find that compelling enough reason to keep the figure at the moment (and I was going to try to offload that duplicate Ogre anyways, not mod it). I'm not amped up enough about the cannon itself for that to be enough reason to keep the figure.

Anyways, I've got some time to think it over before I make a decision on a return. If I do keep it, it's barely more than I'd have paid for lunch at a fast-food joint, so it's no great loss; but it's not what I was hoping for, it's going to wind up a duplicate, and I'm not convinced it's worth keeping just to perform a head-swap on another duplicate I already have.

What do you guys think?  If nothing else, it's a weird coincidence, right?

[AWCramer]

I really wanted the blue figure but I held off on buying because of the random figure issue. You could keep it and use it make a custom of my Kodiak character

[Lanardolicious]

Still it's a unique package. Id keep it.

[MagicWazard]

Yeah, looking back at the fine print on the Amazon description, it does say "Available in 12 styles of figures." I guess I didn't see that.

Well, I'll think it over. Like I said, it didn't cost me much.  But with that in mind, keeping it in its package doesn't appeal to me, since I wanted to open it up and play with it; and, keeping it for custom purposes is not really an option, since I don't do customs and don't have the resources (let alone experience) to do anything with it apart from a real basic part-swap.

[Lanardolicious]

I would contact the seller and ask for pictures of what they have in stock, and see if you can pick the one you wanted.

[MagicWazard]

Sept 5, 2016 13:57:46 GMT Lanardolicious said:

I would contact the seller and ask for pictures of what they have in stock, and see if you can pick the one you wanted.

I *think* that was the last one from that particular seller (which was fulfilled by Amazon, and not the seller), but I'm seeing the same assortment at similar prices coming up from other sellers.  I might contact one of the other sellers and see what they have.

[MagicWazard]

Well, once again, I've been played by Amazon sellers. I ordered this set, with 2 figures, a tower, a tank, and assorted handheld weapons:



...and got this set instead, which contains only 1 figure, a different tower, a different vehicle, and no handheld weapons.



On top of that, the tower is the same as the one I got in the last set, and the figure is the same Rucker I already have from the 2015 assortment (not even the green-and-brown one from earlier assortments). Needless to say, THIS is going back to Amazon for a refund. I can understand product varying within an assortment, but this doesn't even appear to be from the same assortment as the picture.

What a disappointment.

[armando]

Just bought that new mini tank for $5.00 bucks at Wal Mart.

[armando]

                   It's the Faction Face Off 2 packs.  Enjoy!!!

[MagicWazard]

Well, I finally sacked up and opened up my carded Ravage figure with blaster yesterday. Yeah, I'll probably wind up with a dupe of him in the not-too-distant future, but for right now he's the only one I have--so, I couldn't resist opening him. Not very many surprises, apart from the fact that his pistol had a bluish tinge that I hadn't seen on a Corps! weapon before, and his backpack actually had a slot for the pistol to fit into. The backpack post is much too long, though, and not a tight fit at that. The cannon is identical to the one included with the Tactical Mission set I posted above. I might actually post a review (with pics) just for giggles. Maybe I'll do a review of that Tactical Mission set too.

As for the second tower set? I forgot to follow up--the seller immediately refunded me and pulled back all his stock so he could check on it and re-classify it on Amazon. He even gave me a $5 gift card for helping provide him with links and info on the correct product assortment. I turned around and spent that gift card on a Corps! patrol boat from a couple years ago, which I should be getting in the next day or so. I'll show it off then.

[MagicWazard]

Oh, and my patrol boat came in today!



I believe this is the same boat issued more recently in the Elite line with a Gills figure, but I already own the Elite version of Gills, and I preferred this camo pattern over the gray on the newer version (although this version doesn't include a figure). Interestingly, it has a "Marauders" decal on the "spoiler" (which is obscured by the packaging), so this deco design presumably predates the Total Soldier branding.  Either way, it's versatile enough that it's almost team-agnostic; I could have any figure of any affiliation pilot it. It's actually larger than I expected, too, for a one-person vehicle.  And it comes with a Bio-Tag. All in all, this only cost me $4.95 shipping (the $5 price tag was covered by my gift card)--definitely worth the price, though I have to clear some shelf space for it.

EDIT: Oh, and the darn thing floats, too!  That wasn't advertised at all, but it was a pleasant surprise to find out.