Battle Kata Roadblock (2013 Retaliation)

by KansasBrawler

CAN YOU SMELL WHAT THE ‘BLOCK IS COOKING?! (Sorry, figured I’d get the obligatory Rock joke out of the way right here.) Switching gears back to figures again, I thought I should get this version of Roadblock reviewed before Wave 3.5’s Ultimate Roadblock relegates Battle Kata Roadblock to the dustbin of history. That’s not to say he’s a bad figure, but compared to what Hasbro will be releasing shortly, he just doesn’t stack up.

I’m a sucker for unique action features and the “battle kata” weapons Roadblock came with definitely fit that category and was the main reason I bought him since initial images of “Ultimate Roadblock” made it appear that he wouldn’t be carrying any of the battle kata weapons—press photos and upcoming product case photos from the various cons only had that version equipped with a pair of movie-scene accurate heavy machine guns. More recent images also have the full assortment of battle kata weapons sitting with him, so it appears that has changed. The idea behind the battle kata technology is pretty simple, Roadblock can create a variety a weapons by swapping out attachments on the same handle. He can make a pair of short-bladed knives, a pair of long-bladed knives, a pair of pistols and a nightstick. Functionality can really make or break a gimmick like this and I’m pleased to report that on Battle Kata Roadblock, Hasbro really knocked the design of these weapons out of the park. Everything fits nice and tightly (and believe me, when he was sitting on my desk for a couple weeks after initial purchase, I swapped out weapons configurations pretty often) and the fact that he can carry all these tiny blades on his body makes me very happy, since that really cuts down the chances of losing them…and if you drop one of the smaller knife blades somewhere, I wish you luck ever tracking it down. I’ve done it once and it was a pretty harrowing half hour as I was hunting for it. The only little flaw I’ve found is that on mine at least, the small knife blade that goes in the white holster on his chest (I’ll touch on that later) sometimes can slip in too deep. I believe it’s an issue that if you don’t angle it just right when you put it in it finds some little gap that it can go into. If that happens, the only way to retrieve the tiny blade is to pop off Roadblock’s vest and hope that the blade doesn’t bounce when it falls out onto your desk. Beyond that little issue, however, everything on him is functional and fits excellently. My only real concern with Roadblock’s battle kata gear is how kid-friendly they are since there are so many small pieces associated with it. I gave Low Light’s tiny single bullet a pass on that front since Pursuit of Cobra was pretty clearly oriented towards adult collectors, but the movie line is definitely supposed to have a bit more mass appeal. I’m sure I would have had a lot of trouble keeping track of all those little knife blades as a kid or would have been way too nervous about losing a blade to play with him much. Maybe modern kids are better about not losing super tiny accessories for action figures, but considering how few small accessories there are anymore, I kind of doubt it. Finally, since he’s a Roadblock action figure, that also means he comes with a large machine gun, in this case the one that the 25th Anniversary Roadblock came with. It’s honestly pretty forgettable since we’ve seen it quite a few times since the relaunch (and then it usually came with a belt of bullets to plug into the side which at least made it look nice) and really, it’s still as cumbersome and annoying to use with this Roadblock as it was for the other figures its come been packed with.

I realize I usually talk about the figure itself before getting into the weapons, but let’s be fair, with Battle Kata Roadblock, the funky weapons are more important than the figure. That being said, Battle Kata Roadblock is still a mostly nice figure. I like that the sculptors managed to make functional holsters for all the battle kata gear even if the holsters for the gun attachments really are way too wide and make it impossible for Roadblock to sit in the seat of almost any vehicle which means you can’t have Roadblock behind the wheel of the Tread Ripper. Despite that issue, I found myself drawn to Battle Kata Roadblock (and really, I didn’t even think of it as an issue since he was never destined for vehicular service in my collection anyway) because he’s got a really solid design. Since he’s a movie figure, he’s got a nice, newly sculpted head that does look quite a bit like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. My only real beef is that with as expressive as The Rock’s face is, that frozen neutral look is a little bit of a letdown. Now, that’s not to say I want him permanently yelling or grinning like an idiot, but it would’ve been nice to see a little more personality injected into Roadblock’s face, especially since (and I never thought I’d say this) Dwayne Johnson’s performance as Roadblock was definitely one of the more enjoyable parts of the movie. Aside from the overly-broad holsters, this mold is everything I want from a figure of Roadblock from the neck down. He’s appropriately beefy without being grossly oversized. The Arashikage tattoo on his arm is nice and crisp and the green and black camo scheme is nice (though I’m hard-pressed to recall seeing him in green and black in the film). There’s only one real complaint I have on paint and that’s the one random blade holster being white. I initially held off on picking up the first Battle Kata Roadblock I saw because I thought it was some sort of paint error. After I saw a second one with it, I figured it must be how he’s supposed to look, but I still do wonder what sort of miscommunication at the factory level led to that little oddity. The white on the back clip doesn’t look as out of place, but it’s still an odd choice. Being a later-run Retaliation figure, Roadblock also gets some better articulation. The knees have a nice double hinge and his ankles have very nicely hidden articulation that allows for a decent range of up-and-down and side-to-side motion. In fact, I’m slightly amused that I can move Roadblock’s ankles the same way that mine did when I badly sprained it a few years back. While I do miss the wrist articulation we saw on a lot of the figures from the 30th Anniversary line, I don’t think Roadblock suffers too badly from a couple lost points of articulation.

All in all, I do like this version of Roadblock, I just feel it’s unfortunate that they changed up the Ultimate Roadblock’s accessory complement to include all the battle kata gear since it makes what is generally speaking a nice Roadblock painfully redundant. That said, I do think visually, this version of Roadblock has a lot to offer since I’ve always tended towards Joes decked out in military green as opposed to the slightly more desert-ops look the Ultimate Roadblock has and I do think the rolled up BDU sleeves on Battle Kata Roadblock to make him look a little more military than the tight short sleeve Ultimate Roadblock is rocking.

6 comments

  • Pingback: Joe A Day » New Field Report: Battle Kata Roadblock by KansasBrawler

  • Excellent and exhaustive review: thank You!

  • I know some fans are complaining about how “kiddy” some of these toys are but i think thats Hasbro still trying to appeal to kids. The sad truth is kids just dont want toys anymore. I heard someone on one of the podcasts[whats on JOEMIND maybe?] the other day say that “kids have a phone in one hand and a DS in the other” and no matter how hard Hasbro tries to appeal to kids, they just couldnt care less about toys these days

  • @ Skymate–
    Honestly, that’s why I had little problem with the fact that Pursuit/30th was oriented so much more towards collectors than kids. I’m sure there are kids that still play with action figures (I know the son of my friend who let me crash at his place during JoeCon did), but I agree that it’s probably the minority anymore…especially now that so many companies are making figurines that interact with iPads and let you “play” with them that way. Much like coloring books, I kind of lament the rise of technology in that respect as part of what was cool about G.I. Joe was you didn’t have to follow any set play pattern. I know for a while certain Joes became stand-ins for other figures in pop culture or I’d play with my Joes and have them fighting my dinosaurs from the Jurassic Park line. That’s just something that you can’t do with a kids’ video game…creativity in play is just as important in my mind and that’s something Joes and really any toy line could do in spades.

    I just wish Hasbro could get into a mindset that allows them to acknowledge that kids play habits have changed a lot and focus back on action figures oriented to adults while doing something that appeals to kids as a separate entity. Look at the Iron Man 3 toys as an example. It’s clear their smaller scale figures are kid oriented, yet they still did the large Marvel Legends style figures for adult collectors. Why not do something more kid oriented (maybe smaller and with less, but more than no, articulation) like the Sigma 6 2.5″ line while still keeping the 4″ Joes around for the adults that like the line and the older kids that cut their teeth on the kid-oriented line and want to move on to something a little more grown up. (Wow, that was a really wandery comment, sorry about that.)

  • @KansasBrawler
    I agree completely

    On a simmilar note, i’m into Warhammer 40k. Several kids have mocked me for it as i spend every evening, painting little model soldiers [i’d post a pic of my A.R.A.H themed Imperial guard army except my camera is dead]. Anyway those kids who’ve mocked me are all addicted to MMORPG’s. If i’m having a game of 40k with my mates, we wont get interupted with by a server crash. Same goes for toys. It reminds me of one of the more recent [as in a few years old] episodes of the Simpsons in which the house was suffering from a blackout and Bart couldnt find anything to do.

  • Retaliation toys seem too bulky.

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