Steel Brigade Delta (2011)

The Pursuit of Cobra line has been a source of both joy and frustration for me. When I first saw the prototypes at the 2009 Joecon in Kansas City, I was excited by the designs that built upon the articulation improvements of the movie line, yet paid homage to classic designs. Overall, the series has been great, and I think was the best thing going in the currently popular 3 3/4 inch format. There was frustration at the end of the line, with spotty distribution and some retailers <cough-Walmart> even dropping Joe altogether. I’m still looking for a City Strike Destro and Crazylegs. Imagine my surprise in walking through the Walmart toy aisle this week and spotting new Joe figures and vehicles on the shelves. I nearly passed out from astonishment.

This is the Steel Brigade Delta, the driver of the VAMP Mark II, part of the 30th anniversary line. If this figure is any indication, Hasbro is continuing to put together great figures even while using existing parts. The figure uses the same base as the earlier release Steel Brigade, with the addition of Beachhead’s vest and a new head with removable helmet. The colors this time out are more muted, and mesh together well, much better than the blue and tan of the regular Steel Brigade release. The helmet recalls the vintage look without being a direct copy.

Another positive note for the 30th anniversary thus far is the addition of more background information on the file cards. This is something that has been sorely missed and I’m glad to see it back. We learn here that the Delta squad are the vehicle specialists of the Steel Brigade troops as well as being Joes in training. It’s nice to see another addition to the Joes’ troop builders. Here’s hoping that this line gets better distribution than its predecessor.

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