Packaging - ***
If you've ever read my reviews before, you know that boxes are nothing more than functional transportation vessels to me. I immediately rip them apart to get at the goodies inside. However, this box does feature great graphics and photos, and a flap style box that allows full viewing of the contents. For those collectors that like to keep the boxes, this is kind of a mixed blessing. The figure and accessories on the box side are easily removed and could be easily returned. However, the accessories on the flap side are impossible to remove without destroying the box.

Sculpting - ***1/2
The head sculpt is great. It has a really nice likeness of Marcinko. The sculpt has a long rubber like braid that is blended nicely into the sculpt. It is hard to see how it attaches, unlike most figures that have an obviously glued on hair extension.

Paint - ***
The head is the only thing is the only thing that is really painted. BBI did a hit & miss job on this head. The skin tones are fine and the eye detail is excellent. However, I have a couple bleeds on the hairline onto the face and have a couple of small unpainted/thin spots on the top of the head.

Articulation - ***1/2
bbi has articulation that is comparable to the other top figures on the market. I especially like the "ratchet" type joints that allow the figures to retain even the most awkward poses. This particular figure has "gloved hand" made of a semi-flexible rubber. Overall it is a very poseable yet stable figure.

Accessories/Outfit - ***1/2
This guy come nicely equipped. For starters he has nice set of black BDU's and a balaclava. They're all nicely detailed yet functional, complete with real pockets. He has a thigh carrier that holds three flash bang grenades and his two extra pistol magazines. The bangs even have real "pins" that hang loose instead of being molded. He comes with a MP5K sub-machine gun and a M92F pistol. Both have removable clips/mags and are made of metal. They are not the most detailed but are still very nice. He wears a bulletproof vest over the BDU's. The detail is authentic, right down to the warning tags inside the vest. The crown jewel of the set is the load-bearing vest. It is a nice mesh vest with magazine pouches and a built in pistol holster. The lower straps attach to the front of the vest with real metal clips and look pretty realistic. The only thing I'd like to see is a scale zipper instead of the large one they used. Also, the clips on the mag pouches are molded and not real clips but that's kind of nitpicking based on how small they are.

Play Factor - **1/2
This figure is more suited to striking a pose on a collector's shelf than it is riding an avalanche down a back yard log pile. The BBI figures are overall pretty sturdy but the mini-clips and other items on the vest and weapons won't take a lot of abuse before popping off or breaking.

Value - ***
I got him on line at Hot Rod's Collectibles for $35 delivered as part of a package deal with another figure. Most on-line retailers have him for about $10 more. That's still not a bad price, but is getting close to the high end and out of reach for a lot of collectors. It's also a fair price when compared to comparable figures on the market like Dragon. The quality is high end but there was no skimping on the details and accessories.

Overall - ***1/2
This figure is one that will appeal to collectors of several categories…military, SWAT and Action Heroes. The detail and accessories make it a great figure for any 1/6 scale collection.

Where to Buy - 
As I mentioned earlier, I got this one at Hot Rod's Collectibles. I have also seen the figure on-line at several other on-line retailers:

- Good Stuff to Go has them for $34 plus shipping.

- Entertainment Earth has him for $40 plus shipping, and they have them in stock. (MROTW affiliate)

The Rater: Mark D is an avid action figure collector old enough to have gotten vintage GI Joes for Christmas as a kid, but still young enough to play with his toys. He collects mostly vintage AT GI Joe stuff but still likes to grab the cool stuff that comes out now, especially law enforcement figures and accessories. He's been a regular at The Sandbox (alt.toys.gi-joe) since he first came on line about five years ago. He's always looking to swap with other Joe-head and assist them in finding the hard to find stuff. You can contact him at mmdals1@aol.com or visit his site at www.the-precinct.com.