Action Figure Time Machine 90's Edition: Marine from Quake 2 by Resaurus
The biggest indicator that tells us this figure was released in the pre-Marvel Legends era is the articulation that consists entirely of cut joints. The Marine features hinged knees, swivel hips, a swivel waist, swivel shoulders, bicep swivels, wrist swivels, and a swivel neck. While the prevalence of all swivel joints and no ball joints would seem poor by today's standards, back in the late 90's this wasn't as big of a deal, and I imagine most collectors would be pretty happy with the Marine's articulation. While he has the bicep swivels, his elbows are sculpted in "bent" positions, meaning that the swivels do change the pose quite drastically. With his swivel wrists, he can hold the included weapons a few different ways, always a nice feature.
The paintwork, however, is completely beyond reproach. Every detail is neat and crisp with clean lines and multiple weathering techniques. Even little wires on the armor are painted different colors. Look at the bullet holes in the armor--I'm not sure if that's supposed to be the remnants of the bullet inside the hole or the damaged armor underneath, but it still is a cool, effective paint app. It really is an amazing figure and while the skin is one flat tone, the rest of the figure utilizes a whole pallet to bring this war-torn warrior to life.
In a figure with lots of strong points, the accessories still stand out. I remember an article from ToyFare magazine sometime during the summer of 1999 where ToyFare got a group of toy industry folks together to review the Star Wars: Episode 1 action figures. When it came time to review the Anakin Skywalker figure, the guy from Resaurus commented something like, "Resaurus makes accessories larger than this figure." That dude was correct. Opening this figure, I was just amazed at the size and weight of this figure's accessories. Each piece probably has more unique paint applications on it than the average action figure you could buy at a mass market retailer these days. The marine comes with a rocket launcher with a separate rocket rack, a large machine gun, and a cybernetically enhanced shark. The rocket launcher is easily as long as a modern G.I.Joe figure is tall, and the whole thing is solid and bulky. It features a really nice paint job that makes it look metallic with several different paint apps, including some excellent dry brushing techniques. The sculpt is also excellent, with everything from individual wires, various knobs and panels, and even steel plating. The barrel is hollow and gives the impression that a rocket could really fire from this thing. The rocket rack is a separate piece that plugs into the top of the launcher and holds five red-tipped rockets (they're not removable). The machine gun (I think it's called a hyper blaster) features the same great paint scheme and sculpting as the rocket launcher. The four barrels are all hollow, and are covered with dents and weathering.
This was very much an impulse buy at a comic store in Asheville, NC (Pastimes), and I paid less than $4 dollars for it. Knowing what I know now, had this figure been on a shelf for $15, I still would have picked it up. While in so many ways action figures have gotten more impressive in the 14 years since this figure was released, there have been ways in which they've gone backwards, too. In trying to judge this figure today, I'd still give it a great. Despite the reduced articulation, everything else about it is incredibly impressive and designed to be both fun and a nice display piece. Since we're in the Action Figure Time Machine, though, my final judgment is basing this off of other figures from 1999. If so, this figure would easily be Confirmed: Epic. If you're interested in older action figures or video game pieces, snag this guy online or at a toy show for a few bucks. He's definitely worth it. And he comes with a cybernetically enhanced shark. Word.
While I haven't reviewed any other Quake 2 figures on here or any other figures from Resaurus, I have reviewed a few other video game figures. Check out my reviews of: Chell from Portal 2, Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite, Talia al Ghul from Arkham City, Batman from Injustice: Gods Among Us, Zelda, Link, and Ganon from The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, and Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider: Survival Edition.
Barbecue17 was playing Quake 2 for N64 one night at his granny's house and she kept asking him when he planned on shooting the ghost that was floating around. There was definitely no ghost on the screen. Eventually the grandmother and grandson realized that the "ghost" was simply a reflection from a streetlamp that, from a certain angle, did make the glare off the screen look like a ghost. True story. For more like it, check out Barbecue17's Flickr account.
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