Action Figure Review: The Agent/ The Enemy from Soldiers of Fortune by Big Bad Workshop

 

   One of the companies who I'm most excited to see new releases from is Big Bad Workshop. They're most well known for Operation: Monster Force, their collaboration with Fresh Monkey Fiction, and other lines that are out or coming up such as Order of the Crimson Moon, Agents of Omega, C.O.P.S. & Crooks, more. Today I'm checking out another new project from Big Bad Workshop: Soldiers of Fortune. This is a brilliant line as it's simply an assortment of generic characters that cover a variety of different archetypes that blend well with other 1/12th scaled toylines. You've got secret agents, tactical soldiers, mercenaries, masked terrorists, and more. With swappable heads and hands, these guys can easily be worked in to your other 1/12th scaled toylines to add more hero or enemy troop builders or even to make your own versions of popular characters. I own three so far, receiving the first two figures back in February and the third just last week. Today I'm checking out The Agent/ The Enemy, the blue suited figure that is probably the most popular release from this series. Why's that? He's a blue suited generic agent. Is he a secret agent? A CIA operative? A member of the US Secret Service? An enemy from some secret, shadowy agency? That's up to you. His popularity is due to his versatility, no doubt, and probably not at all related to the fact that he comes with a head sporting a blue hood. I guess that some folks might want a blue hooded maniac for their action figure collections. Right? I mean, we have white hooded Snowtroopers in Star Wars: The Black Series, purple hooded Baron Zemo figures, and red hooded.... Red Hood figures, but it seems like there is some sort of untapped market for blue hooded action figures. I have my top investigative agents on this right now. Could other buyers really all want this guy? Collectors often bypass retail assortments and find ways to purchase action figures and accessories they want to create their favorite characters or characters that major companies ignore, so it seems like BBW is just giving collectors some more tools for their toolboxes. The Agent/ The Enemy offers up a fair assortment of extras to blend in well with G.I. Joe: Classified Series, Action Force, Marvel Legends, and other popular 1/12th scaled lines. Let's check out this guy after the break...

The Facts:

Height: 6 3/8ths inches

Articulation: Double swivel/ hinge ankles, double hinged knees, thigh swivels, balljointed hips w/ vertical hinged pegs, balljointed waist, balljointed mid-torso, swivel/hinge shoulders, bicep swivels, double hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, balljointed neck base, hinged neck, and a balljointed head. 

Accessories: 2 swappable heads, pistol, laser pistol, rifle w/ removable magazine, 3 firing effects, 6 swappable hands, and display stand.

Non-Scalper Price: $38 dollars

The Positives:

* Let's take a look at the Agent first. That's what this guy is when wearing his default head. He's an agent. He's sporting a dark blue suit (looking at my pictures, it's even darker than what is pictured here) buttoned at the top button and a dark red tie. This isn't a very elaborate figure and it's not a new body (there are parts here shared with other figures in this line and reused from the Operation: Monster Force Blackwatch Agent), but there's something about it that I really like. It's just very cool and basic. These guys could be any kind of government agents in a diorama, some sort of operatives working for or against the forces of evil, or even the base for a James Bond custom. If you slapped another head on there, you could easily see this being a great James Bond base (he doesn't always wear a tuxedo). 

* The portrait is also reused from the Operation: Monster Force Blackwatch Agent. It's a generic agent: Black hair, expressionless face, and dark sunglasses. If you wanted a couple of these guys, they're generic enough to stand together and not "feel" like you're looking at a group of clones. It's not a bad sculpt for an unmasked troop builder and the paintwork is neat and clean. 

* I really dig the little earpiece in his right ear. It's a near detail that shows he's always in contact with the rest of his team or in communication with his handlers. 

* Next up is the portrait that takes this from "The Agent" to "The Enemy!" It's a blue hooded portrait with intense eyes and... I mean, c'mon, it looks just like Cobra Commander. For some reason, Hasbro has been reluctant to release a hooded Cobra Commander (Destro is My Spirit Animal did a great take on this topic last week) so many fans want this and it's incredible. I love the suited Cobra Commander idea, too. It's a great sculpt that's just an evil guy in a blue hood, something that's generic enough to work here, but an obvious bone thrown to collectors. it's incredible. 

* The suit looks really good from the back, too. The jacket is a separate piece (though not removable) and the various creases and folds look quite realistic. Again, it's a simple figure but it's executed incredibly well. 

* The articulation on this figure (and all of the figures in Soldiers of Fortune that I've had my hands on thus far) is very similar to Operation: Monster Force, particularly because the figure is largely a repaint of a figure from that line. I do think this guy feels a bit better in hand, though, with the plastic quality a bit more flexible and the joints smoother. If you're familiar with any of the other Big Bad Workshop lines or Hasbro's G.I. Joe: Classified Series, then you know what to expect. He's a high quality build. The buttoned jacket does hinger the mid torso movement a bit but I think it's a fair trade off for a suited figure. 

* Six swappable hands are included. There is a pair of trigger fingers, a pair of fists, and a pair of standard grips. You might need to heed the wrist sockets during the first  swap or two but after that everything moves quite nicely and I didn't have any trouble swapping hands in and out. 

* The Agent/ The Enemy comes ready for combat with some weapons designed by Gridiron Studios. First up is what looks like a Colt M4 rifle. It's a slick sculpt with some great weathering detail on it. It's a pretty high-quality piece and it fits the figure perfectly. 

* The magazine is removable, too. That's a feature I never get tired of. 

* Two sidearms are included with the figure as well. First up is a Beretta 92FS/ M9 pistol. Most of the Operation: Monster Force and Soldiers of Fortune figures come with either this Beretta model or a Walter PPK. It's a great sculpt and design, though with these being phased out by the US Military (the last one manufactured for the military was made in 2021) it would be cool to see some different pistol models with future releases. Still, this is an impressive sculpt and a staple of handguns. 

* The second sidearm is a really cool laser pistol. It's quite unique and seems to fit perfectly with The Enemy. A blue hooded Enemy carrying a laser pistol? That's a wild concept!

* Includes are three firing effects that can fit in the barrels of all three weapons. There is a wisp of smoke, a short muzzle flare, and a longer muzzle flare effect. These fit quite nicely in the barrels and I didn't have any issues at all.

* Last up is a small, flat display stand. The stand is the same mold as the stands included with the C.O.P.S. & Crooks and The Order of the Crimson Moon toylines, but it has the Soldiers of Fortune logo. It keeps your figure upright and doesn't take up too much real estate on your shelf. I'm always a fan of action figures coming with a stand, so this is a welcome touch. 

Just FYI:

* If you're curious what the masked portrait looks like on a Cobra Commander figure, here's a shot of it on the Retro release of Cobra Commander from the Classified Series. The neck joints are different sizes as the hole in the Soldiers of Fortune heads are a good bit larger than the neck balljoints on the Classified Series figures, but a little sticky tack or something similar will fix that right up. I think it's a pretty solid looking portrait. The blue is a bit different of a shade but that doesn't bother me since a hood would clearly be made from a different material, right?

      I really like this figure. Besides just being a really cool and versatile figure on its own, this figure has so many options for fans of multiple lines and properties. With a custom or repurposed had this can be a great suited James Bond. Or use some spare Tomax and Xamot heads and have Extensive Enterprises suited versions of the Crimson Twins. Use the hood with a Cobra Commander base body or just have a suited Cobra Commander. Heck, slap a Clark Kent head on there and you have a Super Powers styled Superman for Mattel's older DC Multiverse line. While the figure is pricier than your average mass market retail 1/12th scaled figure, it's incredibly high quality, comes with some nice extras, and it surely should fill at least one gap in your collection. It's an Epic release and one of my favorites of the year thus far.