Power Team Elite "Mounted Ranger" Set Mini-Review
I'd just like to point out before starting that "Mounted Ranger" was my choice of title for this set. There actually isn't any reference to it or any other name anywhere on the box as it completely lacks a title. I needed a title for this review and thought the name fit the set well for more or less obvious reasons.
Horses once were a mainstay of warfare up until the advent of mobile armor during the Second World War. While they are still widely utilized by the militaries of third-world countries, they were mostly relegated to ceremonial use by advanced nations. That changed for the United States with their involvement in the war against the Taliban where Marine and Army special forces operated along side indigenous fighters on horseback in the rough terrain of Afghanistan.
GI Joe fights terrorism in all sorts of environments thanks to Cobra's penchant for building large-scale clandestine bases in the most implausible and remote of places. After your Tomahawk is shot down and the Vamp blown up and you have to turn to the locals for help, your mission might depend on the transportation of a horse, who knows?
I think horses and Joes are a cool proposition being a kind of intimate yang to the hight-tech yin of Sky Strikers and Tomahawks. It generates the same type of attachment I have to the weird M.A.N.T.A Sailboard while being far more practical.
Accessories:
Besides the saddle and the figure which are shown on the horse, the accessories consist of a jacket, a backpack that I don't think I've seen before, a Sniper's rifle, and an over-sized and extraneous horse shoe. I'm not sure what you're supposed to with this horseshoe she as it's clear it isn't going to fit on the horse.
The included figure is of course one of a small number ubiquitous to the Power Team Elite Line. The torsos, legs, arms, and hands are almost all the same with only variations in colors and a few head-sculpt choices. These figures are far from the strength of the PTE line, so as usual I'm not going to talk a lot about it.
The horse itself shows pretty good body detail with the reigns made out of what appears to be black nylon string fit right into the plastic molding of the mouth. Other detail of the body includes wrinkled skin on the hindquarters, and veins protruding from it's legs.
Both the front legs have three points of articulation: the shoulder, knee, and foot....
Neither of the hind legs have any articulation except in the hips, that seam you see at the knee on the right leg is actually just a plastic seem. This seam is on both rear legs and as you can't see, doesn't go all the way through to the outer portion of the leg. This is just the way these legs were molded. I've given some thought as to whether having greater articulation on the legs would add or detract from the toy. I'm sure you could add joints at the hind fetlocks (basically the feet) and the hock (rear knee), but this may over-complicate the toy and make it less sturdy.
The tail doesn't move, it's one piece with each half of the body.
The saddle is attached by two stretchable bands. It does come off by sliding down the backside and over the rear legs. It does a pretty good job of fitting well on the body of the horse and giving figures a solid place to seat themselves...
I think the set is great, all things considered. At five bucks (Current prices, late 2014) it's an excellent value. As with much of the PTE lineup, it's best availability is at places like Big Lots during Fall. The quality is decent with nothing fitting poorly or weakly built. My one notable gripe is that this unit's reins were put on twisted and it's hard to keep the curl out of it, but that may not be typical of this toy.
Grade:
B
