2018 Skullbuster - Red Laser's Army

Red Laser's Army is no more.  But, in just a couple of years, they gave us a large number of figures.  Some were great.  Some were not.  Some were just out and out bizarre.  But, they offered a different approach to factory custom figures that I appreciated, even if I didn't like some of the designs.  While I tackled a large number of the figures I really like here, I haven't really looked at the middle tier of Red Laser Army releases.  In here are a bunch of good, but sometimes forgettable figures.  During the release window, Red Laser released all his figures at once.  As such, it was easy for some releases who used similar parts and paint applications as the standout figures to fall by the wayside.  Such is the case with the Skullbuster release from 2018.  This is a perfectly strong figure.  But, it's also somewhat bland and disappears into the drawer filled with other 2018 factory customs.  But, it deserves another look.

The Skullbuster character debuted in 2002 in the JvC era.  He was a repainted Range Viper done up in purple and designed to be a Skeletor homage.  Honestly, the purple gave him character and made him one of the better releases of the repaint era.  It was great of Red Laser to resurrect the character and give him another look using parts from the first few years of the Joe line.  Rather than keep the purple motif, though, this new Skullbuster was given a base of grey with black highlights.  While this choice stripped the figure of the panache that drove the value of his original release, it also allowed this character to be used with standard Cobra equipment and figures that match his construction style. 

As a character, there isn't much to Skullbuster.  He has appeared in a few 2000 and later items.  But, for the most part, he's a character that doesn't offer too much.  For me, the character's introduction in the Mardi Gras color scheme defines him.  So, it's difficult to see the same character in this grey figure with 1983 construction.  I've talked in other profiles about the early Cobra leaders that, eventually, all had to be killed by Cobra Commander.  Having Skullbuster be one of the rare ones who survived to later years would help Cobra continue to recruit new commanders.  His being relegated to the Range Vipers was a way to show that loyalty could be rewarded without putting him too front and center into Cobra's operations.  

But, I don't like that approach.  Instead, I see this Skullbuster as a freelancer that Cobra used from time to time.  He was not in the 1978-1983 timeframe, but more from 1982-1986 or so.  Here, he worked with Cobra much like Firefly or Major Bludd.  But, he just did various jobs for them.  He was a mercenary and not a tactician or strategist.  So, if Cobra Commander needed to move plans for a missile system out of the country, he could count on Skullbuster.  If he wanted to plot a coup in a third world country, Skullbuster would not be part of the plans.  But, this helps explain Skullbuster's survival.  He later joined Cobra in a more combat oriented capacity as he wanted the stability and Cobra could offer him safe harbor on Cobra Island.  In this way, Skullbuster's lesser rank makes more sense since he earned it through tenure.  He's not a great leader.  But, is a great fighter.  And, the Commander rewarded him accordingly with the Range Viper command. 

Skullbuster's parts combo used common Red Laser pieces of the time.  One drawback of Red Laser's big bang approach to figure releases is that the reuse of parts was very noticeable.  At the time of his release, Skullbuster joined several other figures with a black and grey color scheme.  Some had cammo pants that were nearly identical to Skullbuster's.  Asa Negra featured a skull face logo (done in gold with a red visor) on a body that also used grey as a base.  In addition to all these new characters, Topson was also released at the time and he also featured the grey cammo scheme that exists on Skullbuster's lower half.  You see the same parts and colors used over and over again.  The ostensible purpose was to make matching teams.  The real reason was to use the same color plastic and paints to cut costs.  But, all together, the mass release helped to obscure Skullbuster.

It's likely that Skullbuster would have been more popular had he been released 6 to 8 months after Shadowtracker and not with the other grey and black figures.  But, after a few years, the proximity of the releases gives me a chance to go back and review items like Skullbuster that I missed.  The figure uses the head and legs from Snake Eyes with arms and chest from Rock and Roll.  The waist is a standard piece based on the classic 1983 waist.  The parts combo works well together.  And, the figure is accented by dark grey cammo on the pants as well as silver bullets on Skullbuster's chest and a silver bomb on his left leg.  In all, the presentation is strong.  Grey bases are not common on in the vintage Joe line.  The Stinger Driver being an early example helps set this figure in that timeframe and allows for his use with vehicles of that era, too.  Skullbuster is, easily, the best Red Laser figure using the grey and black theme and he works far better with other Joe figures than most of the others.

The Red Laser introduced some new additions to his accessory complement in 2018.  But, they also continued the tradition of being relatively light.  The lack of packs and helmets hurt a lot of figures.  But, the overall accessory allotment was fine for a $12 figure.  Skullbuster included a grey pistol that originated with the 1986 Lifeline and a grey rocket launcher.  I'm not sure if this is a replica of a Joe accessory (Horrorshow) or a Marauder, Inc. design.  It's very nice, though.  I've always hated the Lifeline pistol.  It's too big and too thin.  I'd have much rather gotten a 1986 General Hawk pistol or a Chuckles gun.  But, I suspect that the influence of the "anti-repo" crowd influenced this decision as they hold large numbers of Hawk and Chuckles weapons that are valuable on the market while Lifeline weapons are not.  I'm not big on the rocket launcher for this character and prefer either a grey M-60 to match the bullets, a grey Stalker M-32 or a grey Mac-11 from Mutt.  I would have liked a pack with Skullbuster with shells to make the rocket launcher more viable.  And, a helmet would have differentiated the skull print on his face.  But, grey helmets exist that can be given to the figure.  The upside is that the figure's color scheme works with many of the Battle Gear weapons that Hasbro released.  But, this is most likely coincidence rather than part of the design.

The quality on Skullbuster is very high.  The figure has tight paint masks (which is instrumental on a figure with black and silver highlights) and good colors.  The joints of the figure are tight and allow it to hold poses.  They are not too tight to hinder movement and posing, though.  The hands on the 2018 Red Laser figures are much better able to hold weapons.  This is a huge upgrade over the 2017 set.  And, it makes the 2018 releases seem closer to vintage Joes.  There are no gaps in the figure's parts and the mold is solid.  In short, this figure is about as close to a vintage Joe figure as we've seen from factory custom makers.  As with all factory customs, though, there are duds out there and it's possible that others may have different quality.  But, Skullbuster is tight and that just makes him that much better to have around.

Pricing on this figure is tough.  It was not one of the most popular releases when it debuted.  But, it wasn't one of the least popular, either.  With a little looking, you should be able to find one in the $20-$25 range.  But, dealers will charge a lot more.  So, be patient and don't give in to gougers.  At the $12 introductory price, this figure was a good deal.  At double that, I'm not sure I'd indulge in his acquisition.  Shadowtracker is a much better representation of the skull face paint.  And, there are better uses of the Rock and Roll chest, too.  But, Skullbuster does fit nicely with some other Red Laser Cobras.  And, he's a good match for Hiss Tanks and Stingers, as well.  There's value in that, especially if you want to have a large force of figures using the same construction style.