Friday, March 13, 2009

Rocketeer version 2 by Medicom, 2007



Medicom seems to have a thing for the Rocketeer because they released a second version in 2007. The movie didn't do that well but I suppose there must have been enough demand for the Rocketeer (first version here) that Medicom felt it was worth releasing a second version. Personally, I much prefer the first version box.

The first version had a totally clean helmet and jet pack. It was nice but the finishing touches were somewhat missing. For the version 2 Rocketeer, there is a lot more weathering and paint to make it look more realistic.

The helmet is spot on, with all the subtle details including the welding marks on the fin and detailing. There are even the placement of the bolts around the eye lenses. Under the helmet a strap has been sculpted to the "head" and you can see the details of a mouth and nose BUT the helmet is not designed to come off!

Cliff Secord's signature rust-colored leather jacket is faithfully reproduced button-for-button and they really work. Underneath the jacket there's the working straps of the rocket pack and the zipper for his jacket. Under it all Cliff wears a shirt.

Rocketeer version 2 comes with two sets of hands: gloved fists, a right gloved gun hand and a left 'at-rest' gloved hand. The gloves are sculpted with the bronze studs on the knuckles and buckles. The open left hand has the trigger device for the rocket pack sculpted on the palm. He is equipped with a German Mauser pistol which he took from the germans/Nazis.

Back view of the Rocketeer - just love the profile of the helmet and rocket pack

Close-up of the 1/6 scale Rocketeer helmet

The 2.0 version rocket pack has a piece of chewing gum stuck on it. In the movie, Cliff Secord (Billy Campbell) always sticks a piece of chewed gum on his planes for luck. When the rocket pack is damaged by gunfire, Peevy (Cliff's trusty mechanic) does a quick fix by sticking gum over the hole on the jet pack, thus sealing it and stopping the leak. This gum will play a critical role in the climatic finale.

The 1/6 rocket pack is really well produced! There are tubes around the jets and a multitude of bolts like the real thing. The weathering on version 2 makes it look used and more defined compared to version 1 (see previous post).

A close-up view of his Mauser pistol

Another plus point is Medicom used the RAH 301 body for version 2.0 which allows him to tilt his head back and look where he's going or look up before he takes off!!

My earlier post puts the two versions side-by-side for comparison and also has the Kubrick Rocketeer as well.

And you can now pre-order your Rocketeer version 2.5 (click on pix below) - version 2.5's helmet appears more orange and the buttons on the jacket look more true to 1/6 scale but unlike versions 1 & 2, are just decorative i.e. not working buttons unlike the previous versions - the leather jacket also seems to be of a different shade of brown compared to previous versions.

Rocketeer RAH 12-inch Figure

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