General Collecting > GI Joe

Marauder Gun-Runners Series 7 Review

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The Spectre:
Marauder Gun Runners Series 7



The long awaited, Kickstarter-funded Series 7 has arrived!

As always, Marauder Gun-Runners has impressed me with their newest release. More than impressed me actually as they have completely raised the bar as to what can be done with 1/18 scale action figure accessories in regards to customization and adaptability. The engineering applied to just about every accessory in this series is not evolutionary, but revolutionary. Before I go any further about the engineering, I want to touch on the 3 points I always refer to when reviewing Marauder Gun Runners products.


Sculpt:

The sculpts for each weapon are dead-on to their real world counterparts (or movie props/video game digital files). Every detail you could imagine is present, some of which I did not think would be possible to realize at such a small scale. In the past I honestly could not see how these accessories could be sculpted any better than they were, but Marauder Gun Runners' sculptors have just blown me away with Series 7!


Construction:

Like all of Marauder "Gun Runners"' past offerings, Series 7 is once again cast from a sturdy, rigid black plastic. These accessories are not resin casts of other companies' offerings. They are professionally produced with the highest quality plastics in an overseas factory.

A great side note to any customizers- the plastic used for these accessories takes paint very well and can be Krazy Glued(tm) without turning white!


Affordability/Availability:

One of the best things about Marauder "Gun Runners" offerings is that they are very affordable. With money saving sets available, you can equip all of your troops without breaking the bank. Marauder "Gun Runners"' wares are available 24 hours a day via their website:

http://www.marauderinc.com/servlet/StoreFront

Engineering:

As I stated above, Marauder Gun-Runners has introduced a brand new level of engineering with this Series. While their previous Series have had increasingly improved engineering for a few years now starting with removable magazines and continuing on to the modular ports for add-on grips/sights/etc., Series 7 is leaps and bounds above even the magnificent Series 6.

New additions include:

1) Additional modular ports on the sides of several weapons in addition to those already present on the tops and bottoms allowing for even more customization to better reflect real world tactical configurations.

2) Working folding/collapsing stocks on most of the weapons in this Series. While Hasbro and other manufacturers have given us some folding stocks in the past, they have almost always been extremely fragile, easily broken pieces and the stocks were some of the most easily lost items in the lines (try finding an ARAH Crazy Legs with his rifle's stock). Even modern Hasbro offerings suffered from being made out of soft, floppy plastic that more often than not made the stocks just pop off the rifles when you tried to open/close them. Series 7's folding/collapsing stocks are made of the same rigid plastic as the weapons themselves and move into either position securely but should still be handled with a bit of care so as not to snap the connector pieces.

Examples of the folding stocks (and removable magazines):







3) Vastly improved removable magazines that not only stay in the weapons better, but are far more detailed than previous Series. An added note: this Series premiers what I believe to be the tiniest removable magazines ever produced for a 1/18 toy line (SWAT machinegun, Skorpion machine istol, T9 submachinegun, Tek-9 machine pistol)!

Examples of the tiny removable magazines:




Now I will briefly break down Series 7 into the individual items starting with the real world weapons.

ACR Assault Rifle

6 modular accessory ports (3 top, 1 bottom, 1 on each side) make this a great little asault rifle for customization to fit any role.

AKs74u Assault Rifle

5 modular accessory ports (2 top, 1 bottom, 1 each side) allow you to customize this updated Soviet assault rifle to outfit your troops for just about any scenario.

COMMANDO Assault Rifle

5 modular accessory ports (2 top, 1 bottom, 1 each side) make this a very versatile weapon for close quarters combat.

FO6c Compact Assault Rifle

6 modular accessory ports (3 top, 2 bottom, 1 on right side) allow this compact rifle to be kitted out in a variety of ways and having 2 different stocks allows for even more customization!

SWAT Machine Gun

2 modular accessory ports (1 top, 1 bottom) and a collapsing stock make this weapon a favorite with police and special forces units worldwide.

FN FAL Assault Rifle

2 modular accessory ports (1 top, 1 right side) allow you to modify the position of the rifle's carry handle or even add additional accessories for your favorite camo-wearing paratrooper.

GALIL Assault Rifle

This is the only assault rifle without any modular accessory ports, but it features a beautifully working stock and a removable magazine.

SKORPION Machine Pistol

This great little machine pistol is a must for any criminal or enemy soldiers to conceal in a briefcase or hide next to the seats of their vehicles and features one of the tiniest removable magazines I have ever seen in a toy line.

T9 Submachinegun


2 modular accessory ports on the top of this submachinegun allow for great customization and the excellently engineered folding stock allows for some great action shots.

Tek-9 Machine Pistol

This excellent little weapon tops the recent Hasbro release by a mile not only in sculpted detail but in having one of the smallest removable magazines I have ever seen in a toy line.

Grenade - WWII "Pineapple" Fragmentation Type

This legendary explosive will help you relive the battles of World War II with your action figures. This item would look great on any of the various historical figures produced over the years or even being used by a certain star spangled hero and his sidekick while battling an evil multilimbed super science division.

Grenade - "Baseball" Fragmentation Type

This is a great accessory for any of your modern military figures to pack a bit more punch on the battlefield.

Grenade - "Flashbang" Stun Type

This is a much needed accessory for all of your SWAT and special forces figures as I believe it is the first time a flashbang grenade has been offered in 1/18 scale.

Model 1887 Shotgun

A great weapon to have if you happen to be an old west gunslinger or a time displaced cyborg defending the future of humanity from a liquid metal assassin. Some figures might have difficulty holding this rifle properly due to the shape of the handle.


This wave has 3 sci-fi weapons in it which are my favorites as that is my collecting/customizing focus:

LASER Rifle

This great rendition of a classic cartoon hero rifle is guaranteed to have better accuracy that what we saw in the 80s.

SPACE COMMAND Assault Rifle

If you ever find yourself on an artificial ring world battling religious zealots and a bilogical threat to the universe, you will want one of these high tech, futuristic rifles in your masterful hands.

"NCM Mark II" Pulse Rifle

My favorite weapon in this assortment is an improved version of a previous Series' favorite. The Pulse Rifle is my all time favorite movie firearm and this new version features movie-accurate detailing and a removable magazine. I plan on getting a few dozen of these in the very near future!

Comparison between the original NCM (bottom) and the NCM II (top):






Series 7 also features a handfil of new modular accessories.


Examples of some of the customizations possible using the Series 7 modular add-ons:



In short, this is hands down the BEST Series that Marauder Gun-Runners has produced thus far. You should stop by the web store and buy enough to arm all of your troops!

Marauder Gun-Runners Series 7 has earned "The Spectre Seal Of Approval"!

Tamer:
Wow, they sound great to me. Off to share.

Sjefke:
Enjoyed the review.
I've ordered from Marauder in the past. I agree that they have great weapons.
I cant believe that I missed the Pulse rifle when going through their catalogue.  What Aliens fan wouldn't want a couple of those?

Clonehead:
Awesome review and pics, Dan! Man, those pieces look great!

CloneSniper78:
Great review! I will picking up some of these.

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