As most readers realize…I really enjoy Rocket World’s Insurgents Wilderness Gruppo (I.W.G.). The line of figures received my award for the Best Toy Line of 2004 with their initial release of animal characters. Since then, Rocket World (otherwise known as Patrick Ma) has added onto their very popular – and successful – I.W.G. line with a number of new characters. Also, look for the mini figures to be released later this year…and we are anxiously waiting for the Astral Overseers (the extraterrestrial friends of the I.W.G.) to be revealed.
So we all should know the basic premise behind this line. The Astral Overseers infected the members of the I.W.G. with a virus that has allowed them the ability to communicate and form a cohesive group. This group has set out to end poaching and the destruction of the environment.
The 3rd set of 3 I.W.G. figures was released at Comic Con. This included Irra the Owl, Desmond the Dolphin and Astrid the Jaguar. There were also 2 exclusive I.W.G. figures – one through Rocket World and one through STRANGEco. Taharka the Black Rhino was made available through Rocket World and sold out promptly. Huey the Black Panther was sold through STRANGEco – I was able to snag one of them.
Irra the Burrowing Owl is committed to recovering her kind's
wide range and hunting grounds. The Irra figure is 5-inches tall and
articulated at the wings. It is constructed of a hard, hollow plastic
- as opposed to the softer rotocast vinyl some of the other I.W.G.
figures are made of. Irra is armed with a laser-guided bomb, which you
can attach her to. The bomb contains a red LED light that you are able
to turn on and off with the click of a switch.
Overall Grade: 92%
Desmond the Dolphin has no mercy for the tuna fishing boats
and fishermen who have harassed and killed his kind. He is skilled at
the art of underwater explosives and the Desmond figure is packaged
with a sea mine. You can actually use the sea mine to display
Desmond…if you balance him on top of it. The action figure is 7-inches
long and has no points of articulation. Desmond, like Irra, is made of
a harder plastic material. All of you Flipper enthusiasts definitely
should get your hands on this figure.
Overall Grade: 94%
Astrid the Jaguar has excellent night vision and her natural
camouflage allows her to penetrate deep into enemy territory while on
night patrol. (Yes…Astrid is a female) She comes packing a .45
automatic pistol, which can be somewhat tricky to get her to hold
correctly. The figure is 7-inches in height and made of rotocast
vinyl. She has six points of articulation and has whiskers similar to
Odysseus the Otter. Astrid also has a very cool spot pattern,
including a very special skull spot on her back.
Overall Grade: 97%
Now I was unable to pick up the SDCC exclusive Taharka the Black
Rhino – which is a black version of Affonso the White Rhino. This
figure sold out the first night and was limited to 50 units (I
believe). I did get my hands on the STRANGEco exclusive Huey the Black
Panther. This is the same figure as Astrid the Jaguar…just with a
different paint scheme. The spots are painted using a special UV paint
that only shows up under UV light. It’s pretty cool…they actually glow
green. (I had to buy this because I’m a big Carolina Panthers fan)
Huey is limited to 100 units…and STRANGEco actually still has some in stock - click here.
The 3 most recent figures (Irra, Desmond and Astrid) are limited editions of 500 pieces each. They are all numbered and can be purchased for under $50 apiece. Irra the Owl and Desmond the Dolphin are offered for $40 each through RocketWorld.org, while Astrid the Jaguar is selling for $45.
Now that Series 1 of the I.W.G. has been released, we’ll be looking forward to the release of the I.W.G. mini figures.
These will measure approximately 3-inches in height and all come
packaged with human skull and bones, which displays the type of damage
inflicted by each specific weapon. There will also be the Rocket World
rocket – and you can place the mini figures inside! Also, be on the
lookout for the Astral Overseers…Rocket World is going to have a busy
year.
