G.I. Joe Classified Series Iron Grenadier BAT review (No. 134)

With the Iron Grenadier BAT, I now have yet another variant of the Battle Android Trooper that I swore I didn’t need. But Hasbro made the paint job too sweet to resist and the BAT mold is one of my favorites in the line. It’s easy to get a little army building fever. Especially when I can get a pair for the same price as one figure.

Now I’ve got a few members of the Iron Grenadiers faction and another threat to my Joe team. Let’s see if this was one (or two) BATs too many or the start of another army building rabbit hole.

Packaging: The Iron Grenadier BAT has the basic black modern packaging. It’s not as much fun as the original look but it’s so much better than the window-less presentation. The Iron Grenadier logo is prominently displayed over the Cobra logo.

I appreciate Hasbro continuing to mix up the BAT image on the side art so while we’re getting an abundance of BATs they are still distinct looking at the packaging all together on the shelf.

While this isn’t an environmental specialist BAT, it does retain the same stat skills as the Arctic BAT — a 3 in environmental specialist: arctic and two in hand-to-hand combat, long-range weapons and arctic combat.

Likeness:  The Iron Grenadier BAT essentially uses the same basic BAT mold. Hasbro has mixed and matched a few parts to make the variations stand out from each other. 

The Iron Grenadier BAT gets that incredibly sinister cybernetic head thanks to that wicked center eye with sculpted points surrounding it. This is slightly raised above the rest of the face section, which has additional symmetrical plating. It’s a wicked visual and looks properly imposing and even more so with the gold, red and black color scheme.

Unlike most of the BATs, the Iron Grenadier BAT doesn’t have the right thigh pouch pack. I like that omission as it helps to make it look more streamlined. The IG BAT still has the other classic elements like the rolled-up sleeves to better show off the gears and pistons, the harness with the two grenades, belt buckle with holster and buckles.

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Paint:  What really sets The Iron Grenadier BAT apart from the others is this exceptional color combination with the IG black, gold and red. The hue of red is almost metallic providing a cool sheen to the B.A.T. Most of the base body is black, but instead of silver for the visible metal sections, it’s painted gold. There’s a cool sheen to the gold paint to give it a little shine as well.

I really dig the paint apps on the head with the creepy mix with the red eye, mostly gold face plate and black sections around the nose and mouth portion of a regular person. All of the paint apps are very clean as well with no overspray or sloppy paint work.

Scale: The Iron Grenadier BAT naturally is the same height as the other BATs, which makes sense as Cobra, the Crimson Twins or Destro don’t need different height scales for them. I could see a patchwork Dreadnok B.A.T. being slightly more bootleg and having one leg longer or shorter than the other.

Articulation: This follows the same articulation scheme as the original. It’s not about providing some major update on the tech, but in my head cannon Destro’s BATs are more solidly put together so he doesn’t need as many as Cobra. They can still carry out their normal functions like aim, fire and otherwise incapacitate Joes.

The Iron Grenadier BAT has:

• head
• neck
• shoulders (butterfly)
• elbow (double-jointed)
• wrist
• wrist hinge
• mid-torso
• torso
• waist
• hips (ball-jointed)
• drop down hips
• knees (double-jointed)
• ankles

Accessories: Iron Grenadier BAT doesn’t get a ton of new gear, but the included accessories are still very nice.

It has the classic B.A.T. helmet, this time with a red faceplate allowing you to do the cartoon color B.A.T. before the Retro cartoon figure arrives.

The classic black pistol gets some gold accents, which turned out very nice. Instead of the cracked chest plate, it has the clear plating — also allowing for a little mixing and matching for a classic B.A.T. figure now.

As usual, it has the backpack — this time with red accents — to hold all of the gear.

Once again, the IG BAT gets the massive, well-detailed chainsaw. The outer portion is gold while the interior is black, which makes for a striking color combination.

The BAT also gets the standard weapon pieces — the flame thrower, machine gun and claw. This makes for some very fun army building with all kinds of display possibilities.

Worth It?  I was able to get the Iron Grenadier BAT for $12 thanks to a Walmart sale. Given the accessory count and very clean paint scheme, I wouldn’t have felt ripped off paying the usual $24.99 price either. For army building purposes, sales are always appreciated.

Rating: 10 out of 10

I love the color scheme of the Iron Grenadier BAT It’s a sleek, elegant gold that sets off nicely against the black. The usual accessory rollout makes this one an easy recommendation.

Where to Get It?  You can still get the Iron Grenadier BAT on Amazon.

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