I get so conflicted when we get figures like this...

On the one hand, I LOVE this figure...I love this figure like I love COBRA Commander...and a big reason WHY I love these characters is because they're different. One thing that Sigma 6 has done so far is really get as much mileage as humanly possible out of a pretty limited number of base tools. Take your generic Sigma Suit tool, modify it somewhat and use it for a number of different figures. It's happened so much already in the first few series, that it seems like getting an actual NEW figure is something to be celebrated, and when the new figure is as cool as this one, a celebration is definitely warranted.

It seems like at one point in history COBRA's backbone were actual human troops...but it would seem that is not the case any longer. Even in 3 3/4" land we're getting many different variations on robot troops (as well as that mysterious rumored 2006 theme which would have focused on them) and in Sigma 6 it is quite plainly obvious that the main enemy focus is meant to be artificial. From Overkill's body in a tank to the Ninja B.A.T.s, Overlord Vector, Virus, and every other "robot monster of the week", you can tell the writers want robots to be the bad guys. These days it makes certain sense, especially when you've got heroes running around with guns...if you don't want them missing their targets week in and week out, you gotta give them something to shoot, so might as well be robots.

For most of my 3 3/4" collecting days, I never cared for robot enemies much. They were completely emotionless and without personality, which really limited how they could be used. But over the years I've softened some, and I've grown to appreciate B.A.T.s for what they are...and as long as the figure is cool, well, I have no problems with what character or type of being they represent. In this case, the figure represents your basic COBRA infantry robot...and I'm happy to say that if plastic representations of B.A.T.s stay like this all the time, I'll never have a problem with them again!

The first thing you notice with this figure is that, like the Ninja B.A.T., it looks like it was pulled straight from the television screen. In my book, that earns BIG bonus points. As folks might know from reading my reviews, I'm a big fan of my toys being faithfully represented on TV (or in comics) and this figure is color-for-color about as close as you can get. In fact, it is the colors that really impresses me so much...but first we'll talk about the overall design.

While the '86 B.A.T.s were quite human in appearence (they even wore pants!) as the years went on they started looking more and more robotic...and I'd have to say the epitome of the robot look is here, with these B.A.T.s. First of all, looking at the head sculpt, which is a small, rounded, almost alien looking mold with those twin piercing red eyes and emotionless face. Nothing human about it at all, not even remotely. The body itself is slim, lanky, and very angular, with a strict robotic element to it, but yet still holding some cool appeal and an almost aerodynamic style. With an oversized rounded upper torso, and blocky lower half, this Sky B.A.T. is definitely a robot head-to-toe, but more important than that, he looks COOL, human or not.

His extremeties are also quite cybernetic in nature, with the over-exaggerated shoulders, visible gears in the hinges, and other assorted panels and gears throughout the figure really brings out some nice design elements and again, makes this figure look like he just pulled himself from the television screen and dropped on your toy shelf.

The cool thing is, Hasbro managed to perfectly walk the line between faithful to the source material, and still make it fit right in with the rest of the Sigma 6 toys, too. He's got the familiar three holes on his back (which accomodate his jetpack), and the somewhat angular styling makes him work perfectly with the toys and with how the B.A.T.s look in the animated series.

All of the trimming is there, as well...the oversized cylinders that hook onto his arms are present, accounted for, and look very cool. The two smaller ones off of his shoulders look great, too, as do the little wires here and there at his hips and the back of his upper legs. Articulation is something we need to talk about, however, because it seems to be a problem with these android figures, both on the 3 3/4" versions and on these 8" versions. The Ninja B.A.T. had the perfect chance to manage workable articulation for a robot, but they had to cram play features into it, which negatively impacted it over all. However, with a figure like this one, where they try to make it overly skinny and robot-like, it sometimes becomes necessary to sacrifice articulation points.

Well, I am THRILLED to say that this figure sacrifices nothing. There are some compensations made for articulation, but not enough to limit it in any way. Instead of the typical abdominal joint, his upper torso is on a ball and socket system, so it retains a nice design, and yet can still move in many of the same ways as the other figures can. Also I'm very happy to report that where the shoulders meet the upper arms, there is a swivel joint there as well, which allows for a full freedom of arm movement, something that the 3 3/4" versions of this figure do not have lately. Add to this the fact that his "gas tanks" (so to speak) are pretty nicely articulated, too, moving up and down independantly of the arm (so they will always stay out of the way) and you have one of the most poseable Sigma 6 figures to date. Of course, speaking of the gas tanks, if you really don't like them, they will come off with just a little bit of effort. They are snapped on pretty tightly, but will pop off of the joints, so you don't even have to deal with them if you don't want to. Personally, I like my figure being show-accurate, and they don't really get in the way, so I prefer to just leave 'em on. Anyway..even his wings have hinges on them to position the jetpack however you want it (along with hinges on the mounted guns, so even they can change positions!!). Hinges, joints, and articulation everywhere!

Hasbro also was cool enough to give us both types of B.A.T.s in this one package...the ground infantry as well as the airborne versions. This B.A.T. comes with an absolutely incredible backpack with a great wingspan and awesome detail that again looks just as it does in the cartoon. It is quite reminiscent of the air assault glider we got with Barrel Roll (and later with Sand Viper in the more familiar blue) but the wings are drawn in some, without losing any detail. But this jetpack is HUGE. The fact that Hasbro was even able to make this work as a Soldier figure is great, and I definitely commend them for that. The Sky B.A.T. has an amazing play value for a smaller ticket item.

As far as weapons go, he doesn't come with much, but he doesn't really need to. He comes with the important thing, which is an awesome double-barreled gun that hooks right onto his arm, again, just like the cartoon. He can fly through the sky, laying down laser fire and missiles, or trudge along the ground, pounding away at human troops as well. Hasbro did great capturing the animated feel from pretty much every part of this figure, and it just looks great sitting there on the shelf. This weapon hooks over the arm and slides easily on both arms, so you have an ambidextrous robot, and when I buy more of these (and I WILL) I can put the guns on both arms...really looking forward to being able to do that!

The colors help with that, too. Very, very bright blues, grays, and the small hints of red are appealing colors, and also look very "animated" for lack of a better term. Perhaps it's because some of these B.A.T.s use computer models when they're on the small screen, but whatever the reason, this B.A.T. looks fantastic as a faithful representation of the cartoon version, and is a very fun toy to boot. Highly recommended, especially considering it runs at the Soldier price point. In fact, I really cannot recommend this figure enough. So much play value, such a cool looking toy, and such a faithful plastic representation of the character. Quite simply a perfect toy all around, in my opinion.