Battle Trolls Month: Series 3 Jack CousTroll review (1993)

This Battle Troll was sort of the 'one that got away' and the irony of that being a fish reference on a toy that is a scuba diver is not lost on me. It was back in 1993-94 when Kay-Bee Toys was clearing house of their Battle Trolls stock. As I was still somewhat invested in the line, Series 3 being seen was exciting for me. However, I only had so much money and even though Jack CousTroll here was pretty awesome looking with a great color palette, I went with the very cool Wolfman Troll. My guess is so he could hang out with FrankenTroll and try to form a Universal Monsters Troll coalition.

Contents! What do you get??
The standard fare with all Battle Trolls is 2 weapons: 1 is typically an 'action weapon' with a finger-flick operated projectile launcher of some kind, usually one that fits the theme of the troll in question. The second one is a solid PVC accessory either in the form of a melee or ranged weapon. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but today's review sample is not one of them. Jack CousTroll comes with a really nice little black knife with a serrated edge and a totally awesome (and incredibly neon...) harpoon launcher.

"*Glub glub glub!*" (Translation: "Don't do anything fishy!")

Nothing says bad-ass like a harpoon with a face on it.

Perfect for filleting your foes!

Okay cool, tell us about 'em!
Jack CousTroll, a parody of the famous ocean explorer, Jacque Cousteau is your standard scuba diver but with a Battle Troll twist. I don't know what it is about this guy, but all the colors and the design just really looks awesome to me. They really nailed the design of this guy 100% and by far he's one of, if not my favorite to date from the line. The green hair, blue skin, dark blue wet suit, bright orange flippers, goggles, belt, breathing tank and wrist watch just work together so perfectly. Articulation is extremely limited here as it is on all Battle Troll figures. With only a single waist swivel, Jack here can't pull off a lot of poses but they sculpted his arms in a good position and cut the waist at a great angle. The angle of the waist cut and the position of the arms really affects what your battle troll can do with it's weapons, some have useless articulation where others are near perfect so you really need to check out every toy if you are a stickler for articulation.

Jack CousTroll (Left Side)

Jack CousTroll (Front)

Jack CousTroll (Angled Front View)

Jack CousTroll (Rear View)

The sculpting detail on this guy, despite not looking as busy as other toys, has a lot of nice easter eggs hidden all over him. From a knife sculpted as if it were strapped to his left arm, a sea horse chillin' out on his right thigh and a pretty nice orange deep-sea wrist watch, the sculptor did their best to make it seem like this Battle Troll would be ready for some ocean diving.

Arm knife

It's a Sea Horse!!

Stylish AND functional up to 500 feet!

And then there is this thing. Apparently it's supposed to be an octopus, but it was hit with a 'troll ray' and is now the stuff of nightmares. It's a nice touch but good God is it freaky looking.

It..just keeps staring at me....

GAHH!! Stop it! STOP IT!!!

Okay, moving on to his Bio Card. Another cool thing about this line is Hasbro really went all out despite the concept being so incredibly goofy, so each Battle Troll has a information card right on the back of the packaging. I took an extra nice shot of it so if any of you guys at home have this toy but are missing the bio card, feel free to save a copy for your own enjoyment.

(Clip & Collect!)

Should I try to get this brand new?:
Oh of course! Especially since the pink harpoon is very thin and if not handled gently by previous owners, I could see that getting snapped in half without even trying. Plus, his black knife is kinda small and easily lost so I don't foresee loose samples of this toy easily being complete. The condition of the hair will also be better if it is carded as the oils in human hands can muck with the faux fur used to create that troll hair look.

So what do you really think about it?:
This is easily one of my favorite Battle Troll toys to date. The sculpting, the color, the accessories really makes this a home run for me. Plus his hands are are a good angle allowing him to hold his weapons well and point them at enemies, which is more then I can say for other battle trolls in this line. Totally worth it, if you see it for a price & condition you like, buy it.

If you don't like reading reviews and want to see and hear me blather on about Jack CousTroll, check out the video below:

Battle Troll month continues next Wednesday, so be sure to come back here & check the YouTube channel for more pictures and videos.