Rabbit Raider

In the words of one Mr. Frank Parker, "He looks like a deranged Easter Bunny..." Scary cute. "Ehn, Aunt Clara had for years labored under the delusion that I was not only perpetually 4 years old, but also a girl. [...] Immediately, my feet began to sweat as those two fluffy little bunnies with the blue button eyes stared sappily up at me. [...] I just hoped that Flick would never spot them as the word of this humiliation could easily make life at Warren G. Harding School a varitable hell." Those were the words Ralphie used to describe his hideous gift in A Christmas Story, the bunny pajamas that are obviously the inspiration for Fortnite's Rabbit Raider costume. This pink nightmare is one of Fortnite's pop-culture skins, rather than an original design, but it can be fun every now and then to see something you already know. Just as in the movie, this outfit is a zip-up onesie, a soft pink suit with a hooded rabbit head and sewn-on rabbit slippers. Because it's baggy, it doesn't get any other usual "standard" costume pieces you can spot on other figures, like the bandana tied around the arm or the armor on the shins. Sculptor Dave Cortes has given it a nubbly texture all over, and a white cottontail puffing out the back. A single plate of what may be armor is strapped to the outside of his left thigh, and he wears a (non-removeable) blue bandolier with two Easter egg grenades pinned to it. "Easter egg grenades" as in "they're painted bright colors," not "Easter egg grenades" as in "they're coyly referencing something." The hood is a separate piece, so it doesn't get in the way of the head at all. They could have included a second "pulled back" hood to drop over his neck when you really wanted to see his head, but that probably isn't something the game does, so they didn't bother. His face is covered by a Jasonic hockey mask, painted with a bunny face on it - nose, whiskers, teeth, etc. Like the other Jazwares Legendary Series figures, Rabbit Raider comes with swappable faces, held in place by the same kind of large, T-shaped plug. Neither of them are actually from Battle Royale mode: one is the plain "Jonesy" face, which appears with the Rabbit Raider outfit in "Save the World" mode; the other is nearly identical, but is wearing glasses, making him a grown-up version of Ralphie! There was a missed opportunity on one or the other of these two heads to give him an eyepatch or a scar running over the eye on his right side. There's just something about Fortnite that makes companies who don't care actually want to try for a change, so Rabbit Raider gets swivel/hinge joints at the neck, shoulders, wrists, hips, and ankles; swivel joints at the biceps, waist, thighs, and ankles; hinges at the pecs, elbows, fingers, and knees; and a balljointed chest. The hips are stiff, but only in a "this will hold a pose securely" way, not a "this might break if I push it any harder" way. The pec hinges don't add a whole lot to his poseability, but hey, it's better to have them than not. For somthing that is really just pink from head to toe, the figure's paint is impressive. The hands and feet have muddy paint apps, since he's been running around a storm-torn island and picking things up off the ground, and although the suit is entirely pink, the color gets lighter around the knees and elbows, like it's getting worn out from being used all the time. Even if you don't count the swappable faces, Rabbit Raider still has a plethora of accessories. When you buy the skin in the game, it comes bundled with the "Hard Boiled" back bling, a dipped and dyed egg with hearts and angular stripes. They're both part of the Pastel Patrol set, which also includes the "Carrot Stick" harvesting tool this toy carries: it's an actual stick with a blue-and-pink Easter basket attached to the top, with a chocolate bunny melted firmly onto one side, and a carrot tied to the other (though the paint here makes the "carrot" look more like an ice cream cone). His ranged weapon is a grenade launcher, presumbaly because Fortnite doesn't have any guns that could pass as an official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle, but he also comes with the game's trademark Boogie Bomb (a grenade that makes its victims dance) and a Chug Jug healing item. If this figure was just the plain Rabbit Raider skin, it would have been interesting, maybe even a fun holiday item a la Crackshot, but the addition of the "adult Ralphie" glasses-face kicks it up a notch and broadens the appeal. -- 04/03/20

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