Head/Torso: Comic Pack Destro
Arms: Valor vs Venom Cobra Commander
Waist: Spy Troops Coils
Legs: Spy Troops Iron Grenadier

Growing up, Destro was one of my favorite villains. He always seemed more narrow in his focus and far more competent than Cobra Commander. I remember getting his figure in 83 at the PX at the Presidio of Monterey not long after reading the issue of the comic where he and a squad of Cobra paratroopers ambush the Joes in their APC outside of Springfield. A few years later, in 86, his figure was taken by a neighborhood kid and I never saw it again. While I replaced him in 88 with the gold headed Destro, Destro in his original outfit had become a personal grail item.

Even though he was one of the first figures I replaced as an adult and became aware of vintage toy stores and ebay, I found myself wanting a bit of an upgrade. His 92 figure was beefier, but shorter, and the head was notably inferior. What I wanted was a Destro that relied heavily on the original design, but towered over pretty much everyone who isn't named Roadblock. The new sculpt era provided me with the parts to beef up the 92 body even further, and new sculpt legs provided much needed height. The comic pack head was absolutely perfect to capture Destro's look in both the comic and the toon.

I wound up having to mod the torso quite a bit to properly receive the new sculpt arms, but after those mods, the parts fit together seamlessly, as if they were meant for each other. Even with the beefy, taller modern era figures, this figure still holds up and looks pretty great with my collection.