Army Ants Armada BigBadLauchPad Preorder

“The Ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah!” Well, not exactly the nursery rhyme we’re talking about here, but if you grew up in the late ’80s battling tiny plastic insects across your bedroom floor, you know exactly what Army Ants means to us collectors. Lone Coconut is reimagining the classic 1987 Army Ants toy line with their Army Ants Armada series, and boy are we thrilled to share that the BigBadLaunchPad preorder is now live for the Trooper Squad Grubb and Infantry Team Grunt two-pack! This is one of those deep cut revivals that just makes my collector heart sing. The original Army Ants line from Hasbro gave us that iconic Orange vs. Blue Army rivalry, and seeing Lone Coconut bring these characters back as fully articulated 4.5″ collector figures with expressive sculpting and imaginative designs is super exciting. I always loved how weird and wonderful the character designs were in the original line, and these new figures carry that same energy in a whole new way. Now here’s the important part, collectors. This is a crowdfunded preorder through BigBadLaunchPad, our affiliate partners over at BigBadToyStore, priced at $59.99 for the two-pack. It’s currently sitting at about 25% funded with a little over 28 days left on the clock. If it reaches full funding, it goes into production, so every preorder counts! And here’s where it gets really cool, there are three stretch goal unlocks waiting at 150%, 250%, and 350% funded. We don’t know exactly what those unlocks are yet, but the potential for bonus goodies makes backing this even more enticing. Will we hit those stretch goals? Only time will tell, but let’s make it happen! So let’s take a look at the Army Ants Armada Trooper Squad Grubb and Infantry Team Grunt two-pack!

Where to Buy

You can preorder the figures at the following retailers below

Army Ants Armada Trooper Squad Grubb & Infantry Team Grunt Action Figure Two-Pack

Grubb and Grunt side by side really show off how well the blue and orange color schemes complement each other, with the matching green military vests and helmets tying them together as opposing forces from the same world. The pink fly swatter resting at Grubb’s side is such a perfectly ridiculous touch next to Grunt’s more conventional rifle and revolver loadout, and it’s exactly that kind of humor that makes this campaign worth backing before the clock runs out.

Grubb and Grunt squaring off like this really sells the Orange vs. Blue rivalry at the heart of the line, with that pink fly swatter in Grubb’s grip looking absolutely absurd next to Grunt’s silver revolver. I like the way their oversized brown boots anchor both figures with that chunky, exaggerated military aesthetic, and those expressive face sculpts, Grubb’s clenched snarl versus Grunt’s wide-mouthed fury, bring so much energy to a simple two-figure faceoff.

Between them, the accessories for this double pack include a purple fly swatter, a silver revolver, a black pistol, and squishy guts pieces for each figure, and it’s nice to see that the classic “squish the bug” humor from the original 1987 line carried over into the accessory design. At $59.99, Grubb and Grunt pack a lot of value with all those swappable hands and weapons, and with the BigBadLaunchPad campaign sitting at 25% funded with about 28 days left, now’s the time to lock in your preorder if you want to see these guys make it to production.

Trooper Squad Grubb and Infantry Team Grunt face off here in a great promotional render that really sells the personality of this double figure pack, with Grubb’s blue skin contrasting sharply against his olive drab military jacket and steel-pot helmet, while Grunt mirrors him in orange with the same army greens, bared teeth, and bent antennae poking through his helmet. I like how expressive both sculpts are at just 4.5 inches, each ant bringing a totally different attitude through their face sculpts alone, from Grubb’s wide-eyed grin to Grunt’s snarling grimace with those chunky exposed fangs.

Sporting his olive drab vest and matching helmet, Grubb’s blue skin really pops against all that military green, and those wide, mischievous eyes paired with that toothy grin give him so much character up close. Grunt stands shoulder to shoulder with his rival, his orange complexion warming up the same army greens, and I’m really digging how the antennae poking through the helmet slots add a fun, insectoid touch to an otherwise straight military silhouette.

Here’s a closer look at the full accessory breakdown for this two-pack, and both figures come loaded. Grubb’s side includes three pairs of swappable hands, a submachine gun, a shotgun, a purple fly swatter, a yellow squirt gun, a green grenade, and what looks like a gold pocket knife, while Grunt’s arsenal packs even more heat with five pairs of interchangeable hands, two submachine guns, a shotgun, a revolver, a pair of red dynamite sticks, and a set of gold binoculars.

You can see how the four fists on the blue variant all have that same tightly clenched sculpt, each knuckle individually defined, while the orange figure mixes it up with one fist raised and several fingers left open and spread wide. The olive green military cap on the orange Armada sits at a slightly different angle than the blue figure’s rounded helmet, with a short brim that changes the silhouette of his head quite a bit.

Armed with distinctly different weapons, the blue variant carries a black assault rifle with a compact, modern silhouette while the orange Armada grips a longer brown bolt-action rifle with a fixed bayonet, and the contrast between the two firearm styles is a nice touch. I’m really digging the way the brown rifle has a wood-grain texture along the stock that differentiates it from the matte black finish on the other weapon.

Here’s a closer look at the two Armada variants going at it, and the orange figure’s clawed hands with those splayed fingers have a great sculpted tension to them. I noticed that both figures share the same chunky buckle detailing on their belts, but the brown leather finish on the boots really pops differently depending on whether it’s sitting next to blue or orange skin.

One thing I noticed right away is how well the mouth sculpt reads in profile, with those sharp white fangs and the elongated snout giving Armada a real snapping, aggressive energy you don’t fully appreciate from the front. The dark brown pants have a baggy, rumpled texture with sculpted folds around the knees that adds a lot of character to the lower half of the figure.

It’s cool to see both variants side by side without helmets, and the antennae on each figure have a slightly different bend to them, adding a little individuality between the two. The vest pocket flaps have crisp square stitching sculpted into them, and the orange figure’s four arms really let you appreciate how the extra set sits naturally below the vest’s hemline.

Here are some fun shots of the blue and orange variants squared off, each armed with a different weapon type. You can see how the blue figure’s antennae poke through the helmet the same way, but the cooler skin tone against that olive green creates a completely different vibe than the orange version’s warmer contrast.

Infantry Team Grunt

Something I appreciate here is how well Grunt works in a diorama setting, with those antennae curling up through the helmet slots and that toothy snarl selling the ambush moment perfectly among the plastic foliage. The brown rifle and red dynamite accessory each have nice sculpted texture to them, and you can tell Lone Coconut designed these little guys to feel right at home in creative photo setups like this one.

Here are some fun shots of multiple Grunt figures running as a squad, and the army-building potential with these little guys is immediately obvious when you see three of them loaded up with different weapons storming forward together. I think it’s neat that each one reads just slightly different depending on which accessories you swap in, with the binoculars, submachine gun, and revolver distributing nicely across the group to sell that platoon variety.

Trooper Squad Grunt is loaded up with accessories here, gripping a purple flyswatter, a red stick of dynamite near his mouth, and a yellow rifle across his lower arms. I like how the four-armed insect sculpt pairs with that military getup, the olive drab vest and helmet contrasting sharply against his bright orange skin, with heavy brown combat boots and a brown utility belt pulling the whole soldier look together.

Sporting that signature wide grin, Trooper Squad Grunt’s magenta abdomen piece tucked behind his lower torso is something I haven’t had a good look at until now, and the saturated pink color against the orange and olive is a surprisingly fun contrast. The green cargo pants have segmented armor plating sculpted along the thighs that breaks up the fabric texture nicely.

Infantry Team Grunt comes equipped with three oversized blue grenades, each covered in a crosshatch grid pattern with a sculpted pin mechanism at the top, and the teal blue plastic has a glossy sheen that contrasts nicely with his matte orange skin. I think it’s neat that his clawed fingers wrap around each grenade differently, with some gripping from underneath and others curling over the top, showing off how versatile those three-fingered hands really are.

Something I appreciate here is the sculpted pincer-like structure of Trooper Squad Grunt’s hands, where the three thick fingers taper to pointed tips that curve inward, giving each grip a real lobster-claw quality. His antennae poke up through two cutouts in the helmet with tiny orange nubs at their tips, and the helmet itself has a smooth, rounded dome with a subtle ridge running front to back.

Trooper Squad Grubb

I like how they staged Grubb peeking over cover with that submachine gun, because at 4.5 inches his proportions just disappear into the greenery and it genuinely looks like a little blue creature on recon. Those bright blue fingers gripping the weapon are a fun contrast against the black sculpted detailing on the gun’s barrel and stock.

You can see how well these figures work as army builders when you line up three Grubbs loaded with different gear, and that pink fly swatter dangling alongside conventional firearms is the kind of absurd charm that keeps pulling me back to this line. With the BigBadLaunchPad campaign still having stretch unlock tiers at 150%, 250%, and 350% funded, there’s real incentive to spread the word and push past that initial goal to see what Lone Coconut has waiting in the wings.

Outfitted with two black firearms, the submachine gun has a compact, stubby barrel and a squared-off magazine underneath while the assault rifle features a longer profile with a ribbed handguard and extended stock. The brown belt buckle sits slightly off-center on his waist, and the jacket’s sculpted collar folds sit tight against the neck, framing that snarling blue face nicely.

Detailed with a green army helmet sitting beside him, the accessory has a wide dome shape with two small holes punched through the top for the antennae to pass through, and a short curled chinstrap hanging off the side. I like how the bright green glow between his legs suggests a translucent abdomen piece that catches and diffuses color differently on this blue variant than what we saw on the orange version’s magenta piece.

A close-up reveals the sculpt work on Trooper Squad Grubb’s face, with those bulbous cheeks, furrowed brow, and bared teeth selling a real scrappy attitude. The dark brown boots have nice layered wrapping detail around the shins, and you can see the open jacket lapels framing his exposed blue chest underneath.

Unlock at 150% Funded

If the preorders fund to 150%, it unlocks the Character Expansion Pack for General Mc-Anther and General Patant, and the sheer variety of heads and accessories packed in here is impressive. On the orange side, General Mc-Anther’s swap-out head features a menacing blue ant sculpt with crimson eyes and bared fangs, paired with a green officer’s cap, a military vest with sculpted buckle details, a green necktie, a squishy guts accessory in lime green, a stick of dynamite, teal nunchucks, and a black pistol, while General Patant’s blue side brings an equally fierce orange ant head with bent antennae and gritted teeth, a green helmet with star insignia, a pink beret, a decorated military vest with star epaulettes, a gold neckerchief, his own squishy guts piece, a silver revolver, and a pair of katanas with wrapped hilts.

The artwork for General Mc-Anther and General Patant’s Character Expansion Pack does a fantastic job selling the rivalry, splitting the composition right down the middle with orange and blue zones that pit these two commanding officers nose-to-nose. I like how the illustrated renders capture the personality of each general so well, from Mc-Anther’s cigar-chomping scowl under that braided officer’s cap to Patant’s teeth-baring fury beneath his battle-worn helmet.

Unlock at 250% Funded

You can see how this second Character Expansion Pack, which unlocks at 250% funded, splits its loadout between Jagged Tooth on the orange side and Snorkle Head on the blue, both leaning hard into an aquatic ops theme. Jagged Tooth brings a deep-sea diving helmet with a mesh faceplate and breathing tube, a green visor, brown swim fins, a serrated silver blade, and a squishy guts piece, while Snorkle Head matches with a wild gold-and-pink snorkel mask topped with orange antennae, twin green oxygen tanks, a yellow backpack with pink tubing, a water blaster in orange and green, green swim fins, a long silver spear, and his own squishy guts accessory.

The artwork for Jagged Tooth and Snorkle Head’s Ant-Phibious Assault Character Expansion Pack leans fully into the underwater ops vibe, with Jagged Tooth’s deep blue diving helmet dominating the orange half and Snorkle Head’s gold-visored snorkel rig taking over the blue. It’s cool to see how the illustrated renders push the detail on these aquatic accessories even further than the product shots, with the crosshatch mesh on Jagged Tooth’s faceplate and the ribbed pink tubing on Snorkle Head’s breathing apparatus really popping against the starburst composition.

Unlock at 350% Funded

This third Character Expansion Pack, which unlocks at 350% funded splits its gear between Flame Thrower Squad Blow Torch on the orange side and Sniper Team Recoil on the blue, and each loadout is packed with personality. Blow Torch gets a sinister purple ant head with narrow yellow eyes and sharp mandibles, a squishy guts piece, a red lighter, a red fuel canister with a hazard diamond, dark brown gloves, and a red flamethrower with flexible tubing, while Recoil comes with an orange ant head sporting bent antennae and a toothy grin, his own squishy guts, an olive drab beret, a tan tactical vest with pocket detailing, a combat knife with a tan handle, and a long black sniper rifle with scope.

The artwork for Blow Torch and Recoil’s Ant-Icipate Annihilation Character Expansion Pack carries the same split-panel composition, with Blow Torch’s purple hooded head and glowing yellow eye lurking on the orange side while Recoil’s snarling mug and olive beret own the blue. I noticed that the illustrated renders really play up the scale of the weapons here, with Blow Torch’s flamethrower barrel dwarfing his frame on the left and Recoil clutching his combat knife between gritted teeth like a total wildcard.