So last night the G.I. Joe Collectors Club launched the Figure Subscription Service, and while we didn’t see images of all the figures, they did release a short description of each figure as part of the check out process. Last night I was in the midst of recording a podcast episode, so I wasn’t able to dive too fully into it, but now that I’ve checked out the list and digested it, there are some interesting elements. A lot of this stuff has been shown before, but still.
After “the jump” I’ll run down the full list of figures with descriptions and break down what some of this means.
Here is the full list, courtesy of GIJoeClub.com:
G.I. JOE POINT MAN: SPEARHEAD
Includes: removable helmet and combat vest, assault rifle, machine gun with bi-pod, ammo strip, assault rifle with strap, machete, backpack, MAX (Bobcat) and figure stand.
G.I. JOE MOUNTAIN TROOPER: ALPINE
Includes: NEW head, removable goggles, rope bundle, assault rifle, submachine gun,
pick axe, grappling hook, backpack and figure stand.
Obviously these two we’ve already seen and there isn’t much more to digest here.
COBRA SUPREME NINJA MASTER: NIGHT CREEPER LEADER
Includes: crossbow, submachine guns, swords, blades, throwing stars and figure stand.
G.I. JOE DECEPTIVE WARFARE: PSYCHE-OUT
Includes: submachine gun, sonic emitter device with dish, wrist emitters, pistol, backpack and figure stand.
G.I. JOE SWAMP FIGHTER: MUSKRAT
Includes: removable boonie hat, shotgun, hunting rifle, pistol with suppressor, knife, machete, trap, backpack,
NEW swamp skimmer board and figure stand.
These three offer a little bit of information to us. First of all, we see that Night Creeper Leader does not have a new head, which is interesting. I can’t think of any existing heads that truly resemble the Night Creeper Leader, but I’m sure they could cobble something together. The blindfold covering the eyes is unique, and the description above doesn’t mention him coming with the removable one. Psyche Out seems to come with all of the same stuff the Night Force version did from what I can tell. That’s fine with me, I thought the accessory compliment from that figure was really inspired. Muskrat as we can see comes with a new Swamp Skimmer “boogie board” which is a very nice touch.
COBRA COURIER: VYPRA
Includes: computer case with submachine gun, submachine gun with suppressor, swords, backpack and figure stand.
G.I. JOE LIGHT INFANTRYMAN: HIT & RUN
Includes: removable helmet and goggles, assault rifle, pistols, knife, climbing piton,
backpack with grappling hooks and figure stand.
I’m pretty excited by these. Love the idea of Vypra being a Cobra Courier! That officially makes her Scarface’s successor I guess, and I’m a big fan of the suitcase w/ machine gun that we’ve seen scattered throughout the line. Clean Sweep came with it last, and it works really nicely for him and for Vypra. No new parts listed, so expect a close approximation to a Jinx repaint as the original was. Hit & Run should remain faithful to the concept case version, I would assume, since that’s what they used in the slideshow to advertise him. Lots of accessories, which is great.
G.I. JOE MACHINE GUNNER: REPEATER
Includes: machine gun with bi-pod and ammo box, pistol, knife, backpack and figure stand.
COBRA NINJA COMMANDO:COBRA SLICE
Includes: NEW head, hook swords, wrist blades, connection swords, backpack and figure stand.
SPECIAL ACTION FORCE COMMANDO: BIG BEN
Includes: NEW head, TNT satchel bag, assault weapon, machine gun with bi-pod,
grenades, machete, backpack and figure stand.
These three are interesting, too. Repeater doesn’t have any new parts, but he also doesn’t seem to come with the “Stedi-Cam” that the Convention version came with. It’s just a “machine gun w/ bi-pod and ammo box”, so I assume that’s the standard M249 that we’ve seen with many folks so far. Cobra Slice has a new head, which I think we knew, and I like that. Sure we had that approximated mask from other previous releases, but I think a new head will add some great flair to the figure. Obviously Big Ben also comes with a new head sculpt, along with a nice assortment of other gear that we’ve seen with some other figures.
COBRA ELITE VANGUARD: CRIMSON GUARD IMMORTAL
Includes: NEW head, assault rifle, dual launcher with rockets, crimson flag and figure stand.
G.I. JOE FOWARD AIR CONTROLLER: BOMBSTRIKE
Includes: NEW head, assault rifle, pistol, aerial drone with weapons, computer case
with submachine gun, backpack and figure stand.
Both of these figures come with new head sculpts, which is awesome. Crimson Guard Immortal is based on the concept case version from all indications, though I’m wondering what the “dual launcher” is. Does the tooling still exist for the classic CGI weapons? I was never a fan of that particular launcher, but it looks like he comes with an assault rifle as well, at least. The “crimson flag” is an interesting touch! It will be cool to see how that comes out. Bombstrike comes with a TON of gear by the looks of it. That great computer case gets used again, and the G.I. Joe: Retaliation aerial drone!
The more I look at this list, the more excited I get…there are some great offerings in this round’s FSS and I can’t wait to see the figure reveals! If you like what you see (and you want the highly anticipated 13th figure) sign up for this bad boy.
What? No steady cam machine gun?!?!? Grrrrrrrr. Where can I get his gun to customize it…. Did the club use the Iron Grenadier gun for the Night force version?
Yes, the gun was from the POC IG. Personally, I never like that gun, I kind of get the resemblance to his original gun, but it seemed too big and unwieldy. I plan to give him a mini-gun from a Retaliation 3 pack anyway.
From the description “machine gun with bi-pod and ammo box”, plus a separate backpack, and no ammo belt, I would guess its the SAW that came with Ultimate RB (not sure if that was the one you were referencing or not Justin).
What I noticed is there is no mention of a removable vest with Repeater or Muskrat, but they mentioned it for Spearhead. Could mean nothing (I hope so), or did they change the parts used from the NF set?
Other observations/speculation:
Given the pair of submachine guns, I guess NCL gets the webgear from the Retaliation 3 pack Snake Eyes. I have always avoided giving guns to ninjas (except SE), I wonder if a pair of sais would sit in those 2 loops in that webgear instead?
Sounds like Slice comes with a pair of T’j Bang swords (Justin, didn’t you once say no good figure came with those swords?) and the backpack and swords from Desert Battle Storm Shadow. I was hoping for this, you can store those hook swords in that backpack by sliding them down behind the other swords. Slice will be able to carry a whole lot of weapons.
At con, I was assuming NCL would be using the 25th Blind Master head. That headband really was meant to go over the eyes as a blindfold for “the ear that sees.” But like you said, it isn’t mentioned as an accessory. My bet is that they have asked for it to be glued on. The painted top portion of the head would be odd with it removed anyway.
And they showed us the design of Muskrat’s board. It has a foothold that doubles as a handle so he can hold it or stand on it.
I like the fact that they’re making Big Ben a member of (Special) Action Force. It’s a fun idea that the Collectors Club has had in recent years of expanding G.I. Joe with Action Force. I guess Hasbro somehow has the rights to AF.
It’d be cool if G.I. Joe in comics, if it were popular enough, could make use of a big universe. It’s not the DC or Marvel universe, but remembering the DDP cover from a while back, there’s like 250 individual members of G.I. Joe alone at this point, and a few major villain groups.