G.I. Joe Convention 2015 Kre-O Six Pack

With G.I. Joe Kre-O all but gone at mass market retail, it was questionable as to whether or not we’d even see a Kre-O set at the Convention this year.  I’m happy  to say the Club came through with one, and it’s pretty nice to boot.

Like previous year’s, we got a multi pack of good guys vs. bad guys, this time featuring (appropriately) the Tiger Force vs. Iron Grenadiers.  Unfortunately the Iron Grenadiers side focuses on the Undertow crew, which is a shame, as I would have loved to have seen Metalhead’s crooked smirk and funky goggles in Kre-O form.

We’ll look at the Tiger Force set first.

Stalker leads the Kre-O Tiger Force crew, and they did a great job approximating his Convention look.  I really like the painted green webgear, and I was nicely surprised at the expressive look on his face.

Recondo was the second Tiger Force figure included, and I fully expected it to simply be the same retail release Recondo tampos on a Tiger Force deco, but it’s actually totally different.  The holster placement is completely new, and it doesn’t rely on previous deco at all.  Very interesting choice.

Wreckage is the third Tiger Force member, and like Recondo, I immediately compared him to Firefly, and while he’s a very close comparison, he’s also not exact, with a slightly tweaked collar.  I’m not sure how Kre-O deco’s work, maybe they have to be more individualized, but I do find it curious that tampos that could have been reused weren’t.

For the Iron Grenadiers, we have the Undertow Officer, who looks neat enough with a separate masked head and unmasked head as well as a separate hairpiece and a ton of accessories (including a fish!).

The two Undertow troopers came out pretty well, too, and all three of these figures have great little Iron Grenadier logos on them to boot.  The bad guys are loaded down with separate heads and gear.

I was quite surprised to see the Collectors Club doing a Kre-O set this year, and was pleasantly surprised that it actually sold out at the show as well.  The character choices are nice (though as I said, I’d have loved a Metalhead/Iron Anvils team on the Iron Grenadier side) and the execution is certainly Hasbro level.  Whatever is happening with Kre-O at retail, I’m glad the Club is continuing it and giving those of us who love it some outlet for more product.  I also really like the new display stands they went with, a lot lower profile and more functional than the old blocks.

Pretty good set.