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The “Dark Side” of G.I. Joe Part 1: The 90’s

by | Mar 17, 2009 | G.I. Joe

Okay, so yeah…  “dark side” may be a bit extreme…  more than a bit, actually.  I was going for the whole “red-headed stepchild” angle, but in these days of Political Correctness, I wanted to avoid offending red heads and stepchildren.  You never can be too careful.  I wasn’t really sure how else to put it when you consider the overwhelming reaction from the fandom over the good and bad of the G.I. Joe mythos specifically over the past twenty-five years.  Without a doubt when you talk to the fans you hear it time, and time again… “I was a big fan until the 90’s“…I was a big fan until “the neon“…until Ninja Force and Star Brigade.  Until the line got “dumb”.  Whether it’s the weapon trees, the bright colors, or the spring-loaded missile launchers, plenty of fans can find reasons to hate the 90’s, and label that particular decade as “deth of teh line”.

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Tons more fantastic 1:18 Marvel Images

by | Mar 16, 2009 | Comics and Cartoons, Marvel Comics Toys, Other Toys

Fred from JoeBattlelines has hit a home run again and given me a wealth of new images from the recently released Marvel Universe and Wolverine: Origins 1:18 action figure line.  These figures fit nearly seamlessly with any Joe collection on shelves and are fantastic looking toys in their own right.  He already supplied a couple of nice galleries of pictures in a previous post here and here, and now he finishes the job by giving me dozens more of figures we didn’t see the last time around.  Bullseye, Daredevil, Iron Fist, and more, all visible in the monster-sized gallery below:

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Vexar Designs Build-a-HQ – Incredible!

by | Mar 16, 2009 | Dio-Stories, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Toys

Normally I reserve things like this for a “Kick Ass Custom of the Week” but in this case, I just gotta focus on the concept of this whole idea.  I’ve been a fan of Freedom’s work w/ Vexar designs for a long time, though haven’t really mentioned it here.  But with the debut of this “Build-A-HQ” concept on the JBL Forums I just had to make mention of it!

Freedom doesn’t just show us what he made, though, he gives us some amazing break downs of the materials, the measurements, and the whole process for building the Tactical Ops Center, which is step 1 in the Build-A-HQ process.  Even as a standalone piece, the Tactical Ops Center is cool enough, but looking at what he has planned for the full headquarters, I absolutely cannot WAIT to see this come to fruition.  This could be very useful as I continue to work on the big final chapter to my Dio-Story universe.  Check out tons of details on Vexar’s Pages below:

These aren’t your typical cardboard dioramas, these are full blown plastic styrene, professional looking items that’ll work in any collection or display.  Love how these came out.  Nice work!