Life has been a bit crazy lately, but I’m trying to get back on the horse. Today I’m reviewing the latest release from Boss Fight Studio’s terrific Vitruvian HACKS line, Cerisier, the Sakura Elven Assassin!
A great figure with an awesome backstory, and a pleasant surprise to boot, appearing exclusively on BossFightShop.com.
Check out the review on my Vitruvian HACKS Review page or with the direct link below.
Go check it out!
While no figure previews have started yet, the G.I. Joe Collectors Club has announced the line up for Figure Subscription Service 7.0!
Some decent selections this time around, and as stated previews will BEGIN October 31st.
Hey, that’s today!
Personally I’m almost the most excited about Dreadnok KAOS, one of those unreleased Pursuit of COBRA figures from the concept case five years back. He wouldn’t have been my first choice of those figures, but perhaps this is an indication that more of those could be on the docket. I guess we’ll see…
G.I. JOE DESERT TROOPER & COYOTE
Code Name: DUSTY & SANDSTORM
(Inspired by the 1991 action figure.)
Includes: removable beret, harness with large knife,
assault rifle, sub machine gun, coyote, knife,
pistol with suppressor, and figure stand.
COBRA SUPREME LEADER
Code Name: COBRA COMMANDER
(Inspired by the unreleased “arctic” action figure.)
Includes: removable helmet, holster with pistol,
advanced combat rifle, cobra staff, and figure stand.
G.I. JOE COMMANDER
Code Name: GENERAL HAWK
(Inspired by the 1991 action figure.)
Includes: removable helmet, harness with holster,
pistol, rifle, glider backpack with pop-out wings,
detachable rockets x 2, and figure stand.
DREADNOK SALVAGE CREW
Code Name: DREADNOK KAOS
(Inspired by the unreleased “concept case” action figure.)
Includes: removable harness, pistol, bolo,
wrist crossbow, machete, and figure stand.
G.I. JOE ASSAULT VEHICLE DRIVER
Code Name: TREADMARK
(Inspired by the 1988 action figure.)
Includes: removable vest, assault rifle, pistol,
combat knife, and figure stand.
EXTENSIVE ENTERPRISES CEO
Code Name: TOMAX
(Inspired by the Sunbow cartoon design.)
Features NEW head sculpt!
Includes: aerial platform with sky hook, auto pistol,
briefcase with warheads x 4, and figure stand.
G.I. JOE TIGER FORCE NINJA
Code Name: KIM “JINX” ARASHIKAGE
(Inspired by the 2003 action figure.)
Features NEW head sculpt!
Includes: masked/unmasked heads, swords x 2,
dual sword sheath backpack, Naginata, and figure stand.
COBRA ARCTIC TRANSPORT OFFICER
Code Name: ICE VIPER OFFICER
(Inspired by the 2007 action figure.)
Includes: removable helmet, goggles, harness,
radio, rifle, sais x 2, boot cleats, and figure stand.
G.I. JOE SAMURAI WARRIOR
Code Name: BUDO
(Inspired by the 1988 action figure.)
Features NEW head sculpt!
Includes: Samurai helmet, removable chest armor,
belt, sais x 2, swords x 2, and figure stand.
COBRA SAVAGE FIGHTER
Code Name: KANGOR
(Inspired by the Brazilian exclusive action figure.)
Includes: removable harness, boxing gloves/hands,
dumbbell weights x 2, kangaroo, and figure stand.
G.I. JOE TUNDRA RANGER
Code Name: SGT. STALKER
(Inspired by the 1989 action figure.)
Includes: removable tactical vest, NEW hat, rifle,
knife, kayak with stabilizer, machine gun mount,
double-ended paddle, and figure stand.
COBRA HYPNOTIST
Code Name: CRYSTAL BALL
(Inspired by the 1987 action figure.)
Features NEW head sculpt!
Includes: removable vest, pistol, knife,
shield, and figure stand.
NOTE: These modern era club exclusive action figures will not be exact replicas of their vintage counterparts. All images are Photoshop mock-up representations, final product, accessories and/or colors will vary!
She’s en elf of many names… initially revealed at the New Jersey Collectors Convention, Cerisier was a very pleasant surprise. She had not appeared on any input drawings or concepts before her reveal, and many folks were a bit confused by where she fit in.
Technically not a part of wave 3 she also had been identified by several separate names (Sakura Elvish Assassin and Cherry Blossom Elf among others) and folks were a bit unsure of her place.
Well, Boss Fight Studio gave us all a pleasant surprise, revealing that she was a BossFightShop.com exclusive and she is available for sale RIGHT NOW.
As many folks have gotten used to, Cerisier is another excellent release from Boss Fight. Using the familiar female body style with an updated head (it almost looks like Lacuna’s head with a different hairpiece) this Elf has long, pointed ears and a sleek appearance giving more credence to her role as a deadly assassin. With gray skin (colored by dark ink to blend in to the shadows) and a fantastic combination of pale colors on the secondaries, she manages to look dark and stealthy and colorful and vibrant both at the same time. The folks at Boss Fight have a true sense of artistry with these figures, knowing just how to combine the right colors, enhancing the figure. So many toys these days have colors for the sake of having colors, without those color schemes really making sense. The Vitruvian HACKS series has a clear template and purpose for each color they choose, and the end result is a far more aesthetically pleasing end product.
Cerisier uses the same secondaries as Aiyana the Autumn Elf, but with these different colors, comes across as a much different looking character, and one that I really enjoy. It goes without saying that the articulation on the H.A.C.K. part system only further accentuate the greatness of this figure, as she feels exceptionally well constructed, yet has been remarkably easy to swamp around. The female body style that Boss Fight uses is the best in the business and every time I get a new figure of theirs it’s a true highlight.
Accessories
One nice thing about Cerisier is that she actually comes with some new gear. By the looks of it, it’s gear that will be repurposed for Narissa in Wave 2, but hitting first with Cerisier gives us a nice glimpse at some items still to come. The crossbow, hip quiver, and three crossbow bolts are all really great accessories and allow this Elvish assassin some mobility as she moves about the darkness, hunting down her targets. She also comes complete with a pair of the same knives that Aiyana initially came with as well.
Cerisier was a surprise addition to the Vitruvian HACKS universe, but has been a very welcome one. The spectacular construction, functional accessories (she can actually hold her crossbow realistically!) and excellent new paint scheme all come together to give us another really great, really fun Vitruvian HACKS product.
Holy cow.
Honestly, though, I’m not especially surprised. Yes, Visionaries was a flash in the plan line at retail, but it was a line full of rich mythology, scores of awesome unreleased product, and what we saw on store shelves was just the tip of a vast, underwater iceberg of awesome potential. I, for one, am thrilled that the guys at Full Force devoted eight solid hours to an episode on discussing the Visionaries brand. It deserves this and more!
The podcast guys talk to a ton of talent related to Visionaries including Buzz Dixon himself, Steve and David Mapes from TheVisionaries.net including a deep dive into the vault of unseen Visionaries content. Some really awesome stuff crammed into this episode.
Check out The Full Force Podbean page for the episode, and definitely hit up The Full Force on Facebook for all the awesome show notes. And jeez, this image Brian Hickey whipped up freaking ROCKS.
The word is out and HasCon will continue! I know I speak for lots of folks when I say that the first inaugural HasCon was a roaring success. I had a blast in September when I went and greatly look forward to more to come.
Hasbro has announced the next HasCon, but there will be a little ways to wait, as the next date has been set for September 6th through the 9th… 2019.
The timing makes sense in a way, after all, there are several trade show/fan conventions that run every two years rather than annually and considering the coordination it took to get all of those exciting brands together in one place, I can see why this is an event that might happen only every two years.
The best thing is that it’s happening, and I’m already planning on how to get me and my family in Providence for September, 2019… it’s sure to be a great time!
At New Jersey Collectors Con this year we got a little peek at the upcoming Wave 3 Lord Vehemous from the Vitruvian HACKS fantasy collection. Now, we have a little more (awesome) backstory courtesy of Infinite Earths, who Boss Fight allowed to reveal the package art and temporal log.
The package art is by James Griffiths and looks absolutely amazing. I love the influence of the purple energy throughout, signs of some disturbance of the timeline by the looks of it.
Even cooler is his backstory:
Lord Vehemous
Dragon Cult War Priest Self-proclaimed leader of a sect which worships dragons as avatars of the gods. Vehemous found a tome that grants him the ability to control these mighty beasts. Using this power, he has amassed a substantial number of followers, each of whom have been granted supernatural powers by the liberal imbibing of dragon blood. The blood has addictive properties and causes physical deformities but dragon cult members do not care. The telepathic powers, immunity to disease and tolerance to pain they gain are worth it.
Temporal Log: Vehemous has lately begun to preach that a magical item exists in the blasted lands that will allow his followers to take the next step and become dragons themselves. It appears legends of Stheno’s staff have reached his ears. Will he do the unthinkable and resurrect the long absent Gorgon horde if he finds it?
Definitely take a run over to Infinite Earths to see the full reveal and this looks like another awesome Vitruvian HACKS character I’ll want to get my hands on.
Over on the Animal Warriors of the Kingdom Facebook page, several updates have been posted on pre-production samples of their upcoming action figure line, and I gotta tell you, things are looking really good.!
Recently another exclusive character, Scraps has been unlocked, and pre-orders are open via BackerKit until November 1st, so you still have a chance to pre-order some of these great looking figures on the pre-order page now.
Even with some not-so-fun retail issues with 1:18 scale figures at the moment, it’s really awesome to see such ingenuity and creativity from these up and coming toy folks, and I’m wishing the Spero Studios guys all the success in the world. It’s looking like a fantastic product line coming together.
Make sure you hit up BackerKit to get your pre-orders in.
If you’ve been following along with Larry Hama’s G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero book you’ve likely seen some of John Royle’s excellent cover work.
John has reached out to let me know that he’ll be attending the Isle of Wight Comic Convention on November 4th and 5th and he’ll be in Malta at their Comic Convention at the beginning of December. Information about the Isle of Wight ComicCon can be found on their Twitter Feed.
Keep following John on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for the latest cover updates and check out his work on the new Dawn-themed Snake Eyes costume below.
This past weekend I was lucky enough to join Mike and Fred from Just Another G.I. Joe Show and talk about GeneralsJoes, my writing, and a bunch of other fun stuff. I had a great time and the latest episode (for anyone who missed it) is now up on YouTube.
There was some great conversation about G.I. Joe, doing G.I. Joe reviews, and my struggling author career, and I think many of you would dig it.
Check out the embedded video below, and be sure to follow Just Another G.I. Joe Show on Facebook and JoeBattleLines for the latest updates! It was a blast.
