by generalsjoes | Sep 6, 2009 | Dio-Stories, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary, G.I. Joe Collectors Club, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: The Movie, Pursuit of COBRA
Warning – This is gonna get long. If you just want to check out the latest project, click here.
Without a shadow of a doubt the most asked question I get is “when are you going to do more dio-stories?”. And well, at least, for the moment, I’ve got an answer, though it might be one that ticks off some folks.
Ever since I began my Dio-Story adventures way back in 2002, it was because I was inspired. The new Real American Hero Collection figures did it for me back then, sparking me into my massive review archive and monstrous dio-story universe that has spanned 7 years, hundreds of characters, and lots of obnoxious special effects (not to mention many an oversized blade of grass representing mysterious “jungles” in different parts of the world… :shifty: ). But, as the years roll on and real life takes its place amongst my hobbies, time grew shorter, and for me to tell the types of stories I wanted to tell, well…it was going to take a lot more time and a LOT more effort than I was putting in.
But I stand before you, still determined to finish what I started. However, this little project is NOT a continuation of what I started. Confused yet? Check out the “Read the Full Story” link to…well…read the full story.
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by generalsjoes | Sep 6, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe: The Movie
So I’ve been poking around DeviantArt a bit, but I’m a bit disappointed to say that it hasn’t been the treasure trove of cool information for The Rise of COBRA that it was for G.I. Joe: Resolute. Not sure why, but the official behind-the-scenes stuff has been few and far between. However, I did uncover a couple of neat little things.
Drew Johnson – Rise of COBRA Style Guide Pages
Drew is a comic artist and also apparently did some work for the Rise of COBRA style guide. Some head turn arounds and basic character art. He uploaded a few of those images to his DeviantArt page, and I’ve mirrored them below.
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FlintLockPrivateer – Rise of COBRA Costume Design/Sculptor
This one is pretty neat. Only three images, but it shows some nice behind the scenes sculpting and modeling that’s done for the costume design of The Rise of COBRA. We get some neat peeks at an early look of COBRA Commander’s “iron lung” (as it’s described) as well as the Reactive Armor. I like this stuff a lot.
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So, no, definitely not the scores of cool sketches, storyboards, and character art that we got with G.I. Joe: Resolute, but some neat stuff to be seen, still.
by generalsjoes | Sep 6, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: The Movie
Rulz over at HissTank.com is making quite the name for himself with all of his pre-production scores, and he’s come up with another one, this time the COBRA Surveillance Port with MARS Trooper and Tele-Viper.
I’m torn on this a bit… I’m actually not a huge fan of these mini-playsets, and I’m one of those grumbling guys who is ready to move on from the vintage homage stuff, but the Surveillance Port fits in nicely to the new universe. I actually like it an awful lot in this blue paint scheme…more than I thought I would. The figures, though? Eh, not so much. I wasn’t a big fan of the MARS Trooper initially, and he’s not doing anything more for me now. The Tele-Viper is all right, but that black and red paint scheme just doesn’t mesh real well. I do really like how Hasbro is integrating the vintage stuff with the more modern style, but that Tele-Viper just doesn’t have any real “flow”. It feels like a vintage head slapped on a new body, and not like a real cohesive new trooper. There’s some neat gear here (like the COBRA style laptop) and the Surveillance Port itself appeals, just not sure I’m sold on the whole package.
We’ll see.
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by generalsjoes | Sep 6, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: The Movie
The Terror Drome continues its impressive streak if pictorial reviews for recently released Rise of COBRA toys with 4 out of the 5 figures from Wave 4! These are just hitting retail now, only having been spotted in select Toys “R” Us across the country. Every figure except for the Nano-Viper is featured.
I’ve also hosted a number of the great images below.
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The winner of this wave is far and away, the Night Adder. Love the tats (COBRA La! Sweet!), love the use of the Roadblock tooling, and just love the overall attitude. He could definitely give Croc Master a run for his money. But I especially love the new characters and new “history” we’re seeing woven into the movie line, too. It’s like the “glory days” of Spy Troops and Valor Vs. Venom all over again. I know there aren’t many fans out there who would consider the new sculpt age as the “Glory Days” but for those of us who value story and characters as highly as great toys, those were cool times. We were seeing NEW G.I. Joe history written on a daily basis, and getting new things to incorporate into our Joe universe, and I feel the same way here. It doesn’t hurt that the toys are really kick ass as well.
Still not sold on Charbroil. He actually looks a bit cooler to me without the Blowtorch vest, but overall kind of a “bleh” figure. Kamakura rocks my world, too. I actually really like his short stature, too, it accentuates the “apprentice” angle, making him look quite a bit younger than a lot of the other Joes. Red Fang Ninja is hit or miss. I like the idea, not crazy about the MARS Trooper base figure for a ninja (especially one that’s supposed to be freelance), but the use of the Resolute Trooper head sculpt and the Comic Pack Storm Shadow webgear is pretty interesting.
All in all, a repaint heavy wave, yet still some nice new elements, just like Wave 5. Don’t get me wrong, I’m itching for some really new stuff when the Pursuit of COBRA comes, but considering the techniques, I think we’re getting some very neat stuff even with the repaints.
by generalsjoes | Sep 6, 2009 | G.I. Joe, Sponsor News
by generalsjoes | Sep 4, 2009 | Sponsor News
Hi – Here is a quick update from http://www.bigbadtoystore.com about more
new arrivals, new preorders, and our latest clearance sale!
——————
NEW CLEARANCE SALE
——————
For this sale, we have a bit of everything – 30 individual items with
meaningful price cuts, 10 menus with price reductions up to 50% –
including some Star Wars, GI Joe, Transformers, Halo & more. We’ve also
put an across the board 10% discount on all of our toy menus. Everything
except ‘New’ and ‘Preorder’ items are eligible and the 10% price
reductions are listed on the site. Take a look at the main sale menu
here:
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/list.aspx?list=3933
————
NEW ARRIVALS
————
GI JOE VEHICLES – WAVE 05 RESTOCK
The immensely popular wave of vehicles that includes the Ghost Hawk with
Lift Ticket, Arctic HISS with Arctic Driver, Claw Glider with Stratoviper
& Flak Cannon with Outback and Stinger Jeep with Stinger Commander is back
in stock at $69.99. This assortment is only available directly from Asia
in large quantities and this is likely the last shipment we’ll be
receiving. Take a look here:
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=HAS16279&mode=retail
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by generalsjoes | Sep 4, 2009 | Dio-Stories, G.I. Joe, Other Toys, Transformers
Long time visitors to GeneralsJoes know that my site used to revolve around Joe-related “dio-stories”…unfortunately, mostly due to my own time constraints, that has changed a little bit. However, I still absolutely love dio-stories and I’ve been hosting Self-Modifier’s G.I. Joe Meets The Transformers Dio-Story for a long time now.
Well, I’m thrilled to report that he has sent me a new installment! Volume 4 of G.I. Joe Meets the Transformers has now been uploaded to the appropriate section (which can also be located in the dio-stories drop down menu above).
Check it out! Good stuff.
by generalsjoes | Sep 4, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: The Movie
Rulz over on HissTank.com got his hands on the upcoming Toys “R” Us Exclusive COBRA 5-Pack (to go along with his G.I. Joe 5-Pack) and has posted images here, which I’m also mirroring below.
As cool as the G.I. Joe 5-Pack is, I find the COBRA pack pretty underwhelming. Sure, it’s great for army builders, since there are few changes to any of the troopers within (save for Elite-Viper’s COBRA symbol), but I’m not crazy about those two MARS Trooper/Officer figures, and I certainly don’t need a sixth Neo-Viper necessarily. I wouldn’t mind another Elite-Viper, and that infiltration Duke is completely bad ass, but I don’t see myself paying $20 just for those two figures. I’ll probably crawl eBay and see who’s dumping that Duke and keeping the troopers.
Interesting that the Joe set seems full of creative thinking and new characters, while the COBRA set just seems to be rehash central. But again, for an army builder pack, maybe that’s what folks want in a COBRA set…we’ve already got plenty of Skittle-Vipers as it is. :shifty:
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by generalsjoes | Sep 3, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: The Movie
Paul Ernst from the Fighting 118th has reported that Rise of COBRA Wave 4 as well as the Wave 3 “The Doctor” and “Arctic Storm Shadow” variants have hit retail at his local Toys “R” Us in California! He also posted images, which I’ve mirrored below. The hunt continues…
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by generalsjoes | Sep 3, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe: The Movie
The Hollywood Movie Costumes and Props blog site has posted a bunch of really nice images of costumes and props as well as the actual vehicles that were used in G.I. Joe: The Rise of COBRA. It gives us some really nice up close shots of just a little bit of the awesome gear that was seen on screen. Check it out here and here, and I’ve also mirrored some images below.
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