Perhaps coming one step closer to getting their own properties back in some kind of animated rotation, Variety reveals that Hasbro has acquired Boulder Media, an animation studio based out of Dublin, Ireland.
Boulder Media has produced many different animated programs, including a rebooted Danger Mouse for BBC, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, and Wander over Yonder. It isn’t difficult to discern their purpose for this, so who knows, perhaps that long rumored G.I. Joe animated series just got one step closer to appearing on our television sets.
Check out Variety.com for the details and thanks to Patrick for the heads up.
In spite of what you may think of the movie, I think it’s tough to argue that the G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra era was a turning point for the toy line, finding an awesome balance between aesthetics and articulation and cranking things up as far as accessories and detail work. The period from 2009 – 2011 encompassing the Rise of Cobra and Pursuit of Cobra lines gave G.I. Joe fans a lot to love and even more to look forward to. For his landmark Rank and File series, James Kavanaugh, Jr. is exploring this period of time for his second volume and it’s available now!
Check it out at RAHCGuide.com. It’s a definite MUST BUY.
The adventure continues to evolve in Rank & File — A Guide to Third-Generation 4” G.I. Joe Action Figures!
After a brief hiatus in 2006 that allowed G.I. Joe to flourish in other areas, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero went in a new stylistic direction that is still predominately used today! Not only did fans get to revisit some of their most cherished icons within the G.I. Joe mythos, they were also introduced to new characters that are now known and loved.
The Rank & File guide volume 2 displays every G.I. Joe action figure produced between the The Rise of Cobra and The Pursuit of Cobra series, complete with every accessory and variation produced. Not only are the accessories shown, they were carefully cataloged in an upcoming section that will guarantee the proper shade of accessory goes to the appropriate action figure. To top it off, every vehicle and play set released in the 4″ era is documented and every easily removable piece is shown individually photographed, ensuring collector completion.
This full color, 52-page resource manual beautifully illustrates the two series’ 180 action figures, 55 vehicles and every accessory, including all known variations. Not only is every accessory present and accounted for, they have each been assigned a unique number and identified throughout the resource guide. Each action figure was carefully examined between its initial run and any further re-releases to ensure accurate samples are clearly and concisely presented, perfect for the collector who is identifying individual action figures or sorting through unorganized lots.
Whether you are a seasoned or rejuvenated collector, enthusiast, or toy vendor, the Rank & File series is the decisive compilation for G.I. Joe action figures, vehicles and play sets produced between 2007 to today. Let the Rank & File Guide serve as a reference for completion or a scrapbook to the next big turning point of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.
Basic Information
The MSRP for The Rank & File Guide Volume 2 is $20 and available at www.rahcguide.com. Buyer will pay all additional shipping and handling costs. If you have purchased the R.A.H.C. guides before, the process will be very similar. This guide was self published and produced in quantities reflecting previous sales so do not hesitate in ordering if owning a guide is a priority.
When it comes to my sponsors and store affiliation things, I try to refrain from the shameless shilling, but I’m making an exception today. Deal with it. 🙂
Today, Amazon has launched Prime Day and it’s a great chance to not only kick the tires on their Amazon Prime service, but to get some really insane price deals, too. I’ve been a member of Amazon Prime for several years and I would never go back. It’s more than made up the money for me on shipping, plus the streaming video service ain’t half bad either.
Also, if you use my Affiliate link when you buy Amazon products, it supports the site and allows me to expand my reviews a little bit beyond typical G.I. Joe fare. Recently I’ve been able to review several Transformers items, and I was just able to purchase one of the new Takara Dia Battles sets thanks to my Amazon Affiliation. Please consider helping GeneralsJoes by clicking my Amazon Affiliate link and checking out Prime Day!
Along with the great Vitruvian HACKS reveals, Paddy and Brian showed off an amazing first look at their Total HACKS book, what looks to be a fantastic collection of everything Vitruvian HACKS, from figure bios to short stories and dioramas! Anyone who purchased their Total Retaliation book as a good idea of what to expect here, and the slides they showed off looked amazing.
Earlier this morning, Boss Fight Studio stunned the collecting community with a series of really great reveals through their panel at Roll Out Roll Call.
I asked, and they were kind enough to allow GeneralsJoes to host the official images from their slideshow in far better detail than I was able to grab via screen capture.
HUGE thanks to the Boss Fight folks for allowing me the opportunity to share these with everyone, and make sure you’re setting your alarms for 12:01am to pre-order Wave 5 and the chrome Blanks at BossFightShop.com!
If you want some more details about the slides below, make sure you check out my in depth recap of the panel.
Thanks again to the Boss Fight crew for letting me host these fantastic slides!
If you like what you see from the Zombie Labs stuff above, too, make sure you’re checking out Dream Concepts on Facebook. For Legends of the West hit up Chicken Fried Toys. Lots of great stuff to come!
Over the past two days in London, Boss Fight Studio has participated in a pair of streaming panels from Roll Out Roll Call, and as a part of these panels they’ve revealed a ton of great details on upcoming product from their Vitruvian HACKS toyline as well as other lines that they’ve worked on.
All of the streaming videos are available at the Boss Fight Studio Facebook Page, but some of the highlights can be seen below:
Eos Warrior (female fire trooper in translucent yellow/orange with “candy red” shiney armor. GREAT Phoenix deco on the shield and armor.
Anakritis Gorgon (an interrogator Gorgon trooper with a neon Garter snake deco)
Achilles (a sculpted metal protective boot for his right ankle, and an extremely intricate shield tampo design)
Berzerker Gorgon (a male Gorgon described as a variation of Eurayle’s disciple. Some very cool cobra-themed tattoos on his back)
Series 2 and Series 3
Boss Fight broke down some nice details about the upcoming Fantasy wave and Retro Sci-Fi Series, revealing an initial look at some 3D sculpts and some inputs on these two upcoming series.
Blanks and Skeletons
More Blank colors were revealed, including transparent, “sky” blue, and it was revealed that the silver/chrome Blank will go on pre-order TONIGHT with Wave 5!
Also a new stone deco Skeleton will be coming soon as well.
Vitruvian Crew
Boss Fight Studio also announced and revealed some concept art for the crew of the “Vitruvian” a time-hopping spaceship that serves as the crux behind the Vitruvian HACKS universe. The crew will contain a few key characters including:
Gary Goggles (awesome tribute to deceased G.I. Joe historian Gary Head, who is also the historian of the Vitruvian)
Space Leonidas (Leonidas was retrieved just in time from the battle of Thermapolae and instead of being a military style guy, he’s more of an Olympian. Shorts, cross trainers, energy style weapons)
Carmen “Merc” Mercado (60s era Bolivian revolutionary who serves as the Vitruvian’s main mechanic)
VI (The Vitruvian’s Artificial Intelligence system that is essentially armored hands and feet connected by translucent pink “energy” to resemble human form. She’s snarky and sarcastic, but is the essence of the Vitruvian ship.
Graphic Novel
Along with their toy product, Boss Fight Studio is working with comic/animation writer Christopher Hicks and comic artist (HACKS package artist as well) Les McLaine on an upcoming graphic novel!
While they’re not going to be using Kickstarter for future toy product, they ARE going to be using Kickstarter for the graphic novel to ensure that the artist and writer can be paid ahead of time for their work. As part of the graphic novel Kickstarter, both Talos and the Celestial Warrior 2-Pack will be available again as “Kickstarter Exclusives”.
One of the stretch goals of the graphic novel Kickstarter is the VI Vitruvian HACKS figure herself.
Zombie Lab
Boss Fight Studio also revealed a first look at this exciting new upcoming Kickstarter campaign “Zombie Lab”, which was initially revealed during MegaCon. In a pretty stunning surprise, they actually had some concept art of the upcoming line, which features some pretty fantastic design concepts!
Zombie Labs will be fully sculpted and engineered by Boss Fight Studio to be HACKS compatible!
Zombie Lab will feature CIVILIAN FIGURES which can be swapped out as Zombies! That’s right, we’ll be getting HACKS Compatible CIVILIANS.
The zombie figures will feature sculpted divots in their flesh where different weapons and accessories can be lodged or stuck to look as if the Zombie is being stabbed or hacked with an axe
Some of the zombies have removable “guts” that clip into open wounds in their bodies
One of the zombies actually had an attachment to give it four arms instead of two
Lots of different head and weapons options
Again, if you want to check out the entire videos, head on over to the Boss Fight Studio Facebook Page and it sounds like we’re in for a few years of amazing upcoming product! I couldn’t be more excited.
As soon as I heard that Boss Fight Studio was doing blind bags, I knew it would make for a pretty cool video review, so the instant I got my box in the mail, I set up the camera and started recording.
I had no idea what I was getting before the video started going so if you want to see my reaction and how the blind bags are sold and shipped check out my video on YouTube!
Thanks again to Chris from The Full Force for helping in put these together.
With the successful shift from pre-order to “in stock” status at BossFightShop.com, a few new blank colors were added to the Vitruvian HACKS library, including Cloud White. A perfect template for customizers, I decided to take a good look at the Cloud White blank, testing some different armor combinations.
Take a look at my review of the Cloud White Blank at the Vitruvian HACKS Review Page, or at the direct link below.
If you like what you see, buy the Female Blank or the Male Blank at BossFightShop.com. They are IN STOCK NOW!
Only a few short days before Roll Out Roll Call 2016 hits London, and The Full Force Podcast is talking all about it.
Not only that, but the guys talk JoeCon and cover all the latest G.I. Joe and Action Force news and info. Head on over to the What’s on Joe Mind Podbean page to download the latest episode, or you can listen to the embedded feed below.
Also, make sure to check out the Full Force Facebook Page for all the show notes and goodies from this episode.
