I will be the first to admit, as a long time shameless G.I. Joe fanatic, that there hasn’t been a whole lot to get excited about with the franchise in recent years. Although it actually hasn’t been that long since we had new toys (the FSS was still happening a bit over a year ago), something feels… different about 2020.
With the impending launch of the Snake Eyes film in October, rumors have been running rampant about a potential new 6″ vintage-inspired G.I. Joe line called “G.I. Joe: Classified”. For every enthusiastic post, however, there are generally several “I’ll believe it when I see it” counter-arguments, which is understandable.
However, in recent days we’ve seen an actual Bill of Lading posted from a shipping company in China indicates the existence of a convention exclusive, as well as Wal-Mart and Target product codes courtesy of YakFace.com which clearly indicate that there are, in fact, mass market newly produced G.I. Joe action figures on the horizon for the first time in a very long time. Even the 50th Anniversary was mostly existing tooling and relegated to only Toys “R” Us, so you really need to look back to G.I. Joe: Retaliation as the last time we saw G.I. Joe action figures at places like Wal-Mart and Target.
In spite of what some Joe fans might say, and regardless of what your scale preference is, this is big news. This is exciting news. And yes, as you probably all anticipate, I’m pretty fired up.
I’m a bit unique in my love for G.I. Joe. While it was certainly the ’82 – ’86 era that ignited that spark in me, I carried a love for the military/science-fiction infusion of the brand all the way through the 90’s, through the 00’s, through Sigma 6, and straight up to the present, and while I totally understand people’s attachment to 4″ (or 3 3/4″), I can’t help but be excited about this new iteration of our favorite Real American Hero.
Honestly, there are a few reasons for that:
Brand new stuff. Yes these figures will very likely be vintage inspired, but they should have mostly new tooling and a new style that we haven’t seen before, and everyone knows I’m a sucker for new stuff.
Visibility. Like it or not, collector themed lines are trending 6″ right now, which is interesting because not that long ago they were all trending 4″. Star Wars: Black, Marvel Legends, Power Rangers: Lightning, not to mention stuff like Fortnite and DC Collectibles have proven that the sculpting and detail at a 6″ scale has made huge strides. I’ve been buying Marvel Legends again, which I haven’t done for several years, and like it or not, a strongly vintage inspired collector-oriented line will bring new people to the table and get those people interested in the brand again.
A wider expanse. So, I think we all realize that Hasbro knows that G.I. Joe’s bread and butter over the years has been at the 12″ and 4″ scales. I’m not sure a highly detailed 12″ line is realistic at this point, but I would be shocked if we didn’t see some 4″ action figures alongside this new 6″ collector line. Time will tell what sort of detail and articulation we see (and how much new tooling is involved), but regardless, I suspect that a little over a week from now, people will be a lot happier than they might be now.
Oh. Yeah. Speaking of a “little over a week” from now. Hasbro’s Collector Event at Toy Fair happens Saturday, February 22nd. That’s a week from tomorrow, and according to their brochure, G.I. Joe is sure to be a topic of conversation. So a week from tomorrow, we should know what to expect for the coming year, and I strongly believe we will be pretty fired up, especially compared to the relative drought we’ve seen on Wal-Mart and Target shelves over the past several years.
A new movie. A new mobile game. New toys. Sure looks like 2020 is shaping up to be a fun year. You can bet I’ll be right here celebrating alongside you.
It’s Snake Eyes’ star Henry Golding’s birthday, but we’re the ones getting the present!
On Golding’s Instagram account today, he shared the first ever promotional image from the upcoming Snake Eyes film! It features who we must believe is Snake Eyes himself in more traditional ninja garb looking up the steps to an ancient temple, and if you look close enough you can just see what appear to be two (red???) ninja looking down upon him.
It’s a nicely done image, black and white with a bit of an artistic flair that doesn’t reveal a whole lot, but does a good job drumming up some excitement for the film. It drummed up enough excitement that I hopped on a Full Force News Burst with Chris this morning and quickly relayed enthusiastic thoughts.
Check out the image below and the Full Force News Burst on Podbean or YouTube.
Some folks have already noticed over the past few days that I’m making some desperate, last ditch efforts to try and coax the GeneralsJoes review archive back online and free from the spyware-ridden webhost that I’ve been saddled with over the past several months.
I have made a LOT of progress! GeneralsJoes.com now redirects automatically to GeneralsJoesReborn.com and many of the links have been repointed to the current host.
You should find that most of the reviews and dio-stories are now online here at GeneralsJoesReborn.com!
Unfortunately there are many, many broken images, especially in the newer reviews, and I’m racking my brain trying to figure out how to get that fixed. I hope I can, but unfortunately I cannot make any promises. This hurts me just as much (if not more) than it hurts you guys, trust me. I’m trying to strategize ways to fix this going forward and to ensure something like this does not happen again.
Regardless, start hopping around the site and please let me know how things look. Thanks very much for your patience…
(Can you tell I’m starting to get ramped back up for Toy Fair in a few weeks?? Should be a fun year!)
G.I. Joe: War on Cobra hit mobile devices everywhere on January 20th, and I have to admit, I’ve had a blast during the first 10 days. I find it pretty low maintenance and very subtle in its strategies, and has been a fun distraction in its first two weeks of release. There are enough tie-ins to the G.I. Joe universe and enough gaming dynamics to keep me interested.
There are some interesting complexities, but a relatively simple approach. I’m really enjoying it.
Now, Zartan is joining the fight! Hot of the heels of the Roadblock/Baroness event, there is a special Zartan event where completing certain tasks and challenges earns you a chance to unlock the Cobra Master of Disguise! I won’t lie, the Events format is… challenging, and I’m not sure I’m a big fan. You basically have to accomplish various game-based tasks which earn you event coins that you spend in an event store to randomly pull event related items.
It’s not a bad format, except that even completing all of the event tasks doesn’t necessarily give you enough event coins to purchase everything in the event store. I’m sure there are some other strategies involved, but for now, I’ll have to play it by ear.
Anyway… Zartan looks pretty awesome. 😀
Be sure to check out GIJoeWaronCobra.com to download to your favorite mobile device!
I’ve been dying to write this article ever since news starting breaking earlier this afternoon. By all accounts, a few assorted online retailers started receiving word this afternoon that Hasbro would be releasing 6″ G.I. Joe action figures in June, with the first assortment being the following:
Snake Eyes (2 per case)
Duke
Roadblock
Scarlett
Destro
According to a post on HISSTank.com, the new line will be called G.I. Joe: Classified and the current hypothesis is that it will be similar in style to the Marvel Legends, Power Ranger Lightning series and the Star Wars: Black series, with an assortment of highly articulated and accurately accessorized figures.
Nobody knows much about the line yet, but my own speculation is that these will be vintage in style, resembling the most familiar, iconic looks for the characters represented. A Twitter post from skinnyjoefan seems to agree with this, astutely pointing out that these figures are many of the same exact figures that were released at the beginning of the 25th Anniversary line back in 2007.
Of course, much of this news broke courtesy of The Full Force, and thankfully my work schedule was such that Chris and I could throw together a quick News Burst on this exciting new rumor!
There appear to be enough sources confirming the information for me to assume some validity, but until official confirmation arrives from Hasbro, let’s keep this in the rumor category. I have no doubt this information (and more!) will be fully revealed at Toy Fair 2020 in New York City. Stay tuned for more exciting news, I suspect this is just the tip of a huge, exciting iceberg for 2020!
Wow, when it rains, it pours! The new Snake Eyes film is all over the place in the news today as filming moves to Japan, which has spawned a series of updates and info around the film’s production.
First and foremost, we have a good look at the new official logo, which is slightly different than one we’d seen previously (and also includes the tagline “G.I. Joe Origins”). An updated cast list was posted on Paramount’s Facebook Page as well.
The Japanese Snake Eyes website has been officially launched as well, under the name “G.I. Joe Jet Black Snake Eyes” which is pretty awesome in and of itself.
Several images from the celebration of the filming moving to Japan have been shared as well and you can see a gallery of those images below. As 2020 goes along, there is sure to be much more news about the film and about the G.I. Joe brand at large, and I’m really excited to be sharing that info with you all. Nothing gets me more fired up than new media and G.I. Joe being in the public eye again.
Sure looks like 2020 is going to be a great year! If you want to stay as up to date as possible, make sure you’re following The Full Force on Facebook and check GeneralsJoesReborn as well!
TOKYO, JAPAN – JANUARY 10: (L) Haruka Abe and (R) Henry Golding attend the “Snake Eyes” start of Production in Japan event at the Hie-Jinja Shrine on January 10, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Christopher Jue/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)
Word has gone out today that the rumored mobile game G.I. Joe: War on COBRA now has an official launch date!
D3 Go! and Emerald City Games are bringing War on COBRA to your favorite device as of January 20th, 2020. It is available for pre-registration now on Google Play only. Check out the launch trailer, detailed fact sheet and all sorts of cool press images below.
I was able to get access to the beta version of the game a while ago, and while the beta was a little clunky, the overall game play was fun, and I’m looking forward to playing it for real shortly!
G.I. Joe: War on COBRA – Available January 20, 2020!
RaginSpoon has been a long time mainstay in the G.I. Joe Collector community, initially making a splash with custom sculpted and cast heads and accessories.
For many years now, the folks there have had a dream of mass producing their own diorama accessories, and I’m thrilled to say that a short while ago, they made that dream a reality! The Complex base building system (available at SmallJoes.com) hit the collector community by storm, and now they’re looking to really branch out and do some exciting things.
A Kickstarter has been launched for series two of the Complex base building system which features some amazing new accessories, catwalks, stairways, as well as additional types of walls (if it can hit those stretch goals). All of these parts and pieces are compatible with the initial build sets, and many of them are also compatible with the peg/hole system of some of your favorite 1:18 scale modern military lines.
The possibilities are truly limitless. I wish this was out there ten years ago while I was still making dio-stories. Anyway, go hit up their Kickstarter and think about pledging for some great looking accessories and parts for your dioramas!
I feel the need to preface this article with a simple fact:
I don’t really love Cowboy stuff. For whatever reason, it’s just never appealed to me a whole lot. Although my dad’s side of my family is from Denver, and I certainly have a lot of the American West in my bloodlines, there’s been nothing that really appealed to me about it.
Closest I’ve come to really being a fan of that era was Mattel’s Bravestarr line, the Galaxy Rangers, and maybe Firefly.
So, needless to say, I wasn’t really 100% committed to the Dime Novel Legends Kickstarter, and I hate to admit it, but I didn’t support it. I feel guilty even saying that, as I generally try to kick in and support most of those independent action figure Kickstarters, especially those run by people I’m friends with, but in this case, I’d over-extended on several others and decided to ease off the accelerator.
But, then they came out. And I heard other friends gushing about them. And they were available on SmallJoes.com (and I was able to acquire a nice selection for a great price from a friend of mine).
Long story short – I now have nearly a complete set of the Dime Novel Legends and good grief they are amazing.
Being as close as I am with the fine folks from Boss Fight Studio, I know how difficult it is to see an action figure line from concept to execution. Each time it happens successfully, especially on a small scale, it takes hours upon hours of pain-staking work, amazing artistic talent, brain-melting attention to detail, and just flat out dedication to releasing a solid product. Dime Novel Legends hits these marks in stride.
As a general overview, the figures are 4″ highly articulated Wild West themed figures of various designs and character. Each figure features a pseudo o-ring style construction (complete with the back screw– LOVE IT) though instead of the actual o-ring, it’s a construct using plastic joints. In truth, the effect is fantastic and does a great job mimicking the o-ring without actually leveraging the fragile rubber connection point within.
The sculpting is fantastic, the head sculpts filled with rich character and amazing detail, all while maintaining a high degree of articulation. Jointed elbows, wrists (as well as swivel), ball-joint heads (with the hole under the chin, compatible with Marauder Task Force). Double joint knees, swivel ankles, ball-joint hips. All the great articulation you’ve come to expect from collector friendly lines of this sort. Even for someone like me who has no real love for the Wild West has found a TON to love about this figure line. It truly is remarkable.
Action Figures
The figures themselves are terrific. Packaged in carded bubbles (bubbles are glued to the cart) with some great vintage artwork on the front and very straight-forward, but enjoyable bio’s on the back, each figure has a wealth of character and comes with a nice assortment of quality accessories. Everything from revolvers (with belts and holsters, naturally), rifles, double-barreled shotguns, knives, hats– heck, even a barrel and some mugs of beer! So many cool little tidbits come with each of the figures in this first assortment. You can check out a full outline and gallery of all of the individual figures right here.
Buckaroos
Similar to Boss Fight Studios’ “Blanks” the Buckaroos assortment is a series of base figures with very simple color schemes that provide a wealth of customizability to an already impressive line up of individual characters. One nice difference between these and the blanks, are that these actually have some paint on the figures, so you can do pure part swapping without worrying about touching up the paint here and there. There’s even a Headhunters pack of heads you can use to mix things up. Check out the Buckaroos outline and gallery to see all of these goodies.
Gear/Accessory Sets
Another excellent compliment to the standard Dime Novel Legends figures are the Gear and Accessory sets, which provide a nice selection of painted accessories. These accessories include hats, vests, holsters and other goodies, with a nice weapons set that adds a ton of extra pistols, rifles and other gear. There’s even a separate “Bucket of Suds” set with additional alcohol and a set with a bucket and some potatoes to peel. Really ingenuitive stuff here. As with the others I have an outline and gallery page right here.
Conclusion
Honestly, I can’t say enough good things about this line. I have been absolutely captivated by the Dime Novel Legends since receiving them, and they are quickly rising to the ranks of Marauder Task Force and Vitruvian HACKS as some of my favorite 4″ action figures currently going, which is very high praise indeed. Although I’m not really a Wild West fan, these figures are making me one… now hurry up and make me a Marshall Bravestarr and a Galaxy Rangers template, will you?
These figures are currently available at SmallJoes.com.
Dime Novel Legends by Chicken Fried Toys
Sculpting
Paint Applications
Articulation
Accessories
4.6
Summary
Funded by Kickstarter, produced by Chicken Fried Toys and sold through SmallJoes.com, Dime Novel Legends have quickly earned a spot in my toy collection. Highly articulated, well sculpted, tightly constructed, and with a generous assortment of quality genre-specific accessories, there is a lot to love in this toy line even if, like me, you’re not a big fan of the Wild West.
Whether you’re looking for display pieces, figures to play with, or templates to customize there is something here for everyone. Individual figures, Buckaroo blanks, spare heads and accessories, it’s all here and all designed and crafted with very unique attention to detail.
Very, very impressive debut line from the folks at Chicken Fried Toys.
Yeah, I’m writing about dudes in furry shorts. Get over it. 😀
One of the great things about running your own action figure blog is you can talk about whatever action figure properties you want (which you’ll see again hopefully later this week…)
Over the weekend, PowerCon happened out in California and anyone who knows me knows along with G.I. Joe (and Transformers) I have a passion for Masters of the Universe. The first action figure I ever remember buying was not G.I. Joe, after all– it was Skeletor. Granted, Flash and COBRA came shortly thereafter, but Skeletor was my first real introduction to action figure “collecting”. I still remember asking my dad for Castle Grayskull for my birthday and being convinced it was merely a pipe dream, only to come home from school one day and sit on my bed to find that it had arrived in the mail and mom had hidden it under my covers.
Now, unlike G.I. Joe, I loved Masters of the Universe in spite of itself. I loved it more for what I viewed it could be. I didn’t really like the Filmation animated series, and while I enjoyed the concepts of the figures, I didn’t love the toys themselves. Kinda weird, huh? Yeah, I lived and died by those little mini-comics that hinted at a much more serious, sci-fi/fantasy blended world that went much deeper and cooler than the weekday afternoon 22 minute animated fare possibly could.
So, needless to say, once I finally bought my first Masters of the Universe Classics figure, I was hooked, and I know own several others (as well as Grayskull and most of the vehicles).
I’m drawing the line at Snake Mountain, though. Really, I am.
For this reason, I tend to pay attention to the Mattel/Super 7 news at various conventions and was pretty excited to see that Mattel themselves is bringing MOTU back to retail.
In all honesty, I likely won’t buy these – MOTU Classics fills that void nicely already, but I’m thrilled that they’re taking steps to get MOTU back in front of mass retail. That’s a good thing.
At PowerCon this weekend, not only did they reveal a new comic series and new mini-figures, but they also announced a new Battlecat coming with that MOTU Origins line. Not to mention more Super 7 Conan figures and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures based on the animated designs were also discussed.
But most important of all, they announced a new Netflix Anime Series! I am all sorts of fired up for this one. Kevin Smith is involved (a fact that already has fans riled up), but my understanding is the same animation company that produced Castlevania is producing this as well, which is a very cool thing.
Anyway, lots to digest. For a guy who is feeling like he already has way too much stuff there seems to be more and more cool things on the way. It continues to be a great time to be a geek. Get all the latest news on PowerCon over on Pixel Dan’s YouTube channel as well as on the Masters of the Universe Facebook Page.
