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YoJoe.com overhauls the figure archive, and it is spectacular!

One of the longest running G.I. Joe websites on the web, and a bastion of research for every Joe fan everywhere, YoJoe.com has quite simply left an indelible mark on the fabric of not just the online G.I. Joe community, but I would argue on the fabric of the action figure community in general.

I often see people in other collecting arenas asking “where can I find the “YoJoe” for Star Wars?  Where can I find the “YoJoe” for Transformers?”  It has serviced G.I. Joe fans for many years, and I would argue it is quite simply the most impactful G.I. Joe themed website ever.  Just remember the first time you stumbled upon it and immediately were thrust back to the good old days.

But YoJoe.com isn’t content to rest on their laurels and survive based on the robustness of their figure archive…they’ve been working extremely hard behind the scenes for several months, and I dare say even years to do a soup-to-nuts overhaul of the entire action figure archive.  The results are quite simply amazing.

With a totally revamped index, and much improved layout for the individual action figure entries, YoJoe has drastically improved on what was already a fantastic resource.  You can see all the various different versions of the figures in a single entry, and you should never have to leave a page to look for another page.  In the grand scheme of things to folks visiting the site, the changes result in a much more intuitive and fluid interface.

As of this posting, the Action Figure Archive is the only section that has been completed, but there are many more to come.  Kudos to good friend of GeneralsJoes Terry Dizard and Phil Donnelly for all of the work they put in, and big props to the tech guys for building this all out.  They made a great resource even better.

Check out the new Action Figure Archive now!

Mammoth and Monumental Episode 52 of What’s on Joe Mind is online now!

Wow, it’s hard to believe that it’s been a full year since the What’s on Joe Mind podcast launched, but the guys certainly know how to celebrate.  Episode #52 features not just an interview with Michael Bell to celebrate, but we also opened our phone lines to all of our fans!  For over three hours we had a constant stream of callers dialing in to shoot the breeze, ask questions, and just generally have some fun.

Not only that, but we had some old friends stop by and hang out on the show for a little while, which was a really fun, awesome experience.

I just happened to be running a little late for this one, but I should pop up about an hour into the episode, and eventually I don’t sound like I’m talking in a trash can.  Listen to this landmark 1 year anniversary episode on Podbean.com, or check it out via the embedded player below.  As always, the show notes will be after the jump.


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Amazon adds official images of upcoming G.I. Joe 4-Packs

Of course they had to wait until the Renegades set sold out, but hey, better late than never, right?  We now have official images of the upcoming G.I. Joe: Renegades and G.I. Joe: Retaliation 4-Packs, and man, that Renegades set is blowing me away.  That almost looks like all new tooling.

Craaaazy.  Take a look at the images below, and don’t forget to order!  Amazingly, the G.I. Joe: Renegades set is SOLD OUT currently.  This is awesome news and tells me that there is still a consumer audience out there for Renegades.  Fantastic.  Now that I see official images, I’m even more excited to get this set in hand.

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I’m actually surprising myself here, too, and I’m coming around to that G.I. Joe: Retaliation 4-Pack.  It’s the small things like the movie accurate file cards, the webgear for Snake Eyes, and the better colored machine gun as well.  Cobra Commander is looking sharp in black, too.  ARGH.  Links for ordering are below.  Keep checking back for the Renegades set, I love that it’s already sold out!

Amazon.com Sneak Preview and Renegades 4-Packs are IN STOCK.

Happy Monday!

As I sit here Monday morning preparing to do some catch up posts I see that Amazon.com now has the G.I. Joe: Retaliation Sneak Preview 4-Pack and the G.I. Joe: Renegades 4-Pack in stock and ready to ship.

I will admit, though, the $40 price tag took me by surprise.  I’d think a benefit to buying a 4 pack is that maybe it would be cheaper than buying the 4 figures individually…  but not so much. That being said, I am ALL OVER that Renegades pack.  Click the links below to order ’em up!

I’m hoping these sell well and convince Amazon to continue doing stuff like this in the future.

Adding insult to injury – the origins of the G.I. Joe: Retaliation Swamp-Viper

As usual, notpicard has got a great eye for parts, unused or otherwise.  I posted images of the Fang Boat w/ Swamp-Viper last night, and today, notpicard left a comment referencing some old unused “Clutch” tooling.

It was a story that I posted some time ago, pointing back to the Facebook page of Matt Brouillard, who is apparently a freelance sculptor who did some work for Hasbro, including an incredibly awesome looking “Clutch” (a name Mr. Brouillard used).  This Clutch looked pretty futuristic, yet had a ton of amazing detail throughout…and guess what?

Yeah, that’s Swamp-Viper.  Only the figure looks considerably different once it’s tooled up with reduced detail and articulation.  There’s absolutely no doubt that the Clutch sculpt was the foundation of this figure, yet it’s downright depressing to see how much detail and design is lost through the articulation changes.  Ugh.  It’s not just missing joints, the entire figure just doesn’t look as sharp or as cool.  Check out the comparison image below:

Obviously the armor design and overall uniform design is the same, though there are some missing pouches around the waist, and with the t-crotch added, you loose the detail in the upper legs as well.  Some of the sculpting work on the gloves is not the same either, and overall, things just look a bit softer and less crisp.  It still looks like a very impressive design, but by reducing the articulation, the figure itself suffers in almost every way.

A real shame.  Again, big thanks and kudos to notpicard for picking up on this instantly.  He’s got a great eye.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation Pre-Orders are LIVE!

We all knew the day was coming… April 28th was the official explosion of G.I. Joe: Retaliation pre-orders for e-Tailers.  Turns out  many e-tailers did not waste any time!  Pre-Orders have gone live across the web.

Check out the various links below to pre-order now!

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