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G.I. Joe Convention 2012 – the Hasbro Diorama and Retaliation Posters

A few left over stragglers from my image onslaught over the weekend.  Set up in the middle of the Hasbro showroom at the Convention this year was quite the impressive diorama.  A double sided display with two scenes on the near side and one large mountain scene on the far side, pretty much every element of recent G.I. Joe releases were captured.  The far side brought the mountain side ninja combat into 3 dimensions, while the near side featured a Benzheen battle as well as a peek inside a Cobra base.

Some really great scenes throughout, and I took a ton of pictures.

Also included in this gallery are shots of various G.I. Joe: Retaliation posters that were scattered on display cases and the wall, many of which featured large sized artwork we had not necessarily seen, especially in such a big format.

Check out the gallery below.

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Ten things I took away from the 2012 G.I. Joe Convention

And no, I’m not talking about bringing home toys.  I’m talking about intangible things.  Opinions, feelings, impressions, etc…

I felt quite lucky throughout the weekend to be able to spend quite a bit of time with various folks at the Convention.  Whether it was speaking with Lanny or Brian from the G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club at the Golden Ticket dinner, or speaking to Hasbro at the Charity Casino Night dinner and on the sales floor.  I was left with a series of impressions, both good and bad, and I’m not certain folks who weren’t there could grasp that through the convention coverage.

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What’s on Joe Mind round table with the Hasbro G.I. Joe Team at GIJoeCon 2012

Yes, here is Special Edition #16…a very special edition indeed.  Back when I hopped on this little internet radio show, it seemed like a very fun way to kill some time and explore the G.I. Joe fandom in different ways, but that’s really all it was.  Even as it felt like our bonds were growing closer with each episode and our barriers were coming down, I never really thought the show would necessarily evolve to anything…it was still just four buddies BS’ing about G.I. Joe.

Over the next many months, the show would lose a friend to other commitments, but gain another, and along the way make connections with voice actors, G.I. Joe comic professionals, and even the director of a certain major motion picture to come in March, 2013.  Through it all, it was just four guys having fun.

Well, this past weekend these four guys having fun got a very rare opportunity to sit down for a lengthy 25 minute round table discussion with several members of Hasbro’s design and marketing team.  The folks directly responsible for those four inch pieces of plastic that decorate your house in such vast numbers.  I can’t quite express how cool it was for Hasbro and for Justin Aclin from Hunter PR to make this all happen.  In normal circumstances, even having a chance to talk with one person from the Hasbro team would have been amazing.  But on Sunday morning, we were fortunate enough to sit down with not one…  not two… not even three…  we had a great round table discussion with four members of the Hasbro G.I. Joe team.

John Warden, designer mastermind of the G.I. Joe line.   Dave Proctor, sculpting manager and the sculptor of one of everyone’s favorite G.I. Joe figures ever, the 30th Anniversary Storm Shadow.  Erik Arana, an input designer, and along with Wayne Park, one of the geniuses behind the G.I. Joe: Resolute 7-Packs as well as design elements of the Slaughter’s Marauders and Dreadnoks 7-Packs.  Last, but absolutely not least we spoke with Joe Del Regno, the current Marketing Director for the G.I. Joe line.

During this discussion, we covered a wealth of topics including the controversy behind the “Concept Case” as well as how fans can get their voices heard and express their desire to see certain figures come to light.  We speak about G.I. Joe: Retaliation, upcoming releases for 2013, and much more.  It was a very fun discussion, and was the highlight of the entire weekend for the What’s on Joe Mind team.

Cold Slither came close, but in the end, the Hasbro team won the vote.

This is a very quick episode, only about 25 minutes so even folks who don’t listen to the podcast should check it out and learn some cool things that you may not have known otherwise!

I’m certain I speak from everyone on the What’s on Joe Mind team when I say THANK YOU to John, Dave, Erik, Joe, and Justin for all working so hard together to get us that slot of time and for devoting their precious time to the show.  It was extremely exciting for us, and hopefully exciting for the Joe community as well.  Check it out on Podbean, or listen via the embedded players below:

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G.I. Joe Convention coverage from What’s on Joe Mind!

Well, the guys from What’s on Joe Mind were out in force for the 2012 International G.I. Joe Collectors’ Convention in New Orleans over the weekend, and they attacked the Joe fandom with a ton of content over the past few days.

I am outlining some of that content here, but will save the extra special event over the Con weekend for it’s own post.

What’s on Joe Mind Special Edition #15 – Day 2 & 3 of GIJoeCon Coverage

We focused on the day one coverage right here, but What’s on Joe Mind came back for days 2 & 3, recording from the booth of AVAC and noted author James Kavanaugh where we talked about JoeCon so far, specifically focusing on the Attendee exclusives which were revealed and also talking about the now infamous “Concept Case” that Hasbro brought to the show to give Joe fans a peek behind the glass, so to speak.  The swear they didn’t do it to break hearts, that was just a neat side effect.  Check out this episode at Podbean, or via the embedded players below.

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What’s on Joe Mind Special Edition #17 – The G.I. Joe Convention Wrap Up!

Wait a minute…where’s Special Edition #16?  I’ll cover that one separately.

In this quick and to the point special edition, the What’s on Joe Mind crew get back together as the Convention prepares to wrap up, and you can feel the fatigue in our voices.  We’re joined by the guys from Moderately Geeky as well as Terry Dizard and Jim Dolan from YoJoe!  We also speak with John from JoeArmory.com and of course talk about everything we saw, heard, and experienced in New Orleans throughout the weekend.  The main focus is on the information gathered from the Hasbro round tables as well as the G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club.  Information on new releases revealed for 2013 as well as next year’s membership figure and FSS Wave 2?!?  Check it all out at Podbean.com or through the players below.

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G.I. Joe Convention 2012 – G.I. Joe: Retaliation Behind The Scenes!

This coverage of the behind-the-scenes look at G.I. Joe: Retaliation hadn’t gone live yet just because there wasn’t really any “breaking news” so to speak, just some awesome glimpses of the production art, weapons, and costumes of the G.I. Joe: Retaliation film.

Logan Lubera, a Hasbro representative, spent four months essentially embedded with Paramount, providing consulting, approval, and negotiation every single step of the way. From weapon design to costume design, to action set pieces, Logan had a hand in many of the elements of the Retaliation motion picture.  He actually designed the entire Battle Kata weapons system, initially as something that could be used for role play in the toyline, but it actually ended up being included in the film itself!  This was something Logan was especially proud of.

Throughout the entirety of the film, their main desire was to bring G.I. Joe back down to Earth.  Make it much more gritty and realistic military action film, drawing back the super hero “shiny armor” elements.  Focus much more tightly on quick-paced, character themed action and much less on huge spectacle and special effects.

There are many vehicles injected into the film, more than what we’ve seen in trailers and footage so far, and a lot of character-based nods to the fans as well.  As many folks have suspected, Jinx was given the yellow mountain fighting suit to separate her a bit from the Red Ninjas and also as an homage to Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon.

As with many of the panels, you can read all of my aggregated Live Tweets on my Twitter Feed to get more insight and information.

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More detailed information about G.I. Joe Convention seminars

Granted I haven’t been paying a lot of attention online over the past 24 hours, but to my knowledge these further details about Convention seminars haven’t really been discussed.  Starting on Friday and running through Sunday, the various seminars and panels have been a destination for Convention goers every year.  Looks like this year is no different.  In fact, it looks like we have some VERY exciting news coming up for the Hasbro panels with two special announcements and reveals!  Excellent.

Be sure to stay tuned to GeneralsJoes.com for the latest and greatest.

Here are some details on the seminars we’ll be seeing, according to the write up in the 2012 Convention Comic:

Behind-the scenes of G.I. Joe: Retaliation – Hasbro (Saturday 10:00 – 10:50am)

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of G.I. Joe: Retaliation!  Hasbro GI Joe designer, Logan Lubera, will share his experience of being embedded directly on the set of the new movie!  Find the inside scoop on how Logan and Hasbro partnered with Paramount Pictures, director Jon Chu, and actors Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis to bring an authentic GI Joe experience to life on the big screen.  From script development to costume, vehicle, and weapon design, Logan will share his ultimate G.I. Joe adventure and answer your questions about the making of the movie!

Insider’s Guide t0 the G.I. Joe 2013 Product Line…including a special SNEAK PEEK! – Hasbro (Saturday 11:00am – 11:50am)

Join Hasbro’s lead G.I. Joe designer John Warden and Global Marketing Leader Derryl DePriest in a roundtable discussion where they will answer your questions about the 2013 line and give first hand insight into what is going on with the brand both present and future.  Be the first to hear not one, but TWO exciting new announcements for the G.I. Joe product line.  You won’t want to miss this exciting reveal!

G.I. Joe Collectors Club (Saturday 3:00pm – 3:50pm)

Join the Club staff as they answer your burning questions about the club, figure creation, manufacturing and the announcement of future exclusives!  Panel hosts – Brian Savage, Lanny Lathem, David S. Lane, and Pete Sinclair.

IDW’s G.I. Joe: Real American Heroes (Saturday 4:00pm – 4:50pm)

What’s coming up on IDW’s G.I. Joe, and G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero titles?  Editor Carlos Guzman will discuss new storylines in store for the G.I. Joe books and the return of fan-favorite characters.  There’ll be some new surprises as well…after all, Oktober is Coming!

GIJCC Magazine and Comic Q & A (Friday 12:00pm – 12:50pm)

For the latest scoop on the GIJCC Magazine and an inside look at this year’s Convention comic “G.I. Joe VS Cobra Issue 5: Operation Bear Trap”, be sure to check out this panel hosted by David S. Lane.

G.I. Joe: Special Ops – Bringing the battle between G.I. JOE and COBRA Online (SyFy Games/Hasbro) (Saturday 1:00pm – 1:50pm)

Get an inside look at the conception, creation and development of the G.I. JOE: Special Ops game.  Learn about how the SyFy Games (publisher), Artplant (developer) and Hasbro teams joined forces to create the first-ever multiplayer online game for G.I. JOE.  Hear how the characters were selected and created for a 3D digital world as well as which characters will be added to the game next!

Of course, there are also many other great seminars being shown, like the 1982 panel from Kirk Bozigian, the Costume Play panel from Cobra’s Finest, Operation: Shooting Star! which showcases how some of the awesome 90’s era themed brands came about.  There are also the voice actor panels, Mark Bellomo’s informative presentation, and the Art of G.I. Joe with Rod Whigham and Larry Selman.  The full schedule of events for the Convention weekend and the seminars can be found at GIJoeCon.com right here.