So I haven’t really jumped all over the Past and Present idea…I mean, I absolutely love the concept, but there’s only so much Hasbro can do with it, and honestly, I didn’t think they started off very strongly with the Rockslide 2-pack. I’ve already got two Rise of Cobra Rockslides, and I’ve got plenty of vintage Snow Jobs and Battle Bears, with no real desire to drop money for more.
Thankfully, GeneralsJoes contributor Mysterious Stranger doesn’t agree, he picked up a set, and was awesome enough to submit a review! You can check it out on the Rise of Cobra Reviews Page, or just hit it directly right here.
Just another one I owe him…
Big kudos to Entertainment News International for posting the G.I. Joe press event by Jeff Labovitz at Toy Fair last Saturday in its entirety. You can check out the video right here, or see it embedded below.
With a humongous thanks to Todd, aka m6d, GeneralsJoes has a beautiful Pursuit of Cobra checklist in .pdf format that you can download and save or print out to keep track of the freaking fantastic G.I. Joe themed toys coming out later this year!
To download this great checklist yourself, just click here!
Again, thanks to Todd for doing this up, I love it!
I’ve been a bit behind the eight ball in the past 24 hours, trying to recuperate from the Toy Fair rush, but a few G.I. Joe related stories have leaked out in that time that I figured I should talk a little bit about.
Much Maligned Wave 3 Alpha vehicles from the Rise of Cobra have appeared as US Retail. That tail end wave of Alpha vehicles (the Lava Pod, Tiger Claw, Rockslide, and Polar Shark Sub) has appeared sporadically overseas, but has not, to this point, been found at a normal brick and mortar location. The real question at this point, though, is does anyone actually care? Sure, the Polar Shark Sub is pretty neat, but the Volcano Pod is just another cruddy Mole Pod, we’re getting a bad ass new Dusty this fall, and don’t really need a desert themed Rockslide, and many folks have lamented the Leatherneck that comes with the Tiger Claw. When it all comes down to it, I think the time for the Wave 3 Alpha’s has come and gone, and now that we know what’s in the wings, these already seem very “been there, done that, let’s move on”. Still, it must be noted that one was found at Wal-Mart. Take that for what it’s worth.
The GIJoeClub debuted Flint late night before I left for New York. Kudo’s to Gary for getting the story posted, but being the myopic fanboy that I am, I feel the need to throw my .02 in. My thoughts? I dig it. I’m kind of wondering if the flash is washing out the picture a little bit, because it’s coming across a bit on the bright side, but I’m betting once we see it in person, the colors will be very “Z-Force” like. It’s obvious they made effort to make Flint a tribute to the Z-Force Commander “Skip”, and I’ve got no issues with that whatsoever. I do wish they’d used the Comic Pack head if it were available, though. I’m not quite as giddy about Flint as I was about Black Major and even the Red Torch, but he still looks really cool and stands out amongst other figures. Check out the images right here.
Though Sideshow Collectibles has become famous in the G.I. Joe community for their fantastic work with the 12″ figures, they are well known around the world for their work in statuary and other high format collectibles, too. And now Sideshow is proud to unveil their latest statue in the world of G.I. Joe, Snake Eyes vs. The Red Ninjas. The pre-order will launch with the newsletter on February 25th, so be prepared!
That covers much of the news while I was on the road. There’s still more to talk about, which I will do in further posts, specifically about G.I. Joe: Cobra II, as well as Toy Fair coverage from other sites that you have to see. Thanks for bearing with me as I was traveling, and hopefully the news and images reached you early and often!
With the change in information, head tooling, and other things coming about with Toy Fair, I revamped and updated the Pursuit of Cobra SuperPage to reflect the new assortment information and details. Check out the new page right here.
For folks who are still interested in seeing “what might have been” I still have the original Pursuit of Cobra SuperPage archived here.
Store exclusives are not typically shown at Toy Fair, so it wasn’t really a surprise that we didn’t see much there, but there were questions asked, and by the sounds of the answers, vintage fans may have something to really look forward to throughout 2010.
First and foremost, the SDCC Exclusive Sgt. Slaughter! No images were shown, but comments from the Hasbro rep confirmed that he would contain all new tooling, and the mail away deco (with the USA on his shirt and plain green outfit) would be the primary release, while the version that piloted the TTT (with the black tank top and camouflage pants) would be the “variant”. It was not specifically stated how rare it would be, but they did assure us that we shouldn’t be worried about another Gold-Headed Destro.
But that’s not all for the vintage fans… according to Hasbro reps, a lot of the store exclusives through 2010 will call back to the past, and will have some strong 25th Anniversary influences. They understand and appreciate the rich history and culture of G.I. Joe, and plan to pay tribute to that by giving us some great vintage homages sprinkled throughout some store exclusives in 2010. In fact, I mentioned two names specifically, Low Light and Dial Tone, and while the Hasbro rep would not confirm anything, he did smirk in a way that makes me think that they know what many collectors are looking for, and are hoping to take advantage of a non-movie year to deliver something in several different styles from several different eras, if you catch my drift.
Now it’s a non movie year, so of course, we won’t see a ton of product exclusive on store shelves, but it sounds like what we do see will make the old schoolers pretty happy. More information at JoeCon, I’m sure.
