by generalsjoes | Oct 23, 2009 | Customs, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: The Movie, Kick Ass Custom, Pursuit of COBRA
Back in my day, I was a fairly prolific customizer in the vintage Real American Hero format, but in these newer days, the simpler a custom is, the better I like it. I just don’t have time these days to rip figures apart, paint them religiously, and put them all back together, so I always love to hear about simple part swaps, especially when they’re amazingly effective. MadMac41 over at JoeBattleLines has been doing some little part swaps and tweaks on the Rise of Cobra figures pretty much since the day they were released.
He first got my attention with a trio of customs seen on JBL here. Salvo was a very simple part swap, yet looked really neat. Outback didn’t take much messing with, but, again, looked like a really effective movie style update. Recondo was the same way. Here are pics of those three customs that first kind of got my attention:
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As cool as they were, though, I wasn’t sure they were kick ass custom of the week material…but then MadMac posted a pretty neat Dial Tone, and then followed up with Scott McCoy (Chuck Norris in the Delta Squad movies!) and finally a Major Bludd that really rocked. It was the Major Bludd that finally put me over the edge, using the awesome Jungle Assault Ripcord figure base with that great camouflage scheme, a Reactive Armor arm, and the Anniversary Bludd head. It all just fit together too nicely.
So, due to the sheer volume of work and the amazing improvements he’s made since beginning, and my love for this Major Bludd, MadMac gets this rendition of Kick Ass Custom…well-deserved!
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by generalsjoes | Oct 23, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Toys, Pursuit of COBRA
The Cobra Rage has always been a vehicle that I had an affinity for, even with it’s strange design and even stranger original color scheme…it was meant to be an urban vehicle, yet was decked out in very desert-themed colors. With a ton of potent offensive weapons, it was a very cool looking vehicle, and was made to look even better in 1998 when it got the crazy cool black and blue repaint treatment.
Well, if this high res image holds true, it looks like the updated version we’re getting in 2010 will look even better! Colored in a very nice, deep purple color scheme with gorgeous splashes of equally dark green, it’s got a very interesting new color pallet without being too ugly and garrish. Of course this image looks heavily Photoshopped, but if the vehicle hits as it looks here, well… damn. I’m sold. Love it. I’m one of the few guys who actually really likes these new tires as well. The more muted colors on the Alley-Viper is just the icing on the cake. Beauty.
Thanks to HissTank.com for the image…
by generalsjoes | Oct 22, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: The Movie, Pursuit of COBRA
Sorry for the hint of sarcasm… as many folks have no doubt noticed, HissTank.com reported earlier this afternoon that the third wave of Alpha vehicles has been canceled via GIJoeClub.com pre-orders. Friend of GeneralsJoes and JBL staffmember madmac41 went right to the source at the G.I. Joe Club, and was given the same information. Essentially Alpha Wave 3 is not being shipped to retailers as far as they’re aware. Hasbro has released no information about when they might get them out, if they ever do.
This news has, of course, caused fandom hysteria. The Rise of Cobra haters are out in force, as expected, while the folks who enjoy the toys are desperately trying to defend them and find reasoning for this seemingly sudden turn of events. I think everyone needs to step back and get a little perspective.
First of all, I have to think even the most ardent Rise of Cobra supporter (who I count myself one of) has to realize that there is a TON of product out there on shelves, and there has been for a long time. And as refresher cases hit with new figures, those also get packed in with the existing figures, the new figures sell, the existing figures build on pegs with previous releases, and you end up with pegs 12″ deep of version 1 Storm Shadows and not a whole lot else. This, obviously, is a problem.
I find it interesting that this news comes on the heels of Hasbro’s latest Earning Reports, which sounded amazingly optimistic in the press…but, of course, that’s a message to stockholders, which isn’t necessarily indicative of the “real story”. But, on the other hand, the cancellation of a single assortment of overpriced Alpha vehicles is NOT indicative of widespread failure and/or cancellation.
The rosey side says “profits were up 8.8%! The movie made 300 million dollars! There’s a ton of product for people to buy!”
The not-so-rosey side says “peg warmers galore! Cancelling assortments! Deth of teh line!!11!”
So, where’s the truth? As always, somewhere in the middle, I’m sure. I would bet big money that sales of Rise of Cobra product are not what Hasbro expected or hoped for. I have a feeling they did not anticipate such a glut of figures on pegs this deep into the release date, and I have a feeling that the earnings report behind the scenes was probably not as rosey as it appeared in the Associated Press, at least in regards to G.I. Joe.
But, on the other hand, I don’t think the fandom should look at the cancellation of a single assortment of Alpha Vehicles as all doom and gloom. The Alpha’s are overpriced, oversaturated, and undesired, and this 3rd wave of them was rife with repaints as it was. I’ll admit, I’m a bit bummed about the Polar Shark Sub, but nothing else in that assortment breaks my heart in the least.
I think folks on both sides should get some perspective as we eagerly await future Q & A sessions and Toy Fair in the beginning of 2010. I would not be shocked to see a somewhat scaled back push for Pursuit of Cobra, but I don’t think for a second that the line is in danger of assortment-wide cancellation. Ain’t gonna happen. Things may change a bit, but I’m sure Pursuit of Cobra will be right there as expected in 2010. Perhaps it won’t look quite the same, but it’ll be there. At least, it better be…if I don’t get my Resolute 7-Packs, heads are gonna roll… :shifty:
Gotta say, though, I do have to see the humor in some of this…I especially loved a post on the HissTank forums from flash70…
“well that is that…like everyone one is saying bring back the 25th line.
we don’t want multiple dukes, heavy dutys, ripcords, and really bad neo-vipers.
get back to work and start making the 25th line a great product again with $5.99 price points.”
Heh…how soon folks forget. Bringing back the Anniversary line ain’t gonna magically drop prices and instantly “fix” the line, folks. And does anyone really think going back to the Anniversary will reduce the number of duplicate Dukes, Snake Eyes, etc? Did people already put on those rose colored glasses from last year? Wow.
Anyway. Those who are happily singing the death knell for RoC, keep singing…I don’t think it’s dead yet. For those folks who eagerly await the new stuff next year, hold your breath a bit, because it may not shake out how we’re expecting. But as always, things are not as black and white as they seem, and the truth is always somewhere in the middle…
by generalsjoes | Oct 20, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: The Movie
Thanks to a report on Entertainment News International, we know that Brian Goldner, CEO at Hasbro had a conference call yesterday to discuss company earnings, and the topic of G.I. Joe, Transformers, and My Little Pony television projects came up. According to ENI:
“Hasbro’s CEO Brian Goldner today during a company earnings conference call made hint to the possibility that G.I. Joe, Transformers and My Little Pony could be returning to television in 2010. Goldner stated that they planned to have television support for these three properties along with Star Wars: The Clone Wars and a number of Marvel related projects…”
Mr. Goldner also talked about the Rise of Cobra and mentioned that the sequel was in the planning stages.
But, most importantly, while talking about the potential television products, it was revealed “…that they plan to reveal more details about these projects at their Hasbro Investor Day event which will be held on November 5, 2009 at their headquarters in Rhode Island.”
So, on the surface, it sounds like things are moving along at a brisk pace. 2010 certainly looks to be a potentially exciting year for G.I. Joe fans, let’s hope everything pans out as expected! Hopefully we’ll hear some cool information come November.
by generalsjoes | Oct 14, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: The Movie, Pursuit of COBRA
We got a very light glimpse of this third wave of Target Exclusive vehicles during JoeCon a couple of months ago, but the images were shoddy at best and impossible to see at worst. The sounds and overall look of the packs seemed like winners over all, but I was reserving judgement until we saw some actually legible images.
Well, thanks to HissTank, we’ve got some images now, and I am SOLD. Capt. Ace w/ the Glider leaves me totally cold, but the other three sets all have some very nice redeeming factors, especially if these hit at the same price point as past Target exclusive vehicles. This is what we’ve got to look forward to:
- Cobra Flight Pod w/ Elite-Viper; Damn! Elite Viper looks GREAT with the red armor and the red camouflage pants. I love this look…really love it. The crimson Trubble Bubble is iffy, but the figure more than makes up for it. Very impressed with this.
- RAM w/ Sandstorm; Hell yeah. I love the RAM, and seeing it in desert paint scheme is pretty cool, but again, it’s all about the figure. He looks like your basic Reactive Armor Joe with the Resolute Duke helmet and some desert camouflage pants, but I think the look is still great. The fact that the Pursuit of Cobra Zartan supposedly comes with a Sandstorm costume only furthers the “legacy” of this new character as well.
- Cobra Twin Battle Gun w/ Range-Viper; WOW. I love the Whirlwind, and it looks bad ass in these Cobra colors…but what makes this set is the Range-Viper! My favorite figure from the Defense of Cobra Island was awesome enough, even in bright blue and yellow. Seeing it in muted grays and blacks is only more bad ass than it was before. Gorgeous. I cannot wait to get this set in hand.
- Glider w/ Capt. Ace; Ehhh… no thanks. Basically a Slipstream repaint in strange urban camouflage with the same Glider we’ve seen several times already. This one is a definite miss, but it’s the only one in this assortment that I’m not crazy about.
For mirrored images check below. Very excited for this wave!
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by generalsjoes | Oct 12, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: The Movie
By and large I’ve been fairly cold on the exclusives for the Rise of Cobra, not really being crazy about the Wal-Mart 2-Packs, the Battle Stations, or even those Target mini-vehicles, but I’ll tell you, that really changes with the Toys “R” Us Attack on The Pit, and with this Target exclusive Rescue Mission has really warmed up to me as well. When we saw early eBay pics for the City Strike Snake Eyes in black with a Paris Pursuit head, I had absolutely no desire to own it. The gray, black, and silver version looks so kick ass, why the heck would I want one with less paint apps and a head sculpt that isn’t as cool? Well, because it’s still an incredible looking figure, and the Paris Pursuit head sculpt gives it much more of a classic “Snake Eyes” feel. Seriously, this is one freaking awesome looking Snake Eyes.
Add that to the casual outfit Duke (to go along with the same looking Ripcord in the Toys “R” Us set), and you’ve already got two great figures that have a solid place in the movie universe. Now, the Neo-Vipers? Well…I don’t have a lot of love for the countless repaints we’re getting of these guys, but the naval paint scheme is really nice, I have to say. And I guess I can’t complain about the fact that I’ve bought only a small handful of Neo-Vipers in single pack form, and I’m going to end up with a pretty decent arsenal here.
For figures that are pretty basic repaints, this four-pack has some really cool stuff for the Rise of Cobra enthusiast, and the folks at The Terror Drome seem to share that sentiment. Check out the mirrored images below.
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