by generalsjoes | Jun 10, 2009 | G.I. Joe, Sigma 6 (8" Scale), Sigma 6 Celebration
Often a sure sign that a toyline is in trouble is the quality of the toys we’re getting near the end of the toyline’s life. Even great runs like the Real American Hero seemed to suffer from mixed signals and conflicting ideals in 1993 and 1994, bringing us some oddly colored and strangely themed toys that didn’t necessarily mesh with each other. In fact, I’d argue that most of the best known action figure lines showed clear signs of their age by the time the lines faded away. Sigma 6, though, couldn’t be farther from that, in my opinion.
Simply looking at what as still to come shows that there was a lot of life still left in the 8″ line, and it’s a damn shame that it ended when it did. There was a lot of cool stuff left to come, and for today, I’ve decided to include some hefty galleries of figures that were in the works, but didn’t make the cut. This includes concept art found online, pre-production items displayed at Joe Con, and some other little tidbits. Doing this article was tough for me, as it served to be a reminder of what we didn’t get, but I think it’s worth it in the long run, and hopefully you agree. Along with this article, I’ll also have a nice surprise at the end of this whole celebration which will tie into this article as well. 😉
(more…)
by generalsjoes | Jun 9, 2009 | G.I. Joe, Sigma 6 (8" Scale), Sigma 6 Celebration
Such a critical part of a successful toy launch and marketing blitz is the packaging style and the artwork on those packages. Ever since 1982, the G.I. Joe line has put a huge focus on the artwork that adorns their packaging, and the Sigma 6 toyline was no different. If anything, it put an even larger emphasis on package design, especially on the 2.5″ line.
For this celebration, I took some time to talk to Chris Lie. Most folks may not know his name, or may know him better from his comic work, but Chris Lie (who is probably most well-known for his amazing all-encompassing cover to G.I. Joe: America’s Elite #25) also did the artwork for the entire 6-issue Sigma 6 limited series, as well as the art for the 8″ Commando scale figures from the Sigma 6 line. Chris was nice enough to take time out of his busy schedule and talk to me, so please click the link below to read that interview:
(more…)
by generalsjoes | Jun 8, 2009 | G.I. Joe, Sigma 6 (8" Scale), Sigma 6 Celebration
So, Sigma 6 Central forum member Swivel-Arm-Beer-Grip so accurately informed me… just because it’s not a diorama, custom, or handbuilt item doesn’t mean you can’t be creative, right? If I’ve got photography in the celebration, why not video? It’s a valid point. While there certainly isn’t a lot of Sigma 6 related video out and about, I gotta give some credit to Swivel-Arm-Beer-Grip and his fantastic work. Embedded below are his amazing YouTube videos that won awards at the G.I. Joe Convention and infiltrated forums everywhere. So, because this is a celebration of all things Sigma 6, here are some of his videos below!
(more…)
by generalsjoes | Jun 8, 2009 | G.I. Joe, Sigma 6 (8" Scale), Sigma 6 Celebration
Ever since the news broke in 2005, Sigma 6 has been a “dirty word” amongst the G.I. Joe fandom. With a different scale, and a different style, this toyline was sure to rise the ire of old school G.I. Joe fans everywhere. I’ve always stood behind the line, and still believe to this day that it was one of the greatest toylines that I have collected in my 27 year history of buying toys. If “A Real American Hero” is tops on the list, I would say that Sigma 6 may even come in second.
That all being said, with Toy Fair a few months ago, it had been four years since Sigma 6 was first “launched” at the familiar location in New York City. There were mixed emotions (well, not all that mixed, most of the reaction was abject hatred), and I’m hoping as we look backwards, we can appreciate the line for what it was at the time, and enjoy some content from the Sigma 6 days. Most of it has probably been seen somewhere, but I’m hoping collecting this all in one place might inspire some Sigma 6 fans to “come out of the closet” if you will. Each day will provide a different look at Sigma 6, and I’m hoping even the folks who weren’t fans of the property will still reap the benefits of this celebration and just enjoy some of the aspects of the line, even if it wasn’t your favorite scale or style.
For the first day, I want to focus on the Sigma 6 community, and the amazing creativity that went along with that. Even for such a short-lived toyline and cartoon series, it seemed to inspire a lot of fans to do customs, dioramas, general picture taking, and even crafting entire universes based on these 8″ action figures. For this first post, I’d like to focus on some of the folks who really took their love of Sigma 6 to the next level and produced some amazing customs and crafted some great stories for these characters. Please keep in mind there is so much terrific work in the Sigma 6 style that I cannot possibly hope to cover it all. I’m just providing a sampling of some folks, and please don’t think that if I don’t include you here that you haven’t provided a service to the community, I just wanted to do a general overlook of some of the creative energy that Sigma 6 spawned during it’s short, but sweet lifetime.
Whether it’s straight up photography, dio-stories, or amazing customizing, the Sigma 6 community has done it all, especially for a toyline that never really hit its stride. I want to take this chance to showcase some of the impressive work by fellow members of this small fraternity. Whether you like the Sigma stuff or not, certainly any Joe fan can appreciate the creativity behind some of this stuff. Click the link below to read the full article.
(more…)
