by generalsjoes | Jun 22, 2012 | 30th Anniversary, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Toys, Other Toys, Transformers
A full detail sheet for the San Diego ComicCon Exclusives has been released by Hasbro, and of course, the requisite G.I. Joe items are listed:
G.I. JOE 3.75″ KIM ARASHIKAGE SPECIAL EDITION FIGURE
(Approximate Retail Price: $14.99 each; Ages: 4 & up; Available through HasbroToyShop.com, Booth #3329 at San Diego Comic-Con)
The baddest female ninja around will return in the blockbuster film, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, scheduled to hit theaters on March 29th, 2013 in 3D, but first, KIM ARASHIKAGE is making an appearance at San Diego Comic-Con. As the latest G.I. JOE Comic-Con special edition figure, Hasbro will be releasing two movie likeness versions of the fan-favorite ninja. The primary KIM ARASHIKAGE figure is dressed in her classic red ninja suit with a double bladed bisento, while the unmasked variant is wearing a white costume and wielding a kusarigama.
G.I. JOE H.I.S.S. TANK VEHICLE WITH SHOCKWAVE DECO AND 3.75″ DESTRO & B.A.T. SPECIAL EDITION PACK
(Approximate Retail Price: $59.99 each; Ages: 4 & up; Available through HasbroToyShop.com, Booth #3329 at San Diego Comic-Con)
After the extreme popularity of last year’s G.I. JOE and TRANSFORMERS crossover San Diego Comic-Con special edition, Hasbro has done it again! In 2012, the iconic G.I. JOE vehicle, the H.I.S.S. TANK, will get a DECEPTICON SHOCKWAVE make-over, including a G1 SHOCKWAVE blaster attachment. The set comes with a 3.75-inch DESTRO action figure with special edition DECEPTICON deco, a 3.75-inch COBRA B.A.T. figure with special edition CONSTUCTICON deco. The set also comes with several ENERGON cubes on a cart, a briefcase full of money, and a small boom box with 3 cassette tapes- better known to TRANSFORMERS fans as the classic alt-mode of DECEPTICON spy SOUNDWAVE along with RATBAT, LASERBEAK, and RAVAGE. Yo, Joe AND Roll Out!
While the Jinx figure(s) maintain the very attractive $14.99 price point, the Shockwave HISS Tank is $10 more expensive than the Starscream Skystriker was last year. This could be a result of increased production costs, or the fact that more figures are included here. Regardless, still a decent price for a fully sized vehicle and two figures with a ton of accessories in a great display box.
Official images for these items can be seen below.
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by generalsjoes | Jun 22, 2012 | 30th Anniversary, Dollar Store, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary, G.I. Joe Toys
With the almost infamous Dollar Store G.I. Joe figures only being spotted sporadically throughout the United States at various Dollar General stores, there are a lot of questions about the mysterious repaints that Gyre Viper showed us quite a while ago. Are these variants of current product? A second wave? A Family Dollar exclusive?
Most of these questions we do not know the answers to (but will hopefully find out at JoeCon next week!) but Gyre-Viper has now shared with GeneralsJoes a carded image of the upcoming Storm Shadow repaint. Obviously taking a page from the T’Ginzu book, this great looking version of Storm Shadow is shown here in packaged form for the first time, revealing that these are being designed and packaged just like the first wave, with no real alterations.
For potential confidentiality reasons, Gyre-Viper will not be sharing the date stamp, or assortment number, considering these are as of yet unreleased items and things could have changed after he got his hands on this sample. He does mention that the code names are exactly the same, and the back of the card is exactly the same (showing the original paint schemes, not the repaint colors) which seems to indicate that these are indeed variants or running changes, and are not a full fledged second wave of product.
Quite an interesting look at a series of figures that there seems to be more questions than answers about. I really look forward to talking to Hasbro next week to see if we can get more details.
Speaking of Gyre-Viper and the Convention next week, if you’re going to be in New Orleans make sure you check out the Joe Declassified booth! If you love unreleased product, pre-production product and just finding out some great hidden details about the entire history of G.I. Joe you won’t find a better place to do that than at the DeClassified booth. With some awesome figures on display and some genuine fans of the hobby manning the booth it will be a fantastic opportunity to see some cool toys and talk to some cool people.
All of the information about the DeClass booth can be found right here on JoeDeClassified.com.
Make sure you check it out! Hopefully I’ll see you in New Orleans.
by generalsjoes | Jun 21, 2012 | 12" Scale, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Reviews, G.I. Joe Toys, Sideshow, Sideshow Reviews
I have unfortunately been sitting on this figure and this review for quite a while as other things just continued to come up in the world of G.I. Joe. But with Sideshow Collectibles letting out rumors that they would be revealing a potential new G.I. Joe item this week, I thought it was a good time to get this review posted!
I was already working on a Cobra Viper review myself when Mysterious Stranger sent his in to me, so I figured we’d do the best of both worlds and just team up on the thing. We each provided images, we each provided text, and the end result can be found in my Sideshow Collectibles review category and also at the link below. Enjoy!
by generalsjoes | Jun 20, 2012 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary, G.I. Joe Collectors Club, G.I. Joe Convention, G.I. Joe Special Ops, G.I. Joe Toys, JoeCon 2012, Show and Convention Coverage
We’re within a week of the kick off for the 2012 G.I. Joe Collectors’ Convention, and the Collectors’ Club has posted the full schedule of events right here. This helpful document breaks down when various folks can pick up their convention packages, and also gives a lowdown for the seminars, of which there are many!
Below are some of the highlights:
- Friday 12:00pm – 12:50pm: GIJCC Magazine Comic Panel – David S. Lane, Pete Sinclair
I really think that the GIJCC Newsletter comic has been making some terrific strides lately, and I’m looking forward to hearing what Dave and Pete have to say about it. From the obvious Pursuit of Cobra influences and the great GIJCC character tie-ins, it’s an enjoyable read every month. I’d love it if they collected them into a singular volume.
- Saturday 10:00am – 10:50am: Behind the Scenes of G.I. Joe: Retaliation – Hasbro
This sounds like it could be very interesting as well. I would imagine, since this is a Hasbro seminar, we’d be looking at Retaliation mostly from the toy design perspective, but any sorts of “behind the scenes” stuff is all good with me. I will definitely not be missing this one.
- Saturday 11:00am – 11:50am: Insider’s Guide: G.I. Joe 2013 – Hasbro
Hmmm… so we have a “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” themed panel as well as a “G.I. Joe 2013” panel? Veeerrry interesting… does this mean we might see some potential 2013 product that isn’t G.I. Joe: Retaliation related? A peek at the future beyond the movie? That would certainly be awesome. This is a BIG one to look forward to. Plan your weekend around this.
- Saturday 1:00pm – 1:50pm: Syfy Games presents G.I. JOE: Special Ops
I will admit I never would have suspected we’d see a panel devoted purely to Special Ops, but I’m looking forward to checking it out! Been hacking away at the Beta a bit, and it will be cool to see what else might be planned down the road and I’d love to hear about when the final release is expected.
- Saturday 3:00pm – 3:50pm: G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club Roundtable
Always a very informative panel, getting some sit down time with Brian, Lanny, Dave, Pete and the GIJCC gives us some great insight into the design of the convention set, the reasons some decisions were made, and sometimes we even get a little peek at the future. With the Figure Subscription Service looming on the horizon I suspect this will be a destination for many fans.
- Saturday 4:00pm – 4:50pm: IDW’s G.I. Joe: Real American Heroes
Comic fans, mark your calendars. IDW will be in attendance and ready to talk about the future of their G.I. Joe comic universe for 2012 and beyond. Hoping to hear some info here about future plans for G.I. Joe, Cobra, Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow, and G.I. Joe: Real American Hero here.
There are a number of other panels of course, with great discussions with Kirk Bozigian, package artwork talk, some insight with the voice actors as well as the always enlightening Mark Bellomo discussion Sunday at 1:00pm. All in all, it looks like a fantastic weekend of G.I. Joe nirvana, and I cannot wait to hit New Orleans! Again, find the full schedule of events right here!
by generalsjoes | Jun 18, 2012 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Collectors Club, G.I. Joe Comics, G.I. Joe Retaliation Toys, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, G.I. Joe: Renegades, G.I. Joe: The Movie, IDW, Podcasts, What's on Joe Mind
It’s never a good thing when the podcast starts out with sordid JoeCon stories, but like it or not, that’s how we kicked off episode 59 and it only went downhill from there. Chuck unleashes some punishment for the “Stump Chuck” segment from episode 58 and we talk to Don about the Crappy Figure Brigade and being a forum staffer for Toy News International.
There’s some great talk about the “good old days” of the online G.I. Joe fandom and of course plenty more news and G.I. Joe discussion. Check out the embedded players below to listen, or hit up Podbean itself, and the Show Notes are after the jump.
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by generalsjoes | Jun 15, 2012 | 30th Anniversary, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Retaliation Toys, G.I. Joe Toys
EDIT – Some of my part breakdowns were horrifically inaccurate. They have been adjusted to reflect more accurate source material! I apologize.
Invariably when plans change and retail offerings don’t pan out as expected, some items generally hit the production chain and end up in the after market stream in Asia. It happened a few years ago with the first run of Pursuit of Cobra figures, and it is happening now with G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
Occasionally, these after market samples will be the first time we get a glimpse at some of these figures, as is the case here with viperkingdom. While folks who went to Toy Fair got a brief and fuzzy glimpse of the second wave of G.I. Joe: Retaliation 3-Packs, this is the first real up close and quality series of images, and I gotta say, these look to be right up there with the impressive first run. More new characters, some great parts choices and some interesting character tweaks. Check out the mirrored images below, and I’ll do some parts breakdowns as well.
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G.I. Joe: Retaliation “Tactical Ninja Team”
- Sgt. Airborne (Previously cancelled Data Viper body, cancelled 30th anniversary Law alternate head, Renegades Ripcord helmet and Para-Viper webgear)
- Agent Mouse (looks like a new head and vest, the cancelled 30th Anniversary Lifeline alternate helmet with G.I. Joe Trooper body with some different arms)
- Night Ops Snake Eyes (PoC Snake Eyes body, cancelled Jungle Strike Storm Shadow webgear)
G.I. Joe: Retaliation “Cobra Invasion”
- Firefly (New head, torso, and webgear with 30th Anniversary Lifeline arms and legs)
- Cobra Para Trooper (Shock-Trooper in red with Retaliation Cobra Trooper parachute pack)
- Storm Shadow (mostly a Rise of Cobra Storm Shadow) repaint
I know many folks are likely going to complain about more repaints and rehashes, but holy crap I think these two sets look pretty amazing. Airborne is fantastic and it will be really awesome to get that Data-Viper figure in hand finally. I love the G.I. Joe Trooper, and since Mouse pretty much IS a G.I. Joe Trooper it makes sense for this figure to be built off that. Not really sure about that bright vest, but… Snake Eyes has the perfect base figure, and I am loving the fact that they are finally using that cancelled PoC Storm Shadow webgear! I have to admit, though, the colors of the webgear and the base figure clash big time. The straps are just a bit too bright for the sheer black underneath.
Firefly looks astoundingly cool. A great modern update to the original, with a great use of PoC/30th Anniversary parts. The Para Trooper is probably my least favorite. I really like the Shock Trooper, but that torso looks really plain even with the parachute pack on top. Too much blank area. Storm Shadow is okay, and looks like a more movie-accurate version compared to the Wave 1, but overall, I much prefer the futuristic and sleek look of the first version in Retaliation.
All in all some very cool pieces, especially for being more or less kit bashed together. If these end up being $20 for three figures like Wave 1 is, that is a freaking bargain, especially because these look to have more new characters and new imaginings than Wave 1 did. Good stuff.
Thanks much to Kenny2274 on Twitter for the heads up!
