by generalsjoes | May 6, 2010 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary, G.I. Joe Collectors Club, G.I. Joe Convention, JoeCon 2010, Show and Convention Coverage
Along with the standard Hasbro fare, Saturday was also enjoyable due to the GI Joe Collectors’ Club round table that lays out the processes of getting the Convention Exclusives to the masses, as well as any potential projects that are in the wings.
Unfortunately, with the Convention being so early in the year this year, there wasn’t really any intel about the membership figure for next year or anything like that, but there are still some pretty cool things potentially in the wings. Click the “Read the rest of this entry” link below to check it all out.
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by generalsjoes | May 6, 2010 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary, G.I. Joe Collectors Club, G.I. Joe Convention, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: Renegades, G.I. Joe: Resolute, JoeCon 2010, Pursuit of COBRA, Show and Convention Coverage
Saturday is when the fun really began! As cool as the initial releases for G.I. Joe: The Pursuit of Cobra were, they simply could NOT compare to the boundless wonder of 4″ plastic that would be unveiled on Saturday.
It still astounds me that this level of detail, articulation, and design can be so well implemented in such a small scale. Mattel and Playmates need to start taking notes. They’re not even in the same league as Hasbro in this scale.
The first excitement of the day was the Hasbro Seminar where they revealed the 2011 lineup for G.I. Joe: The Pursuit of Cobra! Images and my personal thoughts are below, after clicking the “Read the rest of this entry” link.
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by generalsjoes | May 6, 2010 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary, G.I. Joe Convention, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: Resolute, JoeCon 2010, Pursuit of COBRA, Show and Convention Coverage
To many folks the Friday product reveal was fairly unexciting, and didn’t show much new information that we had not seen before. We did get confirmation that Ashiko with the motorcycle armor and the HISS Scout were still in the pipeline, only now slated to come out in early 2011.
Also, eagle eyed viewers caught a nice glimpse of the Toys “R” Us Exclusive Spirit in the Jungle Diorama that Hasbro had on the Convention floor on Friday. The awesome thing about these dioramas is that these are the actual dioramas that Hasbro used to take pictures for the package backs for the Pursuit of Cobra figures!
But, even though the true fun would be shown on Saturday, there was some very nice product on hand that made for some great images. I think in this particular case, pictures speak louder than words. Click the “Read the rest of this entry link” below to check out all the pics!
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by generalsjoes | May 6, 2010 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Convention, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe Video Game, G.I. Joe: The Movie, JoeCon 2010, Pursuit of COBRA, Show and Convention Coverage
One of the biggest incentives to going to the Convention this year was the fact that the first 500 convention goers got a free tour of the Hasbro offices! Having this tour with Botcon a few years ago, I kind of knew what to expect, but I still came away with some awesome information and experiences from the Joe side. The tour was broken up into several groups of 20 people, and we were each marched around various tour locations and given a great presentation at each stop.
I will do my best to remember what the various sections were, but please bear with me if my memory is fuzzy. It was damn early in the morning after an equally damn late night the night before! I will post pictures where pictures were allowed, but keep in mind, some places did not want photography. Click on the Read the rest of this entry link below to check it all out! Beware, this post is image intensive.
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by generalsjoes | May 6, 2010 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Collectors Club, G.I. Joe Convention, G.I. Joe Toys, JoeCon 2010, Show and Convention Coverage
As usual, the Convention started with a sprint that quickly led to the abrupt halt that is known as “pre-registration”. Actually, to be fair, the lines were not bad at all this year, and I give all the credit in the world to the line monitors who did an absolutely awesome job. They all deserve commendation. Especially for those damn orange vests they had to wear. :shifty:
In all seriousness, the lines all moved at a very brisk pace and things went smooth as silk. I did have to step out for about 40 minutes to help Mark Bellomo unload his car down through the freight elevator, which added some excitement. Click the “Read the rest of this entry” link below to get a run down.
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by generalsjoes | May 4, 2010 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary, G.I. Joe Collectors Club, G.I. Joe Convention, G.I. Joe Toys, JoeCon 2010, Pursuit of COBRA, Show and Convention Coverage
It is with heavy heart that I confirm what I’m sure everyone has heard elsewhere already… according to Brian, Lanny, Dave, and Pete of the G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club, by and large the o-ring is dead.
So why talk about this now? The roundtable was two days ago, right?
As anyone knows, I’m a fan of the G.I. Joe brand. I’m not married or tied to any particular style (or even size), if the toy has the spirit and energy that I think G.I. Joe should have, I enjoy it. But without a shadow of a doubt, the G.I. Joe that sparked this interest and stoked the flame of my fandom for so many years was the vintage Real American Hero line. Many fans have moved on…many folks that are current Joe fans have totally embraced the new modern era styling and articulation, and that’s fine. I’m actually happy about that. But for a select group, the o-ring being gone is a very sad day. It marks the end of an era and the official demise of what was the most influential action figure line in the history of boys toys.
In my own experience, the o-ring was really the foundation of all great boys toys. Nothing really compared. Three of my favorite toylines from “back in the day” were G.I. Joe, Visionaries, and COPS, and obviously they all shared the same construction and same design. Sure, I dipped into the Transformers world, I bought some He-Man stuff, and Secret Wars made an appearance here and there. But none of them moved the right way.
Now, it’s a new generation, and the movement of the o-ring can be simulated without an o-ring. For some that’s a great thing. After all, less rubber rot, and less chance of picking up your favorite figure only to have it disintegrate in your hands. In every way that matters, modern construction and articulation is better than what we had. But, there is a certain nostalgic joy to an o-ring figure, and the idea that we may never see another one again (or very rarely at any rate) does make me sad.
So now it’s time to look forward. This is a good springboard into the next generation. The sculpting, design, and articulation of the modern era figures is suddenly surging through the roof, and they are looking better and better every time Hasbro touches them. For crying out loud, look at this:
The difference is astounding.
So, no, I’m not upset about the o-ring because I think o-ring toys are superior. In many ways they are not. But they do represent a major part of my childhood and part of me still longs for a day when they might make a return. But every time I look at bad ass Pursuit of Cobra toys I’m a little less bothered.
But just a little.
