by generalsjoes | Feb 10, 2012 | Marvel Comics Toys, Other Toys, Toy Fair 2012
No this isn’t G.I. Joe specific news, but I know a lot of Joe fans are keeping a close eye on the Avengers toys and the SHIELD Helicarrier specifically, hoping for a little insight about the size and format of this playset vehicle.
Over on Twitter Hasbro’s PR secret agents have posted a neat image of the showroom floor in the set up process, and you get a pretty good look the Helicarrier and the size of the thing. Figures still look a bit oversized on it, but I think it has some amazing potential with some creative photo taking and imagination.
Check out the mirrored image below!
by generalsjoes | Feb 7, 2012 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Toys, Marvel Comics Toys, Other Toys, Podcasts, Thundercats
Yesterday I spoke about the monstrous undertaking that is the Top 100 Best Toys of All Time, and now, UnderScoopFire has revealed the last 10 installments of this list on the latest episode of the UnderScoopFire Podcast!
Episode 21 to be exact, and you can find the episode right here. This latest podcast features the normal UnderScoopFire crew as well as myself, Engineernerd from TV and Film Toys, Justin from WeirdoToys, and Rob from Joe A Day! We had a blast during the recording and I think most of you folks will enjoy the recording…there is a hefty helping of G.I. Joe discussion.
Check out the podcast episode here and keep your eyes on the UnderScoopFire website as well, as the top 10 list will be revealed in print soon!
by generalsjoes | Jan 28, 2012 | Comics and Cartoons, Marvel Comics Toys, Marvel Media, Other Toys
Yes, panic is a strong word. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen any real panic from anyone yet, but I do think what we’re seeing already from some Avengers toys being shown on Toys “R” Us Canada’s website might be something we want to keep in mind as we prepare mentally for Toy Fair in a couple of weeks. I will admit, I did panic a little bit myself, mostly over articulation concerns, but in all honesty, I don’t think we have much to worry about with the mainline G.I. Joe releases.
As for the product itself, the first thing is the appearance of a clear image of the Avengers Quinjet:
Originally there was some hypothesis that maybe the Quinjet was retooled from the canceled Sigma 6 Thunderhawk and Rise of Cobra Phantom X90, but upon closer inspection that’s not the case. The surface is completely different, and while there are some structural simularities, I think the vehicles themselves are different molds. If you look at the cockpit area, the surface is much smoother on the Quinjet without the vents near the rear, and the wing assembly looks like it’s all one piece, and not modular like on the other planes.
Regardless of the construction, the Quinjet looks pretty neat, and could make for some potentially cool custom fodder.
Next up, is this weird Ground Assault Vehicle:
This thing is actually pretty darn cool, design-wise, as long as it’s larger than the picture indicates (I think it probably is). If it’s close in size to the RHINO or even a bit smaller, it could make for a pretty awesome Cobra vehicle, with some fresh paint applications.
Another potential source of cool custom fodder is revealed with the appearance of Captain America:
Yes, the figure looks great, the webgear looks awesome…but… where’s the articulation? We’ve got single-joint knees and no torso joints whatsoever. Curious… I know some folks were wondering about this last week when Marvel leaked a few early images of the Avengers figures, but now seeing a finished model looking the same way is a concern. Granted, if your only worried about the accessories, this isn’t a big deal, but it is somewhat disappointing, especially considering it won’t necessarily match aesthetically with the rest of the Marvel movie figures that have been revealed so far.
Granted, Marvel figures aren’t necessarily known by their extensive articulation, but still… I have an Ultimate Captain America, Iron Man, and Nick Fury all in this format already, it is kind of too bad the Thor and potential Hawkeye figures won’t match it.
So even beyond folks being excited for G.I. Joe toys in 2012, the potential is there for some awesome customizing above and beyond the Retaliation brand. More info will come in a couple weeks from Toy Fair, and GeneralsJoes will be there as always to cover it!
by generalsjoes | Jul 13, 2010 | Comics and Cartoons, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary, G.I. Joe Toys, Marvel Comics Toys, Marvel Media, Other Toys, SDCC, Show and Convention Coverage
The San Diego ComicCon has moved into a whole new stratosphere in recent years. Initially merely a large comic convention, it somehow migrated to a Geek Mecca where Hollywood, Comics, and Toy Companies collide to give us glimpses at what cool new things are on the horizon for our nerd pleasure. It is pretty astounding to see just what it has become.
Of course as part of the allure of ComicCon, there are the SDCC Exclusives…toys that are launched at SDCC and for sale initially only at SDCC. This has always created a conflict between the “haves” and the “have nots” which has sometimes generated some hostility not just in the fandom, but directed back at the manufacturers. But Hasbro seems to have found a balance. By offering the items through SDCC, but also at HasbroToyShop, they seem to be able to please everyone, and in recent years there hasn’t been an obvious shortage of opportunities to get what you want.
This is not the case with Mattel, who year after year generates mountains of frustration among their fans with a strange voucher pre-order system that doesn’t even guarantee you a figure if you travel all the way to ComicCon. Not to mention when they post items for sale after the fact, MattyCollector.com gets so hammered that nobody can access the retail store. In general, it seems like a mammoth cluster… you get the idea.
Now not only does Hasbro seem to have the system at least somewhat ironed out, but the numbers of cool exclusives they are getting out there is amazing. Now, most of this is probably because they’re far and away the #1 Boys Toys brand in the market, but it really is incredible just how many cool toys they can get into collectors’ hands through SDCC. Anyone reading this right now already knows about Sgt. Slaughter:
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I mean, look at this figure! Sure there are complaints about the lack of musculature and the placement of the torso joint/USA logo (which I can certainly appreciate) but there is a metric ton of new tooling, great accessories, and even new points of articulation. Any long time fan who has been clamoring for Slaughter is gonna be loving this.
And while I haven’t been keeping up with the Marvel stuff as much as I’d like to, I can’t help but drool at what Hasbro has there as well:
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Before I go on…let me say one thing. Yes that is a TWO FOOT FREAKING TALL CARDED ACTION FIGURE. How awesome is that? Not to mention the bad ass WW II Captain America and an impressive Thor figure to tie into the upcoming movie as well.
Hell, even Star Wars has my interest this year!
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Bet you thought Darth Maul was dead, eh? Hell, I’m an uber-geek and even I thought Darth Maul was dead. What the hell is this? It’s Darth frikken Maul with cyborg horse legs. ROCK.
So yeah…for G.I. Joe fans or for toy fans, Hasbro has got it going on this year. Maybe one day I’ll make it to SDCC…but until then I’ll sit back and enjoy it vicariously through the hundreds of thousands of others. Can’t wait to hear what’s on the horizon!
by generalsjoes | Mar 1, 2010 | Comics and Cartoons, Film, G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary, Marvel Comics Toys, Marvel Media, Other Toys
Okay, I’m a fringe Marvel Universe fan at best. The last time I read comics on a regular basis was the 90’s and while I survived Rob Liefield’s path of destruction through the medium as we know it, I did sorta lose track during the Spider-Man clone fiasco, and haven’t really looked back. Sure, I poked my head in on the Ultimate universe, the death of Captain America, and am sort of checking out Siege here and there, but that’s really about it.
Thankfully, for those unusual folks like me, there are the movies and the cartoons to keep me engaged. While most toy geeks lament the fact that the movies and animated series aren’t faithful to the comic roots, those funky nerds like me who don’t really care about the stories and care more about the core characters are able to be kept in the loop without having to worry about the past four pesky decades of continuity. The first Iron Man movie, to me, was the best in class for this recent outcropping of comics flicks (yes, I even rate it above The Dark Knight, heresy on the internetz, I know), and the sequel looks like it will be more of the same.
Even better, the toys for the sequel look to match the quality of Paramount’s tour de force as well. I’m sure the initial toys were probably just dandy as well, but they were six inches tall, which doesn’t fit into my current collection philosophy, which is the smaller the better because I have no space to store crap. Amazingly enough, Hasbro looks to have taken the detail from the six inch figures and squished them down into a 3 3/4″ scale…these figures are smaller, but damn do they look freaking amazing.
PopEater.com has revealed a nice batch of these figures, accurate to the film, and while most of them look totally bad ass, the one I’m really focusing my love on is Samuel “Nick Fury” Jackson in some 3 3/4″ glory. Sure, we’ve all got enough Mace Windu’s to choke a stable of horses, but this Jackson actually uses some G.I. Joe parts! And he has a bad ass trench coat.
It’s pretty much the best 3 3/4″ figure ever made…
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I know this is barely G.I. Joe related, but news is a bit slow these days…gotta take some toy joy where I can get it.
by generalsjoes | Mar 18, 2009 | G.I. Joe, Marvel Comics Toys, Marvel Media, Other Toys
At the risk of slowly approaching the “geekdom” line and then taking a running leap over it, this question came to my mind last night as I opened up my two latest acquisitions from ToysRUs.com. I have so far been unable to find any of the new Marvel Universe or Wolverine Origins figures locally, so I took the plunge and ordered Iron Man and Daredevil from ToysRUs.com. Yeah, they ended up costing me more than I would pay at retail, but I just had to see what the big deal was. And, well, I quickly saw what the big deal was. These figures kicked ass. For almost my entire toy collecting life I’ve dreamed of having Marvel comics characters who could seamlessly integrate with my G.I. Joe universe.
After I caught the latest “Creature Double Feature” as a youngster with the live action Spider-Man series on any given lucky Saturday afternoon, I would invariably pick up my ’83 Snake Eyes and use him as Spider-Man, swinging him around the living room. After all, even after I owned the Secret Wars figures, they couldn’t move like G.I. Joe’s, and Snake Eyes fit the bill. Well, now, not only do I have Marvel figures that are the same size and scale, but they can actually move. Nirvana. But, what’s the point of these Marvel figures integrating and moving like Joes if they can’t actually co-exist with the Joes? Well, as I thought about that last night, some various other thoughts sprang to mind. Be forewarned, this is an extremely nerdy exercise in alternate realities, and something I’m almost a bit ashamed to say I put that much time into thinking about last night…
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