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 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!
no images were found
by generalsjoes | Oct 9, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Toys, Pursuit of COBRA
As usual, Gyre-Viper over at HissTank.com comes through with some more sweet pictures of some equally sweet upcoming Pursuit of Cobra figures that are pretty much blowing my head clean off. I really am not normally a big fan of arctic figures normally, but holy crap if these two guys don’t look incredible.
The Pursuit of Cobra stuff below is the Duke (Arctic Threat) and Snow Job (Arctic Threat) from early assortments of The Pursuit of Cobra slated to arrive in 2010, though common thought is that figures should start hitting retail around the holiday season this year.
These figures just look…amazing. The bulky insulated arctic uniforms, the totally rocking accessories! I love both of those backpacks…Snow Job’s sniper rifle is inSANE. I also really love those snap-out wings on Duke’s snowboard. Such cool looking stuff…initially I wasn’t going to dive headfirst into all of the Pursuit of Cobra figures, especially with the Arctic figures, but damn…I HAVE to own these. They are incredible.
Along with the Pursuit of Cobra figures, there are also images of a Silver Mirage and Chuckles that would have likely been released in the 25th Anniversary line. The colors on the test shot are indicative of early samples of Chuckles with the dark gray shirt, so I would imagine they were probably slated to be sold together in some sort of battle pack. As such, I wouldn’t expect to see that to arrive in that incarnation in the Pursuit of Cobra. Still very cool to see the images online! Check ’em out below, and big thanks again to Gyre-Viper for sharing these pictures.
no images were found
by generalsjoes | Oct 2, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Collectors Club, G.I. Joe Toys, Pursuit of COBRA
The latest G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club newsletter is hitting mailboxes, and reports are coming in that the first assortment of Pursuit of COBRA figures is shown in full color glory inside! Due to copyright reasons the GIJCC images will not be mirrored here, however I’ve linked the figures below to pictures gathered from JoeCon 2009:
ARCTIC THREAT
DESERT BATTLE
JUNGLE ASSAULT
VEHICLES
It’s not exactly clear what assortments are what, or when these will be released, though I’d imagine we’ll see them before years end, which rocks my world! Of course, don’t forget to hit up the Pursuit of COBRA SuperPage for the lowdown on everything…
by generalsjoes | Oct 1, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Toys, Pursuit of COBRA
One of the coolest things I saw from JoeCon photos in August had to have been this item. An Alpha Class vehicle that was a bad ass motorcycle that also turns into a suit of killer robot power armor?!? I mean, come on. How can that go wrong?
Well, Gyre-Viper from HissTank.com got his hands on a test shot, and early reports aren’t real encouraging. Sounds like the parts and pieces aren’t real sturdy and he wasn’t all that impressed. Of course keep in mind his is a test shot, and there’s a distinct possibility things will be a whole lot sturdier in final form.
I actually really like the figure, too. I thought Wraith was a pretty nice Anniversary figure (fragile arm cables aside) that got an undeservedly bad rap. The Wraith armor fits in seamlessly with the Rise and Pursuit of COBRA theme, so this looks pretty neat to me. The new head sculpt sells it, too.
Anyway, Gyre-Viper was cool enough to snap a ton of pics of his new acquisition, which I’m mirroring below. I’ll judge for sure once I get it in hand. It certainly looks pretty awesome, I think, but I’m a guy who likes playing with his toys, so we’ll have to see where it goes from there.
no images were found
