Right alongside the release of Wave 1 of the Fantasy series we already have our first convention exclusive, this one for the New Jersey Collectors Convention which occurred the weekend of August 11th – 12th in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Branded as a Boss Fight weekend celebration of sorts (also celebrating the release of Series 2), this year’s fall NJCC was a great time and offered a fantastic addition to the Fantasy series.
The Orc Conqueror is already a great figure, and this NJCC exclusive adds some intriguing twists. With a very deep red skin, darker brown secondaries and a bronze/gold trim instead of silver/gray. The result is a figure that is considerably different in appearance, yet maintaining all the cool features of the standard Orc Conqueror.
Inhabiting the “blasted land” this variation of Orcs are even meaner and less hospitable than their more standard green-skinned cousins. Just in their darker paint scheme, these figures look more sinister, and I really love the deep color of their skin complimented by the gold trim of the armor and other additions.
The Blasted Land Orc has the two different heads, two different helmets, and two different face plates just like the conqueror, plus all of the fantastic accessories that the standard release comes equipped with as well.
Accessories
But wait there’s more! In addition to the standard hammer head that comes with the Orc Conqueror, we get a look into the customizing possibilities of these weapons with a spiked mace end that can replace the hammer and create a whole different weapon. I’d have to think there is more where this came from down the line, but it’s great to get an early introduction to it here.
Along with the spiked made, the Blasted Land Orc has a gorgeous sword, a dark blade carved from volcanic rock that is shined to a nice polish more resembling pure obsidian. The look of the dark gleam of the blade is really unique and really awesome.
All of the same great gear as the Orc Conqueror, but in a deeper color scheme with some really awesome complimenting of the dark red skin of the Orc. This is one heck of a great addition to your already growing Orc army and with an intriguing backstory makes for a fantastic NJCC exclusive. Here’s hoping there are more surprise exclusives in store down the road.
Blasted Land Orc
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4.5
Summary
While overall I probably prefer the color scheme of the standard Orc Conqueror, this figure is still a fantastic compliment to that one in pretty much every way. All of the same accessories and gear (with bonus spiked ball) and a really appealing darkened color pallet gives the Blasted Land Orc some nice variation and a nice evolution on the Orc theme. A great addition to the evil ranks of the Orcs in the HACKS fantasy universe.
This is one bad ass looking fairy. Though it looks like the proper terminology here is faerie. I’m not sure of the difference from my perspective (to be honest, when I started GeneralsJoes.com I don’t think I ever envisioned myself reviewing an action figure of a fairy or faerie or anything in between) but I know a great action figure when I see it.
As a Cavern Faerie, Lacuna’s obvious trademark are her wings, looking much more bat-like than the insect wings what I’m familiar with when it comes to faeries, but honestly, that’s totally cool with me. It makes perfect sense as well, with Lacuna being a “cavern” faerie that her wings should be more adaptable to creatures who live in caves.
Lacuna is the first figure to feature this new rear torso piece for the HACKS line which has twin ports for her wings (and additional arms!). That’s right, the plugs for the wings are the same as the plugs for the female arms, so not only can you tweak Lacuna to have four arms, but you can also make her more like a “harpy” by giving her wings instead of arms. As one would expect with the HACKS line, they are always pushing their limits.
The majority of the figure uses the familiar female blank template (except for the back of to the torso) and that suits me just fine. In all of our experience with female figures throughout Series 1, it’s certainly clear that the base figure there is pretty great and can be used for countless different figures, apparently even including cavern faeries.
Lacuna’s head sculpt is pretty fascinating, with a huge, meandering hair style and a pair of goggles (apparently developed by dwarves to help filter her vision in sunlight). Apparently driven from her caves by a mysterious skeleton attack, Lacuna now finds herself up among the other denizens of this fantasy world, and she doesn’t seem especially pleased about that fact.
As I mentioned, she has ports in her back for wings, and she comes with two different sets of wings, one closed and one open, which is a nice touch. Each wing has a nice multi-joint peg as well, so they can be posed in either formation, making for a wealth of opportunities for cool displays. Lacuna’s skin color is a nice gray/blue which seems to fit with her cavern lifestyle in great ways. She is an intriguing looking figure and even as a faerie doesn’t follow many of the traditional call outs, definitely going her own way as so many Boss Fight designs tend to do.
Accessories
The first thing you’ll notice about both Lacuna and Aiyana is that neither of them come with as many accessories as the Knight or Orc, but honestly, I don’t feel like they have to. Lacuna’s wings are large enough to make up for it, and as a faerie she travels pretty light anyway. Along with the wings, she comes with a fantastic looking scythe made from what looks like a tree branch and some kind of cave grown crystals that are cast in translucent colors that look spectacular. Her other weapon is a scepter, a magic device that enables her to be a “lightcaster” which is a really awesome story element added to the character. She can hold the weapons very well and their designs are exceptional.
Lacuna is a great figure built around an increasingly interesting character. I don’t know a whole lot about the whole faerie race from fantasy stories, but Lacuna seems like an interesting evolution to the typical narrative and fits the concept perfectly.
Lacuna
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4.7
Summary
Gray skinned and bat winged, Lacuna immediately brings up some awesome imagery and story ideas for the fantasy series, taking the concept of faeries and adding some really awesome twists to it. Boss Fight continues to do a great job taking existing tooling and evolving it with torso pieces supporting wings, and many other great additions to their already excellent core concept.
So I did it again. Back when Vitruvian HACKS Series 1 was first in its Kickstarter phases, I looked at the offerings and while I fell in love with many of them, there were a few that didn’t especially tickle my fancy, most notably Eurayle. I mean, she seemed neat, but was basically a female blank with some accessories and not much more.
Then I got her in hand and was promptly blown away.
History has repeated itself. While I love the idea of elves, and they’re one of the few fantasy concepts that I feel like I have some exposure to, Aiyana wasn’t knocking my socks off. She didn’t have as much gear as the knight or the orc and she didn’t have the awesome wings of Lacuna. I mean, she looked great, as all of the HACKS figures do, but I wasn’t enthralled.
I am now.
Like Eurayle, the simplicity of Aiyana is one of her strengths. With a simple grass top and grass skirt (plus the gauntlets and leg coverings) you can truly appreciate the impressive sculpting and articulation of the base figure, which is the same as the female base figure we’ve gotten countless times before, but that doesn’t detract from the amazing articulation, balance and poseability that exists within it. Aiyana’s joints are smooth and pose well, and I really love the way her rocker ankles work. I keep hoping that perhaps somewhere along the way, the male figures will get the same treatment.
The sculpting and material of the secondaries for Aiyana help sell the figure as well. They are soft and malleable, easily moving with the limbs and maintaining an awesome look. They fit snugly, yet are easily removable, the perfect combination of aesthetics and function.
Aiyana’s head sculpt is great as well. Her understated pointed ears are complimented by the nicely sculpted and decoed hair, which gives her a ton of character.
But at the end of the day, as usual with these simpler figures, it’s the accessories that really take the figures to the next level.
If I have any complaint with this figure or with Lacuna it’s that the female feet still have a real issue fitting on the Boss Fight display stands. It’s an issue that Boss Fight is aware of, I know, but it would be nice to have that little issue resolved. It’s tough to do with how small the feet are, though, I’m sure, and in the meantime, the rubber clamps that come with the dozens of skeletons you bought can work just fine.
Accessories
Aiyana comes with a nicely sculpted bow and set of six arrows, which gives you just enough arrows to fit in the quiver with one extra to be fired by the bow itself. Speaking of the quiver, it’s a great look, definitely capturing that wilderness feel, but with some impressive functionality. Along with a chamber to hold five arrows, there are also twin sheaths that hold both of Aiyana’s knives.
And her knives are awesome. The deco and rigid nature of the material makes them look and feel as if they’re sculpted stone. She can hold both knives very well and they fit perfectly into the quiver as well. The design of all of these accessories makes them look as if they were crafted by nature, which suits the story of the elves to perfection, yet the gear is all functional and looks great as well. Aiyana can hold the arrow perfectly between her fingers and can be posed firing the bow better than any 1:18 figure I’ve ever seen.
Yes, Aiyana is a great figure that I didn’t give enough credit to when they were all first revealed. As an Autumn Archer, I’m looking forward to seeing what else evolves from the elf story, especially the Withered Branch and the potential for spring elves down the line.
Aiyana
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4.6
Summary
With her woven grass outfit, her naturally sculpted quiver and what look to be wooden bow and arrows, Aiyana is truly a creature of the forest. A great head sculpt underscores a fantastic figure with an assortment of great accessories. She is the perfect introduction to the HACKS version of the elf and makes for a really fun figure even if she doesn’t quite have all the bells and whistles of some of the others in this assortment.
Although I’m not a diehard fantasy fan or anything, I’m still very familiar with Orcs and the basic background of their monstrous race. Including them as part of the Vitruvian HACKS fantasy series makes a lot of sense and I anticipate some pretty cool stories evolving from these creatures.
As with the majority of Series 1, Boss Fight Studio manages to take some existing tooling with some interesting new additions to really evolve the figure and character. The Orc Conqueror’s torso is all new tooling and they did a great job with it, making it look worn and beaten. As with the Knight, the magic really happens when you start layering on the additional secondaries, however. The Orc suspenders cover the armor well and add some great detail with the cross-strapping and the circular emblem in the center, and the fur covered belt does the same, managing to cover a chunk of the armor, but not reduce articulation at all.
The same fur texture is used in gauntlets and boot covers which, again give the figure some nice bulk and great design (not to mention the potential for customizers) while underneath it all is the familiar bare arms and HACKS construction system we’re all used to.
Also like the knight, the Orc Conqueror comes with removable shoulder pads that are more narrow than the knight and sculpted with a nasty trio of spikes that give the figure a great, menacing look.
The Orc Conqueror’s legs are sculpted in baggy, bulky pants which add to the menace, with some great spiked thigh armor that is removable. It stays in fairly well, but if you’re serious in keeping the thigh armor in place permanently, you may want to consider a little glue. I didn’t have huge problems with them, but if you pose them frequently, you could jar them loose for sure. A recurring theme so far with the Fantasy figures are additional heads, and the Orc comes with a pair of them as well, one bearded and one clean-shaven and they both look fantastic. The sharp fangs, the furrowed brow, and the menacing scowl all combine together to give us a great 1:18 scale version of everyone’s favorite fantasy bad guy.
So, there you have it. As one of the main enemies of Series 2, the Orc Conqueror is a great base figure with some nice new tooling. Now, what about the accessories?
Accessories
Yeah, the accessories rock, as expected. I already mentioned the various fur sculpted compliments, but didn’t even mention the fur cape, which hooks into the pegs of the shoulder pads, and is then held in place there when the pads hook to the figure. The Orc Conqueror comes with the same helmet system as the knight, which accommodates two separate skull-themed helmets, one bearded and one not. The face plates are really awesome and give a nice look to any Orc trooper variants you manage to assemble. The primary Orc helmet is somewhat similar to the knight’s, with the wing ornamentation, but the Orc’s looks much more devilish and evil than the knights, providing an excellent contrast while maintaining a similar look.
Along with the secondary pieces, the Orc Conqueror also comes with a massive hammer (which separates into two pieces and as evident in Blasted Land Orc images, can be customized into different weapons) and a sword that looks as if it were carved from solid stone. The sculpting and design work on the sword is absolutely incredible. It’s one of my favorite edged weapons in the line, without hesitation.
This figure makes for a perfect cannon fodder foil against the knights, faerie’s and elves that are already making their way into the Series 2 ranks. He’s mean, he’s nasty, and he comes with a brutal assortment of forged weaponry that carries with it a ton of character. This is one nasty looking bad guy.
Orc Conqueror
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4.8
Summary
Brutal, aggressive, and downright mean, it’s not often that you get an accurate sense of a character’s personality just by looking at their 1:18 scale representation. You certainly do here, though. One look at the Orc and you know what kind of nasty character he is. Green skin, skull-themed helmets and evil looking accessories only serve to further prove that suspicion. A great looking figure and perfect enemy for the fantasy series.
I won’t lie, it’s been a challenge to try and figure out how to frame this review. One of the inherent issues with reviewing action figures is that you can only frame your opinion around what has been in existence at the time that you do your review. If you’d asked me to review A Real American Hero Hit & Run in 1988, I probably would have given it 5 stars. Looking back through the reverse-rose colored glasses, that kind of score seems laughable compared to the quality, ingenuity and technical improvements of action figures these days.
I ran into these issues with G.I. Joe from 2009 – 2012 all the time. In 2009 I gave City Strike Snake Eyes a 5 Star Review because it was one of the finest examples of the G.I. Joe Commando released to date (in my opinion of course). Little did I know two years later the Pursuit of COBRA version would be released, not to mention the G.I. Joe: Retaliation version which manages to do great new things for the figure as well. So, stepping back, both City Strike and PoC Snake Eyes received 5 star ratings… are both figures equal? No, I’d say definitely not. But I can only review figures based on my impressions at that time.
Which brings me to my current conundrum.
Yes, the Vitruvian HACKS Knights of Accord action figures are some of the finest 1:18 scale action figures I have ever seen. Coming from someone with only a passing interest in medieval history and fantasy, this figure is perfect in nearly every single way.
Thing is, I said the same thing about the Spartan Warrior a couple of years ago. At the time, the Spartan Warrior is a nearly perfect action figure (and still is) but the Knight eclipses it in almost every way. If they end up with the same score, are they “equal”?
I’m spending way too much time thinking about this.
Anyway… putting aside any comparisons to past reviews, looking at the Knights of Accord, this figure does pretty much everything right you would want an action figure to do. The sculpting of the layered armor on the torso, the nearly seamless integration of armor and cloth garments underneath (truthfully, I didn’t even know the gauntlets were removable until I stumbled upon it by accident) all comes together to give us a terrific, bulky, yet supremely well articulated action figure.
Some folks have pointed out that the huge shoulder pads could conceivably limit the arm motion of the Knight, and in truth, yes they do. The new plug system which enables these shoulder pads to fit perfectly into the shoulders (and be swapped with others) allows for the pads to be removed if you want your knight to be more mobile, and come on, let’s face it, I’m pretty sure guys walking around in bulky suits of armor back in the day had some issues lifting their arms above their heads, too.
The Knight is 100% new tooling for the first time since the Spartan Warrior was first released (well, except maybe for the neck barbell) with new parts from neck to toe, and he is terrific. Range of motion throughout all joints is fluid, yet rigid meaning they move easily, yet hold their pose well. Underneath the removable thigh armor and shin armor is some pretty normal looking cloth pants which could work well for other future customs as well.
On his torso is some great angular armor with a great design aesthetic that maintains its range of motion even being bulky and imposing. What really brings the figure to life, though, is the layered secondary accessories. A removable belt and cloth add some nice flair to the figure, as does the thigh armor, shoulder armor and gauntlets, adding thick layers of armor while not greatly restricting articulation.
Knights of Accord are many in number, and Boss Fight gives this figure three separate heads so you can build you armies and maintain a sense of individuality among your ranks. Just looking at the base figure itself, it’s clear that there’s a level of playability and customizability here that is more or less unparalleled. And I haven’t even touched on the accessories yet.
Accessories
Yes, along with the impressive base figure, the Knights of Accord come with a veritable armory of great looking weaponry. Two different helmets combine with three different face plates (that works with one of the helmets) and provide a number of different looks and different combinations. The helmet that doesn’t work with the face plates is an ornately designed and sculpted helmet with great wings flaring out on each side of the face that looks really gorgeous.
Along with the helmets he has a sheath that plugs in nicely to a port on the right hip of his belt (though it takes some pressure to get it hooked in there). There’s another port system on the other side that doesn’t appear to work for anything included in this figure, but I’d imagine there are some things still to come. His sword fits in the sheath perfectly, and he also comes with a great two-bladed axe just in case the sword doesn’t do the job.
His angled shield is nicely designed with a much improved grip system (though it would have been cool if the grip could be reversed so left-handed knights could use it as well). The leather straps are soft and pliable and easily moved to wrap around the forearm and the hand fits the handle well. In fact most of the parts feel a bit softer and more malleable than those same parts in the first series, just one of the many different improvements from two years ago.
This knight is spectacular. I love the different head sculpts, I really enjoy the combination of bulky, layered armor with impressive articulation and the customizability of removable parts and pieces. Even with these first four figures I’m starting to see a wealth of different options of the first figures (not to mention Series 1) really bringing this whole Vitruvian HACKS theme to life. I can only imagine how things will continue to improve and evolve as Series 02 continues and stuff like the mini-kits start getting released. These figures manage to be the perfect blend between fantastic action figures and an entire system of figure build pieces that can keep collectors happy and excited for years to come.
Knights of Accord
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4.9
Summary
Fantastic. Coming from someone who isn’t really a fan of medieval history or even fantasy, I can safely say that this is one of the best action figures I’ve ever seen, regardless of its inspiration. The armor customization, sculpting, layered parts, various head sculpts, and amazing accessories all combine together into one impressive package. If you’d told me two years ago that the amazing first run of Vitruvian HACKS would be even better going forward, I never would have believed it, but I’m holding verifiable proof of that fact here in my hand.
Hi all, I’m back again. I must be a glutton for punishment. It’s either that or Justin in getting lazy. Probably all three. You read that correctly. It’s that time of the year and we’re all a buzz about the new reveals and great exclusives at San Diego Comic Con. I just wrapped up the Revolution crossover set review yesterday and now I’m onto the G.I. Joe-specific Missile Command Center. I was at Joe Con during the i09.com reveal and this set took us by a pleasant surprise! I was also close enough to see the set in the case, take it in as much as I could at con, and knew it was going to be a great piece. FYI, I run around like Joe Con like a lunatic (or maybe I should replace “like” with “as”) and don’t really experience the new product until I get home so we basically have the same view. Besides, if I really did take the view, I would be there for hours and in everyone’s way. Well, more than normal.
So yeah, the MCC (I’m not typing Missile Command Center every time, though I could c ‘n p), let’s rap. Nostalgia seems to be the strong, underlying current of many of our major brands and this set was a healthy dose straight down the hatch! To recap, this set was a vintage, store exclusive that consisted of every Cobra The Enemy action figure produce at the time (all three) and a cardboard missile command playset. Cardboard playsets seemed to be an easy exclusive to produce and were well received growing up. Well received, that is, if knew the store sold it. But who didn’t? One of the greatest childhood memories for children of the 80s and before was staring for days at the toy catalogs of major retail chains. We circled over and over the ones we wanted and checked off the ones we had. And, on the other side of the coin, the fragile cardboard rarely survived the sands of time, thus creating a very desirable adult collectable piece. You know this reviewer is always going to give you the straight talk (not what the internet falsely says 60s Iron Man gives) and say G.I. Joe is currently an “Emerging Challenger Brand,” which means a few things, but for this set means primarily adult collectors. This notion of adult collectors being the focal point can only be reaffirmed by a trip to Joe Con. And, like I said in the previous Revolution, I self-identify as a G.I. Joe-specific collector so this is my wheelhouse.
Packaging
I do own a vintage MCC but I do not own one in package. A google search can show you the differences but I don’t know the size comparison. Your google search will agree with my point that this thing is almost indistinguishable! I briefly wondered if this set would be considered 25th style or something similar and it’s close but not really. I am dubbing it “hyper-vintage.” I don’t care if it sticks or not, (I actually do, I’m sensitive like that) but I do think this set goes even further to gives us the nostalgic feel than even the 25th set out to do. One can obviously recognize the 4” styled Cobra in the upper left tunnel but, other than that, any change requires some advanced insight of the vintage set. Pawn Stars will have to call in their expert to confirm. Derry DePriest introduced this set at Joe Con while systematically introducing the name Bobby Vala to the fans as the new guy on the Joe brand. I will be crediting him for his awesome work throughout this interview and will start by saying his attention to detail is intense and his desire to recreate a nostalgic purity is so intense, weathering affects were even applied to the outer box. Holding it really makes you feel like you’ve found a legitimate holy grail at the flea market.* And for an MSRP of $50. No coming home with a loose “Frankensteined” Lightfoot/Scoop, two dirty Sneak Peeks, and a gold Steel Brigade thigh for $50, we hit the jack pot!
*Designer’s note: I notice while absorbing the packaging and taking in the “weathering” application, the UPC is starch white (I’m confident for easy scanner readability if this was ever brought to retail). This is by no means a knock, just a fun facet of the process. We truly live in a digital era.
Action Figures
So, start with easy part. The set comes with three characters, Cobra Commander, Cobra Officer, and “Cobra” Trooper. These three characters laid the foundation for the terrorist cell…, err, enemy camp and have remained at the forefront of the Cobra The Enemy antagonist since. And, reiterate what was stated before, they were in the vintage set. It is this reviewer’s opinion that early “A Real American Hero” is gaining an a bit of an uptick in popularity and these figures capitalize on this resurgence. But let’s further state the obvious and say we live in a 4” G.I. Joe world and the new, sans O-ring, style reigns supreme. All three of these action figures utilize tooling we’ve seen from the 25th Anniversary series up until the 50th (“50”) series. However, these action figures each hold their vintage counterparts to a higher level of accountability and further dial in the “vintage accuracy” to a level not yet seen.
Cobra
No, I didn’t forget the word “Trooper” in the title, this is an homage to his 1982 naming convention (on both the card back and file card). Children of the 80s didn’t need everything spelled out for them, we read between the lines that this was the trooper. This is the classic go-to for that nostalgia kick. As a guy who’s dabbled in nostalgic card backs, it really boils down to the minutest details. The action figure’s core derives from The Pursuit of Cobra series and, hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. It does, however, modify the legs to showcase the sleeker elements of the 1982 figures but including the pockets and slightly eccentric (for combat) boots. The blue is even a richer, deeper blue that hasn’t been seen since 1982. This blue output further convinces me the team was striving for accuracy. Oh, and to nail down my point, the gloves are blue. It. really. is. the .little. things.
Cobra Officer
Cobra Officer follows much of what I said about the Cobra Trooper…, er…., I mean Cobra. The blue is the same deep, rich blue and finds its foundation in the same The Pursuit of Cobra Cobra Trooper but takes his own steps to pull from his vintage roots. The legs are a slightly different, yet just as sleek, configuration that more accurately tackles the vintage legs. He is armed with a recently tooled AK-47 and has his respected silver emblem. Honestly, when it boils down to it, what’s good about the Cobra is good about the Cobra Officer.
Cobra Commander
The Enemy Leader rounds out the set’s trifecta. He utilizes the “Ultimate” version’s foundation from Retaliation but is then modified with the 25th torso so he can put his laser pistol on his back. The blue on him is a richer blue and, again, much more vintage accurate. The biggest nod to the vintage Cobra Commander is the early logo commonly known as the Mic…, err, famous rodent that is very protective of it’s IP. Don’t pick up what I’m laying down? Here’s your internet search homework. Trust me, this is a hot little nod. Again, little things (I’m think I’m going to say that a lot with this set).
To round it out, these core/founding members of Cobra have been regular occurrences in the A Real American Hero and, more specifically, the last ten years. Oh yeah, it’s the ten year anniversary of the 25th Anniversary line that started this size off, I wonder if Hasbro new this? Ok, squirrel, back on topic it’s very hard to impress the 1982 Cobra Commander, Cobra (Trooper) and Cobra Officer onto a guy who’s archived ten or more of these and this set passes the test. If someone would’ve described just the idea of these three figures in a sentence or two, I would’ve been apprehensive; but, believe it or not, I like to be proven wrong. It was really great to get back to G.I. Joe’s foundation and wouldn’t mind seeing some more strategic approaches to 1982-83.
Missile Command Center
To give a quick history lesson for anyone who’s not familiar, the A Real American Hero was originally designed to be a vehicle line but the action figures stole the show. I always say we took that little tag line “collect them all” a little too literally. However, in this case, I think the Missile Command Center is the star of the show. Whether it’s nostalgia or rarity, reintroducing the MCC was a great idea and, without being in the boardroom, seems like a perfect product to surprise SDCC, appeal to that market, easy to produce (Bobby might disagree), and hit a specific price point. This armchair wannabe toy designer is going to dub it brilliant! These cardboard sets were always great for kids. I’m forty years old, so I’ll try not to sound like I’m telling the kids to get off the lawn when I say I think we were drawn more towards assembly, cut out pieces that were, looking back, lower tech. I wasn’t a model builder but I think that we’re the last generation actively embraced that (I’m not deeming the hobby dead but I recognize it is past its hayday. Not hatin’, just statin’) and this set gave me that feeling. I’ll be honest, it’s been so long since I put a cardboard set together, I was a little rusty.
The original set was ingeniously designed and very dynamic, considering it’s simply a few pieces of flat cardboard. Once assembled, it really forms an intriguing piece. It’s so simple, yet so intricate and so fun. Whether you own one or not, I’m sure avid fans are all too familiar with the piece and probably have the image burned into their monitors due to extensive projection (do monitors still do that?). Oh, and this set takes the piece one step further. Like I said, Joe Con for me is like a whirlwind, I didn’t notice that all the art was recreated. I thought it was a simple scan, clean-up, and then produce. That’s not the case. Bobby took the time to recreate every minute detail. Both of Maxim Bady’s tag lines came to mind (look him up, I think he’s hilarious). Everything is so crisp and yet the art and color palette makes you think this the vintage art. I’ll say this, if you prefer the “imperfect” / hand drawn art by Ron Rudat, (the seemingly future-tech used on Castle Gray Skull, other card board sets, and other Heavy Metal inspired art), I think you’ll look at Bobby’s art and see it as your child mind thought you saw in the 80s. It wasn’t when I put the two together that I could really pick them both apart. Well, besides the decade of dust I had to remove and the now 35 years of cardboard aging that time has applied to my vintage one. Real quick, I couldn’t find my vintage chairs. I’m pretty sure I put them someplace where they wouldn’t’ be damage and that was seriously around the time I started the R.A.H.C. Guide (late 2005). There’s a reason why I don’t showcase my collection, you can see a pile of tubs at Walmart anytime you like.
So, we have nostalgia, check. We have a contemporary update, check. And we have a great pricepoint, check. Some few points of interest and need to knows. This is cardboard. No, I’m not giving you sass. Well, I am, but I really want to clarify you might want to think out putting yours together and study the blueprints if you do. This is especially important if you’re a picky collector like me. Start by cutting the bags open, not trying to save them. The bags are durable but will stretch when trying to simply remove the tape. Failure to acknowledge this might close the plastic in on the cardboard and damage the cardboard. Second, the tabs are meant to hold this thing together. Not another “duh” moment, I say this because I am treating this piece like a one way street. My tabs did bow, bend, and split when I inserted them. It’s not a knock on the product, it’s just how cardboard is compared to the demand that’s being placed upon it. However, most important, the “U” shaped console is very thing at the points where the center angles into the sides. It almost seems like it’s supposed to fold there but it is not. My impetuousness suffered some very slight folding but whatever. Half way into assembling this thing, it reminded me that it is cardboard and not meant to last. Cue “Dust in the Wind.” These imperfections are not noticeable unless I point them out but I can’t help but notice every little detail on things once I analyze them. Ask my shrink, he hears about it every Thursday. Just kidding. He dropped me as a client year ago. If you are pickier than me, my condolences. But seriously, you might just want to admire it flat and from afar. I will, however, strongly encourage you to not only buy one but to just dive in and put it together.
I am not engineer-minded, though not engineering inept, it might help to start a conversation with the fans and figure out ways to refine the process and simultaneously reinforce the piece if you want to increase durability. At this point, you’re asking cardboard not to be cardboard and I don’t know what to tell you about that. However, I am extremely confident our fandom has the talent and the solution and, at this point, you’re asking this shirtless jungle reviewer to go on a mission in the arctic. I’m not Gung-Ho (that’s not what she said).
File Card holder
Have I mentioned it’s all about the little things recently? Because, if not, it is. This set even includes the foldable file card holder, meant to hold all original thirteen file cards. This piece was originally in the vintage set so itz ghottztah be in this recreation. This piece makes a great little knickknack to put on your desk or to round out your Joe area. An interesting not, the file card holder has the vintage card art on it, not the 25th art. Or, if it has 25th art, the thumbnails are so small, you can’t tell. A quick interesting point of interest, the “Bazooka Soldier” is labeled the “Rocket Launcher Soldier.” I wonder why that is.
And if you think I forgot to mention the red back file cards, you’re crazy. RED BACK FILE CARDS!! We Joe collectors love our red backs. I recently contributed to a fan project that wanted a file card and the group wouldn’t move past the file card being red back. And why would they?? It’s just another simple, yet essential, aspect of the set that puts a nice cherry on a superb sundae. The file cards are meticulously designed to emulate the originals, yet utilize the 25th card art and have a few missing details no longer used by Hasbro proper (flag points). But c’mon, are we going to cut our red backs? I think that’s a shunning from the hobby. I don’t know, I’ll have to check the bylaws.
Conclusion
If you haven’t been picking up on my enthusiasm towards this set, then you’ve been simply looking at the pictures. I don’t blame you; I don’t read Justin’s commentary either. And I’m totally a tl;dr reviewer. If you’ve always wanted a MCC or wanted an nice crisp one than this is you set. If you can’t get enough of the Cobra Command, this is your set. If you already have a nice MCC…, well…, forget you. Just kidding. You might want to put your vintage one in a hermetically sealed case and display this recreation. I am confident you will get the same level of enjoyment. I know you get four stars for showing up in a review around here so I don’t know how to rate this. I tend to think you’re either in or you’re out so this one’s in*.
*Yes, guys who archive toys are biased because we own everything anyway, leave it be.
If you are near Dayton, OH, I will be at the Ohio Toy and Comic Show and will have these exclusives there to view. Find me or check out the What’s On Joe Mind? panel, I stand in for Justin (someone has to draw the short straw). I have always enjoyed the SDCC sets more than most and this one keeps that spark alive.
