This is a test of the Android broadcast system
So I got my new Droid X today… and its got a great WordPress App. Just testing it. Review of the day is coming soon.
USA & Canada Holiday Weekend
Since Justin has gone further into the hinterlands of New England, every now and then the staff and contributors take the reigns. While it is nothing terribly important concerning Joes, but it is the thought that counts.
Thanks to all those who have served or are serving now. Thank you for your sacrifice and commitment so we can continue to celebrate these weekends now and into the future.
For those of you traveling, remain patient and safe as the roads and skies will be full. You’ll be getting back home just in time to start the PoC hunt!
GeneralsJoes Reviews the Pursuit of Cobra COBRA HISS v.5!
Perhaps one of the most anticipated vehicles in the G.I. Joe line for a number of years now, the Pursuit of Cobra COBRA HISS v.5 took the Joe fandom by storm when it was debuted at JoeCon in 2009. Now, nearly a year later, the vehicle is in production, and slated to hit retail in August, 2010.
But you don’t have to wait until then to find out exactly what makes his great vehicle tick! GeneralsJoes has a full review and breakdown of the entire thing, from box to the sticker sheet in the detail you’ve come to expect, with more pictures than you could possibly want.
Check out the full review at the Pursuit of Cobra Review Page, or hit the review directly right here.
Test Review – 50th Anniversary HEAT Viper
Many G.I. Joe fans will tell you that Hasbro reached its apex in action figure production with the Real American Hero line in 1985/1986. Certainly that seems to be where the most timeless and memorable characters made their debut. I would argue, though, that in 1989 Hasbro was still going really strong and ’89 provided a wealth of fantastic characters and Cobra troopers if you could look past their color schemes. Cobra especially got a great boost to their armies that year with the inclusion of Night Viper, Alley Viper, Frag Viper, and HEAT Viper. Three of these characters have gotten mixed reactions over the years, mostly due to color schemes (but also likely due to some weird weapons and trooper classifications). As a fan of bulky, yet poseable figures, I have a lot of love for what we got in 1989. Figures like Annihilator and HEAT Viper were larger sculpted figures, but still very sleek and flexible.
For a long time I established the HEAT (High Explosive Anti Tank) Viper as one of my favorites, and when he was repurposed as the Fast Blast Viper in 2001, I loved it. We had the great sculpt of that classic figure, but in slightly more muted colors (plus the addition of that hokey, but awesome “fear removal” genetic alteration). Hasbro does a pretty great job of taking the best elements of that classic figure and repurposing them for the modern line.
Using mostly tooling from the 30th Anniversary Airtight (with a modified torso and new head sculpt) the figure remains bulky, yet sleek and with great range of motion. The addition of the raised seam down the chest of the torso goes a long way towards identifying this figure as the HEAT Viper, although I’ll say the purple paint trim has some mixed results. There are obvious visible gaps in purple paint where yellow shows through, and the addition of the paint-only “straps” in several places comes across sort of weird. Beyond those paint issues, though, I (surprisingly) found this figure one of the most enjoyable of the 50th Anniversary figures I’ve sampled so far. He poses well and holds his weapon nicely, even if his hands are super-soft plastic.
Now, as for the head sculpt… I know there have been complaints about the head, mostly because the peg for the “Fiber Optic” sight is gone. The inspiration for this head design was obviously the vintage card art, which actually makes it seem like the vintage version was a last minute change. I love the addition of the second metallic plate, and I found a peg on the backpack to plug the cable into, but yeah, I don’t disagree that it would have been cool to get the cable to attach to the head like the older figure did. Strictly from an aesthetic perspective, though, I much prefer the double faceplate rather than the mostly yellow helmet of the vintage version.
ACCESSORIES
Admittedly, I grew pretty tired of the HEAT Viper rocket launcher after it was used countless times during the new sculpt era, but at least including it here makes sense. This figure also comes with a nicely retooled backpack with the modern peg, and the fiber optic cable is present as well, though has to be somewhat rigged to plug somewhere else.
A really pleasant surprise was that the figure came complete with the straps around his legs (which are added pieces not part of the sculpt unlike the vintage version) and the six rockets. This was a pretty big identifying aspect of the vintage figure, and I love that they’re present here, too. I’ll say for folks who don’t like it, the straps are probably removable, I just didn’t want to force the issue for the review. As one might expect, especially with the softer plastic, the rockets don’t stay on especially well, but for display purposes, they work okay. Completing the accessory compliment is a shoulder holster with pistol that both pays homage to the gray shoulder straps of the vintage figure, but also gives him a secondary sidearm in case close quarters combat is necessary.
This figure is great. A lot of fun. It helps that I’m a big fan of the HEAT Viper anyway, but I think Hasbro did this guy proud. He has some of the soft plastic issues of the other figures, and yes the paint gaps make him look even more “discount store” than some of his compatriots, but he’s a very fun figure, and as the last necessary entry into the Class of ’89 Viper Corps, I’m thrilled to get him into my collection.
Have you seen this girl?
G.I. Joe fan in good standing ChariJoe from The Terror Drome and HissTank.com has some disturbing news… a friend of hers has apparently gone missing…the following is a direct post that she posted in a couple of different places:
“My friend is missing. She is my best friends little sister and she is 18 years old, she boarded a bus from Ohio to come back to Florida and got off of the bus somewhere near London, Kentucky and no one has spoken to her since Saturday. On Saturday she made a string of eerie phone calls to family members about how much she loved them and she was sorry and such and everyone is very worried about her that she might be suicidal because she has had severe problems in the past.
Her name is Emily Eileen Patterson
She is 18 years old, 5′ 1″, 120 lbs. with black hair that is chin length.
She has tattoos of the word “faith” on her right wrist, a red star with the letter “B” inside on her right hip. and Cherry blossom flowers going up her ribcage.
She is always in contact with her family and this is very out of charachter and especially after the strange phone calls everyone is VERY worried. So please, if you know anyone in Kentucky that you could forward this too, please do so for me.
They’ve already contacted the police in London, Kentucky, and in Ohio. and filed a missing persons report.
Again, please guys, if you are in Kentucky or have any friends up there, please forward this to them. Or if you have any info contact they London Police Department at (606) 878-7004.
Thank you for taking the time to look at this for me.”
WildWeasel over on The Terror Drome was also kind enough to put together a flyer in PDF form. Please, if any Joe fans in the Ohio or Kentucky area see this girl or have any information, don’t hesitate to contact the appropriate folks. Check out the images below.
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El Mayimbe from Latino Review RAVES about G.I. Joe: The Rise of COBRA
While he has not written his official review yet, El Mayimbe of Latino Review has seen G.I. Joe: The Rise of COBRA, and cannot stop talking about it through his Twitter feed. The following quotes are pulled directly from it:
“After waiting 25 years, I finally saw the G.I.JOE movie & IT DOES NOT SUCK! I LOVED IT!”
“I actually wanna hug Stephen Sommers. The movie was pure escapist fun! This hardened G.I. JOE fanboy gives the movie my blessing.”
“Going home to write my review. Its the best ACTION film of the summer. Better than TS, Star Trek, TF2.”
Knowing what a big G.I. Joe fan El Mayimbe is, this is GREAT to hear. Great. He’s not in bed with any corporate titans, he bashes things universally, so this is a very welcome review in my mind. Can’t wait to read the whole thing.