G.I. Joe accessory entrepreneur Joe Harris has been working on some pretty awesome products kind of quietly, but it’s about time I made some noise for him. I mentioned his great site a while ago by focusing on his excellent COBRA Missile Headquarters plastic replica, but he’s branched out quite a bit and is doing some other items as well over at DJToys.com.
One of the cooler items is a “Pit Replacement Set” which takes a number of the cardboard items that come with the Rise of COBRA Pit Playset and reproduce it in better material. Along with that is the awesome Pit Crate, which is very affordable ($3.50) and does an awesome job giving the diorama enthusiast some fodder for scenery.
Along with these, are the DJToys Display Backgrounds (which I will be reviewing shortly) that are very cool little display pieces for various scenes that go on your shelves, and with the increasing amount of displayability in G.I. Joe toys over the past few years, these are some very cool items.
Joe is one of the friendliest and most devoted Joe fans I’ve had the pleasure to meet. Everyone should at least give some of this stuff a shot. The material is great, the product is very nicely made, and the prices are right! Best of all, it’s cool stuff. Hit up DJToys here.
JoeIntel.com is quickly making a name for itself as a “go to” site for some great G.I. Joe tidbits, and it continues the tradition with a very nice assortment of images of the unreleased “Training Snake Eyes”. This figure was a Resolute Comic Pack figure, originally slated to come with Night Creeper, but never got released to retail. Just looking at the figure itself, it doesn’t really seem to fit the Rise of COBRA aesthetic, so I’m not sure it’s something we’ll ever see at this point. That wave of comic packs was originally going to feature Duke (Scuba) vs. Lamprey as well as Snake Eyes (Training) vs. Night Creeper.
notpicard from JoeIntel managed to get his hands on this very unique item, and was gracious enough to share images on JoeIntel, and allow GeneralsJoes to host them as well. Like Storm Shadow (who came with some Dice-like accessories), Snake Eyes comes with some similar gear as Slice did back in the vintage days. Check out the thread at JoeIntel here, and take a peek at the images below.
Mysterious Stranger over at JoeBattleLines just posted new images of his recent purchase – a Rise of COBRA G.I. Joe SkySweeper w/ Air Raid. And… wow. I just officially fell in love with this vehicle.
I’ve been avoiding the repaints, simply because I have most of the originals, and with the price of vehicles these days, I just need to be more selective, but they made enough tooling changes on the Firebat to really make this an awesome new vehicle…and being at the Alpha price point to boot, this is a no brainer. The enhanced engines, the landing skids…small changes, but they make an absolute WORLD of difference. Add in the figure, which is a very nice repaint of Resolute Duke from the 5-Pack, and this is definitely a set worth buying, especially for that price. Interesting that Air Raid’s file name and file card indicate that he’s Airborne, but still a minor issue for a very nice looking figure. This is an absolute winner!
Flash from the TS118 forums has notified us that they are moving! Check the message below for full details.
TS118 Case File 09-001:
Toy Soldier 1:18 Proboards will be decommissioned anytime soon and we’ve already prepared a NEW TS118 forumer site with the following new features:
No more annoying pop-ups i.e. Travian, PerfSpot.com (previously experienced from Proboards)
Same Board Index and Threads Format (ease of use with better site security / screening)
Soon, faster Access to Site Affiliates (GeneralsJoes, Joecustoms, TFPh, AFP, PTK, etc)
Soon, Up to date Site Updates and Local GI Joe and other 1:18 scale military action figure sightings in the TS118 blogspot (via Twitter/Facebook), keeping you abreast with what is happening and what is out locally; retail/hobby shop sightings and releases.
So what are you waiting for? Sign up for your new TS118 Forumer account and join the board discussions of the Philippines’ one and only local online forum that focuses on 1:18 military-themed action figures (GI Joe, BBI Elite Forces, FOV, etc) at our new forums:
You can also visit our blog site at www.ts118.blogspot.com for figure reviews and a quick link to our Forumer site.
Hoo-ah Soldier, HOO-AH!
P.S.
The current proboards site may appear to be active over the course of the next few days, but it will be taken down soon so gather up your old posts and carry them over to the new site. We would highly encourage everyone to start / restart / continue all 1:18 scale action figure talk in our new forumer site. See y’all there, soldiers.
Over at JoeBattleLines, MaxPower has stumbled across the KMart Exclusive 4-Pack at his local California K-Mart and was kind enough to snap some pictures of what can be found inside. The set comes with:
Desert Camouflage Heavy Duty
Duke (in MP Uniform)
MARS Weapon Officer
Neo-Viper
Heavy Duty is the best of the bunch, just because he comes with the best of the gear from the two previous versions! He’s got the machine gun and pistol from the Weapons Specialist (as well as the backpack w/ straps), but he’s got the heavy machine gun and grenade launcher from the Reactive Armor version.
The two COBRA’s are colored up in a strange dark brown/bronze shade which doesn’t appeal to me a whole lot, though each of them come fully equipped with their original weapons load. Duke is just kind of a toss in, I think. I’m not crazy about the MP/Zartan figure, and we’ve already got a decent desert camouflage Duke. Anyway…retail was apparently $27 or $28. Keep your eyes out if you’re interested!
So I really want to keep folks in the loop as production begins (or continues as the case may be) for my final dio-story installment, Darkness Falls. Well, over the past few days I’ve begun design and production on one of the various diorama sets that are required for the story.
One of the main focus points of the story features a battle in an underground cavern converted into a base of operations. Obviously, without giving too much away, I wanted to just sort of show off where I am so far. I did some rough sketches of what I wanted, based on what the story called for, plus what my dio building capabilities are. I am NOT an expert by a long shot. In fact, I’d say everything I know I just stole from Capolan over on JoeCustoms, and I don’t do it nearly as well as he does.
Regardless, for better or worse, I’m pressing forward and just hoping what I come up with is good enough to not draw anyone out of the story, since the sets are merely a compliment to the story itself. They should not be the focus.
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This is the very rough, early stages. For what you see above, the following was required:
Scrapbook Paper – ProvoCraft “Texture Copper” (for the walls)
Glue Stick (for the scrapbook paper to the foamcore)
Hot Glue Gun (for gluing the foamcore together)
Both scrapbook paper patterns were found at a Michael’s Craft Store.
I did some rough measuring, leaving the foamcore at 30″ long, since a lot of action takes place on scene. Cut down the back and side walls a bit, and then cut the door designs using a straight edge and a roll of packing tape. :shifty: Very important to have a sharp knife blade to cut clean, and another VERY important thing is to cut straight down through the foamcore, and not on an angle. You want as clean and straight an edge as possible for the hot glue to seam.
So I cut each sheet and marked it as needed, then glued the back and two sides to the bottom to get the frame for the typical “3 wall stage” set up. Obviously you keep on wall either off or removable so you have a place to shoot pictures. I’ve found that gluing to the outside of the bottom frame creates a more durable seal as well (instead of gluing everything to the top of it and using it as a true base).
Then I took another piece of foamcore and cut it down to match the height of the others, and cut out the arches (again using the straight edge and trusty packing tape). I put the scrapbook paper down on the base and the two walls partially in preparation of the other wall.
And that’s pretty much it so far. This doesn’t take very long, and really, it’s almost more a matter of finding the right material rather than the work itself. Measure twice, cut once. :shifty:
Some folks have also expressed interest in seeing my collection and my work area, so I shot a few pics of that, too, while doing pictures for the in progress diorama shots. It’s a mess, and it’s in my garage, which is unfortunately unheated (so it’s tough to work out there a couple months out of the year), but it gives me a nice space to spread out and do some work. It’s also the only place I currently have to showcase my Joe stuff, though it’s not as nicely displayed as I’d like. Check these pics out below…the screw drawers are all full of vintage Real American Hero figures. On the other wall of the garage I have about 25 or so other cabinets as well.
Duck over on the JoeBattleLines forums has reported that he received a pair of Dragonhawks from HasbroToyShop, and there are different paint applications on both. One of them has distinct black trim on various parts of the copter like the stabilizers and engine covers. Check out his reports here, and I’ve mirrored the images below.
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I also have to echo Duck’s thoughts in the thread that the Dragonhawk is actually a really cool little helicopter regardless of its size. If you can think of it as the evolution of the Locust rather than the next Dragonfly, I think you can appreciate it a lot more. If folks had the Night Attack Chopper and use that as the primary assault copter with the Dragonhawks acting as smaller, quicker support crafts. In fact, Count Blacktron did the same thing in an image below.
Regardless, the copter is neat, regardless of its size. The $25.00 is still a hard one to absorb, considering the Locust was a lot less back in the day, but still a neat vehicle for what it is.
The 5-Page preview for G.I. Joe: Origins #7 has now been posted. This issue focuses on Mainframe, who actually plays a much more critical role on the team than he has in years past. Part conspiracy theorist, part computer expert, Mainframe really has some very interesting character about him, and I’m really looking forward to this issue! Check out the five page preview below.
I’m sure my credibility is probably shot ever since I gave G.I. Joe: The Rise of COBRA a relatively positive review, but if nothing else, that only shows what my video game taste is. I don’t need state-of-the-art graphics or revolutionary gameplay. I just need a game to be FUN. And dammit, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance was one of the most fun games I’ve played in a very long time. Well, next week, Ultimate Alliance 2 comes out, and I can’t freaking wait! I think this trailer has been around forever, but I just saw it today… check it out. Not a whole lot of gameplay, but some kick ass looking cut scenes and a nifty soundtrack. Looking forward to it.
This is the last weekend for our flat-rate shipping! What could be better “NEW TOYS + FREE TOYS + $5 S&H = EPIC!!! x10”
See below.
Hasbro just dumped a truck-full of Star Wars and G.I. Joe Waves on us and we need your help to fish us out. Clone Wars Waves 3, 4, and 5, Legacy Wave 6, and G.I. Joe Waves 3 and 4 are now all available! Get Rum Sleg, Mace Windu, Ahsoka Space Suit, Storm Shadow unmasked, and many more figures. Ahsoka Tano’s Jedi Starfighter and Corporate Alliance Tank Droid vehicles are ready for take off, so get over to www.brianstoys.com for all the latest toys and collectibles.
Brian’s Toys is offering free products for all orders over $35. Choose from Indiana Jones, Star Wars, G.I. Joe, and Transformers. Highlights include a Gentle Giant Indiana Jones on Horseback statue, set of G.I. Joe Rise of Cobra figures, and Legacy Collection Crimson Empire. Restriction applies, click through for details.
