JoeCon 2010 JoeCustoms.com Exclusive Lt. Stone
It seems only fitting that shortly after the apparent official demise of the o-ring style figure that I do a review that crosses two boundaries of my favorite aspects of G.I. Joe. Two boundaries that seem to be “out of vogue” with the current generation of G.I. Joe fan. Figures with o-rings, and Sigma 6.
I’ve been collecting G.I. Joe for a very long time, and many of my readers would attest to the fact that I’m a shameless fanboy, and there aren’t many G.I. Joe figures out there that I absolutely cannot stand. Most figures from any generation I can at least find some redeeming qualities for.
Well, there was at least one. BattleForce 2000 in general was not one of my favorite parts of G.I. Joe lore, and by far one of the worst figures the line had seen was their communications officer, DeeJay. With his squished head sculpt, those funky skinny legs and awkward battlesuit torso, this was not only an ugly figure, but a pretty near useless one, too. Finally, a figure with no redeeming value whatsoever. And then the 2010 convention came along, and several JoeCustoms forum members debuted the 3rd JoeCustoms convention exclusive.
I should have been appalled. Lt. Stone is one of my favorite characters from one of my all time favorite eras of G.I. Joe. Could Kamakura and the rest of the JoeCustoms guys really have the gall to use one of my least favorite figures for this? Well, they did… but, amazingly, it works. It works big time.
Using a varied assortment of vintage parts, with the Falcon head, the aforementioned DeeJay torso, and Sci-Fi legs, a group of several members of JoeCustoms.com created an excellent custom “convention exclusive” figure. The third one in the line so far (after previous examples Cobra De Aco and Coyote) this figure has just what I love about the o-ring style. It’s poseable, yet tightly jointed, the paint ops are crisp and clear. The two wizards behind this endeavor managed to pay a great tribute to the Sigma 6 Lt. Stone, yet still built on it enough to make this figure something new and different. It really feels like the Sigma 6 character pulled into the Real American Hero universe. Using a brilliant mix of cast parts and sculpting, Lt. Stone is an awesome example of what’s possible using the vintage tooling, and I’m thrilled that I was in attendance at the Convention this year so I could take advantage of it. That’s right, that’s one hitch to these JoeCustoms convention figures…you have to pick them up in person.
With a price tag of $30, some fans might think it’s a bit steep, but trust me when I say the craftsmanship is worth it. There is no paint chipping when the joints are moved, the SAS decal on his torso is terrific. And of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the absolutely amazing green translucent robotic B.A.T. arm. A striking addition to the figure that not only calls back perfectly to the source material, but just looks bad ass in a vintage figure.
Yes, the Red Shadows definitely got all the publicity at the Convention this year, but as long as the guys from JoeCustoms are doing their part with their convention figures, there will always be something to look forward to for the vintage fans. These guys have their fingers on the pulse of the fandom, too, so expect some cool things in the future.
GRADE: 
