Select Page

Barricade (Figure Subscription Service)

gijcc-fss-4-barricade (1) gijcc-fss-4-barricade (28)

While many a G.I. Joe fan will bemoan the Battle Corps era for its outlandish colors, spring-loaded weapons and plethora of sub teams, I remained quite interested in G.I. Joe even through those somewhat strange years.

It’s nice to see the Collectors Club pay some attention to the Battle Corps years within the Figure Subscription Service, though I have to admit, somewhat begrudgingly, that the execution leaves a little to be desired.

gijcc-fss-4-barricade (20)

Back in the day, Barricade was a “Bunker Buster” soldier, the guy who broke down the doors, took volleys of gunfire, but led the rest of the team into the breach.  The vintage version of the figure was very large and blocky, yet managed to maintain the great range of motion of those classic o-ring figures, a combination that I really loved, even if some of the colors of the time were questionable.

This version of Barricade seems to want to continue that philosophy, but ends up looking more cybernetic than armored (likely a result of a lack of parts choices that fit the aesthetic well).  Using parts from the Rise of Cobra Accelerator Suit figures, the parts are exceptionally well sculpted and have great articulation, and from a pure visual perspective, the figure parts look outstanding.  Instead of the Accelerator Suit arms, the Club went with Battle Armor Cobra Commander arms, which is a little unfortunate, as the elbows aren’t quite as flexible as some others, and the arms end up looking just a little “stumpy”.  They’re also pretty distinct for Cobra Commander and it’s tough to see them utilized in a different way.

gijcc-fss-4-barricade (19)

The head sculpt here is a re-use of the 25th Anniversary Chuckles  Rise of Cobra “Aqua Viper Officer” which has been used here and there (I believe it was also Dice’s head sculpt) but it works okay as a generic head that doesn’t look too much like anyone else.

In the past, the Club has had a tendency to take really bright figures and mute their colors somewhat for a more modern release.  Barricade is actually somewhat the opposite.  The blue used is brighter than the vintage version, and even though they added some paint wipe detail to the deco work, the gold ends up looking a little brighter as well.

gijcc-fss-4-barricade (8)

As for the paint applications themselves, that’s where I really struggle.  There is a ton of sculpted detail throughout these Accelerator Suit figures, but Barricade himself is just mostly gold with just a few hints of the blue.  He could have been much better served with some additional areas of blue deco where there was armor separation, even if it didn’t completely match the vintage paint masks.  Looking at Barricade from the front, it just looks like there’s way too much gold, and they don’t quite capture the “metallic” look of the original.

ACCESSORIES

gijcc-fss-4-barricade (26)

One thing I have to give the Club some props on with Barricade are the accessories.  The figure gets a nice spring-loaded grappling hook launcher, a great shotgun, very nice submachine gun, removable pistol and helmet, as well as a really cool breacher tool/battle axe.  There’s a lot of gear here, and a lot of it looks really great.  I love the blue pistol, even if it does look somewhat futuristic (either that or it’s some kind of taser).  Regardless, I really like the blocky barrel and how well it fits in the holster, even though the holster really struggles to stay flush with the leg.

He’s got the Accelerator Suit helmet which doesn’t jive real well with the original look of Barricade, but it’s still a neat helmet that I really like the design of.

gijcc-fss-4-barricade (25)

Barricade has been one of my favorite characters and vintage figures, and I was really excited to hear the Club was bringing him into FSS 4.0.  Unfortunately the end result isn’t quite as good as I hoped it would be.

Check out the YouTube video review below!

FSS 4.0 Barricade
  • Character
  • Sculpt
  • Articulation
  • Paint Deco
  • Accessories
3.1

Summary

I love that the G.I. Joe Collectors Club is digging into the Battle Corps era to pull out some of the key characters in that subset, and Barricade is a fantastic choice. That being said, I’m not a big fan of the parts they chose, and the paint applications leave a lot to be desired. The shade of gold and blue feel a little bland and the color breaks don’t take full advantage of the great Accelerator Suit sculpting pattern. I’m happy to see Barricade get some modern treatment, and I’m also happy to see somewhat of a modern twist, but the end result isn’t all that appealing.

On the eve of G.I. Joe Club Registration – Club hits landmark numbers

Yes, I reported on Wednesday that the G.I. Joe Collectors Club would be accepting new members until the end of the day on March 16th, as they have every year.

However, they announced that this year they were expanding the deadline, and you now have until midnight TONIGHT to get your memberships in for 2016!  This will be the best way to get your hands on the 2016 incentive figures, Pythona or the 12″ Mike Power.

Apparently these two figures are in hot demand, as the Collectors Club announced today that they have reached a landmark number for memberships, their highest active member group ever.  Pretty exciting, and testament to the great looking exclusive figures that they’re giving away this year.

If you haven’t joined yet, you’ve got a small window of time, don’t lose out!  Hit up GIJoeClub.com and a hearty congrats to the Club on this great milestone.

Last chance for G.I. Joe Collectors Club membership – Ends TONIGHT

So it’s March 16th, and for the past several years that’s meant the cut off for signing up for the annual membership to the G.I. Joe Collectors Club.  This year is no different (though next year is looking drastically different).

One major difference, though, is that this year the Collectors Club is offering up Pythona as the incentive figure for signing up!  This is HUGE.  Pythona has been a long in demand figure since her first appearance in the 1987 G.I. Joe animated film and to celebrate the final sign up day, they’ve released some awesome new images of the upcoming figure over on their Facebook page.

I love that you can detach her ponytail to put the hood over her head, and I’m really pleasantly surprised at how effective the figure looks with paint deco representing the raised pattern of her uniform.  The new head, hands, and upper torso definitely help as well.

Check out the images below, and if you want this figure, I strongly recommend joining the Collectors Club!  After 2016 is over, I suspect this figure will be in MAJOR demand and will be very difficult to come by.

G.I. Joe Collectors Club rounds of Con reveals with Static Line!

Today the Collectors Club has posted their last 2016 G.I. Joe Convention reveal with none other than Static Line from Sky Patrol!

A fantastic looking figure with a nice new head and great parts formula.  It would have been nice for the helmet to be removable, but even as it stands, the figure is really impressive.  Check out GIJoeCon.com or take a peek at the mirrored image below.

11-GIJCC-JoeCon-Static-Line

 

G.I. Joe Con Black Vulture and Drop Zone revealed

Picking up right where they left off on Friday, the G.I. Joe Collectors Club has revealed two more figures from their 2016 G.I. Joe Convention today!  The Cobra Black Vulture and Sky Patrol member Drop Zone were both shown off on GIJoeCon.com.

I’m a bit mixed.  I LOVE most of Black Vulture’s part, but that head seems to be sitting very high on the neck.  Hopefully it’s not that bad in its final form because the rest of the figure is an absolute home run.  I may try the Renegades Cobra Trooper head on the Accelerator Suit body myself to see if it really fits that high.  From the neck down, the figure is truly spectacular.

As for Drop Zone, he looks pretty good.  I was never a huge fan of the Strato Viper figure with its scrawny limbs and clunky joints, but I am glad to see that at least the arms have been swapped out for what looks like Retaliation Storm Shadow.  That is a HUGE improvement, even if I’m still not wild about Strato-knees.  Drop Zone looks a little Photoshopped, too, and appears skinnier than he likely is in real life.

All in all, I’m exceedingly happy with what I’ve seen from the Con set reveals to date.  We still have Static Line left to go, and here’s hoping he’s got a new head, since new parts appear to be pretty sparse thus far.

Check out GIJoeCon.com for the latest, and these new images are mirrored below.

09-GIJCC-JoeCon-Drop-Zone 10-GIJCC-JoeCon-Black-Vulture