For a brief moment in the late 80s, a G.I. Joe character named Sabretooth was conceived and proposed for release. Obviously existing trademarks with Marvel Comics put the kibosh on this character, who only truly existed as an image in a pre-sales catalog back then.
Fast forward many years, and Hasbro was revisiting G.I. Joe lore with an updated “Tiger Force” pack for Toys “R” Us…while they still couldn’t use the Sabretooth name, they wanted to bring the character forward, and thus, Wreckage was born. Using the same Firefly parts, but with a slightly tweaked color scheme, Wreckage was one of the highlights of that Toys “R” Us multi pack, even though his colors were a somewhat strange shade compared to the Sabretooth of old, and also compared to other figures within the same pack.
Now, here we are, several years later again, and the Collectors Club is swapping things back around a bit. Using the Wreckage name from the Toys “R” Us pack, but going back to the unproduced Sabretooth color scheme, the Collectors Club has pulled together the best of both worlds. Heck, they even included a stand for “Sgt. Sabretooth”!
Using Ultimate Firely as the logical base figure, Wreckage is essentially a modern version of the canceled Sabretooth and is a fantastic update. I have little to complain about when it comes to the Ultimate Firefly figure, and the deco here works really nicely. I like it because it’s a nice departure from the typical yellow/black/brown, giving us a great lighter green shade that suits the figure quite nicely. Because of the later generation parts, articulation and range of motion is terrific, and combined with the really nice color scheme, ends up giving us a great looking figure.
Accessories
As a tribute to the pre-sales catalog image, Wreckage comes with Recondo’s shotgun as well as Firefly’s backpack, not to mention the pistol and knife for his holster and sheath. Unlike the original Firefly figure, this updated webgear as the demolitions glued into place, a change I actually prefer, to keep them from falling off with the slightest motion.
When I first got back into the G.I. Joe collecting scene in the late 90s, Sabretooth was one of those mythical characters that drew a lot of interest from fans before the doors opened wide to the world of unproduced and foreign releases thanks to the Internet. He’s always remained a character of interest, and I love that the Club is revisiting him in more accurate and true fashion than the Toys “R” Us pack did in 2003. This is a great looking update, even if a fairly cookie cutter one.
Wreckage
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4.1
Summary
An updated version of the new sculpt era character, but using the paint scheme from the old sales catalog, the Collectors Club tries hard to touch all bases with this one. Like Lifeline, it’s a great base figure and tough to go wrong, and I really enjoy the paint scheme they elected to use.
How can you go wrong with a Lifeline repaint? One of the shining examples of what the 30th Anniversary did right, Lifeline was the epitome of great toy design with his release in 2012. While he borrowed parts from the Pursuit of Cobra Snake Eyes, the new bits that were added flowed seamlessly with the existing ones, and his head sculpt remains one of the cleanest and most versatile three years later. When this year’s Convention theme of Tiger Force was announced, it made perfect sense for the Club to revisit Tiger Force Lifeline, and they did so to perfection.
I’ve never been a big fan of Tiger Force in general, mostly preferring the original versions of those characters to their brighter repaints. I know that back in the day Hasbro did this to get some of their most popular characters back into circulation, but aesthetically I never found the domestic vintage Tiger Force to be all that appealing. Honestly I much prefered the blue and orange themes of the UK exclusives. Those were always a much nicer splash of color and interest compared to the ones released in the United States. All that being said, I know there’s a wealth of Tiger Force fans out there who were clamoring for more characters from that subteam, and to that end, the Club was quite successful here. Lifeline retains the same parts as his 30th Anniversary version, but with faithfully reproduced Tiger Force deco, looking much like the vintage version in a modern era format. Color tones are spot on to the original the striping pattern is accurate, and although the lack of breaks on the pouches of the torso is a bit disconcerting, it remains accurate to the original, which is what most fans are looking for, I’d think.
Accessories
Like the 30th Anniversary version, Lifeline comes loaded. He has his removable helmet, the stretcher, and his Rescue case along with all of the medical instruments crammed neatly inside. The IV is there along with the clear plastic tubing, the facemask, his hypodermic, knife, and pistol. A ton of gear with this figure, and the Club brings it all forward quite nicely.
Lifeline is a terrific figure and is executed faithfully and well. Thematically, not my first choice, but I cannot argue with a job well done, and this one clearly was.
Lifeline
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
3.9
Summary
Great parts choices, as it’s tough to go wrong with the 30th Anniversary Lifeline body. The Tiger Force deco is very well applied, and he comes with all the essential Medic’s gear. A solid vintage update with great sculpt and articulation.
I set out to write this article, and was immediately surprised by the fact that there was actually some stuff happening with the G.I. Joe brand in 2014. I know the fandom is eager to jump and say that G.I. Joe was high and dry in this momentous year, and from a practical perspective, it was, but even so, there were lots of things happening this year worth exploring. Not on any grand scale, however.
I suppose that’s a commentary on the state of G.I. Joe these days, where it remains somewhat relevant, but just barely. And one is forced to ask what’s worse? Being totally irrelevant, or being just relevant enough to cling around, but not relevant enough to try and push harder. It’s like the brand is stuck in this murky middle ground where it’s got the slightest hint of popularity enough for Hasbro to keep it hanging on, but not enough to get a real push. Yet, until it fades away completely, it likely won’t get a full rejuvination either.
All that being said, there were still some discussion points throughout 2014, and here are my top 10. I’m going to try very hard to maintain a sense of positivity and optimism, because dammit I still love G.I. Joe, even if the rest of the world currently couldn’t give a crap. 🙂
A short while ago, the G.I. Joe Collectors Club let slip that the Diamond release of their G.I. Joe vs. Cobra #7 comic would feature a subtle hint for next year’s Convention set. Over on the G.I. Joe Discussion Group on Facebook, John Stottman posted a quick picture from this comic, and it would appear the subtle hint may refer to… Tiger Force.
Granted, it’s not obvious, but taking a peek behind the Baroness, and you can clearly see a tiger pattern, which would certainly indicate one of G.I. Joe’s most popular sub teams.
The Club has been known to throw curve balls in the past, so this could be one, but they mentioned a hint, and there’s not much else different within the contents of the issue. With the Convention coming up in April, we have to think we’re going to start seeing reveals in the coming months.
If it is Tiger Force, any guesses so far? Obviously there are some key members of the classic team missing like Bazooka, Tripwire, and Roadblock (which were all planned for the 25th Anniversary line, but never made it to retail). Then there’s some obvious subjects like Lifeline or Recondo.
Personally? I’m hoping for some outside the box choices. An Ultimate Firefly repaint as Sabretooth would be awesome, as would some of the UK exclusive Action Force figures. Not to mention other figures from the 2002 – 2004 era. I’ll be watching GIJoeCon.com for sure.
It seems like forever ago that the FSS 3.0 line up was being revealed, and I think most of us were expecting to receive the first batch of figures this year. No such luck, but the G.I. Joe Collectors Club has sent out an update via email about FSS 3.0 as well as some tantalizing news about the 2015 Convention Set.
According to GIJoeClub.com, there will be a hint to the 2015 Convention Set contained within the Diamond release of the 2014 Convention Comic, which is available now at GIJoeShop.com.
They also report that registration will be happening after the first of the year. Check out the full text of the email below.
Hello Everyone,
I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season!
For all you comic collectors, the Diamond edition of the 2014 G.I. Joe vs Cobra Issue #7: “Zombie Initiative” is now in the store.
Our end of year and archive sale continues with quantities dwindling down to just a handful on many of the items. In order for your items to arrive by Christmas, please place your orders by Friday.
The FSS 3.0 is on the water headed this way. Because of the dock workers on the west coast issues and the seasonal delays, we don’t think we will get them until the first week in January. Because of the delay, our current plan is to ship the first figures during the week of January 5 and follow up with the second shipment at the end of January to get us sort of back on track. This puts the second billing for the installment plan buyers around the end of January/first of February and the final billing around the middle of March. As soon as they arrive, we will set the official billing dates. I’m also sending this info from the FSS email system so you may get 2 updates.
And finally, we anticipate the registration being available for GIJoeCon after the first of the year. Please note that the hotel is about 70% full and is attached to the convention center. You can make your reservation now by following the link at GIJoeCon.com.
Merry Christmas!
Brian
After a quiet few months on the G.I. Joe front, it’s looking like things could be picking up in 2015. Looking forward to it!
