With the sources of vehicles getting lower and lower, one has to wonder just where the Club will continue to get material to generate their exclusives on an annual basis. While I don’t know precisely what tooling is still available, it seems to me that things have got to be running somewhat low, especially from a vintage variety. If that’s the case, I think the Club should consider looking towards some more modern vehicles, and the Mantis is a great subject.
Granted, the Club used the Mantis tooling just a couple years ago for the Sea Adventurer’s vehicle, and I loved it then, too. One of the highlights of the new sculpt era, the Mantis is small, sleek, but very fun, with folding wings, rotating engines, and a cool, unique appearance. Unlike many other of the new sculpt era vehicles, it feels like something that could have existed in the good old days, and has many nuanced characteristics to add to its fun. The contoured canopy is a small touch that adds some coolness.
Utilizing it as an Iron Grenadiers vehicle is actually an unexpected stroke of brilliance. The black, red, and gold suits the vehicle perfectly, and it almost desembles Destro’s Despoiler upon quick glance. I can totally see this thing as either General Mayhem’s personal aircraft or as a squad craft for an Iron Anvil Officer, who might pop the canopy and leap from it. Heck, it’s water based, too, so maybe it even belongs to the Undertow Officer. It’s really versatile and really fun, and as the free attendee vehicle, I think the Club made a remarkably great choice.
Mantis
Vehicle Design
Paint Deco
Play Features
3.2
Summary
Small in stature, with a lot of fun crammed into it, I don’t think anyone was expecting an Iron Grenadier themed Mantis sub to be the free attendee vehicle this year, but here we are. With a great Iron Grenadier deco and awesome red tinted windshield, it’s a very fun vehicle with some good play value. One of the neatest small vehicles of the new sculpt era, it translates to the modern day quite nicely.
I remember actually really loving Skystriker as a kid, mostly because he was actually a new character, unlike the bulk of the Tiger Force crew. Back in the day I was a completist, and I already had all those characters, so felt no drive nor desire to buy them all over again, not to mention I was very attached to how my characters appeared in media, and Tiger Force didn’t appear anywhere, so these new looks were somewhat meaningless.
However, among all that, a new character emerged…a jet pilot who was completely unique to Tiger Force in general. So I did have some attachment to him as a kid.
This new Skystriker hits some of those same buttons. Like the original, this version of the Tiger Force pilot reuses many parts from Wild Weasel (though some originally belonged to Snow Job) including the torso and upper legs, with the maps on the thighs immaculately reproduced.
However, the arms are now Data Viper arms, as well as the legs, and I think the figure is far better for it. The somewhat bulkier, more flexible limbs help bring what could have been a dated figure to the modern age.
But all is not perfect with Skystriker. His head could certainly use some work, but that may have been beyond the Club’s control. In talking with Dave Lane, he mentioned testing out a few alternate heads for Skystriker, but at the end of the day, the helmeted Slipstream/Ace head was a known commodity and one they felt comfortable running with. I can understand that, and swapping a head isn’t a really major issue on our end.
The colors are great here, following the color scheme and design elements of the vintage version as well as the rest of the Convention set. Tagging Skystriker as the Tiger Hawk pilot is a neat idea, and he’s presented pretty well here.
Accessories
Skystriker doesn’t come with much, just a machine gun and pistol, but really, he doesn’t have to. Ultimately he’s a pilot and his real accessory is the Tiger Hawk, so no complaints from me there.
Skystriker is a nice addition to the Tiger Force clan, and I’m glad the Club got him worked into this Convention assortment. He has a clear purpose, a decent build, and a nice color scheme. I would have preferred a new head, but that’s something I can take care of myself fairly easily.
Skystriker
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
3.9
Summary
The minute folks caught on to the fact that the Club was doing a Tiger Force themed Eaglehawk, I think most considered Skystriker to be a shoe-in. I’m glad they were right. Skystriker was a favorite of mine back in the 80s, mostly because he was actually a new character, unlike the majority of the Tiger Force operatives back then. Like the 80s, the Club borrows from Wild Weasel (who borrowed from Snow Job, etc…) but also added some newer arms and lower legs to bring him a bit more into the modern age. I approve. A good figure all around, even if I wish they’d found a way to do a better head/helmet combination.
I gotta admit, this took me by surprise a bit. Rarely do we get an attendee convention figure with new parts. Generally the Club reserves those new parts for the actual boxed set, and the bonus exclusives are pretty much all repaints.
Not so with Frostbite.
Tiger Force Frostbite comes with a new head and new fur “collar” of sorts, both items never seen before in the modern line. This begs the question…did the Club get these new parts made up just for this three pack, or is this a hint that a vintage Frostbite is soon to come? We still don’t know what the 13th FSS 3 figure is…
All that aside, looking at this figure on its own merits, Frostbite is pretty fantastic. He utilizes a mixture of recent parts, providing a wealth of nice sculpted detail combined with great range of motion. His upper legs look a bit older, from the 25th Anniversary, but they take nothing away from the overall aesthetic of the figure. It’s amazing how easily a figure comprised of relatively common parts can be totally transformed merely with a new head and new secondary, but Frostbite is.
The two small new parts make a world of difference, but it also goes to show how critical a good build underneath is as well. As awesome as the new parts are, but integrating them with a later generation build, the figure is just elevated all the more, becoming one of the highlights of this year’s Convention set by a wide margin. His articulation is fantastic, the design on the new parts are all great, and I love the twin pistol holsters with removable weapons, too.
Frostbite is a the real deal.
Accessories
Like many of the other guns in the set, Frostbite comes with green weapons, and pretty awesome green weapons at that. His compact sniper rifle is great (it originally came with 25th Anniversary Zartan, I believe) and the two pistols that slide nicely into twin holsters are great touches as well. He also comes with removable goggles that can be eased over the fur hat to look even more vintage accurate. It’s a nice group of accessories that compliment the figure perfectly.
Every minute I fool around with Frostbite, I learn to love the figure even more. Back in the day my favorite part about Frostbite was his rifle, but I didn’t particularly care for the character himself. The fantastic work done on building out this updated version has infused him with a ton more character and play value, and he has risen sharply on my list of favorites. Great job by the Collectors Club, and fantastic work by Boss Fight Studio on the sculpting and build for this figure. Here’s hoping we see a vintage version somewhere down the line soon.
Frostbite
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4.8
Summary
The Collectors Club certainly pulled one out of their hat with this one. They typically don’t do a whole lot of new tooling for the extra figures, and here we have one with a new head and vest. Already rumors are swirling about where the regular release Frostbite will appear, but all I know is this version of the venerable Snow Cat driver is impressive on all levels. Great new parts, excellent articulation, and a nice assortment of accessories. They even explain his use of arctic gear in the jungle. A real winner.
I’ll admit I didn’t see this one coming. The Club had some opportunities to think outside the box when it comes to representing their form of Tiger Force, and for the most part, they followed an established formula. Essentially they reproduced modern versions of vintage designs, or took some more current existing designs and melded them into the vintage Tiger Force aesthetic.
For Alpine they seemed to kind of go another way. Yes, I realize that there was a Tiger Force Alpine in the new sculpt era, but it was so drastically different than the typical Tiger Force deco that it’s tough to count it. For that reason, this figure feels like a big departure, and also feels like a repeat, since we just received our most recent FSS shipment a couple of short weeks ago.
Alpine is the exact same figure as the one we received in the FSS, but the Club went Tiger Force with him, integrating him with the rest of their offerings in a yellow and black stripe designation. His shorts are still somewhat red, and he really does not match the other Tiger Force version in anyway. However, it is a nice looking figure, and I appreciate the fact that they worked him in here alongside Bazooka.
It’s tough to complain about the figure, too, much, since it’s built upon the solid and fun Kwinn build. Unlike others, I don’t have an issue with him wearing shorts, and he wears the matching deco pretty well.
Accessories
Alpine comes with many of the same accessories as the FSS version, with his machine gun and submachine gun, as well as the ropes to swing over his chest.
This was an unexpected figure, but not a bad one. His place on the helicopter crew makes sense, and while he doesn’t fit the same mold as Frostbite and Skystriker, he looks as if he belongs. I just wish it wasn’t a figure that I just received a few short weeks ago.
Alpine
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
3.2
Summary
At its core, Alpine is a pretty fun figure with great parts selection and a nicely updated Tiger Force paint scheme. The only detraction really is that the same basic figure came out in the FSS only a month or so ago, and this seems like an expensive repaint so soon after the original. While the figure itself is nice, it’s tough to get excited about a repainted figure from last month that doesn’t quite impress as much as the original.
What can I say about the officer than I didn’t already say about the Iron Anvil itself? I may be one of the biggest Iron Anvil fans on the planet, and I thought the update done for the Convention set was pretty much perfect.
Considering the officer is the same structural formula with only some minor changes (gold shoulder pads and shin armor) I can’t find much to complain about here either.
The build for this figure is just terrific. Every once in a while you get a G.I. Joe figure that just feels right in your hand. He poses right, he balances right, and he just looks awesome. It actually happens less often than you might think.
Iron Anvil and Iron Anvil Officer fill both of those roles for me. The parts selection fits together seamlessly to provide the foundation for an armored, but flexible paratrooper for Destro, with a terrific paint scheme and great accessories. Both the regular Anvil and the Officer are fantastic.
Accessories
Beyond the minor paint adjustments, this is obviously where the figures really differ. While the regular Anvil comes with an Alley-Viper vest and Para-Viper harness, the Officer comes with a red repaint of the Retaliation Cobra Trooper parachute pack, which looks pretty fantastic, I might add. He also comes with the same submachine gun and knife, as well as the familiar blue Retaliation parachute.
Like his normal trooper counterpart, the Iron Anvil Officer is a great looking, fun figure, with a few color adjustments and cool accessory additions. As a Parachute figure this year, it was tough to get, with only a single figure being allowed per attendee, but the nice thing about that is he is so similar to the trooper, it doesn’t feel like a dramatic loss. That being said, I’m happy I have him, and will proudly place him at the head of my Iron Anvil squad.
Iron Anvil Officer
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4.4
Summary
Using the same basic figure build as the standard Iron Anvil, this year’s parachute figure adds some gold deco, a parachute pack, and brings us an Iron Anvil Officer for the first time. I’m a huge fan of the Iron Anvil build, so naturally I love this build as well, and the added gold trim is a really nice touch. Unfortunately it’s a tough get for many folks out there because of its rarity, but if you have one, or can get one, it makes for a nice addition to your Iron Anvil roster. The nice thing, though, is that the changes are so minor, unless you’re a rabid completist, you can probably get along fine without it.
