Can it be here again already? The annual gathering of G.I. Joe fans, this year down in Orlando, Florida is here again with the 2017 International G.I. Joe Collectors Convention!
Unfortunately I will not be in attendance this year due to some poorly scheduled previous family commitments, but that won’t stop me from laying down coverage as usual. I’ve reached out to several “boots on the ground” in Florida who will be helping throw some intel our way so we can all stay informed together.
As usual, Wednesday night is Golden Ticket pick up night, which means a bunch of folks will be getting their boxed set tonight, which includes the convention comic! Typically within the convention comic will be a list of the show exclusives and those same show exclusives normally appear in the pages of the comic as well, so by the end of the evening we should at least have an idea what to expect for Convention exclusives.
This is always a very fun time as a G.I. Joe fan, and I’m upset that I won’t be in the middle of it, but I will be enjoying it vicariously through all of my good friends down there.
Buckle up, hopefully some fun stuff to come over the next several days!
I could have sworn I posted this a couple of days ago, but I’ll be damned if I can find it. My bad.
This week the G.I. Joe Collectors Club has revealed two more 2017 G.I. Joe Convention Exclusive figures. A couple of days ago we got our first look at the B.A.T. Squad Leader, apparently inspired by the ’91 version of the Battle Android Trooper. He’s got a newly tooled head, but is pretty much just B.A.T. v1 from the neck down. The choice is a bit curious, as one would assume that folks might want to army build this version, and as a squad leader, I figure he’s the only one of this type in the boxed set.
Which of course begs the question… what will the standard troopers look like? The 2003 repaint? Hopefully we’ll find out soon.
Along with the B.A.T. Squad Leader, today we also got a look at Knockdown, who appears to come with General Mayhem’s helmet and a newly retooled version of his crazy anti-aircraft pistol. Not sure I’d consider that a worthy investment in tooling dollars, but there you go.
More to come, keep checking GIJoeCon.com for the latest intel!
Happy Friday! Earlier this week the G.I. Joe Collectors Club promised the first reveals from the 2017 G.I. Joe Convention, and today they delivered!
Ladies and gentlemen, the 2017 G.I. Joe Convention theme includes BattleForce: 2000 and B.A.T.S.!
Interesting choices. I’m all in for BF:2000, but do we really need more B.A.T.S.? Ehhh… yeah. Not sure about that, especially at convention set prices. But we’ll wait for some figure previews to make final judgments.
Until then, the Collectors Club has revealed Battleforce: 2000 Maverick!
Keep watching GIJoeCon.com for the latest updates!
FORCE OF BATTLE 2000!
We’re celebrating the 30th anniversary of the G.I. JOE BF 2000 team with this untold
tale of the original team members from a recently declassified special mission.
The G.I. JOE BF 2000 team is the walking, breathing proving grounds for tomorrow’s battlefield technology today!
These highly trained specialists are entrusted with one-of-a-kind, state-of-the-art prototype weapons. Their mission
is to field-test experimental equipment under battlefield conditions.
COBRA has developed a new laser weapon system so dangerous that it threatens the safety of the entire planet!
The G.I. JOE: BF 2000 team is called into action and must travel through the Pacific Northwest into British Columbia to dismantle the operation.
What they don’t know is that COBRA is ready for them with a battalion of their upgraded B.A.T. (Battle Android Troopers) guarding their base.
This G.I. JOE team will be fighting against insurmountable odds, and must pull their individual specialties together to battle these deadly threats.
Will the cold and calculated programming of the COBRA B.A.T. SQUAD LEADER be the end of this G.I. JOE team?
Meanwhile, on the 12″ side we have what looks like a combination Adventure Team/G.I. Joe Jungle Fighter collection! Check out the first image below.
Back in in the war G.I. Joe was a specialist serving as a Marine Jungle Fighter. During an undocumented mission in and undocumented area,
something went terribly wrong and they were being over run. As he was evacuating due to an impending air strike, he fell into some sort of ancient
buried temple that appeared to have something to do with the worship of snakes. Using his flamethrower for illumination, he realized that…
the snakes were still there! As he was fighting his way out through the snakes something caught his eye, a golden cobra shaped staff.
There was no time to get to it out. The airstrike was inbound and he had to evac!
For years this memory haunted Joe and led him to his current career in the Adventure Team as their Jungle Explorer.
Where was the old temple? Was that golden staff still there? Did it really happen, or was it just a hallucination?
He spent years researching and searching for this lost temple. Now he thinks he has finally found the answers!
This year’s 12” Convention Set is based on the vintage Marine Jungle Fighter and the Adventure Team, Jungle Survival accessory set.
It comes with: Painted Head Figure; Marine Jungle Uniform; Belt; Canteen and Cover; .45 and Holster; Boonie Hat; Vinyl Shoulder Radio;
Flame Thrower; Tall Brown Boots; M-16 Rifle; Machete and Scabbard and Dog tag; Flocked Head Figure; Jungle Survival Uniform;
Tall Black Boots; Belt with Canteen; two Snake Anti-Venom Pouches; Pith Helmet; Yellow Short Radio; First Aid Kit; Compass;
Machete and Scabbard; Tranquillizer Rifle; Equipment Storage Crate; Dog Tag and Golden Cobra Staff.
It also comes with a Mini-Comic with a surprise ending!
Whew. Is everyone as sick of reading these as I am of writing them??
With today’s update, I am officially finished with my written reviews for the 2016 G.I. Joe Convention Set. While more videos may still be to come, my reviews today of the Sky Sweeper, Skystriker, COBRA Hydra, and JUMP Jet Packs constitutes my last gasp at the written word for Sky Patrol and the G.I. Joe Collectors Club.
Check out these last reviews at the G.I. Joe Collectors Club Review Page or the link below.
Not only is the 2016 G.I. Joe Convention “Sky Patrol” themed, but it’s also “Sky Sweeper” themed. The COBRA Hydra in a former life was a G.I. Joe vehicle called the Sky Sweeper. Now, we have this Sky Sweeper, which is an update to the original Rise of Cobra vehicle also called the Sky Sweeper.
Confused yet?
The Rise of Cobra Sky Sweeper was one of my favorite vehicles released in that line, which is surprising since it leverages so many elements from the COBRA Firebat. Obviously the entire core of the vehicle is the Firebat, with the addition of some gun-mount skids and external engines, which honestly make a lot more difference than one might initially suspect. They take an iconic and unique COBRA vehicle and make it look different enough and cool enough to appear completely separate.
Ever since I got my first Terror Drome for Christmas in 1986 I’ve been infatuated with the Firebat. A small, nimble, and potent vehicle, at that time it was one of COBRA’s only real viable air-to-air attack craft. The Rattler was a bomber (though not really treated as such) and the Night Raven was a high altitude surveillance plane, which left the Firebat controlling the skies. The fact that it was small enough to comfortably fit my 12 year old hands and the functionality of the Terror Drome launch silo only helped things. It remains one of my all time favorite vehicles 30 years later.
It’s no surprise then that the G.I. Joe version, with some added enhancements, retains a good deal of the charm and joy of the old school Firebat. The rounded, sleek shape, awesome sculpted armor panels and the fold-up wings all remain intact with this vehicle, but some minor tweaks have greatly improved parts of it, too. Blocky external engines are now mounted on each wing, adding a sense of “oomph” to the vehicle, and in a much more subtle adjustment, sculpted guns on skids enable the vehicle to land more logically and add some great firepower.
Since this is a Sky Patrol version, obviously the main color scheme here is a very vibrant and shiny metallic silver, an especially eye catching and interesting color scheme, balanced off nicely by black trim on the wings and a great shade of olive green throughout. The Sky Patrol logos break up the blank spaces very nicely and I am always in favor of tampos over decals. This version of the Sky Sweeper maintains the spring-loaded missile launchers on the wings, but compliments those with the standard Firebat rockets to offset the gimmick (which really doesn’t look all that gimmicky to be honest).
Speaking of gimmicks, the Collectors Club has fully admitted it was a mere coincidence, but if you wedge the Sky Sweeper between the tail fins of the Sky Striker, it fits in there and holds almost as if it’s meant to. A neat little touch, an homage to the Sky Patrol Night Raven (even though that plane actually didn’t come with its drone), and a way to tie the two air vehicles together. Neat!
The Sky Sweeper is a very fun addition to your Sky Patrol arsenal. It’s a small vehicle with a very pleasing design aesthetic complimented by equally pleasing and vintage themed Sky Patrol colors. I really dig it, in fact, I like this vehicle far more than the Skystriker.
Sky Sweeper
Vehicle Design
Paint Deco
Play Features
4.3
Summary
Using the template from the Rise of Cobra Sky Sweeper, the G.I. Joe Collectors Club gives us a really nice and exciting new vehicle for our Sky Patrol armory. The small and sleek Sky Sweeper is an excellent compliment to the larger Sky Striker, and the very nice color scheme only serves to help things along. Far and away my favorite vehicle of the 2016 Convention Set.
