by generalsjoes | May 22, 2012 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary, G.I. Joe Collectors Club, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
So, I figured covering each release individually got me up to speed on talking about the 3 3/4″ convention set, but Twitter buds kenny and Twitziller brought it to my attention that I did post about the 12″ set in general, once the club revealed the full image, so it really made a lot of sense to look at the 3 3/4″ set as one cohesive set and see how my perspective might have changed.
The Collectors’ Club did reveal the full image of the set, and that image can be seen at GIJoeCon.com and also mirrored below, and it gives me an opportunity to talk about this set as a whole, instead of piecemeal.
Now, pretty much all of my responses have been positive throughout all the single figure reveals, so I can’t help but maintain that positive opinion when looking at the set in its entirety. The portion of the set that really strikes me, though, is the Iron Grenadier side of the house. Seeing the individual figure reveals kind of put a tight focus on the figures as stand outs themselves, and you don’t realize how cohesively they do all fit together. Even with Voltar’s somewhat purple coloring on his armor, it ties in pretty nicely to some of the red components on the Iron Grenadier Troopers themselves. While I’m still not 100% sold on the Iron Grenadier Troopers, I do love the Heavy Weapons guys and the Elites, and I think the red is the great unifying color that ties them all together nicely. Various shades of gray are prevalent throughout, which only further ties the figures together.
For the Oktober Guard, I know there was some concern about Horror Show and his green uniform standing out among his teammates, but I don’t see that issue at all. Beyond Horror Show, every member of the Oktober Guard here meshes together almost to perfection. Iron Bear, Daina, and Schrage all work flawlessly, while Brekhov and Stormavik balance with each other as well. Even the brown figures have those hints of dark green to match the webgear of the other two, and Horror Show’s jacket. A definite unifying theme that works really well.
As a whole, I think this set is terrific. I have voiced my concerns with the Iron Grenadier Troopers, and I maintain those…it’s probably the canceled Iron Grenadier Troopers that keep this set from being pretty much one of the best Convention Sets ever. But that award still goes to the 2005 MARS Attacks set, and I doubt that will ever be surpassed.
That being said, this figure set is still extremely strong, very well done, and remarkably impressive for the operation that the Club is. A ton of new tooling, a great array of unreleased characters and fan wishes, and unlike many folks out there, I welcome the infusion of “new blood” like Iron Bear. Great stuff, and I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for New Orleans to come and more Con goodies to be revealed!
by generalsjoes | May 21, 2012 | 30th Anniversary, Comics and Cartoons, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 2, G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation, G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary, G.I. Joe Collectors Club, G.I. Joe Comics, G.I. Joe Retaliation Toys, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, G.I. Joe: Renegades, G.I. Joe: The Movie, Podcasts, Sunbow, What's on Joe Mind
You know I almost didn’t post this, because as usual, I missed an episode with a famous Sunbow voice actor, and the guys took the opportunity to rib me about it…so screw ’em, right?
Nah. I’m nothing if not forgiving, so I’ll play nice and post the latest update for the What’s on Joe Mind podcast. This episode the guys are joined by Sunbow voice actor Neil Ross, who voiced the indelible Shipwreck, one of the most popular characters in the G.I. Joe mythology!
They also tackle all the latest news and information, and talk about the GIJCC 2012 Convention Set in its entirety. I’m jealous that I didn’t get the chance to share my .02. Ah, well, maybe I’ll make them revisit it tomorrow night.
Check out the latest episode on our Podbean page, or via the embedded player below, and don’t forget to hit the jump for our show notes.
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by generalsjoes | May 18, 2012 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Collectors Club
As G.I. Joe fans wait eagerly for JoeCon registration, which is very likely to happen today, the G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club has posted a “Package Matrix” which breaks down all of the various packages you can purchase and what is included with each one.
You can find the matrix on GIJoeCon.com.
Also, as you’re reading through the brochure, if you come across any confusion, I would highly recommend that you listen to the special edition What’s on Joe Mind podcast episode that Gary and I recorded, which breaks down every step of the brochure and what you can expect along the way.
Check that out at our Podbean Page, or also embedded below.
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by generalsjoes | May 16, 2012 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Collectors Club, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
That must have been a big curtain!
I know a lot of fans have been hopping up and down just waiting for this fan favorite character to make his appearance in the Convention boxed set. Well, the fans have gotten their wish! Last night the Collectors’ Club revealed the convention exclusive Horror Show, which is the last figure in the boxed set for 2012, and they’re ending with a bang.
We all should have assumed that this figure would not resemble the familiar quilted jacket that we knew from the comics and cartoon, since no existing tooling could match that. So the Club did something rather unique. The vest is from Shadow Tracker and it seems to be covering a torso that also utilizes the jacket bottom from G.I. Joe: Renegades Cobra Commander. The end result is a long jacket with some great pockets and pouches that gives the figure some extra bulk. Looking at his legs, too, he’s using the Resolute Roadblock legs, so obviously he will have some nice height due to those parts being used, too.
One more cool touch are his arms, which look to be pulled from the previously canceled Pursuit of Cobra Arctic Duke. The result is a nice, hefty looking figure with an absolutely perfect head sculpt that is a pretty neat update to the familiar Oktober Guard heavy weapons specialist. I’m not entirely sold on the way the vest meshes with the jacket underneath, and look forward to a bit more explanation on that one, but the figure itself looks great. Check out some images below:
Horror Show
Group Shot (this is my own Photoshop work, NOT the Club’s)
The Entire boxed set
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For the latest details make sure you keep checking GIJoeCon.com. Registration will be live any time!
by generalsjoes | May 14, 2012 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary, G.I. Joe Collectors Club, G.I. Joe Toys
I think it’s pretty fair to say that when six open slots were available under the Oktober Guard emblem for the 2012 G.I. Joe Convention reveal, most fans just assumed that we would see the six most famous Oktober Guard members as part of the boxed set. Even though Dragonsky didn’t make an appearance until a little bit after the rest of the team launched in G.I. Joe #6, most fans identify him pretty specifically with the old school Oktober Guard.
It would certainly appear, though, that either this mission takes place without him, or he’s slated for a spot in one of the attendee exclusive sets available in New Orleans for Con attendees. Regardless of where Dragonsky appears in the grand scheme of things, the release of the Convention brochure last week identified one member of the Oktober Guard that no one had yet heard of. And I love that.
I’m all about the story aspects of the G.I. Joe universe and one thing the Collectors’ Club has done amazingly well is using their characters to tell a story. Now we have a totally new Oktober Guard character, General Iron Bear. I think common hypothesis is that this Iron Bear may very well be the guy who turns tail and becomes General Mayhem from the awesome 2005 MARS Attacks convention set, but we likely will not find that out for a while.
Until then, we can enjoy the reveal of the figure itself! Check it out at GIJoeCon.com or mirrored below.
That is a pretty cool looking figure, I have to say. I love it when the Club throws a curve ball, as they so often do, and I think this one is a cool one. A mixture of Arctic Snake Eyes/Snow Serpent and G.I. Joe: Resolute Duke, it looks like an arctic themed commander, and I think the whole idea works well.
EDIT – Of course thanks to Caped Crusader for reminding me that the figure is essentially Resolute Duke (Siberian Attack) with a new head, which is equally cool to me, as I enjoy that figure quite a bit.
Along with the figure reveal, they also have showed us their convention T-Shirts and Hat for 2012, which is always a popular item at the Club store throughout the weekend. Check those images out below.
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So are we all getting hyped up, Joe fans? Registration is going to be happening soon, and then it’s all downhill for New Orleans, and I can’t wait! Keep your eyes peeled here and on GIJoeCon.com for the latest details.
