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G.I. Joe Convention 2017 Blocker

AvalancheBlasterBlockerDodgerKnockdown
MaverickB.A.T. Squad LeaderCobra B.A.T.BackstopDee Jay
COBRA CorrosionLaser ViperSky Serpent w/ Laser Viper OfficerMarauder SnowmobilesBAT Rocket Packs
Conquest X36Con Set Recap

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Blocker holds the dubious distinction of being my favorite vintage BattleForce: 2000 figure, narrowly eclipsing Dodger.  Dodger is my favorite character, but Blocker was always my favorite figure.

The modern version?  Not so much.

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Don’t get me wrong, Blocker isn’t a bad figure, he’s got some redeeming qualities, but he doesn’t stand above and beyond the crowd.  A lot of that is do to his head sculpt.  Where the vintage Blocker had a great look with a lot of personality, this version has the same soft sculpt issues as Avalanche, but the worst issue is the paint on the face with the cross-eyed, vacant stare.  I’m not sure if this is a persistent problem on all Blockers, but it certainly was with mine.  The hat itself fits nicely and there is a bit more detail on the face (better than Avalanche, not as good as Blaster) so it’s not terrible, but the eyes do take away from the overall look of the figure.

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From a parts perspective, Blocker is great from the waist up.  A good selection of modern parts gives him a slender, well-articulated look, and I always applaud the use of the G.I. Joe: Retaliation G.I. Joe Trooper vest.  One of my favorite accessories.  Unfortunately, below the waist, the figure suffers from the use of those horrid armored legs from Snake Eyes that look awful and restrict ankle movement.  I have no idea why these legs continue to be used, as I think any benefit to vintage resemblance is completely eliminated by the way they look and move.  I am not a fan of these legs at all.

The Club did a good job with paint applications on the figure, nicely mirroring the dark gray and brown camouflage, and you can immediately tell this is Blocker.  The head is unique, the colors work and overall the figure doesn’t look terrible, he just no longer sits as one of my favorites.

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And of course the other remaining issue is the lack of a visor on his hat which is a real shame.  It seems redundant to continue complaining about these additional face pieces that the Club didn’t include with these new heads, but I’m doing it anyway.  Humor me.

Accessories

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Blocker follows the formula we’ve seen, including a reproduction of his vintage weapon as well as a more modern one, this time being a great shotgun that he holds exceedingly well.  I’m a big fan of this weapon and love its inclusion here (much moreso than his vintage weapon which I’m not a big fan of).

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Blocker is good, but not great, mostly due to his head sculpt, lack of a visor, and use of the lower legs.  There is potential there, but it feels like some potential lost.

BattleForce: 2000 Blocker
  • Character
  • Sculpt
  • Articulation
  • Paint Deco
  • Accessories
2.9

Summary

From neck to knees (including the arms) this is a great figure, but the face paint on a blah head sculpt docks some points, as does the weird armored lower legs. I know the Club was going for vintage aesthetic, but I hate those legs, and their use on Blocker has not changed that opinion at all. He’s got a great shotgun and I dig his deco, but there’s a lot about this figure that could have been better.


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G.I. Joe Convention 2017 Blaster

AvalancheBlasterBlockerDodgerKnockdown
MaverickB.A.T. Squad LeaderCobra B.A.T.BackstopDee Jay
COBRA CorrosionLaser ViperSky Serpent w/ Laser Viper OfficerMarauder SnowmobilesBAT Rocket Packs
Conquest X36Con Set Recap

blaster-01 blaster-02

An interesting thing has happened with the release of the BattleForce: 2000 convention set… I’ve been somewhat forced to go back and look at the original figures and I’ve been somewhat surprised about the realization that BattleForce: 2000 as a concept, something that never worked for me with the vintage aesthetic, is a lot more appealing in their modern forms.

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Blaster is a perfect example of this.  While I appreciated what they were going for back in 1987 with the cool futuristic battle helmet, the thick torso armor and padded legs, the figure looked a little off, as did most of the Battleforce: 2000 figures back in the day.  Rather than look bulky and imposing like the majority of the 90’s figures did, they looked mostly chubby and clunky.

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That problem has been mostly resolved with these modern figures, especially in Blaster’s case.  While the majority of the new head sculpts for the convention figures look soft and lack crisp features, Blaster seems to be the best of the bunch.  His helmet looks great and has some cool sculpted detail throughout, and the face actually looks like a real person, not a facsimile of one. The choice of relatively modern parts gives him a streamlined, yet reinforced look and feel, but he has some really great articulation in spite of that.  Unlike the vintage figure, he manages to look futuristic and well equipped without being overstuffed and mal-proportioned.

Interestingly, my favorite part of this figure are his legs.  They use a combination of two different legs for the uppers and lowers, yet they fit together seamlessly and look great, but also look nicely different and don’t immediately resemble already existing parts.  A nice combination.

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Like the vintage figure, Blaster is a nice green shade throughout with some pretty interesting camouflage placement on the chest and legs, with hints of blue trim.  He matches the vintage figure fairly well, but makes improvements in some key areas, which is appreciated.  The removable holster is definitely a cool element as well.

It would have been nice if the figure had come with a removable mask as the vintage version did, those seem to be some key pieces of all of these BattleForce: 2000 figures that were neglected in pretty much every case, which is a shame.  Investing in tooling for a new head, you’d think masks and mouthpieces could be accommodated for as well.  Personally I’d rather have had the masks or microphones over the reproduced vintage guns (since most of them are somewhat ludicrous) but the Club elected to go the other way.

Accessories

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Blaster isn’t loaded with gear.  He comes with his stand, a reproduction of his vintage weapon and a machine gun that I believe was originally released with the Retaliation G.I. Joe Trooper.  A small selection of weapons, but one that makes sense, and while the Club is releasing the vintage weapons with these figures, I’m glad they’ve also elected to include other weaponry as well that feels a bit more functional and less ornamental.

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Blaster is probably one of my favorite figures in the boxed set.  He’s got good colors, great articulation and a decent parts selection all combining together into a fun figure that is a decent update (and actually even an upgrade) to the original.

BattleForce: 2000 Blaster
  • Character
  • Sculpt
  • Articulation
  • Paint Deco
  • Accessories
3.6

Summary

Although I had to deduct some points from a missing mask and non-removable helmet (seriously, these are modern era figures, I don’t get why we can’t get removable helmets anymore) Blaster hits all the right points otherwise. Great colors, a much improved, streamlined look compared to the original, and overall just a really fun figure, which honestly, I did not expect. Good stuff.


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GeneralsJoes Wraps the 2016 G.I. Joe Convention Reviews

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.

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G.I. Joe Convention 2016 Sky Patrol Sky Sweeper

AirborneAirwaveAltitudeDrop ZoneSkydive
Static LineAir DevilBlack VultureFlying ScorpionNight Vulture
Sky CreeperCloudburstSkymateHeli-ViperAir Raid
FreefallSky SweeperSkystrikerHydra w/ Aero ViperJUMP Jet Packs
Con Set Recap

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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!

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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.


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G.I. Joe Convention 2016 Sky Patrol Skystriker

AirborneAirwaveAltitudeDrop ZoneSkydive
Static LineAir DevilBlack VultureFlying ScorpionNight Vulture
Sky CreeperCloudburstSkymateHeli-ViperAir Raid
FreefallSky SweeperSkystrikerHydra w/ Aero ViperJUMP Jet Packs
Con Set Recap

sky-patrol-skystriker-14

I still remember when the launch of the Skystriker during the 30th Anniversary line was considered a monumental event, something to be celebrated and cheered from the rooftops, and to be fair, it was a pretty damn awesome event.  The first new iteration of G.I. Joe’s flagship aircraft was a pretty major thing, and Hasbro knocked it out of the park.

However, it’s been a few years since then…a few years and more than a few more Skystrikers.  In fact since its debut in 2011, we have seen this vehicle used as Starscream & Jetfire, used by the Collectors Club as a Night Boomer, and used in the 50th Anniversary as the Wolf Squad Sky Striker and as the Cobra Scythe.  So yes, since this vehicle’s debut 5 years ago, this is the 7th iteration of the Sky Striker.

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Is that a good thing or a bad thing?  The vehicle is awesome.  It continues to be a great update to the classic vehicle, but especially when you’re looking at a price tag north of $150 you can’t help but wonder how much “new” is here, and is it worth the steep price.  I know throughout many of these reviews I will reference “cost” and “value” because that’s a tough thing to get away from.  I think many will agree that purely from a design and execution standpoint, much of what the Collectors Club does is very good, but at Convention prices (which could be justified due to low production runs) you need to consider such things as what you get for your money.

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Just from a design standpoint, the Sky Patrol Skystriker is a heck of a cool vehicle.  The metal surface isn’t chrome like the old school Sky Patrol vehicles (a limitation due to environmental hazards according to the G.I. Joe Collectors Club) but the polished shine of the metal paint is pretty impressive and does a great job almost approximating the same silver look.

For whatever reason I find the silver color exceedingly appealing, even though I was never deep into Sky Patrol as a kid (not the vehicles, anyway, I LOVED the figures).  It’s polished, shiny surface really draws the attention, and the dark tampos on the plane contrast really nicely, giving you a vehicle that looks sharp, clean, and very nice.

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Like the previous versions of this venerable vehicle, the missiles work well, and stay on a bit better than some of those first released versions of this plane.  It’s only a single-seater like every other one is (but I’m totally okay with that) and has the same swing-wing functionality.  It’s a really nice plane that unfortunately does suffer somewhat from a lack of excitement due to the fact that so many iterations of this vehicle have come and gone in the five years since its initial release.

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That being said, for Sky Patrol fans, this is a nice addition to your vintage line up, even if it’s not quite as shiny as its predecessors.

Sky Patrol Skystriker
  • Vehicle Design
  • Paint Deco
  • Play Features
3.7

Summary

Although we’ve gotten plenty of Skystrikers in the past five years, the reflective paint deco on this one does make strides to separate it from the pack. It looks crisp and clean and is a nice addition to your certainly impressive Skystriker armada.


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