by generalsjoes | Oct 13, 2009 | 12" Scale, Customs, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe: Resolute, Kick Ass Custom
I’m a little ashamed to admit that I’ve been a monstrous fan of G.I. Joe in pretty much any characterization or scale out there… except for the one that started it all. For whatever reason, I just find it hard to get into the whole 12″ figure scene, but that’s not because I don’t like it or have a certain appreciation for it. Usually it comes down to price or what you get for your buck, and it’s very rare that the 12″ scene gives me a good “go between” there. The figures are either simplistic, non-detailed, and dull, or they are overly exagerrated, insanely detailed, yet priced way out of my affordable range. There doesn’t seem to be anything in between. Some of the Spy Troops and Valor Vs. Venom stuff gave us the best of both worlds, in my opinion…a reasonable price range, yet still enough bang for the buck, but recent releases have just been dull and uninspired, especially for the recently elevated price tags, even on basic retail shelves.
The Sideshow Collectibles stuff is out of this world, of course. It’s simply fantastic. However, the $100 – $120 price tag per figure doesn’t fit my somewhat limited Joe budget. So, it always amazes me when I run across 12″ enthusiasts who actually accumulate enough fodder to do some crazy customs. And I’ll tell you, the customs don’t get much crazier than a member of the One Sixth Warrior forum, gaiagear. I’ve seen my fair share of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero themed 12″ customs, but gaiagear tackles something near and dear to my heart, G.I. Joe: Resolute. There aren’t really enough words I can type in this post that express just how insane these customs are. They are truly works of art and things of beauty. In fact, pretty much every custom that gaiagear has done affiliated with the G.I. Joe universe really blows me away…but it’s really just the tip of the iceberg. Check out a small sampling of gaiagear’s incredible work below, all found on the One Sixth Warrior Forums. The gallery below features incredible versions of the following characters:
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Crazy stuff. But the craziest thing is this is just the beginning. There are a wealth of insanely talented 12″ customizers on the One Sixth Warrior forums, and there is some equally insane Real American Hero styled customs over there. Check out this thread for some of them. While I don’t have the budget or the real incentive to dive headlong into the 12″ scale, I can certainly appreciate the work that goes into these customs. Some awesome stuff here, I think fans of any scale will really dig ’em.
by generalsjoes | Oct 2, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Collectors Club, G.I. Joe Toys, Pursuit of COBRA
The latest G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club newsletter is hitting mailboxes, and reports are coming in that the first assortment of Pursuit of COBRA figures is shown in full color glory inside! Due to copyright reasons the GIJCC images will not be mirrored here, however I’ve linked the figures below to pictures gathered from JoeCon 2009:
ARCTIC THREAT
DESERT BATTLE
JUNGLE ASSAULT
VEHICLES
It’s not exactly clear what assortments are what, or when these will be released, though I’d imagine we’ll see them before years end, which rocks my world! Of course, don’t forget to hit up the Pursuit of COBRA SuperPage for the lowdown on everything…
by generalsjoes | Sep 15, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: The Movie
The Terror Drome has scored some nice high resolution pictures of the soon-to-be-released COBRA and G.I. Joe 5-Packs coming to a Toys “R” Us store near you. The COBRA one leaves me very cold, being pretty much a pack full of straight-reissue troop builders. The G.I. Joe pack, however, rocks my world. I’m not a fan of desert figures in the least, but the wealth of new characters, the very unique reuse of parts, and the impressive paint apps all come together to make one slick looking set. Dial Tone, Law, Footloose, and Repeater are all very cool additions to the growing cast of characters, even if two of them look somewhat out of place compared to their vintage look (and one of them even had an operation… :shifty: ).
I love the female Dial Tone concept, and this figure looks great. Footlose, I think, looks absolutely awesome, even in the desert colors. Ironically, Repeater is probably the closest to his vintage look uniform-wise, but apparently had a race change along the way. Oh, those Hasbro designers, how they love to drive the vintage purists crazy…
Check out the images below.
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by generalsjoes | Aug 30, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Toys, Pursuit of COBRA
Notorious pre-production and prototype fanatic Gyre-Viper over at HissTank.com got his hands on some very early test shots for the upcoming Pursuit of COBRA Zartan and Ripcord (Desert Battle) figures. These figures are slated as early 2010 releases, but could see retail release during the holidays of 2009. And yeah, these images only serve to cement my excitement for the upcoming new direction of G.I. Joe.
While the anniversary was great for what it was, G.I. Joe needs a fresh take and a new “mythology” in my mind. I love and appreciate everything that was in the Real American Hero history, but at this point it’s gotta be considered history. Too many things just don’t translate into cool toys these days if you’re so married to how things were designed twenty-five years ago. Hasbro is taking the core of the Real American Hero mythos and really changing a lot of the elements to make it more 21st Century with a heavy injection of Metal Gear Solid, Ghost in the Shell, and other very cool semi-futuristic influences. The result is toy perfection. I really love these figures, and even without paint apps or much detail, these test shots only further that opinion.
Check out the thread on HissTank here, and mirrored images below.
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I love the Reactive Armor uniform below Ripcord’s flight suit, and the detail on his backpack and vest is just insane. I love how the Joe stuff looks a bit less streamlined here, and kind of more “cobbled together” as far as the technology goes. It’s crazy.
Zartan looks very “sorcerer” like and truly looks Aboriginal and mysterious, which is a great look, too.
I cannot WAIT for 2010. Awesome stuff in the wings, for sure.
by generalsjoes | Aug 15, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Collectors Club, G.I. Joe Convention, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: The Movie, JoeCon 2009, Pursuit of COBRA, Show and Convention Coverage
Another busy household day today, so coverage is a bit late, but I’ll be making up for it tonight, hopefully… 😉 For now, just wanted to report that JoeBattleLines has posted some more VERY nice images from the Hasbro display floor. These new images include:
- COBRA Commander (Mail Away)
- Duke (in Training Gear from the Rise of COBRA)
- Shadow Tracker (new COBRA Native American jungle expert and tracker…BTW, he’s made from 100% pure kickass.)
- Snow Job (or mainly his weapons)
- Storm Shadow (Jungle Assault)
- Zartan (Desert Battle)
I’ll be collecting a bunch more information from the Hasbro round table today and getting something comprehensive up, probably late tonight. Another late night!
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