Monthly Archives: May 2012

Joe Con 2012: Oktober Guard sets are SOLD OUT! (Non-attending)

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The following email was sent out to Club Members earlier this afternoon:

Hello all!

It took just a little over 3 hours for the non-attending Oktober Guard sets to sell out!  We did not have that many to put online for those not coming to the convention. We wish there were more, but there are not.  Please do not call about these sets as there is nothing the customer representatives can do.

I have been asked how a member could not get a set.  Well the answer is that these are convention exclusives, not member exclusives.  They go first to the people attending the convention, then to non-attending fans.  It is very difficult to call the number from year to year and we try to make the best guess we can.

We sill have 12″ sets both attending and non-attending available.  There are just a few attending Oktober Guard sets left.  If you have already ordered one, you cannot order another.

Looking forward to a great convention!

See you in NOLA!

Brian

For those of you that missed out on the set– it looks Ebay is your only option now.  However, there are still a few remaining attending sets left so if you’re debating going to the Con, now is the time!

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Opinion: “The GI Joe Collector’s Club needs to be immediately disbanded”

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Once upon a time, if a person wanted to voice their opinion about a topic to the general public and and not do so in “real time”, he or she submitted a “Letter to the Editor”.  The author could write up their opinions and position and have it posted for all to see.  Along came technology and this concept evolved: businesses and institutions use social media to better communicate with their clients, fan clubs have forums and message boards, and groups of fans are able to come together in the form of online communities.  All of this breeds a climate where ideas can be freely exchanged and both praise and criticism can be shared.  It’s the “Letter to the Editor v3.0”.

No one can dispute the fact that 2012 has been a year of blunders and missteps for the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club.  Pretty much anything that could go wrong with the Club’s various endeavors has and the organization has been left scrambling to communicate details and a positive message.  However, it would seem that the issues might go back further than that.  Presented below is an item that dropped in my inbox today– an editorial from a long-time member of the Collector’s Club who has had enough.  It is presented in its entirety– with only the author’s identity removed at his/her request.

 The GI Joe Collector’s Club needs to be immediately disbanded: One betrayed former collector’s 11 year long rant

I’m done. DONE. I have enjoyed collecting both 12″ and 33/4″ GI Joe figures for over 20 years now. I’ve enjoyed it with my children.  I’ve enjoyed showing that what Daddy wore when he was in the service, while they were fascinated with characters like Snake Eyes and Destro.  But now, thanks solely to the GI Joe Collector’s Club, an organization who exists only to cater to people like me, I am so disgusted with the hobby as a whole, I am walking away.

Over the last 10 years, the GIJCC has become increasingly greedy, arrogant, mismanaged and unapologetic to the people it professes to serve. I blame it on the dollar signs I saw in the eyes of Brian Savage (the Club owner, directer, patriarch, resident Kool-Aid mixer, der Fuhrer, etc) when he got the OK from Hasbro to take over the Transformers Collector’s Club several years ago. The Transformers brand is a worldwide seller, with many more members with much, much deeper pockets. The GIJCC has been a small, family run club for many years, so giving them a cash cow like Botcon was bound to turn them into the money grubbing, greed-mongering, carpet-bagging bridge trolls they have become. But as I have watched their slow decline, I held out hope that the core tenets of my precious GI Joe fan club would remain unchanged in the face of it’s more lucrative younger brother, that they would still put on a family friendly event that we could afford, still put out product I can be proud to display and play with, and still make me and my children happy. As of today, I have had enough. Continue reading →

Joe Con 2012: Non-attendee registration is now open

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Registration is now LIVE for NON-ATTENDING packages for  the 2012 Collector’s Convention in New Orleans, LA.

To sign up, visit the Registration page now!

Here’s the package matrix once again:

Joe Con 2012 package matrix

And… the Operation Bear Trap set images:

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voltar-original
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oktoberguardyearbook
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Go get ’em Homefront Heroes!

Variety: Retailers to recall unsold Retaliation merchandise?

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G.I. Joe Retiation - moved to March 29, 2013

When it rains, it pours– at least for Joe fans. 

Hot on the heels of recent news about the rescheduling of G.I. Joe: Retaliation’s premiere from June 29, 2012 to March 29, 2013, Variety.com ran this bit of news:

Yanking G.I. Joe toys with retailers

Reversal causes spirited round of musical shelves

At major retailers nationwide, something is missing from the toy aisles: “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” action figures. In their place, an empty space.With Paramount moving the actioner from June 29 to March 29, 2013, to give it more muscle at the box office with 3D, retailers are being asked to send back the line of Hasbro toys that were starting to appear on shelves.

Some Walmart, Toys R Us and Target locations had started to stock the toys this week, although they weren’t supposed to make them available until next week. Those that did wanted to get a jump on demand, and some of the 47 items that would’ve been sold are expected to show up on eBay at inflated prices by the end of the weekend.

In a statement, released Friday, Hasbro said: “G.I. Joe is an ongoing consumer franchise and therefore there is merchandise available to consumers. There is a limited amount of ‘G.I. Joe Retaliation’ product at retail now, but in light of the movie moving out to March 29, 2013, the majority of the movie line will be made available early next year in time for the film’s release.”

Continue reading →

Joe Con 2012: Registration is now LIVE!

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Registration is now LIVE for those planning to attend the 2012 Collector’s Convention in New Orleans, LA.  Those interested in non-attending packages have been told to “wait a few days.”

To sign up, visit the Registration page now!

Here’s the package matrix once again:

Joe Con 2012 package matrix

And… the Operation Bear Trap set images:

joecon-2012-teaser
daina-arah
daina
schrage
brekhov
oktoberguardcomic
brekhov-comic
stormavik
ig-elite
ig-heavy
banner
stormavik2
06_ig_five_pack
ig-elite-2
voltar-original
voltar
operation-bear-trap
horrorshow
oktoberguardyearbook
general-iron-bear

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Podcast: WOJM special edition #13 – the Retaliation fallout discussion

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G.I. Joe Retiation - moved to March 29, 2013

Nothing moves as quickly as a fandom angered.  The crew of What’s On Joe Mind reacted with lighting speed yesterday and recorded an “emergency podcast” to discuss the news of the last minute change in release date for G.I. Joe: Retaliation that was announced late yesterday afternoon.

Here’s the official synopsis:

It is the news NO ONE wanted to read.  It was the news NO ONE wanted to believe.  Regardless what no one wanted, it is the new reality of the motion picture dedicated to our favorite hobby.  Instead of being released June 29, 2012, the movie that we’ve waited so long for and seemed only a few weeks away got moved to March 2013.  Join WOJM co-hosts Chuck, Justin, Mike and Gary along with special guests Arune Singh from Marvel Comics and Brian Truitt from USA Today as we have a roundtable discussion with a number of community leaders about what this move means to the line and its future.  While disbelief and frustration are the theme of the night, the cast looks hard toward what if any silver lining can be found and attempt to predict what the next 9 months will bring.  Its a raw, unedited recording of a roundtable of fans picking up the pieces from the day.  May 23, 2012 is the start of a new reality for GI Joe.  Hear what the gang has to say…

You can listen to the podcast below:

 

Retaliation now pushed back to March 2013; Paramount cites the need to convert to 3D

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G.I. Joe: Retaliation

Wow… this is one thing I didn’t see coming at all.  Especially one month out from the film’s release. Citing the need to convert the film to 3D as it “resonates more with audiences”, Retaliation will not be released until March 29, 2013.

This has to have the folks in charge of the brand spinning.  The toy line, which has been trickling into stores, carries a street date of May 28, 2012– just a few days away.  Now, without a movie tie-in, those same toys are going to be sitting on store shelves for a full THREE fiscal quarters before the film that was to drive their sales hits theatres.  That means that Hasbro will have to come up with an entirely NEW crop of items to tie into the film in order to keep things “fresh” for both consumers and retailers. Also, the entire marketing campaign will have to be reworked– with new trailers, new promotions, and an entirely crop of promotional materials to be produced and distributed.  In other words, all of the momentum that was gained during the past few months will have to be regained 100%.

Yeah… what was dubbed the “Year of Joe” is rapidly turning into something else entirely.

The press release is posted below:

G.I. JOE: RETALIATION Film to Be Released in 3D

Hasbro Reaffirms 2012 Guidance that it Expects to Grow Revenues and Earnings Per Share Absent the Impact of Foreign Exchange

PAWTUCKET, R.I., May 23, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Hasbro, Inc HAS +0.52% , and Paramount Pictures, announced today that G.I. JOE: RETALIATION will now be released in 3D. The film, originally slated for release in June 2012, is scheduled to be released March 29, 2013.

“It is increasingly evident that 3D resonates with movie-goers globally and together with Paramount, we made the decision to bring fans an even more immersive entertainment experience,” said Brian Goldner, Hasbro’s President and CEO.

“In 2012, we continue to have several strong motion picture and television entertainment backed properties that are selling well at retail and our entertainment strategy remains strong and on-track,” Goldner said. “Through our own Hasbro Studios for television and in partnership with several movie studios including Paramount, Universal, Sony and Relativity, we are creating entertainment experiences around many of our highly popular iconic brands. For the full year 2012, we continue to believe, absent the impact of foreign exchange, we will again grow revenues and earnings per share.” Continue reading →

JoeCon 2012: Online registration for attendees SHOULD be today

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If you’re a member of the Collector’s Club then you no doubt have been receiving a steady stream of emails with updates on the status of online registration for the 2012 Collector’s Convention in New Orleans.  With the con happening in just over a month, many fans are eager to sign-up and stake their claim on one of the anticipated Operation Bear Trap convention sets.

According to the latest word, registration should go live some time today:

Hello all!

Well, once again I have to tell you registration is not going to be up today.  I’m going to give them all day tomorrow to retest the system so we will try again on Wednesday.   There are some individual browsers that are creating java issues with required fields and we don’t want your information to come in incomplete as this could hinder your registration being approved.

Again, just to make sure when it does go live that your registration is error free, please review the new package matrix and the FAQs.

Thanks  for your patience.

See you in NOLA!

Brian

Keep your eyes peeled on the 2012 Convention page for more information.

SDCC 2012: In hand pics of red Jinx

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SDCC exclusives can be a tricky thing.   Figures like the 25th “Pimp Daddy Destro” were easy to get if you wanted the silver version but the variant gold head proved far more elusive.  Sgt. Slaughter was HIGHLY sought after and yet the Convention Cobra Commander is still relatively easy to find.  (Let’s not mention Zarana– she’s a sore spot for some collectors… especially after the BigBadToyStore.com Dreadnok 7 pack made her an essential piece to complete any Dreadnok collection.)

At Toy Fair 2012, Hasbro unveiled their SDCC exclusives which included two versions of Kim Arashikage– better known to fans as “Jinx”.  Over at JoeDeclassified.com, Gyre-Viper has gotten his hands on an early sample and has posted a gallery of images of the red version.  I’ve mirrored a few below but I’d suggest checking out the thread over at JoeDeclassified for more.

Overall she looks pretty solid!  It’s an interesting mix of new and existing Storm Shadow parts.  While I don’t know about the white version yet, I’ll most likely be tracking down this red version come late summer.

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JoeCon 2012: Package matrix unveiled

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I believe it was the great Montgomery Scott in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock who said: “The more complicated the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain.”

Attending Joe Con and determining what package to get used to be relatively simple.  You merely asked yourself a few simple questions and if you answered “yes” to any, you proceeded to the next one.  These were simple statements like:

  • Am I attending the con?
  • Do I want any of the con exclusives?
  • Am I a 1:6 collector?
  • Am I a 1:18 collector?

However, with all of the various options the Collectors Club has tacked on over the past years, things are apparently more complicated– so much so that the Collector’s Club has decided that a product matrix is necessary to make sense of it all.  Released yesterday was the following Excel chart that takes into account both 1:6 and 1:18 scale and all of the options available for each– including the infamous “Golden Ticket” option.

I’ve mirrored the chart below but you can see the original HERE.

For more information on the rapidly approaching 2012 Collector’s Convention in New Orleans, check out GIJoeCon.com.

Joe Con 2012 package matrix