Joe Con 2012: Pics of the convention diorama!

This is easily one of my favorite parts of the entire Joe Con experience.  Seriously– I LOVE the con diorama and every year that I’m fortunate enough to attend I snap far more pictures than I should of it.  There’s just something about seeing all of the figures that you’re anticipating purchasing in action– battling Cobra and keeping the toy shelf safe for democracy. 

Here are Photonut’s excellent pics of the 2012 multi-setting Con diorama! 

Joe Con 2012: Day 1 – unproduced G.I. Joe 30th Anniversary figures…

Joe Con 2012 coverage continues with a look at several unproduced G.I. Joe figures.

Much like the Renegades images– this set just makes me a bit sad.  Some of the figures shown are ones that I was looking forward to since the 30th anniversary line-up was announced.  Sadly, they’re now falling into the category of unproduced G.I. Joe figures that are headed into the concept case of obscurity.

Three of the most anticipated but now unproduced G.I. Joe figures for this fan?

  • Kwinn
  • Flint
  • Lady Jaye

Even the much-lamented Data Viper is a figure that piqued my curiosity.  However, as of now, none of these figures are slated to see release– save for hopefully Kwinn.

Check out Photonut’s Day 1 unproduced G.I. Joe images below:

 

Joe Con 2012: Day 1 G.I. Joe Retaliation pics!

Photonut is a MACHINE down at the con this year– cranking out images far faster than a certain “at home admin” can post them.  However, he came through with some great pics of the Day 1 Retaliation offerings from the Hasbro case.

Stay tuned for his post-Hasbro panel images later today.  The next wave of figures will hit store shelves February 2013!

Joe Con 2012: Parachute drop pics

More images from Photonut– this time of the parachute drop and the Cobra Stealth Paratrooper figures!  It’s always a great way to start the convention– taking small plastic figures and chucking them off of a roof.  (I can recall the last time I was at a Joe Con in NOLA.  I swung my arm back to pitch the figures and came away with a hand full of parachutes.   Those poor poor Nullifiers…)

Enjoy these lastest images from “on the scene” and stay tuned for more images at JBL!

Also, more looks at the Cobra Stealth Paratrooper:

Joe Con 2012: Hasbro’s Vault– unproduced Arashikage and Zombie figures

Seriously– Hasbro pulled out all of the stops this year with their “Vault” offerings.  Some of the unproduced items included an entire series of Arashikage ninja as well as an insanely cool ZOMBIE series that included Compound Z-infected versions of Cobra Commander, Storm Shadow, Steel Brigade, and a Cobra Viper.  

Remember– the rule of the day is: Playing with Compound Z in school isn’t cool!

Check out Photonut’s pics below!

Joe Con 2012: Hasbro’s unproduced Renegades figures…

Photonut is on the scene and been providing pics when he can.  (Plus, the admin is a bit late in getting these posted.)  Friday Hasbro unveiled part 1 of their “Vault”– a series of figures and vehicles that were in development but never saw final production.  Up first– the much lamented G.I. Joe: Renegades ANIMATED figures.

Some of these are pretty close to what actually hit shelves (Tunnel Rat, Scarlet, Ripcord) but some of these are pretty radically different.  The less I say about the reveal of the Coyote the better– otherwise you’ll see a grown admin cry.

Check out the pics below!

JoeCon 2012: Parachute figure revealed as Retaliation movie trooper!

You’ve got to hand it to the Club sometimes.  (Yes, I did just say that.)  In the wake of the 11th hour rescheduling of the release of G.I. Joe Retaliation, the GIJCC found itself with a HUGE gap in its convention schedule.  However, the traditional parachute drop was added back and figures were produced at the last minute.  Today, fans found out what those were.

The Cobra “Stealth” Paratrooper is a repaint of the Retaliation Cobra Trooper— parachute and all.

It’s a completely logical move, actually.  The figure was already designed to work WITH a parachute and is a mold that Hasbro most certainly could produce a fast run of figures on.   I do have to admit– the paratroopers DO look a lot like Snake Eyes.  Still, kudos to the Club for pulling this one off.

(Photos courtesy of Madmac41, GeneralsJoes.com & HISSTank.com)

 

JoeCon 2012: More in hand images from the G.I. Joe Collector’s Convention

Photonut and Madmac braved the line for the Club store last night and were able to snag the convention exclusives for this year.   Being the Joe fans that they are those items were immediately freed from their plastic prisons and pictures were snapped!  Here’s what they brought back:

Annihilator 3-Pack (LE 650)

 

IG Ground Assault 2-Pack (LE 1,000) — the Sergeant Major & Darklon

 

 

OG Attack Helicopter (LE 600)

 

Soviet Convoy Truck w/ 3 Tops (LE 500)

 

No sign of the Cobra Stealth Paratrooper which won’t show up until the parachute drop later this morning.  Personally, I’m willing to bet we see a Retaliation Cobra Trooper given the short time that the Club had to put the drop together after the rescheduling of the movie’s release date.

More pics as they come in!

JoeCon 2012: Images trickling in from across the web

The official registration hasn’t opened yet but last night Golden Ticket holders were able to pick up their con sets and receive the attendee bonus exclusive item– the Russian repainted Snarler cycle with side car.

A quick check of the web revealed that the crew over at HISS Tank have rushed to get some nice light-boxed in-hand images uploaded.  I’ve mirrored a few of them below but you can check out the entire gallery over at HISSTank.com.  There’s also the images from Madmac41 and Photonut from last night.

All-in-all it’s a pretty solid set!  While I’m not overly crazy about the long-coated Iron Grenadiers I’m positively giddy over the Oktober Guard figures.  (Okay, even Iron Bear who still looks like he’s 12.  What?  Comrade Doogie Hauser is now in Russian high command?!!)

It looks like Operation: Bear Trap is going to go down in the books as “one of the good ones.”

Now someone get their hands on the all-but-revealed Darklon already!!

FPComics.com debuts– the comics arm of the Fun Publications

With the 2012 Joe Convention getting underway in New Orleans, you might expect that most of the Joe-related news right now is going to be centered around “Darklon is an exclusive!” or “Ice Cream Soldier is the parachute figure!!”  Well, imagine my surprised when Ben Yee of BWTF.com posted a link to a new website…

http://www.fpcomics.com/

Currently more of a static image than a fully functioning website (although I suspect this is just a ‘preview’), FP Comics seems to be the publishing arm of Master Collector/Fun Publications.  It’s also a site where fans can order previous convention comics for both G.I. Joe and Transformers as well as a series called “Lydia vs. Zombies”.  (No idea what it’s about as the individual title links aren’t working right now.)  The current main pages indicates that comics will be available in the July edition of Previews from Diamond Comics Distributors.

It’s certainly an interesting move for the folks down at Cattle Baron Drive and one that could pay off for them in the future in a ‘print on demand’ kind of way.  With IDW Publishing regular Joe and TF titles I don’t know how much intial appeal this will have but if FP Comics starts to offer trade paperback versions of the monthly Joe news letter comics I know one particular site admin who will be placing an immediate pre-order.  (Seriously– the AT comic is surprisingly good!)

Check out the preview over at FPComics.com!