The G.I. Joe Collector’s Club dropped today’s FSS 6 preview early. (WAY early.) Feast your eyes on Vorona!
G.I. JOE COVERT OPERATIONS
Code Name: VORONA
(Inspired by former Oktober Guard comic book character!)
Includes: removable harness, knives x 2, pistol, assault rifle,
sub machine gun, backpack, and figure stand.
I have to admit it– this isn’t what II expected and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Continue reading
The G.I. Joe vs Transformers exclusive sets are now on sale at GIJoeClub.com!
I might have missed an email about this but a quick review of GIJoeClub.com’s store revealed some sale prices on a few recent G.I. Joe exclusives:
In addition to those pieces, several previous FSS figures have seen a price drop from $38.00 to $29.00 including: Continue reading
When the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club unveiled their 2012 convention set “Operation Bear Trap” many fans asked one question: “Where’s Dragonsky?” After all, the stalwart Russian engineer and flamethrower specialist had been with the team from their second appearance in Yearbook #2 all the way to the end of the classic Marvel Run. Aside from Daina, he was the longest running member of the team. To complete the Oktober Guard Dragonsky was essential!
Thankfully, at the 2013 Joe Con in Indy, the GIJCC announced Dragonsky as part of the second Figure Subscription Service. All who signed up for the premium batch of 12 announced figures would receive him.
Flash forward nearly a year later and Dragonsky has finally arrived as part of the final shipment in the series. Was this Russian pyrotechnic expert worth the long wait? Check out the opinions of two long-time Joe fans in the review!
It’s posted in the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Review Index!
Also, check back on Monday for the review of the “13th Bonus Figure” – Grand Slam!
It’s a bit of a dry spell for collectors out there– with no new 1:18 product hitting until Fall at Toys R Us. Thankfully, the final shipment of the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club FSS dropped not one but three figures into the hands of Joe fans recently. It was a decidedly Oktober Guard heavy shipment (which is never a bad thing) that included a certain fur-capped Russian Anti-Armor Specialist. Oh yes, comrades, I’m talking about Big Bear!
What did two Joe fans think of this bearded Sean Connery look-a-like? Head on over to the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Review Index and find out!
Plus, check back tomorrow as Dragonsky goes under the lens!
With the deadline to sign-up for the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Figure Subscription Service 2.0 approaching in 12 days, the final two mock-ups have been revealed!
Big Bear:
First, there was the Joe Con 2012 Operation Bear Trap set. Next, came the reveal of Dragonsky as part of the FSS 2.0 service. Finally, the latest member of the Oktober Guard has been unveiled! Big Bear has never been a huge presence in my mind when it comes to the Oktober Guard and yet I’m happy to see his inclusion in this round of the FSS. After all, you can never have too many people fighting “For the peace-loving people of the Warsaw Pact Nations!” It’s also nice to see elements of the body of the cancelled Alpine Mech Pilot seeing some use. Plus, this head would make for a great Marko Ramius from “The Hunt for Red October.”
Keel-Haul:
I don’t know why but I’ve always had a soft-spot for the character of Keel-Haul. (Or “The Admiral” as I referred to him.) With his aviator jacket, cocked cap, and Burt Reynolds moustache he was a bit of a retired bad-@$$ in my Joeverse. After reading his filecard, the Admiral was one of the Joes that saw field action rather than spending his days resigned to the wheelhouse on the USS Flagg. When it comes to his FSS version, I’m liking what I’m seeing– although the inclusion of the flag is a bit puzzling. However, I’ll say this– there’s never a bad reason for a Joe to hold up the Stars and Stripes respectfully– or in this case the flag of the Flagg itself!
Check out all of the other released mock-ups below. If you’re inclined to sign-up, check out the FSS 2.0 page at GIJoeClub.com and place your order before the deadline!
With a whirlwind of updates in the past 24 hours, the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club has announced that sign-up for the Figure Subscription Service 2.0 is now LIVE!!! You can subscribe for the next 13 figures from now through May 22, 2013!
It all started with this image that was posted on the GIJCC Facebook page yesterday afternoon:
This image confirmed the line-up that was revealed at the 2013 GIJCC Roundtable at Joe Con this year. To recap, this was the roster that was revealed:
At that meeting just a few mock-up images were shown as Lanny confirmed he’d only just been able to put them together before leaving for Indy. Now, the Club has unveiled FOUR preview images: Skullbuster, Night Force Falcon, Dragonsky, and Tiger Force Airtight!
Here’s the official word on FSS 2.0 directly from the Club’s website:
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So there you have it! The roster, a few teaser images, and the link to sign-up for FSS 2.0! I have to admit, the first one made a believer out of me. Yes, I’m not happy about the price of the figures or the subscription at all but then again, like a lot of Joe fans, I’m a man of limited means. However, for the most part the quality and character selection of the first series has been very good and it’s now to the point that I eagerly anticipate the arrival of the brown cardboard box from the GIJCC each month. So it’s a safe bet to say that this particular Joe addict is in for his next 13 figures from the GIJCC– even if my credit card cries a little.
For those of you on the fence, you’ve got until the 22nd. Plus, JBL will begin reviewing all of the figures from FSS round 1 starting NEXT WEEK!
The 2012 G.I. Joe Collector’s Convention sets featuring the Oktober Guard sold out in near record time. Those who were hoping to snag a non-attending Homefront Heroes set had to either be incredibly lucky to have been online when they were listed or have ties in the Springfield underground. Realizing that this rapid of a sellout leads to an unhappy membership, the GIJCC raised the possibility of a second production run but made no guarantees. Well, that run has now come to fruition. This email went out to all Collector’s Club members late yesterday:
“Attention Comrades!
The official G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club is proud to announce a special limited edition second-run of the “sold out” and extremely popular 2012 Operation: Bear Trap! convention set.
This exclusive Oktober Guard vs. Iron Grenadiers set includes fifteen modern era 3 3/4-inch action figures with weapons and accessories. You will get the classic Oktober Guard characters such as Colonel Brekhov, Daina, Schrage, Stormavik and Horror Show. Plus, for the first time ever… the Oktober Guard General: Iron Bear. The Iron Grenadiers have unique troop builders that include: Iron Grenadier Elite Troopers x4, Iron Grenadier Elite Guards x2, Iron Grenadier Heavy Weapon Specialists x2 and also for the first time ever… the Iron Grenadier General: Voltar!
Don’t miss this limited edition second-run of these fantastic Oktober Guard vs. Iron Grenadiers action figures. You must be an official G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club member to order. Visit the Club Store to pre-order before the Nov. 30th, 2012 deadline! (Product will be shipping in the spring of 2013, exact date TBD). Cost is $360 per set (plus shipping). Only boxed sets will be produced and the production run will only be what is pre-ordered. Don’t miss this final opportunity to own this highly sought after set! Check it out at GIJoeClub.com/shop.
For pictures of the individual figures from GIJoeCon.com click here!”
I don’t know what this bodes for the future but for those of you who missed this set, now is the time to try and snag a fantastic update on the Oktober Guard. Once this particular site admin gets finished moving and unpacks, the review of those figures might FINALLY be posted.
Here are a few shots of this awesome set from the Collector’s Club.
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!
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!!
There are days that the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club surprises me– and today is one of those days. It’s no secret that the 2012 Operation: Bear Trap convention sets sold out in near-record time. Whether this was due to a smaller production run or the popularity of the Oktober Guard or both remains to be seen yet the Club sent out a surprising email over the weekend to its membership:
Hello all!
Just as a CHECK and we are NOT saying we are going to do this…..
We are curious as to how many of you did not get the Oktober Guard set and would still like to order one (boxed only)? We don’t know if there is enough demand left to meet the MOQ (minimum order quantity) with the manufacturer.
In addition, we have NOT cleared any potential additional manufacturing quantities with Hasbro. So that we have an idea and can better serve you with future sets, if you would be interested in a set (IF it were possible to make more and it was approved), please fill out the attached spreadsheet with ALL of the information requested by Monday, July 2nd and return it to this email’s return address (oktoberguard@gijoecon.com). We will only analyze spreadsheets that are returned and will not count/look at information in the email as this is a huge task.
We will analyze the data and see how much demand is still pending and we will let you know soon after July second if there is enough demand to warrant a second run. There should be no variation in the two runs.
I don’t want anyone to get false hopes but we don’t know what the potential demand is unless we ask. So, at this point assume that we will not be making any additional sets.
Thanks for helping us gauge your desires!
Brian
For years, the comment directed back at those who complained about the inaccessibility of convention sets (in terms of both price and production run) was that the sets were meant to be for those who attended the actual convention. Now, with the release of this email the Collector’s Club seems to be indicating a real shift in their thinking– that maybe convention sets could be offered as “club sets” instead. (Let’s face it, there is NO WAY IN HADES that these would be ready by the con which means that the number of Homefront Hero packages will increase if this goes through.) There is no doubt in my mind that a second production run would see any sort of decreased cost– meaning that instead this will generate more revenue for the Club at a time when the economy and infrastructure needs have most likely tapped the coffers a bit.
So, is this a good idea or a bad one?