Joe Con 2016: Closer look at the SDCC G.I. Joe vs. Transformers set

Posted on June 17, 2016 by Fred Meyer

JBL’s Armchair Coverage of Joe Con 2016 continues!

Friday typically isn’t a “big reveal” day at the annual Joe Con and this year was no exception. Hasbro’s big panel doesn’t occur until 11:00am MST on Saturday and the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Roundtable event isn’t until 4:00pm MST as well. However that doesn’t mean that there wasn’t anything major to see today.

The good folks from Hasbro put a few pieces in the display case today from this year’s forthcoming SDCC exclusive G.I. Joe vs. Transformers set! It’s the first time that fans got an in person look at the upcoming releases of Powerglide as a Cobra Rattler and Soundwave as a Cobra HISS tank. It was also the first opportunity for Joe fans to see convention exclusive Scarlett and Zartan figures.

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I’ll admit– the items do look a bit better in these images than from the first batch of leaked images from ACToys.net. Still, for $99 the set seems like it’s missing something especially after the 2013 set included a Skystriker, a VAMP, and three figures plus the exclusive Ravage figure.

There are some additional pictures posted over at HISSTank.com as well. At this point I think it’s safe to say that part of Hasbro’s reveals for the Toys R Us exclusive line tomorrow will include a Cobra Rattler, a plane that hasn’t been released since the Target exclusive 25th Anniversary release.

Stay tuned to JBL for more coverage of Joe Con 2016 in Loveland, CO!

SDCC 2016: G.I. Joe vs Transformers exclusive set official images

Posted on June 9, 2016 by Fred Meyer

Just earlier this week fans got their first look at the SDCC 2016 exclusive G.I. Joe vs. Transformers set that will be released later this summer. Now, thanks to SDCCBlog.com we have our first official images of this set that features Powerglide, Soundwave, Scarlett, and Zartan.

According to the blog post, this set will retail for $99.00. No word on quantities available but it’s safe to assume that some quantity of the sets will be available over on HasbroToyShop.com after the show is over.

Again, it’s not a bad set– the fourth in a series that began with a G.I. Joe vs Transformers Cobra Commander & Starscream, continued with a Soundwave/Shockwave/Destro/BAT set, and originally concluded with a Jetfire/Baroness/Ravage/Bludgeon/Snake Eyes/Blaster set in 2013. However, it would be nice to have Transformers that, well, actually transform!

We’ve mirrored all of the G.I. Joe vs Transformers images below but you can see pics of all of Hasbro’s SDCC 2016 exclusives over at SDCCBlog.com!

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2016 SDCC G.I. Joe vs. Transformers exclusive revealed?

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Fred Meyer

A new G.I. Joe vs. Transformers exclusive is apparently coming to SDCC 2016.

In the age of the internet, it has become increasingly more difficult to keep things under wraps. Case in point, we’re apparently getting a brand new fourth G.I. Joe vs Transformers set featuring Scarlett, Zartan, a HISS Tank version of Soundwave, and a Cobra Rattler version of the Autobot Powerglide.

Pics dropped this weekend over on ACToys.net thanks to user Vincentzl and they hold back nothing. If these are truly representative of the film product, the set appears to contain:

DTC HISS redeco’ed as Soundwave
25th Anniversary Target reissue Cobra Rattler redeco’ed as Powerglide
50th Anniversary Zartan repaint
Pilot Scarlett repaint with 25th Anniversary Scarlett head

Interesting… Continue reading →

Old Snake & Stealth BAT Duo Review

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Fred Meyer

The Old Snake & Stealth BAT Duo two-pack review is live!

The G.I. Joe Collector’s Club blew the fandom’s collective minds at Joe Con 2015 when it was revealed that one of the pieces in their G.I. Joe & the Transformers series was a two-pack featuring Old Snake aka “Future Cobra Commander.” Featured in the classic G1 Transformers episode “Only Human“, this 1:18 figure recreates the look of a familiar-voiced arms dealer who went by the moniker of “Old Snake” and who just happened to be in possession of Synthoid technology. However, the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club took things a step further and packaged this distinctive villain with two repurposed Transformers Prime Soundwave figures in classic Battle Android Trooper deco.

The result: the Old Snake & Stealth BAT Duo two-pack!

Check out the guest review from Otto “The Otter” Phillips over in the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Review Index and then let us know your thoughts on this set in the comments below!

JBL Review: 2012 San Diego Comic Con G.I. Joe/Transformers Shockwave!

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Fred Meyer

The design team at Hasbro has established a new tradition for their San Diego Comic Con exclusives- G.I. Joe/Transformers crossover sets! Last year it was Starscream as a Skystriker and Cobra Commander with Megatron. This year the team took that concept and cranked the dial up to “11”! Not only did this year’s set include the G.I. Joe Retaliation HISS tank turned into Shockwave, but it brought Destro, a BAT, and familiar-looking tape recorder along for the ride!

Check the JBL review of the 2012 G.I. Joe/Transformers exclusive set over at the newly launched Exclusives Review Index!

(See, I told you more reviews were coming!)

Custom spotlight: G.I. Joe meets Transformers in this awesome Soundwave custom!

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Fred Meyer

I have a confession to make– like a lot of GI Joe fans, I’m a bit of a closet Transformers fan. Granted, my favorite era of Transformers was “Beast Wars” which may or may not hinder my “bot cred” but I’m also a fan of early G1 as well. There’s something oddly classic about those first few series of Autobots and Decepticons that utterly transports me back on the nostalgia train to the early 80’s. So, you can imagine my shock/delight/utter joy when I first saw this image on the web the other day:

Insanely talented customizer, friend of JBL, and all around great guy Pierre Kalenzaga (aka “Airmax” from RTM) recently unveiled one of the most AWESOME custom mash-ups I’ve ever seen. Taking the classic G1 Soundwave design and transposing it into 1:18 scale GIJoe form, he’s created a masterpiece of custom work. Even better– he made 5 of them!! (At this time TWO of them might still be available for sale.)

Here’s Pierre’s original comments on the figure (which includes custom Lazerbeak and features a real working lenticular on the chest):

To all my toy friends – just wrapped up this custom project. Five custom carded GI Joe scale Soundwave figures with Laserbeak drones. Four of them are for sale ($80). If you’re interested, please drop me a line. Spread the word :0)

You can check out more of Airmax’s work at his personal website AirmaxAnimated.com!

I simply cannot love this custom design enough!!