G.I. Joe Tomahawk reissued as Eaglehawk helicopter!

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Fred Meyer

At Toy Fair 2013 Hasbro managed to pull a rabbit out of its hat and surprise fans with a reissue of the classic cargo helicopter- the Tomahawk.

Here’s the official word from Hasbro:

G.I. JOE EAGLEHAWK ASSAULT CHOPPER

(Approximate retail price: $39.99; Ages: 4 & up; Available: 8/1/13)

Inspired by the live-action G.I. JOE movie, G. I. JOE: Retaliation, this EAGLEHAWK ASSAULT CHOPPER is the most dominating vehicle to transport your squadrons to battle. Each camouflaged chopper comes equipped with an action figure to pilot your most critical missions.

Hmm… interesting and unexpected. Like last year’s Skystriker reissue, Hasbro continues to dip back into the ARAH Generation 1 well for inspiration. It works, as perfect condition vintage Tomahawk’s are hard to find. (The rotors were notorious for drooping and sagging over the years.) I find the name a bit amusing as it is now essentially the “bird bird” helicopter but fans can rename it what they will. Lift Ticket appears to have received a whole new deco and a new look. At least there’s room in the cockpit for Lifeline as the Eaglehawk appears to be a two-seater.

Yeah, I’ll be snagging one!

Check out the official images below and more images over at YoJoe.com’s Toy Fair 2013 coverage.

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Toy Fair 2013: G.I. Joe Retaliation Wave 3 gets a huge expansion

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Fred Meyer

At Hasbro’s media event yesterday during Toy Fair 2013, G.I. Joe: Retaliation Wave 3 has been given quite an overall!

Apparently the current wave 3 is merely a “filler wave” with the full slew of characters to hit in a May 2013 release. With more movie-accurate “ultimate” versions of Duke, Flint, and Roadblock as well as ton ARAH-inspired figures like Storm Shadow and Cobra Commander, this wave represents a DRAMATIC expansion of product offerings. However, for many Joe fans, the true “coup de grace” is found in the inclusion of two figures: the highly anticipated Data-Viper and the INCREDIBLY sought-after KWINN!! Finally, everyone’s favorite Inuit mercenary is given the Generation 3 update he so rightly deserves.

Here’s the compiled details, courtesy of Justin Bell of GeneralsJoes.com.

Wave “2.5″ Filler Wave – Due 02/11/2013

Joe Colton
Lady Jaye
Alley-Viper
Dark Ninja Warrior
Cyber Ninja

Wave 3 – Due May, 2013

Crimson Guard
“Ultimate” Duke (Movie)
“Ultimate” Firefly (Movie)
Cobra Combat Ninja
“Ultimate” Snake Eyes (Vintage)
“Ultimate” Flint (Movie)
“Ultimate” Roadblock (Movie)
Storm Shadow (Vintage)
Cobra Commander (Vintage)
Data-Viper
Kwinn
Budo

All-in-all, I’m impressed. Yes, I already have a metric ton of Cobra Commander and Storm Shadow figures but the updates on these show a marked improvement over their earlier 25th Collection entries. The new “Ultimate” Duke, Firefly, Flint, and Roadblock are the movie-accurate versions I really wanted right away. Data-Viper was never on my personal “must have” list but a lot of fans were really looking forward to him and I won’t begrudge anyone the opportunity to snag an anticipated figure. Lastly, we have KWINN who has left me salivating since I first saw him. Yeah… that one is a must-purchase item.

The only figure that puzzles me is Budo. He’s a marked departure from the unproduced Walmart RoC two pack version that has popped up on the web. More ornate and sporting a Ken Watanabe-inspired head sculpt, he’s a marked departure from both what has come before and from the rest of the military-themed toy line. Plus, he’s wearing elk antlers– which seems like something more out of Naruto than a traditional samurai would wear. Of course, that’s just my opinion.

Check out the press images from Hasbro below and hit up YoJoe.com for more awesome coverage!

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G.I. Joe Retaliation Wave 3 Joe Colton reviewed!

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Fred Meyer

It’s been a while since any new G.I. Joe reviews have been posted at JBL and there is a good reason. After a year long search, I finally bought and moved into a new house over the holidays. The good part is that there is a lot more room for Amanda, the cats, and I. The bad news is that most of Joe stuff is still in boxes– and that includes the photo setup. However, some quick jury rigging allowed me to shoot a few pics recently of my most anticipated figure from the entire G.I. Joe Retaliation line: Joe Colton! Sure, the photos are quite up to my usual standards but they proved to be a lot of fun to shoot!

I won’t lie– I don’t see this figure as the bearded General that Larry Hama first introduced us to back in G.I. Joe vol 1 #86. Instead, I picture him as a certain plucky New York cop who always seems to find himself in the wrong place at the wrong time when terrorists attack. That’s right– I’m talking about Officer John McClane of the Die Hard franchise.

Regardless of how you use this Bruce Willis action figure in your collection, check out JBL’s first review of 2013 in the G.I. Joe Retaliation Review Index!

G.I. Joe Con 2013: Muskrat & Psyche-Out revealed!

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Fred Meyer

Another night and two more reveals by the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club from the 2013 Joe Con set! Tonight’s unveiling? Muskrat & Psyche-Out!

NIGHT FORCE: SWAMP FIGHTER – MUSKRAT

– 25th Anniversary Style/Fully Poseable Action Figure
– Based on TRU Exclusive Action Figure from 1989
– NEW Head with a NEW Removable Boonie Hat,
Combat Vest is also Removable
– Includes G.I. Joe Logo Stand, Tactical Shotgun,
Machete, Pistol with Suppressor, and Knife

NIGHT FORCE: PSY OPS OFFICER – PSYCHE-OUT

– 25th Anniversary Style/Fully Poseable Action Figure
– Based on TRU Exclusive Action Figure from 1988
– NEW Head with NEW Removable Sonic Emitters,
[Attachments fit on Arms and Sonic Generator]
– Includes G.I. Joe Logo Stand, Assault Rifle, Pistol,
Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) Backpack,
Sonic Generator Device and Sonic Emitter Cones

I never thought I’d say this but of the two figure Psyche-Out is the CLEAR winner! From the headsculpt to the reuse of the 30th Duke body, he’s head and shoulders above most updates to classic designs. Muskrat is solid but the blue is throwing me off somewhat. However, as it has been pointed out to me the blue vest is removable. Otherwise, the club continues to hit a home run in terms of successful updates to classic characters.

Bring on Hit & Run and Repeater!

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Look who’s getting reviewed soon– Joe Colton! (Or more importantly JOHN McCLANE!)

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Fred Meyer

A very special G.I. Joe: Retaliation box arrived in the mail here at “JBL HQ” last week. Normally I wouldn’t order a figure early like this nor would I pay significantly more than retail (as I’m cheap) but the subject matter was just too good to be ignored.

Some folks may call him Joe Colton from G.I. Joe Retaliation but for the majority of us he’ll always be Officer John McClane of the NYPD!

I wanted to toss up a quick headshot photo to alleviate folks concerns about the head likeness and the neck. The head sculpt is SOLID and the dreaded “Recondo neck” has been fixed! (Thanks John Warden!)

Expect a review coming this week!

G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Wave 2 is SHIPPING!!

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Fred Meyer

Subscribers to the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Figure Subscription Service should start watching their mailboxes– the second shipment of figures for the FSS has started to arrive! Over at HISSTank.com, customizer and caster Raginspoon posted that he received his second box from the FSS– and has revealed what the figures are.

If you’re one of the folks that wants to be surprised, don’t click the link. It pretty much spoils everything and contains links to his Ebay auctions. However, if you’re like me, you’ve already clicked the link and know exactly who is arriving. Now, I’ve got no quarrel with anyone who chooses to reveal the newest arrivals– waiting like this can really drive me batty.

Keep checking those mailboxes folks– new Joes are on the way!

G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Subscription Wave 2 ships in two weeks!

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Fred Meyer

Many G.I. Joe received an extra present just before the Christmas holiday– the first pair of figures from the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Figure Subscription Service had landed on their doorstep! Of course, as soon as those first two figures shipped, fans began to speculate as to when the next round would be arriving. Brian Savage sends out this update to let “eagle eyed” fans know that the wait is almost over:

We are getting ready to prepare the second shipment. We anticipate they they will ship about two weeks from now. Please have any address changes in the system by Wednesday (1/09/13) at 5pm Central Time.

Also, we are planning to do the installment billing for the second payment on or about January 21st. Please ensure that your credit card information is correct and that your debit cards have enough funds. Everyone’s billing amount is different so please refer to your first invoice to know what your amount will be. If you don’t have your invoice, you can log in and look at your order..

For those of you who paid in full, you can ignore the billing information.

Thanks for your support! We hope that you are enjoying your first figure shipment!

Now the speculation begins– with Jinx and Dice already shipped, who will be next?

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Collector’s Club: G.I. Joe FSS figures are shipping!!

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Fred Meyer

For those of you that signed up for the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Figure Subscription Service it’s time for some holiday cheer! The Club announced earlier in the week that some of the FSS orders would start shipping before the holidays and now it seems that some folks have already received theirs!

According to a thread over at HISSTank.com, board member Raginspoon and site admin Destro have received their figures. The Club initially asked that folks not discuss what figures were received until everyone had theirs so as “not to ruin the surprise”. (In other news, fairies are real and unicorns make good bacon!) However, as folks are excited to finally have some of these pieces in-hand pics have been posted over at HISSTank. I don’t want to jinx this with any spoilers but fans are going to be happy, no matter how they slice and dice the reports popping up on the web.

Here’s the shipping announcement from the Club, posted better late than never:

I hope that you are all having a great holiday season so far. Today it was confirmed that our container was aboard a train and headed to the Dallas terminal.

We still don’t have an exact delivery date to our warehouse, but we are anticipating that we will get some of the sets out before Christmas.

The Christmas holiday will probably see the shipments split so please have patience while they are enroute to you.

We now anticipate that they will all be shipped before New Years.

Merry Christmas!

Brian

Now, while you’re waiting for your first shipment to arrive, enjoy some PR pics of what is coming to subscribers:

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In hand pics of the cancelled G.I. Joe Mindbender, Budo, Zap, and Nano-BAT from Rise of Cobra!

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Fred Meyer

I think it’s safe to call Gyre-Viper the “Indiana Jones of the G.I. Joe fandom.” Venturing into the depths of the Chinese marketplace and scouring the internet for cancelled and rare items “that belong in a museum”, he manages to unearth more cancelled and prototype items than anyone out there. Some are good, some are bad but all are worth seeing.

His latest batch of finds includes some figures that never saw production in the ill-fated G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra movie line. Consisting mostly of parts from previous releases, this set of four would have given fans an update on Budo, Dr. Mindbender, Zap, and introduced the Nano-BAT to fans’ collections. While Zap is pretty easy to recreate by performing a simple head-swap and the Nano-BAT is seeing a release though the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Figure Subscription Service in the near future, I find myself sad when I realize that Budo and Mindbender won’t see a release in this form.

Here are a few mirrored pics but check out the entire treasure trove of images over at JoeDeclassified.com!

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G.I. Joe Kre-O debuts at pre-NYCC Hasbro event

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Fred Meyer

Last week, Hasbro announced that G.I. Joe would be getting the Kre-O treatment this February exclusively at Toys R Us. Last night, as a special media event in NYC, Hasbro unveiled the building block product that will be hitting store shelves early next year. Consisting of boxed “battle sets” consisting of figures and bricks to build vehicles and bases as well as blind-bagged individual figures, the team from Pawtucket unveiled Joe’s first really attempt at conquering the small “Lego figure” world.

Here are two galleries of official press images:

Blind bag figures:

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Vehicles & Playsets:

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Honestly, these figures create a bit of a dilemma for me as a G.I. Joe collector. On one hand, they represent a bold new direction for the Joe brand and feature some details that show the line was developed by someone who gets the brand. (Quick Kick’s “Frozen Fudgee” and a fuzz-headed Adventure Team Commander? That’s just awesome!) Plus, the character selection– which includes fan favorites like Snake Eyes but also features Kamakura and Torpedo is great. (One could argue that Torpedo merely repurposes parts from the Battleship movie line of Kre-O figures.) Lego-like figures extremely popular with collectors and kids alike– as the success of lines released by both Lego and competitor Mega-Blocks can attest.

On the other hand, this line is a pretty radical departure for G.I. Joe in terms of retail presence. Kre-O items aren’t typically found in the figure aisles of most retailers. G.I. Joe’s last attempt at conquering the construction block world– the ill-fated Build To Rule line– met with mixed reactions and little retail success. Plus, Kre-O will be hitting shelves around the same time as the movie merchandise which means that collectors, who are the primary audience of the brand now, will be focusing their efforts and $$$ on the more traditional 1:18 offerings.

Only time will tell if this line can succeed where previous attempts have failed. Personally, I think I’d be more inclined to snag these if the figures were closer in scale and style to Art Asylum’s popular Mini-Mates lines. I’m not a Lego figure collector myself– although I have to admit that I’m tempted by the mini Kamakura and AT Commander figures. Joe fans, however, are more habitually geared toward looking for product in the action figure aisles of retailers and many of us just might forget to look for these guys when February rolls around. I can’t help but wonder if the line would have a great potential for success if it had hit TRU stores in the coming weeks– at a time when G.I. Joe is all-but-absent from stores after the disappointing rescheduling of G.I. Joe: Retaliation earlier this year. For me, these might just be a casual purchase but I don’t see myself going “all completionist” on this. Of course, that’s just one Joe fan’s opinion.

Additional coverage of the Kre-O debut can be found over at ToyNewsI.com

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G.I. Joe news, action figure reviews, and discussion

Category Archives: Toys

G.I. Joe Tomahawk reissued as Eaglehawk helicopter!

Toy Fair 2013: G.I. Joe Retaliation Wave 3 gets a huge expansion

G.I. Joe Retaliation Wave 3 Joe Colton reviewed!

G.I. Joe Con 2013: Muskrat & Psyche-Out revealed!

Look who’s getting reviewed soon– Joe Colton! (Or more importantly JOHN McCLANE!)

G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Wave 2 is SHIPPING!!

G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Subscription Wave 2 ships in two weeks!

Collector’s Club: G.I. Joe FSS figures are shipping!!

In hand pics of the cancelled G.I. Joe Mindbender, Budo, Zap, and Nano-BAT from Rise of Cobra!

G.I. Joe Kre-O debuts at pre-NYCC Hasbro event

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