At long last, the first figure from the Joe Con 2015 convention set has been revealed! Meet Tiger Force Wreckage!
– 25th Anniversary Modern Style/Fully Poseable Action Figure
– 1st Modern Era Release based on 1988 prototype**
– Includes Harness with two removable Explosive Devices,
G.I. Joe Logo Stand, Assault Rifle, Pistol, Knife,
and Backpack with removable lid
G.I. Joe FSS 3.0 Shipment 2 had deployed just under the wire to make the January deadline!
Yesterday on Facebook, Alyosha of BrokenArrowToys.com shared images of his new arrived FSS 3.0 shipment! Yes, we’re going to discuss the figures so if you’re one of the few folks out there that want to be surprised, look away. (Seriously– we’re not going to play games. Figures will be named.)
Okay, still here?
I’ve mirrored some of Alyosha’s images of G.I. Joe FSS 3.0 shipment 2 below. Note: his Slice figure arrived with two right arms including one arms that was altered seemingly at the factory level to appear to be normal. (The thumb on the left arm was sliced off. Ironic, eh? “Sliced”? Get it? Never mind…)
Muskrat is a repaint of the 2013 Nocturnal Fire version and Slice seems to be primarily built on the Renegades Storm Shadow/ Retaliation Red Ninja body so, aside from the color scheme and the new head, there’s not a lot that fans already haven’t seen here. Still, these two guys are inbound so subscribers should keep their eyes peeled toward their mailbox this week for the new arrivals from the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club.
As always, stay tuned to JBL for a new review of these figures once they arrive at JBL HQ!
After a long dry spell, fans have new G.I. Joe FSS 3.0 figures!
This past week, subscribers of the G.I. Joe FSS 3.0 were frantically checking their mailboxes as shipping notices indicated that new figures were inbound! Repeater and Psyche-Out, boasting their original vintage color schemes, comprised the first shipment– fresh off their appearance in the 2013 Nocturnal Fire convention set! Thankfully on Friday, these two Joes dropped at JBL HQ which means that Chris “Werecat” Chung of JoeSightings.com and I have had the weekend to give them a once over.
Do these G.I. Joe FSS 3.0 figures measure up to their parts predecessors? Are they worthwhile additions to an ARAH generation 3 collection? Were these figures from G.I. Joe Collector’s Club worth the wait?
Head on over to the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Review Index and find out two Joe fans opinions!
The long wait for the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club FSS 3.0 shipments is about to come to an end!
This afternoon, early reports trickled in from both HISSTank.com and the Facebook G.I. Joe Discussion Group that first shipment had landed. Those reports also confirmed the identity of the figures in the first shipment.
If you want to be surprised, stop reading here. If you don’t, read on.
Seriously– don’t make me repeat myself. I don’t want to psyche you out but this is your last warning.
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It’s Repeater and Psyche-Out! (As if my heavy-handed hints didn’t give it away.) Take a look at the pic below, originally posted by BearViper of the HISSTank forums:
I’ll admit– I wasn’t expecting these two to be in the first shipment at all. Perhaps the Club is getting the repaints of previously-released Club figures out of the way first before shipping out the newer pieces. Regardless, after a LONG dry spell fans finally have some new G.I. Joe figures inbound!
Check out these images courtesy of Alyosha of Broken Arrow Toys!
According to the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club, the first installments of Figure Subscription Service 3.0 should be shipping in the very near future! Check out this email from the Club that dropped in member mailboxes yesterday:
Happy New Year!
Yesterday we unloaded the container for the FSS 3.0 figures. We are working on getting out the first wave to you this week. You should receive the first wave by Jan 23rd. The second wave will go out the last week of the month. This will get us caught up from all of the shipping and port delays.
For those of you on the subscription billing, we have set the two billing dates: February 2nd and March 16th. Please make sure your CC is good standing before those dates. You can change your information in thesystem so you don’t miss out! If you are planning on moving before the end of May, you can update your shipping information at the same link above.
Thanks for your support and we hope you enjoy your new figures!
Brian
Now, the question remains– who will be arriving in the first shipment? Will it be the controversial Hit & Run figure that sparked much debate amid the fandom? What about one of the five repainted figures from the 2013 Nocturnal Fire convention set? Or will it be the odd choice of the Night Creeper Leader v2?
(My suspicion is that the v1 with the Tiger Striped pants that was originally teased in the FSS 3.0 announcement will be included in the 2015 Convention set.)
Regardless of who it is, subscribers should keep their Eagle Eyes turned toward their mailboxes over the next few weeks as two new Joe figures are on the way!
Meet Mark Weber, the new brand manager for G.I. Joe.
It’s a new year and Mark Weber is the new brand manager of G.I. Joe!
The latest G.I. Joe Collector’s Club newsletter is hitting mailboxes now and inside is a short one-page interview with the newest G.I. Joe brand manager. Eagle-eyed fans will recall the rumors in late 2013/early 2014 that the then-current Joe team at Hasbro had been reassigned to other projects, leaving the brand in a stage of limbo. Speculation was rampant as to what the future would hold for the brand that helped put Hasbro on the map as a leader in boys toys since 1964. Now, it seems that our favorite brand might be getting back on track.
Weber, head of the Transformers brand since February 2012, is no stranger to the toy industry with over seven years experience at Todd McFarlane Productions. However, for the past nearly three years he’s overseen the development of Construct-bots and Transformers Generations.
The newsletter should be arriving any day now to Collector’s Club members but this quote was reprinted over at HISSTank.com which first broke the story:
“For the most part, our biggest plans will be centered around future entertainment – the kind of stuff I can’t talk about just yet. We are finalizing our 2015 plans and expect to deliver a lineup constructively similar to 2014 – with popular characters and vehicles, as well as a few NEW Surprises. If things go as planned, we will have an update to reveal at JoeCon in Springfield.”
“We want to have stronger, more consistent dialogue with the collectors and fans. We want collectors to have NEW vehicles and playsets to energize the brand to a new generation of kids and a fantastic new feature film that is faithful to the soul of the brand (action, fun, weapons, vehicles). Two things I want to prioritize right away – I want to enable and simplify army building for Collectors, and I want the file cards to be brilliant for our characters.”
New vehicles? New playsets? Any form of playset? More importantly – FILE CARDS that are BRILLIANT?!! Sign me up! This just made the Springfield G.I. Joe Collector’s Convention that much more interesting!
Here at JBL we’d like to extend Mark a warm welcome to the G.I. Joe community and hope that his tenure on the brand brings with it a new era of a revitalized Joe!
Happy Holidays from JBL!
2014 certainly has been an “interesting” year for G.I. Joe. It was the year of the 50th Anniversary which celebrated more with whimper than with a bang. There was the Toys R Us exclusive 50th Anniversary line, and the Hallmark ornament but otherwise Joe received precious little attention from Hasbro to celebrate his half century of inspiring kids around the world. Even this year’s G.I. Joe convention was a more muted affair with Hasbro not in attendance. Even the Kre-O line seemed to fade this holiday, with Toys R Us slashing prices just before the holidays.
However, the year is soon to draw to a close. With that, comes a brand new year with brand new possibilities. After all, the G.I. Joe brand has been nothing if not adaptable in its 50 years on toy shelves. When Joe returns, and I’m certain it will return, it may not be as the Adventure Team, Super Joe, Sgt. Savage, Renegades, Extreme, Sigma 6, or even the celebrated A Real American Hero but that’s the beauty of the brand. It has evolved over time and adapted to play patterns of the children of its time.
Thanks for visiting JBL in 2014. We may not be the biggest, most talked about or frequently updated, or flashiest site on the web, but as long as there are fans of G.I. Joe out there, we’ll keep the lights on and the forums open, just in case anyone wants to stop on by, crack open a frosty Yo Joe cola, and talk about G.I Joe– regardless of scale, size or format.
Again, thanks for the stopping by and Happy Holidays! Here’s to a brighter 2015!
ToysRUs.com is having a BLOWOUT sale on G.I. Joe Kreo!
Maybe it’s the holidays or maybe it’s the infamous “Deth of teh line !1!!!” but right now the prices on G.I. Joe KreO items have been slashed to rock-bottom levels. If you were ever on the fence about Hasbro’s Lego knock-off line, now is the time!
Check out the these prices:
It doesn’t bode well for the future of the line but it’s certainly a nice last-minute boon for collectors. Get ’em while youcan because I have the feeling that once they’re gone they’re gone for good!
Sir Patrick Stewart. G.I. Joe. Two entities that have never had much in the way of interaction… until now!
This past weekend Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!, NPR’s weekly news panel game show, featured an interview with the celebrated actor and former captain of the USS Enterprise. There were the usual Star Trek and theater questions and then host Peter Sagal invited Sir Patrick to play a game entitled “G.I. Joe – Fighting Man from Head to Toe” in which he challenged the actor to answer three questions about our favorite 50 year old toy line.
How did he do? Check out the transcript below:
SAGAL: I think it would have been hilarious. Well, obviously we could talk to you all day, but we can’t because we must move on to play our game with you. Sir Patrick Stewart, we have invited you here to play a game we’re calling…
BILL KURTIS, BYLINE: G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe, Fighting Man from Head to Toe.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: That was the first jingle ever for G.I. Joe, first introduced by the Hasbro company 50 years ago this month. So in honor of that anniversary, we’re going to ask you three questions about the poseable action figure. Answer two correctly, you’ll win our prize for our listener, the poseable Carl Kasell on their voicemail. Bill, who is Sir Patrick Stewart playing for?
KURTIS: Dawn Schellenberg of Seattle, Washington.
SAGAL: All right. Are you ready, Sir Patrick?
STEWART: I am. I’m apprehensive but I’m ready.
SAGAL: Here we go. Now G.I. Joe – I’m sure you’ve been in the United States long enough to know what these are. These are these eight inch dolls that look like soldiers, G.I. Joes, yes?
STEWART: Yeah, yeah, I know what they are.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: I’m sorry. I need to shrivel now for a bit.
STEWART: No I didn’t mean that to be patronizing.
SAGAL: Too late.
STEWART: I do know what they are and I even know what G.I. stands for.
SAGAL: Oh, OK. Very good. G.I. Joe was developed and brought to market 50 years ago in reaction to an interesting discovery. Was that discovery? A, that watching kids play with war toys made adults more likely to support actual wars; B, that children all over America were snapping off their army man’s legs trying to bend them; or C, that little boys were playing with their sister’s Barbie dolls in secret?
STEWART: I think I would go with C because I think that’s the one that I would like it to be.
SAGAL: Well, your will has made it so. It is in fact true.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Barbie dolls had come out in the late ’50s, and what people found is that boys were playing with their sister’s Barbie dolls. So Hasbro said we’ll make them a doll the same size and they can play with that. All right. Second question – as the Vietnam War went on and became less popular with the American public, G.I. Joe needed to change. So Hasbro, the company that made G.I. Joe did what? A, gave him a beard just like those hippie peaceniks; B, introduced a new doll to the line, Conscientious Objector Joe; or C, introduced a line of Viet Cong dolls called, quote, “Joe’s noble but misguided enemy.”
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: I think I’m going to go for the beard one. It’s kind of weird sounding but I think I have a memory of seeing a doll like that with a beard. So I’ll go for A.
SAGAL: You are right, you did see a doll like that with the beard…
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: …Because G.I. Joe – they started making with a beard. Real soldiers don’t have beards, they’re not allowed to. G.I. Joe does get in trouble sometimes. Like when which of these happened? A, at a TSA checkpoint in 2011, agents confiscated one G.I. Joe doll’s tiny plastic rifle just in case; B, his patented Kung Fu grip caused protests by Chinese-Americans back in the ’70s who said that to be authentic, it should be called Wushu grip; or C, a packaging error resulted in G.I. Joes being shipped in packages for Ken dolls, leading many to believe that Barbie was stepping out.
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: I think I will go with A with the first one.
SAGAL: You are correct again, Sir Patrick.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: The TSA took the tiny rifle from the G.I. Joe because it was a, quote, “replica of an actual weapon.” A little, little replica. So Bill, how did Sir Patrick Stewart do on our show?
KURTIS: Congratulations Sir Patrick, you got them all right. You’re a winner.
SAGAL: Sir Patrick Stewart is the star of the new movie “Match” out in theaters January 14. Sir Patrick Stewart, what a pleasure to talk to you sir. What an honor. Thank you so much for joining us.
(APPLAUSE)
STEWART: Thank you very much.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
The full transcript of his interview may be found HERE. You can listen to Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! each weekend on your local NPR station.
The Breaux Show’s video toy reviews are back with the Toys R Us exclusive NECA 1989 Batman!
I was in high school when Tim’s Burton’s 1989 Batman film exploded onto the big screen and took the nation, and the world, by storm! A marked contrast to the campy 1966 portrayal, the film which starred Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson presented the Dark Knight as just that– a dark brooding figure in a crime-filled world full of despair. It established Batman as a serious and complex character in the mind of many movie-goers and led to a pop culture renaissance of the character that included the debut of the seminal Batman: The Animated Series. Like many comic fans, I was hooked and the Keaton Batman became the benchmark by which all other cinematic attempts at Batman were measured.
So, imagine my delight when NECA managed to redeco their video game inspired action figure in a more traditional colo palate and pair it up with an anniversary Blu-Ray copy of the film, exclusive to Toys R Us!
Even better– good friend of JBL, The Breaux Show, managed to get his hands on one of these amazing figures and uploaded a brand new video review! Either check out the NECA 1989 Batman review on his YouTube Channel or embedded below!