Tag Archives: 1:18 scale

Marauder Gun-Runners Action Figure Kickstarter Launches!

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Marauder Task Force

We LOVE Marauder Gun-Runners here at JBL!  Sure, I’m incredibly behind on reviews of the last series but that doesn’t mean that the MGR love has diminished in any way.  So, just imagine our reaction when this announcement dropped in the JBL mailbox late last night:

Marauder “Gun-Runners”ACTION FIGURE Pre-Order
Marauder Task Force Action Figures “Pre-Order”

Hey Folks!

Introducing the MARAUDER TASK FORCE Action Figures!

Highly detailed, fully articulated figures with multi-role customizable designs and featuring a wide variety of “modular” interchangeable accessories.  The nameless, faceless, minions are ideal “army builders” or perfect “backup” troopers to use with other currently available action figures.  “Night-Ops” Marauders, “Desert-Ops” Marauders, “Urban-Ops” Marauders…whatever mission, the Marauder Task Force figures can fill the need.

The Marauder Task Force figures feature multiple designs, several color options and a large number of accessories.  REMOVABLE Helmets, headgear and vests coupled with a wide variety of INTERCHANGEABLE accessories (holsters, sheaths, ammo pouches, pockets & more)…leaves the final  figure & accessory combination up to you!

Each fully assembled, factory painted, 1:18th scale action figure is produced at a high tech manufacturing facility using modern ABS & PVC materials (NOT handmade “castings” made out of “resin”).  We were fortunate to work with the incredibly talented designers and sculptors at Boss Fight Studio on this project. Seriously, the figures need to be seen in person to really appreciate the level of detail (pictures DO NOT do the figures or accessories justice!).

We’ve launched a Kickstarter pre-order project to help get the required funding to start production.   Designs, prototypes and paint masters are COMPLETE…all that remains to do is tool up and produce the actual figures and accessories. Please visit the Marauder Task Force Kickstarter project page for more pictures and greater in-depth details about the project.

(either “click” the link or go to kickstarter.com and enter “Marauder GR” in the search field)

Hope you like Marauder Task Force figures & accessories and consider participating in the Marauder GR Pre-Order event!

Thanks again for all your support and if you have any questions, please let us know via email, thru the kickstarter message system or on our facebook page.
Take care!
MJ & the entire Marauder Team
Marauder “Gun-Runners”
www.marauderinc.com
Marauder GR Pre-order for NEW items on kickstarter.com
Seriously, what are you waiting for– an engraved invitation from Sgt. Slaughter himself?!!  Get over there and throw some support for this AMAZING project!
Just in case you need any further convincing, check out the Marauder Gun-Runners Review Index here at JBL!
Time to start digging spare change out of the couch cushions again!

G.I. Joe Collector’s Club FSS Grand Slam Review

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G.I. Joe Collector's Club FSS Grand Slam

The final figure in the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club FSS Grand Slam is here!

Always a mystery until the very end, the FSS bonus figure this year definitely generated a great deal of discussion.  Shipping just one month after Bombardier, the original version of Grand Slam was seen by some as a great addition to their collections and by others as a “lazy repaint” of a figure subscribers had received just the month before.  For the final review of FSS 2.0, Chris Chung of JoeSightings.com and I put Grand Slam “under the lens” and ask the question: “Is he worth owning?”

Check out the review in the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Review Index!

 

G.I. Joe Collector’s Club FSS Oktober Guard Dragonsky Review

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G.I. Joe Collector's Club FSS Dragonsky

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!

G.I. Joe Collector’s Club FSS Big Bear Review

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G.I. Joe Collector's Club FSS Big Bear

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!

G.I. Joe Collector’s Club FSS 2.0 Final Shipment & 13th Figure

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I was waiting my final FSS shipment from the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club to arrive before posting this but apparently today was not the day!  The final delivery which features Oktober Guard members Dragonsky and Big Bear has started to arrive in mailboxes across the U.S.  Given that these two figures were the last two in the 12 figure stated roster there’s no outcy over “spoiling the surprise” on these.

This shipment did contain the “13th bonus figure” which was touted as an incentive to sign up for the Figure Subscription Service last year– and that figure is Grand Slam— in his original Heavy Artillery Laser uniform.  (I’ve included a borrowed photo below.)

G.I. Joe Collector's Club FSS Grand Slam

 

I have to admit– I’m a bit torn over how I feel about this figure.  On one hand, I’m a HUGE fan of the original 1982 roster as that was when I first started collecting G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.  Grand Slam was the first casualty of my then-new puppy who decided to chew the living daylights out of him one evening.  As such the red pads version of the character has always been a bit of a tragic figure for me.

On the other hand, we just received Bombardier in that last shipment and he was a straight-up repaint of the original 25th Anniversary Flash.  The GIJCC version of Grand Slam marks the fourth time that this character has been released in the “modern era” of G.I. Joe and three of those times will have been as a straight repaint- right down to the head sculpt.  As incentives go, it’s pretty lackluster. Sure, it’s a great cost-saving method for the Collector’s Club but it’s not quite up to the “premium figure standards” that the FSS was touted as having.  It kind of takes the wind out of a collector’s sails to realize that two $30+ figures in one shipment are mostly straight repaints of figures from earlier waves.

Right now, the Joe fandom is in a pretty bad way.  The highly anticipated 50th Anniversary of G.I. Joe announcement at Toy Fair turned out to be the “32nd Anniversary of A Real American Hero” with a bunch of repaints and concept case figures.  The most-recent G.I. Joe design team at Hasbro has been utterly dismantled and the members dispersed to other brands.  It’s been revealed that Hasbro will NOT have an official presence at the 2014 G.I. Joe Collector’s Convention.  What should have been a banner year for the brand is turning out to be anything but… and the fandom is seemingly more polarized than I’ve seen it in a while.

Still, I’m kind of happy to see Grand Slam get some attention– if only for my own nostalgia.  Do I think that this was the way to go with him?  Absolutely not– a new/different head would have gone a long way with winning over folks who don’t necessarily feel that they’re getting their money’s worth from this.  From a marketing standpoint, the final figure in a subscription should be one of the strongest.  It’s the last impression before members are asked to subscribe for the subsequent year and it should really pull out all of the stops.  Sadly, someone at the Club thought that this was the way to go and as a result poor ole James J. Barney is getting the brunt of it.

Knock on wood my shipment arrives tomorrow.  Expect reviews to follow in the next week here at JBL.  In the meantime, feel free to leave your thoughts on this below.  Was this really a worthy choice for the 13th slot?

Figure subscription service 2

G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Bombardier Review

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g.i. joe collector's club bombardier preview

The G.I. Joe Collector’s Club FSS 2.0 is drawing to a close.  For the second-to-last shipment the GIJCC dipped not into the traditional G.I. Joe canon but instead dove headfirst into collecting lore by producing the first ever mass-produced version of a figure whose origins were long considered a mystery.

That’s right folks, I’m talking about Bombardier – the mysterious “blonde Flash” that surfaced in the late 90’s.

Was he worthy of an inclusion in this premium-priced subscription service?  Head on over to the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Review Index and check out two Joe fans’ opinions!

G.I. Joe Convention Repulsor Revealed at Last!

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The final figure from the 2014 G.I. Joe Convention “Zombie Initiative” set has been revealed!  Say “Hello” to the Toxo-Viper Commander – Repulsor!

G.I. Joe Convention Repulsor

He may be a Toxo-Viper Commander but he’s HEAVILY based on the 1991 Sludge Viper – a figure who in development was considered for the name “Repulsor”.  For his construction, he’s the 2011 Techno-Viper from the neck on down. He’s the final release in the entire set which features colors “straight out of the 90’s”.  It’ll be interesting to see a final image of all 15 figures together to see how cohesively they all come together.

To recap, here’s the figures in this year’s G.I. Joe Convention set:

  • Zombie Hunters: Outback, T’J Bang, Steel Brigade Commander
  • E.C.O. Force: Flint, Ozone, Clean-Sweep
  • Cobra Lab Rat x2, Toxo-Vipers x 3, Toxo-Zombies x 3, and Repulsor with Dawg (NEW K-9).

For more information on the 2014 G.I. Joe Collector’s Convention, visit GIJoeCon.com

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steel-brigade-commander
zombie-initiative-box
eco-force-flint
tjbang
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ozone-head-shot
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G.I. Joe Collector’s Club FSS Admiral Keel-Haul Review

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G.I. Joe Collector's Club Keel-Haul

One strength of the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Figure Subscription Service has been its roster of characters.  For every TNT and Surefire, there’s been a Big Boa, Cesspool, and even a Nano BAT.  The FSS has breathed life into some of the more obscure figures who might never have received an update otherwise.  Case in point: Admiral Everett Colby – code name: Keel-Haul!

The good Admiral has the distinction of being the vehicle driver of the largest G.I. Joe vehicle ever produced– the incredible USS Flagg.  He’s also one half of the second-to-last shipment of FSS 2.0!  So, does this new version of Keel-Haul “blow me down” or should be just be consigned to Davy Jones’ locker?

Check out the review in the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Review Index!

Dawg is the next G.I. Joe Convention Reveal!

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We’re 45 days out from the 2014 G.I. Joe Convention and G.I. Joe Collector’s Club has released another preview image from this year’s “Zombie Initiative” convention set.  Not exactly a figure this time– but a zombie pit bull!  Meet Dawg!

G.I. Joe Zombie Initiative Dawg

It’s not Repulsor but instead it’s his faithful Compound Z companion!  Dawg is an all-new sculpted piece that fits in with the rest of the Zombie Initiative theme this year.  Speaking of Repulsor, here’s what the GIJCC has to say about the final figure to be revealed:

REPULSOR is the director of security at Cobra Industries and keeps the TOXO-VIPERS in line with the help of his K-9 counterpart!

So, the GIJCC is definitely going with a more Resident Evil theme this year with the “zombie dog”.  Very interesting… although this makes me wonder even more what exactly his handler is like!  Just looking at him reminds me of an undead version of Bandit from Jonny Quest– even though Bandit wasn’t a pit bull.  

That leaves Repulsor as the final preview option:

  • Zombie Hunters: Outback, T’J Bang, Steel Brigade Commander
  • E.C.O. Force: Flint, Ozone, Clean-Sweep
  • Cobra Lab Rat x2, Toxo-Vipers x 3, Toxo-Zombies x 3, and Repulsor with Dawg (NEW K-9).

For more information on the 2014 G.I. Joe Collector’s Convention, visit GIJoeCon.com

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cobra-lab-rat
steel-brigade-commander
zombie-initiative-box
eco-force-flint
tjbang
ozone
toxo-viper
2014-joe-con-hat
2014-joe-con-shirt
ozone-head-shot
zombie-hunter-outback
clean-sweep
toxo-zombie
clean-sweep-head
dawg
repulsor
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Price and Images for HAVOC Mk II from G.I. Joe Collector’s Club

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G.I. Joe Collector's Club Havoc Mk 2

The G.I. Joe Collector’s Club had a surprise when they announced Cross Country as the 2014 membership renewal figure and that was the release of an exclusive HAVOC Mk II that would also be available.  Today, David Lane unveiled the final sample images as well as the pricing information.

Here’s the latest information from “Commander Lane”:

G.I. JOE H.A.V.O.C. MK-II (Add-On Vehicle purchased separately) will be available in late spring from the GIJCC Store. This 2014 Limited Edition club exclusive vehicle will be $42 + shipping!

Based on the colors of the original H.A.V.O.C. driven by CROSS-COUNTRY, this vehicle features an opening canopy, free-rolling wheels, a moveable windshield wiper and hi-velocity X-1 torpedoes. Plus, you can elevate the vehicle’s launcher to rotate 360 degrees and fire four missile accessories!

[Vehicle will be bagged with accessories and some assembly is required. Cross-Country figure NOT INCLUDED.]

The H.A.V.O.C. [Heavy Assault Vehicle Ordnance Carrier] MK-II combines the stamina of a tank with the handling of an off-road vehicle. The result is a machine that makes its own road over tough terrain to battle the evil forces of COBRA.

Source: G.I. Joe Collector’s Club

It’s not a bad looking vehicle although I don’t know if I need another Snowcat um… HAVOC in my collection at this time.  Still for those fans who don’t own a vintage version and want a vehicle with which to display Cross Country this isn’t a bad price.  When you consider that there won’t be any new 1:18 Joe product out until Fall the Club just might have a perfect window in which to sell these bad boys.

Cross Country is available as a free figure to those individuals with a current membership in the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club as of March 16, 2014.  For more information, visit GIJoeClub.com today.

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