JBL Review: G.I. Joe Retaliation wave 1 Red Ninja

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Fred Meyer

The G.I. Joe Retaliation reviews continue here at JBL with a figure that has had a long history in G.I. Joe comics. Making their debut in the celebrated G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero vol 1 #21 by Marvel Comics, the red ninjas were originally believed to be a trio of apprentices to the Cobra ninja Storm Shadow. However, after their quick and violent defeat at the hands of Snake Eyes, the Red Ninjas returned time and time again in an ever-expanding role in the comics. At one point they were even in the service of the Cobra Saboteur Firefly!

For G.I. Joe Retaliation, the Red Ninjas appear to have gone back to their roots as warriors hidden away in a remote mountain castle. Recent trailers have shown them accompanying Cobra Commander through ranks of Cobra Special Forces soldiers as part of an entourage. Regardless of how they’re used, these familiar warriors will be hitting the big screen on March 28, 2013. However, the real question to be asked is: “are these figures worth adding to my G.I. Joe collection?” After all, there was a release of the Red Ninjas back in the 25th anniversary collection, right? Well, check out the review to find out this Joe fan’s opinion!

The Red Ninja review and many others can be found in the G.I. Joe Retaliation Review Index!

G.I. Joe Collector’s Club FSS wave 3 now shipping!

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Fred Meyer

According to the crew over at HISSTank.com, the 3rd shipment of the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Figure Subscription Service is now shipping to fans! (That’s got to be the longest title ever.)

The GIJCC has asked that people not reveal what items are in the shipment until “everyone has theirs.” However, if you’re curious, just click the link below and check out the top of the page to see what figures are landing in the ring this month.

FSS wave 3 revealed

Alexx Shorts: Why Not G.I. Joe Kre-O?

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Alexx

G.I. Joe Kre-O Adventure Team Commander

Hey, Alexx should review some toys already! WAIT NO NOT KRE-O AWWWWWW.

G.I. Joe Collector’s Club unveils Iceberg renewal figure mock-up

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Fred Meyer

The last few years the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club has been on a ROLL when it comes to renewal figures. From Dial-Tone to Footloose, it would seem that the Club can do no wrong when it comes to offering members an incentive to sign up for another year. That trend appears unbroken with the reveal this afternoon of a mock-up of this year’s incentive figure: Iceberg!

Here’s the official text from the GIJCC:

ICEBERG is the G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club FREE Membership Incentive Figure for 2013! This FREE figure will be sent to any 3 3/4-inch Officer level G.I. Joe Club member whose membership is active by March 16, 2013. Iceberg features a figure stand, classic file card and accessories, including: assault rifle, rocket launcher with shell, knife, sub-machine gun, snow board and backpack with attachment frame. Members can expect to receive this bagged figure with all his accessories in late spring/early summer of 2013!

If you join after the March 16th deadline, you will be eligible for the 2014 figure. Also, if you have missed any of the previous figures, check the official Club Store for availability. Please note that the 2010, 2011, and 2012 membership 3 3/4″ action figures are SOLD OUT!

Don’t miss out on these great exclusive figures! Renew your membership or sign up for the first time TODAY!

Call 1-817-448-9863 or CLICK HERE to join the Club!

Wow– I see all sorts of goodness there including 25th Snow Serpent parts as well as the snow board from the cancelled Pursuit of Cobra Arctic Duke action figure! Now, my only question is– does this figure turn into a whale or not?

Toy Fair 2013: G.I. Joe Micro Force images…

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Fred Meyer

G.I. Joe Micro Force represents on of Hasbro’s more unusual merchandising forays for the G.I. Joe brand. Similar to the gashapon figures from Japan, these tiny blind-package PVC figures are incredibly small stylized representations of our favorite Real American Heroes.

Here’s Hasbro’s official word on Micro Force:

G.I. JOE MICRO FORCE

(Approximate retail price: $2.99-$5.99; Ages: 4 & up; Available: Series 1: 2/11/13 & Series 2: 8/1/13)

Micro heroes, mega battles! Iconic G.I. JOE characters get a collectible new battle twist, as players use MICRO FORCE figures for extra small battling fun! 43 G.I. JOE MICRO FORCE figures will be available in 2013 and will feature a unique new style based on classic G.I. JOE vs. COBRA characters including SNAKE EYES, STORM SHADOW, COBRA COMMANDER, SCARLETT and more! Collect them, set them up on their included stands, and knock them down in head-to-head battling play! Each set sold separately.

G.I. JOE MICRO FORCE Series 1 Blind Bag

(Approximate retail price: $2.99; Ages: 4 & up; Available: 2/11/13)

The new G.I. JOE MICRO FORCE collectible battling experience offers fans a micro way to have big battles! For a surprise, pick up the Blind Bag, which offers two mini figures and two stands – just what kids need to start the battle! Series 1 includes 43 figures to collect!

G.I. JOE MICRO FORCE Series 1 Starter Pack

(Approximate retail price: $5.99; Ages: 4 & up; Available: 2/11/13)

The MICRO FORCE starter packs include five mini figures and five stands to help kids begin to build their MICRO FORCE collection. Series 1 includes 43 figures to collect! Each sold separately.

Here’s the most recent set of press images:

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Now, it’s been a while since I was a widely-followed presence in the Joe community but I’m still going to offer up some thoughts on this line. I have the feeling that Hasbro here is targeting the same market segment that buys the Angry Birds toys, etc and not the action figure collecting community. As such, I don’t know if they’re for me. Part of this indifference comes from the fact that a large number of the characters in the line are unproduced ninjas shown at the 2012 G.I. Joe Collector’s convention. As such, I don’t really have any attachment to these characters. It’s good to see a nod to the Adventure Team Commander and I’ve seen images of Gung-Ho in some of the on-site coverage from Toy Fair but the blind-box aspect can be a bit frustrating. (I tried to complete my girlfriends Avengers gashapon figure collection– and ended up with more Nick Fury figures than you can shake a stick at!)

Of course, this is just one Joe fan’s opinion.

JoeDeclassified.com’s Ultimate G.I. Joe Custom Contest!

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Fred Meyer

The folks over at JoeDeclassified.com have launched “The Ultimate Custom Contest” with a bevy of prizes that are hard to beat!

Check out the official announcement:

Joe Declassified and Joe Customs have joined together to bring you the ultimate custom contest! Here at Declassified, you know we love the history of the G.I. Joe brand and we love the production process – which leads to your chance to recreate unproduced Joe toys in order to win some pretty swell prizes.

Custom contest rules:

1. Customs may be figures or vehicles.
2. Any customs created for any prior contest, or that have been shown prior on the web are automatically disqualified. Customizers should submit a photo with their entry that shows their construction materials with any dated item (magazine, etc) created after the contest start date.
3. Customs must be of an unfinished Hasbro product (Rocky, for example). Anything that ever existed in any state of design is eligible. Please see the references at the bottom for further inspiration.
4. All entries are due no later than 15April2013.
5. All prize-winning customs become property of Joe Declassified, and will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to help support future Declassified endeavors. If contest winners do not wish to participate in the fundraising process, we will select the next highest rated customs to take their place.
6. No more than 3 custom entries per individual.
7. Entries MUST include real name, any online screen names, city and state of origin. All entry photos should be submitted to damnedmp@gmail.com. Please include no more than 10 photos per entry. Any questions or clarifications of contest rules should be sent to the same email address.
8. All judges and Joe Declassified staff are automatically disbarred from entry.

The Prizes:

1st prize: Carded wave 14 Storm Shadow

2nd prize: all 13 Club FSS figures (these will ship to the winner after all 13 have been released)

3rd prize: Set of white and red SDCC Jinxes

4th-6th prizes: Red SDCC Jinx

Judging:

Judging will be on a rating system among several categories. Points assigned by each judge individually will be averaged to determine a winner.
Judges will include:

Joe Declassified Staff

Joe Customs Staff

Chris Chung – Admin of Joesightings.com

Fred Meyer – Owner/Admin of Joe Battlelines.com

Fran O’Boyle – Owner/Admin of Hisstank.com

Justin Bell – Owner/Admin of GeneralsJoes.com

Terry Dizard – Admin of YoJoe.com

John Warden of Hasbro

Judging categories are:

Faithfulness – How accurately the custom reflects whatever existing source material is available. Difficulty – Customs accomplished through minor parts swapping vs. those that require parts fabrication.

Obscurity – The lesser known the concept, the better -bonus points for revealing unknown sourece material.

Part usage – How creative the customizers parts choices are. Paint – Painting execution and detailing.

Buyability/Playability – How much does the finished product look like something likely to sell, as well as durability to play.

Overall execution

References:

The sites listed below all include some preproduction material, but are by no means intended as an all-inclusive list.

Joe Declassified forums
Joe Intel Preprodution Archives
Joe Declassified SpecOps podcasts
YoJoe.com’s preproduction archiv
A Real American Hero Book
The 788th Armored Division

Additionally, not only do we have big prizes and big name judges, but true to Declassified form we also have some big reveals to accompany the custom contest. Over the next few weeks, in conjunction with Joe Customs, we will be revealing some previously unseen G.I.Joe 80’s history in the form of concept art images and sculpts. These concepts can be used for your customs for this contest as they are all unproduced material. See the sneak peak images below, and get ready for more to come. Keep an eye both at JoeDeclassified and JoeCustoms over the next few weeks for more inspiration and history!

Good luck!

Start preparing the parts bins and dust off those painting skills– this is going to be one contest to win!

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Toy Fair 2013: GI Joe Kre-O figures take over your Lego collection!

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Fred Meyer

One of the more unusual G.I. Joe lines to debut this year is the Kre-O series featuring our favorite Real American Heroes. Exclusive to Toys R Us, Kre-O looks Lego square in the eye and says “bring it!” Featuring characters from both the classic Generation 1 ARAH era and the earlier Adventure Team, Kre-O is a bold new direction for G.I. Joe.

Here’s the official word from Hasbro:

KRE-O G.I. JOE 2013 PRODUCT INFORMATION

A new line of KRE-O G.I. JOE building sets will be available exclusively at Toys “R” Us retail locations and www.Toysrus.com beginning in February 2013. The addition of KRE-O G.I. JOE sets to the brand’s portfolio will offer the opportunity to build environments and vehicles to play out the G.I. JOE vs. COBRA fantasy and will feature KREON figures based on popular characters from both the heroic G.I. JOE team like DUKE and SNAKE EYES as well as the villainous COBRA organization like FIREFLY and STORM SHADOW.

Beginning with the single packs:

KRE-O G.I. JOE KREON FIGURE PACKS
(Approximate retail price: $3.19; Ages: 6-12; Available: Spring 2013)
Start your KRE-O G.I. JOE collection with these iconic G.I. JOE and COBRA characters! Each G.I. JOE KREON figure comes with a unique weapon and cool accessories, and is sold blind-bagged. The first wave of characters includes CRAIG “ROCK N’ ROLL” MCCONNEL, KIM ARASHIKAGE, COBRA TROOPER, CRIMSON GUARD, SCARLETT, COBRA AXE NINJA, COBRA NINJA VIPER, QUICK KICK, ALLEY VIPER, EDWARD “TORPEDO” LEILOHA, and ADVENTURE TEAM COMMANDER. Each sold separately.

Wave 1:

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Wave 2:

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Also included in the line are the “action sets”:
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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 Con 2013: Charbroil unmasked!

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Fred Meyer

I’m a bit tardy on posting this but the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club has unveiled the “man behind the mask” for their forthcoming Charbroil convention figure! Take a look and see if he looks familiar:

The GIJCC has shown us once again that a simple swap of color palate can produce an entirely new character. Eagle-eyed fans will recognize this as the Hydro-Viper from the stunning Defense of Cobra Island 7 pack released a few years ago that was recently reused as the Figure Subscription Service Dice figure!

I’ll admit it– the change in hair color works. (The Dice image is courtesy of GeneralsJoes.com.) It helps to differentiate Charbroil from Dice enough that they don’t appear to be twins at first glance. Sure, it’s a cost-saving method by the Club to reuse an existing figure tool for the head but it’s one that works for the most part. It’s nowhere near as bad as the case of limited genetics that was the original 1982 line-up!!

For more information on the 2013 G.I. Joe Collector’s Convention, visit GIJoeCon.com!