G.I. Joe FSS 5 Shipment 1 is inbound!

The first shipment from G.I. Joe FSS 5 is heading to subscribers!

G.I. Joe FSS 5 logoIt’s that time again– when subscribers to the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Figure Subscription Service eagerly start checking their mailboxes and front porches on a daily basis.  That’s right Joe fans, G.I. Joe FSS 5 shipment 1 is on its way and, thanks to Alyosha of both Broken Arrow Toys and the newly-formed Chicken Fried Toys, we’ve got images of this first shipment!

For those of you who wish to remain “unspoiled” in this age of information overload, turn back now.  We’re going to highlight just exactly who is in this first shipment.

G.I. Joe FSS 4 shipment

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G.I. Joe FSS 5 sign-up is LIVE!

This isn’t a preview announcement– G.I. Joe FSS 5 sign-up is now LIVE!

G.I. Joe FSS 5 logo

That’s right– no more waiting.  If you want to be a part of G.I. Joe FSS 5, you can sign-up any time between NOW and September 2, 2016!  Of course, membership in the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club is required for purchase.  This year’s sub will set subscribers back a cool $336.00 + shipping in either one lump payment or three installments of $112.00.   (There is an extra transaction fee for the installment plan, per the Club’s usual policy.)

So, if you’re at all interested in this year’s wave of 12 stated figures plus the mysterious 13th bonus character, head on over and sign-up today!

Here’s the official announcement straight from the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club:

The GIJCC Figure Subscription Service 5.0 is an optional separate purchase if you are an active member of the G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club. You can subscribe now through September 2nd deadline!

The cost of the 12 figure subscription service is $336 (+ shipping for 6 shipments). You can pay all at once or in three installments of $112 (billed to your credit card). When you subscribe and choose pay by Installment, you will be billed for the first two month’s shipments. Then sometime during the second month of shipping you will be billed for the 3rd and 4th months’ shipments and sometime during the 4th month of shipping you will be billed for the final 2 months’ shipments. Upon subscription completion, you will receive a bonus carded 13th mystery figure with the last shipment.

Please note that for the installment payment option, there is a $6 service charge per billing while the pay in full option has one $6 service charge. Please also note that for installment buyers, there is an additional charge each time a billing is attempted if your card is not approved. If your card has been declined and we have to re-bill, we will only be able to retry your billing three (3) times before your subscription is cancelled. Each retry has an additional fee added to your total charge (please see the Terms and Conditions.)

This Figure Subscription Service is a “build to order process” so you can order as many as you like, until the order period closes. At that time, we will not process any additional subscriptions and we may/may not have additional figures in the club store at a higher per figure price.

Please note that these are Photoshop mock-ups and the final product may vary. Also note that the colors are approximate as some may look glossy and everyone’s computer screen has a different look/calibration. Final figures colors/names/accessories may vary from the above descriptions and pictures.

Thanks for posting this on all your boards!  Order now!

Brian

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G.I. Joe FSS 5 Battle Corps Cobra Viper preview!

The G.I. Joe FSS 5 previews continue today with a look at the mock-up for the Battle Corps Cobra Viper!

G.I. Joe FSS 5 Battle Corps Cobra Viper

COBRA BATTLE CORPS: COBRA VIPER
(Based on the 1994 Battle Corps action figure!)

Includes: assault rifle, grenade launcher, backpack dagger, pistol, and figure stand.

NOTE: All images are Photoshop representations, final product, accessories and/or colors may vary!

I’m not going to lie — I’m not really a fan of the 1994 Cobra Viper design.  Yes, Hasbro tried something new in that final year and I’ll applaud them for taking some design risks but it just wasn’t my cup of Joe.  (Pun so obviously intended.)  I’m not saying that I don’t like the design aesthetics as I think they were so elegantly repurposed years later as the 2005 Iron Anvil paratroopers.  Instead it’s just that this design doesn’t scream “Cobra Viper!” to me.

Now that my own preferences are safely out of the way, I have to say that this isn’t a bad update at all. I had expected the 2015 “Peril in Paradise” Iron Anvil trooper in a 1994 color scheme.  Instead, this appears to be a Pursuit of Cobra Jungle Viper with what appear to be Retalition Cobra Trooper arms.  This works “well enough” for G.I. Joe FSS 5 because it keeps tooling dollars down and still makes what is essentially an end-of-the-line design available for those who want it.  Fans of the later-era figures are going to be pleased, even if troop-building this figure is going to prove to be a financially challenging scenario.

Five days, five figure previews.  We’ve pretty much knocked off the first five figures revealed at Joe Con 2016.  Does this mean that Salvo is up for Monday? Continue reading

Joe Con 2016: G.I. Joe Collector’s Club news & FSS 5 lineup

The G.I. Joe Collector’s Club has completed the Joe Con 2016 Roundtable panel and it was a doozy!

G.I. Joe Collector's Club logo

Perhaps the biggest news of Joe Con 2016 concerning the Club came from the Hasbro panel held earlier in the day where it was revealed that Hasbro has decided to continue its relationship with Fun Publications through 2018.  Despite rumors and all evidence to the contrary earlier this year, the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club has a two-year lease on life! Whatever transpired in the months since the Club announced that all memberships would end on December 31, 2016 it certainly seemed to be beneficial for the folks at Fun Publications.  (Did the Save G.I. Joe petition have any impact?)

Next year’s convention will be June 15 – 18, 2017 at Walt Disney World!

Hasbro announcement

However, the most pressing question on the minds of most G.I. Joe fans out there was “What is the line-up for FSS 5?

Here are the “Quick Notes” from today’s panel…. including this year’s FSS announcement!

Introduction:

Brian Savage, David Lane, Lanny Lathem, and Pete Sinclair take the stage.

  • Contract for the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club has been extended for two more years. The Club, FSS, and convention will continue through 2018.
  • Membership renewals will turn back on later this week.
  • If your membership ran out in May & June, go to the store, login, and add it to your cart. It should reapply to your account.
  • Contract was initially NOT renewed. However, this was changed and Brian thanked the fandom for their support, including the petition from Joe Colton.  Derryl DePriest is acknowledged as the person who turned things around for the Club.
  • The renewal only took place in the last two weeks.

Sky Patrol discussion: Continue reading

Joe Con 2016: Hasbro’s G.I. Joe 2016 lineup announced!

Hasbro unveiled their G.I. Joe 2016 plans and YoJoe.com was LIVE from Joe Con 2016 with a Facebook LIVE session directly from the  panel!  We’ve got the embedded video below after the notes.

Hasbro G.I. Joe 2016

We’ve got some hastily transcribed notes below.  Expect a cleaner article with some commentary later tonight as part of the Saturday Armchair Coverage round-up!

Hasbro Writer’s Room:

  • Combination of television/movie/comic book writers. Hasbro is very proud of the talent they have amassed.
  • Creation of a shared universe combining their intellectual properties. Officially dubbed “Hasbro Cinematic Universe”—separate from IDW.  Intended as multi-film story arc.  Goal is to start to develop shared and combined stories.  Derryl was able to spend two weeks with the writers and get to work with them on shaping this shared universe.

Joe vs Transformers SDCC set:

  • Deco is decal-based. Includes Joe, Cobra, Autobot decals. This way the toys can be whatever you want them to be in your own collection.
  • Soundwave is the 5th most-popular Decepticon but hard to justify now as a cassette tape. (Same with Megatron.)

Hasbro Pulse Crossword Puzzle includes all characters listed below:

  • Stiletto
  • Scarlett
  • Zartan

Derryl – Joe is in quieter year.  Harder to get resources to produce more figures during those years. In those years, previously tooled harder-to-find figures are ideal for re-release.  100% of tooling budget is used for NEW figures.

Toys R Us G.I. Joe 2016 line-up: (November 2016)

  • Focus on figures vs vehicle sets which were slow sellers
  • Two packs will be in a 10 pack case—ALL EVENLY PACKED!

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