Coil Con 7 – October 9, 2016 in Dayton OH

It’s back!  Coil Con 7 IS happening this year!

Coil Con 7

I’ll admit it — I wasn’t certain if Coil Con was going to be happening this year.  There’d been no updates on the Facebook page or the website in a long time but thankfully the guys behind the event have rallied and we have some official details for this year’s event to be held in Dayton, Ohio!  The teaser image dropped last week and now we’ve got more information on the venue, the date, and some of the planned activities for the day.

The Coil Con Details:

Mark your calendars! The COIL strikes again this October with COIL Con 7!

 

October 9, 2016 – 10am-4pm

 

2800 Presidential Drive Fairborn, OH 45324 at the Holiday Inn Dayton/I-675 Hotel by Wright State University off of Colonel Glenn Drive.

 

  • Show Exclusives
  • Vendor Booths
  • Door Prizes
  • Custom Contest
  • Special Guests
  • Collector Panels
  • Toys for Tots Toy Drive – bring an unopened toy for a great cause. Cash donations also accepted.

$5 admission at the door. Children 12 and under get in free. Wear a GI Joe costume and get free admission.

Coil Con is a completely fan-organized event.  That’s right– run by the fans, for the fans.  So make your plans, back your back, grab your Toys for Toys donation tiem, and get ready to hit Coil Con 7 in Fairborn, OH this October!  Trust me, from having attended past Coil Con events, it’s going to be a great day filled with Joes, Joe fans, and fun for everyone! Whether it was in Kokomo, Indianapolis, or Dayton, the Coil Con events are fun for Joe fans of all age.

For more information, including updates to the schedule of events and special guests that will be appearing, keep your eyes peeled to the Coil Con Facebook page or the Coil Club Facebook Group.

Coil Con 6 is August 15 – 16 in Dayton Ohio

Coil Con 6

Coil Con 6 will be held this year in Dayton, OH on August 15 – 16!  That’s right Joe fans, the 6th annual event is hitting the road and expanding to two full days!

It’s been exciting to watch Coil Con grow each year from its beginnings in Kokomo, IN on the grounds of Kokomo Toys to last year’s change of venue to Indianapolis.  However, this year proves to be the biggest year yet with the expansion to a two day event and the change of venue to Dayton, OH!

This event is entirely fan-driven and offers G.I. Joe collectors from across the Midwest a chance to gather together and share a common love of “all things Joe.”  There are dealers, special guests, and many opportunities just to kick back and share the love of the hobby.

While the official site hasn’t been updated yet, the announcement was made throughout many groups and communities on Facebook late last night.   For more information on scheduled events, guests, and lodging, keep your eyes peeled to both CoilCon.com as well as the official Coil Con Facebook page.

JBL had a blast at Coil Con IV and I’m planning on trying to make it back to this year’s event.   If you’re planning on attending, give a shout out in the comments below!

Coil Con V is September 13, 2014 in Indianapolis!

Coil Con V

It’s that time of year again– Coil Con V is happening in just over a week!

Nothing says “end of summer” like Coil Con, the fan-run convention that brings together G.I. Joe collectors from across the Midwest!  This year’s event promises to be bigger and better than ever as the event has outgrown its previous venue in Kokomo, IN (at ever-amazing Kokomo Toys) and instead takes over the Wyndham Indianapolis West Hotel in Indy!

In addition to a toy drive to benefit the Child Life initiative at the Indianapolis Children’s Hospital, this year’s event will feature a host of vendors, the door prize/raffle table, and the always exciting travelling exhibit of JoeDeclassified.com.  Plus, if you’ve not already seen it, check out this preview of Shrike, this year’s exclusive Coil Con figure!  (JBL received permission to mirror the images below.)  He’s the creation of Coil Club designers Jay Hunger & Brian Kauffman and will be part of a 2 figure set that’s limited to only 40 pieces!

This year’s roster of guests includes:

Check out the Coil Con V event page over at CoilCon.com for the full details and make preparations to join your fellow Joe fans in Indy in just over a week!

Plus, check out these photos from last year’s event held at Kokomo Toys!  C’mon– you KNOW you want to go!

Coil Con IV is Saturday August 24! Midwest G.I. Joe gathering!

Coil Con 2013 logo

Last weekend the East Coast was treated to the New Jersey Collector’s Convention but this week it’s the Midwest’s turn!  Coil Con IV is coming to Kokomo Indiana on Saturday, August 24!

An annual tradition that has grown in attendance over the past four years, Coil Con promises a day filled with G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe, and more G.I. Joe.  The JoeDeclassified travelling exhibit will be in attendance, featuring concept art, prototypes, and all manner of insight into the world of design for our favorite Real American Heroes.  AVAC’s Lab will be on hand with custom cast parts.  Kokomo Toys is slated to have G.I. Joe Retaliation wave 3 in stock.  Numerous other dealers including ROMA Collectibles will be onsite to help fill in any holes in fans’ current collections.  Plus, they’ll be FREE hot dogs!   Starting at 9:00am EST on the grounds of Kokomo Toys, it promises to be an exciting day under the Coil Tent!

This year’s guest list includes a roster of personalities from across the Joe fandom including:

No Joe Convention would be complete without some sort of exclusive item to take home and Coil Con IV is no exception.  This year, fans can purchase the following limited-availability items:

  • Cobra Naja Bhoot with motorcycle vs. Jesse Mach with Street Hawk – $125.00 (Featuring head sculpt by Coby Brown!)
  • Naja Bhoot 28mm gaming miniature produced by Bryan K. Borgman creator of Kaiju-Kaos
  • Naja Bhoot exclusive print from attending artist Sean Forney

For more information on attending this exciting regional gathering, check out the official website: CoilCon.com!  Check back on Monday for some pictures of the event itself.

Fanfilm: G.I. Joe: Initiate episode 1 debuts online!

GI Joe Initiate

There’s been a lot of buzz about G.I. Joe: Initiate these past few months.  Created by Joe fan and film veteran actor Frederic Doss, the film is a labor of love showcasing a more gritty and realistic take on our favorite Real American Heroes.  This weekend at Coil Con III, episode one made it’s “live debut”.  Thanks to the power of the internet, it’s also available on YouTube!

So far it’s a pretty dark story.  Fans will thrill to see what appears to be a very IDW-inspired Major Bludd and what appears to be Chuckles interrogating Beach Head!  (Our favorite deodorant-adverse ranger is played by the film’s co-writer and director!)  Other Joes making an appearance included Low Light, Recondo, Stalker, and Mercer.  Cobra is equally represented with cameos by Firefly and the Crimson Twins: Tomax and Xamot!  The whole adventure really hits me with the type of vibe that G.I. Joe: Reloaded was going for a number of years ago– a more “real world” darker take on the Joes.  With just under 7 minutes available so far it’s hard to tell to infer too much of the story but so far I’m intrigued.    As of now, I’m giving it a full-on “Yo JOE!”

To follow more of G.I. Joe: Initiate, hit ’em up on either the official website GIJoeInitiate.com or on their Facebook page!

Coil Con 2012: Exclusive gliders revealed! Also full con set pricing!

Okay, I’m officially cranky about not being able to attend the Midwest G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Coil Con 2012.  Seriously, seriously cranky.  The organizers of Coil Con 2012 today released two more exclusive images– and they’re nothing short of pure AWESOME!

Zilant and Dodger will be getting their own sweet rides this year in the form of specialized foam gliders!  It’s the very essence of a simple-but-effective exclusive and one that suits a fan-run convention perfectly!  (It’s also something that makes me curse my family-obligated inability to attend even more!)

Here’s the latest on the con pricing and sales:

The COIL CON III exclusives this year will be sold starting at 10AM. The show starts at 9AM. They will be $125 per boxset which includes 2 carded figures and 2 gliders per box. Limited to the first 40 attendees. Please, visit the official website athttp://www.coilcon.com/ for more information.

Coil Con 2012: Dodger announced as second exclusive!

G.I. Joe fans are an enterprising and industrious lot.  If there’s not a convention anywhere near them, then they’ll start they’re own.  More importantly, if they want an exclusive G.I. Joe figure for that event– they’ll make their own!   Take, for instance, the 2012 Coil Con Dodger:

 Dodger Coil Con 2012 Exclusive

“A simple and elegant reuse of existing tooling” would be my first comments on this figure.  It uses the AWESOME 30th Anniversary version of Duke for the body and the open mask head of the G.I. Joe Renegades Cobra Trooper to give it identity.  It’s an inspired parts choice that really evokes the original 1989 BF2K Dodger figure.   Coil resident designer/fabricator/”figure guy” Jay Hunger really knocked one out of the park with this one.  It really makes me wish I didn’t have a family-related conflict that weekend as I’d snatch these up like a second Renegades Storm Shadow at retail!

Coil Con will be held on September 8, 2012, at Kokomo Toys and features specials guests including:

For more information, visit http://www.coilcon.com

 

Coil Con 2012: Meet Zilant – Coil Guerilla Fighter

You’ve got to love the ingenuity of the G.I. Joe fandom.  Not merely content to attend the annual G.I. Joe Collector’s Convention and purchase the “official” exclusives at both JoeCon and the San Diego Comic Con, this fandom started producing its own exclusive figures.  For three years now a group of die-hard Joe fans based out of Indianapolis have run their own “Coil Con“– with exhibitors, special guests, and even an exclusive figure.

Held on September 8, 2012, Coil Con features specials guests including James Kavanaugh (author- RAHC Guide), Robert Atkins (artist – G.I. Joe, Snake Eyes), Gary “Gyre-Viper” Head (archivist, podcaster – Joe SpecOps podcast), and Gary Godsoe (podcaster – What’s On Joe Mind).  However, since you can’t take any of them home with you– let’s talk about who you CAN bring back.

Meet Zilant— the Coil Guerilla Fighter!

coil con 2012 zilant

Coil Con 2012 exclusive: Zilant, Cobra Guerilla Fighter

Here’s the official description:

A legendary creature from Russian and Tatar myth, the zilant is a fearsome winged snake. Sometimes helpful, sometimes destructive, they are known for fiercely protecting their homes from incursion.

Zilant was born in a small town in the Eastern European nation of Tatahkstan where he grew up sharing his father’s passion for building and flying ultralight aircraft. After Tatahkstan chose to remain independent following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Zilant joined his nation’s fledgling armed forces, committing himself to keeping his land free from occupying forces. When Tatahkstan was later ravaged by heavy fighting between G.I. Joe and Cobra, Zilant was able to escape the carnage in one of his father’s aircraft. Driven by a desire to rid his homeland of outside oppression, he joined the COIL and used their resources to raise a homegrown force to repel both foreign armies. He combined it with his knowledge of light aircraft to become an authority in the development and use of ultralight aircraft, gliders and windsuits as a method of covertly inserting special ops troops.

Recently, there’s been a new force intent on invading his homeland, so Zilant is taking action once again. He thought that he had faced and defeated his enemies, but is this new man his ultimate enemy?

In one fell swoop we’ve got a background for both the name and the character!  Hand-crafted by customizer (and now figure designer) extraordinaire Jay Hunger, these figures are sure to appeal to Joe fans seeking to add more “flavor” to their collections.    The only place to snag this figure is at Coil Con 2012 so mark your calendars for September 8, 2012 and head to Coil Con to snag your Zilant while supplies last!

For more information, check out: http://www.coilcon.com

What happens when there’s “too much geek AWESOME” in the pipeline?

Have you seen my wallet?  After a few of the announcements in the “genre world” this weekend, it’s probably hiding under the couch in fear.  Simply put– there are too many “geek products” hitting in the next few months for my mind and budget to comfortably process.  Here’s a quick rundown:

1) The G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Figure Subscription Service.   Yes, I wrote an editorial about this on Friday and have caught some flak as a result.  For just under $300 + shipping, hard-core Joe fans can snag 12 exclusive paid figures and 1 free bonus figure that will only be available through the FSS.  Places like BigBadToyStore.com have listed preorders for the figures at a logical markup which might be more cost effective for fans in the long run who aren’t interested in all 12 known figures and don’t want to have to take time to sell off the others on Ebay.  Regardless, collectors are looking at $300+ easily for this set of items.

2)  Star Trek The Original Series Soundtrack Collection.  This is something I never thought I’d see released.  The INSANE folks over at Lalaland Records are releasing a 15 CD set of EVERY note of music to appear in the classic 1960’s original Star Trek series.  Yes, that’s right– every single note.  However they’re also including the unused-by-recorded season 3 episode soundtracks as well!  As a music and soundtrack nut, this is  HUGE.  Lalaland just got me for their incredible release of both Batman: The Animated Series vol 2 and The expanded score to The Phantom and now they throw this down?  You are evil evil people.  This will easily be $300.00 but well worth it for the HOURS of music.

 

 

3) Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 1 Blu-Ray collection.  Not nearly as bad but Marvel Studios is dropping their 10 disc set of Phase 1 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe including Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain American: The First Avenger, and (what may be the greatest comic movie ever made) The Avengers.  Not only that but the set boasts new cool deco artwork for the DVD cases and a replica of the Cosmic Cube in one awesome box.  Yeah… Amazon’s got it for around $140.00 but still it’ll add up.

 

 

4) IDW’s Complete G.I. Joe Collection.  What happens when the current G.I. Joe comic publisher decides to release the entire Marvel Comic series in prestige edition hardcover format?  This does— $50.00 300 page volumes that collect Larry Hama’s now LEGENDARY run on the series into one definitive format.  Add in the mix that Joe scholar Mark Bellomo is point man on the project and these are sure to be the stuff of comic collector dreams.  The irony is that I just got my copy of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero vol 15 in the mail last week!  Now it’s time to start all over again.

5) HALO 4: Legendary Edition.  Hey!  What does a video game have to do with G.I. Joe?  Isn’t this a G.I. Joe website?  Yes it is– now sit down and read!  For many video game fans, HALO 4 quite possibly the most anticipated game release this year.  (Call of Duty Black Ops 2 will give it a run for its money at retail.)  The HALO saga is a rich story– filled with ancient races, timeless mystery, and more FPS action than fans can shake a joystick at!  343 Industry’s first installment of the new trilogy drops in November and the top edition of the game is going to set you back a cool $99.oo!  It’s not as bad as previous Legendary editions but it’s still going to add up.  However, the Covenant (and apparently the Forerunners) must pay!

 

6) New Marvel Universe!  It’s been a long time since anyone could say that new Marvel Universe figures were hitting stores.  Suddenly Toys R Us has 4 new exclusive comic packs, a new X-Factor 5 pack, and new cases of figures are finally hitting retailers!  Just snagging individual pieces here and there is going to easily run a Marvel maniac over $150.00 total.  (Heck the SDCC Masters of Evil was $30 and I shudder to think what the Super Helicarrier cost some folks.)

7) Regional G.I. Joe exclusives!  I’d be remiss in my duties if I didn’t mention two awesome Joe shows that produce some great non-Hasbro manufactured exclusives.  The Canadian Joe Con was this past weekend and fans who weren’t fortunate to be able to truck up north can still snag the 2012 Con set including 5 exclusive figures, 5 file cards, and a slick chromed vehicle for $200.00.  These tend to go fast so don’t delay if you were debating adding these “Northern Neighbors” to your Joe collection.

2012 Canadian Joe Con set

2012 Canadian Joe Con Set

It doesn’t stop there, however… the crew at the Coil Club is rapidly preparing for Coil Con 2012 and has revealed images of Zilant, the exclusive Cobra Guerila fighter!  With SLICK colors and a solid design, he’s likely to become a highly sought-after piece in the future.

coil con 2012 zilant

Coil Con 2012 exclusive: Zilant, Cobra Guerilla Fighter

So, what does all of this mean for my wallet and the wallets of many?  Some very hard choices coming up?  Figures vs. action figures vs. video games?   Heck, I’m not even factoring in two major life-changing purchases that I have to make in the next few months.  This also doesn’t take into consideration recent Comic Con exclusive or G.I. Joe Collector’s Convention purchases– all of which add up to some SERIOUS dollars!  Or, if you’re a DC/Masters of the Universe/Mattel fan then you’ve just been hit up with Club Infinite Earths, Club Eternia, and Club Black Freighter subscriptions! All-in-all it is both a good and a bad time to be a bit of a geek.   Good in that there is a LOT out there right now but bad in the regard that most of my collecting friends and I aren’t independently wealthy!

Now, if only I could find a way to either get PAID to run the site or win the lottery.  I’m open to suggestions.

Any other big “geek purchases” that I left out?  Anyone?