2013 JoeCon: Hasbro panel detail summary

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Fred Meyer

If you’ve been you’ve been following the JoeCon coverage here at JBL over the past few days– thank you! It’s been several years since I’ve been both at a con and an active part of the Joe community and there was some personal apprehension about coming back to this event after being away for nearly 4 years. However, I can honestly say that it’s good to be back in action again.

Earlier today, I posted live coverage of the Hasbro panel on Twitter. What follows here is a more detailed summary of the information that was presented earlier.

Hasbro had a very small presence at JoeCon this year. Consisting solely of Derryl DePriest and John Warden and a single display case, fan weren’t quite sure what to expect. In fact, the Dynamic Duo from Pawtucket opened their presentation by saying that they were showing the same slide show that was used at Toy Fair and that nothing new would be presented. However, some good information came out of their discussion.

In terms of G.I. Joe Retaliation, the highly anticipated wave 3 will be available later this year– and it’s looking like late July/early August. The order has been sent to the factories in China and production has begun. Figures like Kwinn, Data Viper, Ultimate Duke, Ultimate Roadblock, and Ultimate Flint will be hitting stores with a great deal of fan and retailer anticipation. During this part of the discussion, John Warden broke down some interesting facts for the wave.

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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:

[Show as slideshow]

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.

Joe Con 2012: Hasbro’s G.I. Joe press images

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Fred Meyer

While I wasn’t able to attend the Con in person this year, JBL has had a lot of help from “on the scene” photographer Photonut! However, he’s also got some help– Justin from Hunter PR has sent along these “official images” of items revealed at the 2012 Hasbro Convention presentation.

One of the biggest surprises are the PVC mini-figs know as “Micro Force”– featuring 80+ blind-packaged collectible figures. That’s right– tiny G.I. Joe figures that are perfect to adorn any computer desk. (You can see where I’m going with this already.)

In terms of G.I. Joe Retaliation movie items, here’s what you’ll see in the images below. (I’m borrowing some details from over at GeneralsJoes.com. (Justin’s done a great job covering things as usual!)

Micro Force Quarter-Sized collectible figures in blind bags. Over 80 figures to collect and trade. Foot holes are compatible with normal vehicle foot pegs for display!
Alpha sized Night Landing vehicle with Cobra Eel. Cobra Eel figure is the canceled Rise of Cobra Ripcord which is extremely detailed, highly accessorized and uses the figure design that was sculpted to resemble the Sigma 6 Sigma Suits
Night Viper is moved up to Wave 3
Combat Ninja is intended to be “movie accurate” Cobra Trooper
Very movie accurate “Ultimate Firefly” with mini-HISS in Wave 3
Very movie accurate “Cobra Trooper” (Cobra Combat Ninja) in Wave 3
Movie accurate “Ultimate Duke” (with Data-Viper Predator Drone) in Wave 3
Comic accurate/toy accurate Snake Eyes ’85 w/ Timber totally newly tooled in Wave 4
Crimson Guard in Wave 5 with customizable label sheet

You can check out all of the images in the gallery below. A big thanks to Hunter PR for making these available to fans everywhere!