Reasonably Intelligent Rambling

It's been a while...

2013-04-29T14:33:00.000-05:00

I guess it isn't as bad as I thought. It has only been just over a month since I've posted last. For my handful of followers, I haven't given up on GI Joe, I've just been busy as hell.

A number of 1:1 scale events have impacted my life that has put the hobby on hiatus for a while. I've been working on my Education Specialist degree, so that's been a load of extra work.

As hinted in an earlier post, there was the possiblity of a move and a new location for my stuff. Well that only took about four months for the sale to go through and the move to occur. we still have our other house and are working quickly to get it on the market.

The new place is great and I've got a decent "play" area with some good potential for some cool display space. But not yet. There's a ton of other stuff to do. New paint, repairs, unpacking, repacking, sorting, and getting rid of some stuff. The "honey-do" list is pretty big! But I'm hoping to get some me-time in there once in a while. I really need to get a mini photo studio set up to get some new pictures taken. I've got some cool ideas in regards to the new Retaliation figures that are out now that the movie was finally released.

Oh yeah... GI Joe: Retaliation... my thoughts?

I haven't seen it yet... I've been a die-hard GI Joe fan for so long and I still haven't seen it. We were moving right at the time the movie came out and it really didn't seem like a wise health conscious move to take a break from packing and moving to go see a movie.

I think the DVD release is just a couple months away. I can be patient enough for that. It might show up when the next wave of kick-ass figures come out. Sounds good to me!

Joelanta 2013

2013-03-24T14:29:00.001-05:00

Well another Joelanta has come and gone. I don't recall how many shows I have been to, possibly at least five to six, maybe more. I think I went to a show or two before the national Joecon was here in 2006 (I think).

Maybe I've been going to Joelanta for eight years?

I wanted to primarily post pictures of the day, without too many comments. I hope you enjoy!

I was also fortunate to be able to talk to FlagPoints that evening and talk about my day at Joelanta.

You can check out the FlagPoints podcast right here!

GI Joe: Retaliation Ninja Combat Cruiser

2013-03-11T19:32:00.001-05:00

Party rockin'! It's not just a Ninja Combat Cruiser!

It's a Ninja Party Cruiser!

When I first saw pictures of the new toy-related toys from the movie, I knew I wanted one of these vehicles.

Based off of the Pursuit of Cobra VAMP, the NCC looked like a great upgrade.

Once I got one in my hands, did it measure up to my expectations? Yes and no...

The VAMP appears to have a chassis that can be easily customized with different parts to give it different features.

In this case, the existing rollbar was removed, allowing for a two-part roof structure to be put in place. With predetermined slots, there was room to add four doors to the new frame.

An addition to the new roof was a large hole designed to use the missle rack from the upgraded POC Snowcat (Wolfhound?).

It works well enough and isn't too over-sized. The missle launching feature of the rack is a great play feature for the toy.

In a side-by-side comparison, the differences stand out. The thumb-wheel for the front end winch is gone. There are other features from the VAMP that didn't make it over to the NCC.

Many of those features are sorely missed. Especially considering the price that I paid for this vehicle. I am actually convinced that this vehicle was deliberately over-priced at this one particular Target store that I bought it from. This particular store is located in a "higher income" area on the southside of Atlanta and I have noticed previously that items at this store are often more expensive than the prices for the same item at another store just a county away.

Enough griping about stuff that really doesn't impact me too much. Just pisses me off a little. Since I'm long gone from the retail environment workplace, I don't really give a shit.

The key pieces that I noticed that were missing and could have improved the NCC were the side mounted smoke cannisters and the rear spare tire.

The smoke cannisters can easily be fit into the existing tooling of the NCC if only Hasbro had included them.

The rear tire is another matter. The rear bumper of the NCC is a different unit than the bumper for the VAMP and does not have space to allow the tire to be mounted in the post of the body of the NCC/VAMP. Too bad, that would have been cool to have on the NCC. No room for spare fuel cans, either.

Hasbro saved some coin with the shitty driver figure. I guess the savings went to the roof structure. Tooling exists for the older bumper, tire and fuel cans. Surely it wouldn't have been too difficult to add a few more pieces.

Overall, I am pleased with the NCC, or VAMP Mk2 as far as I'm concerned. The plastic of the roof framework seems very light weight. The blue coloring of the body is just a bit wierd to me. I would prefer the more traditional green military color pallette for this new VAMP.

And thankfully, the ninja logo seen on the hood in the early pictures is a sticker! No thank you to big ninja stickers on the hood of my vehicle!

I think I might like at least one more, maybe two. We'll see.

Cobra Black-Shirts

2013-01-02T13:33:00.003-05:00

A bit obsessed...

Click here for more on these awesome figures!

Cobra Troopers for the Win!

2013-01-02T11:06:00.001-05:00

Have I ever said how much I love troop building Cobra soldiers?

Hasbro hit a solid grand slam with this figure. Such a great nod to the original o-ring version with all the bells and whistles of the modern era figures.

But I'm not satisfied with these guys! I just don't really like the web gear that much!

What can be done about that situation?

Check it out here for a look at my Cobra troop upgrades!

Mercer makes his move

2012-12-31T08:51:00.002-05:00

Mercer makes his move for freedom.

Lots of pictures, click here to see them.

Slaughter's Marauders 7-pack

2012-12-31T08:39:00.001-05:00

When it was announced about the Big Bad Toy Store two exclusive 7-packs of figures, I had mixed feelings and did not jump on them like many other collectors.

The two sets were Drednoks and Slaughter's Marauders. Both sets really weren't very impressive to me. I really have no use for the Drednoks in my twisted world of GI Joe. I suppose they might have a place, but I'm just not impressed with them. They would just be an irritant to both GI Joe and Cobra. Where GI Joe may capture and imprison them, Cobra would have grown weary of them and killed them all off.

Slaughter's Marauders was a different situation. This set was based on two subsets from the vintage line. Sgt. Slaughter's Renegades, featuring Mercer, Red Dog, and Taurus. Slaughter's Marauders included Spirit, Lowlight, Barbecue, Footloose, Mutt, and Sgt. Slaughter - each painted in a hideous pattern of blue and green stripes.

The update included Mercer (Mercenary), Red Dog, Taurus (Bull), Lowlight, Spirit, Barbecue, and Falcon. Apparently Falcon was included as a nod to his interaction with the Renegades from the animated GI Joe movie.

On Black Friday of this year, I got a tweet from someone in regards to a sale at BBTS. I decided to check out what they were offering. Much to my surprise, the Marauder set was on sale, while the Drednoks were not. No big deal, I wanted the Marauders more than the Dreds anyway. Final cost after shipping made each figure less than the cost of a Dollar general $6.00 figure with tax. Not bad!

So here goes with just a quick recap of each figure. Just my thoughts in regards to each figure, nothing earth-shattering. Especially since other sites have gone over these figures back when they were newly released.

Red Dog - Hasbro did a great job with this update of this Samoan member of the Renegades. There are some great tattoos on each arm. I don't recall which body is being used here, possibly Bazooka's body from the 25th Anniversary series. Not a bad figure, but the arm articulation is a bit off.

Mercer (now known as Mercenary?) - My absolute favorite figure from this 7-pack. I have always liked the character of Mercer and the simple back story from his file card. A Cobra Viper now working for GI Joe. The head sculpt is a great match to his animated look. Much of his body uses previous Cobra figures. His vest comes from the Pursuit of Cobra Alley Viper.
The only complaint about this figure is the bright colors of his outfit. I can't complain too much since the original figure had some pretty bright colors as well.

Taurus (now known as Bull?) - Largely based on the flawed POC Recondo body, Taurus misses the mark in terms of design. The head sculpt is excellent, but when used with this torso, he suffers from the downward stare.
His web gear is a bit lame as well. That chest holster is right in the way of his face. I had to remove it from the web gear.
Hell, I took off his web gear completely. He looks better without it on.

Lt Falcon - one of my top five favorite characters from the GI Joe team. So close on this figure, so very close! Falcon is my second favorite figure from this set. The first modern era update of Falcon was a tragic mess. This new version is a great update. i'm not crazy about the blue in his uniform, but I'll let that slide.
I did make a switch with his gear. The lower portion of his shirt/jacket can be easily removed and the harness thing around his shoulders slips off easily. I borrowed Spirit's gear from this set and it works great with Falcon.
His face seems more like Flint, rather than Falcon. He just looks a little more seasoned and more Flinty when I think back to his original o-ring version.

Lowlight - Just a repaint of the incredible Pursuit of Cobra Lowlight figure. I don't really mind the added blue elements of this version. The overall color palette is well done, giving him more of a jungle ops look.
Lowlight still suffers from his articulation. I have always had trouble posing him with his sniper rifle. With this version, he comes with a repaint of Recondo's rifle, which works great with him, but it is still difficult to pose him with his bulky arms.

Spirit - Still with the startled Billy-from-Predator look. The only common element between this version and his POC TRU exclusive version is his head sculpt and his arms. The body comes from... somebody else.
i do like this version, but I'm not terribly impressed. I'm not really thrilled with the bare chest.
the web gear from jungle assault Duke is always a win! Sorry, Spirit, Falcon has it now!

Barbecue - A combat camo firefighter? What? Don't get me wrong, Hasbro did a decent update on him, but green camo on a fire fighter? Huh?
I think the arms and legs come from Airtight, so there is much improvement over the original 25th version.
I think an added benefit to this figure could have been a helmet-less version with a slip on helmet.
Sorry, dude, you are my least favorite from the 7-pack.

So that's my thoughts regarding the Slaughter's Marauders 7 pack from Big Bad Toy Store. Go check them out from some great stuff!

A new space for my stuff

2012-12-31T07:24:00.002-05:00

No post since August of 2012? What a lame blog! Life interrupted and I've gotten quite behind in blogging about these silly little plastic figures. I haven't been out of the hobby, just too busy (read: too lazy) to focus on new blog posts.

Here's my new years resolution for this blog - I will try to post with much more frequency. It's a good thing that this isn't an action figure news site, because all of my news would be old news by the time I get around to sharing it.

Around the time my new posts dried up, I began work on a new degree. I'm working on my Education Specialist degree through an online course of study. It has been an additional time suck with any extra time that may have been used for my hobby. It will continue through 2013 until around September. The great news is that it will result in a raise!

Another notable event from my "hiatus" has been the pursuit of a new home. My wife and I recently came across a short sale with much more space for all of us. There's a great in-law suite downstairs for the mom-in-law so she will be much more comfortable.

Plus... there's a space downstairs that will become my future man-cave! The biggest problem that we are facing is the "hurry up and wait" syndrome. The deal for the house is under way; we're just waiting on final bank approval. The two weeks around Christmas and New Years doesn't help much. I don't think bank employees have much of a sense of urgency in order to get things done.

My "room" downstairs is in the unfinished area which will allow me to finish it as to how I would like it to be finished. This picture shows the main work area. Eventually, I would like to get some sheet rock to finish out the walls, but there are other more pressing projects to be completed first. This work table There are plenty of shelves for both storage and display. Wire shelves will work for storage, but I will need solid surface shelves for better display use. The area back to the right will be a dedicated storage area for Christmas decorations and other assorted items that will need to be stored when not in use.

Along the back wall, there are some great shelves for display of vehicles and some of my big GI Joe figures. Maybe even some mini diorama scenes?

This view shows the remaining side of my man cave. This wall, like the rest, really will need some sheet rock to enclose the walls. Once this little corner is complete and some decent shelves are attached to the wall, this area will be great for the main display area of my collection.

I am excited about finally getting an area to house my hobby and allow me to work on the creative outlet aspect of my collection.

Of course, I do understand that there are great many other projects to be done in this new home once we move in.

And therein lies the biggest issue - moving in. C'mon, bank folks! Let's get this done!

100,001

2012-08-12T17:34:00.004-05:00

On May 11, 2010, I posted a review covering some of the items from Marauder, Inc. It was just a simple review, mainly my random thoughts and a bunch of pictures.

It didn't take long before I noticed an odd trend for this silly bit of nonsense - my traffic was picking up and from all over the world.

After a little research, I noticed my post getting more and more hits from all over the world. People were searching for "types of guns" or "pictures of guns" and my silly post popped up in searches.

Today was a milestone, I guess. The hits for this post just went past 100,000. 100,001 to be exact.

One crazy silly post about tiny toy guns and I'm a world-wide sensation!

The Legendary Tom Brooks indeed.

LTB

2012-08-07T20:49:00.003-05:00

A Tale of Two Jinxes

2012-08-01T20:37:00.001-05:00

I seriously never believed that I would ever have any exclusive from San Diego Comic Con. Ever. I don't even remember when SDCC was, maybe just a few weeks ago.
Hasbro had three GI Joe exclusives at SDCC - the Shockwave HISS tank and two versions of Jinx, one red uniform and one white uniform. Usually, any excess stock goes to HasbroToyShop.com and usually sells out pretty quickly.
I missed the first round of releases on HTS and I wasn't really too concerned. The next time HTS opened up the releases, I was sitting in front of my computer and jumped right on HTS.
Amazing! There they were - ripe and ready for purchase! I would have liked the Shockwave HISS tank, but just couldn't justify the price. The Jinx figures, on the other hand, I jumped on them. Plus I ordered a Derpy My Little Pony for my daughter. Yes, for my daughter! I'm not a Bronie!
I suppose it took about a week and a half for them to finally show up. It took me a few days to even get to them to open the two Jinx figures. That's finally done and I've got pictures ready for a review.

You can check out my thoughts here.
And no, I won't be reviewing Derpy.

Lazy Boy Customs - Part Whatever

2012-06-29T14:28:00.001-05:00

I think that the best part of the new Modern Era (ME) GI Joe figures is the ease of making simple customs. There are some amazing GI Joe customs out on the web, with joecustoms.com probably being the best place for GI Joe customs.
But I'm lazy and my near vision is fuzzy as I'm getting older. Yeah, I know, reading glasses help. Dammit.
I used to make customs with the old o-ring Joes, but those always required paint to get a unified look to the swapped parts. The o-ring figures were always much easier as well.
But I'm lazy. Switching gear and heads is enough for me. One day, I'll get some more paints and give that a whirl again, but for now, enjoy these three simple LBC's.

Airborne reborn. The 25th version was pretty damn cool, but was far behind the changes that have been done since then. I used a Steel Brigade (V2) body and I think Resolute Beach Head's web gear. Looks great to me.

Sgt Stone or is it Lt Stone? I don't remember, I'm going with Sgt Stone. A one shot character from Rise of Cobra that really needed new life. The original wasn't bad, but an upgrade was needed. I used POC Hawk's body and Steel Brigade vest. Just drop his head on and he looks great! He survived the ROC mess and lives on in my collection!

Scrap Iron, good old Scrap Iron. His 25th version was just kind of bland. He had a Cobra trooper body that had the tendency to be quite floppy. I saw a custom on joedios.com and really liked the ease of the custom. Head and vest from the 25th onto a Cobra Shock Trooper body. A kind of blah character has taken on a new life for me. He has been a bigger part of my Cobra collection now that he has been "reborn."

I think part of the customization aspect of these GI Joe figures goes back to my love of the 12" GI Joes. Those guys were the ultimate in customizing. Bits and pieces from various figures could turn a plain figure into something brand new. Something that only you have done and I like that!

You can check out my custom 12" GI Joe figures here on this old lame website. One day, I'll rebuild it somewhere else.

Action Figure Storage

2012-06-29T14:04:00.003-05:00

So what is your preferred method for storing your action figures?
I personally like the reusable plastic containers that usually come with sandwich meats from the grocery store. I can use specific containers for specific types or categories of figures.

There are several different sizes as well. there's the small size that is your usual sandwich meat container. Next is the medium family sized container. Last is the jumbo family sized container.

I think that they are great. translucent sides so you can see who or what is in each container. I've got two of the small containers specifically set aside for my zombies, one for the figures and the other for the stands and extra bits that come with them.

My Cobra Troopers need three containers, one large for the figures and two small, one for stands and one for weapons.

Heck, even the plastic containers from Crystal Light are decent to use!

I had to go rescue a medium container out of the trash today. To family: What is wrong with you people? Don't you know I use these?

So what about you? How do you store your figures? Something completely different?

Leave a comment, share your storage secrets!

Marauder Inc Wave 6 Review

2012-06-29T12:01:00.001-05:00

Let's make one thing perfectly clear right up front. I don't know a dang thing about guns. There are plenty of reviews out there that cover just exactly what types of weapons these are and the technical details behind them. Not me. I just know that Marauder Inc does some seriously kick ass work and I'm a loyal customer.
The Retaliation GI Joe Trooper gets to help out with the review.

I just like cool looking weapons and how they look with my toys. So I'm just going to post pictures and include my random thoughts.

Check the pics out right here--

Cobra's Command Staff

2012-06-08T13:29:00.000-05:00

Cobra's Command Staff - from left to right

Xamot, Zartan, Tomax, Storm Shadow, Mjr Bludd, Voodoo, Mistress, Cobra Commander, Firefly, Destro, Baroness, Scrap Iron, Dr Mindbender, & Blackout

Retaliation Ninja 3 Packs

2012-06-05T09:44:00.000-05:00

Now with pictures!
I've added a couple reviews of the new Ninja 3 packs.

Ninja Showdown 3-pack
Ninja Dojo 3-pack

Hits or misses?
Go grab them - because if you don't, you'll have to wait 8 MONTHS for more!

The State of GI Joe - My Thoughts.

2012-06-05T06:46:00.002-05:00

I have been a fan of GI Joe since I was a kid. I really don't know exactly when I started playing with GI Joe, but it was probably around when I was six years old. That's all the way back to 1968, folks. Yeah, I'm that old. Not that pushing 50 is old, but I've been a Joe fan for quite a while.

Read more of my thoughts here.

From Trash to Treasure

2012-06-04T07:26:00.002-05:00

A few days ago, I sent out an inquiring tweet about the big goofy spring-loaded missile launchers from the GI Joe: Rise of Cobra figures. These things are so over-sized and drew the wrath of GI Joe collectors everywhere. I guess they forgot about Hasbro's prior use of big spring-loaded launchers back in the waning years of the original ARAH GI Joe figures.

My intention was to just trash them. I was tired of them taking up valuable storage space. Fellow Joe collector, Greg Schueller, sent a couple links to some very interesting uses of these "things" - here and here.

I decided to give it a try. I had actually dumped them in a trash can and had to retrieve them. Fortunately no "icky" stuff had been dumped on them, so it was a clean retrieval!

Apparently, this was a popular missile launcher for Hasbro to include with the ROC figures. I have no idea which figure or figures they belong to and I really no longer care. The key element in reusing these launchers is to have a bit of imagination. Initial steps are just to test fit them together to get an idea of how they can be combined. The little soft plastic pistol grips usually need to be removed to get a better idea of how they can be placed next to each other.

This was one of my first attempts. I had trimmed off the grips and decided to try this configuration. Sometimes the launchers don't quite fit smoothly next to each other, so a little bit of sanding is needed.

Just a few drags across a piece of sandpaper can smooth out some edges and allow for a closer fit. The sanded plastic also takes super glue much quicker and the pieces stick together rather quickly. Watch that super glue on the fingertips!

Now this is interesting. the bottom launcher came from a ROC figure and the top came with the Rock figure from one of the Ninja 3-packs from RET. Reusing ROC junk for RET junk. Oh well!

Here is my first batch of "things" that I have created from the launchers. I really have no idea what they are supposed to be. Mainly set dressing for dioramas, I guess. I think that they look pretty cool. Power conduits, energy transfer units, whatever. Pretty neat idea and pretty simple to create.

Scrap Iron approves!

The next step will be painting. I'm thinking a base coat of cheap gray primer as an initial layer and then add detailing with other paints. That means that I need to actually go out and buy more paints!
I guess this also means that I need to create some sort of set to use them in. Probably some sort of nefarious Cobra lab involving diabolical weapons development. Who knows?
I'll keep posting further progress of my "greeble" creations. Stay tuned!

GI Joe: Retaliation 3-Packs - Quick Thoughts

2012-05-31T17:10:00.001-05:00

I also came across the two 3-packs of "Ninja" figures today. Just a quick rundown on thoughts for each character.

Ninja Showdown Set

Storm Shadow - I am so tired of this guy. Yeah, he's cool. Blah, blah, blah. The Renegades version is the best Storm Shadow out there right now. But this is a pretty decent figure. I don't know how movie accurate he is, but not too bad - for a ninja in white. Excellent articulation!
Red Ninja - Straight up reuse of single pack red ninja and Renegades Storm Shadow mold. Molded in black and red. Nice!
Snake Eyes - Absolute Bad Ass! Almost as good as POC Snake Eyes. Almost. He really looks like a nod to version 23 of Snake Eyes. I really like Snake Eyes and he is so overused and I do grow weary of all the different versions, but this one rocks. I don't give a rat's ass about the wave 1 single pack.

Ninja Dojo Set

Kamakura - I really don't know know what to think about this figure. Just a weird looking ninja. I wouldn't have bought him on a single card. Not impressed.
Beach Head - So when did he become a ninja? Who cares? Damn fine figure. POC Snake Eyes body w POC Beach Head's... head. Works great together. New web gear that looks great. Just a little too light in the color palette of his uniform, but still the gem of this set.
Roadblock - Okay, Hasbro? Can you use the same colored plastic for the skin of the same character across the line? Please? Basically the same exact mold as the single pack except that he doesn't have the goofy thing molded in his hand. A lighter skin tone with a barely visible goatee and black tiger stripe camo on skin. And a loose fitting head. C'mon, man! I switched the hands with my single pack Rock, err... Roadblock. Much better!

No vehicles. The only vehicle that impresses me right now is the Ninja Combat Cruiser - or whatever the hell it is called. It's an update to the POC Vamp - a damn fine vehicle. And I'll need a couple of these updated Vamp's. But it looks like I'll have to wait until it is movie time next March. Not released with the other wave 1 stuff. Dammit.

Next week, I'll post pictures and more thoughts. Stay tuned!

GI Joe:Retaliation Figures - Just Some Quick Thoughts

2012-05-31T16:55:00.000-05:00

I need to get down my thoughts on the Retaliation (RET) toy line in regards to what I have been able to find. By now, if you are a GI Joe fan, you know that the movie has been delayed until March 2013 and Hasbro recently stated that no more toys will be shipped beyond what is already in the hands of retailers.

Okay, so I wasn't too stressed. I can relax and be patient. Well, not really... New toys are out there and I want some! But I couldn't jump on them when Hasbro advised retailers to break street date with the inventory on hand. I had to wait.

Over the past couple of days, I was able to go on a couple toy hunts and pick up a decent selection of figures. No pictures right now - I just want to get down my raw thoughts on these figures. I'll just list them and share some thoughts. Hang on!

Zartan - weird figure, very much a Renegades vibe with the costume design. I recently watched the Renegades episode where he got his suit and, yeah, that's him. At least partially. Maybe there are some other added design elements beyond Renegades. It's hard to say if he looks like anything we'll see in RET.
Red Ninja - very nice reuse of the Renegades Stormshadow mold. Excellent colors, not so much on the gear. I want a couple more.
Roadblock - Yeah, he's the Rock! I get the hand-grip thingy, I really do. I know it has something to do with his weapons in RET, I understand. But I don't like it. The big goofy spring loaded weapon, yeah, I hope kids enjoy it. Not me. Limited articulation on the legs, not that big of a deal to me. Remember O-ring figs, anyone? Don't bitch about it. But this is still a damn good figure. He just needs a little bit of fixing.
Cobra Commander - The helmet detail is incredible! I really like this figure. Basic articulation, but still well done.
Duke - Busted from Captain to 1st LT. Kind of a lame figure, decent body sculpt, probably custom work ahead. Looks like a decent green shirt type body.

Passed -

Single carded Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow - wise choice, better in the ninja 3-pack.
Cobra Trooper - Saw one, didn't care, still don't care, don't know if I ever will care. Compared to 30th Cobra troopers and Vipers? Really?
GI Joe Trooper - Didn't see any, dammit. Want several!

So that's it for the single carded figures that I found. More thoughts later, probably next week. With pictures!

Discount GI Joe figures - Part 1

2012-05-24T19:06:00.002-05:00

In a surprising move, Hasbro has created a discounted line of figures that is rocking the GI Joe fan base. Six iconic characters with just a few minor paint app changes or gear changes for the low price of $6.00.
I have been searching and searching for the past couple of weeks, trying to find these figures. Dollar General seems to be the target store. Maybe Family Dollar? Big Lots? Don't know right now.

I got lucky and found my first figure and it is actually my most desired figure - the Cobra Trooper in an all black uniform. This is just a quick review. I haven't had the chance to take pictures of the opened figure yet. Trust me, this is a damn fine figure.
The packaging is just so simple and really works well for the discount aspect of the figure. The card is smaller than a standard figure card. There is no file card - a disappointment, but not by much. I just really like the simplicity of the design of the packaging. Hasbro did a great job on these figures.
Once opened, you quickly realized that Hasbro cranked out a pretty decent figure for this discounted price. I'll review the figure in more detail in a later post, so I'll just cover some basics. The trooper uses the same mold as the POC/30th Cobra trooper. While there isn't as much gear as the POC/30th, there is just enough. Well, almost. The web gear is excellent. I think it comes from the 25th version of the Cobra officer and it works very well for this guy. A snug fit around the waist but a little loose at the shoulders. Close enough. Same helmet, just black.
The trooper also comes with an AK-47, I don't know the origin, but it's cool. The only drawbacks to this figure are the empty pistol holster and knife sheath. No weapons included to fill them. No big deal, shop Marauder, Inc for replacements.
The only other drawback is the trooper's face. I'm kind of getting tired of this mug, but I'll deal with it. Plus the paint app is very pale. I guess he's a Night Watch commando for Cobra, because he's not getting much sunlight!

I really don't know what role this particular style of trooper will play in my twisted Joe-world. I know one thing about this guy - I need more, many more. I have around 15 of the 30th Trooper, so I'm thinking I need at least a dozen. With the less than stellar Retaliation figures, this will be an easy buy.Plus there are tons of Dollar Generals stores in my area.
The back of the card shows the other figures in this release.
Duke - in a plain green uniform - (makes a better Grunt!) Maybe a troop builder?
Snake Eyes - similar to the version 4 o-ring figure. I always liked this sculpt and am looking forward to this guy.
Shipwreck - sort of a Devil's Due/GI Joe vs Cobra look from 2002. Great custom potential as well, so I need a couple.
Cobra Commander - meh, I'll buy just one and see how he looks out of package.
Cobra Trooper - must have many!
Stormshadow - Ninja Force style uniform, except that it looks better. I'm kind of weary of Stromshadow, mainly because there have been so many lame versions of him. Not the Renegades version, that one is the ultimate Stormy. I like him, I want the figure.
Apparently there are going to be some paint app changes to these figures as well. I've seen pictures elsewhere on the inter-webs. Decent looking - we'll see.

With all the recent shenanigans about the Retaliation movie 9 month push back and concerns over the retail presence of GI Joe, I am much more interested in these figures than the movie stuff. Cheaper in cost and pretty decent updates. Maybe Hasbro can crank out some more of these as an interim product while they figure out this movie mess.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation pushed back

2012-05-23T17:24:00.000-05:00

So how do I keep from launching into a profanity laced tirade?

Hasbro and Paramount have decided to push back the release of GI Joe: Retaliation until March 2013.
To add 3-D effects to the movie. What the f**k? Seriously? Am I that friggin' out of touch to still not see the relevance of 3-D movies?

I'm not paying extra for that shit.

So now there are toys for the movie on the shelves, ready to be sold. And no movie to support the line.
GI Joe is an iconic in-house Hasbro brand. And they just sh*t all over it. Again.
Yeah, it was going to be a tough fight against Spiderman and The Dark Knight Rises. But, damn, Bruce Willis and the Rock are in GI Joe!
Sure it wasn't going to be anywhere close to Avengers huge, but I'm sure it would have taken in a nice chunk o' change.
Joe fans across the inter-webs are pissed. And rightfully so. Me, too.

New Weapons from Marauder's

2012-05-18T18:04:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, you just need to find an adequate replacement for merchandise that just doesn't seem to work out. Destro and MARS Industries has been producing weapons for Cobra for years. Cobra Commander thought that his revitalized troops needed new, revitalized weapons. That's where Marauder, Inc and the NVR Rifle comes in.

Much to Destro's dismay...

Once I realized that this particular weapon from Marauder, Inc was loosely based on the original Viper rifle, I knew that I had to have enough for my growing army of POC/30th Vipers. The Vipers could never really hold the rifle that they came with very well. It just never seemed to fit right.

In one of my first orders from Marauder, Inc, I had ordered a couple of these rifles, only because they looked cool. I don't know much of anything about weapons, but I knew that these were cool. These weapons just fit so much better into the grip of the Vipers. They can tuck them in tight, shoulder mount them, and just get ready to unload on the GI Joe team.

Once I started picking up the new Vipers, I knew I needed more of these assault rifles. Unfortunately, Marauder, Inc was out! I posted a picture of them on their Facebook page and asked if more were on the way to the store. Fortunately, more were on the way! I just needed to be patient.

Once they arrived, I knew that I had to have one for each of my Vipers. I decided to sell a mint-on-card POC Lowlight to raise the required funds. That worked out great! I made a nice profit and reinvested into more Marauder weapons. Not only did my Vipers get these new NVR's, my other Cobra troopers received some new AK-47's.

Destro is not pleased. Cobra Commander doesn't really care what he thinks. His troops are now armed with some of the best made, most affordable weapons that a maniacal despot can afford.

Blackout

2012-05-11T05:07:00.000-05:00

Black Out has always been an interesting character. He was a GI Joe wash-out whose brother and sister both became members of the GI Joe team.

Devil's Due really went into some creative directions with this story. I don't recall Bombstrike being involved, but the conflict between the Stall brothers was a pretty intense story. Especially when Thomas Stall screwed up a mission and was imprisoned.

He was eventually recruited by Cobra and became a part of a brutal team of Cobra agents called the Plague.

The creep also boarded a Russian sub, overpowered the crew, and launched a nuclear missile, wiping out Boston. Nasty SOB!

I have always wanted an updated version of Black Out in the modern style, but had sold off my original GI Joe vs Cobra version. I got lucky and found a very cheap copy at Joelanta 2012. All I wanted was his head!

It took me a couple tries to find the right body and web gear for my custom, but I think I'm satisfied!

Recently, I decided to try to come up with a little bit of a story line involving Thomas Stall's expulsion from GI Joe and eventual recruitment into Cobra.

You can see them here.

Assorted Cobra Troopers

2012-04-29T18:56:00.002-05:00

There are techno-vipers, tele-vipers, neo-vipers, para-vipers, secto-vipers, ninja-vipers, toxo-vipers, mega-vipers, alley-vipers, kitchen-vipers, medi-vipers, air-vipers, volcano-vipers, heat-vipers, ice-vipers... on and on it goes.

And then of course, there are just the vipers.

With all of the different types of troops that Cobra Commander employees, what are their actual roles? I intend to examine this situation a little more closely in an upcoming post.

Well, of course, it will all be based on my thoughts on the different types of troops with influences from various assorted... influences. Yeah, that..

"Stop whining, your gear looks better on us."

So here we go...