G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero

[RoIIo Tomassi]

I keep seeing the Firefly vs Green shirts army builders. If I were collecting GIJoe like I did Star Wars ten years ago, I would probably have about a hundred "Green Shirts" by now. And 20 Fireflies. And who the fuck needs that many Fireflies?

[jjreason]

Well, if you keep losing the cell phone....

I just got the Hard Master & Snake Eyes comic pack, and it makes me want to be a ninja more than just about anything else ever has - except for Enter the Ninja of course, in which the white Ninja got to where the white ninja suit.

[Orbsah Stealth Ninja]

Ah jjleason-san. Hald Mastel and Snake Eye pack is vely nice. I tink you should tly to be ninja rike me.

Arr hair douche! OYES!

[anarky]

Are you guys ready for the fourth Wild Bill figure?

No, I ain't making this shit up. He comes with a Tiger Force Rattler (or "Rat," as they call it). Meanwhile, a Python Patrol Viper comes with a Python Patrol Conquest. Again, they're Target exclusives.

So, to get the basic army builder for the Python Patrol, I've got to buy a fucking plane that looks like shit? Screw that.

[jjreason]

I just created a small display with my modern figures of the Joes from the first 2 waves of the 80's line - they look wicked with the VAMP as the set piece.

I don't have a number of the original team, but Hawk from the TRU pack is set up with Stalkers JUMP pack from the DVD set which looks cool. I don't have Tripwire, Doc or Gung Ho detracting from the badassedness either - so it looks extra cool to me.

Airborne is so motherfuckin' Delta Force, it's giving me a semi.

[Ran]

Today, Target had 2 new DVD packs and some new comic packs. The Dataframe figure that comes with the Beachhead 2-pack looks pretty lame. Wasn't his name "Mainframe" back in the 80s? They didn't restock regular figures yet.

Is there a scheduled re-set date for Walmart or Target for either SW or GI Joe?

[Ran]

One Target I went to this weekend had that exclusive battlepack for $45.

[Ran]

Triple post. Cobra Commander is Grimlock's daddy.


So is the 25th Anniversary line dead? I haven't seen or heard of anything else new coming out.

[anarky]

There's two internet exclusive 7-packs that include Mindbender, a Night Creeper, Recondo, Zap, Chuckles, Outback, a crapload of specialized Vipers, and some other Joes. Hasbro claims it's a way to get figures collectors wanted and they sculpted but aren't slated for the line. It's going to movie stuff soon, and Hasbro won't answer if the line is dead, but there are a few classic figures mixed in with the movie line (like Monkeywrench and the updated early 2000s Shipwreck), never mind they don't look consistent with the movie's (lack of) style.

[Ran]

So it is dead for the time being. Like the classic Transformers.

[anarky]

Yup. But you might want to keep an eye on the ROTC figures, as some classic items will be sneaking in there. Unlike Transformers, where the characters looked dramatically different from earlier versions, GIJoe has to remain human, so it's not too tough to sneak 'em in. Like I said before, Monkeywrench, Shipwreck in the toboggan*, and a Night Creeper are already confirmed.

*--What we widely call in the South a toboggan. I discovered after moving here that every other part of the country not only calls it a knit cap instead of a toboggan, but thinks it's the funniest regionalism ever. Never mind that Californians call it a "beanie," despite it not having a propeller.

[mabudon]

I believe the real word is toque, pronounced toook

Tobboggan, that is truly ridiculous, do you call bathing caps "jet-skis" too or what?

[anarky]

I've not got any idea how it originated, but it's common in Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, and understood in the surrounding states.

[vynsane]

I've not got any idea how it originated, but it's common in Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, and understood in the surrounding states.

so, basically anywhere they don't get snow on a regular basis, they've misappropriated the word meaning 'sled' or 'sleigh' to be a wool knit cap? i'm glad i didn't encounter this in my stint in raleigh. it would've been embarrassing how much i would've made fun of it.

[anarky]

So wanna hear about "sucktown"?

The "final" 25th Anniversary figures will soon be available, if they're not already. They're a shared online exclusive.

Set 1: Assault on Cobra Island: Outback, Recondo, Zap, Chuckles, Hit & Run, Wetsuit, and Freefall [there's some debate over whether Freefall is a vintage-style Ripcord with a new name due to the fact he's a black dude in the movie and in Resolute, but there's a lesser-known figure from 1990 called Freefall, so I'm guessing that's who it is]
Set 2: Defense of Cobra Island: Dr. Mindbender, Range-Viper, Alley-Viper, Lamprey, BAT, Night Creeper, & Strato-Viper

The good is that it's all new stuff (the BAT is the canceled battle-damaged version, and Outback and the Strato-Viper are both being issued separately but haven't come out, so this is their first release), and a set of both is $70, so $5 a figure (about $3 less than they're going for now). The bad, well, it all revolves around that Cobra Set. Strato-Viper and Lamprey are vehicle drivers. Unlike Wild Bill or Hawk, they were never important enough to justify a carded release. Seems weird to have them. Night Creepers aren't technically even Cobras--they rarely even work with them! Worst, six army builders and a Dr Mindbender? I'm not complaining about the not-so-good Doctor, but this is like the proverbial Vader with the Stormtroopers (or Firefly with the Greenshirts, or Snake Eyes with the Red Ninjas--you get the picture).

The final wave of vehicles is coming out, too. It was canceled in early 2009, and is now another online shared exclusive. It will only be sold as a case of four vehicles:

Stinger (basically a VAMP in Cobra color scheme) with Stinger Commander (this was a grey Cobra Officer in the original line, but they've given him some additional detailing and gear from the 2008 Cobra Bazooka Trooper and gave him a new name, I suppose)
Arctic HISS Tank with Arctic-Gear HISS Driver (very nice looking)
CLAW Glider with Strato-Viper vs FLAK Cannon with Outback (can't complain, even though both the figures are being released in the 7-packs)
Ghost Hawk (originally called the Skyhawk) with Lift Ticket (ARRRRRGH!!! Son of a bitch! This was released last year and, though it was one of the tougher ones to get, I found one! What the fuck? I don't need two! I suppose I can use the second one anyway, as there are lots of Joes qualified on helicopters, so it doesn't hurt. But another Lift Ticket? I'm guessing he'll be customized into the late Crazylegs.)

These are $66, which is $16.50 per vehicle--more than this size vehicle was last year, but actually cheaper than the ROC vehicles in the same scale. Trouble is, the Ghost Hawk is a repeat. So, for the new vehicles, it's $22 each.

And some people don't even want the Arctic HISS. I can't fathom why, but, for those people, it'd be $33 each for the other new vehicles.