Sunday, September 6, 2015

Paging Dr. Kill-Shot

Never forget...


Thursday, September 3, 2015

Gung Ho: Revisited

I really like the new update. Honest, I really do. This new version is a great update of the classic o-ring figure. But there's something just a bit off...
There's just too much baby blue. Plus there's just too much YMCA vibe to that much blue. If only Hasbro had gone with the look, but toned down the light blue, maybe darker or dirtier? Maybe some green tones?
I posted a pic of this new Gung Ho on my Facebook page for this nonsense blog and Arnold Barrios, a fellow GI Joe collector, posted his simple and effective upgrade to Gung Ho. Use a Retaliation Roadblock body!
This is Gung Ho's head on the "Ultimate" Roadblock figure. Looks amazing, but I really didn't want to lose the "Rock." 
So I figured I would try Gung Ho's head on the "Battle Kata" Roadblock body. Very nice! I think I like the green more than the tan of the other body. Seems like I'm getting more and more giants on my Joe team. Roadblock, Leatherneck, Repeater, and now Gung Ho! 
So what? Who cares? They're just toys! 
I suppose I'll leave him like this for now. I like the look of this new easy custom Gung Ho. The green uniform is a nice upgrade from that awful baby blue outfit. Maybe one day, if I luck up and find another, I'll try some custom paint work on the original version.

For now, this will be my default Gung Ho figure.

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

The Corps!

That loveable, oddball, military toy line is at it again.  Largely known for their brightly colored, poorly articulated figures and their garish, misshapen vehicles, Lanard is at it again with a few gems. 
These two ladies... 
I don't think there have ever been any female characters in the history of The Corps. This is a first for Lanard and these lethal ladies seem to be a pretty big hit among the GI Joe collectors. Usually found at Walmart, The Corps has been a staple of the boy's toys aisle for quite some time. They were around way back when I worked at Walmart. Walmart seems to have a good relationship with Lanard to keep the Corps presence in the toy department. Maybe Hasbro could take a lesson? Didn't Hasbro have a military toy line once upon a time?
The most attractive feature of The Corps line from Lanard is the price. Each of these three-packs were under $7.00. For the most part, nearly all of these figures are disposable. 
The male figures in the 3-pack on the left are pretty lame. The guy all the way to the left has an amazing three points of articulation. The guy in the middle has decent upper body articulation, but the legs have the t-crotch syndrome.
The 3-pack on the right isn't much better. Same t-crotch articulation on the guy on the left. The guy in the middle has five whole points of articulation. I'm pretty sure that the male figures will be headed to the trash. I may try to salvage a couple of the heads and see if they would work with some Joe figures. The weaponry and gear are pretty lame and will head to the trash bin.


The two ladies are quite different. They have the traditional o-ring style of articulation. Pivoting knees, ball and socket hips, a slight waist articulation, swivel shoulders and elbows, and a ball and socket neck joint. Both figures share the exact same body mold. Different paint jobs and different head sculpts give the characters separate identities.

They have specific names, but I don't recall them at the moment. The two ladies are a bit too cartoony to integrate into my main GI Joe line, plus they are a bit too tall in comparison to Joe figures.

So why did I buy them? I'm pretty much a sucker for decently made female action figures.