GI Joe Memories, Part 2

Time to carry on with the GI Joe memories from this post.

1. Keel Haul - When the Flagg came out, I knew there was no way that I was going to get it. It was just too dang big. The Defiant Complex was a little bit of a different situation. The Complex was a beast, but it wasn't quite the huge beast that the Flagg was. I figured that getting Admiral Keel Haul was going to be near impossible. Oddly enough, the kid's pizza restaurant, Chuck E. Cheese, came to my rescue. I don't recall when I actually got the Keel Haul figure, but I think it may have been in the early 90's. Somehow I found out about a promotion at Chuck E. Cheese in which the Keel Haul figure was being given away as prize for some of their games. Well, the next chance I got, I headed to the nearest Chuck E. Cheese and I was able to pick up one for just a few dollars. Score! I added Keel Haul to my ranks without the investment of the Flagg. Over the past few years, I have drastically reduced the size of my old ARAH collection. I think Keel Haul will be one of the ones that stays with me.
2. 12" Modern Figures - As someone who grew up with the original GI Joe figures, when Hasbro reintroduced the 12" soldier into the stores, I was all over them. Target started the rebirth of the 12" line with their exclusive Duke figure. Hasbro moved forward with a 30th Anniversary line, which were cool, but lacking drastically in the articulation of the figures. Eventually, Hasbro released a 40th Anniversary serieswhich replicated the original GI Joe and many of the original style sets. This progressed to further development into more a modern style of 12"articulated figure, especially the super articulated body. For a few years, I was pretty intensly focused on the 12" lines. Many of the new troops were modern military soldiers. Hasbro also started putting out 12" versions of the ARAH characters. They also had a huge assortment of varied head sculpts. This lead to a bit of an obsession with creating as many ARAH characters in 12" size as I possibly could. I even have another blog, somewhat abandoned, primarily devoted to the big guys. One day, I'll get back to it. One day.
3. 25th Anniversary boxed set - When I first saw the pictures online of the new rebirth of GI Joe with the boxed sets for the 25th Anniversary, I wasn't really that impressed. Everything I saw about them highlighted the flaws in those initial designs. I was willing to just let them pass by. I happened to stumble upon a battered clearanced boxed set of those first five GI Joe figures and bought it. Sure, they had issues, but dammit, they were pretty cool! It didn't take too long until I was addicted to these new figures and have been hooked ever since!
4. Zombie Viper Wave - The Rise of Cobra had come and gone and the GI Joe line transitioned into the Pursuit of Cobra with Renegades figures and 30th Anniversary figures soon to follow. One day, I happened to swing by a local Walmart after work and there was one peg hook that looked to be freshly stocked with new figures. I'm pretty sure I bought ten figures that day. I think I paid a few bucks over $80.00. Let's se if I can remember all of them... Renegades Duke, Scarlett, Tunnel Rat, Ripcord, and Airtight. Lifeline, Sci-Fi, Law & Order, and two Zombie Vipers. Hell yeah!
5. Dollar General figures- The late Gary Head was the original source of information about these figures. I saw his pictures of the figures that he acquired prior to the figures making it to Dollar General stores. Once they showed up... Holy crap, I was all over them! Especially the Cobra soldiers both in the black uniforms and the later lighter blue uniforms. Of the six figures, from both redeco'd waves, the Cobra soldiers were my favorite and I never passed on them when I saw them. Never. My next favorite was the Storm Shadow figures, both of which I use as members of different ninja clans. Shipwreck was next; such an awesome base for customs. Next up was the "Duke" figure. Not so much, I never bought too many. Finally, tied for last place were the Snake Eyes and Cobra Commander figures. Both sucked, but not bad enough for me not to buy at least a couple of each color versions. I really wish Hasbro would revisit this concept again. Those figures were a great way to keep GI Joe out in the retail environment.

I've decided to cut down the list of memories from my previous post. Perhaps I'll revisit this idea again. How about you? What sort of GI Joe memories do you have? Share one or two in the comments!

GI Joe Con 2017, Here I Come!

The last official GI Joe Convention that I went to was back in 2006 when the GI Joe Collectors Club brought the convention to Atlanta. I went for the day and maybe only picked up a few things from the dealer's room. We were in the process of getting ourselves out of some serious financial crap, so there wasn't a whole lot of extra disposable income.

Eleven years later, life has changed quite a bit. My wife and I are much wiser financially than we were in the past. Plus we're a few years older, so it's time to live a little and enjoy life. Plus that whole heart surgery thing from last summer kind of puts things in perspective. (yeah, I brought it up... again... suck it up, that story ain't going anywhere)

The fact that this year's convention is in Orlando helps a great deal. It's just one state away! An added bonus will be the use of a relative's condo in Ormond Beach, just north of Daytona. Okay, sure, I'm going to have to drive quite a bit, but at least I'm not paying Disney hotel prices.

This year's convention set is not without controversy. The Club chose to go with Battle Force 2000 vs Cobra BATs. To me, BF2000 was always going to be a tough set to somewhat duplicate in the modern form. The original BF2000 figures from 1987 were all unique figures that used all brand new construction. This was going to be a tough challenge.

Personally, I've always thought that the whole BF2000 concept, figures and vehicles, was a great idea, but it just seemed like it was rushed by Hasbro. Stuff just didn't quite fit together. Even the figures were just... odd. But they were still so cool to me. 

Larry Hama did a great job introducing them in the comic. He used the team several times before their untimely death. What was the reason behind wiping out nearly the whole team? Perhaps I'll ask him at the Convention.

The figures from the Convention set have all been revealed,much to the ire of many GI Joe fans. Personally, I think the set looks great. I'm sort of a Club apologist, so I like the work they've done. The key, when looking at these figures, is to understand that you probably have no idea about how the Club goes about deciding on figure construction. The essential element is that they have to work with what Hasbro has available. I'm hoping that Hasbro is putting forth at least some effort to help out the Club with tooling resources, but it's hard to say, especially with GI Joe's current sad status in the toy aisles of the retail world.

As far as the six core members of BF2000, I think the Club did a decent job of replicating the overall look of the original figures. Sure, there are issues, but what exactly did the Club have to work with? Seriously, how much extra money would have been needed to tool up Blaster's face mask and Blocker's visor? And who really cares? Not me. Later releases of Blocker didn't even include the visor. 

As far as the Cobra side of the set, "fans" have been in a frenzy. There's basically two figures for the Cobra side, one BAT leader and eight BAT soldiers. Eight of the same exact figure. Maybe not a good choice, but then again, I don't know the reason why this choice was made. Perhaps, just perhaps, since the 2017 Convention wasn't supposed to happen after the 2016 Convention until Hasbro made a change, maybe the concepts weren't worked out fully for the set? Maybe BF2000 was in the design stage and the original Cobra opponents weren't? Maybe since the BAT mold was recently used by Hasbro, maybe they were available and could be cranked out quickly enough to get the sets ready? I don't know, I'm just speculating.

So here's the figures from the 2017 Convention set. I'm excited that I'm going to be there and am looking forward to this set and whatever exclusives are available at the show.

Avalanche & the BAT leader

Blaster & Blocker

Dodger & Knockdown

Maverick & BAT soldier 

Share your thoughts in the comments! Are you going? If so, see you there!

GI Joe Memories, Part 1

GI Joe has been a part of my life for almost my entire life. I played with the 11.5" GI Joe in the late 60's, early 70's. The 3 3/4" troops arrived in 1982 and I've been a fan of the small scale figures pretty much ever since. There have been a few years periodically that I drifted away, but I've always found my way back.

I thought that I would write out a few of my various GI Joe memories from across my 54 years. 

1. Thoughts as a Kid - I had some amazing adventures with the big GI Joes when I was a kid. I've got a cousin, Randy, who lives in Massachusetts and we played everyday when I would visit from South Florida. His mom used to go to the Hasbro employee store and buy him some awesome equipment for his GI Joes. He had these huge dirt hills in his backyard and they were constantly under assault from our troops. I also have vague memories of the Sears toy department and the famous "valley of green," full of a huge assortment of GI Joe troops and equipment. I remember having the Five Star Jeep with the trailer, the Mercury Space Capsule, and that glorious yellow Adventure Team Helicopter. I think I'm going to need to write another post detailing these memories.
2. 1982 - K-Mart - I'm pretty sure the GI Joe comic came out first, with the new line of action figures following soon afterward. Now I was 19 at the time and still interested in action figures. I had been collecting the Star Wars and a few others, so it was very easy for me to transition into this new size for GI Joe. K Mart and Lionel Playworld were the only toy options in the area. Walmart and Toys R Us had not yet arrived in the area. Lionel was an awesome store, but K Mart was the first place that I found the new GI Joe figures. I remember seeing the figures in the store and I think that I bought Rock n Roll, Stalker, Flash, and the RAM first. I promptly went out my car and opened them up, fiddling about with these new GI Joes and this new vehicle. So cool! I'm not sure which figures were still in the store, but I went back in and bought one of each of the rest of them. Hooked on the small scale GI Joe ever since.
3. 1983 - Lionel - Lionel Playworld/Lionel Leisure City was an amazing place. When my family moved to Georgia from Florida around 1972-73, Lionel was the place for toys and hobbies.They had a huge model department that was just phenomenal. As I got older and got my drivers license, Lionel was a frequent place for me to visit, especially when GI Joe showed up. I made the note of 1983 as a key moment for Lionel because I remember the huge endcap of the new (2nd wave) of GI Joe figures. I think nearly all of the Joes were out in that first wave. Destro was not out yet, but he would be soon! To this day, at least when GI Joe had a retail presence, there was something magical about thumbing through the carded figures, making sure you saw each character that was available.
4. 1984 - Tollbooth - Some of my readers may be familiar with my story about Tollbooth. Here's the thing, I was 19 and unattached when the ARAH line appeared. Despite being a toy nerd, I actually did find a girlfriend who would become my fiance. I think we got engaged in 1984, she would remember, I don't remember exactly. I do know our anniversary date, so my memory isn't totally shot. We got married in September of 1985, and my girlfriend/fiance bought me an awesome gift for the Christmas of 1984. This was way before the internet and finding out what new figures were coming out for the new year. Much to my surprise, Lisa had bought me the Toss n' Cross Bridgelayer with Tollbooth. I had to marry her, right? She's been stuck with me and has stuck by me ever since!
5. 1985 - First Wave with Swivel Necks - My girlfriend worked in the evenings at one of the department stores at the local mall, so I would often visit her at work. Back then, Kay-Bee Toys was a pretty cool toy store. Still over priced compared to Toys R Us or Lionel, but still a toy store! I first spotted the new figures for 1985 at Kay-Bee. I'm pretty sure that Flint, Shipwreck, Airtight, and the Crimson Guard may have been some of the first figures that I bought that year. When I opened them up, I was quite surprised by the new neck articulation. The swivel arm grip had been out for e couple years and this new innovation was such an improvement on the figures.
6. Terror Drome - Fast forward a little to 1987, my now wife and I were living in Jacksonville, FL after transferring with an airline job. The Terror Drome came out in 1986 and was slowly making its way out of stores for the next couple of years. I happened to pick one up at the Lionel Playworld in Jacksonville on clearance. I don't recall the price, but it was marked down enough that my new bride was okay with the purchase. Such an awesome piece of GI Joe history! Sadly, I no longer have it. I sold it in one of those years where my interest in GI Joe had faded a little. I wish I still had it...
7. Defiant - The Defiant Complex has a little bit of personal tragedy behind it. When I first saw it in the catalogs in the new vehicles for 1987, I knew that I wanted it, but it was unlikely that I would ever get one. It was pretty expensive back in 1987. Then the giant boxes started showing up at Toys R Us! Holy crap, that box was huge! But it was still out of my price range. Fast forward to late 1989 and the tragic death of my mother in September of that year. We had an infant son added to our family in 1988 and had moved back to Georgia in early 1989. Horrible event surrounding my mother's death. Maybe I've written about it before in the early days of this blog. Maybe I'll write about it again one day. Eventually her estate was settled and my siblings and I got a small modest sum of money. I used a portion of that money, probably in early 1990, to buy a clearanced Defiant Complex at the local TRU. I had a Toyota pick up truck at the time and that beast of a box nearly filled the entire bed of the truck! It took me a few days to build it. Family stuff, infant son, a job, those sorts of things. It was amazing! But it was so dang big. I never really had a place to properly display it. Eventually, as we moved, the Defiant took a few hits here and there and began to suffer with age and neglect. The fate of the Defiant wound up that it was taken apart and sold piece by piece. The whole Complex had suffered enough that it wouldn't bring the kind of money that I was hoping to get. Parted out, as well as selling the two drivers, gained me a whole lot more money. By selling off chunks of the Defiant Complex, I was able to finance one year of the FSS and buy some of the late wave Retaliation figures. Not a bad legacy for the Defiant Complex, I suppose.
8. Keel Haul
9. 12" Modern Figures
10. New Sculpt Era
11. 25th Anniversary boxed set
12. Zombie Viper Wave
13. BATs at Family Dollar
14. Dollar General figures
15. 50th Anniversary

This post is getting a bit bloated. I'm going to wrap up this post and continue on with the rest of the list in a later post.

Share your GI Joe memories in a comment!

Snow Day!

Back when we lived on the south side of Atlanta, snow was a rare occurrence. Now that we're on the north side, it seems like snow will be more of an issue to deal with. A couple weeks ago, as you may know, a big storm swept across the country, swinging down into the southern states. It swept across the northern portion of Georgia, barely brushing Atlanta and the southern suburbs.

But we got some snow in Cherokee County! It was enough snow and ice to shut down schools for a couple days. Yeah, don't laugh, northern readers, we don't get snow very often!

When it snows, it's time to bring out the arctic related toys and get some pictures! One drawback... I'm older and don't feel like putting up with the cold weather for too long, so there's just a few pictures.

FSS 5.0: Cobra Viper & Charbroil

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!

The first two figures from the GI Joe Collector's Club FSS 5.0 have been shipped!

If you don't know which figures have been released, you obviously aren't very active in any of the GI Joe pages on Facebook. Besides, what's the big surprise? Two of the previously announced figures have arrived in your mailbox. I suppose the only surprise is the order in which the figures come out and the identity of #13.

Oh, wait... I gave it away in the title of the this post... Dang it...

First up, I'll take a quick look at the Cobra Viper. Once again, the Club went with a troop builder as one of the FSS figures. I can't really blame them because named specific characters are much fewer on the Cobra side versus all of the individuals on the GI Joe team.

Honestly, when the o-ring figure that this troop is based on came out back in 1994, I wasn't very impressed. I've always been a Viper fan, but a fan of the original Viper from 1986. They rocked! I had about a dozen of those guys and I've got a dozen or so of their modern PoC/30th updates.

 

I'm afraid that I just don't like this guy enough to keep him. There always seems to be a few figures from each FSS that just don't get to stay. FSS 5.0 may only have this guy and one more; we'll see how Guacho turns out. Basically, I'm just not impressed with this Viper. I'm usually a strong supporter of the Club's efforts, but they don't always hit the mark. This troop misses the mark for me. Off to the secondary market; somebody out there is going to want to troop build this figure.

Next up is Charbroil. The Club previously released Charbroil as a part of the 2013 Nocturnal Fire convention set. All of the other Joes from this set were released in prior FSS sets. Charbroil finally makes it out in his original colors.

I'm quite pleased with how Charbroil turned out. He's pretty much a straight reuse of the figure that the Club came up with for the convention set, with one exception. His head.

In terms of the original o-ring figures, I was more of a fan of Blowtorch than Charbroil. Blowtorch just seemed to work better with all of his bits of gear. Charbroil just didn't work for me. The head sculpt was goofy looking, and the gear was just clumsy to me. Now with the modern figures, they've switched places. I like what the Club did to come up with Charbroil over what Hasbro did to recreate Blowtorch in the modern format. 

The Club used the Retaliation GI Joe trooper body as the base with the same web gear. The flame projection unit comes from a Torch figure from 2005. I think that was the first use of that weapon. I was away from GI Joe for a few years back then.

I suppose the drawback to this version of Charbroil is his head sculpt, or the lack of his head sculpt. The Club chose to go with the head originally used for the Para-Viper figure rather than the head sculpt they used with the Nocturnal Fire version. Damn you , Club!!! Why you no?!?!?

I have no idea why they went this route, I'm guessing it may have had to do with what parts were available, or maybe even a cost factor. I would image that a full face sculpt might cost a little more to produce over a masked head sculpt. Few paint apps needed?

I don't really care that much about this masked head. I think it looks pretty cool with the uniform. Here's a guy with tanks of jellied gasoline on his back and he wears a flame retardant hood under his helmet. Makes sense to me.

This flame projection unit is so much more superior to Blowtorch's clunky gear.

I'm quite pleased with how Charbroil turned out. The Club earned a solid hit with me for this guy. Not so much for the Viper. But here's the big question and it really goes back to Hasbro. Why have flame projection specialists? The U.S. Department of Defense pulled the flame thrower from its arsenal back in 1978. The argument that it was not as effective a weapon on the modern battlefield was one issue. With more conflicts being televised, this weapon would cause quite a bit of terror in the public eye.

I suppose Hasbro included it with several of their troops was because that, regardless of the carnage it caused, shooting out massive amounts of flame towards the enemy is pretty bad ass. 

Besides...

...those zombie vipers aren't going to burn themselves! Light 'em up, Charbroil!

Woo Hoo!! FSS 5.0 has begun!! Gimmee' moar figures!!!

More FSS 5.0 reviews headed your way!