FSS 5.0 Raptor, Steel Raven and

You already know who the mysterious 13th figure is, right?

The final shipment for FSS 5.0 has arrived! This last shipment really was a good solid hit by the Club. Let's take a quick look at the three figures.
  

Raptor is up first and the Club kicked some serious ass with this figure. They took a goofy o-ring character and turned him into a goofy modern figure. Well, maybe not as goofy as that original figure, but c'mon, he's wearing a bird costume! The formula that the Club used was very similar to what customizers have done in the past. Mostly the PoC desert Zartan figure with the "wings" from the Jungle Viper. The feet/lower legs seem to be from a Destro figure from one of the 25th two-pack sets. Everything just works great together!

Raptor looks so cool now, I think he needs an upgrade to his character. He looks almost menacing right now.

But can he fly with these "wings"? Maybe, just take that 20 minutes into the future mindset and, sure, he can fly! Minor issues: unfortunate that the Club didn't include the top piece for the wings, so that leaves the open connecting ball at the top of the back pack. I suppose the back pack could be flipped, but it doesn't really look that great when it gets flipped. The wings rest too low against his back. I'm not really thrilled with the pistol and the way it just gets shoved into his belt. Knives would be better; easy fix.

 

Why not add the claw gloves from the RoC Doctor figure? Works for me! Gives Raptor a little more sense of "menace".

Next up is Steel Raven, a character from the GI Joe: Extreme sad moment in GI Joe history. Despite the dismal failure of GI Joe: Extreme, the Club did a good job with Steel Raven. She would go well alongside Iron Klaw, the leader of SKAR. The Club released him in FSS 1.0 and I wasn't on board then. Not that big of a deal to me, I don't really see the need for the forces of SKAR in my mental GI Joe world. She's just another agent of Cobra. Perhaps with the brown and black hues of her uniform, she can be an ally of Major Bludd?

The Club used one of the RoC Baroness bodies for Steel Raven and it works out great. Not very "playable", but these are generally considered to be adult collectibles. There was some initial concern about the hat, but it fits nice and snugly on her head.

I'm not too crazy about the pistols that she came with; they are the same pistols that came with Helix and I really didn't like them then either.

Speaking of Helix... Oh look, it's GI Jane! A bold move by the Club and I'm glad that the Helix head sculpt got some new use. Sort of... It's such a unique head sculpt having only been used for Helix and a female Dialtone from a RoC set. Not bad, but not great either.

The head sculpt works well enough, but not really thrilled with the choice. The larger issue is the lab coat. It was designed for a larger torso and doesn't fit very well on Jane. She looks better without it.

Once I saw the reuse of the Helix head sculpt, story ideas started swirling in my head. Jane is a scientist and Helix is a bit of a mystery as to her origin. Could Helix be a genetically enhanced clone of GI Jane? Would Jane abandon personal ethics to create an ultimate soldier? Perhaps... Interesting idea.

That wraps up the figures for FSS 5.0! I think I'll write another recap post of all of the FSS 5.0 figures in a few days. FSS 5.0 turned out to be a pretty strong set of figures, with few "issues" (at least to me).

Who was your favorite FSS 5.0 figure? Let me know in the comments!

FSS 6.0 Reveals

Well, all the reveals are done for FSS 6.0. Now it's time to seriously consider if I want to jump in with this set. I don't get too critical of the offerings of the Club and I think there are a lot of decent builds in FSS 6.0. Plus there are quite a few characters that I just want to add to my modern collection. Time to start liquidating older stuff to probably pay off these guys!

1. Ghostrider - When the X-19 Phantom stealth fighter came out back in 1988, I was hooked!. Loved the design of the jet and the pilot. I think that the Club has done an excellent update to XXXXXXXXXX. Clever... sort of... to go with a secret code name instead of the potential copyright violation of Marvel's idiotic character. For me, he's Ghostrider. Flaming Skull can suck it.
   
   
2. Windmill - based on Funskool/India? Okay, give him the helicopter pack, but those colors... Please, no... Oh dear god, they did... I'm not sure what to say about this guy. Just too much brightness! The build looks decent, but those colors. The build is decent to me, and the colors aren't too bad. I could get used to him.
   
   
3. Rampart - Looks pretty good! Looks like the Club used Blocker's head and the RET GI Joe trooper torso. One of the stronger reveals in my opinion.
   
   
   
4. W.O.R.M.S. Officer -Oh boy... That oversized "jacket" piece. It just isn't working. The biggest flaw is that the lip of the "jacket" under the left arm has flipped up in front of the arm. Doesn't look good. The arms and legs look too small; 25th figure foundation? Not a strong figure based on this.
   
   
5. Vorona -Decent build, great paint apps, looks like a winner!
   
   
6. Guillotine - I don't know a whole lot about the character; I do recall the "Plague" from the comics, so this is a pretty cool direction for the Club. It's always nice to have named, specific characters for the Cobra side.
   
    
7. Sub-Zero - Not too sure about this build. I was never really impressed with the original figure.
   
   
8. Night Stalker Officer - Fire torpedoes! New color for the Club's female officer set? Looks cool! Keeper!
   
   
9. Hardtop - He looks great! As suspected, Tollbooth's head gets a reuse. The overall build looks great. Where's Payload? Doubt he'll ever happen, not much stock to draw from that would make a convincing astronaut.
   
   
10. Cross-Hair - Decent base construction, but that web gear is just too bulky for modern figures and the belt is too loose. I think quite a few collectors have tried using the original gear with the same results. **Update - The Club released a new mock-up for Crosshair with a tighter fitting vest. They also removed the goggles. Much better! Well done, Club!
    
    
11. Captain Skip - I don't know who he is, but he's a decent build. I like him!
    
    
12. Dojo - People complain about a crazy looking update to a crazy looking original. Not a bad build, looks pretty good. Much speculation that the head sculpt is ripe for a Headman reuse. Go for it!
    
    
13. Clues from the Club!
1. This figure features a NEW head sculpt!
2. Previously Missing-in-Action from a sub-team!
3. Highly requested GI Joe team member! 

The weakest figures in this set, in my opinion, are Dojo, Sub-Zero, and WORMS. The WORMS figure is a potential troop builder, possibly would go up for sale. 

As of this exact moment in time, I think I'm going to be on-board for FSS 6.0. It may limit my spending at the Convention in a couple weeks, but that's the Club's fault, not mine.

FSS 5.0 Gaucho & Xamot

Time for another FSS 5.0 review! This one will be quick, primarily because of the weakness of the two figures from this shipment.

The characters for this shipment are fairly interesting but a little bit lacking in my opinion. Gaucho and Xamot are the two figures for this round.

 

 Gaucho is the Action Force mechanic that is just a straight repaint of the exceptional Gung Ho figure. Automatically, this makes this figure quite awesome, but I really don't have a use for a Gung Ho clone.

 

 It's true that the original figure of Gaucho was just a simple repaint of the original Gung Ho, but I'm just not very interested in keeping him. I'm thinking that I've already found a new home for him. Not a bad deal for FSS 5.0 in terms of figures kept vs figures sold. Gaucho will be the only one from FSS 5.0 that doesn't stay in my collection.

 Xamot is from the brief Shattered Universe story line from the Club's original comic in which members of the Adventure Team get trapped in a universe where Cobra are the good guys and GI Joe are the bad guys. I don't recall the details; I'll have to go back and check out the stories again.

 

 Interesting concept and the figure execution actually turned out pretty well. The idea of the twins in suits is one that quite a few fans have been interested in. As the money men behind Cobra, I prefer them in suits.

 

 The biggest issue with the Xamot figure is the size of his head. It's huge! Much like several of the recent new head sculpts from the Club, it is very over sized. I'm not sure where the body comes from. I think it's the same one used by the Club for the Joe Colton Convention exclusive from a few years ago.

Not a bad figure, but not one of the best. One more shipment to go! Raptor, Steel Raven, and the "mystery" 13th figure (GI Jane?).

FSS 6.0 recently came up for subscription. Price increase and a due date just a couple weeks ahead of the Convention. I wonder if folks will choose the FSS over Club exclusives at the Convention?

 

Pokemon Go

Yeah, I'm a Pokemon Go fan/addict. I'll freely admit it. Well maybe not as bad as some folks, but I've got to hit at least one Poke stop a day and catch at least one a day to get those streak bonuses!

If you're a somewhat regular reader of this silly ass blog, you obviously know that I like taking pictures of my action figures. Hmmm.... Pokemon... realistic pictures... Time to dig out the tub of my daughter's Pokemon toys from when she was younger!

So here's a photo dump of a bunch of pictures that I've taken over the past several days! Have fun!