The first glimpse of the G.I. Joe Retaliation line was revealed today by USA Today.  The release date is set for May 28th.  The first figures to get revealed are Roadblock, Duke, Cobra Commander, Cobra Trooper, Snake Eyes, Red Ninja, Storm Shadow, Zartan and a GI Joe Trooper.  These figures and possibly more will be shown at the American Toy Fair in New York City Feb. 12-15.

You can view the images Here

Thank You Slaymaker for breaking the news.

What are your first impressions of this new line?  Discuss amongst the forum Here

Also,  a new trailer was released today for G.I. Joe Retaliation that is speculated to be a Superbowl spot.  You can view the trailer Here

**UPDATE**

Hasbro released even more images today of the first wave of vehicles and the coveted SDCC2012 exclusives.  Generalsjoes.com has posted updated Hi Res pictures of the Retaliation figures and vehicles.  You can see these images Here

Join our new discussion on the forum Here

According to Merit, production for the SBD-3 will begin on February 1st, with a delivery date sometime in April hopefully.  This 1942 “Battle of Coral Sea” version is going to be limited to 1000 pieces.

You can place a pre-order for your SBD-3 today at MilitaryToyShop.com for $149.95

Join the discussion about the new 1:18 SBD-3 on our Forums here!

Update! Merit has released a new image of the SBD-3, showing the flaps! Hopefully the final product loooks as good as this!

Thanks to our forum member Beeavision for the update!

All pictures are courtesy of Merit Intl.’s website: http://www.merit-intl.com/

Please note that due to circumstances beyond our control with the anticipated venue for the convention,  the dates of GIJoeCon will now be June 28th-July 1st at a new venue,  the Hilton New Orleans Riverside.  We apologize for any problems or issues this change of date has caused.

Hopefully this does not adversely affect anyone who had already made travel arrangements.

This FREE figure will be sent to any 3 3/4 inch Officer level G.I. JOE club member whose membership is active by March 16 2012.  Footloose features a stand, classic file card and accessories including:  infantry assault rifle, rocket launcher, knife, pistol, flashlight and backpack.  Members can expect to receive this figure with all accessories in late spring/early summer of 2012.

The March 16th deadline is fast approaching,  will you be adding this figure to your collection?  Feel free to discuss amongst the forum Here

Thanks to Mandigo Rex  for breaking the news

According to a product placeholder listing on Bigbadtoystore.com, Unimax is coming out with new 1:18th scale figured based on the Starcraft II universe this August!

There is little to go on besides the listing for a case of 12 figures for $99.99, but it would make sense since Unimax has a “Gamestars” line of figures that has been released representing other video games, such as Crysis 2 and Assassins Creed. There is also the upcoming release of the Ghost Recon: Future Soldier figures, which is slated for a July 2012 release.

Thanks to our Forum member Goldbug for the heads up!

Talk about it on our Forums! Here

BBTS Link: Star Craft II 1/18 Scale Series 01 – Case of 12

Another year has gone by and I just wanted to extend a thank you to all of those that participated in the Forums gift exchange this year.  We had a good turnout and there were some cool gifts received.  I think we doubled the amount of participants this year (thanks to Monkeywrench).  K-Tiger was the Chris Kringle of the 118th this season.  His generosity extended to a few different people.

Here are a few of the things that were received this year:

Items were mainly G.I. Joe related but there were also some PTE and Bravo Team items that made it to people’s hands.   Wildweasel scored good with some o-ring figures.

So from the staff at the fighting 118th we want to thank you all for joining and making this a place where you come visit.  Without all of you there wouldn’t be a chance to do fun things like this.

1) Did the popularity of the 2010 and 2011 SDCC exclusives have any influence on the upcoming 7 packs and if not, what did?

Answer: This was definitely a consideration when it came to the early conception of these two 7-packs.

2) In the making of GI Joe movies, do the producers have to follow a design Hasbro has in mind or do they have creative freedom with characters?

Answer: Working with movie producers has been a really fun, collaborative process. Everyone puts ideas on the table and the best ideas make it into the movie and the product. The goal is to balance the desire to stay true to the heritage of the brand while also keeping the brand relevant and fresh for today’s audience.

3) Was the lack of paint applications on the 30th anniversary Iron Grenadier done as a variation or cost cutting?

Answer: Partially. This was also done to create a separate version of this soldier, in case kids or collectors were creating an army.

Q) Would you consider putting extra heads in figure packaging that would be a nod to ARAH enthusiasts?  Say you use the Duke name that the retailers want but you add something like a Foot Loose head to make the fans happy.  The retailers still buy because of name recognition and the fans buy for the figure they desire.

A) We often include extra heads with many of the figures (Snake Eyes, Dusty, Zartan, Jungle B.A.T. to name a few). We’ve also worked very hard to develop figures that the fans have been asking for like Sci-Fi and Techno-Viper. Typically we like to keep the heads related to the figure in pack to avoid confusion (except for Zartan). We don’t have plans to do heads that are for completely different figures.

Q) Will you consider modernizing the GI Joe brand similar to the POC figures and the 12″ figure that have just come out?  POC seemed to be liked by most fans and kids may not relate to a figure that was made in the 80′s.  A modern look could possibly draw in the kids that eventually needs to pick up the line.

A) Our focus, as you know already, is celebrating 30 years of G.I. JOE.  Certainly part of that is Realistic Military, but it has manifested itself in the form of 12″ figures.  Although you’ll see smatterings of cues from Real Military in the 3 3/4″ line, there are no plans in the immediate future to release a line dedicated solely to military realism (although, admittedly, it would be very fun to design!)

Q) What is the final word on the Data Viper?  At SDCC we were told it was canceled and other outlets have said it will come in some form.

A) This figure has been cancelled for the immediate future.

Thanks to fighting 118th member soia339 we get to see some close up images of the new GI Joe 30th anniversary Hazard Viper carded. 

This is from the same mold as the Volcano Viper that was part of the canceled ROC Alpha’s wave 3 set. Only difference so far is the arms. It seems to be completely different than what the Volcano Viper had. The uppers don’t have the pouch on them and the lowers seem to have a different elbow pad. The hands are different too. Before, they were a whole glove and are now a smaller hand similar to the majority of GI Joe figures.

According to online retailers the 30th anniversary figures should be getting here very soon so with luck people will be able to find these on the pegs in the near future.  Come join the discussion and share your thoughts.

http://forums.fighting118th.com/showthread.php?t=1432

Christmas in August!

Word around the internet was that Big Lots has loaded up again and the fighting 118ths own K-Tiger has already sounded the alarm while Wild weasel has come through with some images of a few of the new sets. There are plenty of the usual suspects but also a few new players.

One set that looks to probably be one of the more popular ones comes with a UAV. Seeing how Hasbro has canceled this item (for now?) this is perfect for all those that were looking forward to this accessory. On top of that there is also a desert themed watch tower. Some of the sets come with plenty of items especially for the price. Some things have gone up $2 but it’s still great deals for what you get.

Will some of the newer sets that were overseas make it here this year? Will we finally see the SU 27 here? Let’s hope but for now enjoy the haul and get out and find some new PTE stuff, especially during this lull in the hobby.

Come join the discussion and show your scores!

http://forums.fighting118th.com/showthread.php?t=1247