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.

“Fight for the Lost!”

I just had the pleasure of completing Mass Effect 2 for the Playstation 3.  This was my first introduction into the Mass Effect world.  Upon release, Mass Effect 2 was an exclusive title to the XBOX360 and PC as was the original ME1.  After winning several 2010 “Game of the Year” honors ME2 was released for the PS3 as a Game of the Year edition with free DLC content.

For those that aren’t familiar with ME2,  it’s a Bioware game that is a cross between a RPG and a Shooter.  ME is it’s own universe however if I had to explain it to somebody who has no knowledge of it,  I would say it’s a mix of Star Trek, Star Wars, and the Matrix.

Things that you do and choose in the game greatly effect what will happen later on.  Choices that you made in ME1 also effect what happens in #2.  To rectify that for PS3 users,  at the start of the game,  they have an interactive comic produced by Dark Horse recapping what happened in ME1 and letting you make choices as you go.  This was a nice treat to new fans of the series that many game companies don’t take the time to do.  Most sequels either expect that you played the first one or force you to look up the details online or from another source.

ME2 perfectly combines two of my favorite genres,  3rd person shooter and RPG.  It’s a shooter with loads of action with a great open world “sandbox” RPG feel to it.

]]> http://www.fighting118th.com/2012/01/24/mass-effect-2-review-4/feed/ 1 http://www.fighting118th.com/2012/01/24/gijcc-prototype-footloose/ http://www.fighting118th.com/2012/01/24/gijcc-prototype-footloose/#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2012 04:35:59 +0000 Tim Kraemer http://www.fighting118th.com/?p=4605 The G.I. JOE Collectors Club recently released a new prototype photo of their exclusive FREE figure for signing up for the 2012 membership.  The new prototype differs then what was originally shown when the figure was first announced last year.  Below is an excerpt from the Clubs Website:

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

I’ve done a bunch of other HMMWV models, and during research I saw a photo of a “spec ops” type HMMWV and knew I wanted to make it, but I knew it’d be a LOT of work, it ended up taking me a little over a week to go from start to finish, which wasn’t too bad I don’t think.

This is my M1025 “Special Operations” HMMWV. It was used in my 9SFG(A) Diorama which is also posted on the site. I was going for a highly modified HMMWV, used somewhere between the invasion of Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq.

It is based on the 21st Century Toys M1025 “TOW” HMMWV. Here is what it started off looking like, and what my inspiration was.

I did the following modifications:

* Everything? Haha
* Replaced TOW launcher/mount with M2 .50 cal mount/storage.
* Removed all the doors, windows and back hatch.
* Added stowage-netting to back doors and back gate-area.
* Added movable M249 SAW mount/gun on back bed.
* Added passenger M60 mount/gun.
* Added SATCOM antenna.
* Added Laptop & 2nd radio to interior.
* Added a BUNCH of interior stowage. (MRE’s, Watercans, Packs, Bedding, etc)
* Added fabric camo rolls/sand protection.
* Added push bar to front.
* Added outside stowage (packs, rope, gear, etc).
* Pained camo/weathered/dirtied it up inside and out.

Here is what I ended up with after all was said and done!

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

This past November they released their newest edition “Modern Warfare 3”. Activision has made a habit of releasing their new game every year around Veteran’s day. Million’s of people get in line at midnight to buy a game that they have had pre order for months so they can run home and shoot each other online. This year MW3 eclipsed 1 billion in sales in just 16 days!! I was one of those silly people waiting in line at my local GameStop so I could grab a copy right at midnight. I ran home, installed the game onto my PS3, texting my buddies who were doing the same and plotting my first session of team death match. MW3 like the games before it has a very interesting storyline in campaign mode, however like the games before it, everyone wants to focus on the multiplayer. In this quick review I will cover all phases of this first person shooter. First lets start with my favorite game mode. The Spec Ops is my favorite for many reasons. It takes the campaign and jumbles it up and lets you do co op missions with a friend. The goal is to get 3 stars on every mission with each star adding a degree of difficulty for a total of 48 stars. If you played MW2, your familiar with it. One of my best friends and I love doing co op games and we thrive in this mode. They have added a secondary Spec Ops mode now which is a survival mode much like COD: Black Ops’s zombie mode.

You survive wave after wave of enemies which of course gets harder as you go on. You start with basic soldiers coming at you and then they upgrade with armor, better weapons, helicopters, dogs etc. It’s way more fun playing against actual soldiers and vehicles instead of zombies. You also now have your own ranking system in Spec Ops and your own currency. You can buy perks in-between waves like a Delta Squad, mines, weapon upgrades etc. My favorite technique would be to lock myself in a room with only one or two entries. I would then load the door ways with mines and a sentry gun, camp out and blast my enemies. The game gets pretty crazy in the higher waves with Juggernauts who are equipped with riot shields come flying in and while your trying to take them down, you have a dog with a bomb strapped to his back biting your ankles… Fun stuff.

]]> http://www.fighting118th.com/2012/01/23/modern-warfare-3/feed/ 0 http://www.fighting118th.com/2012/01/23/gift-exchange-recap/ http://www.fighting118th.com/2012/01/23/gift-exchange-recap/#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:01:23 +0000 Anthony Spatucci http://www.fighting118th.com/?p=4268

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.