I managed to find every figure except for the already-hard-to-find Jungle Viper. Prepare to not see that figure around very much! I have also heard the Recondo figure is going to be packed 1 per case, so he may also be a hard one to find.

My initial feelings on this wave are mixed. Some figures, like Dusty and Recondo and Zartan are really nice looking, whereas the other figures like “Jungle” Snake Eyes and Arctic Destro definitely leave something to be desired.

The Dusty sculpt seems really nice, the extra “head” is a nice addition, and for once a Joe has a helmet that looks like it could actually do some good! (Finally!) I really like that they went the extra mile on detail by adding a cloth cape and making his bare arms ‘dusty’ colored.

Recondo seems cool, lots of details on his vest and his weapons and accessories. He comes with a bear facemask.. for some odd reason. I guess it goes with his bear traps and… solar panels? Who knows.

Recondo also comes packed with a “baby barrett”, which looks just like the normal .50 cal. sniper weapon.. but half size!

The new Zartan is pretty neat, I like all the extra stuff you get, almost a full 2nd figures worth. This figure seems to be leaning more towards the original Zartan concept.. which is pretty cool in my opinion. Everything is detailed nicely, and a bird is a nice treat.

On the other hand, the new Snake Eyes figure is.. just disappointing. It’s full of ninja tomfoolery and gimmicks (Tornado Kick!). Also, this figure seems to be ridiculously undersized compared to all the other Joes, and even Wave 1 Snake Eyes.. he’s SO diminutive its ridiculous. The detail on his chest piece is completely lacking.. if you pass on one figure.. pass this one up.

You can also probably pass on the Arctic Destro.. unless you really like snow figures.

Nothing here is TERRIBLE, it’s just not particularly well done I don’t think. Lots of weird ice tools and accessories.. but none of them really sell me on this figure.

The colors are not really doing it for me either.. another pass here in my opinion, I think customs have been done that are way better for an Arctic Destro.

Hopefully I can find a Jungle Viper out there somewhere.. that is going to be one HARD figure to find for sure. At least until that Cobra Shock Trooper figure comes out.. yikes.

I’m going to try and do some full reviews on these figures soon, so stay tuned!

Be sure to talk about this on our Forums

8.12.10 – During an unscheduled stop at Walmart to look for the still MIA POC Joe figures, I ran across the new Halo Reach figures.  This was completely unexpected since one, Walmart has not carried Halo since I have been collecting and two, Reach figures should not be out until September.  Judging from the back of the cards, it appears only the first half of Series One was on the pegs.  They also had the Red vs Blue two pack and the 4pc boxset currently being offered at Target.  So if you can’t wait to grab your Reach figures, it’s time to start checking your Walmarts.

Feel free to discuss this in our forums:  http://forums.fighting118th.com/showthread.php?p=68922#post68922

Update:  8.22.10

I stumbled onto the Reach Marine 2pk and the Spartan vs Elite 2pk at Target this evening.  Sorry, only grabbed the Marines:

So today, I was driving through town and had a half-hour to kill so I decided I would stop by one of the local Big Lots stores to see if they had gotten in any of the Rise of Cobra (RoC) figures in cheap. I figured most of the stores have stopped carrying the RoC figures, and they should start showing up in discount stores before too long.

There was no RoC figures to be found, but they did have a couple sets of the G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary figures, from the Airborne wave. I managed to pick up 3 Airborne figures and 1 Cobra EEL figure. They had some Cobra Bazooka troopers, but I passed on them.

I couldn’t see any Power Team Elite (PTE) stuff on any of the shelves, so I kept looking. Down the next isle I found that they had moved all the PTE stuff to their own section.

They had TONS of PTE Tower sets, figure sets, HMMWVs, Tanks, etc.

They had the woodland cargo HMMWV, the woodland assault HMMWV, and Desert TOW HMMWV.

They also had three figure set things, one with a camel, one with a horse, and one with a little raft. Nothing too exciting in them, but they did come with a nice assortment of accessories.

I also saw that they had S.W.A.T. type figures, which I hadn’t seen before. They had two different figure sets, with different equipment. They included a riot shield, a K9 and a bunch of other random “city” type accessories which could come in handy.

They also had a “SWAT Rescue Helicopter” Little Bird, which comes with rocket pods and mini-guns, perfect for ‘rescuing’ I suppose. This version of the Little Bird does not seem to have any decals or other markings, making it perfect for customizers.

Finally, I saw a really cool “Main Battle Tank”, which looks a little small for 1:18 scale, but seems like it would fit in with the Unimax M1 Abrams in a pinch, and much better than the TrueHeroes version that I saw a while back at Toys R Us.

Sorry about the photo quality, I only had my camera phone with me in the store.

Please be sure to check out the full gallery below for more pictures!

Apparently, Square-Enix got the rights to make these awesomely awesome Halo: Reach figures. Hopefully they do a great job, as they are looking really nice already.

Time will tell!

In addition to showing animation stills, character designs, and a brief clip, the Hasbro Studios team members explained their vision for Renegades. The series is meant to be a Year One-style origin story for the Joes, showing how the team came together. Unfortunately, those hoping for a continuation of G.I. Joe: Resolute will have to wait longer. The studio is aiming for a program that appeals to all ages, with Renegades showrunner Jeff Kline hoping for a run of five to seven years.

The series will begin with government agent Scarlett recruiting individual Joes to form the titular team. Cobra (now a seemingly-benevolent pharmaceutical company) frames the heroes, forcing the Joes underground. The writers promise that Renegades will be a more character-driven show. Tensions will be high as the new teammates learn to work together while dealing with their own personal flaws.

The character designs (handled by illustrator Clement Sauve) are reminiscent of their original incarnations but have been streamlined for a more modern look. With the exception of Mindbender (now a youthful scientist in a lab coat) and Cobra Commander (his iconic masked helmet reduced to half its former glory), the characters will be recognizable enough to most of the G.I. Joe faithful.

The following characters were shown:

- Duke

- Scarlett

- Roadblock

- Snake Eyes

- Tunnel Rat

- Ripcord (movie version, not ARAH version)

- General Hawk

- Flint

- Lady Jaye

- Cobra Commander

- Destro

- Baroness

- Storm Shadow

- Mindbender

The following vehicles were shown:

- M.A.R.S. Combat Suits

- Cobra Mobile Command Center

- Black Dragon

- H.I.S.S. Drone

- Cobra Emergency Vehicle

- Cobra Operations Vehicle

- M.A.R.S. Gunship

- Cobra Jet

- Snake Eyes’ Motorcycle

- Military Vehicle

- The Coyote

The design team didn’t have any details regarding the (inevitable) figure line, although Hasbro’s Aaron Archer hinted at a possible Toy Fair reveal. On the bright side, he did state that the 1:18^th-scale is the “right scale for Joes right now”.

Other bits of information:

-  Heavy Duty, Tomax and Xamot will be in the series;

-  Baroness’ glasses will do more than just correct her vision; and

-  The weapons tech will start realistic then evolve to near-future, DARPA-level armaments.

Hasbro also plans on showing the original sixty Classic Joe episodes on The Hub network.

Please check out our gallery below for more pictures from the Hasbro G.I. Joe Renegades panel.

Photos by Paul Ernst.

Well, minus our photographer.. who is taking the picture.

If you see us at Comic Con, stop by and say hi!

Huzzah!

They set up one diorama for each region that G.I. Joe will be pursuing Cobra in.

There is a wrecked City-scape, with nicely done destroyed buildings with little rebar strands and bricks. The scene has a Cobra group strolling down the street after a victorious battle.

The second diorama is an arctic setting, with Joe and Cobra forces locked in battle, with Arctic Snake Eyes sneaking up on Destro. They did a nice job mixing existing figures with new figures that are coming out.

The third diorama is a really nicely done desert setting, with a great little hut that the Joes are defending against Cobra Commander and his forces. They did a bang up job on this dio I felt, really captured the desert setting.

Finally, the last diorama is a jungle scene, with the Joes cautiously advancing through the foliage, completely unaware that two Jungle Vipers hasve their cross-hairs trained on them, and Firefly is plotting some demo-action from behind a wrecked structure.

These dioramas are pretty small overall, but completely work in conveying the setting behind each theater of war for the Pursuit of Cobra line.

Also be sure to chat about this in our Forums: Here

Last year, with the Rise of Cobra movie coming out, the G.I. Joe section at SDCC was *HUGE*, with lots of displays and dioramas. This year, however, with only a smattering of figures and vehicles coming out over the next several months, and consequently the display section has been considerably reduced.

It’s kind of sad to see only two small display windows and a diorama section, but I suppose that’s what happens in off-years.

Hasbro has the Pursuit of Cobra figures on display, as well as the new Resolute 7-packs, and all the assorted vehicles that will be coming out wave over the next 6 months or so.

Hasbro also set up four really nicely done, but small, dioramas, each depicting one of the four ‘regions’ that G.I. Joe is pursuing Cobra. A ruined city-scape setting, cold arctic, dusty desert and a lush jungle setting. We are going to have a second post in a little while with a full gallery for the four mini-dioramas they have set up.

You can discuss this on our forums: Here

Made it to San Diego in one piece and in good time!

We have to go pick up our passes soon, and head to Preview Night tonight to take a look at the Exhibition floor and see what’s going on.

The G.I. Joe panel is tomorrow afternoon, as well as a few other things of note. I will be reporting back here on the front page each night with any relevant info.. and in our Live Blog thread on our Forums all day long!

Huzzah!

Pretty Birdy

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to be invited down to Merit International’s headquarters in the City of Industry, California. Tony had let me know they were planning an exclusive release for the upcoming San Diego Comic Convention (SDCC!), and he wanted to give me a peak at what they were going to be bringing to the show.

Well a peak I certainly got.

Merit got JSI to produce a limited edition F-14A, based on the VF-154 “Black Knight” squadron. This release is going to be a Merit exclusive from JSI, and have a total run of 888 planes. 30 of these planes will be available for sale at SDCC next week for $299. The rest of the planes should be up for sale in September. Of the 888, 300 or so are going to Japan, some are going to Germany and the rest will be available stateside at your favorite online retailers.

Hanging in Merit's offices

The SDCC planes come with an all-new weapons set, and are cast in resin. The mass release in September will come with plastic weapons, and everyone who bought the plane at SDCC will be mailed a free 2nd set of plastic weapons when they are finished. The plastic weapons will have more detail and features, though it is nice to get 2 sets of weapons! There are no current plans to release a standalone weapons set for the F-14.

One of the new additions to the plane is the LANTIRN AN/AAQ-14 and accompanying new pylons.

Oh did I also mention this model lights up? I hadn’t seen the previous LED lit F-14, so it was pretty cool seeing it light up in person. It’s not lit up like  Christmas tree, but it gets the point across nicely I felt. The plane displays nicely with the lights on or off.

The canopy is also not as heavily greased this time, so, as you can see, it stays up on its own if you wish!

In my opinion this plane looks wonderful, I can attest that it’s REAL, its not a prototype, they are ready for sale now and there are NO SPOTS to be found! Be sure to check out Merit’s booth at SDCC if you are heading down there next week!

Please check out page #2 for a full gallery of pictures! Be sure to join the conversation about the new F-14 on our Forums: Click Here

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