Okay this is getting silly. Next time Hasbro does this, I’m going to give them 24 hours before typing this up so I don’t have to write three separate articles for each series of better images that we get! Gah.
I’ve seen the images. I would imagine pretty much everyone has. I’m certain at this point things are pretty doom and gloom. Five points of articulation, reused vehicles, deth of teh line, etc…
While I’m staying far away from the whole “Deth of teh line!” crowed, I will admit up front I am a bit punched in the gut by the restricted articulation on the vehicle drivers. I won’t say it’s completely unexpected. Anyone who has been listening to the Whats on Joe Mind podcast should remember that I’ve been talking about a scaled back movie line and about the potential for reduced articulation for months now. So hopefully folks who have been listening to that aren’t taken so far aback. But I will admit, even though I’ve been saying it, I can’t help but feel a bit of wind knocked out the sails. There’s just something about seeing that familiar visage of Snake Eyes with only 5 points of articulation that just doesn’t look… right. That’s NOT how he’s supposed to look.
That being said, I’m not writing this off as doom and gloom. Aside from the vehicle drivers there are plenty of things to cheer about, and I’m going to bore the hell out of everyone by regurgitating them all right here. Not only that, but I’m going crazy. I’m going figure by figure and vehicle by vehicle. No, I do not have a life. Let’s do this.
Big thanks to the tireless efforts of the folks with Hasbro Public Relations’ firm, who have quickly gotten together the images we saw earlier in nice and crisp high resolution! These new images should provide some very nice detail…and some not very nice detail.
You’ll notice some articulation changes in some places and some other things that are worthy of concern… but still plenty to love. Check out the images below.
Toy Fair has long been advertised as the place to go to see new and upcoming toys for the year! Well in a very odd and stunning move, Hasbro has revealed a huge chunk of the G.I. Joe: Retaliation toyline in low res thumbnail type images on their G.I. Joe toy website, 10 days prior to the annual event in New York City.
A head scratching move, to be sure, but it allows me some more analysis for these toys with some hypothesis about what Hasbro is doing and what we might expect to see or hear in New York.
So what does this run of figures, vehicles, and other items mean for us in 2012? How does “Jinx as SDCC Exclusive” impact mainstream movie release? Click the Read the Rest of this Entry link below to read on!
Wow, here’s an unexpected event for a Friday morning.
Only two days after the first images of G.I. Joe: Retaliation toys were revealed, Hasbro’s G.I. Joe website has shown thumbnail images for a large run of G.I. Joe: Retaliation toys, including more figures, vehicles, and role play items!
The page can be found right here, and I’ve mirrored the images below! Check it out, with more analysis coming later.
Interesting to note as well, San Diego Comic Con Exclusives are a part of this release, including a pair of Jinx figures (classic!!!) and a “Shockwave” HISS Tank. WOW! A real stunner of some intel this morning.
Well, this is a lot quicker when there’s only a 30 second TV spot and some reused footage to deal with!
I buzzed through the Super Bowl TV Spot and with the wonders of Quicktime spat out a few screen caps that show some of the interesting new details from this TV Spot. Chief among them are the following:
Jinx looks very bad ass in the red, and we have a very nice, clear shot of the Blind Master
Snake Eyes manages to shoot throwing stars out of mid air with an UZI!
Yes, Virginia, Firefly WILL wear his familiar camouflage mask in Retaliation. And he looks BOSS.
Roadblock quotes Jay-Z just because
Oh my goodness that’s COBRA FREAKING COMMANDER!!
Super Cobra speed bike with “fall apart and turn into death rockets” mode!
That certainly looks like Firefly on the back of the motorcycle as well
Is that a Pursuit of Cobra looking HISS rising up above an explosion in the desert? Could there be a “Ripsaw” and another larger Cobra version of the vehicle?
Awesome view of what seems to be the Ripsaw…or is it the HISS? Almost looks like someone in a white mask driving it. Storm Shadow?
No matter how many times I see it, Snake Eyes kicking ninjas asses off of mountains is awesome
Wow. Who would have thought when we woke up this morning that we would not only be getting the Super Bowl trailer for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, but also our first look at the new toys from the film today as well?
Serious kudos to Brian Truitt from USA Today for getting this story together and totally rocking the G.I. Joe universe. So, the initial pics hit, and I rushed around getting the news out there, but perhaps a little more careful analysis is warranted. This is a totally new universe after all, a pretty new aesthetic, and something pretty different from what we’ve seen from the film designs. It almost seems like Hasbro is using Retaliation as a catapult to launch into a more widespread G.I. Joe line that’s not necessarily dependent on the film aesthetic.
I love it. With figures taking some serious inspiration from science fiction, an animated aesthetic, yet with some real world parts and pieces, early opinion is a lot of the elements that I love about G.I. Joe. A closer look at Toy Fair will hopefully provide more educated opinion. Now that I’ve taken a few minutes to digest things, here are some of my thoughts. Keep in mind, I have a feeling these figures don’t necessarily represent the characters how they will appear in the film. They seem considerably different. I find myself perfectly okay with that.
Click the Read the Rest of the Entry link below to see all my thoughts.
Why wait until the big game on Sunday? Apple iTunes trailers has officially debuted the latest G.I. Joe: Retaliation trailer and you can find it right here!
Unlike the first trailer, it’s only 30 seconds long, but it’s 30 seconds of unbridled awesome! HOLY!! Between the figures and this… good GRIEF. How am I supposed to finish my work day??
In a week already chock full of G.I. Joe: Retaliation news and information, USA Today comes through with another awesome G.I. Joe onslaught!
Courtesy of USA Today resident geek Brian Truitt, and mere days before the 2012 Toy Fair, we get our first looks at upcoming G.I. Joe: Retaliation action figures. The excellent USA Today article gives us a peek at:
Roadblock
Cobra Commander
Cobra Trooper
Duke
G.I. Joe Trooper
Red Ninja
Snake Eyes
Storm Shadow
Zartan
Upon first glance, it would appear many of these figures are not necessarily movie accurate, but bring a very cool modern style with some classic elements, too. Some more insight after more digestion. Hit up USA Today to check out the entire article! Also be sure to follow Brian Truitt on Twitter to keep all up to date with the latest intel.
While many folks look to Gyre-Viper because of his ability to track items down in China for upcoming new product, one of the best things about what he’s done for the fandom in my opinion is his ability to get access to the old school Real American Hero stuff.
As he prepares to launch the JoeDeclassified podcast, he shares some awesome concept art with me that has never been seen before.
No idea what these are or where they come from, but big thanks to Gyre Viper for sharing this awesome peek into the 80′s or 90′s with us! Check out the mirrored images below.
Shapeways has made custom parts manufacturing very interesting, offering an accessible method of three dimensional printing for part production. As many of you probably know, Yetibrew Designs, which uses Shapeways services, has been making custom G.I. Joe vehicle parts for the Dragonfly and the HISS Tank.
Well, they have just shown a 3D model of their most ambitious product to date…a custom turret for the HISS that is amazing! Check out the image below:
The second image above also uses the Yetibrew Armored HISS canopy as well (which I will be reviewing very shortly)!
Some impressive stuff here, and I’m really excited to see where Yetibrew goes with this. Eager to see what everyone else thinks, and hit up Yetibrew Designs to see his current offerings.
