Something that many folks aren’t aware of is that Hasbro keeps an online repository of their instruction manuals for many of their toys, including G.I. Joe items.  Some times it can be a treasure trove of cool information.

Friend of GeneralsJoes, notpicard revealed recently on HissTank that some cancelled or re-purposed vehicles for Rise of Cobra have instruction manuals already uploaded, including the much anticipated Ashiko w/ Cycle Armor.  That’s an instruction book that’s likely to get a lot of use!

The .PDF’s can be found at the following locations, and I also exported a bunch to image files which I’ve mirrored below.  Very cool find!

Armored Panther
Cobra Fury with Alley Viper Officer
Cycle Armor with Ashiko
H.I.S.S. Attack Scout

Air Assault with Capt. Ace
Cobra Flight Pod with Elite Viper
Jungle Terror Twin Battle Gun with Range Viper
RAM Cycle with Sandstorm
Road Rebel with Tunnel Rat 2005
Smokescreen Transport with Beachhead 2005

[View with PicLens]

 

Not too long ago, an eBay auction featuring a strangely repainted Volcano Viper got some folks wondering what was up.  Well,  as is the case with nearly every unproduced item out there, Gyre Viper got his hands on one as well (though a different one from the eBay auction) and has posted a very nice gallery of the item on HissTank.com.

It is currently unknown exactly where this figure would have fallen into place, or whether or not it will even be released.  If I had to guess, I’d say this was probably a planned Rise of Cobra/early Pursuit of Cobra item that is now in the junk pile.  I may be wrong, but I have strong doubts that we’ll ever see this thing at retail.  A very interesting item, and likely a fireman or flame thrower trooper of some sort.  Amazing how nicely Hasbro can reuse these parts into totally different functions.  Having a figure start off as an Arctic Trooper and then successfully make the transition to toxic trooper/heat trooper/fireman is a pretty impressive migration.

Check out the mirrored images below.

[View with PicLens]

 

I’ll be the first one to admit that it’s been unusually quiet on the Hollywood front when it comes to G.I. Joe.  In light of the negative press and the adequate, but not stellar 350 million dollar box office take, while Paramount reported a sequel would move into production, we really haven’t heard much.

Sure, the snippet of news announcing Zombieland scribes as the script writers… news that Stephen Sommers may come back to direct.  Maybe it’s just because Transformers 3 is already so deep into production that it seems oddly silent.

But in a potential point of good news (depending on your perspective, of course), movie rumor site The Wrap has gotten its hands on a supposed email document from within Paramount.  Of course, Paramount has already denied its authenticity, so who really knows how real it is.  Regardless, it does mention G.I. Joe 2, mentions Stephen Sommers directing, and that folks are “VERY happy w/the Reese & Wernick draft”.

Ultimately, this likely means little, but for those few of us who are looking forward to how G.I. Joe evolves its movie universe (or perhaps other folks are looking to see what they can do to repair it), this is a nice snippet of news.  Hopefully as 2011 kicks off we may start hearing more about it.

Thanks to Entertainment News International for the tip.

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Just as G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was starting to fade into the rear view mirror, The Wrap brings it back into focus by reporting that according to sources, Stephen Sommers will be coming back to direct the G.I. Joe follow up sequel.  They also report that  the right people are happy with the script that Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick have turned in.

Does this mean anything substantial?  Probably not…especially because a Hasbro rep sort of side-stepped the question during a recent video interview with the Motley Fool (an interesting point brought forward by Entertainment News International’s Jay Cochran courtesy of his Twitter account).  Honestly, mentally I’ve moved on to Renegades, and I think part of me is looking forward to that at least a little bit more right now, but I was pretty unashamed with my enjoyment of the first film, and if the follow up can capture the same energy, but perhaps redirect it in a way closer to the mythology, maybe the Hollywood franchise can become something the fans are more into.

Time will tell.

It seems only appropriate as August 1st looms tomorrow, and I’ve officially lived out my promise for one review per day until the “official” Pursuit of Cobra launch, that I do a review of two figures that were walking the line between Cobra “Rising” and the  Joes “Pursuing”.

While the fifth wave of single pack figures for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra officially kicked off the whole “pursuit” theme, both Doc and Shipwreck from the Toys “R” Us Headquarters for Heroes subline carried that torch as well.  Both sporting “Arctic Assault” tags on their packaging, and both quite obviously designed to chase Destro through the snow and ice.

So as these figures bridged that gap between The Rise of Cobra and the Pursuit of Cobra, I figure it’s apt that I use them to bridge the gap here as well.

Gap?  Did I say gap?  Yeah, right.  I’ve currently got about 125 images taken for upcoming Pursuit of Cobra product already, and while I certainly cannot promise the one review per day quota will continue to be met past August 1st, you have no worries, reviews will still be coming fast and furious.  I’ve got both new Mechs in the wings as well as the two Wave 1 Alpha vehicles, and I still hope to finish off the Wave 1 Single Packs before too long.

The things I do for you people.

Anyway.  Hit up the G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Review Page or just check out the Doc and Shipwreck reviews directly.  Enjoy.

Okay, now that the Resolute figures are done, I’m moving back into “flashback” phase and trying to catch up, just a little bit.  I’m just sneaking this one in under the wire, as we’re approaching midnight here on the East Coast.

The TRU exclusive “Headquarters for Heroes” Firefly figure was the highlight figure of the first onslaught of Rise of Cobra figures, yet for some bizarre reason, I never reviewed it.  Well that changes right now.

Feel free to hit up my past Rise of Cobra reviews as well, if you’re bored on a Saturday night…

A scant twenty-three years after it’s initial broadcast, the infamous G.I. Joe: The Movie hits retail shelves today on Blu-Ray or DVD.  Produced by Shout! Factory, the movie finally rounds off the long awaited process many fans have gone through waiting for the entire collection of Sunbow features to be released to mass retail on DVD.

The ‘87 animated movie will forever be a point of contention and talking point among the G.I. Joe fandom, so don’t miss your chance to own this DVD today.

GeneralsJoes will be reviewing this in its entirety very shortly, but trust me when I say it’s worth a look.  It holds up surprisingly well over two decades after it initially aired.  Granted, I thought it was pretty damn cheesy back then, and these days I’ve learned to better appreciate the finer arts of Sunbow ham, but I still don’t think you’ll be disappointed.  If for nothing else, Buzz Dixon’s excellent commentary.

Pick up your copy today!

Continuing on the fury of the GeneralsJoes Review-A-Rama, today I finish off reviewing last year’s Wal-Mart Exclusive Battle Stations sets…  saving perhaps one of the best for last, the Cobra Surveillance Port w/ MARS Officer and Tele-Viper.  You can also hit up the Rise of Cobra Review Page to catch up on other reviews you may have missed along the way.

I bet you guys thought I was going to forget my “review of the day” today, didn’t you?  In all of the “Hub” hubbub, it sorta got lost in the shuffle, but I gotta keep up my end of the bargain.  I’ve already covered the Wal-Mart exclusive Heatseeker and Outpost Defender, but in the interest of filling in those holes, here is the Laser Artillery Weapon!

Of course you can find that review and many others linked back to the Rise of Cobra Review Page.

Enjoy.