Last week Gizmodo posted a very cool video about the design and construction of Transformers, but I didn’t post it, just because…well, it was Transformers.  However, today, they’ve followed up that video with another video, this time a peek into Hasbro’s model shop.

This is where some of the magic happens, folks.  Figure sculpting, paint, construction…a lot of that happens in the Model Shop.  For folks who went on tour at Hasbro in 2010 during JoeCon, we got a very quick walk through and it was some of the most interesting stuff we saw in the entire process.  The way industrial design, artistic flair, and electronics all merge together into one fascinating department of toy magic.  Pretty awesome.

There are many steps before a toy gets to this point, from concept work, input drawings, etc…  but the Model Shop is awesome in its own right as well.  Check out the video on Gizmodo, or embedded below.  Watch for a Storm Shadow cameo!

And for good measure, here’s last week’s Transformers video as well, now that some of my butt hurt has worn off:

“JOE”rassic Park… ya like that?  Yeah, I gotta give Chuck from What’s on Joe Mind credit for that one.  He claims that was his invention.  If someone saw it somewhere else, it’s not my fault!

According to gijoefrank from the Terror Drome forums, he found these at retail in a Southern California Toys “R” Us and supplied a nice assortment of images as proof as well.  It’s amazing to me that we just heard confirmation of these two days ago and already retail sightings have begun.  Pretty cool.

[View with PicLens]

With all of those auctions lately and more samples showing up every day, it’s looking more and more likely that the long rumored Jurassic Park toyline featuring many parts from G.I. Joe figures may be one step closer to retail reality.

The next step on this long road is actual packaged pictures of a couple of these offerings, now apparently Toys “R” Us Exclusives celebrating the release of Jurassic Park in 3D.  Courtesy of  DemonCarnotaur from JPToys.com, these packaged images reveal some Jurassic Park figures featuring head sculpts and body tooling that we should all recognize.

Check out the details at JPToys.com and I’ve also mirrored the images below.

There seems to be a ton of G.I. Joe related news going around these days, so the need to branch out into non-G.I. Joe news isn’t really there.  However, I wanted to talk a little bit about a project called the Outer Space Men.  These toys are faithful recreations of a classic toyline that have an incredible vintage aesthetic.

Originally appearing in 1968, the Outer Space Men figures are an icon in the world of space-themed action figures, and deservedly so.  What I wanted to let you know about is a very special occasion.  Legendary toy inventor Mel Birnkrant is working to produce a second series entitled “Cosmic Creators”.  In the G.I. Joe world, this would almost be like Ron Rudat, Bill Merklein or Kirk Bozigian coming back to G.I. Joe for a special edition line of vintage themed G.I. Joe toys.  This is a huge deal.

I think endeavors like this are terrific, and definitely something I want to talk about.  The scope and reach of toy design and toy production goes so deep into our country’s history, both in terms of culture and manufacturing, and I felt like I wanted to talk about these for just a few minutes.  Take a look at OuterSpaceMen.com and appreciate the gorgeous vintage themed toys from the good old days, and from today.  I think you’ll be glad you did.

Check them out at OuterSpaceMen.com.

Shame on me for not talking about this yet…

Somewhat lost in the shuffle of convention news and G.I. Joe: Retaliation stuff is that everyone’s favorite Gun Runner, Marauder, Inc. has fired off another Kickstarter campaign!  The funding of his next series of weapons was such a successful endeavor, he is using Kickstarter again, this time for a “Mark II” supplemental set.

This supplemental set includes items that were planned for possible “stretch goals” in the previous campaign, but done on their own, they can be had for a much more modest amount.  These items should be familiar to all fans out there!  We’ve got a “Pulse” modular accessory, a flashbang accessory, and a laser accessory.  You can check out the mirrored images below.

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Various different contributions will earn various different levels of these weapons, including multiple weapons in the package, and even painted versions of these guns!  As you can see above these are some highly valued and very desirable accessories for all of you G.I. Joe fans out there.

So go ahead and hit up the latest Kickstarter campaign from Marauder “Gun Runners”.  He has already achieved his primary goal, but by hitting the stretch goals, many more options are open.  See the details at Kickstarter.

Over the past several years some pretty cool Jurassic Park toys using G.I. Joe tooling have appeared in the gray market and throughout Asia, indicating to G.I. Joe fans everywhere that some great potential fodder for their collections might be on the horizon.

So the fans waited…and waited…  and waited some more.  Here we are, two years down the line, and with still no Jurassic Park toyline at retail, it almost seemed like these items were destined for the dustbins of history.  Not so fast, my friends.

According to Variety, Hasbro is returning to Jurassic Park to assist Universal in revitalizing the now famous brand.  This news coincides with more auctions and Asian sellers appearing with various G.I. Joe themed Jurassic Park items.  All of this leads one to think that perhaps that G.I. Joe looking Jurassic Park toyline isn’t nearly as dead as we might have thought.

Granted, according to the article, toys won’t be hitting until 2014, so it’s entirely possible something totally new and different might be coming next year, but knowing how much Hasbro likes re-using tooling, I think it’s a safe bet that some of those very cool so-far unproduced Jurassic Park toys may find their way into collector hands.  Check out the full article right here, and for some great intel on the Jurassic Park/G.I. Joe connection, hit up JoeDeClassified.com.

So did you think 2012 was a slow year for G.I. Joe?  While the fine folks behind the What’s on Joe Mind Podcast did drop down their recording schedule a bit to accommodate a slow trickle of Joe news, there were still many exciting G.I. Joe events to talk about.

From animated voice actors to movie news and toy reports, What’s on Joe Mind covered the gamut of G.I. Joe news and events for the year.

Even with a much slower recording schedule in the back half of 2012, it was tough to pick out 12 isolated episodes, but with Gary and Mike’s help, somehow I made due.

Click the Read the Rest of the Story link below for the full list!

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve seen this image passed around quite a bit today, and with the latest Big Bad Toy Store newsletter, there are now some pre-orders to go along with it.  NECA has long established their place in action figure lore, but mostly in the larger scale figures for licensed properties like Predator, Terminator, Robocop, and Prometheus (among many others).  To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time they’ve experimented with the 3 3/4″ scale (or perhaps these are closer to 4″?).

The results are pretty impressive from an appearance point of view.  Anyone who has played (or even seen) the video game Gears of War will acknowledge there is a very distinct artistic style to the characters and the game, and NECA has done an exceptional job capturing that style.  Large, bulky figures with all of the right gear and accessories, these Gears of War toys could almost pass for 6″ at first blush, but apparently they fall closer to G.I. Joe sized.

While I’m not necessarily a huge Gears of War enthusiast, I have certainly played the games quite a bit, and I am very pleasantly surprised by the quality and articulation of what I see here, though the apparent lack of a swivel bicep is a bit disconcerting.  I’ll be paying close attention to this line as it gets closer to release.  Early indications are pretty damn good.

Check out the pre-order links below as well as the mirrored product image.

• BBTS Pre-Order – Gears of War case
• BBTS Pre-Order – Gears of War set of 3
• BBTS Pre-Order – Gears of War Marcus, Carmine, and Baird

Troops of Doom has been chugging along for a while now, and has just reached a huge milestone!  A whopping 500 installments of the Troops of Doom comic has just gone online, and to celebrate, there are numerous contests going on.

The official note just came in:

“Troops of Doom hits 500 comics

Troops of Doom comic hits 500 episodes today. Stop by for multiple “Become a Troop of Doom” contests where readers can have a character named after them and have a recurring role in the comic.

Troops of Doom is an action figure webcomic featuring GI Joe battling Star Wars for Lego technology. Launched in February 2008 and updated as often as possible Monday to Friday. Check it out for a laugh.

http://www.troopsofdoomcomic.com“

For folks who feel like there is a 4″ sized void in their heart this year, Troops of Doom will help fill it.  Check it out!

Yes, it was G.I. Joe: Renegades that brought me to The Hub, but Transformers: Prime has kept me here with the absence of G.I. Joe animation.  Getting steadily better with each episode, we now have the second season of Transformers: Prime out on Blu-Ray!

Shout! Factory was kind enough to supply me with a review copy, and you can check out the review in my Miscellaneous section, or  via the direct link below.

• GeneralsJoes Reviews Shout! Factory Transformers: Prime Season 2 on Blu-Ray