The guys jump back into our regular weekly show with a full compliment this time around as Chuck, Gary, Mike and myself all come together to uncover more G.I. Joe related secrets!  I’m sure everyone remembers that little 16 bit G.I. Joe themed game that was floating around the internet a few weeks ago, Attack on Cobra Island?  Well, we dig down into the center of it in this show, tracking down and interviewing the mysterious creator behind the video game.  He gave us some terrific insight and information about the game, tells us its current status (PS, you can download it RIGHT NOW) and what happened with the whole Hasbro situation.

We also took a few minutes to talk to Counterpunch from the Seibertron Twincast Podcast to uncover how Transformers fans feel about Fun Publications and the Collectors’ Club, and I think G.I. Joe fans will find some of his responses very interesting.  Check it out at our Podbean page, or via the embedded player below.  Don’t forget, Show Notes are after the jump.

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No, it’s not a review of the as yet non-existent G.I. Joe: Renegades Season 1, which makes me a very sad panda.  But Transformers: Prime is a pretty darn good series in its own right, and seeing this action-packed animation in Blu-Ray quality is a sight to behold!

I had a chance to check this full season out extensively, and I can say it’s better than watching it the first time around, especially if you don’t have The Hub in HD (I don’t).

Check out my review of Season One of Transformers: Prime at the link below!

• Transformers: Prime the Complete First Season (Blu-Ray)

Various members of the fan community have been reaching out to Hasbro in many different ways to express their displeasure over the credit card security issues within Fun Publications, and Fun Publications’ reaction to those issues.  Through their PR firm, Hasbro has released the following statement:

“To the G.I. Joe and Transformers fan communities and Fun Publications customers,

Thank you for bringing your concern to our attention and for giving Hasbro the opportunity to respond to a matter that impacts its G.I. Joe and Transformers brands.  Please know we take all consumer concerns very seriously and are in regular contact with Fun Publications (our licensee) about the possibility of a breach in security to their online purchasing system for the G.I. Joe and Transformers Collectors’ Clubs.  Fun Publications is also taking this matter very seriously and is diligently working at identifying any problems, the number of customers affected and ways to ensure it does not happen to any more customers. Hasbro wants consumers to have a positive experience at all touch points for its brands, including transactions with its licensees.  As such, we are confident that Fun Publications has detailed instructions and pertinent information available for those consumers who believe they may have been targeted by credit theft via their portals.

Based on our extensive conversations with the Fun Publications team Hasbro wants to convey the following to the fan communities:

Fun Publications has assured us that they are taking necessary measures to curb additional issues, and they are working with third party experts to identify the problem.  They anticipate knowing and communicating the cause of the breach as soon as possible to those affected.

– They believe that the number of customers affected is low relative to the volume of sales transactions made.

– However, if you believe fraudulent charges have been made to your credit card after making a purchase with any portals for the G.I. Joe or Transformers Collectors’ Clubs, we urge you to contact Fun Publications immediately and provide them with the information requested at <https://www.transformersclub.com/tccccinfo.cfm> or <http://gijoeclub.com/ccinfo.cfm> by using the “Contact Us” link at the bottom of these pages.

– Fun Publications can also be reached at the following number for additional consumer affairs inquiries relating to the G.I. Joe and Transformers Collectors’ Clubs at (817) 448-9863during regular business hours.

– As more information becomes available, they will be contacting all affected customers who have notified them about the issue.

Thank you again to all of the fans of our Transformers and G.I. Joe brands for their continued support and for the opportunity to respond to this matter.”

The ultimate resolution of this situation remains unknown, but here’s hoping things get back to normal for all involved.

I’ve talked quite a bit about the UK Convention Roll Out Roll Call III on the What’s on Joe Mind podcast (in fact, this week’s episode will feature an interview with David Tree, who is the mastermind behind the convention), but I haven’t mentioned it here on the site lately.

With HissTank.com member “Blot” revealing the awesome Roll Out Roll Call III exclusives, this seemed like a good time to do it!

The infamous Cobra Snake Armor will make a huge, triumphant return at Roll Out Roll Call III, with a whole new aesthetic! But, wait…  that’s not all!  There will also be an exclusive Red Shadow “Dreadnaught” featuring an awesome G.I. Joe/ Transformers crossover…  and an o-ring Baron Ironblood!

These are some truly awesome looking exclusives…makes me want to run out and buy a plane ticket.

Check out these amazing exclusives mirrored below.

[View with PicLens]

For more details about the exclusives, keep your eyes on the Roll Out Roll Call 3 Exclusives Page.  Full details on the exclusives are below, and more info can be found at All the Cool Stuff.

Roll Out Roll Call 3, the show dedicated to Transformers, GI-Joe & Action Force is a little over a week away.

http://www.allthecoolstuff.co.uk/ROLL-OUT-ROLL-CALL-Transformers–GI-Joe-2012-UK-Convention__c-p-0-0-182.aspx

There is so much lined up for the show, from amazing guests to presentations & panels to competitions to exclusives.

The 2012 exclusives have been revealed.

 

RORC-04 V.I.P.E.R Armour is proving to be our most anticipated show item ever. Available in 3 colours and limited to just 30 of each colour at £49.99 each.

You can check out the photo gallery here: http://www.fullmetalhero.com/content/roll-out-roll-call3-snake-armour-official-image-gallery-3082/

RORC-05 Dreadnought is an evil reworking that would sit nicely in any Transformer or GI-Joe collection. Limited to 25 at £24.99 each.

The exclusives will available to Weekend Ticket holders from 20.00GMT tonite, so if you still need to order a ticket, please make sure you book before 19.30GMT to ensure your account is active for 20.00GMT exclusives ‘go-live’.

Fans of the Canadian G.I. Joe Convention no doubt are very familiar with Jason Loo’s work.  He’s done the artwork for the Canadian JoeCon comics as well as the actual character art for filecards, etc..  he’s a critical piece of the Canadian JoeCon puzzle, and after hanging out with him a lot during JoeCon in Orlando in 2004, I can say he’s a great guy as well.

He is currently involved in a contest, which isn’t G.I. Joe related, but it is Star Wars related to celebrate the “May the 4th Be With You” celebration in Toronto.

Jason is using his considerable art talents to design a poster for this event, and he needs our help to get it approved.

If you have a Facebook account and a few spare seconds, please consider “Liking” his poster.  He’s currently in third place and is trying to make a push towards victory, and this would be a great way for us to show our support and thanks to him for all of his efforts and hard work with the Canadian JoeCon comic.

So, please consider hitting up this link and clicking “Like”.  It would mean a lot to Jason, and the poster is pretty bad ass to boot.

This is just a reminder to let folks know that on March 6th, the complete first season of Transformers: Prime will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray Disc!  What does this mean for Joe fans?  Well, perhaps if sales are brisk enough for Transformers: Prime that means something good down the pipe for a potential G.I. Joe: Renegades…  maybe I’m reaching at straws, but I’ll take that chance.

I’ll be reviewing the Season boxed set closer to release, but until then, check out these great clips that have been posted online!  I actually really enjoy Transformers: Prime, and hopefully some attention on this boxed set will motivate Shout! Factory and Hasbro to get something similar done for G.I. Joe: Renegades.  We’ll see.  Enjoy the clips below!

You can also read the Press Release at the Read the Rest of this Entry link below.

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No this isn’t G.I. Joe specific news, but I know a lot of Joe fans are keeping a close eye on the Avengers toys and the SHIELD Helicarrier specifically, hoping for a little insight about the size and format of this playset vehicle.

Over on Twitter Hasbro’s PR secret agents have posted a neat image of the showroom floor in the set up process, and you get a pretty good look the Helicarrier and the size of the thing.  Figures still look a bit oversized on it, but I think it has some amazing potential with some creative photo taking and imagination.

Check out the mirrored image below!

Yesterday I spoke about the monstrous undertaking that is the Top 100 Best Toys of All Time, and now, UnderScoopFire has revealed the last 10 installments of this list on the latest episode of the UnderScoopFire Podcast!

Episode 21 to be exact, and you can find the episode right here.  This latest podcast features the normal UnderScoopFire crew as well as myself, Engineernerd from TV and Film Toys, Justin from WeirdoToys, and Rob from Joe A Day!  We had a blast during the recording and I think most of you folks will enjoy the recording…there is a hefty helping of G.I. Joe discussion.

Check out the podcast episode here and keep your eyes on the UnderScoopFire website as well, as the top 10 list will be revealed in print soon!

Okay, first a post about potential custom fodder with Avengers toys, and now talking about Ghost Recon?  It’s “everything but G.I. Joe” day here at GeneralsJoes!  In all seriousness, anyone who has played the Ghost Recon games knows the aesthetic they go for, and it’s very “G.I. Joe” in theme.  So the fact that not only does Unimax have the license to it, but there are figure cases on pre-order is pretty cool.

Granted, there are no images as of yet, but based on Unimax’s track record with Crysis and Assassin’s Creed, I think we could be due for some very neat custom fodder or generic soldier troop building with this line.  Heck, maybe just the accessories…

Check out the pre-order right here, and I’ll keep everyone posted once we actually get some images!

Yes, panic is a strong word.  In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen any real panic from anyone yet, but I do think what we’re seeing already from some Avengers toys being shown on Toys “R” Us Canada’s website might be something we want to keep in mind as we prepare mentally for Toy Fair in a couple of weeks.  I will admit, I did panic a little bit myself, mostly over articulation concerns, but in all honesty, I don’t think we have much to worry about with the mainline G.I. Joe releases.

As for the product itself, the first thing is the appearance of a clear image of the Avengers Quinjet:

Originally there was some hypothesis that maybe the Quinjet was retooled from the canceled Sigma 6 Thunderhawk and Rise of Cobra Phantom X90, but upon closer inspection that’s not the case.  The surface is completely different, and while there are some structural simularities, I think the vehicles themselves are different molds.  If you look at the cockpit area, the surface is much smoother on the Quinjet without the vents near the rear, and the wing assembly looks like it’s all one piece, and not modular like on the other planes.

Regardless of the construction, the Quinjet looks pretty neat, and could make for some potentially cool custom fodder.

Next up, is this weird Ground Assault Vehicle:

This thing is actually pretty darn cool, design-wise, as long as it’s larger than the picture indicates (I think it probably is).  If it’s close in size to the RHINO or even a bit smaller, it could make for a pretty awesome Cobra vehicle, with some fresh paint applications.

Another potential source of cool custom fodder is revealed with the appearance of Captain America:

Yes, the figure looks great, the webgear looks awesome…but…  where’s the articulation?  We’ve got single-joint knees and no torso joints whatsoever.  Curious…  I know some folks were wondering about this last week when Marvel leaked a few early images of the Avengers figures, but now seeing a finished model looking the same way is a concern.  Granted, if your only worried about the accessories, this isn’t a big deal, but it is somewhat disappointing, especially considering it won’t necessarily match aesthetically with the rest of the Marvel movie figures that have been revealed so far.

Granted, Marvel figures aren’t necessarily known by their extensive articulation, but still…  I have an Ultimate Captain America, Iron Man, and Nick Fury all in this format already, it is kind of too bad the Thor and potential Hawkeye figures won’t match it.

So even beyond folks being excited for G.I. Joe toys in 2012, the potential is there for some awesome customizing above and beyond the Retaliation brand.  More info will come in a couple weeks from Toy Fair, and GeneralsJoes will be there as always to cover it!