Yes, we’re getting ever closer to the 2012 G.I. Joe Convention, but hot on the heels of JoeCon this year will be San Diego ComicCon, and part of the big SDCC showing this year will be a pair of exclusive Jinx figures.

The decision makes sense with Jinx being a big part of G.I. Joe: Retaliation and with a desire to fill in some gaps in the old school roster.  Well, old friend Gyre-Viper has gotten his hands on one of these excellent looking Jinx figures, and we’ve got some great in hand pictures at JoeDeclassified.com.  He was also kind enough to supply an exclusive image to GeneralsJoes featuring the card back and file card.  Excellent!

I’ve mirrored a chunk of the images here, but you should hit up JoeDeclassified.com to see the full selection.  Some great details revealed!

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It’s been a busy week for Gyre-Viper, and he’s not letting up, even on a Friday!

Over on JoeDeclassified.com he has posted images of the upcoming San Diego ComicCon exclusive Constructicon B.A.T. and Destro, the driver of the upcoming Shockwave HISS tank!  The HISS itself (initially revealed at Toy Fair, but not shown in the images below) looks like a very cool and fun variation of the regular Retaliation HISS Tank, and the two figures slated to come with it look like a lot of fun.

The B.A.T. has the color scheme from the Constructicons, which is an awesome touch.  Destro himself is a repaint of the City Strike Destro tweaked looking City Strike Destro using PoC Dusty and Techno-Viper parts, and just looks like an awesome figure.  Check out the mirrored images below and a huge thanks to Gyre-Viper for the heads up!

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I mean, look at that.  IT’S SO GREEN.  And SO PURPLE.  GREEN AND PURPLE.

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!

Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, you read correctly…in my mind, this is one of the best Sideshow Collectibles figures that has been produced…how do they possibly still have some in stock?!

I don’t know, but if you’re on the fence, you may want to pick it up while you can and avoid the Wait List.  Click the banner below to add to your 12″ army!

While you’re at it, the 12″ General Hawk figure is also still available and in stock now!  Hit up the banner below to grab that one.

These figures have been selling out fast, I’m amazed that these two (which are both very cool looking figures) are still in stock!  Jump on them while you have the chance.  While you’re at it, think about the woodland Ninja Viper figure as well.  Originally an SDCC Exclusive, you can pick this up right now directly from the Sideshow Collectibles store.

This concludes the pimp post of the day.

It’s a San Diego ComicCon wrap up!  I reviewed the standard release Zarana a couple of weeks ago, but had to wait a little while before I could the reviews wrapped up on these other two items.  As always, a big thanks goes out to longtime GeneralsJoes friend Gyre Viper for doing me yet another favor and getting me a line on the Cold Slither Zarana while old pal Mysterious Stranger is always there with the hook up for the SDCC Starstriker.

You can check out the review in the 30th Anniversary Section, or just hit the links directly below:

• Zarana Cold Slither (SDCC Exclusive)
• Starscream Skytriker w/ Cobra Commander (SDCC Exclusive)

SDCC is almost a faint memory, but the rage about the Zarana exclusive and Hasbro Toy Shop lives on!

I have as of yet been unable to get myself the Cold Slither variant of Zarana, but I decided to not let this stop me from posting a review for the regular release.  I’ve got this posted right now in the 25th Anniversary and 30th Anniversary sections, as well as linked to Exclusives.

Yeesh.  Anyway, if you don’t want to dig through all three of those other pages, just hit up the link below:

• SDCC Exclusive Zarana (Regular Release)

So I’m still digging through Mysterious Stranger’s awesome reports straight from San Diego, and one his final reports involved a great conversation with the guys at Sideshow Collectibles that I will recap some of right here.  Actually, forget recapping, I’ll just relay exactly what Chris sent along to me:

“I had the opportunity to speak with Matt Bischof who is part of the Sideshow Collectibles 1/6 scale design team.  He provided some great insight and information regarding the G.I. Joe line and I’ve got the highlights for you right here.

First, the line is doing very well.  Some figures have sold better than others but Sideshow is very happy with how it has been doing thus far and are working to continue that success.

One of the big questions I had was regarding female figures.  This is something that Sideshow has been mentioning in their Q&A sessions but not much info has been revealed.  I didn’t get many details but I did get an update.  They are fine tuning their female body and working to get the proportions just right.  The issue that was brought up was the way the body looks with and without armor.  I’m taking that to be in reference to a Baroness figure because I can’t think of any other Joe female that wears body armor.  They are making progress and as soon as the body is ready we can expect to hear some more news on female characters being introduced to the line.

Also in regards to the female figures I asked about how hair would be done, rooted or sculpted.  They are going with sculpted hair because it gives them more options for styles and the ability to swap out hairpieces for different looks (i.e. windswept, ponytails, etc).  Personally I think this is the smart way to go.  Rooted hair on female figures seems to be an industry standard in the 12″ scale but I find it to be too doll-like and the very few figures I have with rooted hair never look as good as the promotional photos.  With sculpted hair it allows for more detail and texture to be applied.  I’m glad they are going this way and I think its the right decision.

The other big piece of news I got was that they still have Destro in development.  As with the female figures they are working to get the body right.  They are developing a new muscular body for Destro similar to the Hot Toys large muscle body and once that is ready they’ll get to work one putting him together.

Something that was brought up in our conversation that I hadn’t even considered was the possibility of small vehicles.  The example discussed was the Trouble Bubble and the fact that they are even thinking about vehicles blew my mind.  I brought up the RAM Cycle and while there wasn’t any confirmation they would consider it, it is about the size they are thinking.  But 12″ scale Trouble Bubble!!! Wow!

In speaking about the dioramas, I confirmed that the Condition Red: Urban Threat diorama featured in their display case is indeed coming out in Q1 2012 and should be up for preorder soon if it isn’t already.  Unfortunately that will most likely be the last diorama for the near future.  They are giving them (and collectors wallets) a bit of a rest for now to concentrate on the figures.

There aren’t any previously announced upcoming releases that weren’t on display.  However the Desert Cobra Officer and Sniper production figures were shown in the same display with Dusty and both should be available by the end of the year.  There is also another Cobra trooper that is coming out later this year that they are very excited about.  They want to focus on and play up the sci-fi aspect of G.I. Joe as well as keep that military aspect and we’ll be seeing more Cobras coming out down the line.  The intention is to make figures that are unique and not just have this be another line of military figures.  Along those same lines, they also want to focus more on environment specific Joes that have unique looks so instead of an alpine unit of soldiers there would be just the one alpine specialist.  (I know I shouldn’t read anything into the use of the example being “alpine” but I’d like to think the Joe mountaineer should be on the short list).  This is something that I think will really help this line grow in the long run.  While the original 3 3/4″ G.I. Joe figures were essentially super-articulated green army men the line developed into a team of the best specialists from all across the military.  Reflecting that in the 1/6 line is a great way to keep this as G.I. Joe and not “Sideshows military line”.

The design team has been learning a lot from working on this line and applying what they’ve learned to future releases.  Some examples of this are the use of thinner fabrics to allow for more realistic folds and seams in the clothing as well as applying a stone washing technique to soften up some of the camo coloring and make it look more worn.  The first figure to use this new stone washing technique is Hawk and it has been applied to his pants.  Having seen the figure on display at the show I can say the technique works really well.  An example of the newer fabrics in use are the Cobra ninjas.  When you look at Storm Shadow and then the Red Ninja and Ninja Viper you can see more elaborate folds in the clothing as well as more wraps and straps with better seams and stitching.  They are planning to put out another Storm Shadow at some point using the new fabric but there was no timeline given or any indication what version of the character might be released.

Speaking of characters being redone, Snake-eyes is another figure that is on the list to be issued again.  This time they’ll be going with a sculpted portrait rather than the cloth mask.  The intention is to be able to include the commando head in addition to the visor head and possibly release him as a deluxe figure that way collectors can use the commando head on the first figure and display them both.  Personally I’m all for the sculpted mask.  Seeing how well the Firefly and Storm Shadows head sculpts came out makes Snake-eyes look dated in comparison.  I’m  very glad to hear they are planning on something to remedy this.

When the subject turned to the upcoming Viper the exclusive alternate portrait came up.  The reasoning for including the alternate head is to answer the question about why the Viper has goggles on his helmet.  The goggles are made to work with that alternate portrait and finally give a logical explanation for why a full face helmet has goggles on it.  The intention is that the Viper would keep the goggles on his helmet and pull them off for use when he has his helmet off.  You can see how this looks in the photos of the figure on Sideshow’s site.  I think this explanation is perfectly logical and I can’t figure out why I hadn’t heard this theory before.  Regardless it works and shows the kind of thought and attention to detail going into this line.

With the DC license being awarded to Sideshow and the intent to put out 1/6 scale DC figures we might be seeing a decrease in the number of G.I. Joe figures released to possibly 1 every quarter.  With Star Wars, G.I. Joe and now DC entering the 1/6 world they want collectors that want to buy from all three lines to be able to afford to do so without having to choose between one or the other.  They recognize that these are expensive figures and want to do what they can to help collectors get everything they want.  As someone who has seen 3 G.I. Joe figures (Stalker, Dusty and Ninja Viper) as well as 2 Star Wars releases come out in the last 4-6 weeks I can completely understand this logic.  While I’d like to see them release as many G.I. Joe figures as possible I also understand that some restraint is necessary to keep the line healthy and continue to perform well and perform well it has.

Overall the Sideshow G.I. Joe 1/6 scale figure line is in great hands and I’m very excited about what is coming down the line.”

As I was getting ready to travel back North yesterday, I received a few messages from the guys at Fighting 118th, who have posted some more information related to SDCC.  The first bit of intel comes from their Hasbro Booth Update and includes some contradictory information from what was being passed around earlier.  Contrary to earlier reports that the Data-Viper might make a later assortment, according to Hasbro reps at SDCC, he is definitely “cancelled, no ifs, ands, or buts”.

Also going against previous reports, apparently the Spring, 2012 date on the placard may in fact be the truth.  At least according to Fighting 118th.

One of the issues you run into with so many reps at the Con is that you sometimes get some contradictory information.  Guess we’ll have to hold tight to find out which one was right.

Last, but not least, they also passed along a report about Hasbro Toy Shop, the timeline for getting things posted, and how “rare” these SDCC exclusives truly are.  You can read that enlightening report right here as you prepare for your morning post-SDCC ritual of F5′s while you wait for Zarana and Starscream at HasbroToyShop.

Thanks again to Paul from Fighting 118th for the heads up.

So, our lifeblood to SDCC, A Real American Hero.com attended the Hollywood costuming panel today and has a few reports on the sketches for the G.I. Joe costumes that were shown.  Keep in mind that the costumes are all preliminary designs, and also they flashed by so fast that it was tough to get full details.

We figure a little intel is better than nothing, though, so here goes… these quotes come from the Twitter account of aRah_Tweets.

“Saw a glimpse of some Joe 2 costume illustrations. They were flashed so quickly I didn’t have time for a pic. Lots of green & brown.”

Encouraging words, but not much detail.  However, he did have some follow ups…

“OK on the costumes one illustration was the Rock as Roadblock in tan pants and sleeveless shirt.”

“There were two other illustrations. One of a female and another with a male. They went by so quickly I couldn’t see details.”

“I think the female had long hair and a tight costume. The male had a hat on and was wearing camo.”

So there you have it.  Not much, no, but better than nothing right?  Thanks to A Real American Hero.com for the intel!

So while the GIJCC didn’t bring anything to show from their subscription figures, GeneralsJoes contributor Mysterious Stranger stopped by their booth and interrogated them a little bit about the subscription idea and offerings.

While we didn’t get any major revelations, there are some cool bits of information in his report:

• Pricing would be around the same as the Con Exclusive Dial Tone – $20 – $25 a piece
• They have a list of fan requested figures taken from message boards and their post-con questionaires that they are using to determine what figures to make
• There should be an update in the August newsletter
• Final paint prototypes should be hitting very soon.  They had hoped to have something to show at SDCC this year but they didn’t arrive in time.  Once they are approved and finalized we will see some loose figure pictures
• The line will include 25th style updates of ARAH characters we didn’t get in the 25th line as well as new sculpt characters, female figures and foreign versions (ex. Quarrel)
• The first 13 figures (12 sub figures and 13th bonus figure) are planned out and approved.  Once all the production approvals are in (paint sign offs etc) they plan to produce all of the sub figures at once so they won’t have any delays once the figures start shipping
• The details of the payment plans are still being worked out.  They are considering a pay up front model as well as a partial pay model (ex. pay for 6 figures up front, details on this were sketchy as they are still working them out) and you will have the opportunity to buy singles if you want extras or just one figure or want to army build.  However if you don’t subscribe you won’t get the bonus 13th figure.  They are only making enough of the bonus figure to fill subs and no more
• The first 12 figures have about 5 or 6 new heads
• If demand is high enough they would love to continue the subscription program into another 12 figures

“While the modern 25th style has sold really well there is still a possibility for an O-ring set in 2013.  They have a theme that will work with the remaining tooling available but it will be up to the fans to “put their money where their mouth is”.  The 25th style exclusives have sold out much better than the O-ring exclusives so if fans want O-ring they’ll have to show that support with their wallets.

Also the Manta sets could be done with existing tooling as well but the demand has to be there and backed up with sales.

From what I gathered during this part of my conversation with the Club rep the modern 25th style is just more popular and sells better than the O-ring style.  They have to go with what sells the best and right now its the modern style.”