I used to be a GI Joe collector, infact it was on a GI Joe forum that I bought my first MOTUC figure but I stopped collecting as it went into the Rise of Cobra.
Thanks to Mr.Shokoti's Toy vs Toy Questionaire I started looking at GI Joes again. I know there are some members on here that collect Joes so I wanted to know if these are any good. From what I have seen there is alot more detail in the figures and they seem to look a bit more realistic now.
Is there any that are must haves? Is the line worth getting back into?
The new Pursuit of Cobra line is really cool. I think they are the best line we have got so far. Each wave has, I think, 4 figures. So it is not very hard to collect. My favorites are the new Zartan, the new Alley Viper, and the new Dusty. Also check out the new vehicles, especially the Doom Cycle.
When will we get our Songster figure Mattel???
While Pursuit Of Cobra is a vast improvement over Rise Of Cobra(they are supposedly a continuation of the movie line but the packaging is closer to that of the 80's "A Real American Hero" and the face sculpts aren't actor based), I still haven't bought any of the line. The main reasons for this are it seems like so many of the characters are "environment based"(Destro has frost on his mask since he's a part of some cold weather environment), they keep re-releasing Snake-Eyes while there are so many new characters they could include, Hasbro has said that they don't plan on including females in the line, the "file cards" only give a sentence or 2 about the mission instead of the character, and Hasbro will probably reboot this line sometime next year(my interest in all things Hasbro is pretty much dead since anytime I seem to like a toyline, they'll kill it and replace it with something I don't like).
Well sir, if you're interested in a little comedy with your reviews, then may I suggest my personal Alexx Shorts over on Joebattlelines? I've been reviewing since the Rise of Cobra line (and you can, of course, see when I get better backgrounds and a better camera, so early reviews won't be as good). There are many reviews you can go to, but I try to look at each figure as a TOY rather than a character. Is it fun? Can it hold it's accessories? Does the articulation work well? Stuff like that.
Now, for my ideas on the current G.I. Joe:
Rise of Cobra was much better than most people give it credit for. Were most of the big names different from thier original looks? Yes, of course they were. However...were they good toys? YES. Oh boy, yes. Much much better than the 25th anniversary figures. Better proportions, better working articulation, and a better grip on weapons (since they finally took out trigger guards on the weapons, allowing them to hold the weapons realistically without cutting an index finger loose from the hand).
Now, Pursuit of Cobra is even more fantastic than RoC was. If you want to start in on G.I. Joe, you've picked a great time. Get out there now and start looking, 'cause the previous waves are going fast, and you don't want to miss guys like Dusty or Jungle Duke. They're from the first wave, and utterly amazing. Perhaps you may only want one Duke, but I seriously think you should go with what is a fun toy, and Jungle Duke is just great. Currently we're on wave 3, but you can still find some greats from wave 2 like the Jungle Viper or Zartan.
Now, it's obvious that G.I. Joe is one of my favorites lines, so I'll be a little biased here. I won't lie, however. The 25th anniversary had many flaws, but they have worked those out with RoC, and they're near perfection with PoC. I would suggest hunting down a few from the 25th and RoC, but if you want to start simple, get out there now and grab some PoC. If you like a good toy, you won't be disappointed.
"Since you got here by not thinking, it seems reasonable to expect that, in order to get out, you must start thinking." ~ Tock, the Watchdog
Alexx has a blog?! Come on in and check out Toys and Tomfoolery! You won't regret it...until the next morning.
My wife got in on PoC as her introduction to GI Joe. She's got nearly all of the first 2 waves now. She'd have them all, but the USPS screwed something up and sent a package back to amazon which had the Alley Viper I got her for christmas, so Amazon cancelled the order and the Viper got sold out from under us. At least I was still able to get her the TRU exclusive Quick Kick and Spirit figures. Wave 3 is just coming out, so she's excited about those.
"I won Dungeons and Dragons! And it was advanced!!" -Pierce Hawthorne-
Thanks for all of the suggestions. I have now bought some of the PoC wave 1 figures from ebay and pre-ordered wave 3 and a case of wave 2 from BBTS.
Unfortunately, these are not available in stores here due to RoC clogging up the shelves. We only got a couple of the RoC waves and they never moved so there will never be a chance to see GI Joe on the shelves again. I think retailers may even stay away from the next movie line.
I have more questions. What are the good army builders from RoC and PoC? From what I can tell, Jungle Viper, Alley Viper and Shock Trooper look like good army builders. Is Night Adder an army builder or is he a single figure and Croc Masters replacement?
Alley Viper is a big YES. Many accessories, and you've got a few different ways to outfit them as well. Same goes for the Cobra Shock Trooper. In fact, if you're looking for basic troops, I would stick to the current Shock Trooper and ignore the old 25th Cobra Troopers. It's bascially the same thing, but more accessories and cooler looking. Jungle Viper is very busy, but awesome. If you've got some plants around the house, you could put a Jungle Viper in each of them (if they're thick enough) and you'd never notice. Nothing like actual, working camo! I even put two of 'em in the Christmas tree.Originally Posted by TheFallen
As for RoC: Take your pick! So many of them don't really follow along with the traditional look, so many of them could be used as army builders even if they're not. The Accelerator Suit figures, for instance. That's a GREAT figure, and perfect for a team of high tech armored guys. Night Adder, though, is a singlar character, and the tattoos all over his body make him a little tough to army build, since it might be odd for so many to have a ton of matching tattoos. A great army builder for the good guys (and a first) is the Pit Commando. He's got a ton of accessories, and also has various ways to outfit him. Anything else is up to your tastes. I mean, I loved the look of the Neo-Viper and the Neo-Viper Commando. Many people thought they were too...organic-looking. So they make good army builders, but it depends on your preference.
There's also some good army builders in the 25th line, but it's gona start getting into a real long list. If you want to keep it new, then you've already got your hands full!
"Since you got here by not thinking, it seems reasonable to expect that, in order to get out, you must start thinking." ~ Tock, the Watchdog
Alexx has a blog?! Come on in and check out Toys and Tomfoolery! You won't regret it...until the next morning.
i am a HUGE joe fan, heck i have a joe tat even(like the one in my profile pic). My love for joe and MOTU are pretty equal.
as for wants/needs it is all about what you love.
I personally have been getting all the figures from the original line but redone sort of like MOTUC classics but for g.i.joe.
However, I HAVE been loving the Resolute, POC line and a few other things. The new hiss tank is AWESOME!!! I have 4!!
there are a few figures that are gonna be pricey but overall everything isn't that difficult to come by.
I want NA Skeletor and Rio Blast and I want them now!
I did some army building in the 25th/Modern era line but I tried to limit it to 5-10 figures each army. Not having them available at retail here makes it a bit harder to army build as I am having trouble finding them at a decent price.
I like the look of the new HISS tank but they are very pricey with shipping. I have been using the reviews on General's Joes and Alexx's on Joebattlelines to help choosing which figures to get.
Do the new figures still look good with the 25th/Modern era figures? It seems a bit strange to have highly detailed, more realistic figures with basic figures like hooded CC and Croc Master
I agree with Alexx that the quality of GI*JOE figures got better with RoC and even better yet with PoC. But after the nostalgiafest of the 25th Anniversary line I just can't bring myself to buy Joes that aren't based on 80's figures. I look forward to any classic Joes that Hasbro will sneak into the new line like Lowlight.
I do think that any GI*JOE fan would at least like the 25thn Anniversary Joes that were original sculpts (Commando Snake Eyes, Dusty, Wild Bill, Spirit, Bazooka, B.A.T., Croc Master, etc.). They were really good figures. It was all the kitbashes/repaints/minor retools (Falcon, Leatherneck, Cutter, Tele Viper, etc.) that were big let downs.
"There's only one Master of the Universe and it's He-Man." - Stephen Colbert
"The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing." - Blaise Pascal
The POC version of Lowlight is 31 flavors of awesome! I can't wait for it to be released!
POC has been pretty awesome so far. The small waves has lead to quicker turnover between waves, and they've done a decent job of planning out revision cases to get vhtf figures back on the pegs (cough alley viper cough).
I tried to interest Mrs. SOB in these (and though she likes them, she's focusing on JUST the POC line), and they look awesome...
And they go well with two of the POC campaigns. Can you imagine filling out the Arctic scene that has Destro, Snow Job, the Joe's Wolf Hound with a bunch of Cobra Officers and troops in arctic gear.If I was the one in the family collecting Joes (my money's tied up in Marvel Universe), I'd totally get these.
"I won Dungeons and Dragons! And it was advanced!!" -Pierce Hawthorne-
It really depends on your preference. A friend of mine thinks that the 25th figures look kinda goofy next to the RoC figures, and that's just based on simple things like hip construction (which is hard to see the difference). Personally, if it's Joe sized, I use them together. Heck, I even have some of the 80's guys in there (but mostly the favorites like the Techno-Vipers).
So, personally, I think 25th and RoC/PoC work just fine together. Some look a little more out of place than others (like ones that look unmistakenly 80's) but so many like Vipers or Crimson Guards are just timeless, you know?
"Since you got here by not thinking, it seems reasonable to expect that, in order to get out, you must start thinking." ~ Tock, the Watchdog
Alexx has a blog?! Come on in and check out Toys and Tomfoolery! You won't regret it...until the next morning.
i think they all look fine together but that is me.
I want NA Skeletor and Rio Blast and I want them now!
2 more things that Hasbro has disappointed me with when it comes to G.I. Joe.
1) They cancel things without much word as to why. Sure, MOTUC is a lot smaller toyline than any of the Joe ones, but Mattel will usually give a reason as to why something is delayed, changed or cancelled. I don't spend time on any Joe forums(although I usually check Yojoe & Hisstank daily), but there never seems to be any reson why so many previously revealed toys are cancelled and never released.
2) They never made anymore "Past And Present" releases. While it was great to get Snow Job since he was my very first Joe toy (along with the Rockslide vehicle)...
... but I really wanted more like it. That was such a cool release!!!
Yup its very annoying. Even if you are on those forums you don't really get an answer. The worse thing is that half the time the toys show up from HK or China (fully complete "prototypes") but never make it to retail. Like they had all these toys made then figured to hell with it and shelved them
I know, when I saw that at Target I was salivating at the potential to re-release a lot of old vehicles with a new update....then nothing2) They never made anymore "Past And Present" releases. While it was great to get Snow Job since he was my very first Joe toy (along with the Rockslide vehicle)...
http://www.yojoe.com/vehicles/09/pas...resent_box.jpg
... but I really wanted more like it. That was such a cool release!!!
The worse imho was how they botched M.A.S.K. That Matt Trakker figure was constantly a sell out in stores and online at hasbrotoyshop.com
But yet you can hear the crickets when it comes to questions about a continuation of the two license mergers
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i thought the MASK thing was just a one time deal. i never heard hasbro say anything about bringing other characters from the show into the gi joe universe
I never looked any further into it, but I heard that Hasbro doesn't have the rights to M.A.S.K. I had assumed they did since it was a Kenner product and Hasbro absorbed Kenner. Someone on this forum said that the whole reason his name was "Trakker" instead of "Matt Trakker" was due to some loophole. I have no idea if this is true, but maybe that's why we haven't seen any more from M.A.S.K.
I will have to find it but they were asked after the Matt Trakker reveal if there would be more M.A.S.K. and the response was it depended solely on figure sales.
Not sure if that meant figure sales would justify pursuing the license or what. But from what you guys are seeing Matt Trakker was more like Mo-Larr, a one time deal which sucks
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I wouldn't be suprised if Hasbro announced a new M.A.S.K property in the coming years. There was a rumour floating around that a new movie was in the works and now they have their own TV Channel they can do what they want with programming.
As for Hasbro not having the M.A.S.K license, I think when they absorbed Kenner they got the toy rights but not anything else. I am only speculating so I don't know what it actually correct but I wouldn't be suprised if they were working on something.
Even though this was a GI Joe thread, Hasbro has already released the Human Alliance figures in Transformers which is very similar to the M.A.S.K line. Infact they will be continuing it again;
This time it almost looks like this Transformer comes with Duke from GI Joe.
See what I did there? The thread went to M.A.S.K, I included Transformers and got in some GI Joe
i LOVE that tf but alas too bad it is not JOE scale. It IS about the scale of M.A.S.K though.
Hasbro is sitting on a gold mine with a TF/Joe crossover
I want NA Skeletor and Rio Blast and I want them now!
i got those sets a while back. i LOVE the arctic set. the desert one, not so much. i say if you're considering the arctic set, go for it. i was never into army building, but i did like how even the guys that look similar either have slight differences in appearance and they can be outfitted with different weapons.I tried to interest Mrs. SOB in these (and though she likes them, she's focusing on JUST the POC line), and they look awesome...
And they go well with two of the POC campaigns. Can you imagine filling out the Arctic scene that has Destro, Snow Job, the Joe's Wolf Hound with a bunch of Cobra Officers and troops in arctic gear.
as i said, the desert set didn't win me over. it's not bad, but i thought the arctic one was a little more interesting. they're both diverse and have their share of cool variants on standard troops, but the arctic set executed it better.
you and king kahn have me confused. will that tf/gi joe set be in scale with regular joe figures? i'd love to have something like that if any of my joes could get inside. if the figure is 3.5", that would work for me.
Last edited by mightybuck; January 14, 2011 at 08:27am.
I'm trying to pick a few Joes up here and there and the above quote fits me exactly. I'm not so much into the movie stuff or the newer stuff but I want my classic figs remade/better.
No, that TF set looks to be in scale with the other Human Alliance figures which is about the same size as the old M.A.S.K figures
dude, get the paraviper. easily my favorite figure from the 25th line. he has so much removeable gear and a plethora of weapons. i think he's the most detailed of all the 25th figures. they also released him in the rise of cobra line. that time he was just black, grey, and red. so there's a nice alternative for you if you don't like the neon colors of this one.
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