G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero

[Ran]

I'm not sure I'd buy a Tomahawk, mostly to avoid any conversation about size and price with my wife. After all, she did buy off on me getting the KMart AT-ST in the near future.

The Special Ops line might be showing up soon. They say some Target stores already have tags and pegs set up for them. It will be interesting to see what those things end up being. It would be nice if it is something similar to the Dollar General figures.

[anarky]

Yeah, but for $4, I won't hold my breath.

[RoIIo Tomassi]

That sounds like its going to be the GIJoe equivalent of those tiny SW figures that come like 10 to a package that are about 5mm tall. And the "Tomahawk" will be the "Falcon" type deal.

[Ran]

Actually, they are making tiny Joes called Micro Force. They are sort of cartoony and come in 2 packs similar to Lego's minifigures. I guess they are similar to those Star Wars things no one seems to be buying. Like Lego, you can't see which ones you are getting. The Target and TRU I went to this weekend both had them. They were $3.99 at TRU, $2.99 at Target.

http://generalsjoes.com/2012/06/30/pres ... tion-2012/

[anarky]

I saw those today. The shelf tag and scanner called them "Special Ops."

I have a bad feeling about this. Particularly since the Retaliation HISS and Ghost Hawk have increased to $31, which means the Tomahawk would be massively underpriced.

[Ran]

I've seen the Hiss Tank at Target at $31 also, but it seems like an error. When the movie was pulled, it seems like stores didn't know what to do. I'm sure it will be back down to $25 once the actual line is released. I don't expect the basic figures to drop from $10.

[anarky]

Speaking of which, I saw Ninja Duel Snake Eyes and Battle Kata Roadblock today. One each, at two different Targets (meaning one figure at each Target, not one of each at both stores). They look pretty good. Snake Eyes especially looks nice. Coming off the long dry spell, I have to admit I would've bought them both if I were getting anything else at either store.

[Ran]

The Walmart near my house started putting out new Joes. The motorcycles are back, but this time there is a Flint, too. The Flint figure looked just as crappy as the Snake Eyes and Stormshadows. They also had the movie AWE Striker, Water Moccasin, and the new 3 packs.

[anarky]

I saw the Flint cycle today at Target.

When those go on clearance, I'm buying several of the bikes, and probably giving the figures to my kids or something.

[Ran]

Pictures are up of the new figures.

http://www.hisstank.com/gi-joe-news/toy ... 013-11901/

The moment you've all been waiting for, our 1st images from Toy Fair! Hasbro unveiled a generous amount of previously unannounced figures. Hasbro says these are waves 3 and 4(however stay tuned for more info on that, as technically wave 3 of Retaliation is already out unless these are really waves 1 and 2 of a different branding name like...GI Joe Special Ops and...well it gets confusing so hopefully Hasbro can clear this up!).

Some figures which were canceled from the GI Joe 30th Anniversary Toyline have made their way back to this upcoming assortment(spread across 2 waves) of figures! Those and many other figures shown include:
Ultimate Cobra Commander classic
Ultimate Storm Shadow classic
Ultimate Duke movie
Ultimate Flint movie
Ultimate Roadblock movie
Data Viper
Night Viper
Kwinn
Crimson Guard
Blind Master
Jinx
Cobra Ninja Trooper
Budo
Not many vehicles to be seen, literally just a handful, but for GI Joe A Real American Hero fans, these vehicles are classics and 1 in particular has been in demand for quite some time.
Night Landing Craft with Cobra Eel
Eaglehawk with Lift Ticket
Eaglehawk you ask? Why yes it's a new mold modernized Tomahawk! An extra row of seats, rotor blades that fold out of the way(easier to store!), extra head sets, et al. Oh yeah the new Lift-Ticket is considerable different compared to its 25th anniversary Lift Ticket predecessor. Wait..there's something else about it..oh yeah unlike the Retaliation vehicle drivers, this figure is fully articulated to boot! In addition we have images of the Eaglehawk packaging from front to back, click on the headline to check out all these upcoming GI Joe toys!

So you don't have to try making a custom Budo.

[Ran]

I'm slowly making my way through the pictures because they are not loading very fast. The Ultimate movie Duke and Roadblocks are pretty nice (other than the part where they use the actor's head on Duke). Flint isn't bad either. Budo is in full samurai gear. Ultimate Storm Shadow classic may be the Storm Shadow I've been waiting for. Oh, and Kwinn. Yeah!

[anarky]

I think I'll stick with a custom Budo. I'll probably get this figure, too, since it's kickass and I have a samurai boner, but Budo was explained as an American Army (I think) dude who was descended from samurai and used some of their equipment. This guy's a full-on 1600s samurai.

[Ran]

Yes, a guy in full Samurai gear would look funny in a modern military context. If they were going to bring back more 80s figures, you would think they would do someone like Sneak Peak. It looks like they now have a Predator Drone mold. He could use that instead of that stupid periscope he originally had. Tripwire would be another one they could modernize. Something with more modern EOD armor and the robot that came with Renegades Tunnel Rat.

I wonder if they will ever release Alpine again. The one from the DVD set is rare, and they cancelled the one that came with the Mech.

Oh, and I saw the new movie VAMP at Target. They still have it (and the HISS tank) at $31.

[anarky]

Holy fucking shit, I see why everyone was pissed when Data Viper was canceled. I had him mixed up with Night Viper. That motherfucker is SWEET.

Those "Ultimate" figures give me wood. All of them. They'll all have a home, even though they're obviously not Flint, Duke, and Roadblock. (I wonder if we'll get more Ultimate figures after the movie dies down. Ultimate (Real) Roadblock, perhaps with an interchangeable head with Renegades-styled mutton chops, would make my head asplode.)

Budo really is a fucking amazing figure, but he's not Budo. (Looking at the unmasked pics, Budo is clean-shaven and this chap isn't.) Instead of full-on traditional garb, he should come with a motorcycle. Maybe I'll give my custom Budo parts from this guy and one of the inevitably-clearanced Retaliation bikes.

[anarky]

BTW, the Transformers line is doing something the Joe line still hasn't done despite fans begging: including IDW figures. Trailcutterbreaker and Metroplex both take cues from the MTMTE versions, and there are actual post-AHM Megatron, post-Chaos Orion Pax, and Autobot Leader Bumblebee figures (and the latter had better have his fucking cane!).

People would kill for IDW's Croc Master, Crimson Guards, Tomax Paoli, and both Cobra Commanders, among others.