GI Joe Movie Toys

[Maradona]

To my utter shock, I found two Shock Troopers, an Alley Viper, Low Light, and Skydive an hour after opening at Rosemead WM. This is the first time I find an Alley Viper at retail and the second time for the Shock Trooper. They had three of the awesome wave 3 Snake Eyes and a couple of Beachheads, along with an army of frosty Destros and Jungle Troopers.

[El Chuxter]

I got two more Jungle Vipers yesterday at TRU's sale. At least one has an appointment with the knife. I'm going to make him into a ninja, but not sure which one yet. The other, I've not decided whether to use him for parts or not.

I would've gotten the new Duke or Storm Shadow, but TRU doesn't like to put stuff out during their sales that people might actually want.

[Rogue II]

I went by a Target today hoping to find Low Light. Instead, they had restocked the red-carded Cobra Commander, a couple different Dukes, and Beachhead. (not to mention the countless Zartans, Dustys, & Arctic Destros.

[El Chuxter]

The Toy Fair stuff is a mixed bag. Some really nice stuff, especially Crazylegs (don't have to make him now!), Techno-Viper, the Renegades figures, the Viper update, the Iron Grenadier Heavy Gunner, the Jungle BAT, and, surprisingly enough, the Temple Defender Snake Eyes. The Skystriker is a welcome surprise, and I will find a way to get Zarana and the Starscream Skystriker at Comic-Con if I have to sell my mother.

However, some of the other repaints and kitbashes are a bit confusing. Blowtorch makes some sense; I think only three people found him, but Croc Master? I remember thinking when it showed up in store computers, "Maybe it'll be the IDW version, and I can use him as Croc Master's son who was mentioned in the Valor vs Venom line." But--and correct me if I'm wrong--this looks like a straight re-release of the same old figure, only with a cobra and snake this time. The same old figure who rots on clearance in almost every Marshall's and TJMaxx in the country, I might add.

What the hell, Hasbro? Seriously. I can't say it more politely. What the hell?

[Phantom-like Menace]

I've been really scared of what we'd get after PoC leaves shelves. I was a little worried Low Light might be the last toy that really brought back the sense of how great toy collecting was in the '80s. Holy Testicle Tuesday I was wrong! Sci-Fi, Crazylegs, Steel Brigade, Techno-Viper, Zarana, a little love for the '90s with the Rock Viper, and--who could have seen this coming after years of Hasbro dragging their feet--a Skystriker! a beautiful, sexy Skystriker for me to spend money on multiples of. Then, craziness abounding, a Skystriker painted like Starscream with a Cobra Commander figure armed with . . . Megatron! Look at it! Freaking Megatron!

Renegade figures: meh, and shrug. There's potential for some new things, mostly Storm Shadow's look, which I don't particularly care for. I'd love a Jinx figure. The main characters are really nothing new.

I'm also happy to see some new designs that really continue the PoC style. Really detailed designs with tons of accessories. Some of them are completely off the wall, but there's just so much to them you have to be able to find something you like about them.

That Storm Shadow is very nice too. I'm definitely looking forward to getting that.

If all this stuff isn't impossible to find, I'm going to be in Joe heaven this year.

P.S. Seriously, a Starscream Skystriker with Megatron-toting Cobra Commander!

[RooJay]

I'm diggin pretty much everything from Toy Fair (saddened to hear that Zarana is exclusive to Comic Con, though) although, I too, am confused as to why Croc Master is getting re-released. Part of me wonders if Hasbro isn't trying to murder the GI Joe line? I love the character, and the figure, but he was quite the peg-warmer the first time around!
I also finally managed to track down most of the latest wave this past weekend (only missing Shadow Tracker) and I have to say that I was actually quite disappointed with the Cobra Shock Trooper. Especially given all the buzz around that figure I've heard online. I really love the accessories, the sculpt in general is cool, and I love the idea behind the character, but I just can't get past that freakishly long neck! It looks to me as though his chin starts where normally a persons nose would be. Totally ruins the figure, in my opinion.

[Maradona]

I suspect Hasbro's restraint in revealing too much is a prelude to a larger reveal at the Joe Con in April. They really just showed 2 waves, 3 vehicles (2 of which are repaints), and a bit more than a few figures from a fall wave. Exclusives from SDCC yes, but none from any other retailer and only one of the impending 30th Anniversary line, albeit Sci Fi looks strong.

At Joe, I expect a look at another wave, more vehicles, and more of a peek at the 30th line, followed by even more 3 months later at SDCC.

[bigbarada]

I was at Walmart yesterday morning and I walked by the clearance toy section and I saw one of those new V.5 HISS Tanks on clearance for $10. The box looked untampered with, so I went ahead and bought it and I must say that it's probably the coolest new GI Joe vehicle that I have ever seen! I was totally blown away, first by how large it is when compared to the box, and just how cool of a design it is overall. Kind of like the dropship from Aliens with a bit of inspiration from the Hailfire Droid, dropped on top of the classic HISS Tank treads. Very cool!

Of course now I want to army-build a small squad of Cobra troops to accompany it, but I'm a little in the dark about what's been released and what's coming out. Some of the new stuff shown at Toy Fair looks pretty amazing. That Hazard Viper is just all kinds of awesome! I think I can see myself getting back into GI Joe a little bit this year.

[El Chuxter]

If you want to army build with what's out now, I'd recommend getting any Cobra Shock Troopers or Alley Vipers you can get your hands on. The Shock Trooper is sort of a more "real world" version of the Cobra Trooper, with gear similar to a SWAT Trooper, and the Alley Viper is a slight improvement over the 25th Anniversary one from the Defense of Cobra Island set, in more realistic colors and with an alternate helmet that looks more like the Resolute Alley Viper's. (If you want to spend a little more and get another vehicle, the Cobra Fury seems to only be showing up at Ross for around $12, and comes with an Alley Viper in a slightly different color scheme.) They're not especially easy to find, though. The Jungle Viper is really nice, too, but doesn't lend himself to army building as well (so he's a lot easier to find).

[Maradona]

(If you want to spend a little more and get another vehicle, the Cobra Fury seems to only be showing up at Ross for around $12, and comes with an Alley Viper in a slightly different color scheme.) They're not especially easy to find, though. The Jungle Viper is really nice, too, but doesn't lend himself to army building as well (so he's a lot easier to find).

For $12, the Fury and Alley Viper are a steal, but I wish the Alley Viper that came with it was better armed, using the AV signature weaponry. When you compare this price set with the SW deluxe sets that are $16-17, the Fury comes out way on top. The Jungle Viper is such a cool figure and I've bought 10 over time and everyone who wants one can find as many as they want, but I still don't feel that the figure works as a rank and file type of troop that can be made to stand in formation. I'm hoping the figure gets a repaint at some point, with the green becoming a gray or urban camouflage.