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G.I. Joe Con: Wrapping It Up
Posted by Rich on October 3, 2007 at 01:20 PM CST:
JoeCon 2007 was Hasbro?s chance to reconnect with fans after the successful launch of the 25th Anniversary line. The opportunity was well taken and their vision for the future of G.I. Joe is both promising and exciting, especially to those of us familiar with the comic and cartoon franchises. The following are some of the highlights from Hasbro?s presentations:
FIGURES
Hasbro revealed it plans to update all of the original 13 ?green ?shirt? figures from 1982 in the 25th Anniversary line in one way or another, while making obvious fan favorites. Since 1985 was the height of the G.I. Joe collecting, the Hasbro Joe team felt many of the figures from that era warrant consideration for a modern equivalent.
Wave 2 has started hitting stores. You should be seeing Lady Jaye, Beachhead, Serprentor, Buzzer and the Cobra Trooper on shelves in your area anytime now.
The Cobra Legions 5-pack box set should be arriving at retail anytime now.
Wave 3 be appearing in stores in November. Firefly, Shipwreck, Zartan, Red Ninja and Stalker make up the wave. Of note:
Zartan?s color change mechanism is triggered by water.
Stalker will have a variant. The camouflage paint application on the initial run was applied incorrectly in the factory. It was far too light. The corrected ?darker? version will replace the initial ?light? run.
Wave 4 is scheduled for a December 2007 release. The wave is in response to the positive feedback to the 25th Anniversary line from retailers and fans alike. The figures comprising this wave, though repacks, have yet to be individually released (they are only available in the 5 pack box sets). They wave consists of:
Cobra Commander
Cobra Air Trooper
Roadblock
Gung-Ho
Scarlett
Destro
Duke
Storm Shadow
It should be noted Hasbro confirmed a Cobra Trooper (red insignia) will eventually be released on a single card for those army builders out there.
Wave 5, the first wave in 2008 was unveiled at the show. The characters making up this wave are:
Iron Grenadier Destro ? features a soft goods cape and sword that can be removed from the scabbard. Also referred to as Blade Destro.
Snake Eyes ? an all black repaint of the 5 pack Snake Eyes figure. Internally referred to as all-black Snake Eyes by the Hasbro Joe team.
Crimson Guard ? features detailed rank insignias accurate assault rifle with bayonet. This figure is a favorite among the Hasbro Joe team.
Snow Job ? with removable hood and goggles. Comes with skis, poles and backpack as well as the standard issue laser rifle frequently used by the Joe team in the cartoon series. The holster on the figure?s right leg has an Adventure Team logo and the pouch on the left leg pays homage to the vintage Pocket Patrol Pack.
Flash ? Though not visible on the prototype, the final figure will have the padded waffle pattern added in the production run. Note the old Hasbro ?house? logo on the belt buckle.
COMIC PACKS
Hasbro will be releasing comic 2 packs recreating scenes from some of the better-known G.I. Joe comics. The first wave will feature variant repaints, in comic style deco, and will include Snake Eyes vs. Storm Shadow, Duke vs. Cobra Commander, and Scarlett & Hawk. It?s worth noting Hawk will not be painted in comic deco as Hasbro has said any new figures released in a comic pack will be painted realistically before being considered for the comic style.
A second wave of comic packs will follow with Dreadknocks Ripper and Torch packed together. In a nice touch by Hasbro, Ripper?s Jaws of Life can now be opened and closed. Hasbro would not comment about any other packs in the future lineup.
DTC
DTC Wave 4 will be released and available through Master Collector?s Web site. The highly anticipated wave never saw retail because it was bumped in favor of the 25th Anniversary line. The wave includes:
Airtight
Lt. Falcon
Munitia
Cobra Night Viper
Cobra Officer
Outback
VEHICLES
Hasbro will test the vehicle market this spring starting with 3 vehicle/driver packs exclusive to Target. The packaging for vehicles will be similar to the vintage look, but will feature a window display scene to make them more appealing to parents and children. The Target exclusive vehicles are the Hiss Tank with a Cobra Driver in a camouflage paint scheme, Night Specter with Grand Slam and the A.W.E. Strike with Crankcase.
The Night Specter was known as the S.H.A.R.C. in the vintage line. Because of copyright implications the name cannot be reused.
Grand Slam features a silver paint decoration in homage to the elusive JUMP Jet Pack version of Grand Slam.
Large vehicles and playsets won't be made right now. There is a possibility of seeing these when the movie is released; tapping into the momentum of the film.
EXCLUSIVES
As previously mentioned, Target will be getting 3 exclusive vehicles; the Hiss Tank with a Cobra Driver in a camouflage paint scheme, Night Specter with Grand Slam and the A.W.E. Strike with Crankcase.
Toys "R" Us has secured several army builder packs including a Night Force Cobra Troopers 5-pack and a Snake Eyes with 4 Red Ninjas. The team indicated there would be more army builder packs announced in the future and also made mention of a Toys "R" Us exclusive Senior Ranking Officer 3-pack. The 3-pack would be similar in style to the Star Wars Evolutions sets, but no more details were divulged.
Wal-Mart will also be receiving a/an exclusive(s), although no details were announced.
MAIL AWAYS
The Hasbro fan poll results were revealed at JoeCon and the winner was Doc. As a result a Doc figure will be featured as a mail-away this spring. The details on redemption weren?t revealed, but there was some discussion of the use of Flagg Points in some form or another. It was also hinted that there are plans for a fall 2008 mail away, but it was too soon to reveal the details.
FUTURE WAVES, HINTS AND OTHER INFORMATION
Hasbro will continue to tweak figure engineering. Future waves will feature corrected crotches (allowing the figures to sit in vehicles), improved torsos (allowing all figures to bend over and back), as well as backpack holes - now a standard feature. Some other things to note from the weekend:
B.A.T.s are on the short list of figures to do
Dusty is on the short list of figures to do
Billy and Dr. Venom maybe considered as future figures
No plans for Tiger Force or Python Patrol items
No plans right now for a Big Lob figure
No plans right now for a Snow Serpent figure
No plans right now for a Crystal Ball figure
No plans for any crossovers between G.I. Joe and Transformers
The 25th Anniversary of G.I. Joe has reinvigorated interest in G.I. Joe and JoeCon 2007 was evidence of this renaissance. If you missed any of our comprehensive coverage of JoeCon 2007, be sure to check out all the transcripts and photos in our JoeCon 2007 Archive. Yo Joe! |
  
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