the vynsane asylum

Even I think the Renegades figures are disappointing. Not to mention the first wave is Duke, CC, Snake Eyes, and Firefly. Firefly? WTF? He appeared in one of the weaker episodes and died (or at least got blown up really good and barely survived, unseen). Who are the most popular characters with kids? Snake Eyes, Roadblock, Tunnel Rat, Scarlett, and Baroness. Seriously, they got one right. And the Snake Eyes is a repainted kitbash. Duke looks especially Frankensteinish--not sure if he's a total kitbash or has new parts, but the realistic head looks weird.

That said, I did get Firefly this morning. He's generic enough that I'm going to use him as another specialized Night Creeper. He's way too "off" from the RAH Firefly to take that role, and, though clearly a bad guy, doesn't have any Cobra logo on him. The figure is really nice.

JJ, I'd highly recommend the show. It's the best Joe show in ages. Better than Resolute, even. Fuck, better than Sunbow. Yeah, I'll say it: aside from the original comic book, it's the best Joe in any other media, ever. The character designs are a bit odd and take some getting used to (and don't work especially well in figures that are basically a specialized wave or two of the regular line), but the characters and stories are really strong.

The dreadloks on Stalker are a holdover from Resolute that's apparently now as permanent with new versions going forward as black Ripcord is. Not sure that there was any reason for them in the first place. I can live with them, since Joes are hardly about military regulations when it comes to hair and dress (Quick Kick and Spirit, anyone?), but they seem out of character for Stalker.

As for the Resolute sets, $50 is still a bit much for me (especially since I'm doubting it includes shipping). I really only want the Alley Viper. If they ever wind up at less than $20 each (including any shipping), I'll bite, since the other figures are nice, but too much of it is re-release for even $25 each.

Yeah, if online stores are clearing the Resolute sets out, maybe it is just a matter of time before they show up at Ross or TJ Max.

Haven't seen the Renegades figures yet. Didn't like anything from this wave. Might get the Law and Order when it show up later.

anarky wrote:Firefly? WTF? He appeared in one of the weaker episodes and died (or at least got blown up really good and barely survived, unseen). Who are the most popular characters with kids? Snake Eyes, Roadblock, Tunnel Rat, Scarlett, and Baroness. Seriously, they got one right.

Case in point: I asked Anarky Jr when she got home who Firefly was. She didn't even recognize him as a Renegades character.

I would not worry about finding these. They're pegwarming pretty hard already. Makes me really worried about Airtight and some of the other forthcoming figures.

Got an email from BBTS

-------------------------------
BBTS EXCLUSIVE - GI JOE 7-PACKS
-------------------------------

Hasbro will be debuting our two awesome new GI Joe 7-Packs at the New York
Comic-Con tomorrow! We can't tell you any specifics about the sets, but
there are never before released figures included and you can only get them
at BigBadToyStore! Check our site tomorrow for preorder listings!

Naturally, hisstank is exploding with rumors and guesses. I'll just wait until tomorrow to read the official announcement.

Oh, and I saw the Renegades wave for the first time today. Still have no intention of buying them.

7 Packs are revealed. If you guessed Dreadnoks and Slaughter's Marauders, you were correct. The links have some other pictures of single carded figures: Lifeline, Airtight, Sci-Fi, Techno-Viper, Law & Order, and a few more Renegades. All but the 7-packs were shown at Comic Con.
http://www.hisstank.com/gi-joe-news/con ... des-10769/


http://www.hisstank.com/gi-joe-news/gi- ... ore-10770/

They are also showing the subscription figures. Here are Quarrel and a Nano-Bat. Topside has apparently been confirmed. Can't find the alleged list now, but Jinx is on it. Hopefully they give more info tomorrow.
http://www.hisstank.com/gi-joe-news/gi- ... ers-10772/

HOLY FUCK.

I just jizzed my pants. That fucking Dreadnok set is BEAUTIFUL!!! Thrasher, Road Pig, Gnawgahyde, and Zanzibar? Zandar! ZANYA (AKA the only really fucking awesome thing to come out of Devil's Due)!! I don't mind Burn-Out, either, to be honest; he's a less-interesting Devil's Due 'Nok, but he looks sweet and fits in well. This looks like the whole fucking post-Monkeywrench crew here. Sweet! I don't even fucking care that the $16 and labor I've wasted on an unfinished Road Pig is pointless. This is goddamn beautiful.

The Slaughter set, though, meh. It's a cross between the Marauders and Renegades (the Slaughter-led mini-team). So you get the three Renegades (and I knew so little about them, I thought the one was Big Lob being made into a non-fanclub figure for the first time). And they're all new. Lt. Falcon looks like he might be new, or heavily kitbashed. Then you get FUGLY repaints of Spirit, Barbecue, and Low Light. WTF? Serious disparity between the two sets.

Interesting that these are sets meant to complement the last two SDCC exclusives and will see wider release, but don't include those figures, who are definitely higher-profile.

The subscription thing.... Still pretty iffy about it. I don't like the idea of subscribing to a line of expensive figures, and only getting one particular "bonus" figure if I subscribe to the entire line, but not knowing who the fuck they are. The Nano-BAT is cool, but just a BAT repaint. Quarrel is a repainted Pilot Scarlett as the Brazil-only Scarlett repaint who the Pilot Scarlett figure was based on. (Confused yet?) Didn't remember Topside and had to look him up. Still isn't ringing a bell. I thought I knew all the 1990 figures. Guess not.

I know that I'm missing some stuff by skipping the subscription service and the fan club and all that shit, but those figures are EXPENSIVE. I look at them the same way I look at really nicely-done customs on eBay. Most of this shit I could do myself. Jinx is another half-done custom I've been working on for far too long, and I can guarantee that if (when!) she's done, she'll be nicer than any kitbash mess some club will put out. And I'm not even trying to sound pompous.

BTW, styling aside, the Renegades Cobra Commander is one fucking sweet figure. Too bad the other two currently available Renegades figures are awful 25th/ROC/POC kitbashes. Truth is, the second POC Duke is a better Renegades Duke than the actual Renegades Duke. Compare and tell me I'm wrong:

I want to see how much this subscription set costs. I have a feeling it is more than I'm willing to pay.

You're right about the Joe 7-pack. Kind of goofy. The Dreadnoks set has some nice figures, but I'm not really familiar with the characters.

That POC Duke is almost as readily available as Arctic Destro. I'll pick him up when it hits clearance. It does look like a nice figure.

Zandar: Zartan's brother. Whereas Zartan was a master of disguise and Zarana was almost his equal, Zandar was described as incredibly forgettable. So much so that it made him an excellent spy. (Don't ask me how you forget a dude with hot pink hair.)

Burnout: Created during the Devil's Due run. Not too much to him aside from him being a black Dreadnok.

Zanzibar: Air Skiff pilot. He was a completely unlikable cuss, and even the other 'Noks hated him, IIRC.

Gnawgahyde: Dreadnok poacher. I don't actually recall him in the toon or comic.

Zanya: Zartan's teenaged daughter, from the Devil's Due run. She's made second-in-command of the 'Noks, causing animosity with Zarana.

Thrasher: Now we're getting good. Batshit insane and equal parts brain and brawn, he was the driver of the Thunder Machine (which is so fucking awesome I keep looking for some of those Captain America or Iron Man vehicles to hit clearance so I can make one). Had an ongoing rivalry with the great Cross Country in the comics, where they kept pitting their vehicles against one another.

Road Pig: I'll say it. This big motherfucker was the greatest Dreadnok. (Sorry, Buzzer. The whole "Rhodes Scholar investigating biker gang who gets drawn into the lifestyle" is cool, but not enough.) He may be one of the ten greatest Joe characters, period. (May be. The jury's out, but it's close.) He's frickin' enormous (my custom was actually made of Hulk and Thing parts), and his weapon of choice is a cinderblock on a stick. A fucking cinderblock. Doesn't matter how stone age that may seem, that fucker hits you, and you're dead. What makes him so cool is that he suffers from split personality syndrome: there's the mild-mannered Donald and the unstoppable monster Road Pig, both of whom are madly in love with Zarana, and will do anything she asks... and both personalities hate the other and are in competition for Zarana, who doesn't give a shit but is smart enough to see how useful a crazy guy this big can be. He's kinda like the model that Thrasher was the prototype for. Oh, and the Donald personality tries to talk like he's from a bad knockoff of a Shakespeare play.

Ok. For some reason, I remember Zartan's brother and sister. Not sure what their purpose was. I wish the Hub would play some different Joe cartoons so I can see some different characters. I've more or less quit watching.

They've got another full season of Sunbow, then the movie can be broken into four or five parts. Then there's the DiC series. They're really playing the hell out of this.

Also, if they, even for a week, played Renegades on weeknights like they're playing Prime now, the viewership would be twice what it was, and they could no longer deny it's a million times better than Prime.

I could be mistaken, but I think Zandar and Zarana were the last new figures to get animated commercials.

Here is a rumored list of subscription figures. There is supposed to be a 13th mystery figure. They have shown Quarrel, Nano-Bat, and Topside. No price info has been released yet.

Quarrel
Nano-Bat
Topside
Dice
Iron Klaw
Jinx
Barrel Roll
Sure Fire
(Tan) Grunt
Cover Girl
Big Boa
TNT

Quarrel: Awesome. An American figure who was repainted for Brazil as a new character, then had the remake of the American figure painted as the same character she already was, but wearing the uniform of the Brazilian character, now repainted as the Brazilian character.

Nano-Bat: I would buy it at retail. I'd buy a hot pink BAT with a feather boa. But it's an unnecessary repaint, especially at this price point (which may not be revealed, but is going to be pricey).

Topside: Like I said before, who? I found a pic, and he's a mediocre custom of a thoroughly forgettable character.

Dice: This one I'd like, but all the parts exist (and I've already gotten them, aside from a few extra bits in the Temple Whatever Snake Eyes that I don't believe exists), so I could make the same damn custom for cheaper than the subscription.

Iron Klaw: Another I'd buy at retail. A new sculpt was made for him, but never released. Only problem: it was for a canceled comic pack, some sort of crossover between GIJoe: A Real American Hero and GIJoe: Sgt. Savage/GIJoe Extreme. He'd make a nice Iron Grenadier general, but I don't need him.

Jinx: Got a mostly finished custom that I think is a sweet update of her. I'll use it instead of paying premium for a new one.

Barrel Roll: Sounded familiar, but he debuted after 2000 in the Valor vs Venom toyline. I can live without him. He looks generic, and his specialty is stupid (high altitude sniper?). I actually thought he was one of the 1988 figures.

Sure Fire: Another "who"? Looks like another VvV character. He's an MP, but I'm pretty sure the Joes don't need too many MP's, and we've got Law already.

(Tan) Grunt: Meh. I didn't give a shit about tan Grunt or tan Clutch in 1983. If they're recoloring the figures, give them less generic uniforms. They were "we don't have enough time to come up with new drivers or pilots, so just slap some paint on the Grunt, Clutch, and Cobra Officer." At least the gray Cobra Officer was cool.

Cover Girl: I guess this means there will be one 1982 figure not to be made in the regular line, eh? As long as the paint turns out well, I'm confident mine will look better than whatever Lady Jaye/Scarlett kitbash they come up, because they won't be able to use Indiana Jones parts. If she were at retail, I'd buy her anyway.

Big Boa: Another I wouldn't mind having. I'll admit it. The helmet would be a royal pain to customize (I can combine parts, but I would make some real shit if I tried to sculpt parts).

TNT: Hmmm. No fucking clue who this is, and can't find any mention of him.

So, if this list is accurate, Big Boa and Iron Klaw are the only two that would definitely have new parts. Jinx might as well (she showed up on rumor lists at one point, so she may be a new figure or have some new parts), and who knows what the deal is with this TNT guy (or girl). I'm thinking "not worth it." Especially since, new parts or not, Iron Klaw being a non-RAH character is most likely to go on eBay.

Yes, nothing on that list I can't live without. Jinx might make an appearance in the new movie. If Hasbro treats her like Snake Eyes and Stormshadow from the first movie, there is bound to be one I like and will have no trouble finding it.