bithomas

That custom is out of this world! It is definitely the best Joe ML custom I've ever seen. Keep up the great work!

Nice use of the parts I sent you! Ben

I'm 95% certain that the figure uses all of Blast-Off's parts except for the torso (which belongs to the 1994 Star Brigade Duke). I don't actually own Blast-Off, so I can only use the picture on YoJoe.com for comparison. For this new figure, the paint applications for the boots start lower, but I'm pretty sure it's still the same parts. Ben

You should post them if you can... @loll@ , thats pretty funny! If you could scan em in or take some pics that would be cool man The Wal-Mart filecards can be viewed on the YoJoe website on the Miscellaneous filecard page: YoJoe Miscellaneous Filecards As for the debate, I don't shop much for Joes at either Wal-Mart or Toys R Us these days. Target is the only Joe-selling store that is reasonably close to me (and there are two within a few of miles of my house). But, I have a soft spot for Toys R Us, and I definitely get the cool exclusives when I can. However, I have no love for Wal-Mart. Since Joe returned to regular retail in late 2000, I have only bought three items from any Wal-Mart store: GvC Blowtorch vs. Snow Serpent pack -- I missed it at Target and couldn't find it anywhere else. GvC Desert Coyote -- never found it anywhere else. GvC Treadfire / Mission Disc Roadblock pack -- never found the Treadfire anywhere else. Raleigh Wal-Marts almost always have had horrible selection, except for the GvC Alpha vehicles. I don't think I ever saw a single RAHC toy in either store, and at least one of the stores never got the bonus packs. Honestly, with Wal-Mart's ludicrously unethical business practices, I'm happy with any action taken against them by the toy manufacturers. If Wal-Mart has no competition, whether it be in toys or groceries or any other kind of merchandise, there will be nothing to prevent the chain from completely dictating the market. Ben

I was very saddened to hear the news of the upcoming end of the news updates from QKTheatre.com. I have enjoyed checking the updates every day, and David definitely presented a wide spectrum of Joe-related news. Even if another site steps up to the plate to provide the daily updates, we will still have lost one of the great voices and an irreplaceable asset of the Joe online community. David, I wish you success in your future endeavors, and thanks for all the years of effort you have given to us! Ben

I picked the Viper/Alley-Viper pack as the lesser of two evils. The Viper figure is one of the few VvV figures I like, although I REALLY, REALLY wish that it had a decent color scheme. The Alley Viper is still a huge disappointment, though. I don't have the Snow Wolf/BAT pack, so I can't make a fair comparison. However, I hated the Wave 3 Snow Serpent figure, and Biker-Short Beetle BAT can't hope to compare to the super-awesome BAT 3.2 mold! Ben

Killuminati, this is my first time chiming in one of your customs, but I have been floored by your exceptional work. I wish I had even a millionth of your customizing talent! In other words, it rocks! Ben

It appears to be the Frostbite figure that will be packaged with the Ice Sabre. Ben

Picture 1 is Sgt. Stalker from VvV wave 3. Picture 2 is Zartan, also from VvV wave 3. Picture 3 is frankensteined mold featuring a Flak-Viper head on the Mirage body. As far as anyone knows, the prototype in picture 3 is just a figure that somebody at the factory threw together, and it likely does not represent a figure that Hasbro intends to release. Your other guesses are all correct. Ben

I definitely would love to see the return of the accessory packs! I could definitely go for some new Steel Brigade figures, although I don't care one way or another about the badge. That's true if we are getting the rumored new version of Wet-Suit packaged with a vehicle later this year. Personally, I would love to see the mail-away catalog return with a variety of figures, small vehicles, and accessory packs. I'm not sure how feasible this would be since Hasbro Direct no longer exists, but we can all dream! If I had to select a single figure, I would like to see the VvV Viper painted in the colors of the 1986 Viper. Ben

File Name: Ben Thomas Primary Military Specialty: Software Developer I like the TNI Joe forum primarily because it is a good source for Joe news and opinions. The discussions tend to involve more intelligent conversation than some other Joe forums.

Having collected both RAH and GvC, and having an RAH collection of 600 figures and 200 vehicles, I have to say that I prefer GvC, at least the figures. The vehicles have been almost universal crap, and even the not-so-offensive ones like the Treadfire still aren't great. However, even with the inconsistencies of sculpting and proportions, and even though the figure designs are rarely realized to their full potential, the final product still interests me more than the RAH design. In my opinion, the figures have a vibrancy to them that RAH generally lacked. I would certainly prefer less gimmicks, but Spy Troops was a relatively-harmless gimmick, and Sound Attack could have been a lot worse. I also wish that more time would be spent on giving relevant accessories to the figures. However, at the end of the day, I typically have really enjoyed the figures. As long as the figure is workable, I can usually find different accessories. Don't get me wrong -- I love the RAH line a lot. One doesn't amass a collection like mine otherwise. I completely understand people that do enjoy RAH more than GvC, for all of the reasons that have been stated in this thread. Besides, it's not like people don't have a choice at the present. I hope that Hasbro continues to rerelease RAH pieces, although I have to admit that I don't collect them, as there's nothing left for me to accomplish in that arena. Keep in mind that I like GvC, and only GvC (waves 1 through 8) better than RAH. So far, I absolutely despise what I see with VvV, which is full of awful character designs with even worse implementations and the return of the spring-action figure gimmick. I only hope that we'll see major improvements with wave 10! Ben

Well, I picked up two Viper/Alley-Viper packs between the two Targets closest to me. So, I can provide Cmdr_Y with his two requested packs. PM me and we can work out the details. Ben

When I checked both Targets last week, they had tons of the Viper/Alley-Viper pack. I'll check tonight to see if any are left. Ben

As far as I'm concerned, Hasbro can go ahead and re-release the Manimals. After all, they fit right in with the whole crappy Venom Trooper theme. Since I will be avoiding as much of VvV as possible, it's no money out of my wallet. Ben