JBL reviews the 25th Anniversary collection

[eleavitt2000]

I took my figures out of their G.I.Joe and Cobra sets.

 

My complaints:

 

Baroness came out with her right lower-leg deformed. I guess I have to boil water. The 1984 figures was always one of my favorite figures and I this one seems okay except I hate Hasbro packaging.

 

Roadblock cannot hold his M-2 and backpack will not go onto/into his back. After I almost broke his arm trying to twist out of the packaged-position -the joint was stiff - I have not gained the courage to mess with his backpack.

 

Gung-Ho has floppy-leg! His right leg moves and flops like some of the 1984 Wild Weasels I own. Plus, his grenade launcher falls apart without the rubber band and it will not stay in his hand. I always preferred the 1986 Leatherneck figure to the 1983 version of Gung-Ho and I assume I will dislike this version of Gung-Ho too.

 

Duke cannot hold his rifle in two hands. Plus his forearms seem on the verge of falling off.

 

I like the other figures but I have a pet-peave with Snake-Eyes. He looks great. I thought the satchel on the 1982/1983 figure included ammo-clips for his Uzi and that only idiot children thought it was a satchel filled with explosives. Why did they change it or have I been wrong all of these years?

[punishment-101]

I enjoyed reading your thoughts and opinions Leo, while I find displeasure in seeing some of the faults with these figures, especially after all the hype I still think I'll be trying these figures out, at least some of them anyway.

 

thanks again for the review, lookin forward to the Cobra ones and the Scarlett one

[Gentleman]

There's absolutely NO continuity in design here, on most anything, from knee's, crotchs, elbows, hands and head sculpting.

 

 

 

Could it be that there's different teams designing these? Someone hinted at this (can't remember who).

[obiwanjacoby]

I like the other figures but I have a pet-peave with Snake-Eyes. He looks great. I thought the satchel on the 1982/1983 figure included ammo-clips for his Uzi and that only idiot children thought it was a satchel filled with explosives. Why did they change it or have I been wrong all of these years?

 

YoJoe sez they're explosives, as well as the front of the carded figure.

 

-PJ

[eleavitt2000]

YoJoe sez they're explosives, as well as the front of the carded figure.

 

-PJ

 

Well, I then offer kudos to the designer of this new figure who thought to put "explosives" on the satchel. I however always thought it was a mistake.

 

I cannot wait for the single-pack version 2 figure.

[obiprime]

Always look forward to the JBL reviews. but I must say those hi Res Pics bring detail we dont want to see, Like all the Imperfections in the Plastic. Seriously man cant you just buy a cheaper camera. let us enjoy the Fantasy. them pics are like Mug shots.

 

 

and the neck issue is a disturbing Sight so dont Pose There NECKS THAT WAY.

 

 

Other than That I Freaking Love these and they makes me love rah more too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And please compare the cobra Trooper to the TRU Trooper.

[Leonardo T Dragon]

Always look forward to the JBL reviews. but I must say those hi Res Pics bring detail we dont want to see, Like all the Imperfections in the Plastic. Seriously man cant you just buy a cheaper camera. let us enjoy the Fantasy. them pics are like Mug shots.

 

 

And please compare the cobra Trooper to the TRU Trooper.

 

 

I'll go out and get a cheaper camera right away! Heck, I'll starting shooting reviews with my cell phone!

 

Glad you like the comp shots. I'm just about done prepping pics for the Cobra set (had to work today which ate up too much time) and I've got a bunch of comparisons to figures both old and new in this last batch.

 

Oh, and just for Viper Hunter I've started adding more captions again.

 

I'll post when they start going up!

[Steel927]

Hasbro can keep the orings..I love these sculpts and hope they keep coming.

 

V1 Storm Shadow is my fav 3 3/4" figure that I own.

[Devilbat]

Y'know, I actually have that Roadblock, and I've seen review pics for weeks now, and I could still stare at that pic of him all day long. (lol) I love that figure. I loved the early preview pics Hasbro gave us, but then the pic of him from one of the conventions looked like a cheap, un-finished figure, and so I began to worry he wouldn't live up to early expectations. I'm happy to say it has more than surpassed my expectations. I love this figure.

 

And I love that Gung-Ho, as I have stated before, but I sure wish his tatoo was darker like the original was. The new one is way too bright and therefore hard to make out.

 

Considering my excitement over these, I just can't wait to see what Beach Head, Zartan, and the rest look like.

[Viper Hunter]

Hasbro can keep the orings..I love these sculpts and hope they keep coming.

 

V1 Storm Shadow is my fav 3 3/4" figure that I own.

 

 

Whichever way is cheapeast....they'll keep doing.

 

 

I'm willing to bet the O-ring days are OVER, and not because they're outdated or inferior. Those little buggers (O-rings) gave a wider range of motion than these new ones do. At least at the waist and the upper leg motion of them.

 

That V1 Storm Shadow can't even raise his arms above his head can he? At best..form a perfect T with his arms straight out to the sides? Seems kinda tragic for a super ninja and all? Can't chop nobody down in battle...just a lot of thrusting.

 

 

[Viper Hunter]

Oh, and just for Viper Hunter I've started adding more captions again.

 

 

@bounce@ AWESOME!

 

 

Thanks Fred!

[Steel927]

I wonder how much cheaper it really is.

 

I have yet to dissect a new figure but I will.

[Draven79]

Must say, I have not been this excited about anything Joe since the 87 Christmas me thinks!! Yes that is how much I LOVE the figures!! I got my Joe set today and I am just blown away!! These make me look at my old RAH with distaste in a way, just like I did when Hasbro first redid the Star Wars line back in 94. I am not kidding either. I LOVE everything about them, and can't wait to get more of them!!

Draven

[Leonardo T Dragon]

Cobra Commander is posted and I'm going to try and finish Destro before compiling the news and hitting the rack. I want to do these up right so if I'm too wiped these will go up over the weekend.

 

Thanks for all of the feedback thus far guys. It's no wonder that TNI is essentially my "second home" on the web.

[Gentleman]

I feel stupid.

 

I like this CC more after reading your review. Even his head didn't look as small as it did before (to me, anyways). It's good to hear that you can "raise" or "lower" the helmet depending on your taste.

 

I still like the hooded version much more though. Just like I did with the vintage CC's.

 

 

 

 

 

Keep up the good work!

[kreyonkid]

awesome reviews! can't wait to get my hands on some of those!

[GoldBlade6]

Anyone have any comparison shots with Marvel Legends Showdown figures?

 

Also, is this just a limited series of figures or will Hasbro be making 80 more characters and vehicles to go with these guys?

 

I just can't decide if I want to start collecting these or not.

[CynicForever]

Hmmm.

Great reviews.

 

I don't know if I want to even bother collecting this new line now. I'm one who likes to play with my figures. Despite arguments over character details, I thought at least this line would be play friendly. I guess not. If I wanted figures just to display, I would go with McFarlane statues.

[BoomBatty]

I just got my sets in and took one of each out their boxes (I bought 3 of each sets).

 

For as cool as they look they are impossible to play with. The extraneous parts (harnesses, guns, etc) just make the figure seem that much more fragile. Kids who get these things are going to pull their hair out trying to play with them or at least remove the junk, leaving a base figure, I know I would have as a kid.

I had to add superglue throughout to make them workable.

Basically I did the following to each:

 

Snake Eyes:

1) Added a drop of superglue to his chest to glue the malformed (from the package) straps thus creating neat, straight straps.

2) Cut the right trigger finger from the base of the hand (now it resembles a separate trigger finger and can fit into the gun trigger slot).

3) Added a drop of superglue to the UZI base so it will stay in his hand, straight.

4) Removed the annoying man-purse.

5) Cut a small bit off the center of the knife handle, glued the top back on, painted it black to match (using Testor's flat black acrylic paint marker), now the knife handle doesn't get in the way of the harness.

6) Put the annoying man-purse back on now that everything works again.

7) I bored out the peg hole in the foot to accept the smaller, traditional stand using a small Phillips head screwdriver.

 

Roadblock:

1) Glued the backpack on with a dab of superglue so that the harness straps can coexist with the backpack.

2) Glued the ammo into the pack and gun.

3) Glued the gun handle into the right hand (I am not a fan of this per say but it just would not stay in the hand, I did leave the other hand alone though).

4) I bored out the peg hole in the foot to accept the smaller, traditional stand using a small Phillips head screwdriver.

 

Destro:

1) Cut the right trigger finger from the base of the hand (now it resembles a separate trigger finger and can fit into the gun trigger slot).

2) Glued the gun into the right hand.

3) Glued the briefcase handle to the right hand (wouldn't stay on otherwise).

4) I bored out the peg hole in the foot to accept the smaller, traditional stand using a small Phillips head screwdriver.

 

All of the rest:

1) I bored out the peg hole in the foot to accept the smaller, traditional stand using a small Phillips head screwdriver.

 

For all but Storm Shadow & Cobra Commander:

1) Cut the right trigger finger from the base of the hand (now it resembles a separate trigger finger and can fit into the gun trigger slot).

2) Glued the gun into the right hand

 

Now that I have molested my poor new GI Joes I can at least showcase them.

 

And do you think Gung-Ho got beat up when he showed up to the barracks with a baby blue Marine tat?

[Viper Hunter]

Anyone have any comparison shots with Marvel Legends Showdown figures?

 

 

 

 

 

What I SEE...

 

is a lot of similarities! Without having a new Joe figure of my own (I have a Thor & Colossus MLS figure) I don't know how they FEEL comparatively yet. I'm thinking the plastic is about as flimsy and weak on the Joes as it is on the MLS figures though.

 

When they can get warped from just being in the package....that's not a good thing.

[BoomBatty]

What I SEE...

 

is a lot of similarities! Without having a new Joe figure of my own (I have a Thor & Colossus MLS figure) I don't know how they FEEL comparatively yet. I'm thinking the plastic is about as flimsy and weak on the Joes as it is on the MLS figures though.

 

When they can get warped from just being in the package....that's not a good thing.

 

Actually the Joes are a lot sturdier than the MLS figures. The arms dont unattach themselves. The feet dont either. The only potential for a MLS style issue would be the swivel wrists coming out but so far, knock on wood, that hasnt happened...yet.

[GoldBlade6]

Wow! Thanks so much for the help Viper Hunter!

 

It looks like they're just about in scale with MLS. I just wish they had the same articulation!

 

So anyone know is Hasbro is just releasing this one release of 25th Anniversary figures or are more characters to come? I can't afford to get attached to a new, long-lasting line. I'm already going to be picking up Toy Biz's new Legendary Comic Book Heroes and now that Mattel has acquired the license to the entire DC universe, I have a feeling that collecting DC Superheroes is about to become a more expensive hobby as well!

[Viper Hunter]

COOL....Destro's up now!

 

Defintely one of the better ones in the bunch, but that damn HAND??? #WTF#

 

 

Love the captions Fred, and even added something to it...

 

 

 

They're BOTH a little gimpy in this aspect.

[ARROW]

The MLSS comparison was my big question--and I'm kinda/sorta glad there's not a huge disparity between them and the Joes.

 

 

Goldblade6--the word is that there are indeed more GIJOE figures in this scale and format coming for the end of 2007 and through 2008.

The line was concieved as only a one-time anniversary line, but the response has been so strong the decision was made to make it a on-going line. Like yourself, I'm looking at collecting this line, LCBH, Mattel's DCSH/ Universe stuff AND Marvel Legends........and its all more than I can afford too. Lotta good product coming.......and my wallet is fainting from it all right now.

[ARROW]

I have a request from all those folks taking pics and making reviews:

 

making the decision to buy these.

One thing I'd like to see is a series of pics of the BEST poses these figures can hit--rather than those pics that just highlight the weaknesses.

Can Snake-eyes and Stormshadow do a decent ninja crouch while drawing their swords for example, or Duke or Gung-ho in a dynamic running charge?

What are the sweet spots these guys can hit, as oppose to what are they missing.

 

Some might consider that to be muddying the issues here, but I'd like to see what these figures can do. That usually carries more weight with me than what they cannot do.

The reviews have me sharing some of the frustrations of others--things like the elbows is a sticky point with me--and I'd like more movement in the design just like others. Things like sculpt is a lesser concern with me, but posing and studiness are at the top of my list.