Mekk Z

I have to agree. This new Eel is going to be the highlight for me as well concerning Wave 3. This figure has the best design I think since I first set eyes on the VvV Wave 1 Viper. I can easily see myself getting at least 9 of these guys to compliment my 9 1992 Eels.

I've been trying to take photos of my collection but the camera I'm using, a Sharp Viewcam, never takes clear enough pictures. So I was wondering what the majority of the collectors who post pictures of their collections online and film dio-stories use in terms of camera equipment?

Looks good so far to me. I wish my digital camera took shots that good.

That's not a half bad idea, but I plan on using these new Cobra APC's for all of my Cobra trooper types anyway. Oh and I did like the Python Patrol set a lot more even then the new Infantry Squad. So much that I bought 12 of them.

Even though I'm not a fan of the original Cobra trooper/officer and probably won't be buying a single set of these I have to salute your committment to the Cobra cause my friend. All we can hope is that the ENORMOUS popularity this set has generated will prompt Hasbro to do another that will be even better. One problem with amassing a Cobra legion made out of all these types of Cobra soldiers . . . besides that oversized sniper rifle they come with what are you going to arm them with?

I firmly believe that these suits are based off the Exo-Squad line of mecha toys, and if that is the case the Exo-Squad designers outdid themselves in spades. Unlike whoever designed these things, who probably has a really lousy design sense in terms of cool mecha weapons. If Hasbro wants to get G.I. Joe some Robotech action, they should start with the mecha suits in Devil's Due "G.I. Joe vs. Transformers" comic book mini-series. Especially those redesigned SNAKE mecha, because they kicked ass. And nobody had better go arguing that Hasbro could never manufacture something on that cause that's total BS. If they can produce enough Transformers Unicron figures to stuff the overhead racks of my local TRU, then they have the resources to make a new SNAKE mecha at least the size of Unicron for my Cobra armies. So far, with the exception of the new VvV Viper, the Venom Striker, and the BAT APC I have not been overly impressed by Hasbro's new offerings for Cobra and that includeds this new Pulverizer power armor suit.

Are you kidding? I've already acquired 45 of the VVV Vipers simply because I think they ROCK, not just in design but also their colors. Although I will agree that I'm not too fond of the Alley-Vipers and will probably be selling all of them off. So for me the new Venom 'Troop Builder' packs are half a hit and half a miss, but because I do think the new Viper infantry troops are that cool I plan on getting at least 15 more to round off my collection at 60. Then I'll finally have a solid basic Cobra trooper compliment.

Has anyone checked out 'Army Builder Battle' on CastleDestro.com of late. It's getting INSANE, just see for yourself. I never realized there were people who had Cobra troop collections these sizes before. These blow that Cobra troop rally dio on Cobra Command Online out of the water, into orbit and out of the solar system. If Hasbro doesn't take the success of the Cobra Infantry Squad and the army builder trend seriously after this they are dumber then even I thought they were. We had better be seeing sets for original molds for Crimson Guards, IRON Grenadiers, Headhunters, and a ton more Vipers. Cause if this trend gets any bigger, by the 2005 Joe con the 'Army Builder Battle' contest is going to get incorporated into the list of convention activities. It's a good time to be a Cobra.

I like CGI but I think it's use should be restricted to live action stuff or if used in cartoons, just used for things like battles like aerial dogfights and stuff like that. Although for me personally my wish would be that G.I. Joe would be made into an Anime series which I think would rock despite what a number of other fans think. An Anime version of Joe would work, and for those other Anime/G.I. Joe fans out there I suggest you go check out a new mini-series coming out this month on DVD called "Yukikaze -Danger Zone". It's an Anime series about jet fighter combat and blends traditional cel based Anime with CGI animated dogfights. Look it up and then tell me whether or not the idea of a G.I. Joe Anime series might at least be better then another 'Spytroops' catastrophe.

I think it just comes down to luck of the draw myself. My own local Toys R Us has a very polite and helpful staff, none of them scalpers (so far as I can tell) and the guy in charge of the action figure department is a big G.I. Joe fan. The problem is that the store doesn't always get the latest stuff in, and if they do it's never the stuff I personally want. I waited months for them to get a Crimson Command Chopper in and they still to this day never got a single one in, because I pay them a visit every Friday. I eventually had to ask another member of this message board to pick one up for me. But my TRU still has plenty of Patriot Tanks and TRU Exclusive AWE Strikers, Conquest X-30's, Cobra Rattlers, and Mobile Command Centers stuffed to the gills. It'll probably be weeks (but I'm praying not) until they finally get in the Cobra APCs or the new Sand-Viper repaint. I never liked the original Cobra trooper/officers so the Infantry squad is not on my wishlist. But then again getting stuff late is usually the case for fans who live on the East coast, as opposed to our brothers on the West coast who seem to be buying the new Infantry Squad sets by the shopping cart load, which I am happy about because hopefully so Hasbro will get the smart idea to do an original Crimson Guard troop builder set. Now that I would buy by the case load.

More then likely this film will not impact the toyline at all, mainly because it's being written as a sort of prequel to the entire G.I. Joe universe of the 1980's we all know so well. Which I think is a rather stupid idea in itself. Althought understandable, especially if they get some top names to play roles like Snake-Eyes, Cobra Commander, and Destro. We probably won't see them in their appropriate masks until the end of the film because most actors are so vain they'd look at this situation like, "So why the hell am I even in the film if no one's going to see my face? Why don't they just animate it then?" Personally I looking forward more to the Transformers live action film then the Joe one.

Personally I thought the rivalry between Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow was (and oddly enough to this day still is) done to death. So it was nice to see Storm Shadow have another major nemesis in the cartoon, namely in this case Spirit, who seemed to be a good matchup against the Cobra ninja master. Their rivalry also revealed a few key points about Storm Shadow's personality. Including the fact that he respected Spirit to the degree that he saved the Joe's life in "Countdown for Zartan", because he wanted to kill Spirit himself so Storm Shadow could be sure the Joe would die at the hands of a worth opponent.

Wow! I'm really enthusiastic about how many people like this idea. And I have to say with more people buying more and more Cobra troop figures the potential for an idea like this is only growing not shrinking. I mean just look at the response the new TRU Cobra Infantry pack is getting. I mean YoJoe!.com already has a pole going trying to determine how many sets the majority of the fans will buy. Last I checked the majority said they would buy at least 2 to 3 and the second largest majority said they would buy 10 or more. Now General Zod has a good point that miniatures might be more easily managable in a tabeltop war game then actual action figures. Unfortunatly I have to disagree because of two major points. One being that miniatures usually need assembly and painting and as such would not be an easy sale's ticket for some Joe fans and probably a harder one for kids. Two, as I just stated the army buiding trend is only growing and it won't be long until many fans, have at least a Cobra army numbering over at least a hundred figures. (last time I counted my own stockpile it was over 300) Now the major question is micro managing the size of the Cobra figures to be used with a tabletop war game that uses a couple hundred miniatures in one game.

Nice work! Where can I pick up a copy of the Abbey figure. I'd pay just to get the head mold.

The army building trend, especially for the Cobra fanatics (like myself), seems to be rapidly picking up steam, what with TRU exclusives like the Python Patrol and Cobra Infantry Squad and the VvsV Viper/Alley-Viper 2 pack. And now with CastleDestro.com's newst Army Builder battle game (which let me tell you will have you drooling with envy after you see some of the entries already posted on the website) the Cobra army builders are getting some serious recongnition. So here's my thought - what do my fellow Cobra generals think of the idea of a G.I. Joe tabletop war game? Think about it, the ability to use your Cobra Vipers and HISS tanks using actual war game rules and scenarios. I'm sure some Joe fans have played games like Battletech or Warhammer and this could be Hasbro's next major gimmick. I mean come on, wouldn't you rather try something interesting like this out then getting more figures with 'action attack' features on them. We're all going to have to wait until next fall just to get an O-ring version of the new Storm Shadow! So what does everybody else think about this idea?

Transfandom.com already confirms that Hasbro dropped the name Shockwave so he could be getting his name back. Concerning his transformed mode, some people including myself speculate his design is based on a modified Robotech Valkyrie fighter. Which if that is the case it might be possible he'll be a jet fighter.

That is one kick-ass Decepticon, I don't care what his name is going to be, all I know is I want one. Whoever he is (or going to be) he's the best new Decepticon I've seen since setting eyes on Divebomb and Mirage. As far as the name is concerned Hasbro might do a play on his name like, General or Commander Shockwave. But either way I'm definitely looking forward to this bad boy.

EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! I did a search on Yahoo for the name 'Venomous Maximus' and found something very cool. I vaguely remembered a black and white sketch being released of the new Cobra villain and wanted a copy because I'm using the character in a Yahoo RPG I'm participating in, so everyone in the club could have a visual of what he looked like. Well I got something better when I found some kind of studio company and found a colored picture of the guy. It's a little dark but it really leaves no room for error in speculating what General Hawk is going to look like after Mindbender gets through with him later this year. Check it out! Venomous Maximus

That's one pretty kick ass design. Thanks for pointing it out.

Used to be the Wave 2 purple Vipers. Now . . . Valor Vs. Venom Vipers - no contest.

Where was this and was this a sale, like a clearance thing or was this due to price mix up?

Yeah that's about right! @loll@

This is without a doubt BULLS***! Why does G.I. joe get all the good aircraft and COBRA is stuck with a gold/pink Rattler and a jet that looks like it came out of a MOTU cartoon.

Oh Brother. Listen even if an Anime series of G.I. Joe was attempted (and with the fact that it probably wouldn't last very long what with the majority of ignorant G.I. Joe fans there apparently are) I'm sure it wouldn't change the look and feel of the franchise. Anyway, Hasbro's been pretty successful at f***ing up G.I. Joe and changing numerous aspects about the franchise that we've all grown up with even without an Anime TV series. And hey a little Anime style treatment might not be such a bad idea for the toys, especially for the female action figures. Then maybe we could get a Scarlett or Baroness figure that doesn't look so ugly.

A few years back, when the old X-Men cartoon was brought over to Japan, they redid the opening theme to X-Men... and let me tell you... it was friggin' awesome. It wasn't you're typical Japanese looking anime stuff.... but like the comic book drawing style of that era brought to life. If anyone has ever seen this little clip, you'd know how kick-ass GI JOE could be done. That's exactly what I'm talking about. I've seen that Anime intro to the X-Men series myself and it rocked and I'm only sorry that Marvel didn't tell the artists you did it to make a whole nother X-Men Anime series. So my arguing is if it's done tastefully enough like that why not?