Ashtalon

I'm actually looking forward to a new Frostbite. I used the extra ones I got from army building Neo-Vipers by replacing Frostbite's head with other extra Joe heads. I've assembled a small Artic Force now. Hopefully, Hasbro won't just add an O-Ring to that figure. I'd like to see more Artic-themed figures. Maybe Artic repaints? I'm guessing we'll see a new Overkill as well. An Agent Jinx figue is pretty obvious to fill the 1 female an assortment. I think Slash was listed for Wave 10. Slice can't be far behind. It looks like Venom vs. Valor will be pretty ninja-heavy. I think having Hawk turn traitor would be a cool storyline. Maybe he gets captured, Venomized by Mindbender, and turns into a Cobra agent? Maybe he'll be a Hawk figue with snap-on Venom accessories?

I kinda like the Missle Storm repaint. Yeah, it's the gazillionth repaint of it, but at least, it'll match my Desert Night Attack Copter and Grizzly (sorta). I'm digging Desert repaints! I hope we get some Desert repaint figures instead of that Tiger Force stuff.

Doc Evil, please grow up. Obviously I realize GI Joe is not reality, nor is it based on reality. But when a toy company names some of their hero toys (that could be role models for young minds) after a unit that may have commited terrible war crimes...well...there may be a problem. Let's think about this for a second. A kid like GI Joe. He buys and like some of the Tiger Force repaints. In order to find out more about Tiger Force, he does a search on the internet. What does he find? Reports about how the real Tiger Force may have commited terrible acts against Vietnam citizens. Hasbro and, more importantly, its customers may be interested in this. Even though GI Joe characters are fictional, they are supposed to be representatives of our Armed Services. Regarding war crimes, yes terrible things happen in war. However, I don't think there's any justification for raping native women, wiping out entire villages (children included), and keeping trophies (such as severed ears) from fallen enemy soldiers. You can't possibly justify acts such as these. I also highly doubt these reports were brought up by a disgruntled VC after 30 years of silence. More likely a reporter investigating the horrors of war (since the US is involved in a questionable one right now) dug up some of these accusations. Maybe even members of this unit that are having a hard time living with their actions have brought up the issue. To just assume that reports of questionable acts by a very small part of our military are nothing more than enemy propaganda (after 30 years no less) is simply naive. While the vast majority of our serving men are perfectly moral human beings, sometimes individuals go to far. Even though you are at war, doesn't mean you're no longer bound by morals. Just trying to have a interesting discussion. Maybe this is the wrong place for it though? Thanks to most of you for your input.

I'm not sure if Hasbro's aware of this, but the real Tiger Force in Vietnam (I think they were part of the Army) was a very vicious unit that committed numerous atrocities. I've heard a few news reports recently about this. Maybe there's some kind of new report/investigation into them? I wonder if Hasbro is aware of this? If so, maybe they'll stop making Tiger Force product. Personally, I don't like the GI Joe Tiger Force stuff anyways. I'd much prefer to see Desert or Artic repaints of figures than gaudy Tiger stripe repaints. Anybody have any input on this?

I don't know what I can really add to this discussion, but here goes. I obviously hate the Action Attack gimmicks. I probably could have lived with the T-crotch on Storm Shadow (I still hate it though), but then I noticed his right arm isn't ball jointed. What a waste. I don't hate Duke as much as everyone. I do hate the T-crotch, though. I think some of the AA features are actually in the accessories and not the figures. Notice Scarlett and Heavy Duty's wrist-mounted firing weapons? I think those are the Action Attack features. So far only Storm Shadow and Duke have the dreaded T-Crotch. I just can't believe Hasbro would deny us an O-Ring Storm Shadow once again. Hopefully, they'll retool him (like the Troop Builder wave) into an O-Ring figure in a future wave. Most of the other figures are decent, as far as I'm concerned, but I don't find purple Vipers to be very terrifying bad guys. I have noticed what may be a trend for GvC. Don't all these figures look more cartoony than previous waves? They look like they're based off cartoon designs. The character designs and sculpts, especially their heads, are simply less-detailed. For me, this makes the figures less interesting. I don't expect McFarlane or Toy Biz type detail, but I don't want animated-style GI Joe toys. I'm guessing Hasbro's doing this in response to their next GvC animated feature and eventual TV show. There seems to be 2 trains of thought regarding toylines these days. Some companies claim only kids buy toys (and collectors only make up 10% of the market) and therefore replace poseability with action features and gimmicks. Other compaines accept the collector market and decide to make their make their product stand on its own merit (ie little or no action features). Personally, I think the first group is out of touch with reality. I think the collector market is vastly underrated. I think we number far higher than 10% of the market. For every kid (or mother) I see in the toy aisle, I see 3 adult males scouring the pegs for the newest figures. Besides, I think collectors are far more willing to spend money on toys than parents. We're liable to collect entire lines, where parents might not be willing to do the same. I'm guessing parents aren't too keen on army-building either. I think Hasbro's trying to strike a balance between these views. On one hand they cater to the collectors (Troop Builders, RAH reissues/exclusives), and on the other hand, we get Ninja Force 2. Unfortunately, they seem to have forgotten that slipping to far into the action gimmick realm is what killed RAH. Regarding this horrible AA addition to GvC, let's protest this. Hasbro has been forcing us to collect figures we don't like with this whole 2-pack idea since the beginning of GvC. This is especially horrible when they pack a new figure with a repainted figure. I think someone made a great suggestion that we should start shipping the figures we don't want back to Hasbro. I don't think Hasbro will accept an unsolicited box from an unknown person, so why not stick each figure into its own envelope and send it back to its creator? If enough of us do this, Hasbro will suddenly find itself with hundreds of enveloped figures. Maybe they'll start to get the point when their PO Box fills up with these things. I think it's just horrible that in order to collect some figures we like, we have to buy some junky unwanted figure as well. Heck, even Toy Biz got rid of their Lord of the Rings 2-Packs. Why can't Hasbro? I do think most of the product we've seen so far for Wave 9 looks interesting, especially the vehicles. I just think Wave 9 will forever be tainted by what may become a frightening return to the T-Crotch. I think we have to do something about this. By the way, why haven't we heard from a Hasbro rep about this Action Attack stuff. You think if they valued collectors so much, why aren't they trying to calm our fears?

I checked my local Target on Friday night. I've been eagerly looking for the Split Fire and Ringneck. Not only did I find those 2 vehicles, but I also found the Troop Builder Wave (does this have a number?). They had one each except for 2 Crosshair/Nunchuk packs. Both Crosshairs has really bad paint aps on the hairline, so I passed. When I went to the register, the 2-packs didn't ring up. They weren't in the system yet. I've had this happen when I found Wave 7 and 8. I was having an internal debate about what to tell the cashier what the price for the 2-packs were. I'm usually a rather honest guy when this happens, although I do knock about a buck off the 2-packs to make my forture and little more fortunate. Well, the cashier doesn't ask me. Instead she gets help for some dude. Instead of going and checking in the toy department, the dude goes into the Customer Service area. He returns with a number code for the figures. The cashier enters it in and the register reads...$1.27. I couldn't believe it. I got 4 Cobra Troop Builders for just over $5, and I didn't have to cheat to do it! So today, I check out the other local Target in my area. They also have the Troop Builder Wave, but they have plenty of each pack. I grab 4 of the Neo-Viper packs and head to the register. I'm not interested in Alley Viper/Viper packs since I don't like either figure. That may be heretical to say, but I prefer the 1st version of the Alley Viper (not color-wise but he had a better mask, better shield). And something has never sat right with me concerning the Viper figure (the rolled up sleeves seem odd and I think they changed the figures legs). Besides, the Viper comes with the original Baroness' gun, which many of you know doesn't lend itself to be held very well. I get to the register, and once again, the figures don't ring up. This time the cashier asks me how much they are. I chicken out (sorta) and tell him $4.99. I figure that's a reasonable price for everyone concerned. Target's probably barely making a profit, and my army of Neo-Vipers has grown. So, what have we learned from this experience? Don't feel bad if you mislead cashiers about the price of toys, because if you leave it up to them, they'll just rip themselves off more. Ash Talon PS: Who else thinks the Troop Builder Cobra Commander should have been packed with the Neo-Viper Commander. We only need one of each. The BAT should have then been packed with the Neo-Viper and packed more heavily in the case. Or better yet, replace Cobra Commander with an O-ring Moray. Just my thoughts.

I think the Joe mini-plane looks a little aquatic to me (it looks like a little like a manta ray). Could this be an updated SHARC?

I think the new vehicles look great! Especially the Cobra jet. A lot of talk and guesses have been made regarding upcoming Action Attack features. I think Action Attack features have already been appearing on GvC vehicles. The new Cobra jet has Action Attack firing missles obviously activated by the giant handle under the fuselage. It looks like the Joe mini-plane has a button on each wing. I'm guessing each button activates the wing folding action. The boat looks like something might come off the back (a jetski?). Regarding Action Attack features on the figures, I've heard that they're like Sound Attack. Namely, an Action Attack weapon will attach to the vehicles and instead of activating a new sound, the weapon will move in some fashion. I think Cobra Commander's staff (in the new pic) is an Action Attack weapon. It probably launches the tip or something. I think we can all relax about the Action Attack features ruining figures, since they'll probably be part of the weapons and not the figures themselves. By the way, we still haven't seen the Quad, Joe Defense Mech, and Cobra Pulverizer yet. The Joe mini-plane wasn't listed in earlier solicitations, either. The Pulverizer sounds fierce, and the Joe Mech sounds intriguing.

I found the entire Wave 8 at my local Target yesterday. This Target was the first place to have Wave 7 in my area, so it looks like I found a sweet spot. This is pretty crazy, since this Target used to suck before they reorganized their toy department a couple of months ago. Anyway... Duke/Pit Viper. A pretty nice pack. In fact, I bought 2 for the troop builder aspect. Duke is, of course, just a repaint, but I liked the 1st version of this figure. I disassembled him, put Flint's head and lower half with Duke's arms and chest, and now I finally have a pretty cool Flint. I like the idea of the Night Force/Tiger Force repaints, although I don't really care for the Tiger Force patter. I'd prefer some kind of snow or desert repaint. The Pit Viper is damn cool. The Pit Vipers are Cobra Infiltrators (stealth troops). He's a great figure expect for the little belt thing, which will probably pop off everytime somebody plays with the figure. Gung-Ho/Zaranna. Both great figures. Gung-Ho's goatee is indeed brown (he's no longer a victim of the Queer Eye of a Straight Guy show). He's pretty solid looking (like Gung-Ho should be) especially when you put his vest on him. Zaranna is the best female Joe figure yet. She even looks Australian! Cobra Commander/Switch Gears. Cobra Commander....best Cobra figure ever. He's simply amazing. Anyone who was ever a fan of GI Joe should get this figure. My only, very minor complaint is the lack of a pistol to fit in CC's holster. Switch Gears...well...stinks. I guess he's constructed fine, but I hate his design. He's a Tank Commander, but he doesn't look it. He looks like a football player (moreso than Captain Gridiron). I haven't opened the rest. I'm having a hard time opening Heavy Duty/Heavy Water, since I don't like this Heavy Duty. I also haven't opened Faces/Zartan, either. Zartan looks just like the first JvC figure, except his pants are a darker red (and he's got a few minor different paint ops details). I also found the Desert Coyote with Double Clutch at a Walmart. The DC figure is just a repaint of Recondo, but he looks so much better (he now has a beard). The Coyote is pretty cool. It revs when you push it forward or back. A little thumbwheel on the back rotates the gun on the back and activates a gun sound. The gun also elevates as well. A spring-powered rocket launcher plugs in the side (ala Sound Attack chip). The rocket launcher isn't a Sound Attack weapon, the plug is just to attach the launcher. The front gun swivels out of the way, so the driver has access to the cockpit. It's not a bad vehicle for just a couple of bucks. Oh, there's also a DEMO/PLAY switch on the bottom, so you can conserve battery power. When in DEMO mode, the Coyote doesn't make any sound when you push it. The Walmart had 4 of the Coyotes but ZERO Cobra Polar Blasts. It looks like the Polar Blasts are going to go fast. Everyone wants to troop build the Snow Serpents with these Polar Blasts (it's cheaper than buying the original Snow Serpent 2-packs). The catalog showed the TELEVIPER/HALO JUMPER (horrible codename) pack. It also showed the Cobra crimson repaint of the NAC Helicopter with Tomax/Xamot, so that should be coming out soon. By the way, this is my first post.