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Along with the standard Hasbro fare, Saturday was also enjoyable due to the GI Joe Collectors’ Club round table that lays out the processes of getting the Convention Exclusives to the masses, as well as any potential projects that are in the wings.
Unfortunately, with the Convention being so early in the year this year, there wasn’t really any intel about the membership figure for next year or anything like that, but there are still some pretty cool things potentially in the wings.  Click the “Read the rest of this entry” link below to check it all out.

So I already talked about the o-ring issues that were talked about at the Collectors’ Club round table, but I also wanted to talk about some other stuff as well…  like the long-awaited Manta Squad!
Brian, Lanny, and Dave talked to us a bit about this Collectors’ Club exclusive set that may be in the wings.

  • One 2-Pack would feature a Manta Squad Officer and Demolitions Specialist.  The samples we saw were o-ring tooling using some Wet Suit parts, a basic face mask head, and some other miscellaneous parts.  One figure was painted up like the Cobra Diver from the 25th Anniversary, and the other was colored slightly differently.
  • The other 2-Pack would feature a 2-Pack of Hydro-Vipers painted up similarly to the Cobra Eel

All of the figures looked GREAT.  Brian is concerned a bit about sell-through, though, and wanted some confirmation as to what we, as a fanbase, would prefer.  O-ring or modern era tooling?  He asked for an in-person vote, and the response was pretty much right down the middle.
So, currently, it’s up in the air as to when we’ll see these, and if so, what format they will be in.
More discussion came up about vintage tooling being cast aside, and unfortunately the original vehicle planned for the “Operation: Flaming MOTH” series was one of the toolings that got disposed of.  And if your heart can take it…  it would have been a newly deco’d Cobra Hurricane with a special Cobra Pilot.
ARGH.
Lastly, they spoke about the Adventure Team.  There are currently some shipping related economic issues that have kept the holding containers in lock down.  Brian is hoping that will be cleared up very shortly, though even after it’s cleared up, it could take another month for them to arrive state side.
Also they mentioned that while the Sea Adventurer is all tooled and ready, they haven’t committed to his vehicle yet, and production of the final item could also depend on sales response to the initial release of three.
Feedback was once again a big focus of the round table.  They want to hear from us and have us tell them what they want…it really does go a long way.  They said that because public outcry was so strong for Big Lob, they produced him for their club exclusive.  So, if there’s something you want, let them know!
Images from the round table can be found below.  Excuse some of the quality, the lighting was bad and these slideshows are a bitch to take pictures of.

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