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On to the news and product announcements!
GI JOE
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GI JOE: Pursuit of Cobra wave 3 and wave 4 figures are up for pre-order.
Each set of four figures is available for $27.99 per set. Wave 3 includes
Duke (v2), Snake-Eyes (v3), Cobra Shock Trooper, and Storm Shadow (v2). Wave
4 includes Destro (v2), Skydive, Shadow Tracker, and Lowlight.
Hasbro has announced that Snake-Eyes (v3) will not have a variant. Both
heads will be included in the package with the figure. I think this is
a relief for both retailers and collectors and will allow you to get both
heads without going to a lot of trouble and expense.
Wave 3 is expected in the first two weeks of December and wave 4 in the first
two weeks of January 2011. If you pre-order both sets together we will bill
and ship everything together when wave 4 arrives.
Some refresh cases of Pursuit of Cobra waves 1 and 2 will be shipping in
November. We will not be ordering a lot of these so recommend you put in a
pre-order to reserve figure sets if you’re interested. http://smalljoes.com/cgi-bin/pgen.cgi?CatId=2&Stage=5 (more…)
From what I can gather, the interview was done a number of months ago, but was just recently posted. Wildly enthusiastic G.I. Joe fan Gyre-Viper got an opportunity to talk with Mr. Merklein, and has posted the video interview on YouTube for all to see.
Guys like Mr. Merklein are overlooked in the toy industry, but his work on the original G.I. Joe line cannot be overstated. He did initial sculpting for many of the figures that we all know and love, and without talented guys like him, our favorite toyline would be only a shadow of what we know. The ideas are where everything starts…but the design of the figure itself is what carries the line for nearly 30 years, and the guys behind the pens, paintbrushes, and sculpting tools don’t get nearly the credit they deserve.
Too many fans think that just because they can do a custom, they can somehow do “better” than the Hasbro designers. I would challenge them on that. These guys are some damn talented artists, whether you like the end result or not. Kudos to Gyre-Viper for getting this interview done, and an even bigger kudos for sharing it with the rest of the Joe fandom, so we can peek inside the mind of one of the legendary creators of these timeless characters that we know and love.
Check the YouTube link below for Part 1 of the interview. There are multiple parts, and I will embed all of them after the jump.
As anyone who has seen my screen name knows (not to mention the name of the site itself) I’m a pretty big fan of the General Hawk character. Even as a kid, I loved how Hama portrayed him in the comics, and was endlessly annoyed that he somehow got blacklisted from the animation merely based on his resemblance to Duke. Heck, even when he appeared in Season 2, he had his hair color changed and didn’t seem to retain any of the hard-edged personality that I loved from the comic book.
However, I fully acknowledge that most folks know Hawk from his appearances in the cartoon, and the brown bomber jacket is certainly his iconic look, so I will admit, even though he’s in his ’86 togs I’m pretty freaking giddy to see him in the below Sideshow Production Blog:
Looks very cool. It should be noted there’s another figure in the background, which HissTank.com is labeling as “Grunt”, but there’s no proof I can see that this is the case. Regardless, love these behind the scenes peeks. Looking awesome.
Check out the production blog itself right here.
A few days ago, I posted an updated lowdown of episode titles from G.I. Joe: Renegades, pulled from the MSN TV Listings. Well, those listings have been updated somewhat, but not with more titles, this time with just a bit more detail. Episode 3: The Package has been confirmed to include Major Bludd, with the following tagline:
“Major Bludd tracks down a target for assassination.”
Once again, the plot looks to take a somewhat dark turn, which is a welcome thing for this new generation of G.I. Joe…and Major Bludd is yet another reason why I’m really looking forward to the Renegades animation. As someone who loves the mythology behind the G.I. Joe universe, I’m really looking forward to how they rebuild this universe and how they reinvent some of these characters. Should be cool. Keep your eyes peeled to the GeneralsJoes G.I. Joe: Renegades SuperPage for all of the latest Renegades news and intel. Episode 3 airs for the first time Friday, December 3rd at 5:00pm.
