There have been many rumors and tales told about what “could have been” for the past year’s 50th Anniversary line from Toys “R” Us, many of them involving vehicle sets that were canceled due to the retailer’s request for a more scaled back exclusive line.
YoJoe hits us with some tangible proof that many of these items were in the production chain when canceled. An anonymous YoJoe supporter has uncovered what looks to be an early sample of a Rock n Roll figure with many similarities to the concept case version from a few years back.
Using parts from G.I. Joe: Pursuit of COBRA and G.I. Joe: Retaliation, the figure looks very cool and I love the camouflage pattern on the legs. He’s got a new head and a pretty cool aesthetic, all told.
With the Collectors Club slates to release their own version of Rock n Roll v2 as a membership figure for 2018 it will be interesting to see how similar or different it is to this one. Check out the YoJoe forums for the full details, I’ve mirrored a couple of images below, but you’ll find many more over there.
Man, I get goosebumps every time Fresh Monkey Fiction posts a new one of these strips. All my life I’ve wanted to write comics, and so far this is the closest I’ve gotten, and I’m loving it. Huge thanks to Bill for giving me the opportunity to do it, and major props to the legendary Ryan Lord for his stellar artwork!
I’m unreasonably excited about this, mostly due to the bad ass design aesthetics of the Exo-Suit.
With the posters and concept art shown off at NJCC, MJ had said to expect the Kickstarter soon, and soon means NOW. Featuring the introduction of the K-9, the Exo-Suit and the Contract Ops Marauder Task Force figure, this Kickstarter also introduces a ton of new, exciting colors to your existing Task Force and Valkyries squads.
Personally, I’m all about this Exo-Suit. With a ton of customizable parts there looks to be an infinite number of combinations not just for suit pieces, but also for different elements of the suit to connect directly to the figures themselves. Truly awesome looking stuff from Marauder and the design wizards at Boss Fight Studio.
As of this writing, the Kickstarter stands at $26,000 and I expect it to blast through funding quickly before moving on to some stretch goals, so let’s get this cranking! Daddy needs a camouflage Exo-Suit!
I can’t believe it’s been over a week already since the New Jersey Collectors Con, and what a busy week it’s been. The NJCC Exclusive Blasted Land Orc has hit eBay a few separate times (and is selling through like crazy) and Boss Fight has gotten all caught up on pre-orders, so Series 2 Wave 1 items are IN STOCK and ready for immediate shipping!
Not only that, but I’ve got a great exclusive look at some of the slides from the Boss Fight Studio panel at NJCC, including the first look at an upcoming Gargoyle figure from Wave 4. These are great, high-res images that provide an awesome sneak peek at input art for Wave 4 as well as the reveals for the Series 3 Space theme.
Huge thanks to Trina and the people at Boss Fight for allowing me to share these images. Enjoy and make sure you run straight to BossFightShop.com to grab Wave 1 of the Fantasy figures in stock and ready to ship.
Right alongside the release of Wave 1 of the Fantasy series we already have our first convention exclusive, this one for the New Jersey Collectors Convention which occurred the weekend of August 11th – 12th in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Branded as a Boss Fight weekend celebration of sorts (also celebrating the release of Series 2), this year’s fall NJCC was a great time and offered a fantastic addition to the Fantasy series.
The Orc Conqueror is already a great figure, and this NJCC exclusive adds some intriguing twists. With a very deep red skin, darker brown secondaries and a bronze/gold trim instead of silver/gray. The result is a figure that is considerably different in appearance, yet maintaining all the cool features of the standard Orc Conqueror.
Inhabiting the “blasted land” this variation of Orcs are even meaner and less hospitable than their more standard green-skinned cousins. Just in their darker paint scheme, these figures look more sinister, and I really love the deep color of their skin complimented by the gold trim of the armor and other additions.
The Blasted Land Orc has the two different heads, two different helmets, and two different face plates just like the conqueror, plus all of the fantastic accessories that the standard release comes equipped with as well.
Accessories
But wait there’s more! In addition to the standard hammer head that comes with the Orc Conqueror, we get a look into the customizing possibilities of these weapons with a spiked mace end that can replace the hammer and create a whole different weapon. I’d have to think there is more where this came from down the line, but it’s great to get an early introduction to it here.
Along with the spiked made, the Blasted Land Orc has a gorgeous sword, a dark blade carved from volcanic rock that is shined to a nice polish more resembling pure obsidian. The look of the dark gleam of the blade is really unique and really awesome.
All of the same great gear as the Orc Conqueror, but in a deeper color scheme with some really awesome complimenting of the dark red skin of the Orc. This is one heck of a great addition to your already growing Orc army and with an intriguing backstory makes for a fantastic NJCC exclusive. Here’s hoping there are more surprise exclusives in store down the road.
Blasted Land Orc
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4.5
Summary
While overall I probably prefer the color scheme of the standard Orc Conqueror, this figure is still a fantastic compliment to that one in pretty much every way. All of the same accessories and gear (with bonus spiked ball) and a really appealing darkened color pallet gives the Blasted Land Orc some nice variation and a nice evolution on the Orc theme. A great addition to the evil ranks of the Orcs in the HACKS fantasy universe.
