Today's Toy Run

This past Monday, I lucked up and found my first new GI Joe figures in a while. I picked up a Jungle BAT, a Steel Brigade trooper and a Cobra trooper. I stopped by the same Walmart again today...


Oh yeah! I picked up 2 more Cobra Troopers, 2 more Steel Brigade troops, 2 General Hawks and 1 of the new versions of Cobra Commander. Sweet!!

I've seen pictures of the General Hawk figure used as a troop builder. I'm all for that. Looks pretty cool. Reviews to follow soon.

And I left the Jungle BATs on the pegs! Plus I passed on the new version of Blowtorch. Maybe when Hasbro redoes him in shades of green, I'll pick him up.

Comedy Relief

This version of Duke is just so bad. But it also so much fun. So fun to abuse!

Pursuit of Cobra Steel Brigade

The vintage mail away offer of a personalized G.I. Joe gets a great update for the Pursuit of Cobra line. The Steel Brigade trooper was originally a combination of assorted Joe parts with a new head sculpt. No exception here. I don't think that there is anything new on this figure.
But Hasbro has done a great job in recreating the Steel Brigade trooper from an assortment of various sources.


I haven't done a side by side comparison, but I believe that the body of the Steel Brigade trooper matches the exact body of the Cobra Shock Trooper, including the web gear. The only changes, of course, are the colors. But it works. The Shock Trooper body is a great base for potentially any new character with only minor changes needed.


The Steel Brigade trooper is meant to be a "generic" soldier, sort of a G.I. Joe recruit. He is almost a full fledged G.I. Joe, but not quite. They can also act as support troops for the G.I. Joe team.


The figure comes equipped with a wide assortment of gear. Looks like a SMAW with a back pack of removable, lose-able shells. The widely used SCAR rifle, an M4A1 (?), and a heavy machine gun w/ tripod wrap up the firearms. He also comes with another back pack and the Steel Brigade helmet.




The figure also uses the Beach Head head sculpt used with both the Resolute and Pursuit of Cobra versions, plus the collar used with both Resolute Beach Head and Stalker.



I'm thrilled with Hasbro's execution with this character. Unfortunately, the guy is generic and therefore may become G.I. Joe cannon fodder. I do like the concept and definitely need a few more of these guys to create a little squad of these guys.

Pursuit of Cobra Jungle BAT

A Jungle BAT? Seriously?
Yeah, I guess so. Hell, he's got a machete, so why not?

But a Jungle BAT? Most of the latest releases from Hasbro for the Pursuit of Cobra line appear to be "Franken-Joes" - a combination of assorted parts used to make either a new character or an update of other characters. This new version of the BAT is no exception.

This version uses the entire mold from the 25th Anniversary Battle Android Trooper with just a new color palette and a new assortment of weapons. The original version kicked all sorts of ass and still remains as one of the best updates from the classic to the new style body construction.



The Jungle BAT comes with an assortment of goodies. Besides the standard BAT arm weapons, there are several different choices for arming your Jungle BAT. A machete, an AK-47, and a mini-gun w/ ammo belt and ammo backpack. Plus the BAT comes with the battle damaged head. That battle damaged head is really well done. plus the chest panel has taken a few hits as well. The BAT loaded up for some heavy-duty brush clearing in the jungle. A Jungle BAT?


I'm just not digging this color palette of this thing. The camo pattern, while cool, just doesn't work for me. And I'm not sure how well a complex electronic device is going to work in the hot, humid jungles.

Close-up of battle damage - nice job, Hasbro!
When the 25th Anniversary excess inventory arrived at discount retailers such as Marshall's, TJ Maxx, Ross and Family Dollar, I loaded up on BATs. I guess I got a little "BAT-sh!t" crazy. I bought nearly every BAT that I could find. I'm just not feeling it for these new versions. I think that I might buy one more of these Jungle BATs.


It's not like he's going to be lonely. He does have a few friends.

Now if Hasbro had redone the BAT in a more urban camo color palette? I might have again been hit by BAT fever and "needed" to load up on these rascals.

A Recent Yard Sale Find

Isn't this cool? I found this at a yard sale a couple weeks ago. Only $1.00!!

Okay, a big plastic plant? So what's the big deal?

Looks like Joe-sized foilage to me!

Sort of works with the big dudes a little.

Each individual branch can be removed from the main stalk. I think that this stuff will work great in creating some jungle environments w/o having to go to the jungle!

Rise of Cobra Exclusives - Tiger Cat ATV, Desert Rockslide ATV & Lava pod

Apparently these vehciles were some sort of exclusives or third round of Alpha class vehicles that never made it to regular retail. From left to right - the Tiger Cat ATV, the Desert Rockslide, and the Lava Pod. I link back to GeneralsJoes.com because Justin's site is my personal favorite for all things GI Joe.
And his reviews are much better than mine. Always.

I picked these sets up at Ross. Again, Ross just rocks for G.I. Joe stuff these days. I don't really mind, especially since the prices kick ass, but I hope it is not a negative effect on the longevity of the line. So, just in case any one is interested, here are my humble opinions on these vehicles.

The Tiger Cat ATV - another remake of the original Ferret. Loads of extra crap stuck on it. The steering handle is loose and wobbly. But still kinda' cool.
This is the 2nd version of Leatherneck in the new sculpt line. Much better than the original version. The lower arms were crap and I have already replaced them with the lower arms from Resolute Duke. Not perfect, but he can hold weapons much easier.

The Desert Rockslide - from this angle, it's a pretty cool looking vehicle. Just don't look at the underside.
Dusty is pretty cool, I'm going to do a head swap at some point. The camo is too dark across the face. Love the digital desert camo pattern!

Okay, this tread-thingy is what drives the thing. the connecting post goes right through the tread and... well, what actually drives the tread? Okay, power source sends power through the post into the self contained drive mechanism. Yeah? And how does the tread actually deal with that connecting post? Hell, I don't know. But it still looks cool.

Now to the Lava Pod. This is just a repaint of the Mole Pod. This is probably the dumbest vehicle I have ever seen. Yeah, Cobra used something similar in the movie - but the movie kinda' sucked.

But the figure kicks ass. The "volcano viper" just looks pretty slick. I don't think he's quite ready for jogging around active volcanoes, but he can hold his own in some pretty rough environments.
And he can't even fit in the stupid thing.

"Hey, ma... Can I have another quarter?"

Awesome Stuff from Ross!

Yeah, I'm pretty much nuts.