The modern construction style lends itself to differing body sizes and heights. The same was true with the o-ring to an extent, but was not exploited as often as it has been among more recent figures. Tunnel Rat, one of the more diminutive GI Joe team members, finally received a figure that reflected his intended stature during the 25th Anniversary line.
Read moreThe Kre-O GI Joe figures have been at their best because they manage to distill the essence o classic character designs into just a few basic shapes and broad paint details. Some might call it a Lego knock-off, but the line is getting a bit of its own kind of vibe as it goes along. Sure, the brick figure concept
Read moreUntil the recent Toys R Us product, the Rise of Cobra seemed to have been the last great gasp of GI Joe store exclusives. I was figuring that when Retaliation hit last year, there would have been the usual run of repaints, repacks and multi-figure sets at Target, Walmart and Toys R Us. Such was not the case. Too bad.
Read moreby KansasBrawler I don’t know why, but Road Pig has always had a huge following. It’s always boggled my mind a little. I wouldn’t think a shirtless bruiser would be so popular, but Larry Hama did such a great job with him in the comics and on his filecard that it’s hard not to be intrigued by this particular Dreadnok.
Read moreIt’s funny to think that for all the stylistic flair of the Renegades animated series designs, the initial single carded figures didn’t fully reflect the show’s look. Then Amazon released their surprise four pack, and fans got a taste of what had been planned for future Renegades toys. Hasbro also displayed other unreleased toys at JoeCon, including the team’s main
Read moreThe Amazon exclusive Renegades four pack was a real unexpected oddity in several ways. Released with not much fanfare, it seemed to just show up suddenly alongside the first go round of Retaliation toys. By the way, Amazon also did a five pack for the film, though it was much less interesting than this set based on the all too
Read moreMany of the 1997 collector figures were a disappointment. Missing molds and poor substitutions made for a frustrating experience the first time I found the toys. Gone were the cool repaints as pictured in Previews magazine, replaced with monstrosities like Stars and Stripes Breaker, and bland redecos like battle armor Cobra Commander. The arctic figures were a highlight for me,
Read moreby KansasBrawler (Author’s Note: These Kre-O reviews are going to be a little wacky. I’ve had so much fun setting these up into fun displays and actually playing with them, I don’t want to undo all that to do the reviews with what came in the box. As such, when there are non-standard figures involved or sets are split up, I’ll make a
Read moreI’ve not felt like really army building any of the Kre-O Cobras until this fellow came along. An odd thing to say, considering that Hasbro’s beautifully simple brick homage to the Real American Hero era figures has already brought several iconic Cobra troop types, from the standard “blueshirt” trooper to the Eels to the ever-popular Crimson Guard. Heck, I wasn’t
Read moreby KansasBrawler The Slaughter’s Marauders sub-team was a big part of my childhood. Between the two of us, my brother and I had the entire group, which was pretty unusual. Plus, it allowed me to get access to some figures (like Mutt & Junkyard) who I liked from the cartoon but missed the original releases. However, the choices Hasbro made
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