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Post by The Doctor on Sept 27, 2013 19:57:36 GMT
Checked today. Nowt there.
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on Oct 3, 2013 10:13:57 GMT
As I hinted at in the comics thread, I've got a problem with the launch assortment for the UK Action Force line. In 1987 the line launched with 20 figures. And I think there's the root of your problem to start with ;-) This 20 were 17 of the 18 US single carded 1985 figures plus three older figures: Cobra 82 Destro 83 Stormshadow 84 Airtight 85 Alpine 85 Barbecue 85 Bazooka 85 Buzzer 85 Crimson Guard 85 Dusty 85 Eels 85 Flint 85 Footloose 85 Lady Jaye 85 Quick Kick 85 Ripper 85 Shipwreck 85 Snake Eyes 85 Snow Serpent 85 Tele Viper 85 (The missing US 85 figure is the Dreadnok Flamethrower Torch 85) Let's re-arrange this list into Joes & Cobras: Airtight 85 Alpine 85 Barbecue 85 Bazooka 85 Dusty 85 Flint 85 Footloose 85 Lady Jaye 85 Quick Kick 85 Shipwreck 85 Snake Eyes2 85 Destro 83 Stormshadow 84 Cobra 82 Crimson Guard 85 Eels 85 Snow Serpent 85 Tele Viper 85 Ripper 85 Buzzer 85 11 Joes vs 9 Cobra. The Cobras break down into two characters, 5 troopers and 2 Dreadnoks. As a 13/14 years old in 87 the Dreadnoks annoyed me. I thought they looked out of place in an enermy army organisation. And, even worse, one was missing so you couldn't complete the set. 3 of the Cobra troopers are specialists - Diver, Artic and Communications - without an active opposition on the Joe side. And most importantly neither the Joes or the Cobras have one of an identifiable leader character, hence Flint and Destro defacto serving as the leaders. Yes lots of these problems would be solved pver the next few years (Hawk, Wet Suit & Iceberg plus Serpentor and a mail away hooded Cobra Commander in 88) but it really does hamstring the comic's ability to produce good stories at the start. In particular US reprinted stories were hindered by the lack of the Cobra leaders: an obvious soloution would be to swap the Dreadnoks for Cobra Commander (82) and Baroness (84). However both of these figures had been out previously as part of the 1985 UK Action Force line. Maybe Hasbro was trying to distance itself from the previous 1985 Palitoy offering? If so they weren't doing a good job because Destro, Stormshadow and Cobra Trooper had been a part of that along with Ace, Copperhead and Stinger, released with their respective vehiles in both lines. The 85 Palitoy line up consisted of: Breaker 82 Cobra 82 Cobra Commander 82 Cobra Officer 82 Flash 82 Scarlett 82 Stalker 82 Airborne 83 Destro 83 Doc 83 Duke 83 Gung Ho 83 Major Bludd 83 Snow Job 83 Torpedo 83 Tripwire 83 Baroness 84 Blowtorch 84 Firefly 84 Mutt 84 Ripcord 84 Roadblock 84 Scrap Iron 84 Stormshadow 84 (and again by Side) Breaker 82 Flash 82 Scarlett 82 Stalker 82 Airborne 83 Doc 83 Duke 83 Gung Ho 83 Snow Job 83 Torpedo 83 Tripwire 83 Blowtorch 84 Mutt 84 Ripcord 84 Roadblock 84 vs Cobra 82 Cobra Commander 82 Cobra Officer 82 Destro 83 Major Bludd 83 Baroness 84 Firefly 84 Scrap Iron 84 Stormshadow 84 Of the US Figures missing Grunt 82 was a special offfer figure, Recondo 84 was packed with a repainted UK only vehicle as were Shortfuze 82 and Zap 82 who were also repainted in grey and renamed. Meanwhile Rocknroll 82 replaced Covergirl 83 as The Wolverine Driver and So of the entire 82-84 single carded figure lines the only figures not released in 85 were Snake Eyes 82 - who'd had a previous UK release as a SAS Jeep driver - and Spirit 84. Spirit would eventually get a repainted UK release in 1991Back to the problem. I think the easiest soloution to Hasbro/Marvel UK's problem with the initial assortment would probably have been to release the entire HASBRO US 85 Range in UK in 1987. If you look at The 85 Snake Eyes card back that shows the 20 UK Action Force 87 figures (see above) plus Torch 85 Duke 83 Gung Ho 83 Snow Job 83 Torpedo 83 Baroness 84 Blowtorch 84 Firefly 84 Mutt 84 RecondoRipcord 84 Roadblock 84 Scrap Iron 84 Spirit 84 An extra 14 figures making a total of 34. In addition offering 1983's Hooded Cobra Commander as a UK special offer that year would have given an incentive to collect the figures. Eels and Snow Serpent both get their opposition figures. Job sorted. However it wouldn't be till 1990 when the UK would get as many figures as this - 1988 & 1989 both had 30 on UK sehelves while 1990 & 1990 had had 36, 1992 & 1993 had 30 in the standard assortments. So 30 would appear to be the ideal assortment size. So if you could add 10 figures onto the UK 87 list what would they be? Obviously the missing Torch 85 would take up one slot, and Baroness 84 and Cobra Commander 82 would have another two. Snow Job 83 & Torpedo 83 to fight the Snow Serpent and Eel. Spirit cos he never got released in the UK 85 assortment. That's six. Of the remainder..... Duke 83 to give the Joes an officer. url=http://www.yojoe.com/action/84/firefly.shtml]Firefly[/url] 84 & Scrap Iron 84 to boost the Cobra Ranks: both a prominent in the comic stories And Mutt 84. Just cos. |
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Post by legios on Dec 13, 2013 20:29:05 GMT
Since the Black Widow figure I ordered a while back has been sitting in my kitchen for a while I figured that I had better start work on Bolt-Action. I've had to cut the gunbelt open at the buckle, because a) it gets in the way of painting and b) it is not suitable as it stands. I will probably reinstated it, but only once I trim one of the two holsters off and give it a bit of a paint to pick out the buckle (Widow comes with a pair of 9mm Automatics which won't holster properly because of a thing moulded on top of the slide which looks like it is meant to be a holo-sight. I'll be throwing those in the spares pile I think and acquiring something more suitable as a sidearm). Painting isn't going too badly - I am going to have to do a couple of coats to build up the desert tan on the outfit, but the dirty-blonde colour I have picked out for the hair is covering nicely on the first coat.
She won't quite be finished until the start if next year at the earliest because it looks like I am going to have to shop around for suitable armaments. Fortunately there is a company in the states that makes 3+3/4 scale weapons which should do nicely. No point in ordering $5 dollars of weapons with a flat-rate shipping charge though, so I am going to put together a list of suitable replacement weapons for some of my other Joes as well and get a little consignment together (I'm sure one of my Snake Eyes' would be quite happy to upgrade from the MP7 to a Kriss Vector given the chance...)
Karl
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Post by Shockprowl on Dec 15, 2013 17:45:00 GMT
Sounds like Bolt-Action is coming along nicely there, Karlos. Would love some pics when she's done.
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Post by legios on Dec 17, 2013 21:26:18 GMT
She is taking shape over time. Strangely, I had thought that the hair would be the hardest part, but that has turned out to be perhaps the simplest thing to do - possibly the advantage of finding a very good "blond" colour to use.
I've got a "work in progress" image on my iPad which I will put up if I can figure out how to upload it, but I will certainly sort out something once she is finished.
(I am already planning future customs as well - I have another three ideas rattling around in my head, and another one in the early stages of forming).
Karl
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 17, 2013 21:49:53 GMT
I demand a File Card.
-Ralph
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Post by legios on Dec 17, 2013 21:57:11 GMT
There will be one. Can't have a new member of Action Force without a file card. There will probably be an expanded dossier entry as well.
Karl
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Post by Shockprowl on Dec 17, 2013 22:41:43 GMT
Yes! File Card!
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jan 8, 2014 15:36:07 GMT
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Post by legios on Jan 14, 2014 19:55:45 GMT
Sounds like Bolt-Action is coming along nicely there, Karlos. Would love some pics when she's done. There would have been a work-in-progress picture - if I could work out how to link the picture through from my Flickr account and get it to appear. I shall have another try in due course when my head is a bit clearer, I am a bit more awake and therefore more likely to be able to decipher the proper magicks. Karl EDIT: She still needs a coat of paints on her boots and the belt modified, painted and attached. Fortunately I appear to have the ideal matt-black finish for that sitting in my "working" cupboard, along with a semi-gloss black which I think is going to come in very handy for the second custom which is sitting ready to be started.  Bolt-action work in process by karl_thurgood, on Flickr |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Feb 17, 2014 14:54:54 GMT
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Post by legios on Feb 17, 2014 15:16:06 GMT
I like the look of some of these sets. The Lowlight vs Night Viper and Lady Jae vs Baroness sets are calling to me a bit at the moment. Hard to tell from the photo's but it looks like Lowlight is toting the M-2000 rifle that the Pursuit of Cobra version had, which adds to the appeal as I have a mostly completed custom who wouldn't mind at all if she could borrow one of those.
Karl
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Post by Philip Ayres on Feb 17, 2014 16:32:59 GMT
The Low Light/Night Viper, Barbeque/Heat Viper and Snow Job/Artic Bat look fab.
Want all 3 of the vehicle sets
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Post by legios on Feb 17, 2014 17:28:57 GMT
I quite like the look of the three pack with Beach-Head in as well - perhaps slightly coloured by the affection for Beachhead as a character that reading the early GI Joe stuff has led me to.
Karl
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Post by The Doctor on Feb 17, 2014 18:03:56 GMT
They all look very nice, but I can't help but feel that Joe has come to the point where it needs a re-invention to keep it viable in much the same way that Real American Hero gave it new life back in the day.
Lovely looking figures though.
-Ralph
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Post by blueshift on Feb 17, 2014 18:47:05 GMT
They really need to call it something that isn't GI Joe if they want to have a foothold outside America.
Like, Action Force.
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Post by legios on Feb 17, 2014 19:07:46 GMT
They all look very nice, but I can't help but feel that Joe has come to the point where it needs a re-invention to keep it viable in much the same way that Real American Hero gave it new life back in the day. -Ralph I would agree with you. The 50th Anniversary line is very much an exercise in trading in nostalgia. It is all about "here are new versions of figures you loved as a kid". It feels very focused on the adult collector at the moment, rather than being a mass-market kids line. I do love the look of the 50th Anniversary line, and there is a strong possibility that I might pick up a number of them but you are right, it doesn't really have anything much to distinguish it in the eyes of kids from the various "own brand" 33/4 military figures that are in the major chains. As to getting traction outside the US, I kind of get the feeling that the first movie line marked the end of them really being interested in marketing GI Joe outside the States in any meaningful way. I get the impression from Pursuit of Cobra onwards they have just shrugged and decided that it is just going to be a domestic line rather than anything with real international sales potential. Karl |
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Post by The Doctor on Feb 17, 2014 19:19:02 GMT
I'm curious as to how it actually sells to kids in America. The comics are aimed at adults and there hasn't been a tv show for a few years now to support a line. The films also appear to be on quite a sporadic schedule.
-Ralph
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Post by legios on Feb 17, 2014 19:28:44 GMT
I'm curious about that too. I haven't really got a sense of how it sells at the moment.
And thinking about this reminds me of how long it has been since Renegades, the last real attempt at GI Joe media aimed at kids (and how much I actually liked its figure line. In retrospect I wish I'd invested in a few doubles for custom use back at the time because the figures I do have from Renegades are top-notch)
Karl
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Post by Philip Ayres on Feb 17, 2014 19:38:31 GMT
Badly.
I get the feeling that in the US 25th did ok with collector support, the Movies came along, Hasbro expected them to do *really* great and they didn't and now Hasbro/retail haven't the will to support the line.
GI Joe Kreo has been TRU exclusive for a while and now the 3 3/4 line is.
Fans meanwhile just want updated versions of old characters and redone old vehicles.
Meanwhile in the UK I don't think the brand has ever recovered from trying to do a relaunch as a US Military line during Gulf War II. Real life war toys, especially US ones, are retail toxic here for obvious reasons.
Matt's right, the Action Force name might be the way to go to relaunch the line in the UK
If anything I think the way forward for the line might be Kreo
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Jim
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Post by Jim on Feb 17, 2014 23:21:22 GMT
Definitely Action Force, and a return to the multi-national team. Italian Barbecue and German Airtight, please!
Like the look of Arctic BAT, but we do seem to be retreading a lot of old ground with these figures and I'm finding it hard to get excited.
-Jim
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Post by Fortmax2020 on Feb 18, 2014 18:13:06 GMT
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Post by blueshift on Feb 18, 2014 18:20:38 GMT
That's an oddly Americentric article for the BBC, with only one tiny mention of Action Man! |
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Post by The Doctor on Feb 18, 2014 18:43:39 GMT
Well it is the 50th anniversary of a toy that started in America. What did you expect, exactly?
-Ralph
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Post by Shockprowl on Feb 18, 2014 20:42:29 GMT
They really need to call it something that isn't GI Joe if they want to have a foothold outside America. Like, Action Force. YES!!!! YES YES YES YES YES! |
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Post by Shockprowl on Feb 18, 2014 20:47:06 GMT
They really need to call it something that isn't GI Joe if they want to have a foothold outside America. Like, Action Force. YES!!!! YES YES YES YES YES! YEEEESSSS!!!!!! YES YES YES YES!!!!!! ACTION FORCE!!!!!! DAMNIT!!!!!!! |
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Post by Shockprowl on Feb 18, 2014 20:47:53 GMT
Should have been Action Force all along. Infinately better name.
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Post by Shockprowl on Feb 18, 2014 20:51:32 GMT
Fans meanwhile just want updated versions of old characters and redone old vehicles. Guilty! Guilty as charged! I'm still missing an Airtight and Footloose in the 25th style, thank you very much Hasbro. My collection has been substantially streemlined in recent years (after I went ABSOLUTELY BONKERS on them when they first came out!), but I still have a very healthy collection, including a very functional Cobra army. Love the updated 'classic' figure. Love 'em. |
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Post by Shockprowl on Feb 18, 2014 20:52:15 GMT
Sounds like Bolt-Action is coming along nicely there, Karlos. Would love some pics when she's done. There would have been a work-in-progress picture - if I could work out how to link the picture through from my Flickr account and get it to appear. I shall have another try in due course when my head is a bit clearer, I am a bit more awake and therefore more likely to be able to decipher the proper magicks. Karl EDIT: She still needs a coat of paints on her boots and the belt modified, painted and attached. Fortunately I appear to have the ideal matt-black finish for that sitting in my "working" cupboard, along with a semi-gloss black which I think is going to come in very handy for the second custom which is sitting ready to be started. Bolt-action work in process by karl_thurgood, on Flickr Karlos! I'm sorry, I missed this completely. Looking very nice indeed sir! Well done! |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Feb 18, 2014 21:16:43 GMT
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