Are you ready for an anniversary party, a reptile enthusiast, and some wrestle men?
Then boy howdy, you are in luck!
Continue reading “Anniversary Party, Wrestle Men, and a Master of Crocs”
Category: GI Joe
1992 GI Joe Cobra Rat Review
(Editor’s Note: Today’s review comes from Robert aka RangeViper84, who was one of the earliest friends I made when I started this project. Robert’s childhood experience is quite similar to my own, as we were born in the same year. I always enjoy his take on GI Joe, and I’m delighted to present you with his take on the GI Joe line’s most unloved toys. You can find Robert on Twitter and Instagram.)
Review and Photos by Robert
I grew up watching the show, playing the NES video game, and collecting Joes from Kay-Bee Toys and Toys ‘R Us, but largely shifted out of any “collecting.” Between 2000 and 2017, I maybe purchased 10 GI Joe-related items (Cartoon DVDs, Storm Shadow Sideshow figure, to name a few).
Then, with the birth of my son in fall 2017 I started to retrieve all of my old Joes, Turtles, Marvel, and Spawn figures from my moms house. Many O-rings had deteriorated and it was that process of repair that re-ignited my love for the franchise and desire to “get back into” GI Joe.
Chun-Li Attends a Birthday Party
Over the weekend, I went back home and attended a birthday party for my good friend Kyle. It was technically a joint birthday party for my friend Caitlin as well, but she was on an intense-sounding bike ride for much of the evening. Either way, it was a good time.
Chun-Li accompanied me.
1993 GI Joe Long Arm Review
There’s no guest review today. Instead, it’s a half-guest review. Today, I’m joined by my friend Eric aka Alexx aka Toys and Tomfoolery. You probably know him already. You can visit his website (which he’ll update any day now), or check out his very active Instagram, which features so much good stuff I couldn’t even possibly describe it. He photographs every good toy line you can think, gives exhaustive rundowns of entire toy series, creates funny comics, and just shares his stunning art with the world. I am a big fan.
Eric acquired 1993 GI Joe Long Arm recently, so I asked him if he wanted to do a collaborative review. I’m not sure if he regrets it now, but he said yes. I took about 8 photos or so, but the rest are all Eric. You can tell which are which, I’m sure.
GI Joe Steel Kaiju (Cobra Sentinel) Review
(Editor’s Note: Today’s post comes from Ross Sewage. You may know Ross from his toy photos on Instagram and Twitter. You may also know him from his blog, where he shares in-depth guides on repairing and customizing electronics and music gear. Or, it’s possible that you know him as a member of Exhumed and Impaled. Ross’ GI Joe and Transformers photos are always a delight, and I’m excited he sent me a review of this big, lumbering Cobra robot. Enjoy!)
Review and Photos by Ross Sewage
I am a fan of many toy lines, but I am a G.I. Joe collector at heart. Still, I follow other toy lines and I have always been jealous of Transformers collectors. They have a vast richness of third party productions. These are toys not produced by Hasbro, the owners of the Transformers intellectual property, but other designers and factories not associated with Hasbro.
Hardcore G.I. Joe fans will, of course, point out the work of Black Major and Red Laser. Both of these mysterious individuals have produced some fun figures over the years which are largely redecorations of old Hasbro o-ring figure designs. There are also a lot of customizers doing cool work and some 3D printers churning out small bits and bobs to flesh out a collector’s G.I. Joe world. Transformer fans, though, get entirely new, factory-manufactured designs with original, complicated transformations. They’re produced with an (more-than-meets-the) eye towards recreating elements from the cartoons and comic books that Hasbro either missed the mark on, or they’re just bigger and more bad ass than what Hasbro is willing to do.
Continue reading “GI Joe Steel Kaiju (Cobra Sentinel) Review”
Pictures of GI Joes: 90s Edition
(Editor’s Note: Today’s photos come from the one and only RTG of Attica Gazette. He generously provided me with these beautiful photos of 1990s GI Joe figures so that I might share them with you. RTG is one of the world’s best GI Joe photographers, and also one of the world’s best toy photographers in general. Not only that, but he’s been my friend for around 13 years now. I am grateful and honored to publish these pictures on my little website.)
Site Updates: Right on TARGAT
Hi there.
I do, in fact, have something new and GI Joe related to share with you today. It’s not a full review, but don’t worry– you’ll get one of those on Thursday. It won’t be a GI Joe review, but it will be fantastic.
And you’ll also be getting a full gallery of amazing GI Joe photos on Friday. That’s a lot of stuff my friends and I are putting out for you this week.
Speaking of friends, I wanted to share some of my favorite things other people have been working on recently
And, as promised, I have a GI Joe thing for you, too.
1991 GI Joe Cloudburst Review
(Editor’s Note: Today’s post comes from my friend Colin, the mastermind behind Colin’s Joes. It’s my favorite kind of toy review blog– the kind where the author waxes poetic about what a toy means to them and also gives a factual, in-depth review. If you like ARAH-era GI Joe and aren’t regularly reading Colin’s website, I highly encourage you to do so, because he makes every single post something special.)
Review and Photos by Colin H.
The “Neon 90s” weren’t so neon for me. I had a Sunice ski jacket that I got in grade 8 that was so bright it would burn your retina if you weren’t wearing sunglasses. But that was when neon died for me, sometime around 1992.
The decade started with moving from a small town (Fort Smith, NWT) to a small city (Yellowknife, NWT), and progressed through learning to drive, my first girlfriend, my first drink, graduating high school, working at a music store, and dropping out of university. Twice. I spent most of the time cruising around my hometown in a Ford Tempo, listening to Dre, the Wu, Big and Pac. And I remember going to the bars in Edmonton on the night that Y2K was supposed to disable the world’s computer networks, and in the relief of having survived disaster, I may have kissed three different girls at midnight.
I started the 90s hooked on X-Men comics, and I ended the 90s hooked on X-Men comics. But in between it all, I sold off my childhood GI Joes, then lived without toys for a few years, before coming back at 17 as a part time collector, grabbing late-run 90s figures at the local Wal-Mart, ordering classic 80s Joes through mailaway offers from Hasbro Canada, and lucking into a few early ARAH MOCs.
Making the Photo: Funskool GI Joe Ripper
(Editor’s Note: Today’s post is something a little different. My friend Sintechness (Twitter, Instagram) was kind enough to share his photo taking process. A lot went into this amazing photo of Funskool Ripper, and it’s fascinating to see how he accomplished such a great shot.)
I’m always amazed at great toy photography. I’m even more amazed when I see how it’s actually produced. My own process boils down to making a haphazard set on top of my stove (it gets the best natural lighting in the house, so shut up) and throwing some toys in it. That is literally all I do. But some people, such as Sintechness, go above and beyond with practical effects and dazzling artistry.
Here’s what went into making this incredible photo of everyone’s favorite Funskool Dreadnok.
Rediscovering GI Joe
(Editor’s Note: Today’s video and its accompanying writeup were created by Mario Xavier. Mario is an actor, director, and stuntman with a passion for GI Joe. Please check out his YouTube channel and Twitter. You can also find his filmography on Prime Video.)
The Dragon Fortress 