HasCon Report: Part 2
By Flag Points Dave
Saturday morning came early, but I was ready. I was so pumped to be around the designers in the area that was set up to pay tribute to Joe, I hardly realized that there was a showroom floor. As a matter of fact, I didn’t go there until the afternoon. The area outside of the main hall was set up beautifully. Original paintings and 2-ups were in cases. If you’ve never seen Storm Shadow painting brushstrokes, you must try to make that happen.
Creators were milling about, joking, signing autographs and discussing their creations and ideas with the fans. Hanging out with them was an incredible experience. They welcomed fans into their group almost as peers and we all had an absolute blast. Saturday was also the day I was able to tour Hasbro with a significant number of designers. It was amazing to tour the facilities, but even more so to do it with those who designed my favorite toy line. Listening to them talk to each other about their Hasbro memories was fantastic. Some pointed to specific locations and shared a thought. Many others drank in the radical changes before them. It was particularly fun to see some get excited about the capabilities technology has afforded toy makers in 2017. I’ll get back to this later. When we returned, I finally made it to the floor where I got to see the active toy line displays presented in a way that made me very envious. As I mentioned, I’m a fan of Star Wars and Transformers, so on that level, it was thoroughly enjoyable. But where was Joe? His absence was painfully obvious to me.
Saturday night brought another evening of hanging with fans and some designers. I was able to share my preproduction art portfolio with some appreciative fans, and the night concluded with a reading of an unreleased Star Brigade video script by some very spirited and funny individuals in the hotel lobby. Anyone in attendance will probably also point to that event as a HasCon highlight. I hit the sack around 2:30 again and woke up Sunday morning, ready to travel.
That morning, Dan K., the incredibly talented and generous Frank Coroneos and myself hung out and recapped all the fun we had over the weekend while sipping some coffee and having a little breakfast at the hotel. While sitting there as well as on the ride home, I had several thoughts I shared with some buds I really had hoped to see there. I talked on the phone with Dan Uthman (gijoegraphy.com,) Page Wagner (remember Page’s Ebay Pages?,) Marc White (Flag Points fan and I.T. helper) as I drove and reflected on the trip. I said some things that surprised all three of them.
They all wanted to know how my trip went, of course, and I had nothing but great things to say. Dan K. and Derryl DePriest worked so hard on this fan experience that Duke himself would have been proud!
See you tomorrow for the HasCon wrap-up!
Destro’s HEAD! So much like the IG DESTRO logo on that paint master…
Do you have better close ups of it and the Golobulus artwork?
The Voltar concept art is very different to the final design. Helmet perhaps used for Cesspool? Or Gyro Viper? The lower half is more recognizable to the actual figure that was released…
Was there any news on the future of the brand? And whether it will come to the UK?
Thanks.
Ps, Voltar concept art helmet and design also looks like it could have been re-used for the Crimson Guard Immortal some years later…the similarities are there….the Helmet, the lower half including the belt…
Crimson Guard Immortal is also the first thing that came to my mind when I saw that photo. Also, notice the Cobra logo, instead of the one from the Iron Grenadiers. Could it be possible that the Iron Grenadiers were originally going to be a subteam of Cobra, like the Python Patrol? And by the way, that design could have been used for the Crimson Guard Commander figure from 1993, but instead, they designed that figure looking more like the 86 Viper trooper. Especially with the helmet.
The design of the “Destro’s General” more strongly suggests Scrap-Iron than anyone else, really…
There’s nothing about him that looks like Scrap Iron…..
Another great installment. Those pictures are amazing!
”Excellent photos of the action figures and vehicles.BUT,there is something missing…The 1986 G.I.Joe/Cobra popular vehicles.The Dreadnoks Thunder Machine, Swampfire, Cobra Terror Drome, Cobra Stun.The 1986 Cobra Night Raven S3P Black Jet Spy Plane.The Joes H.A.V.O.C.,Tomahawk,etc…”
I don’t suppose they mentioned what many fans have suspected for years: that several Cobra figures released in ’88 or ’89 might’ve been originally intended to be released as Cobra-La figures due to their more science fiction influence and the organic nature of many of the molds.
The Hydro-Viper, and the Nullifier figures, are the only ones that I can think of when it comes to planned, or possibly planed, Cobra-La figures. The Frag-Viper makes me wonder if it was meant to be a Cobra-La figure, because the design of the helmet does not make any sense with the type of fighting that they do. It looks like a bug’s face(that also reminds me of the Annihilator’s helmet). I also know about that weird Cobra-La vehicle, the Insecticycle, which was most likely released with Darklon, as the Evader(could it be possible that Darklon was also meant to have been a Cobra-La figure?). Anyway, that’s all that I know about any figures, or vehicles, that were possibly meant to be for Cobra-La. Also notice that the left hand of the Hydro-Viper, was designed the way that it was, because the fingers on that hand were meant to be claws. Just take a look at the picture of the card art, and you’ll see that. Anyway, the Hydro-Viper should have been given to the Iron Grenadiers, since it would have fit in better with them(with different colors of course). And the Undertows should have been released as Cobra troopers instead. They actually look more like Cobra troopers, than Iron Grenadier troopers. Well, at least to me they do.
Actually it was Nullifier that was supposed to come with the Cobra La Insecticycle.
Thank you very much for that information. And now, after seen a photo on the internet of the drawing of the planned Insecticycle, I saw that it looks very different from the Evader. But, that was just a photo of a drawing of the planned vehicle, so, I’m not sure if it is the same vehicle or not. The tires look different. I really hope that the Hasbro folks decide to make it. That, and also Golobulus’ weird looking hovering thing(whatever that thing is called).
Great thread/post. Fully- that guy n the yellow shirt (2nd photo) is my cousin Will Grapentine Sousa (find him on Facebook)…Big Joe fan too…Hasbro HQ is here where I live so we grew up with more Joes than we could think of! Great stuff! Ray/RI
Thx! You’re a lucky dude.