By KansasBrawler As a Joe collector, I’ve always loved everything about the Iron Grenadiers. I remember using my vintage Iron Grenadier figure a lot as a very dangerous bodyguard. I’ve also previously mentioned my slight obsession with the vintage Night Viper figure since I never found him when I was a kid. When I first saw reviews of the M.A.R.S.
Read moreBy KansasBrawler The year 2005 was a pretty big year for KansasBrawler as a Joe collector. I was making decent money from a college job and that meant I’d started getting a little more into the online Joe collecting world as I was running down product that wasn’t showing up at my local Wal-Mart. That year was also the first
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By KansasBrawler As a Joe fan, I’ve always loved jetpacks. I was a bit too young for the original JUMP, but I remember being very excited when I found the 1991 General Hawk with his brand new jetpack. By and large, the souvenir sets at Joe Con in 2009 weren’t really my cup of tea, but the International JUMP Jet
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Some collectors may bemoan yet another repainting of the updated Skystriker that was produced a few years back. I can understand if some folks feel like we’ve seen it a lot since then. However, the versions we’ve gotten haven’t been mass retail releases. I for one haven’t picked up any of them, until now. When I saw the Hasbro press
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I’ve been a fan of the Alley Viper concept since I first learned of it upon returning to GI Joe collecting in 1991. The oddity of the design drew me in. Here was an urban operative outfitted in orange and blue, wearing a face shield that looks like it blocks all vision. Weird, yet intriguing. I picked up several examples
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Normally, I can find something positive to say about pretty much anything I cover here, but I’m having a hard time with AVAC. The parts choice is just too heavily based on 25th anniversary to ignite my interest, and the individual details too recognizable as their original components. I suppose you could call it a Crimson Flashtan. That’s about all
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Am I a bad GI Joe fan for saying that I’ve been tired of the old HISS tank? Don’t get me wrong; I love its classic stylings, and it always brings up good memories of Christmas 1983. However, it’s been released so many times, I’ve been wanting to see something different done with it. Hearing that another re-paint was in
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Poor Robert Graves. He started his career in 1982 as the “face” of GI Joe on many of the re-branded toy’s products, but since the modern era began, he’s been relegated to the realm exclusive toys. From the 25th anniversary to today, he’s been left out of the wide release single carded figure assortments. I guess Hasbro thinks he’s just
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It’s time to move on to the biggest set of this year’s San Diego Comic Con exclusives, and the one I was most excited to get. With a green Joe-themed HISS tank, two oft-forgotten original ’82 team members and a boldly repainted Skystriker, it looked to be a fantastic set. Over the next several days, we’ll be breaking it down
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Kicking off another 2015 exclusive, it’s the San Diego Comic Con Hasbrotoyshop Crimson Strike set. For the first time, I was able to pick up one of the large sets via Hasbro’s own online store. Amazing, huh? I guess either the demand wasn’t what it was in years past, or simply more product was produced. Whatever the case, it’s nice
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