Toys Toys Toys

The new GI JOE: Rise of Cobra movie toys are out and I snagged 4 at Toys R Us yesterday afternoon. I'm still not sure what my feelings on the movie are. Part of me thinks it nails that "feel' of the old GI Joe cartoons. That mix of military with some James Bond supervilliany and mad science mixed in. The other half just sees those silly-ass accelerator suits (I hope those are a minor set piece and not the backbone of the film).

But regardless of the film's quality, most of the toys look to kick some serious ass. I grabbed Snake Eyes and Destro, along with the 2 Toys R Us exclusive figures, Barbecue and Firefly.


My favorite of the bunch and it not even a movie figure. Barbecue is one of my favorite original Joes ("The Viper is Coming...") and one of the best of the newer 25th Anniversary figures. Movie BBQ is a repaint of the 25th version, done in black, yellow and silver. The yellow seems like an odd choice, but all together, it looks fantastic. BBQ looks good with the movie figure and also fits in nice with the 25th Joes as a repaint. Comes with the original BBQ gear (backpack, foam gun, hose and axe); with a assault rifle and shotgun added.


Another non-movie character. Firefly is equipped to the hilt. Comes with goggles, ammo pouch with clips, machine gun, explosives, and a backpack that holds a knife, flashlight, multi-tool and gas canister. Great details all around. Firefly looks good in the vest armor. I'm not sure if this is a cobbled together figure from other parts, or a straight repaint, but its very cool.


Destro
Pretty cool redesign of the classic character. Figure is nicely detailed and sturdy. The weapons have pegs so they can holster to Destro's hips, but they have trouble staying on thanks to the bottom on the coat.
Warning, the filecard give a spoiler of the mask's origin in the movie.


Snake Eyes
A solid figure. Retains the classic Snake Eyes design. In fact, it looks like another 25th Ann. Joe. Snake looks beefier in the movie trailers, while the figure looks slender in comparison. The visor is a separate piece of dark, glossy plastic glued to the head, which is a nice detail. Snake comes with an Uzi, sword and backpack.

Last weekend I picked up the new TF2 Optimus Prime. I had planned to pass on the big figures this time around, figuring that there was no reason to re-buy characters I had bought when the first movie came out. I was super wrong.



The new leader sized Prime is amazing. I guess I never realized how off model the original toy was until I opened the new version. The new Prime is a beautiful figure with tons of detail and articulation. I haven't had the balls to transform him, though. It looks terrifyingly complicated. That level of puzzle solving is usually reserved for summoning Pinhead.

Lastly I picked up the last 3 Masters of the Universe figures on eBay, from various sellers. After the god-awful experiences with Mattel's Matty Collector site in trying to order these guys, I had decided to drop the line. I figure Mattel owes me about 3 hours of my life back trying to buy their wares on their cluster-fucky website. And while I hate backing eBay scalpers, I kept my patience and managed to buy each figure at cost after the fact. I guess that's the key, wait a few weeks, let the scalpers turn a quick buck and then once eBay's flooded with a character, find a seller trying to dump their figures. Zodak, Merman and Hordak, like the previous releases are beautiful figures. I have no regret about the $28 price tag on these, just the nightmare of dealing with Mattel. So, if you had given up on the line, I do recommend searching these out, but stand fast on pricing. Get them at cost.