G.I. Joe Convention Coverage Continues - Friday, June 27 in review!

It was a great day for Joes!

We didn't exactly have to hit the ground running, but it was certainly a full day anyway! The volunteer list for the parachute drop was filled shortly after being posted Thursday night, so everybody who was on any floor below the fourteenth got a great show. Several camera crews were there and a couple lucky kids made the National news on Fox. 300 Sky B.A.T.s dropping fourteen stories is quite a sight!

Hasbro had some great previews in their discussion early this afternoon. Right off the bat they promised us a big surprise would be announced Saturday regarding upcoming vehicles (no - it isn't the Flag or the Terror Drome, but they did say they weren't entirely out of the question). Many common questions were answered: all of the original 13 will be released in an anniversary sculpt before the movie line begins; Quick Kick will be made very soon, a con preview is possible, there will not be a movie trailer previewed at the con, production hasn't gotten to that point yet, but the budget is similar to the Transformers movie so it is not being shortchanged anywhere. Now, the figure previews, singles: Tiger Force Duke; Wraith - two different coloring schemes; Mutt with Junkyard; Para Viper; Cobra Bazooka Trooper; and Croc Master. These will be wave 6 of 2008. We were also shown the comic packs that were recently announced: Destro & Iron Grenadier; Nemesis Immortal & Falcon; Cobra Commander & Tripwire. Vehicles previewed included the Firebat with AVAC and the Sharc with Deep 6 - in addition to a tease about bigger vehicle news coming tomorrow. Next was confirmation of the next two DVD packs, Pyramid of Darkness and Arise Serpentor, Arise. There will also be a new 12" line based on many of the more popular 3 3/4" figs. The last figure announcement given today was about the Combat Heroes. These were originally scheduled for a spring of '09 release, but they have been moved up to this fall. We were given previews of a Snake Eyes & Zartan two-pack and a Bazooka & Firefly two-pack. Generally I have little interest in this style of figure, but what we saw today looked great!

Shortly afterward, the Sales Room was opened for preview, and as always, everybody here managed to pack themselves in within minutes. There is a pretty good dealer turn out this year, but the room is bigger than it was at last year's convention so it doesn't seem nearly as cramped. Hasbro had some great previews, but the thing I was most impressed with was the customs they had displayed.

The G.I. Don't Know game show was a little light on contestants this year - there were only two teams. I do have to hand it to them though, they made up for the lack of competition with their enthusiasm. It was a blast!

Finally we got to the Film Fest. I've been looking forward to this since they had the first one last year. Again, there were fewer entries than last year, but there were a couple that had nearly everybody laughing out loud. The winning video was about a pair of Red Ninja's taking out the Crimson Strike Team. We saw some creative ways of eliminating the problem, but the poor toys weren't even allowed stunt doubles (an entire set was destroyed!)

All in all, it was a great first (full) day at this year's convention!

Pictures can be found at the YoJoe Gallery:

3 3/4"
12"
Diorama
Customs

Also check out the gallery for the Convention

Yo Joe from Dallas!

06/28/08

For a great selection of G.I. Joe and military-themed action figures and collectibles, check out fine retailers SmallJoes.com, Guru-Planet.com, MonkeyDepot.com, BriansToys.com, ToyRocket.com, BigBadToyStore.com, ToyWiz.com and StatueToys.com.

For a great selection of pop culture and G.I. Joe apparel, check out TShirtGurus.com and 80sTees.com.

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