The Hunt: G.I. Joe Goodness
I don’t know why, but I’ve been fairly lucky when it comes to finding G.I. Joe figures in stores. I recently spotted a few figures from wave 7 that I’ve been wanting for awhile. I swear the Wal-Mart that’s only a few blocks for me his horrendous for Star Wars figures, but has been pretty good to me for getting Joes.
I greedily picked up three Vipers, two Snake-Eyes V4, and a Spirit Iron-Knife. I passed on the H.I.S.S. driver, Wild Bill, and Duke with Jetpack. What was funny is that Shawn and I often collect as a team, so when I’m in a store and see a figure I think he’ll want I’ll call him and vice versa. I had forgotten my phone though, so I picked up an extra Viper and Snake-Eyes just in case. It turned out he had wanted ones that I passed on so he went to the store immediately after I got home and managed to get the ones I had missed. At least it wasn’t an epic failure on that account. Why am I telling you all of this? Because I like boring you and because Shawn had passed on the extra Snake-Eyes I had gotten, so what else was I left to do besides open the poor chap? I also opened the Spirit and the second Viper. Now I get to share my thoughts on them with you. I know you’re excited, but please keep your pants on.
Viper: The Viper looks pretty good and makes a worthy addition to the Cobra forces. It appears his flack jacket can come off and his goggles come off as well. In fact, it doesn’t take any pressure it all to pop them off his helmet. That’s a little worrisome to me only because I lose things easily. The other problems I have with my Viper is that his forearms have come off a couple of times and his rifle’s grip doesn’t accommodate his hands as well as I was hoping.
Spirit: I almost passed up on Spirit based on his poor ass facial paint job. He looks like he’s about ready to cry. I realize that fighting Cobra and littering is tough, but I didn’t think he’d break down and cry over it. Aside from the crappy face, Spirit is a cool figure when you have him posed. What really got me excited about the figure is his eagle. I love Joes and Cobras that come with animal buddies.
Snake-Eyes: This was one of the last versions of Snake-Eyes in the original run of A Real American Hero that looked anything like a realistic soldier. This version is a good mix of his ninja and modern day commando aesthetics. What I hadn’t expected was that he’d get night vision goggles, something the original never had. The goggles will look cool if placed correctly, but they do fall off fairly easily due to the fact that they are held in place on one side of his head and are removable in case you don’t like them. I also appreciate that there is a small hook on his uzi and a loop near his backpack that allows you to hook the uzi onto it. Amazingly, after I started complaining about all the Snake-Eyes figures this is my favorite out of the three.
If you’re wondering how I got the money for the figures, I don’t have it. It’s called spending for the good of the country. Look at how patriotic I am!
April 28th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
The Target and Fred’s here have not been stocked with new Single carded Joes in over three months. Plenty of H.I.S.S. Tanks and such, but no dice otherwise. I’m pretty bothered because I really wanted to pick up a Rock & Roll and since ebay makes me want to kill myself and online vendors overprice insanely, I will probably have to wait months until they re-release the uber poseable crotch-fixed R&R in wave 45.
As for Wal-Mart, they’ve had plenty of Cobra agents but I can only take so many duplicates before I start feeling like I have a spending problem.
April 28th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Man once the scalpers are done with the Joe waves after a week or two. Its easy pickens on the Joe front for me, sadly I dn’t collect them.
April 28th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Ugh. I absolutely hate this town. I just want a few figures but both Target & Walmart are completely wiped everytime I stop by to look.
Granted, I don’t check often, but you’d think every now and then SOMETHING would be hanging from a peg. I know the line is for collectors, but sheesh, why is everyone being so greedy?
April 29th, 2008 at 3:01 am
Paul, get me some cobras the next time you visit the store and have it shipped here to Singapore will ya? =P
April 30th, 2008 at 2:41 am
Stick it out, Michael: Rock N’ Roll will eventually make his way to you at a decent price. Heck, he’s already plentiful around me (but I’m holding out for his later, less-lame costume).
And dammit, Paul, stop making me want that Snake-Eyes! Two should be enough for me!
April 30th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
I’m telling you this Snake Eyes rules, I think he looks better and is better made that at least the V2. I didn’t expect to like him that much, so it was a pleasant surprise.