Collector's Case

Collector’s Case

What’s Collector’s Case?

Collector’s Case is an app I wrote that allows you keep track of your action figure collection. It allows you to keep specific information on your pieces, share your pieces, and honestly works exactly how I want to track my collection (I mean I wrote it after all). I have a lot of fun plans for the app and hopefully get to implement them all in the future.

You can find it here on the App Store. Collector's Case

App Store Description

Do you keep up with your Action Figure collection using a spreadsheet? Wish it could do more? Collector’s Case is designed to allow you to track YOUR toys and your collections in ways that work for you. You can keep track of specific items, add pictures of them, and add details for each item.

It was designed to showcase your actual toys and collectibles. Have that rare prototype? Rocket Firing Bounty Hunter? Maybe even everyone’s favorite mouse on everyone’s favorite Commander. What about that Sliced Bread Barbarian? Showcase YOUR items and not someone else’s pictures and stock images. Keep the information you want listed!

Need to dig up some information on your collection quickly? You can do an “Advanced Search” using specific details you need. Imagine you are at a convention and need to know which of your figures are not complete? If you added the detail on whether an item is complete or not, you can quickly do a search and see everything that’s complete or incomplete!

I designed Collector’s Case to let me track my own collection, and hopefully it allows you to track yours too. I have been using a spreadsheet for years but wanted more out of it. I wanted to add pictures, for it to sync across all my devices, easily accessible and readable at conventions (where wifi and data can be quite scarce) and a lot more. Collector’s Case fits all my needs and helps me keep everything sorted and displayed quite nicely. All the screen shots are from my own personal collection!

History

So back in like 2017 I started toying with ideas to make an app that would allow me to track all my GI Joes, Transformers, and toys in general. I toyed with it, worked on it and actually used it myself for a few years. I added features as I wanted them like pictures, sharing, search, etc and just made this for myself. After talking and encouragement from Brittany I finally embarked on preparing it for Apple’s App Store and on September 19th, 2023 I released it!

GI Joe Retro FANG Review

   So the Retro Fang has probably been the most controversial release in the new GI Joe Retro line.  People are upset at the new design of the Fang and the new Fang Pilot.  People think that Hasbro should have just reissued the 25th Anniversary Fang and called it a day.  Luckily I have never owned a FANG (original or 25th. I still kick myself for not buying a 25th FANG too…) so I am going into this without any preconceived notions!

 So let’s start with the FANG itself.  According to the Hasbro Fan First Friday this is all new tooling.  I personally like the design of the little helicopter.  Throwing out all real-world usefulness (I mean it’s GI Joe!) I think it’s a nice design.  It reminds me of the Fangs in the show (I’m a show guy and I never read the comics).  I think the mold itself has some really nice detail work on it.  The engine is really nice, the rivet work is pretty detailed, rotors spin, the gun moves around, what more could you ask for?

Well everything isn’t perfect.  On one side there are 6 screw holes that are clear as day.  No attempt at trying to hide them, just some holes or screw in the side.    I’m not a fan of that at all.  Also the stickers need to be applied over rivets or other uneven parts.  This makes some of the stickers not look flush, and even start to lift over time.  Sadly , one of the large stickers that says FANG 76X3-6 was missing off my sticker sheet.  On the bright side it would have been placed over some rivets so at least I didn’t have to do that (have to look at the positives right?). I also found that it’s a little difficult to get the pilot in the seat, but after some wiggling, I was able to get him in there

 So now let’s move onto the Fang pilot.  This guy has been an interesting addition to the Retro Line.  So let’s start with the positives.  I really like the direction they seem to be heading with this figure.  There appears to be a lot of good detailing, and I really like the way his mask integrates with his vest.  I personally like how his mask is molded onto the figure so that it looks natural.  No use in a design for a head under the mask, if I’m just going to display the guy with his mask on most of the time.  (Your mileage may vary here) The vest is a tight fit and it doesn’t appear to have any “snaps” on it.  So, this makes it more streamlined and tight on the figure.  Now I also imagine if I wanted to take it off, it’s going to make it much more difficult.  But I tend to keep my figures with their original equipment, so it works for me.

 I mentioned it before, but I really like the head on this mold.  The mask is really nice with some nice detailing.  The helmet is removable and a nice piece.  I do wonder however how well a helmet like this would work in an open cockpit helicopter though…. doesn’t seem very practical…. So the pilot’s hair is pretty detailed, but I’m not big on the look.  It’s nicely detailed but it looks like the hair on Retro Crankcase.  Just not a fan of the style, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad design.  At least he keeps his hair styled under his helmet!

 So now onto some criticism!  First and foremost, his limbs appear to be in weird proportions.  His arms appear really long, and his feet appear rather large.  If you fix those, I think the sculpting would be spot on.  Now I did have a major issue with the characters left arm/elbow.  The elbow appears frozen or stuck.  This appears to be a widespread problem.  I had to boil water, put the pilots left arm in the water for about 30 seconds, pull it out and wiggle it, and then cooled it back off.  After that the arm has been moving with no issues.

So, the blue coloring of the pilot seems “off” on what it usually is for Cobra.  Usually, it’s a more navy blue and this appears to be more towards an indigo.  I am curious how the Cobra Commander blue will match with him.  There isn’t a Cobra emblem anywhere visible on the figure itself.  There appears to be one on the right side of the guy’s chest, but it is hidden underneath the vest.  I would have liked to have seen it as an arm patch or somewhere on the vest but it’s not a game changer for me.  Also where’s the dude’s stand?  Not really a big issue because he will always be piloting my FANG but no stand is a bummer. 

 So overall I like the new FANG and pilot but I’m not in love with it.  Some small details keep me from loving it.  I do like that I’m able to buy new Joe vehicles again which I do like.  I like the detail and sculpting of the pilot, but his proportions make him a bit off.  Hopefully those get fixed because I’m seeing where a lot of potential can come from this pilot and his helicopter.  

GI Joe Retro A.W.E. Striker Review

So my preorder for the AWE Striker finally came in and now it’s time to give it a review! Let me start this off by saying that I have never owned a modern AWE Striker. I’ve read that this is the same as the 25th Anniversary AWE Striker, but it won’t impact my review at all. So here we go!

So we can start with a quick write up on the packaging. The box looks like it was pulled straight off the shelf from when A Real American Hero was still new. You get some nice artwork and you can see Crankcase through the box. Packaging gets an A+. Now I open all my figures so packaging doesn't really matter to me, but it’s still really nice.

So putting the AWE Striker together was simple. I had to apply stickers and I HATE adding stickers, but they look really good. The stickers were not numbered and some of them were hard to see/find on the sheet, but that’s a small issue to overcome. Over all getting it completed was pretty simple.

Now that she is together we can really take a look. I really like the look of the AWE Striker. It has the nice “retro” look and does a really job looking like a modern update of a classic vehicle. I think the white decals really pop off the green shell. I hope the stickers on the roll bars manage to stay on and don’t eventually start to pop off. The back engine comes off and everything looks really nice. The suspension feature is pretty nifty. The plastic gives it a nice “spring” when the chassis compresses. Sure it’s not needed, but it’s a really nice touch. I’m not quite sure what the hose from the passenger seat thing to the gun is. I think it’s supposed to be how the passenger aims and controls the gun up top. Either way it looks cool. I do prefer this vehicle over the Vamp because it to me it has a lot more play value.

The AWE Striker came with a vehicle drive, Crankcase. So I never had the original Crankcase, but it is a nice figure and the colors are really bright and stand out. I have NO idea if it reuses any parts because I’ve never nit picked my Joes down to that level. I tend to either like them or I don’t. I like this mold, but I’m not crazy about his hair. Lucky for me he comes with a helmet and I don’t have to see it so it doesn’t bother me. The helmet is a really nice piece and he has some nice web gear. I do know the original Crankcase had a mustache and this guy has a beard. I would have preferred if he had a mustache to match the original because I would say 90% of my collecting is all nostalgia based anyways. While I never had the figure, I would like them to be nice modern updates to the originals. I would have liked a weapon with the guy, but he is always going to be driving this vehicle so it’s not an issue.

So there was something pretty major missing from the vehicle, but I think this really applies to the whole line so far…. There were not any blue prints included and the file card was rather lame. These are minor things, but as far back as I can remember file cards and blue prints have been a part of the GI Joe line. The “file card” on the box has a short little saying and then it has the same thing in multiple languages. (I mean I’m guessing it says the same thing…). I guess Hasbro is saving money by being able to use the same box in different countries, but I just feel like something is missing. Minor complaints but I just don’t want GI Joe to lose its soul.

Over all I really like this and it’s a new Joe vehicle. I hope the Retro line really continues so that I can get more vehicles like this! While this AWE Striker may just be a reuse of an old mold it’s still a lot of fun. I now have a vehicle that I didn’t and it looks good. Not only do I get a new vehicle I get a new Joe to add to my team. Now if I can get them to repaint it as an Eco Striker to match the one I had many moons ago! Now that would really get me excited!

GI Joe Retro Collection!

So Hasbro finally announced their Retro Collection yesterday! It’s a small wave that consists of Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, Baroness, a Hiss Tank, and an Awe Striker. While most of this is stuff we have seen before (now packaged differently) it is still exciting to me. While the 6 inch Classified Line looks good, and I got the Convention Exclusive Snake Eyes, I just don’t think the 6 inch line will be for me. I might pick and choose a few figures here and there, I won’t really be buying many. The 3.75/4 inch line is where my heart is and not to mention they have VEHICLES!

I was able to secure a Hiss Tank, Storm Shadow, and Snake Eyes from Walmart on preorder but was unable to grab an Awe Striker or Baroness grrrrrrr. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to find them once everything is released in October. I’m also hoping everything won’t be Walmart exclusives because it makes it just that much harder to hunt down! Not to mention I like order from Hasbro Pulse and other sites when I can.

I think the figures they chose for the initial run are good and I’m looking forward to grabbing some vehicles I wasn’t able to grab in the 25th line. I still want a Mobat and a few others. I’m hoping we see a release of a lot of that stuff and hopefully some new vehicles and figures! I’m not really big on the figure packaging (but I’ll withhold final judgement until I have them in hand), but the vehicle packaging is top notch! But who keeps their figures in the packaging anyways?

Now if only Hasbro will do a GI Joe Haslab…. I still want that General! But I’d settle for anything right now!

Yo Joe!

6 inch GI Joes?

So there are rumors swirling for new 6 inch GI Joes. I’m having all sorts of mixed feelings on this topic. I’m super excited that Hasbro is making new GI Joes, but I’m worried it’s going to be a short lived thing. I’m a 3.75 / 4 guy at heart and so a bigger line doesn’t have me that excited. Plus how will I be able to get vehicles for all these new Joes? Those will be massive! I’m pretty sure the Mrs is not going to approve an add on for the house for more GI Joes…. But I am going to take a wait and see approach (if all the rumors are actually true).

Maybe Hasbro will do both 3.75 inch figures AND a 6 inch line. Is this what the 12 inch guys felt like in 82?????

Hasbro Pulse Premium

On Friday Hasbro introduced Hasbro Pulse and Hasbro Pulse Premium..

“Hasbro Pulse is a place where fans come first.

As fans ourselves, we have an idea of what you – our fans – want. Hasbro Pulse is where you’ll find some of the best product offerings and experiences from the brands you love, a glimpse at more behind-the-scenes material and insider details that you can’t get anywhere else.

We made Hasbro Pulse with you, the fans, in mind. We hope you’ll make it your first stop when you’re looking for insider info about your favorite Hasbro brands.
”

It is essentially nothing more than the Hasbro Toy Shop. But that wasn’t the interesting part or the big news. Not only did Hasbro open the shop, but they also introduced Hasbro Pulse Premium.

“Want free standard continental U.S. shipping for the balance of 2019? Join Hasbro Pulse Premium. Just make a purchase between now and 2/23/19.* And free shipping isn’t all, we have some other perks planned just for our best customers.

Hurry, this offer won’t last long! (Starting 2/24/19, there will be a $50 enrollment fee.)

Free standard continental U.S. shipping for the rest of 2019.
Monthly Premium-only discounts & flash sales.
Other perks throughout the year at select fan conventions & more.
”

I’m really interested to see if Hasbro Premium is going to be worth the money. Is it going to mostly be free shipping? Will there be exclusive figures? I have trouble right now seeing it being worth $50. It says convention perks, but I never go to SDCC or Hascon (and I doubt most of us do). I hope it is, and I hope that it’s something I can join and feel it’s worth it. Maybe it’ll give me access to the SDCC and other convention exclusives, which would be great! I like that Hasbro is trying something different, but let’s hope that they follow through and make it worth it.

Time Tunnel Toys

So I was recently in the San Jose, CA area on a trip and wanted to see if I could find a vintage toy store.  I started doing some Googlefu and came across Time Tunnel Toys.  After battling the endless horde of California traffic, I finally made it.

The store was a small, quaint shop in a shopping center.  Once inside, the store was filled with shelves and shelves of vintage toys, memorabilia, and fun stuff.   All the shelves have a glass door on the front that you have to ask to get unlocked.  It reminded me of trying to get a Nintendo game from Walmart.  You have to find an employee with the magic key!

I spent a good while going through the store just in awe of the collection.  I mean, if left to my own devices and a much much much larger budget, I’m sure this is what my closet would look like.  There was awesome stuff EVERYWHERE.  I found classic Power Rangers, Transformers, GI Joe, Star Wars, Star Trek, Nintendo games, Thundercats, and sooooo much more.  I couldn’t figure out an organizational system, but things did seem to be grouped in some spots.  I mean most of the GI Joe stuff was together, but you’d find a random vehicle or figure in other cases.  I can’t tell if it’s a diabolical way to get you to go through the whole store to find more stuff to buy, or if there is just so much stuff they gave up on the super organization.  Or maybe the toys are just like the toys in Toy Story and like go hang out in different spots all the time.  Either way I had A LOT of fun looking through the cases.

So naturally while going through everything I found the GI Joe collection.  Well most of the GI Joes anyways…. So I found the man with the magic key Cue Zelda key finding music and had him open the case for me.  This revealed the one part of the store I did not like, an employee stood over/around me the whole time I was digging through the vintage GI Joes.  Now he didn’t bother, try to rush me, or anything, but it was still a bit awkward.  I figure they do that to help prevent theft…. It didn't slow down my hunt through the old Joes though!  I did buy one to make it worth my time.

Overall I had a lot of fun going through and looking at everything.  I took a few pictures of random parts of the store to show to friends.  I posted them below so you can see all the fun stuff.  I recommend the visit if you like action figures, vintage stuff, or just want to see some original stuff. 

GI Joe Collectors Club Final 12: Slaughter's Marauders Arrived!

So I was a member of the GI Joe Collectors Club in 2018, but opted not to renew this year. The club was closing up shop in January and I didn’t see the point of paying for only a few months left. I was a bit bummed that I wouldn’t be able to purchase one of the Final 12 sets, but I would live. Sure my Slaughter’s Marauders convention set would be incomplete, but maybe I would get lucky in the future and find them cheap (hahahaha) at a convention or eBay. And then a couple dominos fell in the right direction!

The Club sent an email that said

As of today, all former G.I. Joe Collector's Club members can log in and order items from the store.  We still have stock of the latest figures: The Final 12, Zartan and the Night Stalkers Female Troopers.

So this means that I can order some of the sets! So I took a little money I got for Christmas and boom, Low-Light and Barbecue would be joining my Slaughters Marauders! I received them today and they look good! I’ll hopefully be taking them out soon! I’ll be sure to take some pictures of them with the whole crew!

Low-Light and Barbecue

GI Joe 365

I wanted to leave a note about the GI Joe 365 art project. Artist Christopher Hemsworth has been doing unique drawings of each GI Joe figure and posting them on his site. He even has some vehicle drawings! When it first started he was doing about a figure every day or so, but he has dramatically slowed down. I’m hoping he doesn’t get bored and finishes the project out!

I ordered some art for my office from his site.. I received it and it is great quality. I’ll post pictures as soon as I can get it framed and up. If you are a fan of GI Joe than visit his site at GI Joe 365. You won't regret it.

2018 GI Joe Convention Day 4

So today was a pretty slow day, but that's to be expected the last day of a con.  We only had one planned panel for the day. We started out going through the vendor room to see if there were any  new deals.  I didn't find anything truly spectacular that I wanted so we hung out for a while.  We ate our lunch and sat around outside the panel room for a while.  Melody really enjoyed herself and actually made a few friends!  While she played I went and bought some of the Complex Base Building sets.  I can't wait to get these set up!

The one planned panel we had was The Last Panel with the G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club Staff.  This was the most crowded panel yet.  Being the final panel for the GI Joe club it wasn't that surprising.  Everyone seemed pretty excited and then the club dropped the surprise announcement of some new figures.  There will be 12 final figures.  The goal is obviously to try and complete some sub teams before the end of the club.  It was rather exciting and the crowed was really excited.  Slaughter's Marauders Low Light and Barbecue are the figures I want the most.  I would have liked them in my convention set, but at least they are out there now!  It was a rather fun surprise from the club.  After the announcements they started a slide show from the past conventions, but this was my first Joecon so I didn't find it terrible interesting.  The Joecon regulars really appeared to enjoy it.  That's the point right?  After that they started the farewell speeches from the members and the GI Joe Club staff.

After that I made a quick run through the vendors, grabbed a quick figure on a good deal, and then we headed out.  It was a great convention and we had a great time!  I'm sad that it's the last Joecon because I would have enjoyed going to more of these. But as they said this is just an end of a chapter and a new chapter will start!

2018 GI Joe Convention Day 3

We just returned from Day 3 at Joecon.  Today was A LOT more laid back.  We actually started the morning at the Children's Museum so that my daughter could play, and then made it over to the convention around lunch.  We ate lunch and then headed to the panels!

We went to the G.I. Joe . . . From the Trenches, the Final Chapter! with Kirk Bozigian and Larry Hama.  I thought this was a fun panel.  I liked hearing the synergy between the marketing and the comics.  It was genius and definit explains why GI Joe was considered THE boys toy to have.  I thought Kirk and Larry did a good job talking and answering all the questions that were thrown their way.  Great and fun panel.  I also would have loved to see the Cobra Island play set they said they thought about doing.  It sounded HUGE.  Haslabs maybe?  

After that we did Vehicle Design, Prototyping and The Discarded with David Kunitz.  This was probably the panel I was looking forward to the most.  I have to say it looks like the had a ton of fun making toys.  I liked seeing how the vehicles evolved from concepts to the final product and such.  I figured Brittany would also enjoy this panel because of all her crafting.  They gave away some vehicle molds to people that could answer super specific trivia in the crowd.  Apparently the numbers on the vehicles were never as random as they appeared.

We tried to make an exit back to our hotel and skip the vendor floor today once the panels were over.  Right when we got to the door to catch our bus, the winds and rain appeared.  We are talking INSANE winds.  It was quite crazy.  So instead of standing in the super high winds and pouring rain we decided to get a snack and then stroll through the exhibits and the vendors.  The exhibits were rather impressive.  The people with the displays can do some mega impressive work.

The vendors were WAY less crowded today.  That's a good thing (for those of us that didn't want to fight the crowds), but if you are looking for something super mega rare, you probably should have gotten it yesterday.  We mostly walked around and looked at everything.  We did stop to talk to the guys who make the Complex Base Building System.  Their booth wasn't packed at the moment and I was intrigued.

The Complex Base Building System is really cool.  You can essentially build really elaborate dioramas with it, GI Joe bases, Star Wars bases, etc etc.  Really cool stuff.  One of their employees, George, stood around and talked to us for a while.  He showed me how the system works and now I kinda want one...  I've never been one to build dioramas, but I'd be tempted...  If I pick up some tomorrow I'll definitely have to write about them.  They also told me about some stuff coming up in future ways.  Seriously cool and if you have some figures you need to check it out.  Their stuff can be found at SmallJoes.com.

Over all we had a nice laid back day.  We hit the panels I was interested in and strolled around.  As with yesterday's experience (minus the parachute drop) everyone has been really friendly.  Tomorrow will be the last day and I'll grab any last figures and such that I'm trying to get.

I finally got to look at my figures when we returned from convention.  I had to check them all out to make sure that they were assembled correctly.  You have to get that resolved before the convention is over.  I played with the Laser Viper some.  He is definitely my favorite figure of the pack.

2018 GI Joe Convention Day 1 and 2

I just got back to my room after our first 2 days of GI Joe Con 2018.  The first day was quite exhausting.  It was mostly just waiting in line.  Like HOURS of waiting in line to register, and then shop in the Club Store.    The second day was a lot more fun with the panels, and then going through the vendors.  

As I mentioned above Day 1 was mostly waiting in lines.  And then more waiting in lines.... and then more waiting in lines...  you get the point...  There were plenty of volunteers around and thank goodness because I had to ask them which line was which, how the system works, where I was supposed to go...  Once I finally figured out the registration line, we went in with the "7 PM" group and then waited 2+ hours to get our badge, lanyard, comic, and convention box set.  After that, we waited for about an hour for the club store.  My daughter was in line with us the whole time and did AWESOME.  She was a real trooper.  The first day was tiring but getting the exclusives was fun.  Man that was a lot a standing!  The convention staff has been super nice and super helpful.  I bought a few exclusives, but I didn't buy everything.  Mostly I bought stuff that looked fun or had some nostalgia attached to it. 

Day 2 was where the fun really began.  We attended the "The Truth of G.I. Joe...or at least the way we saw it..."  with David Kunitz and Kurt Groen and the "‘95 and Beyond!" with James Kavanaugh and Dan Klingensmith. I really enjoyed both panels.  I liked seeing where the line was going.  I'm a life long GI Joe fan but I've never really jumped into mega fandom so I didn't know a lot of the info.  It makes me sad this is the last Joecon because I would enjoy seeing a lot more panels like this.  Good conversation, power points with pictures, and some fun.

We attended the parachute drop and that was 100% a disaster.  I thought the actual drop was neat.  It was cool seeing GI Joes parachute down from a really high height.  A few people were watching from the parking decks and they had a lot of parachuting figures float back into the lower decks.  Now what would a decent person do?  That's right, throw them back out for the kids, but a lot of guys took multiples.  Not all of them took them, a bunch of the guys continued throwing them down.  Now this is an event for the kids.  They let the kids line up in the front, but once the the club said everyone could get the figures it was CHAOS.  There were adults running, pushing children down, taking multiples (people were only supposed to take 1).  I started to take my 2 year old to try and get a figure, but once the shoving and fighting started, I stopped and backed out.  It wasn't worth the risk.

The people at the convention have been awesome.  Everyone that we have talked to has been nice, friendly, and having fun.  I've seen all walks of life, families, single people, people meeting up with friends, kids, etc.  It's been great.

We hit up the vendor hall, and it was awesome. There was TONS of GI Joe stuff (as to be expected) and a few other things.  I bought a few vintage Joes and plan to pick up more as the weekend progresses.  I didn't get to spend a ton of time in the vendors so we will definitely be going back before the weekend is over.  I'll do a post on all my con haul later.

More to report tomorrow!

HasLab Possibilities

On Feb 17, 2018 Hasbro introduced us to Haslabs.  Think of Haslabs as Kickstater, but run by Hasbro.  Hasbro describes it as

“HASLAB is Hasbro’s new crowdsourcing platform that hopes to bring dream products into the hands of fans. With your support, our goal is to make products that are trophy items both in significance and size that fans have been clamoring for. Once the campaign is backed with the minimum number of backers as listed by the deadline, Hasbro will bring the product to life.”

— Hasbrolab.com

Essentially Hasbro releases a cool idea (such as the MASSIVE Jabba's sail barge) and then interested people pay up front.  Get enough to people to pay and BAM you get a cool and limited numbered product.  You even get your money back if they don't make their goal.  Hasbro's first campaign was the Jabba Sail Barge and it was a successful with 8810 people funding it.  Hasbro needed 5000 people before before they put it into production, so I would say people liked the idea.

I'm excited to see the ideas.  With Hasbro having many inactive toy lines this could mean huge things for the line.  I mean who wouldn't like to see some new toys for MASK, Jem, Visionaries, etc.  Haslabs may be how fans get to see life in their old franchises.  I mean if Bucky O'Hare can get a new toy, I'm sure some of the other random lines of toys can.

Now if we can just get the GI Joe General funded....

Huntsville Comic and Pop Culture Expo

This past year the Huntsville Comic and Pop Culture Expo had its 3rd convention.  Brittany and I attended the first, missed last year, and were able to go (and take Melody!) this year.  I have to say I was blown away by the convention.  Not blown away like "OMG this is better than Dragoncon", but blown away by how much it has grown and how much we enjoyed it.  Below are my thoughts and opinions.  

So there appeared to be a pretty heavy Power Rangers influence this year.  Two of the main celebrity visitors were Austin St John and Johnny Yong Bosch.  They had multiple panels and signings and the works.  There was also a panel on Super Sentai (which if you didn't know is where Power Rangers gets all its robots and fighting sequences).  Kevin Sorbo was there, but we didn't do anything related to him.  (I have never watched Hercules or Andromeda ).  The most random guest there was FunnyMaine.  I guess it's not random for the state of Alabama (he does videos describing how University of Alabama fans watch games), but he seemed quite random for a comic convention.  As a Power Rangers fan I definitely enjoyed the line up.

So the panels were a mixed bag for me.  I mostly enjoyed the panels, but I thought they were amateurish.  The Super Sentai panel was a young man who stood up at the front talking about this show and showing clips on his laptop... from YouTube.  Now this might not have been super awkward except his laptop screen was the only screen... it wasn't projected onto the wall or anything.  So yea I couldn't see.  The kid appeared to know the topic and had a lot of enthusiasm, but I think he needed a moderator or something to help him along.

I really enjoyed the panel with Austin St John and Johnny Yong Bosch.  Just like with the Super Sentai panel I think it really needed a moderator.  You can tell that ASJ and JYB have spent some time together and interacted really well on stage.  We got seats on the 4th row for this panel, but there really wasn't a bad seat in the room.  Overall it was a fun panel!

Brittany and I went to the FunnyMaine panel.  It was totally not what I expected.  I guess I was expecting something like a comedy routine, and it wasn't anything like one.  He sat up there and took questions from the audience the whole time.  And well...  apparently people REALLY want to hear his opinion on Alabama football.  Also did you know that he has done some work for Big Bang Theory?  Yea me neither...  Kevin Sorbo did a panel, but we didn't see any of it (except when I stuck my head in to see if it was finished...). I'm sure he did a good job...

So the big thing for me was that the panels needed some form of moderators.  Someone to really steer the conversation and to get questions from the audience.  The guests took questions, but a moderator would really help.  I would be willing to be a moderator if they need volunteers next year!  I also think more fan lead panels would be fun.  Those are the parts of Dragoncon that Brittany and I really enjoyed.  The Disney, Star Wars, Back to the Future, etc panels we really enjoyed.  They were smaller, mostly fan run, didn't really have celebrities or anything.  I think these would go over really well in Huntsville and I would even be willing to help put some panels together.  I think they'd be a lot of fun and keep people moving to different panels.

Outside of the Von Braun Convention Center were some food trucks.  I thought the food trucks had a really good selection.  Sure one of them looked like a creepy RV, but that's the fun of food trucks right?  We ended up eating lunch out there.  Britany and I each got food from different trucks and enjoyed it.  The trucks appeared to start packing up during the mid afternoon.   The ones that were left appeared to still be selling quite a lot of food.  I enjoyed all the options!

So the absolute best part of the convention for me were the vendors.  I LOVE going through the vendors at Dragoncon, and I honestly liked the selection at the HSV Expo better.  It is (of course) way smaller that Dragoncon, but I liked what everyone appeared to be selling.  There were LOTS of toy vendors and we all know that makes me like a happy camper.  There were comics, toys, cosplay, books, swords, and all sorts of stuff.  I even bought a few original GI Joes and got a good deal for them.   I almost bought some original Power Rangers toys (to replace some from when I was a kid), but went with the Joes instead.  Over all I was really impressed with the selection and number of venders.

A couple of small but neat things the convention had...  A kids room.  There was a room on the second floor to keep your kids entertained.  There were coloring sheets with crayons, stickers, LEGOs, faceprinting and games for the kids.  As a parent, who took his kid, I loved this area.  There was also an arcade and a board game room.  I thought the boardgames room was kinda strange (I didn't understand the games or see many people playing normal games. I know), but I thought the arcade was a really nice touch.  The games were in free mode and they had a decent selection.  I thought these things were great little additions to the expo.

So some final thoughts.  For a 3rd year convention I think it went really well.  Awesome vendor selection, fun panels, and a good crowd.  My one complaint is that I think there needs to be more panels and for the panels to be moderated.  I really can't wait to see what is in store for next year.

Fun story.  Melody decided to throw her wubbanub from the second floor onto the first floor.  It landed on Austin St Johns autograph table.  So naturally I ran off to get it, but during that time the people on the first floor had some fun trying to get it back up.  Before I could even make it down there (and I was moving quickly) the really nice people downstairs threw it back up to Brittany.  Leave it to my kid to make a scene with a bunch of people!

Please ignore my terrible photorgaphy skills

SDCC Sgt Slaughter

So the 25th Anniversary line of GI Joes really got me back into GI Joe.  It was a fun run, but there was one figure I was never able to snag right at the end of the run - the San Diego Comic Con Sgt Slaughter.  The Triple T version if you want to be exact.  I don't go to SDCC, and I wasn't able to get one off the Hasbro Toy Shop.  I was (at the time) not willing to go and pay the "insanely high prices" on eBay.  So I just missed out.  I had the chance to pick up one recently and jumped at it.  I always held out hope that they would rerelease it with something like a Triple T or as part of a FSS, but it became pretty obvious that it was never going to happen.  So I finally pulled the trigger on this 8 year old figure...

I was really impressed with the actual toy packaging and the clam shell.  The clam shell that it came in had GI Joe stamps all over it.  The back had the GI Joe logo on it, and the top had a cobra logo and a star on it.  It's a lot nicer than some of the other generic clam shells I have.  Small details like that make me smile.  I really liked the artwork on the card because it reminded me of the Sgt Slaughter from the cartoon.  I was a cartoon guy (both Sunbrow and DiC) so nostalgia is a great thing.

So I have ALWAYS been an "open figures because they deserve to be played with and seen"  kinda guy, but opening this figure hurt a little.  It's a collectors item, but it's still a toy!  Below are some pictures of me unboxing the figure.  I used an x-acto knife to remove the bubble off the card (after all I didn't want to mess anything up!), and I was super careful.  The figure came with a stand, revolver, machine gun, and a baton.  All were decent accessories but I never saw Slaughter as a revolver kind of guy.  I really liked the machine gun.  I currently don’t have him displayed holding anything because I think he looks more impressive with his hands behind his back.

So after I finally got this guy opened I decided to pose him and take some pictures.  I made a nice backdrop and started taking pictures.  It's my first time really taking pictures of an action figure, so it was a bit of a learning experience. Below are my pictures!  Don’t make fun...

Over all I'm really happy with my purchase of an 8 year old toy.  It reminds me a lot of childhood and that's the point!  Yo Joe!

The Future of GI Joe

So I've been a GI Joe fan as far back as I can remember.  To see the state of GI Joe right now makes me sad.  Unless you head to the "Adult Collectors" part of Toys R Us, you aren't going to find GI Joe on any toy shelves.   Even then you're lucky to find anything on the shelves.  To me the  line is essentially dead.  I don't want anything on the store shelves, and I don't want the GI Joe Collectors Club figures because I'm not interested in usually half of the figures being offered.

Here is my idea to maybe help keep GI Joe going.  Create two different line of figures.  You need a "Collector's Figures" and a "Kid's Figures."  I know there is the GI Joe Collectors Club, but that's just an extension off the "50th Anniversary" line...  Below are my ideas for each:

Kid's Figures

1. Create a whole new look and feel for GI Joe.  Think of it like the new Ninja Turtle line of figures.  They have the same characters, but everything is reimagined and NOT held to the original ideas.  You don't even need to keep to the ole 3.75 inch idea.  
2. Make sure there are plenty of vehicles for the Joes!
3. Hook a new show into the line.  Don't go crazy with something like GI Joe Renegades, but make it something fun and exciting like the current Turtles show.  Make the show really engaging for both adults and children similar to Star Wars Rebels, Clone Wars, and Ninja Turtles.
4. Don't forget that GI is the "Real American Hero" and play that up.  Make sure the flags and everything are on the figures and the vehicles!
5. If a new movie comes out, don't destroy the whole line over it.  Make 1 wave the new stuff, clearly mark the package as a movie tie in, and then move on from it.  Very similar to the way the Ninja Turtles movies were.

Collector's Figures

1. Create a subscription service similar to the GJCC.  I want to keep the "1 figure a month" idea, but I think the figure selection should be done differently.  Instead of a random assortment of figures do something like this.
   1. January - 1982 Figure
   2. February - 1983 Figure
   3. March - 1984 Figure
   4. ect ect ect
2. Keep things like Tiger Force, Python Patrol, Snow Team, etc variants to the Convention Exclusives, box sets, and other special type ordeals.  Do not make them a part of the subscription.
3. Don't forget the vehicles!  Make sure vehicles come out that just aren't repaints.  I would love to see an updated Snow Cat and Cobra Stun!
4. Make the file cards look like the original releases, only updated!
5. Ditch the concept of a complete years subscription cost.  Pay for it 3 months at a time. That way if you don't want certain years you can mitigate that a little bit.
6. Don't make ordering anything difficult!

Well those are my thoughts.  Hopefully GI Joe sees a revival soon because I need more figures!