A closer look at the warehouse, background fodder, and support vehicles

This is just a follow up to the last post, with a closer look at the MARS warehouse.

Like I mentioned, it was meant to be a simple photo backdrop that went further than I expected. It was built from a pair of torn down Defiant shells, with the backs cut to sit side by side, and the fronts used as side walls. The cat walks came from a Defiant heat shield, and a general platform.

For the background fodder, I did a couple of "cargo box" looking pieces, one was from a GI Joe: Sigma 6 weapons locker.

The laser cannon, a random piece of MARS weaponry, was a simple combination of a Pogo and a CORPS! cannon.

The Crane was originally going to be mounted, but I couldn't find a way to do it that didn't look overbearing and clumsy. I wanted to throw together something simple, but it just would not go together that easily. I am happy with the construction, but I wish my impatience had not gotten the better of me, and I had given it the same yellow-weather paint job as the Cherry Picker.

Finally, and my favorite piece of the project, the ARBCO Industrial cherry picker. I patterned the look after some of the equipment I had worked with at my last job. Everything was badly worn, and covered in dirt, grease, oil, and other random industrial fluids, even the ones that were only a couple years old. The were beaten up pretty quickly, but they kept working. I wanted that feel for this. Plus, the Cobra Adder makes a great base for field and shop floor trucks.

That is it for this project, at least for now.

SDCC 2012 Shockwave and MARS Warehouse Meeting

I'm not usually one for reviews of official product, so bear with me. Also, most respectable sites out there reviewed this piece over a month ago, when it was released. Oops.

At the 2012 San Diego Comic Con, among the already nerd-erecting assortment of exclusive products offered, Hasbro released the GI Joe-Transformers crossover "Shockwave" HISS Tank. Using the most recent incarnation of the HISS from the delayed Retaliation movie, and repainting it in the striking metallic purple and gray color scheme of the classic Decepticon character, Shockwave, this set continues the series started with the SDCC 2011 Skystiker Starscream.

As well received as Starscream was, this Shockwave set tops it in many ways. Where repainting Starscream as a Skystriker was almost obvious to many fans, the more subtle combination of Shockwave and a HISS tank caught many by surprise. The Retaliation HISS has a very modern, almost futuristic design, that is easily lost on the retail movie release. But, once they add a new turret cannon, give it a sharp metallic paint job and adorn it with Decepticon symbols, it plays the part of a Transformer very well.

Also included were a pair of figures, Destro in a beautiful Decepticon allied purple deco, and a Constructicon BAT, a Battle Android Trooper in a classic Constructicon deco, another stroke of brilliance that no one saw coming.

On top of some pretty cool figures, the set has some of the greatest accessories of any recent GI Joe release. Soundwave makes an appearance in his classic tape deck form, complete with removable cassettes, and scaled down to GI Joe size. It is a beautifully sculpted piece, and has a backpack peg to allow it to be carried around by Destro. Possibly one of the coolest accessories of recent years, the suitcase full of money from the Pursuit of Cobra City Stike Destro is reused here as well. Rounding out the list is a repainting of the flatbed dolly and Mass device elements from the 2008 DVD pack, this time used in a clear pink and white to simulate "Energon", the life sustaining substance that the Transformers frequently fight over.

As I mentioned, the HISS itself is absolutely gorgeous. The metallic purple, gray and black color scheme changes the entire feel of the tank, bringing out details that the retail release leaves a bit flat. The new turret cannon, modeled after a vintage Shockwave gun barrel, is well done and brings the look together very well.

Hasbro absolutely outdid themselves with this set. It goes way beyond the Starscream Skystriker in terms of deco design and execution, and sets up an interesting "partnership" in Shockwave and Destro, both of whom tend to play second to their leaders, Megatron and Cobra Commander, both are known to be pragmatic and ruthless, and both would have no problem assuming command in the event of their leader's demise.

The set sold for $59.99 at Comic Con, and there were reports that it sold out by the second day or so. Much like the Starscream, the pre-orders (read: people going to the show that plan to stand in line and get one, but will sell it to you now and deliver later) for this set from eBay sellers topped $200 before it was available, but last I checked, they had leveled off to the $140 mark, give or take, once all the Hasbrotoyshop.com orders had been shipped (it was briefly available there for people who didn't attend the show). A lot of sellers are splitting the set up as well. The Constructicon BAT seems to be the highest ticket item, which I have seen sell for $50 to $80. Destro with some accessories can be found for $25-$40, and the lot of Soundwave and his tapes fetches around $20-$25. Those prices could easily fall with time.

When I finally got my hands on one, I was inspired to do a simple dio scene of the meeting of Destro and Shockwave, which is depicted on the back of the box in the form of a stylized comic page. I have been wanting to do a "high tech warehouse" looking backdrop for a while, something large that I could photograph custom vehicles against. I call this a "MARS Warehouse" and while the initial idea was a simple one, it quickly expanded to include additional figures (I was able to find a couple extra Destros, which I added Iron grenadier heads to for "Decepti-Grenadiers"), background elements like the crane and cherry picker, as well as some cargo boxes and MARS weapons. I'll go into more detail on some of the background elements in a later post.

The Robot Heroes Shockwave was provided by my 2 year old daughter, Fiona. She keeps saying "This is my Shockwave, that is Daddy's Shockwave."

GOING B.A.T.-TTTTTYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!

Let me preface this by saying there are few things that really excite me when it comes to GI Joe. I mean, I'll look forward to a figure or vehicle release, or a show or convention, and sometimes getting a nice new piece of art or a prototype for my collection certainly gets the blood pumping, but in truth, I have seen a lot. I've read a lot. I know fair amount. Certainly not everything, I wouldn't profess that, and I am always eager to learn, but in truth, after 30+ years of buying Joes, I am a little jaded. Plus, my attention span isn't what it used to be. I get bored easily. And distracted even more easily....

Sorry, TV was talking....

All that said, these are AWESOME.

They are BATs, Cobra's Battle Android Troopers. The original Cobra BAT was released in 1986 in the classic yellow and black color scheme, and had several remakes over the last 27 years, but the original mold was never revisited in its entirety. Until now.

I should mention, these are not made by Hasbro. They are made by a "third party", a catch all term that has been used often in the last few years to categorize items made for use with GI Joe, like accessories or upgraded parts, and sometimes for bootlegs and knockoffs, that are not authorized by Hasbro. It is mostly used for the Transformers line, but applies to GI Joe for custom cast parts, figures, and these. Since they are not endorsed by Hasbro, and Hasbro doesn't make any money from the use of their trademarks...they are...kind of...basically...not...legal.  


BUT they are awesome, legality be damned.


And who IS this evil...Person? Or persons? Or....Company? They who would defy, infringe on trademarks and laugh in the face of a multimillion dollar company like the great big H? Some Asian super factory pumping out midnight bootlegs in mass quantity? A global criminal organization bent on world domination?  I don't know. Seriously, I don't know. I've never met them. So if you want some, you need to find them yourselves. (Hint: Check eBay.) 

Overall, the quality is great. Paint applications and deco selection are top notch, using a little seen BAT logo as an optional chest decal (dubbed a HUB chest symbol) as well as replacing the classic Cobra sleeve emblem. The chest logos are not lenticular, like the vintage BAT, but the original chest image is reproduced well in a flat image. The construction is quite good for a third party project, there are some issues with a few loose joints here and there, and the backpacks are a bit brittle, but given the scope of the project, arm attachments, etc, I think a few small flaws are easily forgiven. But, I wouldn't give one to your 5 year old nephew to chew on.

Regardless, the figures are AWESOME (did I say that twice already?). BATs in different colors to reflect a troop affiliation or environmental conditions? Again, AWESOME. The same manufacturer has done several other figures, including the classic Cobra Infantry Trooper and Crimson Guard, and given them a similar treatment for environmental and troop colors, so for someone who has been following and picking up these items for a while, they make for a nice display.

The following pics are from my collection, and feature a mixture of custom figures and vehicles with standard Hasbro figures.

Green for a jungle or forest environment.

Red/Orange, which I think were originally intended to be Crimson Guard oriented BATs, but they are more orange in color. They are darker than the classic Alley Viper, but could probably be used with them. Personally, I have had a major hard-on for the Hazard Vipers, and the whole Compound Z storyline, so I put them in my Z-Lab dio.

White for, obviously, arctic battles.

Black and silver for....Well, nothing in particular, but they look pretty cool...

A sandy yellow-tan for desert operations.

A classic Cobra Blue to match the standard Infantry troopers.

And finally, a reproduction of the original black and yellow BAT from 1986. I have posted photos of him next to a regular vintage BAT to illustrate the differences, in the event some buyers might be intimidated by the prospect of someone passing off the modern reproductions as vintage originals.

The reproduction is on the left, the original is on the right, in every picture.

At a glance, you can see that the chest is not painted silver behind the chest emblem. Also, the different arm symbol, reflecting the BAT logo, is used on the sleeve.

The lenticular chest emblem is obviously different from the flat repro decal image.

On the backs, the hole to attach the backpack is much larger, as is the corresponding peg on the backpack. Also, there is no "Made in Hong Kong" stamp on the rear end.

And finally, and possibly most importantly, the attachment point for the arms is wider on the reproduction, so the repro accessories can not be passed off as vintage because they just won't fit.

I can't tell you how happy I was tearing into these figures. I have been hoping the manufacturer would tackle this figure, and the wait was well worth it. Some minor flaws aside, I think any vintage army builder would love these, so if the chance to grab them comes along, do it. They won't last long.