GI Joe FSS Wave 3

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Looks like the Joe Club took extra long to get the third wave of their Fan Subscription figures to us. But all is well now. So far, it was worth the wait, as you may or may not read. The third wave consists of a lot of "normal" versions of Night Force characters we got in the Con set from two years back. Last year we got the Zombie Initiative set, and the year before was a split of Night Force characters and some gaudy, yet cool Cobras and modern versions of foreign exclusives.

The first set of two characters are both Joes, and both from that Night Force set. As usual, I'm a bad guy fan, so I was hoping we'd get at least ONE Cobra right off the bat. First up is Repeater.



Pretty standard realistic military figure. I never had Repeater as a kid. I mean, he's a cool figure as is. I like the idea of somewhat realistic military specialists battling sci-fi super villains. While I normally swoon over the weirder Cobra characters and the occasional oddball Joe, I do like to get a good mix of almost totally realistic and somewhat goofier figures. We got that in this first set of FSS figures.





He's a repaint of the Night Force Convention figure with a few accessories added and some taken away. He still has his head sculpted by Boss Fight studios, though. "Regular" Repeater comes with a rifle and bipod, a pistol, knife, removable vest, and backpack...oh, and a base (not shown). The belt was added and was the holster and pouch at his sides. Most notably missing is the huge gun and ammo backpack apparatus the convention version had. Heck, I don't think I ever talked about that set anywhere online, now that I think about it!



Quick shot of the single carded club release and the convention version. Like a bum, I didn't dig out the weapons, but oh well. Live with it. I know I can. The thing about Night Force is that a generally am okay with it since the colors are generally pretty decent. All the weird unified color scheme special teams usually come across as crappy to me, for the most part. Tiger Force? Bleh. Special Missions Brazil? Meh. Slaughter's Marauders? Yuck. Python Patrol? Mmmmmm...the more modern ones from the mid 2000s are actually kinda cool. If they'd have never gone back and made this original version, I would have been okay. I like both versions of Repeater, regardless. True, he seems a little light in the accessory department, but he's a beefier figure, I suppose. If you go for the more sci-fi looking guys, Repeater may seem almost too normal. However, he's a generally great figure that captures the feel of the classic, and is a welcome addition to the Joe ranks.

The second figure we got is the classic version of Psyche Out. I also never had this guy as a kid, but seeing him on packages and in catalogs, I was drawn to him since he stood out, visually. As I stated before, I'm drawn to the more sci-fi looking guys, but still like the realism aspect. Psyche Out definitely treads closer to the realm of sci-fi for me.



From his bright green shirt with armored padding, to his odd head gear, to his numerous weird rader dish accessory thingies, Psyche Out screams "oddball". I like him. I'm no expert on military stuff, but psychological warfare is nothing new and technically nothing to do with science fiction, although all those weird devices Psyche Out has seems to imply using science to broadcast all kindza crazy subliminal stuff to screw with the enemy's heads. If I remember, the old filecards stated that all that gear was an advanced psychological behavior altering system. The new one seems to dial it back and mention that they are mere devices used to hijack enemy airwaves and such to sew seeds of disinformation. Still...I think it's all pretty cool.





Psyche Out comes with a rifle, pistol, radar gun thing, two armband antennae, and a backpack. The armbands are my only gripe as they are kinda loose...then again, the Con version had the same problem. GI Joe accessories are not always perfect. They changed the backpack from the Night Force set as well. Looks like Zartan's old backpack mold was used. It still opens, so you can store the pistol or the armbands in there. Generally, and great modernization of a classic GI Joe!





Lastly, a dare-to-compare! I actually like aspects of both versions, as I did with Repeater. One odd thing to note is that the Night Force and regular version had the colors on their satellite dish thingies reversed. Not sure why the club did that. The original Psyche Out had red dishes and his Night Force version had black...you know...for nocturnal emissions (heh). Well, now you can switch it up and make both versions a little more accurate to their classic counterparts. True, the backpacks are now totally different, but I honestly don't mind at all.

Psyche Out is a really cool figure that I always wanted. Glad to have both versions. It is a bummer if you didn't get the Con set and this one so you can patch together a proper, classical Psyche Out. I did, thankfully...and I quite happy with it.

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We got the second set a bit earlier due to the hold-up on the first shipment. So...here are the next two FSS figures.

First up is Muskrat.



Truth be told, I never really saw Muskrat as a headlining character, yet oddly enough I feel he's sort of pseudo-iconic in his own special way. I mean, when it comes to "swamp guys", he's the only one that really POPS into mind. I could probably rattle off a few polar characters or desert specialists on the Joe team, but not too many swamp/marsh guys come to mind very quickly. Also, I always see him as "that green guy in the boonie hat with the boogie board". As with many of the modern remakes, I never had the original Muskrat nor did I really have a truly strong desire tow own one. He was actually my least favorite Night Force guy from the Nocturnal Fire convention set to boot. Basically, I like this version MUCH more in his original, classical colors!







Muskrat comes with the usual tried and true assortment of guns. I mean, if you read my crappy reviews, you'll know I'm actually not much of a firearms enthusiast. To me, AND the kid in me, guns are just big sticks you point at things that you want to be dead. Eh. Truthfully, the Night Force Muskrat was probably the lightest on accessories in that Nocturnal Fire set. He actually comes with more stuff this time. He also now comes with a backpack and one of those bear trap accessories that a few Joes have come with over the course of the last few years. Naturally, being a "swamp guy", he comes with a big ol' machete too. For some reason, the 80s one had a weird all-blue machete. That always stood out to me. Now? It's more regular and realistic. His hat is removable in this modern age...and this brings about the only real gripe about the figure...the damn hat does NOT wanna stay on! On the plus side, he doesn't look as sorta goofy as the original did. Sheesh, the classic Muskrat kinda looked like the guy form Jamiraquai...remember them? No, you probably don't.

Of course, we also get what is easily Muskrat's most iconic accessory: his water board (or boogie board). The Night Force version did not come with the board. Now, we get it. I'm actually not sure if this was used before with any other modern G.I. Joes because I really don't recognize it. I know the old one was just flat with a simple peg.





Whatever the origins of the board, I like it. I mean...to me, toys are just fun things to play with. I really don't make it a point to do heavy research unless I really really want to. I don't know if this got used before, if it was an unused Hasbro piece, a newly sculpted thing, or if it was a piece used before that I just plain forgot existed. I like the addition of a handle. I could see the water board being pulled by a boat or something. Apparently Muskrat can also use the water board as a shield now. So, he's kinda like a really low-core, swampy Captain America...I guess. Naw.



Lastly, another "dare-to-compare"! Regular Muskrat and his Night Force version. Like I said before, the con exclusive Muskrat was the least favorite of the Nocturnal Fire set...at least for me. With that set I initially thought I could live if we never got regular, classic versions of all the Joe characters. Well, we got three regular versions so far, and I've changed my mind. I'm very glad the club decided to go back and redo the Nocturnal Fire Joes in their original color schemes. I especially prefer Muskrat in his original colors. I just thought the Night Force version was kinda yucky for some reason...I dunno. It just never struck me as good. Not only that, but we got more accessories with classical Muskrat!

Well...I don't know how to properly put my general feelings toward the character of Muskrat. It's weird. He is just this kinda character that don't really stand out as awesome, but to me he's like the background character that almost makes it into the foreground. I could live without him, but I'm still glad we got him. Hey, he's like the only swamp trooper...I think. I mean, he's the only one I can think of off the top of my head. Weird how the hat and the boogie board really kinda make this character KIND OF memorable to me.

Along with Muskrat, we also got Slice as part of the second set. Naturally, being a Cobra fan, I'm thrilled to get just about any of the bad guys! As usual, the villains are in short supply.



Now, I never had the original Slice as a kid, but as a young adult I got a version of him back before Hasbro started their second generation A Real American Hero (ARAH) body style. To me Slice and his partner Dice were kinda like the 3rd and 4th most memorable ninja characters in GI Joe...first two being Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. Probably had a lot to do with the names very easily rolling off the tongue.



I know that a lot of G.I. Joe fans really hate the inclusion of ninjas into the whole mythos. Eh, I don't mind it THAT much myself. Yeah, the 2nd movie toy line seemed way too "ninja-rific" for most people's tastes, but the way I see it...big deal. I guess if you push something a little too much from the core values, fans are gonna freak. So, I guess the fact that the club wedged THREE ninja into the third fan subscription wave almost might seem too much. However, since we got Dice in the first wave, a Slice was inevitable. This version of Slice is based off of the first version of the character. Naturally, this newer version does not have a spring-loaded action feature like the original. The head sculpt is all-new and the body has been used on...well...a whole buncha ninja guys.







Naturally, with a name like Slice, one must assume that he might come with many weapons of the slicing variety. And if you assumed yes, you assumed correctly. He comes with a sword pack that originally came with one of the fifty million versions of Storm Shadow. Since I saw no need for every single version of Storm Shadow, I did miss out on some cool martial arts weaponry. Glad to have this. It's basically four swords in a little backpack. You can combine the swords at the handle to make a double sided sword. I actually have no clue if such a thing was ever a realistic weapon every used in the real world, but you do see this routine used in countless movies, cartoons, or comic books. It just totally makes me think of Ryo from Ronin Warriors. "FLAAAAARE UP...NOWWWWWW!!!" Oh...and you also get two hooked swords. So, you can hook AND cut away to your heart's content.



Slice has no real modern version yet, but there was this ninja from one of the movie three-packs that lots of folks basically used as an unofficial close-but-no-cigar version of Slice. Of course, that generic ninja had a removable mask, while this OFFICIAL Slice does not.





And there they are, united again! Slice and Dice! A wave apart, but now we got 'em both in the modern sculpt. In general, Slice is basically just another ninja guy, but with a new head. I can see that many folks may not see him as exciting. I do feel that as a character, he's one of those martial arts guys that easily come to mind, though. I'm glad to have him even though as a toy, he may actually be a little on the "been there done that" side since his body has been used on several ninja so far. I like him, but I would not be surprised to see a lot of the ninja-hating Joe fans plopping these up on ol' eBay!

[countzackula]

Next set starts off with Spearhead and Max. One of the many Joes to come packed with a non-human partner or "pet".



To me, he's basically a regular-looking army dude that just so happens to have an odd orange camo pattern. I dunno, I kinda wonder why they don't make a a Fall foliage camo pattern for the military, in real life. Could come in handy!




One of the many Joes that I never owned in my youth. As I got older and researched all the old toys on the internet, this guy mainly stuck in my mind due to his connection to his animal companion. "Spearhead & Max" just sounds like the name of a movie or something! Honestly, if it weren't for the odd orange camo or the bobcat, this guy is pretty much a standard realistic-looking army guy. What else can I say? Well, he does come with a bunch of weapons and a backpack, too. You can take the ammo belt off, but it's only held on by plastic bands which CAN be removed...but I know that once I take it off, it'll never go back on nicely for me!

Max makes me think of Garfield. For this version, we got the bobcat in this bright orange color. I'm no expert on felines, but I'm pretty sure the color is a tad unrealistic. I suppose I CAN research it...but naw. I've seen plenty of bobcats. And even in fleeting glimpses, none were ever THIS level of orange! Truth be told, I don't even know if it's possible to domesticate a bobcat to follow you into combat situations, either, which makes him one of the more odd animal companions in the GI Joe line...well, at least on the Joe side!



There they are with their Night Force counterparts. I actually like the classical one better for Spearhead, and the Night Force one for Max. Let's face it...I hate the green accepted parts on Night Force Spearhead. For some odd reason, every once in a while Hasbro seems to have gotten this urge to use this weird minty color for certain parts on certain figures, over the years. I just hate it! The classical one really tones down the orange camo. The original was pretty blazin'. Max, in both color schemes, is just a huge improvement from the original in both colors and sculpt.

All in all, Spearhead and Max are a nice homage to the originals AS WELL as an improvement. It helps that the combined colors make me think of Autumn-themed donuts...which now makes me hungry for pastries.

Vypra...oh, Vypra...how you fascinate me!


See, waaaay back when I first got internet access at the tail end of high school, one of the first things I went for was toy info and NOT porn. Can you believe that?! Well, it's true. I quickly discover Yojoe.com and spent quite a bit of time in their database, looking at all the figures and familiarizing myslef with all things Joe. When I saw the name "Vypra", I immediately thought (well, fantasized) that see was some weird Pythona-esque character. Turns out, she was just a Jinx repaint as a villain. Pretty simple. She was also a vehicle driver. In other words, she's obscure as all Hell! Sometimes, it's the obscure characters that can be the most interesting, since their character is often not explored.

The old Vypra was a jeep driver. As far as I know, she was never in any comics or the cartoon. Aside from her filecard, which made her out to be some hot-headed ninja character that just so happened to be too mean...she really has no heavy backstory. Now, she's a single pack figure. She's also been changed to an information runner and courier. Oh, and she's still a ninja.




Vypra actually seems a little "lite". She's a smaller figure with seemingly few accessories...compared to the bulkier, gear-laden GI Joes. Still, for me, she makes up for it in my fascination with her obscure nature. She's not a character that has even really been explored much. She's made up of Jinx parts, BUT unlike her vintage counterpart, her legs are different. I actually like that. Makes her more of her own character...so to speak, and mixes things up a bit. She comes with a gun, two katana with sheath, and a big ol' armored case that opens to reveal a computer and gun storage compartment. Hey, she travels light! Actually makes sense. I could easily imagine her doing her courier thing, bounding through building windows and scaling walls to get top secret stuff to Cobra agents. I originally was hoping to see an extra unmasked head in the package. Sadly, we did not get one, but I actually decided I like the sense of mystique that the permanently masked visage brings. Colors are nice too. Not too gaudy, and not supremely boring. She's actually one of the more believable Cobras.



There she is next to Jinx...so you can see the difference. Generally a great figure. Odd, that such a simplistic looking character just grabs my attention. One of those situations where the characterization really makes me like the toy more. I almost never want anyone to ever do any comic stories on her, just to keep her obscure nature just that!