gijoe – Page 15 – European Joe's

Impel Trading Card #20

We have arrived at the 2oth card. I started this series back in February, and I´m trying to get some writing rhythm going so that I can get posts out more frequently. Any feedback and/or tips you may have, please let me know by adding a comment to one of the posts, sending a Tweet or email. Don´t hold back, every comment can help me become better at this 🙂

Now without further ado, let get talking about Card #20, Shockwave.

I have to confess, that I´m not very familiar with this figure. I never had it as a kid, and can´t say I ever saw him in the stores (or I just can´t remember seeing him).

Albeit that the figure never made an impression on me, I did have a TPB comic of the Special Missions (in DUTCH!) which included #22. In this issue, Lady Jaye, Chuckles, Hit & Run and Shockwave are enlisted by the FBI to assist in a hostage situation where a family is held captive by some terrorists. I won´t spoil the story here, but the ending of this story sure made an impact on little me back in the day. (A review of the story can be found here.)

The card art is a bit strange, the guy is a SWAT member, but is shown running through what appears to be a jungle setting. I suppose Joes should be able to work in any environment, so I´ll go with it. The card describes him as being a gifted singer. Was there ever a musical episode of the cartoon? Other than Cold Slither, I can´t think of any. Maybe there should be a Broadway version of G.I.Joe The Movie. Can you picture that magnificent intro played by a classical orchestra with a full musical cast on stage performing? EPIC!

Looking back, I don´t know why I haven´t looked harder to find a Shockwave figure. I really liked the story and he played a major part in it. Then again, by the time I read the comics (I only had 3 TPB of the Special Missions in Dutch), it would have been around 1994 (I was 12 or there about). After 1994, it was very hard to find Joes in the stores here and I was still far from discovering eBay and online shops.

Since April this year (see Comic book update), I have completed my Marvel ARAH run and thus my focus is shifting now back to collection more figures and vehicles. Of course, the odd paraphernalia associated with G.I. Joe and Trading Cards will always spark my interest. And Action Force, Funko Pops, The Corps (I´ve got my eye on The Beast right now, just waiting for a reasonable shipping cost), LEGO (or other building blocks that can be used with the Joe Kre-O´s), or well, basically anything geek.

That´s it for now. Come back next time when another one bites the … Sorry, no spoilers 😉

Happy Collecting & YoJoe!

Impel Trading Cards #10

It’s a stormy day here in Belgium with gusts of wind going well over 100 kph/60 mph. Nothing the Tomahawk, the all-weather, twin-engine, twin-rotor heavy lift and troop transit helicopter from the Joe team, couldn’t fly through.

I didn’t own the Tomahawk as a kid, but it was one of the first pieces I bought as a collector. I do remember having a friend who owned both the Tomahawk and the Killer W.H.A.L.E. and I went over to play with my Conquest X-30 and Warthog A.I.F.V. Strangely enough, we didn’t have any Cobra vehicles, but the bad guys always got the chance to hijack one of the Joe vehicles.

The card art for the Tomahawk is nicely done. It shows the helicopter in mid flight with it’s six-barreled 20mm cannon blazing. Their fire caused serious damage, if you can go on the smoke seen on the left. It’s a shame that there are no figures shown in the cargo area. You can however see the chairs , so nice details.

I’ve always been very fond of the Tomahawk (and also the new released Eaglehawk) as it is a very multi-functional vehicle. You can use is as a troop transport, but it can also stand on it’s on in a battle. The story from Special Missions #19 is one of my favorite stories in the Marvel run and shows the Tomahawk in all it’s glory. Like the Joes themsleves, even tough their battered up and tired, they get the job done.

Leave a comment if you liked/disliked or want to add your personal thoughts on the Tomahawk.

Until next time, YoJoe!

DISCLAIMER All these cards are in my private collection and were scanned by myself. I don’t hold the rights on the card art or any text displayed on the cards.

Impel Trading Card #9 – Rolling Thunder

We have arrived at the 9th card of the series. The Rolling Thunder. I’ll let you enjoy this magnificent vehicle for a moment.

The Rolling Thunder was first released in 1988 and was sold with the driver Armadillo. Please read JoeADay’s blog for a full analysis of the figure.

I didn’t have this vehicle as a kid, but it was the first Joe toy I bought on eBay as an official adult collector 🙂 To me, this is a huge playset. The only thing that came close was the General, but I didn’t have that too and I never even heard about the Flagg (I don’t think they released the Flagg in Belgium). I remember opening the box it came in (complete with driver, but just in a plain box) and feeling like a kid again. Then again, I still feel like a kid most of the time.

The Rolling Thunder (the name alone gives you shock and awe) can hold a lot of figures and it comes with missiles inside of rockets or is it rockets inside of missiles? In any case, if you’d see them comin’, you’d better be runnin’, right? It even had a big rotating cannon that needed to be controlled by 2 figures. And it had a missile on top of the gun barrel. Firing that would probably kill – or seriously injure – one or both of the figures operating it, but hey, in times of war, you need al the ammo you can get.

The colors on the card art here, don’t do justice to the bright shades of the toy. Yellow rockets, red missiles, a missile launcher base, a small ATV, guns and cannons all around. This is one mean looking vehicle. 8 wheels of Cobra smashing trouble.

With this ninth card, we arrive at the last card in the first Ultra Pro sleeve of my Trading Card collection. I’ve had several really good comments on the series and so I’ll be very happy to see you again when the next card is up for review. As always, leave a comment below or through Twitter.

All that’s left for me now is, Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

DISCLAIMER All these cards are in my private collection and were scanned by myself. I don’t hold the rights on the card art or any text displayed on the cards.

Impel Trading Card #8 – The Skystriker XP-14F

This post should have been online yesterday as I plan to post at least once a week, but unfortunately my children fell ill and they needed my attention. Luckily both are now back to health and so I have found the time to finish this post and put it online.

This week, we leave the ECO-Warriors behind us and continue with one of the most iconic G.I.Joe vehicles of all time.

I present to you Card #8 in the 1991 Impel G.I.Joe Trading Card set.

The Skystriker XF-14

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Impel_C_008b The Skystriker was first released in 1983, with it’s pilot Ace. While many other vehicles are rather future-tech oriented, Hasbro built the Skystriker as an F-14 clone, looking exactly like the famous jet fighter. That’s probably why the Skystriker is a huge fan favorite and also one of my favorite vehicles. I currently have 2 jets in my collection, one in mint and complete condition and one that has seen it’s share of action over the years. I actually have a third plane, but that is called the “Sky Striker” MISB, the 30th anniversary version released in 2011.

The card art for the Skystriker depict it in a battle with a Cobra Rattler, which the Skystriker won, duh. A lot of the decals that are on the toy are not shown or visible on the art. The most striking decal on the plane is the red globe with the eagle that is located on the tail sections. In Belgium, the official G.I.Joe fan club organised a mail-away offer. For 9 Flagpoints and the equivalent of €1 in stamps, you could receive a sew on patch with the Skystriker logo on it.

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I have several of these patches in my collection, let me know if you’re interested in one (or more), we can make a deal 🙂

DISCLAIMER All these cards are in my private collection and were scanned by myself. I don’t hold the rights on the card art or any text displayed on the cards.

Impel Trading Cards 4 – 7

Card number 4 in the series is the Sludge Viper.

Producing methane gas is the final step in the decomposition of biomass. So does this mean that the Sludge Vipers are decomposing inside their suit or are they just farting a lot in there? To have an unlimited ammo supply, Cobra chefs must have created the ultimate union soup with beans and Cobra Cola especially for these Vipers.

Next up is Clean Sweep.

Originally Clean Sweep was designated to be Anti-Tox. The action figure comes with a water shooting robot and has parts of color-changing paint that – uh – changes color whet it gets wet. The figure also came with one of the most impressive mustaches ever to be found on an action figure. Who said Nigel Mansell? Also, can anyone tell me how you move like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs?

Card numer 6 is up, the Cobra Septic Tank.

The anti-ECO equivalent of the HISS tank has an unlimited supply of sludge to fire at the Joes. I guess there are a lot of Sludge Vipers in the back enjoying their Cobra Soup… I could make some jokes on the Pit and a the Septic Tank, but let’s not get into that. Fact is that although this Eco-Warriors series is very colorful and is sometimes frowned upon by the collectors, I like the design of the tank and think it works great in the setting.

Okay, time for card 7. Here is Ozone.

I’m kinda missing the ninja of the team. But hey, at least Ozone got to be an astronaut on the next sub-team of the Joes, the Star Brigade. As they did with Cesspool, and with a few other characters, Ozone was named after David Kunitz, a member of the G.I. Joe design team working for Hasbro at the time of this figure’s release.

All in all, the Eco Warriors are a colorful bunch that heralded the nineties G.I.Joe line and defined the rest of the line. The wacky colors, strange accessories and just plain weird stuff. But hey, if you’re a fan, you stick by. For better or worse, through Sludge and Monstro-Vipers, till the DEF and Ninja Force comes and beyond. Oh and the Mega Marines.

Anyway, feel free to link this page to friends and family, heck even to people you don’t really like. If you have suggestions or remarks, leave a comment below or tweet me @EuropeanJoes.

DISCLAIMER All these cards are in my private collection and were scanned by myself. I don’t hold the rights on the card art or any text displayed on the cards.