Spoiled mystery box

You’ve all seen the GameStop Funko Mystery Box and all of it’s contents online before. It has been pretty hard to find one over here in Belgium, but I’m glad to tell you that I had one shipped out to me. Let’s check it out (again).

GameStop Exclusive Funko Pop Mystery Box

The box itself features the classic G.I.Joe art with the original Joes and the MOBAT. The colors are really lively and bright, and very sharp as well. The contents are thrown in quite loosely and therefore rattles a bit when shaken.

Profit Director Destro/Pimp Daddy Destro, call him what you like.

The ‘biggest’ piece in the box is this Director Destro Funko Pop figure. Based on the 1997 figure (3.75”), but definitely taken more after the Classified Series Profit Director figure, this one sports the leopard collar and leg pieces, along with a gold suitcase and a stack of burning money. I’ve been collecting some of these Pop figures over the years (not just the G.I. Joe ones, but also some of the other classic toy based ones (Care Bears, My Little Pony, Trolls – I have 2 daughters who like them) and also some Disney ones (Aladdin), Movie/TV ones (Jurassic Park, Knightrider, Star Trek, Back to the Future, Ghostbusters). They have just about every possible franchise covered and they are reasonably priced and they just hook you in I guess. Not everyone is a fan, but I really like them.

Some other stuff is also included.

The rest of the contents consists of a Snake Eyes keychain (Funko Pop Style) with filmcarrière, a G.I. Joe sticker, an official Membership Card and a G.I. Joe dog tag. Nice to have, but not that must-have things as you’d like from an Exclusive box set. Still, it will all look great in my collection.

That’s it for now. It has been a while since I posted something, I’ve been struggling with some health issues, but I’m working through them and I hope to be back to full health soon. I hope to be posting some new things rather sooner than later. Thanks for sticking around and keeping the views/visits to the site growing every day.

Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

Time for a Let’s play!

Renegade Game Studios have been releasing several G.I. Joe related stuff recently. I already had the RPG Core Rulebook and the Deck-building starter set, but I also pre-ordered several necessary tools to play the RPG. They took a while to arrive, but they’re here now!

Time to roll the dice.

A dice set and a dice bag are the basic essentials for the RPG game. The dice set contains 6 different dice and are made in bright blue. The dice bag is a soft black material with the modern G.I. Joe star logo on it. I recently found out that they also made a Cobra themed dice set and bag. I may have to look out for those too.

The other part of the order was the new Emerald Oubliette scenario that comes with a handy Game Master screen. The inside of the screen is showing rule tables and references, where the outside shows the artwork we’ve seen on the Classified Series.

Game Master Screen

The art on the dice set and bag packaging looks like the Classified art but something is off. I must admit, it’s not that good looking. Scarlett in particular is looking a bit strange. Maybe it’s the angle or the lens flare from Roadblock’s head, I can’t really put my finger on it, it just doesn’t click with me.

Is that you Scarlett?

That’s it for now. I have some other pre-orders incoming as well, there will be a post about those soon. Until then…

Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

It’s been a while, but there’s more Joe than ever.

I know it has been a while since I last posted something, but that doesn’t mean that my collecting days have come to a halt. It’s hard sometimes to find the time to sit down and write a post down. I often start a quick note to remember I have to write a post about something, but then I don’t have the pictures that go along with it or it slips my mind. Still, I always keep an eye out for G.I. Joe and although the collection hasn’t been expanded much, here are some new things that have entered the EJ collection.

A TPB filled with Saturday Morning Adventures.

First up is the TPB of the Saturday Morning Adventures comic books. I already had the floppies, but this was a bargain a while ago on Amazon and so I pre-ordered it. Occasionally my LCBS can’t order the comics and this leaves a gap in my collection (I’m still looking for IDW ARAH #259 – #265 that weren’t sold over here during the pandemic). By getting the TPB, I can at least make sure that I can read the entire story.

R/C V.A.M.P.

Next up, is the Jada Toys R/C V.A.M.P. Mk-II. This one has been on my radar for a while, but I never seemed to be able to find it here in Europe. At the end of October, I was browsing the U.S. Amazon site for anything Joe, and I noticed the price was dropped to around $20 for this one. With shipping and taxes, it was still below $50 and so I snatched it up. I haven’t tried it out yet, it’s just sitting in a box for now. I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that they keep on using an image of the A.W.E. Striker on their boxes, even when it’s a V.A.M.P., but still, a very nice addition to my collection.

Golden 15

Now, we’re getting back to the Classified line, first up is the #15, Profit Director Destro (great brainstorm on that name by Hasbro)!

Who’s your Director?

This one has taken a while to get here from the U.S. I had it on pre-order a long time ago via a colleague that lives in the U.S. She finally got to travel again to our HQ in Belgium and she was able to bring this one with her. The golden gun, the leopard cape, it’s a look. Definitely a look.

For the Nite is dark and dangerous.

A second figure she was able to bring over, is the Fortnite x G.I. Joe Snake Eyes figure. I have to say, I only briefly tried to play Fortnite a while ago and I’ve never had much fun playing FPS games, so I passed on playing more. I did however read the Batman Fortnite comics and they featured Snake Eyes in an issue. So when this one was announced, I didn’t really think too hard and got my pre-order in.

Zero Point? No, lots of points!

This figure is a really nice version of Snake Eyes. You have to ignore the idiot weapons that he came with (see below), but the figure itself and his katana are gorgeous. This may be the best version of Snake Eyes in the Classified line if you ask me.

These will probably stay in the box indefinitely.

And finally, I also got a small present from my colleague when she came over… Tis the season after all 🙂

Ho-Ho-Ho

I’ll probably put up another post this year, but in case I can’t make it, Happy Holidays to you and your family.

Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

4 ninja’s and a First Sergeant

If they were walking into a bar, that would probably make one hell of a joke. Or a painful experience. Whatever the case may be, they didn’t wonder into some shady establishment, but arrived here in my collection.

First of, I received the 2003 figure set consisting of Duke, Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes. This set comes with the Spy Troops movie on DVD.

3 figures, 1 dvd.

Let’s start with Duke. This appears to be the v13 of the figure, but on YoJoe.com, it only shows him being released as a single carded figure or in a set with Cobra Commander. I know that YoJoe.com is currently not the most reliable source, but these figures are almost 20 years old (just let that sink in…), so I do think it should be on the site. Maybe this was an international released pack and that’s why it’s not picked up on the site? I don’t really know. Information on this pack is very limited to people selling it online and even then, the intel is limited. If you know more about this, let me know. As you can see below, the backside of the card is aimed for the international market, not showing any file cards, but lot’s of information in many different languages.

No filecards 😥

The same goes for Storm Shadow (clearly v11) and Snake Eyes (v17). They are listed as being part of a 2-pack, but not in this weird threesome pack.

Storm v11
Snake Eyes v17

The other weird thing about this pack is the Duke figure. He’s given the ninja treatment by not having an O-ring, but being fitted with an nunchuck swinging action feature. So looking at the accessories, Duke should come with a gun and communicator device, but also with the nunchucks. Storm Shadow then gets a sword and dagger and Snake Eyes is equipped with an uzi, sword and communicator device. In short, Duke doesn’t fit in here. Put in Scarlett or Zartan and you’d get a pack that actually makes sense. It’s like trying to make Roadblock into a ninja, nobody in their right mind would try that, right?

It really is a little mystery if you ask me. What won’t be a mystery for long is the math you’re doing in your head right now. The title talks about 4 ninja’s and we only have seen two. Who could the other 2 be… Well, let’s find out. They came in a mystery box…

Any guesses?

If you know, you’ll know the code on the box. For everyone still trying to guess, look at this next picture.

Indemandtoys.co.uk 👍👍👍

Yes, this package was ordered through In Demand Toys yet again. As with all my previous orders there, everything went smoothly and the package was delivered fast and undamaged on my doorstep. If you haven’t shopped with them, what are you waiting for? Seriously, they have everything from Star Wars to Power Rangers and from the TMNT to G.I.Joe. Check them out, buy something and tell them I sent you 😁

Now back to the actual delivery. The box contains the 2021 O-ring figures of Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes!

Nice looking art
Similar art on the back and a lot of languages.

Now, inside the box, for now we have Schrodinger’s ninjas. I haven’t opened the box yet. All my Joes are still in storage and I’m holding off on opening this set until I can display them properly. I won’t leave you hanging though, here’s a picture I found online.

Brothers on cards.

From what I’ve read online, the card backs are quite flimsy. Not the quality we remember from the original O-ring figures. The art is still the same. The plastic bubbles are also much deeper than the original ones, giving them a better display look. The file cards are on the back, but they are more of a multi-language name card rather than the classic file cards we all know and love. The figures are about the same size as the original ones, maybe just a teeny-tiny bit shorter, but I don’t have the exact measurements so I’m going by pictures I’ve seen online.

It’s great to see these vintage figures back. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the 3 3/4 inch Joes and it really is a nice tribute to the line by releasing these 2 figures (and the Cobra pack coming later this year). Did we need another set of Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes figures in the smaller scale? Probably not. I never had the original Snake Eyes figure, so this is most likely as close as I can get to the original figure without spending to much money. Also, the Classified versions of the figures do look great and closely resemble these figures. I have to say that I’m really surprised by the quality of the Classified line figures, the details on the figures and the box art. For both display value and playability, 6 inch is looking to be the new 3 3/4 inch. Bigger is better they say. I like them both and will continue to get both sizes of figures for my collection.

That’s all for now. I’ll be back soon with more updates to the collection, until then… Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

I’ve got a license to kill

Not exactly a real license, but it does involve a Double O. I honestly gave up hope of ever getting my hands on this figure. I really had to pinch myself this morning when I unboxed the package the mailman just delivered. First impressions? Surprised at the size of the box. Second impressions? Blown away by the beauty of the art and the design of the box. To say that this is a masterpiece, is not doing it any justice. This is one piece of G.I. Joe history that will go down in the books as a Grail item.

Get ready for the most amazing boxset of the entire G.I. Joe Classified line, and it was the first! Let me present to you figure “00” Snake-Eyes (Deluxe).

That artwork is just gorgeous.

Inside the beautiful cardboard sleeve is a much sturdier box with the same artwork. This time though, it’s embossed and glossy. In bright red Japanese it says Snake Eyes (according to Google translate – I can’t read Japanese). The picture doesn’t do it any justice, I need to work on my lighting.

Glossy

Inside the box, you’re greeted by yet again this stunning artwork (they are immensely proud of it and rightly so!). This time around it’s a drawing in charcoal. And the simplicity of this black on the brownish paper just brings out the beauty even more.

Black and white and oh so beautiful

Underneath the drawing, the actual figure and accessories are located. Set firmly in some foam to protect everything nicely and securely. To be honest, I’m a bit reluctant to take stuff out of the foam. This is really going to be one of the centerpieces of my collection.

Ain’t nothing 00 about this
WOW

The figure itself is a work or art too. Highly detailed, a sword with sheath, a backpack, an uzi, silencer, gun, knife, extra hand, grenades on his web gear. Remember, this is the first figure of the line. Talk about setting the bar high. I’ve always made a point of addressing just how good the artwork is on the boxes of the Classified figures. This one is no exception. Just look at the details on the image. The figure, the hand on the sword, Timber… It’s truly Art with capital A.

The art on the side

The art on the back of the first wave of figures has always been the same image, this time they also printed it in the same metallic silvery grey of the Snake Eyes artwork. It looks superb!

The whole gang

As I’m writing this, it’s Friday (TGIF!). I know what I’ll be doing for the rest of the weekend (and probably even longer). That is to just look at this piece of art and feel all warm inside.

Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

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