I don’t think Mezco should use Leather Material if it’s gonna tare like the way you said it tare’d, I think they should stick with cloth goods with bendy wire so it won’t rip or tare apart , well I know not to get the Mezco figs with leather now, this was useful information, Thank You.
They blew it to the curb with: 1989 Batman… Three years of waiting… Boy was I pissed… I have all of the Dark Knight Returns except the Peto Rican Con version, Christopher Reeve Superman and the Space Ghost 👻 glow in the dark… These were Mezco at its best… I did get the Gotham By Gaslight Batman and that was a great figure; but the box is garbage … After this last one; I was done with Mezco forever… Now the Big Head Deformed Mezco 1989 Batman was done perfectly well and that hard plastic body works… Why did Mezco not apply the same technique to the One:12???
EXO squad was definitely under rated! Now, I don't want to take away from the series but it was not anything new on the global level. Anime has been doing it for decades before and in the West we had shows like Star Blazer and Robotech localized before it. Still I give it props for being a North American production that ventured into the world of serialized story telling with more mature themes.
Man, if they’d done these in 1:18 scale, the cross-play potential with GI Joe, (which was on its way out at the time), would have probably kept both brands alive a little longer and given both Hasbro and Playmates a few more years with those IPs. Hasbro and Joe came out okay in the end anyway, I guess, after some savagely extreme missteps.
The first time I seen the toy commercial, I was hoping it was 3 3/4 o ring. I was obsessed with mechs and wanted to integrate these guys into my Joes. Really awesome line. If these fit in to the 3 3/4 size, it would have added to both lines.
@Valaverse but hey, talking about that Volcano Viper, you stated that factory workers got away with those parts from Hasbro. So then, it IS real; not fake. If they are real Hasbro parts, its real. The fact that the executives didn't sign off on the design doesn't mean they don't exist. They are 'real' guerilla action figures. If they are fake, we must then say that Alpine and Desert Scorpion Mech drivers are fake. Or in essence they are all real because they came from Hasbro.
When I was a kid, my dad collected antique Heisey Glassware. One year we took a trip to Ohio and visited the museum where I learned that at the end of the day, the workers were allowed to "play" with the leftover glass and make their own items with the excess materials. I have thought that it would be fun if toy companies did something similar for their employees. Pick a day or a week where production parts are brought in, and the employees are allowed to create their own characters. It would be a unique perk for the employees, and for the powers-that-be, it could be a unique opportunity to showcase the imagination and talent of employees who might not otherwise get the opportunity to be recognized. Maybe hold an annual competition where the winng submission actually gets a production run. Maybe a similar competition among collectors. Offer a selection of parts, and the winner gets a production run. It would be a unique opportunity to receive input from both colleagues and collectors to receive recognition, and you never know, as the big boss, you might find someone that you want to add to your team.
Pretty sure they were $10 each for small, $25-70 for the large ones. They had transformer cross overs where jt Marsh was a motorcycle, mini sets etc. There was a sega game and the cartoon was pretty heavy.
In my humble opinion, there's a difference between re-sellers and scalpers, but there's a fine line that separates the 2. Can a re-seller slip into becoming a scalper? Absolutely. Can a scalper "see the light" and become a re-seller? Sure, but it all depends on numerous factors. Many toy enthusiasts I've known over some decades have gotten into re-selling, not so much for the money, but rather to thin out the collection, make room for expanding families or because their interests changed. I had collected the whole 1st and 2nd waves of Spawn figures with comics. I had exclusives, blue hamburger head, Red Angela, the whole 9 and I decided to sell them years ago. I checked ebay for the average going price on each item and sold every last one. For those who wanted multiple items, I came down on the price to honor their buying multiples. I simply lost interest in the line and focused more on my favorite line that I never stopped collecting, GI Joe ARAH. Last year, I sold off all of my Spiral Zone figures and vehicles that I played with, but kept in excellent condition and they fetched a good price. The buyer, I believe, was a toystore owner so I can only imagine what pricetag he may have put on them once he got them. I've also seen those who could care less about toys, who are not really collectors and use toys as a means to build wealth. Either way, toy re-selling (more specifically, scalping) just like sneakers, cars and most anything nowadays has gotten outta hand and the prices we tend to see now are ridiculous at best. Seems everyone wants to get rich off that one show or that single sale and it just can't sustain for long, especially in a recession and our dollar losing value by the hour.
I always thought those volcano vipers were tests for what became the hazard vipers. But, now looks like those volcano vipers inspired the hazard vipers.
An entire 15 minute video and not a single decent shot of the featured items. That's a great shot of the top of the figure's head though. Work on your presentation. Maybe show a close up of the figure once and a while so people can actually see the details of what you're talking about about.
I went and looked at the ghostbusters set, but it's a blank page on Mezco and it's sold out everywhere else. Oh well I didn't need to spend money anyway ;D
The Joe Mechs from that era were so cool. Of these two, I like the Minotaur more, but that frost on the glass effect looks so cool. Might have to do that to a W.O.L.F. ...
First, Pursuit of Cobra was peak modern GI Joe, hands down. Second, I would have loved a POC Desert Scorpion. I may be biased, being an 88-94 fan, but the 89-91 troopers will always be my favorite Cobra Characters. Interesting to hear that the Volcano was a fake. I remember people on that chat board named after a Cobra vehicle would become insane and abusive if you event suggested that it was a fake.
Cool video I remember one of the last GIJCC conventions Daryl Depriest had a presentation on the “never produced” Adventure Team toys. It seemed like some of those designs inspired later early RAH vehicles. I love the un produced concept art stuff.
Hasbro has definitely been sleeping on Desert Scorpion, the guy is so iconic he deserves his own new mold. You would have figured we would have seen various iterations of him by now. As far as the volcano viper goes, I'm wondering how hard Hasbro is on guys like that for doing such. Or do they just kind of laugh it off and turn a blind eye? Absolutely love your design approach in terms of fire and ice, it sounded a little cliche at first but you really tied the idea together with alpine and desert viper. It was a really good/strong and simple design process you used. Kudos, would have bought!
Dope video - I love seeing prototype and unreleased toys, especially those from my favorite toyline of all time, GI Joe. I'm an o-ring guy so the OG Joes of the 80s and 90s were my thing, but I do have a good amount of the "modern" 25th anniversary and movie figs tbat came out around the time you were interning.. I used to play with my kids with them and we had a blast. Those mech suits would've been cool to have. Thanks for the great content as always, BV!
Can i get a job at Valaverse? I have a degree in art and drew for both Marvel and DC Comics as well as Mirage studios. I also sold toys at TRU, Wal-Mart and Target for over 25 years.
I’ve got the Arctic Duke he is taking about. I took off Tatum’s head and put POC’s Duke on instead and it is one hell of a figure. Comes with a snow board.
