Toy Fair 2011 – Hasbro GI Joe Report (and Indiana Jones special)

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Unfortunately, Joe fans, it sounds like the GI Joe brand is tightening up a little in 2011. The official word is that the line will be more “focused” – my personal take on this is that the Pursuit of Cobra lineup didn’t revive the line enough after the the Rise of Cobra movie figures took a beating at retail.

There is good news on the horizon, though. The GI Joe Renegades show on the Hub has launched, and I think Hasbro has made a good decision that the Renegades figures, which will ship this fall as part of the main line with art from the show to distinguish it, are intended to fit in with the rest of the line. Renegades figures will have deco that matches the show’s color palette, but will leverage the existing Joe tooling with some new Renegades parts.

GI Joe Spring Wave 3, 4, and more

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GI Joe Renegades

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While most of the vehicles for the year are redecoes, the big news is a newly tooled Skystriker. The Joe team had been very disappointed to have lost the original tooling for the Skystriker, so this is all new tooling – the wings still function the same way, and the only major difference is that the cockpit has been redesigned to fit a single figure.

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This new tooling will be leveraged for an awesome San Diego Comic-Con exclusive – Starscream as Skystriker. This was described as a “three-in-one” – Starscream disguised as Skystriker, Cobra Commander, and a Megatron in pistol form as a Cobra Commander accessory.

The Joe team also announced the return of 12-inch figures, but not the Joe vs. Cobra type. These figures will harken back to the vintage Joes that represent the real American heroes – soldier, firefighter, police K-9 unit, and paratrooper. Hasbro says the line is targeted at kids, but I imagine some of the older Joe fans will have nostalgia kick in when they see these on shelves.

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Also nestled in the Joe presentation was the announcement of another SDCC exclusive – the Indiana Jones lost wave. This collector pack will include the wave of figures that never made retail:

  • Toht – with interchangeable melting face and branded hand
  • Marion Ravenwood
  • Satipo
  • German Mechanic
  • Indy in German disguise

It will also include a “best of” Indy, incorporating the best features from across the various Indy figures in the line and a newly sculpted head.

For more pics and info, check out the GI Joe Toy Fair Collector Panel presentation and the Toy Fair press album for GI Joe that Hasbro shared with us.