KRE-O GI Joe: Cobra Terror Drome

The GI Joe line of KRE-O figures may have started slow, but it didn't take long for some great sets to be released, such as the Cobra Terror Drome. Sadly this was released pretty much as the line was simultaneous ending. Retailing for $99.99 and exclusive to Toys 'R Us stores in the US, this set, while awesome, didn't get the proper release it deserved.

Coming in at 855 pieces, I believe this was the single largest GI Joe KRE-O set released. Not only did the set come with the Terror Drome, but also with a GI Joe Skyhawk vehicle and even Serpentor's chariot. Also included where 6 Kreon figures: Mainframe, Gung-Ho, General Hawk, Serpentor, Xamot and a generic Cobra Trooper.

Noticeably missing from this massive set however is the awesome Cobra Firebat. Instead, this integral Terror Drome vehicle was included in another set aptly titled "Firebat Attack" with the GI Joe Wolverine. I can understand Hasbro wanting to try and capitalize off of these toys as much as possible, but not including the Firebat w/ the Terror Drome is like have a KRE-O Joe HQ and not including the MOBAT tank.

The included Joe Kreons are excellent figures and their likeness to the original ARAH figures/animation models are spot on. My only gripe is that some of the guns included are just too big (see Mainframe), however Hasbro did get it right with a grenade launcher for Gung-Ho and a pistol for General Hawk.

On the Cobra front the set includes Serpentor, half of the Crimson Twins, Xamot and finally a nameless Cobra Trooper. The ridiculously large guns show up again with two of the three Cobra characters unfortunately. Serpentor comes with a cloth cobra hood and cape.

Serpentor's trusty air chariot is included as well. While small, they did a good job at re-creating and capturing the look and feel of the ARAH toy. The instructions shows you being able to "dock" the chariot inside the launch bay of the Terror Drome, but come on...who are we kidding?

Several other Joe KRE-O playsets released before the Terror Drome had smaller vehicles included, like the Cobra FANG or "Trouble Bubble" so it was nice to see the Joe's Skyhawk included in this set. This is one awesome little vehicle, even if the back proportions may be a little off. Somehow they were able to integrate all of the key features of this aircraft into this little toy, from the VTOL engines to the side wing panels, to the rockets on the landing skids to the gun mounted underneath the nose. Even the figure fits perfecting inside the opening cockpit for added play value.

Once assembled, I was blown away by how awesome the building block version of the Terror Drome was. It looks the part. It has several different play features that are modeled after the vintage ARAH playset. Better yet, it was just as much fun to build as it was to set up different display scenarios.

On the backside of the Terror Drome is this long rectangular red brick. While it looks a little obtrusive sticking out the back of the playset, it does serve a purpose. When you press it in it slowly starts to raise the dock inside the center of the Terror Drome. If you have the Firebat on the dock it will slowly push open the blue dome panels in the center of the top floor...just like the vintage playset.

I absolutely love this feature and it works pretty well. It was one of the highlights of the original ARAH Terror Drome and its faithly recreated here.

All around the top level are these little computer screens. Each screen has a different view of around the Terror Drome. It's the little touches like this that really brings it together.

The construction of the set is pretty ingenious as the top of the Terror Drome can be lifted off in one piece. The long flat gray pieces, along with the beveled red pieces allow the top half to gently sit on the base. This allows you easy access to the elevator shaft from the top, or any of the aforementioned sections around the base.

Folding down the side panels of the Terror Drome reveals all sorts of fun and interactive spots, starting off with a cool throne for Serpentor.

To the left of Serpentor's throne is a prison. This can be locked with the little key you see in the door Because this is such a small piece I decided to leave it in the door so I wouldn't lose it. On each side of the prison are two gun batteries that can accomodate one figure.

To the right of Serpentor's throne is this cool screen with a translucent Cobra Commander decal. Had I had a Tele-Viper I would have sat him at this chair.

To the right of the Cobra Commander screen you can see the inner workings of the elevator that lifts the Firebat.

The construction of the set is pretty ingenious as the top of the Terror Drome can be lifted off in one piece. The long flat gray pieces, along with the beveled red pieces allow the top half to gently sit on the base. This allows you easy access to the elevator shaft from the top, or any of the aforementioned sections around the base.

This was a fun build and well done. The knock on early KRE-O sets were they left like a cheap LEGO knock off. This set and many of the other later GI Joe sets I've built have been excellent. As of this post I've disassembled this set because I simply had nowhere to display it. I'm on the fence of whether or I should hold on to it or sell it because I don't have many other Joe KRE-Os anymore. Nonetheless, this is a fantastic set and I can't recommend it enough.

GI Joe Sigma 6: Cobra Iron Grenadier

When Hasbro took the GI Joe franchise a new direction with Sigma 6 I was turned off like a lot of other fans. However once I allowed myself to experience a figure hands on I started to change my mind. Growing up with the 3 3/4" scale it was hard to accept the larger scale, but I started to realize that Hasbro hadn't turned their back on the iconic franchise. Hasbro was simply trying to breath new life into a stagnant brand and while it may not have been as successful as they wanted, it still yielded some cool toys.

One of which was the Iron Grenadier and it quickly became one of my favorites. Different from the ARAH version, yet similar, this was a fun toy that came with some pretty cool weapons and accessories.

I will point out these are some old pictures that were buried on my old laptop. I've since sold the figure in an effort to downsize my overall toy collection. 

Like with most of the Sigma 6 figures, there are ports (or holes ) on the figure that allow accessories such as armor to be attached. In this case you have a backpack of sorts that contain the red hoses that travel across the figure. I'm not sure if that supposed to be some kind of breathing apparatus or what, but it sure does look cool! The straps on his thighs are elastic, something else Hasbro tried with this series...using materials other than plastic.

The head sculpt is great in my opinion. You've got a stylized gray helmet with a Cobra logo off set to the right. The face is basically a large black mask with round, sharp red eyes. Combine the eyes with the red hoses and the Iron Grenadier has a very intimidating look.

These faceless troopers came pretty well armed. A large rifle with a removable yellow tipped projectile along with a removable magazine that held two additional projectiles. This magazine could also be attached to the rifle itself, basically making the figure self-contained when it came to the accessories.

Overall I thought the designers did a great job with this army builder character. Great design meets articulation. Had I had more space to designate to GI Joe in general, I would've made space for Sigma 6 as most of the figures I owned I really enjoyed. I've often wondered if Hasbro would ever go down this path again since the Joe brand is essentially dead right now (at least outside of the official GI Joe club), but let's just say I'm not holding my breath.

GI Joe 25th Anniversary: Storm Shadow

Storm Shadow has been one of the most prominent characters in very variation of the GI Joe franchise. There are more action figures of this character than I can shake a stick at. While some are better than others, his classic look has always been a favorite of mine.

For the 25th Anniversary of the line, Hasbro re-created many of the classic Joe & Cobra characters, giving them a fresh and modern look. As you can see the designers didn't stray too far from his classic A Real American Hero design. Sadly I no longer own any of my childhood Joe toys so there won't be any comparison pictures here.

Hasbro wasn't shy when it came to the accessory / weapons department with the 25th Anniversary figures. Storm Shadow come with two swords, a bow, removable webgear (can hold both swords) and an action figure stand.

The 25th Anniversary version of Storm Shadow was first offered in a 5 figure box set alongside Cobra Commander, Destro, the Baroness and a Cobra Trooper. He was later packaged on a blister card with art work very reminiscent to his ARAH packaging.

Storm Shadow is one of the most iconic Cobra characters and I personally love the update he received here. Not hard to find on the secondary market, or expensive; this is a figure that belongs in your modern Joe collection.

GI Joe 25th Anniversary: Cobra B.A.T. (Battle Android Trooper)

The 25th Anniversary series of G.I. Joe brought forth a lot of great modern updates to many characters, but one that has always stood out to me was the new Battle Android Trooper...or B.A.T.

I never was much into army building or troop building certain characters, but I found myself buying multiples of this figure for many reasons. For starters its a great sculpt, from it's head down to it's feet. Just take a look at the details on the exposed machine bits. Another reason I felt compelled to buy multiples were because of the included accessories. I could essentially customize the figures so I had different looking B.A.T.s. Simply pop off the hand just below the wrist and you could insert one of the many weapons included.

Not my favorite weapon, but this claw gives the B.A.T. and edge when it comes to hand-to-hand combat.

If Firefly or the Dreadnok Torch wasn't around, this handy attachment gave any B.A.T. a nice flamethrower to keep the Joes at bay with.

I imagine this drill bit attachment to be more of a tool than a weapon, but I guess what's stopping the B.A.T. from drilling through a Joe's armor?

Hasbro went on to use this mold a few different times and each time it was a winner. I've since sold off most of my loose 25th collection, but I have one 25th B.A.T. still carded up on my wall at home. Hands down one of the best figures in the entire 25th Anniversary G.I. Joe series.

GI Joe 30th Anniversary: Cobra Trooper

With the 25th Anniversary of G.I. Joe, Hasbro gave collectors a very nice Cobra figure to army build - a new Cobra Trooper.  You see in the ranks of Cobra, you start off as a blue shirt grunt.  Then as you prove your mettle to the top ranks, the next rung on the ladder is that of a Viper.  While the Vipers look cool, it makes more sense that an army be built upon the backs of the grunts.  It makes sense that a lot of collectors I imagine gravitated to building their Cobra army with the various Cobra Troopers and Officers so I doubt there was any complaining when Hasbro released yet another Trooper under the 30th Anniversary banner.  Originally released under the Pursuit of Cobra banner, the figure was repackaged for the first wave of the 30th Anniversary series.

This Trooper retains the classic look with the Cobra blue and black.  I've never been into army building myself, but I didn't hesitate picking up this figure...when I could find it hanging on retail store pegs.

The faceless grunts seem to have a little more personality with the ability to remove their helmets.  If I were into doing dioramas this would be cool as you could have your Troopers chilling in the R&R hall inside the Technodrome.

I don't think of the blue shirts being that heavily armed, but the 30th anniversary figure comes loaded.  So much that I even misplaced a few of his weapons!  In addition to his rifle, RPG launcher and two suppressors, he also came w/ two pistols, a knife and a smaller brown & black rifle.

Hasbro really churned out some great figures during the Pursuit of Cobra / 30th Anniversary time frame.  It's a shame that there hasn't been any really good Joe figures available at retail for the last few years.  I wonder if we'll have to wait until the 35th Anniversary before we get anything non-movie related?

GI Joe 30th Anniversary: Cobra Hazard Viper

It's hard to believe the G.I. Joe scale that I grew up with (3 3/4") has already celebrated their 30th anniversary.  Man I feel old!  The one good thing about the anniversary was Hasbro released some of the best figures to date.  Sadly the line was no where as large as the 25th anniversary line of figures and vehicles.  One of the best figures to come out of the line, in my opinion, was the new Cobra Hazard Viper.

We all know that Cobra is a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world...so why should chemical warfare be off the table?  While the original A Real American Hero line had some crazy henchmen (Toxo Viper), the Hazard Viper looks a little more realistic...thus scary.  

The figure itself was based on the Lava Viper from the Rise of Cobra movie line.  The Lava Viper was included with the small vehicle, the Lava Pod, and was not widely released.  For that reason alone this was basically a new figure for a lot of Joe and Cobra fans.  I love the baggy outfit, the not too bright orange and of course all the gear included.

Included is a removable helmet w/ breathing apparatus, backpack, clear flexible hose, rifle, 2 pistols, injection gun, suitcase with 3 toxic vials and figure stand.

Even the back pack is impressive.  Since the little vials are turquoise I'm guessing the tanks on the back pack are toxic as well.  This is one Viper I wouldn't want to tick off!  He also comes with a clear flexible tubing that connects to the top of the back pack and plugs into the rifle.  Thankfully it's fairly long...in this case I had to wrap it around the back pack so it would be out of the way.

If you like to troop build your Vipers, you can give him a little customization by removing the back pack, helmet and breathing apparatus.  In traditional Cobra fashion, the lower portion of the face is hidden by a mask.

With the Hazard Viper being a little different he stands out from most of the other Cobra Vipers and troopers...and I like it.  I recently parted ways with my loose G.I. Joe collection and it was hard letting this guy go, but at least I still have a beautiful sealed specimen displayed on my wall.  Great figure, lots of gear and something a little different make this figure a must have.

GI Joe 25th Anniversary: Cobra Sting Raider

One of the dilemmas I had with the original line of G.I. Joe toys growing up wasn't the cost of the toys necessarily, it was the size of the toys - vehicles in particular.  Let's not kid ourselves.  As cool as some of the action figures were, the vehicles and play sets are what made the Joe line of toys so much fun.

Over the last 15 or so years I've been able to acquire a lot of these bulky toys I never owned as a kid.  My favorite purchase was a near complete Terror Drome from an old BigBadToyStore vintage clearance sale.  As with many things I've collected over the years space is always a very valuable commodity and something that I don't always have a lot of.  As I've grown older and shifted my focus back to Transformers, I still have a special place for certain G.I. Joe toys and this is one of them.

I bought nearly everything released in the 25th Anniversary series of G.I. Joe.  In fact I have all but 3 of the 25th Anniversary Cobra figures, sealed on card, hanging on the wall effectively making a wall paper like border across the top.  While I've liquidated much of the loose stuff recently, I decided to hold onto the Cobra Sting Raider...better known as the Water Moccasin.  I can remember getting the Joe's Killer W.H.A.L.E. vehicle for Christmas one year and always wanting a cobra watercraft to pit against the big hovercraft.  When the Water Moccasin was released I instantly asked my parents for it.  A couple of good report cards later and it was all mine.

Despite the name change (legal reasons I assume), the new Cobra Sting Raider retains pretty much everything I can remember about the old Water Moccasin.  Most importantly the driver figure was still included and the same great character, Copperhead!

Copperhead was one of my all time favorite Cobra characters, though I'm not entirely sure why.  Perhaps it was the teal and neon green colored outfit, or the cool looking helmet.  Whatever the reasons I love the new updated 25th Anniversary figure.  Most of the old vehicle driver didn't come with accessories, or at least not weapons.  This new Copperhead however comes packaged with a menacing shotgun.  Now he doesn't have to be inside his watercraft to be armed so watch out Joes!

I really can't find any major differences with the vehicle itself over the original.  The fan propeller still spins via a small wheel, there are compartments on each side towards the rear, same clear removable canopy on the cockpit, 360 degree rotating gunner's seat, side cannons and even the small torpedo sled underneath the watercraft.  This is a very fun and what I liked about it as a kid and to this day is it's size.  It isn't too small (as it can carry an additional 3 figures), but it isn't too big either.  Honestly I don't understand how full on Joe collectors have enough room to display their collections as large as some of the toys are.  That said this is an excellent walk down memory lane toy and one that should be easily attainable on the secondary market.