{"id":27190,"date":"2014-03-03T21:19:30","date_gmt":"2014-03-04T03:19:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=27190"},"modified":"2014-03-03T21:19:30","modified_gmt":"2014-03-04T03:19:30","slug":"g-i-joe-subscription-service-fss-2-0-bombardier-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=27190","title":{"rendered":"G.I. Joe Subscription Service
(FSS) 2.0: Bombardier Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> I think every time I\u2019ve reviewed a subscription G.I. Joe, I\u2019ve talked about how I don\u2019t know if I really should\u2019ve signed up for the FSS. Spoiler Alert: this time isn\u2019t going to be any different. <\/p>\n

In the first FSS, I ended up keeping six of the figures (& I think only two got reviewed). For FSS 2.0, I think the final tally may end up being about the same, but I just haven\u2019t really felt engaged so far. In fact, I\u2019ve only opened two of the figures from 2.0 so far. I\u2019m not sure what it is. I think that, if pressed, I would say I was a bigger G.I. Joe fan growing up than I am now. We could never afford many Transformers and, my regular MOTU readers may cringe, but I did like Joe more than MOTU back in the day. And yet, as an adult, the MOTUC sub is just intensely more satisfying. I think it may be the nostalgia. Modern He-Man figures have no other outlet; the sub is the only game in town. Rio Blast? Extendar? Skeletor? They\u2019re all in the subscription. <\/p>\n

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The Joe sub doesn\u2019t have that same luxury. Some key characters aside, Hasbro nailed down modern versions of many Classic Joes at retail years ago. And while some of those figures simply aren\u2019t as good as the more recent fare, I have Bazooka, Shipwreck, Lifeline, etc. The Club even took out some huge holes with their membership figures \u2013 Dial-Tone, Footloose, and almost Iceberg. That leaves the subscription in a bit of lurch at times. They do some great classic Joe updates, but they have to farm the other eras too. Which honestly is great. Those eras have their fans! I love that MOTUC has been as inclusive as it can be with the various eras, shows, and concept characters. I want that in MOTUC and I think it should be the same for G.I. Joe. I also want to love G.I. Joe the same way, but for some reason, I\u2019m having trouble. And it makes me again wonder if I will sign up for FSS 3.0 should there be one. <\/p>\n

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What helps though is a figure like this one; something intensely cool like Bombardier. I kinda fall in love with what the FSS can do all over again. On the surface, Bombardier should be a pretty run of the mill figure. He\u2019s a Flash repaint that\u2019s not Grand Slam. He\u2019s a third guy using all the same parts. While that particular area is actually a problem (We’ll get to that), it\u2019s the toy history that first draws me to Bombardier. <\/p>\n

Some of you may remember, collecting toys before the internet was funny. You had to rely on magazines for month\u2019s old Toy Fair pics or use the classifieds in the back to find harder to get items. (Yep, no eBay! My parents ordered a super rare TNG Thomas Riker figure out of the back of a Lee’s). If you wanted specific info that wasn’t covered in a magazine pullout or, occasionally a book, you\u2019d have to track down another collector… by mail. It seems like the Dark Ages now, but it was really just the 90s. It was during that time that a collector in Florida ran across Bombardier. The figure was already quite a few years old by then, but no one knew who he was, where he came from, if he was official, anything. It was just this funky colored Flash. And that would be the case for nearly another decade until another collector found a second funky-colored Flash in England. <\/p>\n

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The UK-based Palitoy Company had a popular figure line in the 80s called Action Force. These guys were mostly 5 POA figures, but Palitoy licensed Joe Molds to make the more articulated vehicle drivers. Cobra Commander became the Red Laser for example. Or, more confusing, Snake Eyes became Stalker. Bombardier, it turns out, was likely planned to be included, but was scrapped, leaving just these two prototypes, one finding its way into the hands of a collector years later and starting off the whole mystery. I\u2019m probably not explaining it well, but if you\u2019re into toy history \u2013 it\u2019s fascinating. <\/p>\n

So much so, that it makes me want to keep a repaint figure in my collection some thirty years after the fact. A repaint of a figure that I already sold off twice in two other color schemes. Doh. What really helps is the card bio I think. Some fun tidbits like Bombardier\u2019s real name being an amalgamation of the two collectors who discovered him and who he is, but also his back story \u2013 it\u2019s crazy in a world of crazy bios: <\/p>\n

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That story helps breathe some life into the figure which I have to admit is needed, since a straight-up Flash repaint is\u2026 well, it is what it is. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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I get the position the Club is in sometimes. When you\u2019re doing these subs, you need figures that aren\u2019t going to require a lot of tooling to offset the ones that do. It makes sense, but I think that can sometimes lead to missing opportunities where new tooling would\u2019ve gone a long way. Bombardier is a great example of this. There\u2019s not a lot the club could do \u2013 the figure itself needs to use Flash as a base to get the detail right, I understand that. So I\u2019ll take the skinny legs and the funky ankles, but I just can\u2019t get past the head. Individual Joes just need unique head sculpts. Hasbro has this problem too \u2013 Cutter, Leatherneck, & Gung Ho are triplets. Duke has a twin in the greenshirts and Hasbro already did this exact thing when they made Grand Slam. It\u2019s cute, it\u2019s nostalgic, but nostalgia can have a breaking point. For me, reusing heads is definitely it. This is Flash in Bombardier\u2019s gear and that does take away from the figure a little more than it should. <\/p>\n

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The other place where the body reuse does hurt Bombardier is in the articulation. The articulation is where newer Joes own their elder, 25th Anniversary brethren, and that is evident here. We have limited range on the ball-neck, ball-elbows, and ball-ankles. Just those three areas right there limit what you can do with the figure a bit, particularly deep poses and holding the included rifles with both hands. <\/p>\n

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Bombardier included a nice complement of accessories: helmet with visor, a stand, two rifles, and a mobile missile launcher. The two rifles are nice inclusions for some extra gear, but I can\u2019t really pose him with both. Heck, even just giving him one is unintentionally funny because they’re kinda huge. And then the missile launcher. I have to laugh, because this is one those annoying oversized \u201cworking\u201d missile launchers that were included with the Rise of Cobra movie figures. To this one\u2019s credit, it more of a robot\/drone that can roll around on its own \u2013 that makes a bit more sense than having those giant shoulder cannons with tiny handles. It\u2019s a nice little addition and were I to have room for it, I would probably display it with Bombardier. <\/p>\n

The helmet and visor he will keep of course. It helps hide the fact he\u2019s Flash \u2013 even though Flash & Grand Slam have the same piece. I do like the blue on the visor this time around though. That helps make it pop and works great with the other colors. And, hey, there\u2019s a stand! It\u2019s grey instead of silver like the other \u201cInternational\u201d Joes. Not sure why. Who wants things to match?<\/p>\n

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Overall, Bombardier is an okay figure. He\u2019s got some fun colors, almost a little bit more space-themed than battlefield-themed, but it works. He looked neat when I first ran across the pics of the original discovery and it works again on this repaint. What’s better is the new back story and the accessories that help flesh him out into his own character. If only he could\u2019ve had his own, new face to go along with it. While I\u2019m hesitant subscriber, I guess I still am one. I will likely re-up for a 3.0, but I wish I could counsel the club against using some of these earlier molds from the 25th Anniversary line. I know they\u2019re limited in what they can use or what Hasbro will let them use. And in Bombardier\u2019s case, choices were even narrower, but a few new pieces or even some workable part swaps could\u2019ve fixed some of the issues the original faced and could\u2019ve knocked this guy out of the park. <\/p>\n

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More G.I. Joe Reviews:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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For all our Reviews, check out our
\n Review Index<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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