Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0

What the hell?

We are having a HissTank Q/A, with Larry Hama!

The 2nd Iron Monger figure with opening helmet/cockpit is out overseas, and does have full leg articulation this time around!

Those cards suck! At least the figures are cool. Honestly though, I'm not even a big fan of the artwork on the US cards. I like the originals much more. The new ones, are paint overs in photoshop. You can't see it from afar, but up close, they don't look as good as the originals. Even the new vintage-styled work for new characters isn't as good. Its like the artist got the technique down in photoshop for digital painting but forgot about color theory and the underlying form. The painted over colors look very dull compared to the much more vibrant originals.

nothing but fall off at the slightest touch.

Those are actually in scale with the gijoe figures...and some figures in the line are gijoe figures from the DTC waves. The Humvee is a retooled joe Humvee too. Snake Eyes and the Viper are packed 2 per case in the initial cases.

The new 1/60 DX VF-25s will blow those away. Then again, I think the 1/100 line(which I think is an HCMpro line), would be a much more fair comparison.

Wait......this is the first time since the mid 80's that Bandai is putting out FAST pack equipped DYRL? valkyries......

Yes I take them out of package, no I am not under 10. I had to be somewhere else and run errands, so I had time to kill between places. Even if you were to open the Viper package at home, the goggles might still fall off, remain in the bubble, and be discarded on accident. The goggles are not secure at all. Or they could fall into the carpet and accidentally vacuumed. Everyone complained about the first wave figures, and their inability to hold their weapons securely. This is far worse. Made even worse because the goggles are tiny.

Thanks man! I've been itching for this wave, for MONTHS. Having no new anniversary joes to buy felt weird. Same here, I love that plane! My neighbor broke mine years ago. I'd love to have another one. The sticker designs were awesome, and the pilot was very fitting for the plane, his personality was perfect for it. The way I look at it, for a stealth fighter, who would want the Thunderwing over that? Best stealth fighter for the joes EVER! Now that I think of it, it was like the joe's version of the Night Raven(aside the Sky Raven).

Prime, Megatron, JRX, Black Convoy and the car robots don't need do-overs, but the ninja spychanger brothers sure do! As for G2, G2 tank Megatron is at the top of my list for a do-over with full articulation and less bright colors this time around.

Start checking your Targets guys, wave 7 is OUT in the east coast! I saw them myself this morning, but the store I went to only got 1 case in. I am very impressed by Wild Bill and Snake Eyes. Wild Bill shares a mold with Ace but its way better on Wild Bill. I believe David suggested that the mold may have been meant for Wild Bill all along, and I think this is true. His vest gets in the way of his arms, so he can't bring them inwards too his chest as much, but he can still manage some good gunslinging poses. Snake Eyes in this wave screams commando more than any other version thus far in the anniversary wave. From what I can tell he is comprised of completely new parts, even his old weapons and backpack weren't reused, the ones included look all new to me. Mobility is GREAT, far better than the other anniversary SE figures, and his night goggles are pegged into the side of his head, and can swivel downwards or removed. The silenced uzi can hook onto a strap that is on his shoulder. Also, rather than being molded in grey, he has a gloss black paint job, and this looks great in person. Aside nostalgia reasons, I don't see why anyone would like the vintage version over this figure. In 2000, there was a repaint of the vintage version in Ninja force colors(but that time around it was mettalic blue and black as opposed to bright blue) and a painted flag on the right thigh. If this figure is repainted in that paint scheme, it would be worth picking up too. If you have yet to pick Snake Eyes, don't want too many, and only want 1, make it the wave 7 Snake Eyes. I have 6 anniversary versions of Snake Eyes so far, and by far, the wave 7 one is the best. I would rank the SE's I own from the anniversary line like this: 1-Wave 7 SE 2-Wave 3 comic pack Battle damaged SE 3-wave 1 SE 4-Red Ninja battle pack SE 5-wave 5 black SE 6-battle pack joe set SE Spirit is a solid figure but disssapointing. He has the same awkward gun holding syndrome that the comic pack Crimson Guard figure had. At least his eagle can perch on his right arm well. The head sculpt sits too low, and overall as much as I like most of his parts are seperate molds, it hurts the look, as the parts of his costume look too bulky. HISS driver serves his purpose of fitting into the HISS without trouble. However he is molded in red plastic that looks cheap. The Viper is great, but his hands will irritate some of you. They are at an outwards angle and while he can hold his rifle well with his right hand, his left hand at best, is good for holding the underside of the rifle or grenade launcher. Oh and his goggles? Yea, they will piss all of you off. Not only do they not fit over his visor, they fall off at the slightest moment. All of you who are planning to open this figure, BE CAREFUL WITH THE GOGGLES!. Mine fell in my car and it took me a long while to find it. The goggles are not secure at all, and would have benefitted from a secure connection like a peg. Other than that, this figure blows away the vintage Viper. Anyways, hope you guys find this wave soon. In my opinion this is the best wave, even topping wave 5.

I love MP Starscream. Seeing how well that came out makes me wish Takara also made valkyries. I am sure Bandai's offerings will be good.

Thats a mid-sized vehicle, and will be $14.99, the black HISS with Rip-It will be the same price. There are smaller vehicles in 2 packs for the same price, the same assortment that has Serpentor's Air Chariot and the Trouble Bubble. We are also getting a Cobra Stinger and C.L.A.W. Destro's DOMINATOR needs to be rereleased, that vehicle was awesome. Not sure if I posted this here yet, but a Firebat is rumored for release too. It was listed along with the SHARC and in the same assortment. Now that the SHARC in white has been revealed in the gijoeclub newsletter, I think the Firebat listing is actually legit.

True. The Mamba is the most menacing helicopter I have ever seen. If it were in Rambo III in place of the HIND, I'm sure Rambo's head would have just exploded by looking at it. Gyro Viper was one of the Vipers that didn't look cool, a mishmash of TARGAT and Night Viper would have been far better. At least Interrogator looked cool.

You weren't missing much, the one I got had absolutely horrible quality control. Maybe its mold degradation, or I got a total lemon, but I was extremely disappointed with mine. I had the one with Beach Head and Flint. So bad that the opening missle compartment in the front did not work well at all, one of the holes for a "cockpit" up front was not drilled in at all, and that mechanism on the bottom to fold out the 2 contraptions with fins did not work right at all. I was honestly surprised when I put this one together. Looks and plays great if you can find one that is stable. I have a good feeling the originals were far more sturdier. True, I'd definitely pick one up granted they fix it up if they ever plan to reissue it again. I agree on that, but only with the original RAH vehicles, the DTC vehicles, and very few of the vehicles between 2002-2005. The Night Attack Chopper was brilliant. The DTC RHINO, and ROCC are excellent. The Thunderwing.....my god did that thing suffer for the gimmick! Its a bloated 2 seater F-22....and could have looked a lot better without its bomb dropping gimmick, missle launchers, and sights. The older vehicles dealt with proportions much better. Like the Mamba. THAT is the ultimate Cobra helicopter

Oh yea, the White SHARC with Deep Six was shown too.

Agreed! Plus the WHALE, Mamba, Night Raven, Hurricane, Condor Z-95, Ghost striker, and of course, Skystriker!

Yeah, after looking at that comparison picture, the 1/48 is lacking, especially in battroid mode.

The newest vehicle is the...... CONQUEST X-30!

Who cares, the character design wasn't too bad, but the toy sucked. This time around the toy has hopes of turning out great, and thats what most of us here care about. Something like a character receiving a much better toy years later doesn't upset us, unlike having a character long awaited and expected that turns out to be an expensive con exclusive that a good number of fans cannot have. Now if they are going to give him a do-over, they should redo Armada leader Prime, Starscream, and Megatron. All 3 had compromised toys(leader, maxcon, ultra con or whatever the hell those sizeclasses were), yet great character designs. Not to mention they are incarnations of timeless fan favorites who have brand recognition, more so than Hot Shot. I like the concept of fan favorite characters having all new toys for the 25th anniversary. Looks like Hasbro is doing for Transformers, what they did for G.I. Joe last year.

Flash and IG Destro are rather elusive. It took me a long time to find IG Destro, and I found mine at Kmart of all places. I am itching to find wave 7, but after what seemed like an eternity trying to find waves 5 and 6, I am waiting a while before actively looking. Finding waves 5/6 was a waste of time, and gas. I love the thrill of the hunt, which motivates me to wait for retail release, but with this line its a pain.

After years, we finally get an Ultra Magnus not compromised in either mode for a combining gimmick! Fully articulated, and with good proportions too. The Animated figure I look forward to most is Earth Megatron, but this might change once Magnus hits retail. Silverbolt's alt mode reminds me so much of the Night Raven...I dub it the WHITE RAVEN! In my Classicsverse he is a high speed interceptor/stratobomber The release date for the Target exclusive Universe comic 2 packs is 11/23/08. Damn thats a long wait!

Wave 7 is out, first sighting is in Northern California

I am going to wait until Hasbro releases battle mask versions of Bumblebee and Sentinel Prime. Its possible that they might, we all know how they make retools/repaints at least once for each mold. I love Silverbolt's alt mode, but his robot mode to me is lacking. It looks exactly like the G1 version with wings shoved on his back. I don't hate it, but its also not my favorite robot mode. I dig the homage, but think the wings could be folded, or something to at least bulk him up. If he was bulkier in that mode, it wouldn't look so bad. I am glad we have more autobot jets in Classics. Another character that is more popular, and better than Acid Storm in regards to making a seeker mold repaint is Air Raid. Hell the aerialbot leader is already in one wave, so theres recognition right there! I don't care make the variant Thundercracker OOOoooOOooOoooooOOo 2 birds with one stone! Want a Classics Ratchet, love that we are getting IDW inspired Ironhide, Sunstreaker, Bluestreak, Prowl and Sideswipe. Roadbuster is a good repaint, and the Target comic packs basically save you $10. Now the big question, Blades or Springer pack? AH!