With the release of the G.I. Joe Convention brochure yesterday, it would appear exclusive reveal time is in full swing. So far the G.I. Joe Collectors Club has already shown off Wreckage and has given us a rundown of the make up of both the Iron Grenadiers and the Tiger Force teams from the upcoming Peril in Paradise Convention set.
Now joining Wreckage is infamous G.I. Joe nerd Dial-Tone.
The Collectors Club does something interesting with Dial-Tone. Even fringe G.I. Joe fans seem to be aware of the Tiger Force team, which took familiar characters and added a new coat of tiger-themed paint, then re-released them on store shelves in the late 80’s. The original Tiger Force had members like Duke, Flint, Roadblock, Lifeline, Bazooka, and Recondo…but never Dial-Tone.
However, in the 2000’s, in conjunction with their Spy Troops line, Hasbro also produced runs of old school o-ring figures as Toys “R” Us Exclusives. One of those exclusive five packs was a Tiger Force pack, which featured Dial-Tone.
For the color schemes in that five pack, Hasbro took a page from their European contingent, who had also produced Tiger Force toys in the 80’s, but had chosen a much more eclectic color scheme, adding some orange and blue to the already pervasive brown, green, and yellow. Back when the Toys “R” Us pack was released, I loved that design choice. For this Convention figure update, the Collectors Club took the design queues from the Toys “R” Us pack, but simply stuck with the vintage color scheme. I will admit I’m not wild about how it turned out, but if nothing else, the look will be consistent across the whole team.
Keep watching GIJoeCon.com for the latest information, and make sure April 9 – 12 is on your calendar to take a trip to G.I. Joe Convention 2015 in Springfield, Illinois! It’s a great time.
