Snoova's Random G.I. Joe Thoughts - WHERE I'D LIKE TO SEE JOE GO

    I still remember in 1993, the time my good friend "Deathwish" told me that an announcement had been made that George Lucas was going to make the Star Wars Prequels.  This was the launching pad for him going back and collecting the original SW toys and eventually what helped catapult me back into collecting as well.  But what did this announcement mean for NEW toys?

    The toy collecting market was starting to heat up, so it was theorized that new merchandise could be on it's way.  If memory serves, I recall 3 different Star Wars lines kicking out first... Micro Machines had their miniaturized series of vehicles, Kenner released Action Masters - diecast figures, and we got Bend-Ems.  I'm sure there was more like the pewter stuff or the vinyl figures.  But these 3 were what people we knew were hunting down.  This would eventually grow into SO MUCH MORE!!!

    So let's ignore the Bend-Ems... I mean, seriously let's pretend that never happened (LOL)!  But we had miniature vehicles and diecast figures.  Which is what we have with Joes right now.  Jada has released both and I believe they have more planned.  But where does it go from here?  Yes, now we also have the retro line and the 6-inch figures, but I mean where else could we take this???  There was a moment where Star Wars exploded and splintered into multiple directions... and one of those paths, I would love to see G.I. Joe follow.

    The Star Wars Action Fleet series by Galoob was always one of my favorite series' back in the late 90's.  It began with them doing many of the starfighters in a matching scale with two mini-figures each.  This scale didn't work for everything, but it worked for most of them.  

    So what if G.I. Joe had a line similar to Action Fleet?  The main body of the series could be the vehicles that we used to get at the $10 mark...  the VAMP, HISS tank, Snow Cat, the Thunder Machine, Water Moccasin, Cobra Rage and so on.  Each one could come with 2 mini-figures.  Perhaps the Snow Cat would have Frostbite and Iceberg.  The HISS could have the HISS driver and Cobra Commander.  Maybe a few smaller jets could be included - like the Firebat, Stellar Stiletto or the Mudfighter.

    As the Star Wars Action Fleet grew, we soon had "Battle Packs".  These were smaller vehicles with about five figures that could go with it.  For Joe, you could place their smaller vehicles here - like the Polar Battle Bear, Flight Pod, Pogo, RAM Motorcycle and so on.  For Cobra, it would be a great chance to add extra army builder figures.  For example, Serpentor's Air Chariot could come with Serpentor, 2 Vipers and 2 B.A.T.s.  

    There would need to be a division for larger vehicles - like deluxe vehicles.  Star Wars didn't have this... but probably should have.  The Jawa Sandcrawler and AT-AT do not belong in the same scale as the Tie Bomber...  This would be a perfect spot for larger vehicles like the WHALE hovercraft, Morey hydrofoil and obviously the bigger jets - like the Night Raven or Skystriker.

    Last but not least, Action Fleet had playsets!!!  Star Wars had Planet Hoth and the Death Star... G.I. Joe could have the Headquarters, Tactical Battle Platform and the Terror Drome!  Make them interact with one another...  The VAMP fits in the bay of the HQ and the Firebat fits in the Terror Drome.  This interactivity is what really sold the Joe line in the past.

    Obviously, there is the advantage of repaints too...  Hasbro LOVED their repaints!!!  Go ahead, re-color the Snow Cat into the Tiger Cat, the Cobra Stun into the Python Stun and even the Cobra Stinger into the Dreadnok Ground Assault vehicle.  These could be store exclusives or whatever... just make them accessible and price friendly!!!

    I'm just thinking out loud here!  I mean, seriously, what are the chances of this happening???  Slim to none?  But there was a time my friends and I were WAITING for new Star Wars toys to come out.  After hundreds of rumors, teases and hints - they finally rolled out!  And we got steamrolled with all the new product!!!  It just makes me wonder where the toy folks could really take the Joe line...

    WHILE WE ARE IN DREAMLAND -- let's go all out!!!  Remember WAYYY back in the early 80's with the Kenner Star Wars Micro Collection?  They had "Ice Planet Hoth".  There was 4 different sets that could connect to one another and create the scenes from the movie.  You had the big Ion Cannon to the small Wampa Cave.  Here's a crazy concept...  Create Cobra Island!!!  The Terror Drome could be the main piece, then you could connect smaller pieces and put the whole freakin' island together.  The Surveillance Port, ASP gun system(s) and Cobra Bunker could be part of this.  Take some creative liberties and make Mindbender's lab, a B.A.T. factory, or a Stiletto launch site???

    A lot of the new Joe stuff, I'm not currently buying.  It's cool - I just prefer the originals!  This is an area I think I would have to collect!!  If done right, there are SO MANY possibilities.  From the original 13 Joes to Star Brigade... this could be amazing!  Again, I know there is at best, a .0000001% chance of this happening... but it's fun to dream!  

    If, in the unlikely event, someone from Hasbro reads this and wants to hire me to head up the project - let's talk!