Interestingly, they weren't in the main merchandise aisles. They were part of a cardboard shelf unit set up in one of the main walking aisles, the other half of which consisted of Teenage Michael Bayja Turtles merchandise...

I saw the two-pack with Blowtorch and the HEAT-Viper. The HEAT-Viper is very nicely done, and I have to say the prices are surprisingly reasonable, but unless you don't already have Blowtorch, it might be a tough sell. Still, I have to say I'm glad to see another "colorful" character like the HEAT-Viper join the modern collection.

They also had two of the three-packs. The one with BeachHead, Cobra Viper, and Cobra Trooper, for one. Not bad. The colors on BeachHead are just as they should be for the character, and the colors on the Cobra Viper, this grey-and-red combination with the gold visor, makes for an interesting new color scheme for the Viper, who's certainly had plenty of interesting color schemes over the years in several formats.

Then there was the set with Leatherneck, Destro, and General Hawk. I liked Leatherneck, I was very impressed with Destro, especially the new headsculpt, which seems to be derived from a combination of the original 1983 headsculpt, and the even more angular-looking 1983 card illustration. General Hawk left me a little underwhelmed.

I think this was especially unfortunate, given that General Hawk, in his 1986 uniform, was prominently featured among the character illustrations on the package back, which also presented a short but respectful salute to the 50th anniversary of G.I. Joe. And the figures even have something akin to file cards again, after that glaring omission during the Retaliation line.

On the whole, I'd call it a very good effort. Personally, I'm holding out for the set with the Arctic BAT in it.

Oh, and a collectibles shop not too far from the TRU had the SDCC set in -- not that I was going to pay THEIR price, but I was at least able to get a decent look at the package and the figures. Flint's impressive, but I really like the color scheme on the Eel. If I could ever get JUST HIM for a reasonable price, I would. Not holding my breath, though -- no diver pun intended there.

You did see the typo on the Leatherneck card, right?

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my closest store was int the middle of a reset, all they had were the Battle Below Zero

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I thought the Battle Below Zero set wasn't due out until later in the year as part of Wave 2. That's the only thing I'm waiting on from BBTS to ship my stuff.

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BBZ is showing up at retail now. Many people already have it. BBTS and TRU are also shipping pre-orders now.

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They haven't processed mine yet which is why I was asking. I'm not in any hurry, just curious.

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Like the Destro head. Would be perfect for a custom I have in mind. Hopefully someone will cast it.

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I found 3 danger at the docks set and all of the 2 packs here in Vegas...well North Las Vegas.

Actually, I noticed the format of the file cards more than the text. I'll have to check that out the next time I see that set. But that's pretty careless.

I assume the "Battle Below Zero" set is the one with the Arctic B.A.T.? I'm glad to hear it's out. That one's my priority, really.

Battle Below Zero is the Wolf/Skyhawk set, isn't it?

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Yeah, BBZ is the Wolf and Skyhawk. The 2-pack with the BAT is part of wave 2 (according to BBTS) and has not shown up for online pre-order or in stores yet (except TRU.ca had them up for a while, but removed them in the last week).

OB

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I saw the two packs in person finally. Every pack was completely crushed. They looked really bad. The figures didn't look too terrible, except that purple straight line on HEAT Viper is screwed up on all three I've seen. No vehicle sets. I was really hoping to find the arctic set at retail since BBTS hasn't gotten mine in yet and I could have saved on shipping, but it is not to be, I suppose.

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Okay, so I've got to wait a while for my Arctic B.A.T.

The packages that I saw yesterday were intact, ajaman, but the purple striping on the HEAT-Viper looked just a little off on the one that I saw. Nothing too serious. I've certainly seen worse on other toys from any number of companies, and nothing that someone with a brush, steady hand, and the right paint couldn't fix, but -- yeah, a bit annoying.

What are the MSRPs on these?

Steve

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2-packs are 14.99$
3-packs are 19.99$
VAMP sets are 29.99$
Battle Below Zero is 39.99$

Apparently, some TRUs have slightly different prices, so there may be a buck or two difference.

OB

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