G. I. Joe (G. I. Joe Collector's Club: Figure Subscription Service) Black Out 2013

Professor blog: 000017 Subject: Black Out Brand of product: G. I. Joe Collector’s Club: Figure Subscription Service Original Release year: 2013

Now lets be frank. I hate this toy. He was cool for a mystery toy but when I sat down and actually looked at him. I found so many flaws in him. The first major thing that I was disappointed in was the little bullet they provided. This is the same bullet that came with Pursuit of Cobra Low Light. I put a penny next to it so you can see scale. What do you think the chances are of you losing that? If you remove it from the case, you might as well kiss that little guy good bye. The case is the easiest way to keep him in one spot. Now the next thing I hated is the sniper rifle. You actually need to try to get his hands into the holes on that. I fought my toy and almost broke it so I gave up and took a picture of it. That gun was not designed to be held in anyway it seems and having it come with a toy that is designed as a sniper is pretty low. The next thing we are looking at is that hideous art work. Now the art work for the Figure Subscription line was pretty good but this guy looks like a Muppet. It is a shame that they actually let that get produced.

I will not try and butcher this little guy anymore. He does have a few perks. He comes with some cool gear for a sniper. He has the tripod and scope for aiming, goggles, a stand, a case of bullets, and his rifle that he can’t hold. He also has a neat character design. He looks pretty cool next to his fellow Cobras. Now the funniest thing about him is that he has a crazy resemblance to Will Ferrell. I am assuming this was unintentional since Will Ferrell did not endorse the toy himself.

I would recommend this toy and not recommend this toy. He is great for collectors who want to complete their Cobra armies. He is bad for people who just want to own him. There is an extremely high chance of losing pieces and his card art is hideous. He looks good posed on a shelf so it is your call. I am happy I got him for free with my subscription but I would not recommend paying top dollar for him. Try to get him for as cheap as possible!

Background of the toy: This particular Black Out came to me in the mail as a part of the G. I. Joe Collector’s Club Figure Subscription Service. He arrived into my collection in June 2013. He has no breaks or chips and his paint looks amazing. He is complete and has all his weapons and the instructions. He is the proper color and has no damage. He originally came with Barrel Roll and T.N.T. and was considered the 13th bonus figure for subscribing.

Transformers (Generation One) Dead End 1986

Professor blog: 000016 Subject: Dead End Brand of product: Transformers (Generation One) Original Release year: 1986

And we are back with a Transformer’s (Generation One) review! I decided to do this one about a combiner. The combiner I chose to start off is Dead End himself. The good ole depressed Dead End from the 1984 cartoon series. Now this guy was one of my favorites in the show but his toy looks nothing like him. I inserted a picture of his cartoon self so everyone can see what I am talking about. I borrowed the image from Google.

Now the combiner toys were more simplistic than the other Transformers (at the time) because of them being able to combine into a bigger robot as their main gimmick. Dead End is one of the pieces to the dreaded Menasor robot. He was packaged individually and the other members were Drag Strip, Motormaster, Wild Rider and Breakdown. Now he did not come with any of the parts needed to make Menasor like the arms, feet, etc. All of those pieces came with Motormaster. The only things Dead End came with were his little gun and two pieces of his car cannon thing. He has the famous transformers rub / heat sensitive sticker on his hood too.

This toy is o.k. but it is pretty boring without the other pieces to the combiner. He can barely move his arms and his legs are fixed in one spot. When you combine him and his counterparts, you can either make him an arm or a leg. If you choose the arm, his head lowers to form a perfect ninety degree angle. This makes it to where he could attach to Motormaster and make up one of the arms. On his original card, you can see a picture of Menasor with Dead End being the left arm. One piece of advice I can give you is to not lose his little gun. That is actually the most expensive part of this toy. I do not recommend this toy UNLESS you are trying to complete Menasor. He is pretty much an ornament unless he is combined. He has little play value unless he is in vehicle mode.

Background of the toy: This particular Dead End came to me from a Craigslist seller in Metairie, Louisiana. He arrived into my collection in November 2013. He has no breaks or chips and his paint looks amazing. He is complete and has all his weapons and the instructions. He is the proper color and has no damage. He even has his original stickers applied!