| Hasbro Toy Shop G.I.Joe Cobra Logo Movie Promo Magnet Review
The background:
We've all heard about it, and some of us have been lucky enough to get hold of one without resorting to sky high prices on the secondary market. The good folks at HasbroToyShop.com have been giving out a free magnet to promote the forthcoming G.I.Joe movie. The magnet is not really "free" since you can only get one if you spend more than $20. It does, however, not add any shipping cost to your order and may in fact ship by itself if the other items in your order are not ready to go.
The build:
It's a magnet. In those terms the build is very straightforward. There is a positive side and a negative side so to speak. One side (commonly known in the industry as "the back") is able to stick to most metals like your fridge, or as has become rather common, the back of your car. "The front" has a Cobra theme design. The material and finish is similar to most any magnet available on the market. The colors are glossy black, red, and white. They are printed clearly, the red is vibrant and the black is deep. It's unclear how long the colors will hold up in the sun if you decide to put this on your car. Time will tell. The edges of the magnet are a little rough. I'm thinking it's a problem with the cutting machines. In the scanned images below you can see the rough edges around the top near the 2009. The magnet ships without any packaging. This could result in some getting scratched during shipping.
Specifics:
The magnet has a diameter of 5 inches. It is about 1/64 inches thick (though my ruler is woefully lacking in precision at this level). It is also quiet flexible - with the shape of a taco shell being about the "safe limit" of the material.
Variants:
A somewhat common variant has turned up as more and more people get their orders. The variation is an inverted design. The choice of this is somewhat strange, they could have done something much more interesting. Why not the G.I.Joe logo to go beside the Cobra logo? Maybe there will be another magnet released. No word from HTS.com about Magnet Wave 2 as yet.
Overall: 8 of 10
The magnet is good. Is it great? No. The glossy, crisp finish is very nice. It sticks to metal very well. The "Summer 2009" at the top is quite distracting. I also wish they had included some packaging for the collectors of MMOC (Mint Magnet on Card) . That being said, it's very good for a first effort. If the line continues we will probably see some very surprising new products! Keep in mind its "free!"
NOTE: the images are scanned, and any little bits or swirls of color are from the glass in my scanner (it can't be cleaned on the inside). The magnet that came with my order is actually free of any scratches or discolorations (front and back).
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Last edited by Kaisugi; 11-12-2008 at 04:16 PM..
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