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08-15-2009, 03:41 AM | #1 |
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I have officially lost my mind now and joined the ranks of Joe collectors. Maybe when I start college back again next week my psychiatrist can get me on some good meds to fix the issue. I went to Target's Joe sale and picked up a PIT HQ (too bad it wasn't on sale), a RHINO, a few more figures, and a few smaller vehicles. I am still pretty new here and many don't know me so bare with me on this. I mainly want to get some feedback from other collectors on this item to see if they have the same issues I do with it.
First off, it has been so long since I have collected these toys I can't recall much about their quality, so I have nothing to compare them to. As far as the figures go I would say they have much better details than the older ones. Also after watching the movie a lot of the toy line makes much more sense, aka Cobra Commander’s syringe with the green liquid in it ; ). A lot of accessories are pulled from scenes in the movie. It especially helped knowing that the PIT actually moves into a cave like structure to assemble into its base. Overall I think it’s a pretty cool play set. I guess I would enjoy it more if I hadn't lost my imagination and I was a kid again. Hopefully in 25 years this will be worth at least twice as much as I paid, but I doubt it. Ok on to the issues I have had with it... 1. The Hawk figure that comes with this just seems a bit off to me for some reason compared to the Attack on the PIT version. Maybe something in the head sculpt or it’s because his legs bend at the knees too far forward giving the appearance that he is a stork. The coffee mug is a nice touch as are the several guns that he comes with, but I still like the other version better. 2. The command center computer station is a nice feature. The voice activation buttons have a variety of sounds. I only wish they had included the theme song from the cartoon on one of the buttons. The only thing I don't like about it is that there is no seat like the Mobile Command Center had to sit at the computer terminal. When a figure is placed in front of the console on the peg given they just look too tall. Their hands can’t even reach the keyboard. Posing the figure in a sitting position makes it look a little better but then he is sitting in mid-air which is ridiculous. Also I have noticed that the computer piece that goes with this part seems to slide its way up out of its fitting. Perhaps it’s just the way my piece is molded. 3. The storage area for weapons is nice but they left a tiny space in between where the molded slots are for the weapons. Good luck getting a nanomite canister out of there unless you have tiny fingers, which I do and it was still a pain. It looks like they could have just filled in this area as it is really too small to do much with it and it’s very hard to get anything out. 4. The jail area is a nice touch, although I am not sure why you would drop them from the top into it. That would be a fatal fall if it’s the same height as in the movie. Perhaps it’s used with some of the grappling hooks the figures have to stage a prison break. Either way it is pretty cool. I just wish they had made the door larger as the only figure that would look good in their would be an ewok or maybe Yoda. The door is so short you can only see the figure from the chest down if they are standing. Not sure what they were thinking on this one as the manual shows a figure fitting perfectly. 5. The breakaway wall is a nice touch and fits with the movie. If you haven't seen it yet, there is one scene where the mole pods break through the cave walls and invade the PIT. This looks nice with one of the vehicles breaking through. 6. The other side with the breakaway bunks is nice also. After realizing that this is an underground base I don't feel like the Joes are sleeping on the outside of the base anymore as the entire thing is open in a cave and this is just one part of it. However my PIT has an awfully wobbly hinge joint on this part. Also only one side of the clips that keep it in storage mode seem to catch. So if this one rubs down I am not sure there will be anything to hold it in place. The locker area is nice too but it isn't really functional enough to be used as a weapons storage area as I have heard in other reviews. There just isn't enough depth near the bottom to keep the weapons from falling out. The second bunk has a shelf under it similar to the locker but there is no door to hold the weapons in. Not sure why they didn't add this shelf to the locker. 7. When in mobile mode, the ground effects on it hinder the movement of the wheels. When on a flat table top the wheels just slide and don't roll freely at all. I can only assume on carpet they may roll better, but it will still drag the ground effects. There is plenty of space between the axel and bottom of the vehicle so I am not sure why they didn't move the axels down lower to prevent drag. Also another disappointing feature is that only the front and rear sets of wheels turn. The middle two sets are not functional. 8. The elevator is pointless on this base. For one it is very flimsy, only held on by its plastic hinge, and doesn't stay flat when there are no figures on it weighing it down. Also it doesn't go all the way to the top where the trap doors are and it doesn't go all the way to the bottom either. It stops mid way on the jail door. Perhaps it would go down further with some pressure but would only loosen the entire thing even further than it is now. With a Joe on the platform they only come up to their waist when at the top position. 9. The ramp on the top works nicely, although a bit flimsy, and is the perfect height if you have a coffee table to drive vehicles off of onto the play set. It reminds me of the old bridge layer vehicle. It also has two extension rails that come out to make the bridge slightly longer. The helicopter platform seems pretty small but perhaps would work with the chopper that came with the RHINO. I am not sure as I haven't opened it yet. I just seem to recall the vehicles I had were much larger and cheaper back in the 80’s. But then again it could be because I was a lot smaller back then lol. In either case there isn't much room for a landing. The added accessories are a nice touch with the spot lights (useful for finding your way around a cave to find a building site), the guns and the antennas. I don't however like the one big antennae mainly because the weight of the center piece keeps making the whole thing fall down when you try and position it up in the air. I would have liked it better if it was pointing up at an angle and it not have a movable joint on it. The rails are also nice although the back ones are miniature and don't really serve any purpose other than looks. 10. Transforming it is pretty hassle free and is a fun feature. It seems to support itself pretty well when in base mode although the center support wobbles a bit when shaken. 11. Some people have had negative comments about the tons of decals this base comes with, but since I am a perfectionist this is one of the features I like the most. I really enjoy carefully placing the decals on these vehicles. There are lots of nice nostalgic decals for the fans like a Scarlett calendar, Bazooka's jersey, and several posters of classic vehicles. And no vehicle would be complete without a "Knowing Is Half The Battle" decal. 12. The worst part of this play set is the cardboard pieces that it comes with. I was really excited about getting a ping pong table with this, but this is just utter crap. The paddles are molded plastic so why couldn't the table have been too? Also you can only view the table from the front as the rear of it is just brown cardboard. One of the legs of my table had impact damage from where it was boxed up. Also these things don't fit together well at all. I am going to have to take an exacto knife and cut out slots for the parts to fit together. Take warning if you try to fit these pieces together as is, more than likely the cardboard will bend and ruin the entire piece. I assume the other boxes and such will need to be trimmed as well. As for the pieces that go near the breakaway way, these are utter crap as well. For the price of this thing they didn't need to add anything cardboard at all. Overall it’s a pretty nice vehicle/base. It brought back those warm fuzzy feelings of being a kid on Christmas day opening my presents. Putting the hundreds of decals on this brought back the love I had of G.I. Joe as a kid. I have owed the USS Flag, the Mobile Command Center, and the Cobra Terror Drone and I don't think the PIT even comes close to these. I would much rather have the MCC than this. This is, however, a nice piece for collectors, especially someone like me who is new to this and has limited items available to choose from at retail stores, but I am not sure how long the flimsiness of it would stand up to children’s play. The price tag on this piece is way too much and would be reasonable around $50-60, maybe. I will however keep it and plan to use it as my first diorama to place all my figures on. It will make an awesome display, but you probably don’t want to show it to your adult friends or any females lol. I give this play set a 5/10 mainly because of price and the problems described above. After seeing the movie again this weekend and after playing through the PS3 game (It features the PIT in mobile mode : D) I may bump my score up to a 6/10. The ping pong table just really disappoints! >< So now you know, and KNOWING IS HALF THE BATTLE! YO JOE! Last edited by 78Coolbreeze; 08-15-2009 at 03:44 AM.. |
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08-15-2009, 04:03 AM | #2 |
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Ubiquitous.. this thread is useless without pics!!!!
But nice review
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08-15-2009, 04:13 AM | #3 |
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Well I could take pics but I figure that most of you die hard fans have already seen most of what the play set looks like. I guess I could photo some of the problem areas but I am not sure how to post pics on here ... newbie and all lol. Maybe once I get all the decals on I will give it a try.
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08-15-2009, 04:38 AM | #4 |
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Great in depth review, sounds like i'll just keep my Flagg, Terror drome and MCC and forget they even made this so called pit thing that rolls. I think after I watched the movie I was even more bummed that they didn't make a pit that was like in the movie and didn't roll. Of course I was really disappointed when I found out the ping-pong table was cardboard too! Oh well the hummer is good at least out of this line!
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08-15-2009, 04:53 AM | #5 |
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Yeah the Hummer is awesome. It was the first item that got me started on this whole collection. Overall I like most of the figures, although I could do without the spring loaded weapons in each of them lol.
SPOILER ALERT!! TURN BACK NOW! I just rented the PS3 Joe game and for the most part it's pretty cool. The lack of camera control can be a pain but thats about the only major flaw other than the outdated graphics. But considering this is the only decent Joe game in about the past 10-20 years it's worth checking out. It takes up where the movie left off. And if you are a die hard fan you can probably guess what comes next. Thats right ... M.A.S.S. I just got through watching the 1st season DVD of the cartoon so I can't wait to see where to the story line goes. Hopefully now that Paramont has given them the green light on a sequel, it too will focus on the M.A.S.S. device. Can't wait! |
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08-15-2009, 05:00 AM | #6 |
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Quote:
Really....how can you not see this?? If you want the Pit from the movie (and not one that 'rolls'), don't fold it up. It's the same thing.
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08-15-2009, 05:07 AM | #7 |
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Well technically if you are following the continuity of the movie with the video game that follows it, the PIT from the movie actually packs up and rolls out to the Artic where the games starts off. This actually made me appreciate it a bit more seeing it in action. And technically the real PIT from the comics was stationed in the US under some chaplin's building. I am pretty sure it didn't roll though. Either way, I just listened to the interview with Lary Hamma posted on the home page here and even he said he didn't care about continuity, he just made it all up as he went along lol.
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08-15-2009, 05:13 AM | #8 |
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Quote:
Well technically if you are following the continuity of the movie with the video game that follows it, the PIT from the movie actually packs up and rolls out to the Artic where the games starts off. This actually made me appreciate it a bit more seeing it in action. And technically the real PIT from the comics was stationed in the US under some chaplin's building. I am pretty sure it didn't roll though. Either way, I just listened to the interview with Lary Hamma posted on the home page here and even he said he didn't care about continuity, he just made it all up as he went along lol.
Aye, fair enough....but that clearly was written in to fit with the marketing. The game continuity won't amount to much when it comes time to write the next sequel....any more than any other game tie in (Matrix excluded...) has. It's all about marketing. PS: I just knew someone was going to piss on my tirade with that little tidbit. hahaha.
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08-15-2009, 12:29 PM | #9 |
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Nah ... wasn't trying to piss on anything. There are a lot of continuity issues in the Joe Verse. Wasn't Ripcord a white guy? And I am pretty sure Dial Tone from the video game was not a female. Oh well, you can't stop things from changing. I actually like the PIT concept but I just can't understand how they find a cave that big to park in. How big would the entrance have to be and how convienent would it be to drive right in?
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08-15-2009, 12:34 PM | #10 |
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I hate almost everything about RoC, yet I like the Pit.
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