Gi Joburg

Some folks out there might want to skip this one... We're tackling a subgroup that may well be the one that made GI Joe jump the shark. We are talking Ninja Force. And the opinions shared may shock you. Or amuse you. Hopefully both. We get into the art of negative reinforcement and the double bluff, courtesy of our man Psyche Out. And our definitive sculpt section deals with the first lady of GI Joe, a woman with no shortage of ninja connections, the one and only Scarlett. So check your spring action ninja moves and get ready to throw down with Slice & Dice & Everything Nice!

It's Episode 90! So we're talking the 1990's! Like duh. The neon. The spring-loaded missiles. The football lingo. We'll tackle it all. We answer the important questions like whether Low-Light should be blonde or beardy. And whether Aubrey Sitterson is winning the war on Cobra mind control...   Cowabunga Dudes.

Today we talk Toynography ("toy+photography" - let's see if it catches on...) with a master of the game: Paul Panfalone. He's a professional photographer and art director who is the man responsible for @plasticbattles. His stuff is good. Really good. Listen to the show; scroll thru his Insta; be inspired, Joburgers.

At GI Joburg, we pride ourselves on our originality. So for our 88th mission, we bring you a special on 1988! We talk the toys, the concepts, the characters. With no 'toon to back it up, who were these guys? What world called for Cobranauts, hostile environment troopers, and mutant frogmen? GI Joe was dropping big bombs and Destro was into something DEMONic. It was an interesting time.    We kick it off with our definitive Iron Grenadier picks. 'Cos, what else?

GI Joburg runs down its favourite vehicle redecos to determine the finest reuse of a classic mold. We do a definitive sculpt section on everybody's favourite redeco Viper: Mercer! There's also an unexpected guest waiting in the wings. AND it wouldn't be a GI Joburg list show without a rundown of the WORST colour schemes to ever pollute our beloved toys. Shenanigans ensue... 

PAUL. GOT. A. TERRORDROME.   So we revisit an ancient topic that's ripe for revisiting: The Big Three. Get 'em? Don't get 'em? We share some honest opinions about the Flagg, The Defiant, and the Terrordrome... now that we have all three!   Cujo calls it 'The Terrordome'. It's weird.   We also do some coverage of Cape Town's premier fan convention, with the very original name of FanCon.   Get it, Joburgers... 

E.L.E, baby.   That means "Everybody Loves Eels". Don't forget it.   It's Episode 85 and GI Joburg gets wet and wild with one of the best figures of 1985. Possibly the best figure... ever. We also get into some fanmail on the topic of Joes you'd want to have your back in the big bad jungle... and the Cobra foes that would get you quivering in your boots.      There's also a chick on the show. Oh. Yeah.

Deep dive with Stephen, Paul, Robert, and Cujo into the new live-action Ghost in the Shell 2017 movie as GI Joburg discusses everything to do with Ghost in the Shell, consciousness, cyborgs, souls, and technology gone wild. We also talk about our newest GI Joe major acquisition, and choose our definitive tech accessories and figures. And to wrap things up, we wonder how GI Joe could have been done differently if the Japanese had come up with the Real American Hero concept. Yo Joe!

Come join us in 1983 as we explore the year's selection of figures and vehicles. Find out what our favourites and least favourites are, and how Rob gets out of a burning building with more toys than Paul, Stephen, and Cujo combined. Yo Joe!

Ever wanted to meet up with three pals, assemble your troops, brief them on a perilous mission and then let the adventure begin? Yeah. Us too. But [sigh]... adulting. Well, GI Joburg is gonna bring you four missions where one of us briefs, the other assembles the troops and equipment and together we weave the plot! Don't judge. It's how grown-ups play with their action figures.   Also, Mike Zeck comes under an artist spotlight with some inside info from Cujo;   We do a righteous Postbox: The Pit section where a handful of your mail is discussed;   And our definitive sculpt section deals with none other than the Battle Android Trooper!   Awesome.

Introducing STRYDENT! An impromtu Skype call between Paul and Steve and a GI Joe super fan from the States called Ewart morphed very quickly into a GI Joe conversation worth putting into the world. We talk about what we'd do if we were calling the shots in Hasbro; the debate around being a vintage collector, modern era collector, or both; and Doctor Doom! Yep. Doctor Doom.

Battle Force: 2000. It's a broken concept. Whether it's the figure design; the characters and their representation; the vehicles; the gimmick... it's fair to say that these guys missed the mark somewhere along the line. So with the advantage of hindsight, GI Joburg undertake to fix BF2K. How can we make these toys desirable? How do we make sense of GI Joe's "Soldiers of the Future"? Is it even possible? Hit 'play'!   Also, expect much gushery over our new custom figures.   Much.

Presenting the conclusion of our MASS Device commentary! Feel free to watch along, with us in your ear, or check out what our pal Michael Mercy does with the audio on YouTube here! Yo Joe!

And here is part four! As always, dear friends you are encouraged to rewatch the first GI Joe animated miniseries with us, or you can watch the awesome YouTube presentation done by our Canadian pal, Mike Mercy here.   

Here it is! Available here and on YouTube, GI Joburg's collaboration with Mike Mercy enters it's third chapter. Get your DVD cued up because we're gonna add commentary to episode 3 of the MASS Device. Do yourself a favour and check out what Mike does with the commentary on YouTube here.  

These are so much fun, we did another one! Any reason to watch the old 'toon! So here is GI Joburg's commentary on episode 2 of The MASS Device. Watch along with us!   As if you needed an excuse...

So this Canadian fella called Mike made a USS Flagg base based on the base we built. He got a hold of us and a bromance was born. So we decided to do something new with our new friend: cartoon commentary! So pop in your DVD or find the ep on DailyMotion and watch the very first GI Joe cartoon episode with us in your ear!

Happy 2017 GI Joburg friends! We did it last year with The Force Awakens, so we guess it's a tradition now! But hey, don't we have Star Wars to thank for our beloved GI Joe toyline after all? Rogue One tops the agenda. We talk toys, the film, even a bit of conspiracy theory. Black-clad action figures feature in our definitive sculpt section. And of course, a little bit of the indomitable Carrie Fisher.   "General? To me she's royalty."

Seasons Greetings from GI Joburg! And in this Yuletime we take a break from liquor-soaked family gatherings to speak about Joes in isolation... Who is indeed the loneliest operative? Our definitive sculpt discussion kicks us off with Joe's premier survivalist, Outback. And just for kicks, we throw in our top five single seater, small vehicle list.   Enjoy in a group.   Or like Han.     Solo.

Introducing POSTBOX: THE PIT. We've recieved some terrific correspondence since we've started out. It's time we published a letters' page. This could become a regular thing. And for our definitive sculpt we're talking one-eyed soldiers. ARRRRRR. There be parallel universes, HAVOC and Cross Country appreciation, discussions of poor ol' Storm Shadow's allegiances, we talk Tombstone and the new releases... it's a furious hour and some change. Enjoy! And don't forget to write us...