Ok. Just watched parChute drop. Here is the panel update.
Kirk & Greg from hasbro (original 80s team).
Kirk talked about early 90s and all the aborted movie attempts. (live action)
- 1992 saw two attempted scripts a few months apart. Second script basically added to first and changed a few points. Lots of recognizable characters.
- funny note. First script had all realistic vehicles except for the Cobra Pogo?!!
- later movie would have had planned toys for Pitt, new Terrordrome and flying fortress.
- new terrordrome would have had trees that turned into cannons?!
- last script in 94 would have had no recognizable Joes.
- idea was knights of round table. Keep getting reincarnated into new generations of teams. Ie: Texas rangers, ww2 soldiers, near future Joe team?! Needless to say it was a quickly crushed idea.
Greg
- Heavy Metal was based on him.
- ideas started in 1980
- used "rough truck" line as a basis to start on Joe line vehicles
- line was codename "Blast Off" before offical GI Joe
- responsible for Hal, Wolverine, Jump early on
- military model kits/parts influenced early designs
-APC originally didn't have a gun. Like many toys, final features added during presentation meetings
- tomahawk went through about 20-25 design sketches before final design
- JUST SAW LARRY HAMA!!
- Mauler was born out of rough trucks designs
- unmade toys shown: Swedish based bomber jet, another Hammer with Equalizer turret/missile rack, Joe battle train
- Swedish jet was based on Vigen??! Had intrnal bomb bay that could really drop bombs and "turkey feathered engine" that would close up to simulate afterburn
- train was last "big" toy attempt, but line was shrinking. And too costly.
- would have actually worked on track and was meant to be a compliment to a Cobra mountain playset.
- would have circled cobra mountain on the track and fought each other.
- caboose his a scout car, tanker opened into missile launcher, thunderclaps stupendous cannon and then engine
- USS Flagg was originally ten feet long and bridge tower couldn't be removed
- again presentation meeting shortened it and made bridge removable
- stated by Kirk that inital molding for train was $250,000 to get production
Just saw someone with a HATE set!!
I have pics of the toys to post later, so be patient