Zombie Initiative review
 

2014 Zombie Initiative Set

The 2014 G.I. Joe Convention set this year is called Zombie Initiative. Composed mostly of the 1990 Eco Warriors the is an ideal set for those who collected G.I. Joe during the 90s. The set includes 15 figures, a comic book, 50 years of G.I. Joe pin and certificate of authenticity.

E.C.O. Force Commander
Flint

Flint has been reinstated as commander of E.C.O. (Emergency Chemical Operations) Force. Flint was the original leader of the Eco Warriors in 1991*, this is a pretty good update of Dashiell Faireborn. I was a huge fan of Eco Warriors always liked the characters and am now glad to see the goofyness has worn off and has matured over the years. Flint includes a removable vest, beret, helmet, anti compound Z cannon, shotgun and battle stand.

*http://www.yojoe.com/action/91/flint3.shtml

Toxo-Viper Commander
Repulsor

Repulsor is in charge of security for Cobra Industries. Once a former Sludge-Viper* Repulsor leads his Toxo-Vipers into battle for Cesspool. Repulsor includes removable helmet, vest, belt, pistol, shotgun and compound Z tank, hose and gun. Repulsor also includes Dawg his trusty pit bull, both are inseparable. Due to an unfortunate accident Dawg was wounded in battle with the Steel Brigade Commander. Repulsor used compound Z to revive Dawg as his "undead" counterpart. Dawg is a newly sculpted animal/pet for this set.

*http://www.yojoe.com/action/91/sludgeviper.shtml

E.C.O. Force Technician
David "Ozone" Kunitz

Ozone was another member of E.C.O. Force or Eco Warriors back in 1991*. He specialized in neutralizing the atmospheric dispersal of toxins and other harmful chemicals as well as the inspection and identification of health hazards that effect the environment. Ozone includes a removable helmet, web gear, pistol, respirator mask of Z Positive, atmospheric sniffer, hose and back pack. Due to his colors of his uniform I made him the official driver of the Eco Striker and he looks pretty darn good driving it.

*http://www.yojoe.com/action/91/ozone.shtml

Cobra Industries Technicians
Cobra Lab-Rats

Cobra Lab-Rats are Cobra Troopers that have gain status by showing great interest in chemical and other scientific research. They are the generic scientists who are responsible for all the diabolical experiments Cobra has cooked up. Including Compound Z. I am glad we have someone other then Dr. Venom and Dr. Mindbender to do Cobra's scientific research. The set includes two Lab- Rats each comes with a Compound Z injector, Battle Stand, brief case with 3 Compound Z canisters and portable data pad. The Lab-Rats are some of my favorite characters in this set.

I like almost all this set!
 

Ozone has a great headsculpt!

E.C.O. Force Engineer
Daniel "Clean-Sweep" Price

Resembling the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant operators from the Simpson's Clean-Sweep was part of the original Eco Warriors team in 1991*. Clean-Sweep includes a removable hood, battle stand, a brief case with flip up computer screen and MP5 sub machine gun for quick access. Clean-Sweep also includes his Z Positive cannon.

*http://www.yojoe.com/action/91/cleansweep.shtml

Hostile Environmental Troopers
Toxo-Vipers

The 1991* Toxo-Viper was one of my favorite Cobra troopers I had growing up. I never had the original Toxo-Viper so I was more then happy to own the version 2. Sacrificing the more bulky, air tight solvent resistant suits the Toxo-Vipers are advised to get in and get the job done as quick as possible to avoid exposure. The Toxo-Viper includes a removable mask and belt, battle stand, sub machine gun, pistol, detailed air tank and spring action launcher with one Compound Z projectile.

* http://www.yojoe.com/action/91/toxoviper2.shtml

Survivalist
Stuart "Outback" Selkirk

First released in 1987* as the GI Joe teams survival instructor, Outback was actually going to be part of Eco Warriors in 1993**. Sadly he and the other Eco Warrior figure Snow Storm were both carded in Battle Corps packaging as the Eco Warriors line was cancelled. Outback featured a marbleized coating of neon paint on his pants just before he was repainted in standard tan to suit the Battle Corps*** line better. The convention exclusive pays tribute more so to the 1987 version however is decked out in a more rugged uniform. Outback is a mesh mash of different Joe parts mostly from the Pursuit of Cobra line as well as his equipment he carries. Outback includes a removable vest, backpack that holds several items including cell phone, radio antenna, water container and axe. Outback's weapons include knife, machete, sniper rifle and shotgun.

*Outback v.1
**Outback v.3
***Outback v.4

Compound Z Trooper
Toxo-Zombie

The Toxo-Zombie was part of the 1992* Eco Warriors series. They were simply Toxo-Vipers who have been exposed long term to various chemicals like plasmotox. Aside from turning into the undead the chemicals must have altered the color of the suit turning it from green and purple to a pastel Easter confection of lime green and hot pink :p This version of the Toxo-Zombie has now been exposed to the Compound Z and become a walking biological weapon. The Toxo-Zombie includes a removable belt, pistol and Compound Z IED.

*Toxo-Zombie

A repainted Clean Sweep could be a team mate for Matt Trakker in M.A.S.K.

And repainted Toxo-Vipers could be troopers for V.E.N.O.M.

box art is pretty cool. the outstretched zombie hand with exposed flesh is creepy. a 15 figure set sounds awesome. that being said, i am disappointed with the actual figures. hear me out. the box says 'zombie initiative' so i was expecting actual zombie figures and i don't really see much zombie related stuff.

i had no idea about flint's real name. curious first name. cool tommy gun. helmet and visor looks cool even in green and yellow. toxo viper commander's colors are very colorful and rainbow-ish but i actually like the combo. the visor is awesome. not liking the purple boots though. his canine companion Dawg is terrific. see now why couldn't this 15 figure set come with more zombie figures and/or animals? and i mean whole body zombies. Dawg looks bad ass. big ass abnormal eye. exposed ribs.

gotta say Ozone's color are overwhelming. too much going on in my opinion. so many colors i don't know where to look. but i still dig the color combination. it's nice that these figures have removable helmets and or separate head attachments. the respirator mask is great especially how it's transparent.

the lab rats, now that's creative name for them. lol. what's ARBCO supposed to be or stand for?

the ECO force engineers remind me of the yellow guys from the movie, Free Birds. exactly identical! i wish this figure had a different paint job because it looks so similar to flint's paint job.

the hostile environmental troopers look great! perfect use of those oversized weapons. love the bio hazard symbol on the tank backpack. the helmet design with the horns is very cool looking.

survivalist looks like he crawled straight out of The Walking Dead. he looks like he's ready to kick zombie ass and he brought everything he needs! easily my favorite figure of this set. love that he can store weapons on his backpack. love that the axe handle is painted. the jerry can storage is awesome! vest, beard, goggles, sniper rifle, machete, shot gun, this is PERFECT for a zombie warrior! all he needs now is a vehicle.

the compound z troopers look FREAKING AWESOME but why oh why couldn't hasbro exposed them just a little more??? would have been great to see exposed flesh, chest, etc. really love the cracked helmet exposing half of the face and that creepy face! i wish the troopers would have had variant flesh exposed instead of all 3 looking identical.

where's my eco striker?!

ARBCO is an anagram for Cobra in the Marvel Comics series. It was Cobra Commander's own private business venture shipping goods and weapons.

I would very much like to see those :)

Security Force Leader
Steel Brigade Commander

The Steel Brigade Commander is just a variant of the Steel Brigade mail away figure of the 80s and 90s*. Steel Brigade aloud a person to create a character simple by filling out a personality survey and sending it off along with a few dollars and some flag points. In the convention comic this Steel Brigade Commander aided in the battle along with E.C.O. Force stop Compound Z from spreading through an entire city. The Steel Brigade Commander includes removable helmet, bandolier and vest. Weapons include assault rifle w/ bayonet, two gray rifles (mine was suppose to include a shotgun), pistol w/ silencer, knife, rocket launcher with Z positive warhead. Also included was a green backpack with gold painted shovel. Take special care in not removing the paint as it is still sticky on my figure.

*Steel Brigade Commander

Ninja Commando
T'JBang

The odd ball of the group is of course T'JBang who was part of the Ninja Force in 1992*. I think Hasbro and the G.I. Joe Club is trying real hard to get these figures in plastic. We already saw Storm Shadow and T'Gin' Zu at Dollar General. The Joe Club has already released Dice and soon Slice if we see the others down the road wait and see. T'JBang aids E.C.O. Force and Steel Brigade in eliminating the Zombie threat using traditional weapons to do so. T'JBang includes removable chest piece, gauntlets, a yellow backpack, two hooked swords, sicle and chain and a crossbow.

*T'JBang

T'Jbang!
 

T'Jbang is awesome!

Eco Striker

The Eco Striker is this years incentive vehicle that came with the convention set, its a repaint of the G.I. Joe Retaliation Ninja Commando 4X4. The Eco Striker first appeared in 1992* as the G.I. Joe Eco Warriors personal mode of transportation. It features a huge water cannon mounted on the top and was a repaint of the 1985 AWE Striker. The convention Eco Striker features a grappling hook launcher, movable front wheel steering, rear wheel suspension and room to hold up to six figures.

*eco striker

Septic Tank

One convention exclusive vehicle was the Septic Tank. Used to transport Cesspools noxcious Toxo-Vipers the Septic Tank was a repaint of the 2005 Cobra Hiss Tank. Originally it was released in 1991* the Septic Tank used the 1983 Hiss body with a water cannon as the main weapon. The convention Septic Tank features 4 spring action missile launchers that fires 8 Compound Z rockets. The tank also features removable twin laser cannons, opening canopy, rotating turret and elevating cannons. The Septic Tank has room for 5 and 3 figures can comfortably fit in the back, also the side panels open to remove or place your figures. Perfect update for the vintage tank.

*septic tank

that's cool that back in the day you could get a free figure by sending flag points and a little $. really like the Z decal on the warhead of the Steel Brigade Cmdr. the paint on the helmet visor is nice. the black visor looks cool. i do wish that shovel was removable. well at least they painted it but honestly i would have preferred a different color. the gold is too sparkly and shiny. and it's like a glitter gold axe. without his helmet, the cmdr looks like firefly.

i'm surprised t'jbang is a good guy. i thought he was part of cobra. his colors are funky. really like the mix of yellow, black, and blue. the partial mask looks cool. also like that it's not just yellow but also includes black stripes. i like that the knee pads and shins have little details. the gauntlets are cool. he'll need them in case zombies try to bite his forearms. the book bag is cool cause it holds the swords but the way it stores them is not realistic or believable. a different backpack would have been better. the one included is too ordinary looking.

that jeep looks great. very large, 4 doors, missile launchers, and 4 seats. the colors are also good.

there have been countless repaints of the awe striker. this is one of those cases where this repaint is actually nice. it's an updated version of the original eco striker and i really like those bright neon colors. i also like the decals especially on the sides. the red decal compliments well the sky blue, yellow, and black. glad to see that the water cannon was replaced by a grappling hook launcher.

the septic tank looks great. i'm glad they stuck with that canopy cause i didn't like the canopy from the original septic tank. i like that it has lots of missiles and launchers. do wish the treads moved. this is a fantastic tank i hear. lots of room and very large.