The customizing class exclusive figure is a Zombie Officer as part of the Compound Z element in G.I. Joe. In 2014, the convention offered a Compound Z Initiative Box Set as a follow-up to Hasbro’s Zombie Vipers released years prior as well as reissued as a 2-pack last year. This is the second time that the convention offered a Compound Z Zombie character to attendees, and this character is based on the Nazi Officer as seen in the film Dead Snow.
Exclusive to attendees of the class only, are the head sculpt, as well as the torso. The legs and arms you needed to bring yourself and break apart a figure in order to use them. In this case, we used the arms from the red Zombie Viper, and the legs from Low Light, as both figures came in a 2-pack a couple of years ago. Most of the figure is painted, including the blue zombie skin, dark blue blood details, black hair with a brown wash, black highlights on the torso, silver deco on the legs, and black deco on the Officers hat.
G.I. JoeCon 2017 exclusives are already being listed on eBay and fans can order some of these figures now on eBay.com, and it’s very unlikely you would be able to purchase an unused head and torso for your own personal customizing. If you’re lucky, you can purchase someone else’s custom creation, and maybe even the additional weapons he comes with as added exclusives.
Once you complete your figure, two additional accessories are provided, which include an axe, and a 4-barrel shotgun. There is also a figure stand that is included, but the instructor did not have it on hand and if you are attending the class, you can pick it up from him on the dealer room floor sometime during the show.
Lastly, the instructor of the customizing class revealed that there is no G.I. Joe product planned for 2017. He also stated that there won’t be new product coming out until the new movie hits, which supposedly is going to be released next year (2018). Demand for G.I. Joe is just not what it used too be, and without an animated series or movie, Hasbro is not ready to invest on a toy line that only sells to a small market. They need a blockbuster film to back this line at the moment, and you can bet that once Hasbro does release a new toy line, it will be solely movie based. Hopefully, it will be a better offering than some of the other movie based figures and vehicles from years past. We will update on this part of the story this week, including a video interview with Hasbro’s Derryl Depriest.
Shown below are images of the Zombie Officer available to customizer class participants only! If you want one, all you can do is check eBay.
More coverage to come…
