The Joe Club Cleans Up with Eco Force Kre-Os

The GI Joe Con exclusive Kre-O set delivers some great new mini figures to the collection.

Like every year, the GI Joe Club released a slew of exclusive toys at Joe Con.  It was a good mix, with all the entries revolving around the Eco Force/ zombies theme of this year’s convention box set, but many of the items just didn’t feel worth the premium price tag, in my opinion.

One exception, though, was the new Kre-O figure pack.  For the second year in a row, the Club included a set of Kre-O minifigures on their exclusives list, and the Eco Force themed set this year is a total treat for Kre-O fans.

The set consists of seven Kre-O mini figures– we get Flint, Ozone and Clean Sweep in their Eco Force outfits, three Toxo Zombies, and the original GI Joe, Joe Colton, in his blue suit.  The lineup is fitting, and the new Kreons are very cool.

The three Eco Force members all look great, and include a decent spread of accessories.  Flint gets his beret as well as a helmet, a backpack and his trusty shotgun.  Ozone features a removable helmet and gas mask, and a backpack/ gun rig in neon green and orange, matching his vintage figure quite nicely.  Clean Sweep features a clever reuse of the ninja cowl as his hazmat hood, a green gun and an Eco Force suitcase with a brick of Cobra’s Compound Z.

The Toxo Zombies are all identical, and make smart reuse of a Transformers helmet in green to match their Cobra troops’ 90s look.  Each figure sports an exposed left arm, revealing their grey zombie-like skin, and deco to match these uniforms from the Real American Hero toy line, albeit now in blue instead of purple.  These figures also feature two-sided heads, so they can be displayed with their red face plates intact, or their zombie faces exposed.  We’ve seen lots of two-faced Lego figures, but this is  the first we’ve seen in the GI Joe Kre-O line, and it’s a fun added feature for both the zombies and Clean Sweep, whose head includes a visor on the back to fit under his hood.

Rounding out the set is Joe Colton, complete with beard and his blue suit from his first Marvel Comics appearance.  Colton comes armed to the teeth with a variety of rifles and handguns, which can clip in place on the weapons rack base he includes.  He looks cool, and fits in well among the Adventure Team Kreons we’ve seen, although I was a little bummed this figure doesn’t include the flocked hair that added so much to the charm of those retro characters.

Overall, the Joe Con offerings this year were a little underwhelming compared to the price tags, but the Kre-O set was really cool, and remains pretty affordable.  While these guys aren’t totally essential to a complete Joe Kre-O universe, they’re a very cool and welcome addition.