G.I. Joe Classified Series (1:12)

[nacho]

The retro SE is my most anticipated figure in a while, mostly because it's the figure we should have gotten from the word go, not the umpteen gimpy shin guard, footie pajama, brown pants versions we got to start with. And now they should stop for a bit. No more SE for like two years. Don't wear him out like Optimus Prime, Spidey, or Wolverine. The team isn't called Snake-Eyes-n-Friends. Now that we have an acceptable commando verision, in this case, less is more. Put him on the backburner for a while.

CG... I'm getting one to keep in the package and one to open. He's just different enough to fall into the silver accents = "officer" theme cobra routinely uses, or as CC's chief guard or something like that. Even if the reds are slightly different, I'm ok with that. Maybe the officers are brighter, or maybe they have access to higher quality laundry detergent. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[ThunderDan19]

Exactly, on both counts. I'm glad we finally got a true reproduction of classic SE, but no more SEs please, for a very long time. And if I do pick up a Retro CG, it'll be for that exact thing, as an officer/elite of some sort.

I just wish that H'bro would have gone a similar route to what I longwindedly detailed for the Retro line from the beginning. If they had, they could have satisfied both crowds and probably saved production costs by making just a retro and a modernized version of each. Then any of us that weren't satisfied specifically with either could just pick up parts from the secondary market and make our own hybrids. Seems so simple really.

 

[nacho]

Stunningly, both came in today. the pair of SEs came in a bubble mailer that had not been crushed, and both cards were ok, one near perfect. Up close, he actually has a touch of dark green accents on the web gear buckles, grenade, and non-removable knife (the removable knife is still black). It's pretty faint/subtle, as you have to look closely to notice.

And the CGs arrived in an actual box, both with perfect cardbacks. The red does look just the slightest bit brighter but not enough to make any difference. I'll try to get a pic with the rest of the CGs tonight.

 

[Videoviper]

Screw Snake-Eyes…
I liked him well enough in the comics kinda, but that ninja crap should have been a spin off.
hated the character in the cartoons

For toys he is one of those characters who….
Would you like SE with your burger? Take extra we have enough & will never run out.

 

[nacho]

I love commando SE.

I was initially intrigued with the SS connection, but they beat that horse to death. I agree that when the title became Joe:Starring SE and Ninja Force, it really went off the rails. They should have made it a spinoff of just killed the whole thing at that time.

I hate full-ninja, all-knowing, indestructible SE. He's not Wolverine or the Terminator. I have no problem with him being highly-skilled at hand-to-hand combat, but he's really become a parody of himself when they focus on the ninja stuff. I don't mind the knight visor, but I prefer the glasses. Timber is cool, as long as he has a limited role hanging at the cabin, not a take-on-every-mission sidekick.

Hasbro (and most companies frankly) can't help themselves. When something works, they decide the best course of action is to give it to you with a firehose, not realizing that the uniqueness, sparseness, and mystery is a huge part of why it works and why it's popular.

Another example...how much do you like Boba Fett now? He was a mysterious badass in the 80's. In the 90's we learned he was just a whiny clone of his father and basically like everyone in a storm trooper uniform, but he went rogue or something. Cool I guess? And now we know he's also a fat ninja warlord good guy (?) who made friends with the sandpeople and protects the innocent, fights the empire, and tames rancors. WHAT CAN'T BOBAFETT DO?! And now I like bobafett about 5% of the amount I did 40 years ago, meaning I couldn't care less. Good job, Lucasfilm.

 

[nacho]

 

[Videoviper]

View attachment 16292

3 commandos & the guy they mock because he brings arrows to a gunfight!

 

[nacho]

Well, to be fair, he has a suppressed Uzi, a sidearm, and some other rifle slung over his shoulder, so it's not like the arrows are his ONLY weapons. It's part of the GridIron commando loadout, and I kinda like it. Killing someone with a bow fits with the stealthy commando flavor.

Now if he had nunchucks or something, then I would say to make fun all you like...

 

[ThunderDan19]

While the Retro CG and SE look good on their own, I’m satisfied with my choice not to add them to the collection... at least until I run across them in the wild. That‘ll be the real test of my discipline.

 

[nacho]

If you like commando SE in general, you won't be able to resist. The CG... depends on how badly you want an officer, but definitely not a must-have. Although I suspect the odds of seeing either in the wild are slim. SS and Zartan never made it to pegs around here.

When commando fomo gets you and they end up being scarce, hit me up. I have four more coming in Aug supposedly... unless they cancel on me or something walmart-y.

 

[ThunderDan19]

You know my tendencies too well! I wonder if we may yet see SS and Zartan along with these. We’ve more or less seen the other four together (3 of which remain common on Wally pegs), so I wonder if these 4 might be packaged together likewise.

 

[ThunderDan19]

It got really quiet this week with Yo Joe June concluded and the Independence Day holiday... Until now! I just got my in stock and about to ship notice from BBTS for Torpedo. I wouldn't have expected him to be the first one to ship, but I'll take it. He's gonna be a little lonely though until September when the Eel finally comes to fight. I'm crossing my fingers that he will be a good quality figure. Seems like BBTS and EE are the only ones even carrying him, despite his supposed wide release status.

Still a ton of LJs (both regular and retro), Baronesses and Gung Hos, and a couple latest repaint SEs clogging up pegs and shelf space at the Walmart a was at last night. I did notice the retro packages show the first four (those + Destro) in the wave. Makes me fairly confident that the SS, Zartan, CG and Commando SE are considered the second retro wave.

Nothing but a single Reanimation LJ at the competing Target.

 

[nacho]

My Bazooka shipped, and I've already been charged for the whole rest of that wave from Pulse, so I expect to have them in a week or so. AMZ, WM, and DeepDiscount are carrying the wave too. While I want extra Torpedos to make a diving squad, I cancelled my AMZ order for the extras, figuring that I'll probably find a discount on the wave around black friday. Famous last words.

The trio of Arctic BATs came in several days ago, just haven't had time to bust them out and play. Stupid real life taking up all my time!

 

[ThunderDan19]

Wait, you were able to pre-order Torpedo on Amazon? No matter how I have searched, I have never gotten him to pop up there.

 

[nacho]

Sure. He's currently sold out, but initially I had 4x ordered through AMZ.

Amazon.com: G.I. Joe Classified Series Edward “Torpedo” Leialoha, Collectible G.I. Joe Action Figures, 73, 6 inch Action Figures for Boys & Girls, with 6 Accessories : Toys & Games

I'd love a yellow variant, like the Joes from the MASS Device mini, and similarly, a red Eel diver on the cobra side.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Thanks for that link! I apparently never looked for him until after he was out of stock. And... apparently there is a check box down at the bottom left that lets you include OoS items, though I have seen plenty of items that were out of stock without ever having that checked before. Still better than Walmart's search functions...

 

[ThunderDan19]

So I found just enough time today to do a little accessorizing. I won't call it customizing because there was no real cutting involved, just picking up spare parts and gluing. Roadblock and CI Roadblock - Heavy Duty to me - needed way more ammo for their machine guns (always bugged me), particularly with RnR on the way.

I was able to get ahold of a couple right sized ammo belts (not Joe CS) and a couple extra Gung Ho backpacks. A little superglue (I think about half of it on my fingers and thumbs) and now we have our big nasty MGs belt fed from ammo packs - a vast improvement in my opinion from those tiny little magazines that they came with.




Still not perfect, but a lot better than how they started out.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Seems like a decent choice, though surprising. Rumor had been Steel Brigade last I knew. Odd that SB is in the main pics too.

Not sure why they went ahead and revealed it before Glenda unlocked and w/o a proper render. Maybe he was a late decision as a result of lackluster reactions to her.

 

[nacho]

I never heard the SB rumor since we are already getting a SB two-pack. That would have been a rough, baffling choice.

They revealed the third tier b/c there is less than a week left, and they didn't want to wait until Glenda funds b/c that might be on the weekend, leading to the third reveal not having enough time to make an impact. It was going to make 19k either way, so it doesn't really matter.

Crazylegs kinda goes with Ripcord, although neither really make sense for a chopper. HALO... how high does the dragonfly go?! But I guess it's the largest aircraft the line will likely ever see, so why the hell not. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Back in the day, I H-A-T-E-D Crazylegs because I felt like they were trying to replace ripcord. And I disliked the bright red in his uniform. And he had a goofy face sculpt with a non-removable helmet and not even a facemask accessory (technically an "assault trooper" not a HALO jumper, but still...). And it's a dumb codename. He also was among the early casualties of the bedroom wars (along with BBQ, Slaughter, Tollbooth, Bazooka). He was very much a forgotten figure from '87, but he's better than some Sky Patrol guy from the 90's.

BUT, the NF deco addresses one of my largest complaints, and it appears the helmet might also come off, another big complaint. So this might be a better figure than it sounds on paper, and it would let me skip the regular deco later. I highly doubt it will have any major positive impact on the campaign, but it was hitting 19k either way.

 

[nacho]

viper 3-pack is $49 on PrimeDay...

Amazon.com: G.I. Joe Classified Series Cobra Viper Officer & Vipers Figures 47 Collectible Toys, Multiple Accessories 6-Inch-Scale, Custom Package Art,Multicolored : Toys & Games

 

[ThunderDan19]

I never heard the SB rumor since we are already getting a SB two-pack. That would have been a rough, baffling choice.

They revealed the third tier b/c there is less than a week left, and they didn't want to wait until Glenda funds b/c that might be on the weekend, leading to the third reveal not having enough time to make an impact. It was going to make 19k either way, so it doesn't really matter.

Crazylegs kinda goes with Ripcord, although neither really make sense for a chopper. HALO... how high does the dragonfly go?! But I guess it's the largest aircraft the line will likely ever see, so why the hell not. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Back in the day, I H-A-T-E-D Crazylegs because I felt like they were trying to replace ripcord. And I disliked the bright red in his uniform. And he had a goofy face sculpt with a non-removable helmet and not even a facemask accessory (technically an "assault trooper" not a HALO jumper, but still...). And it's a dumb codename. He also was among the early casualties of the bedroom wars (along with BBQ, Slaughter, Tollbooth, Bazooka). He was very much a forgotten figure from '87, but he's better than some Sky Patrol guy from the 90's.

BUT, the NF deco addresses one of my largest complaints, and it appears the helmet might also come off, another big complaint. So this might be a better figure than it sounds on paper, and it would let me skip the regular deco later. I highly doubt it will have any major positive impact on the campaign, but it was hitting 19k either way.

I agree that the NF is highly superior to the original for tactical color schemes for CL. I'm still a little baffled that there isn't a legit render for him so people will know exactly what's being offered. Makes me think he was a last minute change, or maybe they are just waiting for the Glenda unlock for that?

You seem really confident that the DF Haslab is going to break 19K. It's definitely gonna need that "hockey stick" to do it in the next week. Right now it looks like it'll just barely get passed the 16K. While I haven't been won over enough to drop the cash on it, I think it's a great set and hope it trends like the others so it gets the full treatment it deserves. Maybe all the shops and other resellers are just putting off buying their multiples as long as they can.

As for the Viper pack sale, if I were a Prime member, that would be tempting indeed!

 

[nacho]

I agree that the NF is highly superior to the original for tactical color schemes for CL. I'm still a little baffled that there isn't a legit render for him so people will know exactly what's being offered. Makes me think he was a last minute change, or maybe they are just waiting for the Glenda unlock for that?

You seem really confident that the DF Haslab is going to break 19K. It's definitely gonna need that "hockey stick" to do it in the next week. Right now it looks like it'll just barely get passed the 16K. While I haven't been won over enough to drop the cash on it, I think it's a great set and hope it trends like the others so it gets the full treatment it deserves. Maybe all the shops and other resellers are just putting off buying their multiples as long as they can.

As for the Viper pack sale, if I were a Prime member, that would be tempting indeed!

Both the skystriker and HISS got something like 8k in the final 48 hours as FOMO kicked in. So that's why I think the Dragonfly getting 4k in the next week is automatic. It would be a staggering reversal of trends to not get there.

You need me to order a viper pack for you, have them send it straight to you?

$54.74 in the door, assuming they charge me TN tax, probably less if it's VA tax.

 

[ThunderDan19]

(Not sure if you remember that SNL skit - one of my all time favorites)

You... know my FOMO too well. I absolutely appreciate the offer, and if the set were just a little bit better (i.e. had a Viper Officer I liked a little better), I wouldn't be able to resist. If I didn't already have lots of $$$ already out in purchases and pre-orders recently - of which I don't know where I will even fit those - I might even have been able to justify it. But I just can't do it. I ultimately did not hold the line on Torpedo (Eel) and Snow Job (Snow Serpent), so I've already more than blown my reserve for Joe CS for a while.

Thank you though!

 

[nacho]

No sweat! Prime Day lasts through tomorrow if you have a change of heart.

(I too love Mike Myers as the hyperactive playground kid in the harness.)

I hear you about the Preorders.... July has been B-R-U-T-A-L. In the last two weeks, I've had the Torpedo wave drop, two full waves of Indiana Jones figures plus some Indy retailer exclusives, Scrap Iron, 3x Snow BATS, a couple of ML figures, and I found some ML on clearance at target that I was waiting to find on sale... the dragonfly coming up next week, several 3P TFs, some TVC SW figures, the retro WM Joes, the second wave of S7 Ultimate Joes, Mega Construx Snake Mountain on sale, a dozen or so indycar diecasts, plus some other random high dollar figures I wanted for a spendy custom... and that's just what I can remember. And I had to buy a new A/V receiver because mine died.

My budget for the month blew up on the launch pad and made the surrounding 50mi radius uninhabitable.

And I'm not even counting all the trips to visit colleges. We just got back from Raleigh visiting NC State. I'm not sure how much the boy liked it, but the wife and I got to visit a couple of our old fav restaurants from our time there years ago.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Lol, wow! I think you will have the option of just living off selling toys as a backup retirement plan!

I'm guessing you already know about this one:

Hasbro G.I. Joe Classified Series 6-inch SDCC 2023 Exclusive Chuckles Figure

Hasbro G.I. Joe Classified Series 6-inch SDCC 2023 Exclusive Chuckles Figure

toynewsi.com

Such an easy pass for me.

Apparently Doc was name drop confirmed as well for main line release "this year." Pretty sure anything that we haven't seen as renders by this time will most likely push into next year before being delivered. That is unless he is one of the missing number figures that would be finishing out waves we already have pre-orders from.

 

[nacho]

I'm excited for Chuckles! I'm lukewarm on the face sculpt, and the tortured face looks more cartoonish than anguished, but I'll definitely get one. He and Action Force mail-in Condor can swap south american drug runner stories over umbrella drinks.

Doc was automatic after I finished my Valaverse custom of him. Just a matter of time

I'm hoping that all these toys hitting at once will mean I get a couple of months off to let the wallet relax and so I can get back to some customs when football season starts (it's when I do my best work).

 

[nacho]

 

[ThunderDan19]

Yeah, I think all those pics with SB are what got the rumors started.

 

[nacho]

WM-Con (not available yet):
Crimson AV -

Robot or human?

Shooter -

Robot or human?

Mole-Rat -

Robot or human?

And Shadow Tracker is supposed to be the fourth figure they offer. Is it bad that I find all of these to be a hard pass? Shooter... yeah, yeah, she's supposed to be the 14th original Joe, but I don't buy that retcon stuff. If Hama had created the character in '82, it would not have been a Mary Sue. The not-pictured character in the first issue of the comic was an inside joke referring to then Marvel Editor-in-Chief, Jim Shooter. The figure reuses the strange 90-degree Lady Jaye shoulders too. And she's wearing tactical Jordans?

Mole Rat looks like a named character with a toxically scarred face under the helmet... almost reminiscent of Cesspool from the early 90's. I expect to see that body reused a lot... Deep Six, Airtight, Charbroil, Toxo-Viper, Hazard-Viper, Ice-Viper, Volcano-Viper, Swamp-Viper, Dragonsky...

 

[ThunderDan19]

The only one I'm at all interested in is the AV because, let's be honest, it's a slightly more practical color scheme than the "here I am, feel free to shoot at me" neon orange and blue. I might even replace my original with him and pass that one to my daughter. It'll depend highly on how he looks on the shelf, if I ever see him there.

I have zero interest in any of the others.

ST: already expressed my disinterest.
Shooter: terrible, boring codename (at least explained a little by your reference above). I have no point of reference, experience or interest in the character and she's not nearly interesting enough looking to get my attention without that... especially with that codename.
Mole Rat:

 

[nacho]

I find the red AV to be 90% as garish as the original deco, without any of the nostalgic charm. Neither makes any sense, so I figure I'm going to stick with my three orange ones. At least they're recognizable.

Shooter, despite the terrible name, has a nice face sculpt. With one hair, she could almost be a Michelle Rodriguez stand-in... while the other hairpiece looks like corn rows, making me think she's supposed to be african american. F#$% if I know. The file card from her only figure so far doesn't say, and I forget if they gave any backstory in the one comic mini she appeared in. I can't stand the sneakers, but I think swapping for some black boots off of a clearanced WM LJ will be easy enough though.

Mole Rat... yeah, should have been Cesspool (as if that would have made him better), except he's scarred by exposure to Dark Energon instead of toxic waste... because we're foolishly trying to crossover with TF for the 87th time when the comic relaunches later this year, and it'll be just as big a flop as the previous attempts. Why can't hasbro learn?!

 

[ThunderDan19]

You are right about the nostalgia factor for AV. He was the last “oh he’s so cool looking!” Cobra fig for me, and the foil for another favorite of mine, Shockwave (really hoping we get him soon too!). Having another, even if a little less recognizable, has some appeal for me. Plus, he’ll go great with my Crimson Viper.

 

[ThunderDan19]

As nacho predicted, it looks like the hockey stick blade is starting to form as the interest seems to be building up again at the end of the DF campaign. It'd be interesting to compare the final trend pattern to the others once this one wraps up.

 

[nacho]

Practically every haslab has followed this trend. I think larger kickstarter campaigns generally follow the same trend, same as ebay bidding (on things with enough bids to be statistically significant). It says something about human nature, the way we plan our purchases, our finances, and the power of FOMO.

Even with Crazylegs being a yawn-inducing third tier, 19k is automatic. Math says so.

 

[Videoviper]

Haslab is now finally open to all of the EU so hopefully as fans become aware of this numbers should rise.

 

[ThunderDan19]

My delivery estimate for RnR and Scrap Iron just moved up to 7/20-24! I‘ll hopefully have the two of them plus Torpedo by this time next week.

 

[nacho]

 

[ThunderDan19]

Snow Job’s gonna have his hands full!

 

[nacho]

All of these figures are great. I won't be able to let the sun go down without working on RnR to get rid of those tattoos and to ARAH-up his deco a bit. Just hope I can find the right shade of green.

And am I the only one that finds Copperhead a little... small? I don't imagine him to be a big guy like Roadblock or Gung-Ho, but based on his classic figure, I did always imagine him to be a little "thick". Not fat, but thick in that country-strong kind of way. Maybe his giant clod-boots are throwing off the proportions in my head or something. Still a great figure, just something a tad off, nagging at the back of my brain.

And Torpedo is skinny! When I first grabbed him, I was like, "Did they make him on a spider-man buck?!" He doesn't look much different than the other Joes in pictures, but he's noticeably thinner IRL.

 

[Videoviper]

CH would need to be skinny enough to fit into a potential Mockenson vehicle. Don’t know if that is a possibility but it could be on the short list.