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

[nacho]

"Due to unexpected shifts in production, we're gonna have delays in 2025..."

I read this as "Due to the bad orange man likely winning the election, we've decided to move some manufacturing out of chiner so that we won't be left holding the bag when he slaps them upside the head with tariffs and whatnot."

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- Footloose - perfectly fine. I'll get one for sure. Would have preferred he didn't use ripcord/airborne's pants and gone with a traditional grunt/stalker leg/boot combo, but he's not an all-time fav, so I'll live. Definitely not overwhelmed.

- Cobra outpost harkens back to the '86 Surveillance Port. I kinda like it.... depending on the price. 1/12 dio pieces are always intriguing. The Alley Viper repaint is a zero-burger though. Looking at it more, the outpost really looks like a Cobra Port-A-John. I'm pretty sure that's how I'll use it

- Fireman - hard pass

- Blue Snake-Eyes & Polar Bear - I'm absolutely buying this. I love the MASS device (hell, I built one!), and I'll take anything from the mini that offers both cool sunbow accessories and a nostalgia hit.

- Retro R&R - sure, I made my own already, but I'll take an official. Look, no tattoos!

- Retro Mindbender - I'll get this too. I only bought one of the deluxe set, and I need a mindbender for my office photo studio collection.

- Retro Viper - I'll get one for the MOC retro collection, but I don't need more Vipers on the shelf. I don't care about the exposed arms that seem to be a big selling point for some people.

- Darklon - never had the character growing up, but he's pretty prominent in the later comics as Destro's cousin, so I'll probably pick one up, if nothing else for the Destro family x-mas photos.

- Crystal Ball - hated the original figure because of his all-time pegwarmer status, but I'll probably grab one to go with the other late-stage named cobra misfits like Raptor, Big Boa, and Croc Master. Someone has to get locked in the cobra island beached freighter to die!

- Teaser image... I'd bet money it's the AWE Striker, a new $100 price point vehicle.

 

[ThunderDan19]

AWE Striker was my guess too, definitely looks like it’ll be an upgraded version! Maybe they are putting a lot of energy into the vehicles/playsets and that’s taking away from new fig development.

 

[HUNMARINE]

As you said it ThunderDan19 - a "big fat bucket of meh".
Hasbro already got delays during the Classified years and still got problems with reveal dates. Now they got another bunch of "production issues"...of course.....

According to the figs.
The 4 we getting (Leatherneck, SAW Viper, Zandar and Dial-Tone) - they looks okay. Maybe I would put Leathernecks head a bit higher.

The 3 retro (Mindbender, Viper, RnR):
Mindbender - was made for those who didnt get it during the first release. And even now Hasbro found the way to make him "wanted" for everyone, putting the silver Cobra sign on his back (and slapping in the face those buyers who haunted down the deluxe version)
Viper - finally after 3 re-colored version they made his legs and the armor pieces on it - right. And still that neon red on the whole figure looks a bit bizarre to me.
RnR - the most unnecessary figure of them all. Even if they wanted to "upgrade" him - still done bad. He is more "greyish" than green...and what the heck is those brown "bipods" on his M60? We already got him with a way more "modern upgraded look". Why it was necessary to make him again with that bold green-shirt look? Of course...another cheap addition to the retro-line with minimum effort.....

Renders:
Footloose - nice generic figure. Just to complete your collection. Nothing fancy. Even if they change the box to retro - he will look exactly the same.
Blue box with repainted AV - what the heck it is??? The box itself looks like some variation between the Cobra bunker and the Cobra Surveillance Port with a slight addition of Grid Iron Studios (just notice, how fast we going to get those upgrades)....Why?...For what purpose? I would say okay if they put some "needed" figure with it...but another AV???
MASS Device SE - okay...so its just the classic 25th cartoon package upgraded to 6 inch. If there wont be a Weather Dominator or the MASS Device itself in the end - it wont make any sense to buy this set. And thx for the snow bear - so this set can cost much more than the others.
Firefighter - it didnt sell well back in the days....and I can bet it wont be sell now too. Hasbro make the same mistakes...again?

AS the 3D render reveal.
Well, 2 guesses I could find on the web. Thudnermachine....but most likely its going to be the AWE Striker.

As my final thought: I just cant get it - so much money flowed in during the Rattler Haslab and we still getting this mess? And look at those prices...the X-men 97 Sentinel...or the Ecto-1 Haslabs... Its me or something inst right at Hasbro?

 

[nacho]

I disagree that Mindbender is a slap to people that hunted down the deluxe. Hasbro never promised that he'd never get a re-release or that he was somehow doomed to be behind an exclusive wall forever. Everyone assumed he'd get a mainline release with less accessories, the same as they all assume we'll get a Serpentor without chariot down the road. Gotta make the key characters available, and that inherently necessitates re-releasing. And it's not a straight up exact repeat, so they tempt people to double dip, but no one is going to die if they have a version with a plain cape.

I think a retro footloose will have the correct pants. Those airborne britches just don't look right, nor do the weird mid-leg sections with no camo.

I think retro RnR is mostly what I'd expect... correct green shirt, no tattoos. But like you, I'd have preferred they darken the green like his OG figure, and he should have the retro Duke helmet instead of the modern one. I might have to dye him darker if I can... everything I dye seems to come out near-black, but I guess if I just dunk a few times, I might be able to pull off a correct shade. But half the reason I'm buying retros is having them MOC too, so I'll gladly take any O13 with classic artwork packaging.

I don't think the MASS set is pointless without the device. The canisters and bell jars are still a cool bit of kit for dios and photos, and the polar bear is more interesting and useful than the old blind guy. Plus as some have pointed out, the bear can be used with the inevitable Iceberg from the episode where his nightmares come true and he's attacked by a polar bear. If you don't care about the sunbow mini-themed SE figure, then the bear shouldn't bother you either... it's just a skippable set.

However, I like getting 1/12 wild animals (better than more dumb pets). I've got a 1/12 panther and 1/12 rhino on pre-order at BBTS. Could make for some interesting photos with Recondo and friends besides battles with Cobra.

Yeah, Grid Iron will put out 3-4 overpriced upgrades for the Cobra Port-o-Let. Guaranteed. But at least the Trench Viper is aptly named. Someone has to dig the latrine holes!

I agree, that '97 Sentinel is heinous looking. But they kinda have to charge that much or risk pissing off everyone that supported the Haslab Sentinel for more money. It's a hard pass for anyone with the much nicer haslab version, but if you desperately need a big sentinel and don't want to pay $500 on the secondary market, I guess? It's a hard pass for me, but based on some Marvel threads, a lot of people like it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[HUNMARINE]

According to your words if Hasbro never promises something, than its probably will happen?
I"m more the "I will believe it when I see it" type of guy. We can assume many things...it depends on what Hasbro will produce.
OF course logic dictates that we will see someday the blue-yellow (comic/cartoon) version of Wild Bill, classic v1 Ripcord and the grey-red Crazy-Legs......but what about the Wild Weasel and Hiss driver?
About Mindbender - its just a bit confusing that you pay extra to get a deluxe version....but still they make the cheaper one looks better. Its obvious that this is the only way to make more buyers for the retro one. Still - a sad thing...

I"m glad you like that RnR so much. This is why this hobby is so nice. Many people with many tastes and opinions.
Still, even being a customizer myself - if I put out money, I prefer to get something for it that I can take out of the box and play/photo or just put it on the shelf for display without any modification/hinge tightening/repainting/weapon straight-ening/etc... or as you say "dye" it in darker tone....
Its like a "fly in the soup"....an unwanted extra to your order.

I"m fully aware that sets like the SE with Bear - was made for getting a wider audience to collect the classified line.
You said the main reason:
"and I'll take anything from the mini that offers both cool sunbow accessories and a nostalgia hit."
This is exactly why this set was made for. You are the target buyer.
I like the Sunbow series too, but a cheap repaint of SE with some plastic tubes and a Polar Bear figure that I can buy from other lines like Wild Animal or Sleich...(maybe even for cheaper price) - somehow do not motivate me for purchasing that box set.
+ In DiC series there were a part that involved a Polar Bear, Sub-Zero and Gnawgahyde too....

Yes to the "latrine hole diggers".
Joe fans were asking for generic troopers for decades. I know.
Even though somehow I cant put this 2 things together:
From one side we heard during the Rattler Haslab that Lenny said: "we aware that your shelf space has its limits, so we do these set, with these modifications - to save some space for you"...
And from the other side: we getting a diorama set with a figure that add nothing to your collection...
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I"ve found the problem with the Sentinel.
According to Pulse website: in US its cost only 175 USD....for Europe its 223 EUR.
223 EUR is nearly 245 USD
So..175 USD vs 245 USD....thats why it seems so pricey to me....

 

[nacho]

Anytime there is a popular character in a deluxe or exclusive offering, it is assumed they will get a mainline release eventually. Thus Mindbender surprised exactly no one. Serpentor won't either, and like you say, "regular" Rip-Cord and Crazy-Legs are almost a given because the tooling is done and the figures will certainly sell.

Wild Weasel and Hiss driver are a slightly different case, in that neither has much use outside of their vehicle, so you question how big the market would be for those individually (recall that carded HISS driver was a massive shelf warmer in the 25th era). WW isn't a troop builder, and how many people really want one that didn't order a rattler? On the other hand, Wild Bill is popular aside from just being the Dragonfly pilot, so it makes more sense to put out a different deco for sunbow fans or people that didn't buy the chopper. Of course, none of this is set in stone, but as fans, we simply assume what is logical, and for the most part, that's how it works out. But sometimes hasbro is illogical... what ya gonna do? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

People paid extra for the deluxe mindbender that came with a lot of extra accessories... and because it was the only option at the time. You say the new one "looks better", but I can't find any real difference in the retro mindbender figure itself from the deluxe other than the sigil on the cape, big deal . But of course Hasbro is going to try to give people a reason to double-dip. They're in the business of selling figures. Same reason the first RnR release was such a departure... they want to sell us more later.

Speaking of RnR, I too would *prefer* if retro RnR came out of the package perfect, but I know hasbro is not in the business of "perfect". They're in the business of "good enough for now". So if it requires a little work to make him exactly the way I want, then so be it. Not my preference, but I'm not going to swear off the figure because it's not 100% to my liking. Maybe I'm part of the problem, but I'm unwilling to wait for the next release that may never come or that may not suit me better. My preference is put in a little work and enjoy him on my shelf and in photos.

Never heard of the "Wild Animal" line you speak of (got any links?), but most of the detailed articulated 1/12 animals I've seen cost more than the Classified MASS polar bear set is likely to cost, including the SE repaint. For example:



And Schleich must be very different where you live. Around here, Schleich is barely 1:18 scale (more like 1/22-1/20 Playmobil scale) and typically have little or no articulation. Never seen a Schleich bear that's articulated and 10-12 inches tall on it's back legs. If you have such things cheap in your country, consider yourself rare and fortunate.

Gonna have to take your word for it that a polar bear appears in the later cartoons. I'm not a DiC fan. I wasn't even aware it existed until about 15 years after it was on tv. My Joe animated world stopped with the '87 movie.

To me, the X-Men '97 Sentinel is a terrible value even at $175 USD. It's just ugly, especially next to the haslab version. But clearly some people like it. No accounting for taste I suppose. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯