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

nacho

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"Finally for the Walmart exclusive 6" Retro Cardback wave they revealed they will be doing a total of 8 figures and that will be it. So far they have revealed 6 of them which includes Baroness, Lady Jaye, Destro, Gung-Ho, Storm Shadow and Zartan. After that they have something else planned with Walmart to release."

Eight. Eight. Is that supposed to get people excited to collect retro packaging? And then they're moving on to something else for walmart to release. Yet another WM line that dies the minute it's released (or in this case, before). WTF Mattel?!
 

ThunderDan19

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Yeah, it was a bridge too far And WM probably saw the 4“ retros peg warming and pulled the plug early. I see the 6” going clearance in no time as well. They’re retro style repaints with inferior packaging and fewer accessories at a higher price point. I’m not sure what they thought would happen.
 

nacho

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The only thing the retros have going for them is improved decos.

-Baroness loses all the gold accents and has a really nice matte body with glossy armor.
-Destro adds eyebrows, which make no sense yet look much better, IMO.
-LJ looks to have a better digital face-print (on the same sculpt) and looks less kattan-like.
-Gung-Ho is a million times better if you're into the retro look
-Zartan is in sunbow deco, but hard to say if it's worth a rebuy until I see them side-by-side
-Storm shadow loses the modern gauntlets, has bare hands, and supposedly has a much whiter gi.

I'll be hard pressed not to end up with one of each (sucker), but the line having a hard stop at 8 figures means that I don't have to wonder if I should collect them all MOC too, as that seems like a waste of time.
 

ThunderDan19

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Besides maybe Baroness, it will probably come down to price for me. None of the others offer me anything I don’t already have a close or preferred version of. But I’m a sucker for a good deal... If I see some one clearance, I might pick a couple up, for extra parts if nothing else, but not for $25 a pop.
 

nacho

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I never find jack squat on WM clearance. The minute stuff disappears from the main isle, it's gone. The clearance isle is nothing but random open boxes of hair curlers, tacky plastic home decor, and some pokemon or fortnite thing nobody wanted to begin with. Unless they have a firesale online, I'm paying full price or doing without.

Ironically, I got the BATs and AVs on sale... but everything, even the movie figs they were trying to get rid of, were all still marked at full price. What's the point of having a sale price that no one knows about? That's lose-lose for the retailer, as the bargain hunters don't know about it, and the people willing to pay full price end up with the surprise discount. So economically inefficient!
 

ThunderDan19

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I‘ve rarely seen figs in the clearance aisle either at WM, but lately that changed. I saw quite a few (granted mostly Eternals) ML figs and all the remaining retro Stalkers and Troopers there fairly recently. I also saw the SE movie and Flint, LJ and CC figs on sale, although, like yours, in their normal spot.
 

ThunderDan19

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Hmmm, might have to swap that head if I can score one on Mercari or something like that. There is a noticeable improvement there for sure. Plus black is a better color (with a better logo) for the hat...
 

Slaymaker

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Hmmm, might have to swap that head if I can score one on Mercari or something like that. There is a noticeable improvement there for sure. Plus black is a better color (with a better logo) for the hat...
COMPLETELY AGREE - not buying the figure, but if I can find the head to swap out I will do it. Let me know if you find one as I have no idea what this Mercari you speak of.
 
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ThunderDan19

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They are national and they do take PayPal. I’ve found they‘ve had a lot more options for Class figs and parts than eBay most of the time. It’s all fixed price, usually with the option to make a slightly lower offer. And they run specials occasionally. I’ve been happy with them so far.
 
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ThunderDan19

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Supposedly Shipwreck and Rock'n'Roll are in the works. Neither are high on my list, but it will depend on what versions they picked and how well designed they are as to whether I'll ever pick them up or not. Keeping my expectations low.
 

nacho

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Yeah, they didn't show any pics b/c they're '23 releases, but I'm optimistic. Given the neo-ARAH trend of recent figures, I assume they'll be reasonably faithful to the original versions with a few modern updates, and I'm good with that. Both are on my short list, RnR b/c he's O13 (arguably my least favorite of the originals, but still), and Shipwreck just because he was such a big part of the 'toon, and his nicholson-esque voice is pretty classic.

I'll only be disappointed if they choose RnR v2 or some other version of Shipwreck as the basis for the new ones. I'm not opposed to alternate versions, but we need the classic versions first. I hate how they're releasing tigerforce versions of characters before the inevitable "original" versions.
 
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ThunderDan19

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Just finished watching the Hasbro Pulse GI June video from today. My thoughts:

"Character leaks" - Shipwreck, Rock'n'Roll, Torpedo and Copperhead - All of these have some potential, and I'm happy that between these and the reveals of the next wave, Joe is finally getting some more troops to try to catch up to all those Cobras (who are mainly getting repaints in this batch). I really hope these aren't just scaled up copies of the OGs, and have something to new offer besides just retro goodness, But, based on what we've been seeing lately, I'm pretty sure that will be the most likely course Hasbro will be taking.

"All the new waves after what you've already seen will be 5 figures" - reality is that, at least for the first one, it's 2 new figs and 3 repaints. I have a feeling this will be the norm for these "5 figure" waves. That said, Falcon and Cover Girl look like they have some potential though. Strangely, I will stick to my Tarjay TF Outback, since his colors are actually a little more "tactical", I've already got him preordered and I have procured a spare Beachhead vest to cover up that silly tiger graphic on his shirt. As for repainted Barbeque and BAT, no thanks. I'm pretty confident that BBQ will be the next big peg warmer.

Sergeant Slaughter with mini-Sarge - I'll likely end up with one, hopefully for a decent price, but we'll see.

Snake Eyes w/ Timber v.563 - why? No chance I'll be buying this one. I've held out on all but v.1, which I am fully satisfied with. They are so sold on exploiting SE until absolutely everyone is sick of him.

Retro O-ring Duke and CC - Easy pass.

Awe Stryker Bumble Bee w/ Stalker - looks really cool, but is also an easy pass for me since I have nothing else from that line.

As for they movie theater screenings of the GI Joe movie - Hard, hard pass. Why would I want to relive the moment that GI Joe jumped the shark, all big and loud on the big screen? I would have taken any one of the mini-series' over that abomination.
 
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nacho

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I like the character reveals. Falcon looks great, happy about Torpedo and Copperhead (although I hope Torpedo comes with a swappable non-scuba head). Cover Girl looks pretty awesome too for a mostly-scarlett repaint. I'll have to work on her boots a bit, and I would have preferred a blonde head, but I'll wait for S7 to tackle that, as they seem to love the old miniseries references.

I'll certainly get Outback for the same reason that you're not getting him... I find the neon orange to be a tactical liability even more than the white. And I'll be getting the Marauder BBQ for the same reason. I don't really like the character or the deco, but the Marauder paint job looks more military than syracuse orange.

SE v-whatever is a pass. I like his non-armored boots, but that's the only redeeming feature, certainly not worth a purchase. Brown pants? WTF? And Crimson BAT? No, I can do without that too. I like my BATs to be classic.

I've ordered all the o-ring stuff so far, so I'll be up for Duke and CC. And I'll probably get the TF crossover too just because I have the HISS Megatron on order. But I don't care about the vehicles, I just want the carded o-ring figures inside. I assume it's the only way we'll be getting carded stalker and baroness ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

On a side note, I finally got a ship notice from Beggar's Canyon about all the '82-'87 repro cardbacks and bubbles I ordered back in 'Dec. If that project works out, I might not care about any of Hasbro's neo-o-ring releases, as I'll have my carded nostalgia fix taken care of. Fingers crossed.

I went to the 30th anniversary screening of TF the Movie a few years ago, and that was cool as hell. But then again, that movie was actually pretty good. I would not pay similar dollars to go watch Cobra La.
 
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ThunderDan19

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Agreed that it is important that Torpedo have a swappable head. Plus it would be great if he had some usability outside water, you know, like an actual Navy SEAL. It'd be awesome if they found a way to "team" him up with Shipwreck with some amphibious capability. A guy can dream, right? They are already claiming the R'n'R is going to be awesome. Let's hope they will get creative (but not stupid)!

I'm not really picky about Cover Girl, but agree she looks solid. I think the classic hair color suits her. I would like to see a Bombstrike (if I remember her name correctly) as a blonde option, assuming they will keep adding "girl" characters to keep the mix diverse. I am looking forward to seeing some of your S7 figs on display. Any word on when you'll be getting them?

Funny thing with the Tarjay Outback. I took his shirt to be more of a rust color than anything neon (at least from the pics I've seen), akin to one of the colors in Flecktarn (German) camo - appropriate in areas with a lot of fallen leaves and such. I guess we'll have to see when he finally arrives, if that ever happens. Had OB come out in his original deco first, I'd have that one for sure. Would still have to add a vest to cover up some of that white t-shirt though :LOL: .

Lol, poor BBQ. He is either bright orange (fire camo?) or he looks like he is trying out for clown school with all those goofy colors. I simply do not have a place for him in either deco. Ironic because he was a regular go to for me back in the day, but usually there to put out fires when vehicles got hit or around when the base got attacked.

You'll have to refresh my memory, so does the Beggar's Canyon stuff give you a chance to re-card actual retro figures? You had a bunch of those re-collected, right?

Spot on that Cobra-La as the bane of the Joe movie, and the beginning of the end for Joe. I'm surprised that you wouldn't have had similar feelings about them killing off Optimus Prime for Hot Rod, which was kind of their jump the shark moment.
 
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nacho

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W1 of the S7 figures is supposed to drop this month, but the odds that they're going to hit a release date set roughly a year ago?... probably not. Haven't heard anything to the contrary, but.... Fingers crossed.

Yeah, BBQ got to man the base a lot, and when it came time for the Joes to experience a casualty, he was right behind Sgt Slaughter and Bazooka on the front lines. I hated his outfit within a military group, and I hated his nasally boston accent in the cartoon. Top it off, they depicted him having red hair. Eyesore yankee ginger? Yeah, you're my bullet sponge.

I hated that TFTM killed prime, but I disliked the annoying replacement '85 crowd so much (I should find that legendary rant in our archives) that I didn't mind that the '86 gang replaced them. Enemy of my enemy... and all that. Plus, the movie was visually stunning and generally entertaining. Joe the movie couldn't really say either.

EDIT - here's my view on the TF S2 crowd :laugh: :
At least the non-earth modes made sense, as it was set in the "far" future of 2005, so you could imagine the alt modes being cybertronian or futuristic earth vehicles. But those S2 guys... they showed up from nowhere, without explanation, and completely replaced the ark crew.

At least the movie gave an in-story reason for replacing the previous characters, i.e. they got smoked, even if it was a shitty sales stunt. S2 didn't bother. We went from Jazz and Mirage doing cool stuff one episode to "Whiz, bang, pow" Warpath, psychopathic Red Alert, traitorous insubordinate british-prick Hoist, insufferable Powerglide, Hee-Haw Inferno, and hippie-dippy Beachcomber. Those assholes just took over the show without warning, like they thought we were too stupid to notice. They're the "Coy and Vance" of Transformers.

Yep, Beggar's Canyon does the repro cards and bubbles. I have all of my original Joes, and I collected a bunch 15 or so years ago to replace the ones that were worn out, broken, and too loved back in the day. Then I collected another full set for my son to have his own (just prior to 25th, and he never got into Joes), so I have a crapload of original o-ring figures to pick from for recarding purposes. Good thing I did it back then, as it seems vintage Joe prices are astronomical these days. I hadn't kept up with the aftermarket, who knew?

Regardless, I can fix up and recard the '82-'87 crowd for all the nostalgia I can handle. They even have cards for a lot of the vehicle drivers, mail-aways, etc that never had cards. Fortunately, when I sold off my MOC collection, I kept the MIB vehicles and the Japanese Joe collection, so I still have all of those to display with my recards. Should be pretty cool (after a lot of work!)
 
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ThunderDan19

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Wow, epic TF rant! 😆 I always hated Hot Rod, and I was a fairly casual TF fan. I’m pretty sure I’d have to go back to the ‘stank to find my best Cobra-La rants.

Sounds like those retro cards and bubbles are going to make for an awesome (re)collection display option!
 

nacho

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Hasbro: ok we have an awe striker let’s convert it to a main character instead of the one Transformer that looks like said vehicle. BeachComer, heck Hound would have made more sense.
Agreed. I think the consensus among Joe/TF fans is exactly that, Beachcomber or Hound would have made infinitely more sense, but you know, gotta have Bumblebee. :rolleyes:

Bumblebee is an interesting case study, as Hasbro pushes him hard, like he's an A-list character, but until the bayformer movies, he wouldn't crack any TF fan's top-10 (and I'm not convinced that he's any more popular after the movies).

They treat him like Snake Eyes, Wolverine, or Spider-Man, but I don't know a single TF fan that actually gives two shakes about Bumblebee. He's a whiny POV character in the G1 toon that never does anything useful, yet they desperately want him to be the #2 character behind Prime. It would be like the Joe managers trying to make Bazooka the face of the franchise behind SE, (instead they use Duke, who is also no one's favorite). WTF.
 

nacho

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Pre-orders for Classified Kamakura and Blue Ninjas up now on Pulse for Premium members, 2PM EDT for non-members. They're both grossly overpriced.

I reluctantly ordered a Kamakura because I really like the DDP comic run. The Blue Ninjas are a hard pass.

EDIT: Up on Amazon now:
Amazon.com: G.I. Joe Classified Series Kamakura Action Figure 61 Collectible Premium Toy with Multiple Accessories, 6-Inch-Scale, Custom Package Art (Amazon Exclusive) : Toys & Games
Amazon.com: G.I. Joe Classified Series Blue Ninjas Action Figure 2 Pack 51 Collectible Premium Toys with Accessories 6-Inch-Scale Custom Package Art (Amazon Exclusive) : Toys & Games
 

ThunderDan19

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Those are both fan favorite classics for sure! Here's hoping they add Snow Serpent to that wave! I'd suppose they might make it here by 2024 or so, if things don't completely collapse before then... :p
 

ThunderDan19

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I'll look forward to seeing Scrap Iron for sure! SI and FF were huge favorites for me back in the day. Here's hoping his head/face gets sculpted by the guy who did Major Bludd. Sounded like SI will be getting some kind of drone, so he will have to be getting some kind of modernization. As for Grunt, if he doesn't get some kind of an upgrade/modernization, I won't be bothering, particularly as prices continue to rise.
 

nacho

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I'll look forward to seeing Scrap Iron for sure! SI and FF were huge favorites for me back in the day. Here's hoping his head/face gets sculpted by the guy who did Major Bludd. Sounded like SI will be getting some kind of drone, so he will have to be getting some kind of modernization. As for Grunt, if he doesn't get some kind of an upgrade/modernization, I won't be bothering, particularly as prices continue to rise.
Ha, I want a solid high-and-tight head sculpt for Grunt. Scrap iron... I'm not sure I care since most of his head is covered. But yeah, the Bludd sculptor did a stellar job on the Major.

But I want Grunt's deco to be as f#$%ing plain as possible. He needs his gun and brown harness and green pouches, but I'm not interested in body armor and super-greeble just so they can call it "modern". Breaker was both sufficiently plain and irritatingly not ARAH enough with his gear. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But overall, I'm very pleased that the '82-'86 crowd continues to be the focus, and I'm stunned they're still giving us O13 figures, so I shant complain (much).
 

ThunderDan19

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I fully get it and I am happy they keep offering OG figs, and figs that are very similar to the originals. If they offered a full, as close to original but scaled up and detailed, OG13 for say $200 even, I'd be hard pressed to not pick up the set. But gathering them one by one for $25 per, nah. I feel like I need more from each for that.

I take each fig individually to decide who I "need" in my collection. I've passed on many (not as many as I originally planned due to the sickness). I've rudimentarily modified a few to make them fit into my modernized Joe and Cobra teams. And have already determined to pass on over half of what is coming, particularly the repaints, never ending versions of SE and the ninjas.

All in all, I'm still onboard, whether they offer modernized or full retro, as long as they have good choices and accessories I can get ahold of to "make them mine." Now, just get them here, Hasbro!!!
 

ThunderDan19

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It appears that the Spirit, SS and CO wave is hitting Walmart. My daughter spotted Spirit and CO there. If it had been all three, I would have had her pick them up and I'd cancel my pre-order, but those 2 of the 3 don't really help me. I'd then just be ever "on the hunt" for SS. I can wait another month to have all 3 (assuming EE's delivery estimate is legit). If you would happen to be looking for extras of any of them, now might be a chance to snag 'em for $23 apiece, before the scalpers get wind of them.
 

ThunderDan19

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Watched the Yo Joe June video from this morning: The Classified HISS tank looks really cool (as does the Skystriker), but I can't justify the cost for either.

This popped up in my youtube feed:
 
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nacho

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As expected, the Classified Haslab is in fact a 1:12 HISS (19" long!) with driver, $299. Initial goal of 8k units (it's more than halfway in the first hour o_O ), and if they hit the minimum in the first week, an extra figure is included. No idea what the stretch goals are yet.

G.I. Joe Classified Series Cobra H.I.S.S. – Hasbro Pulse

I backed it, no question. I debated about a second one, but I can't display more than one without taking up a crapload of space, and it would just be one more thing in my storage unit for my kids to sell when I die. But I've been beating the 6" Joe drum for too long to not back the project.

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nacho

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Now over 7600 in 8 hours... this puppy is funding tonight!

EDIT: Funded! Gotta be the fastest ever, by a wide margin. Hopefully Hasbro gets the correct message... that Joe is still popular and doesn't need a crappy movie to sell stuff, IF you give fans something they actually want.

I'll bet the Star Wars team will look at this and cry themselves to sleep, as they stare down the barrel of their second consecutive failed haslab campaign.
 
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ThunderDan19

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Wow, that should be a big wake up for them. Here’s hoping the stretches will make it worth the cost for a lot more collectors to jump on. More than half way from funded to the first stretch...

I’ve seen a few asking for an ASP to tow behind. That would certainly go a long way toward that $300 price tag. That plus another exclusive figure might get me interested. If it’s just some bolt on missiles or something cheesy like that, I’ll remain out.
 
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Slaymaker

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hit 10000 now so 1st stretch goal is obtained. I am likely to snag one...I just have to find the funds. (anyone here want a CoD MegaBlocks collection?)
 
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