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

[nacho]

I wouldn't be shocked if it hit 25k before it was over. Lot of bulk/retail/foreign orders seem to come in the last day of these things.

Yeah, a crimson MMS would have been cool, mostly because I would be more excited for the green repaint. But I don't feel bad about the campaign. It's badass looking, comes with 4 figures (which if sold on ebay would pay for the tank), and while huge is still small enough to reasonably display.

I hope a VAMP is next, and I would expect it to have a HAL or something along those lines as the final stretch.

 

[ThunderDan19]

I saw a video from SDCC where the main H'bro guy from the videos said he wanted to do a Rolling Thunder . Easy there, Skippy. I can't imagine what that would cost, nor that they would get nearly as many backers at the price it would take.

The Vamp seems like the right sized vehicle to do. They should do the (decently detailed with actual suspension and probably working lights or something) Vamp with a Mk II kit and maybe offer a Stinger option. Add on a towed Whirlwind or ASP to them and driver/gunner for the $300 price point. That would get most fans pretty excited. I think you'd have a lot that would buy both versions.

I'd imagine they'll do an AWE Striker at some point too, whether Haslab or main line, plus a few other of the small vehicles for the main line. Oh, and I can all but guarantee there'll be a Thunder Machine, as long as the line holds up. But I'm afraid most of the best vehicles from the 4" line would be prohibitively too large for the 6".

 

[nacho]

Haslab HISS: 7 hours to go, over 23k backers. I'm just sad I can't justify getting two...

 

[ThunderDan19]

I wish I could justify getting one. They didn't quite get there for me. I think I would have needed an ASP and probably a BAT variant or something like that instead of retro CC. They did remarkably well nonetheless! I just couldn't get to where I felt it justified the cost.

 

[nacho]

New render...

 

[Videoviper]

Great for them I like the CC they just added,

stay strong not switching scales…..

 

[nacho]

Give in! Let the FOMO flow through your veins!

 

[ThunderDan19]

That CC totally should have released in the WM Retro line. Maybe it was originally going to?

 

[nacho]

That CC totally should have released in the WM Retro line. Maybe it was originally going to?

It's likely. I heard rumors (from someone claims to be in the know) that the CG in the retro line was originally supposed to be a different figure, so I very much agree with you.

And I have no doubt that a non-Mickey version will get a mass release at some point.

 

[nacho]

Survey says: 26,772. That's a lot of massive HISS tanks. I'll bet there were a lot more mutable-order folks than most haslabs, as it's both an army-builder type vehicle, AND a must have for many fans that will likely double in value before it's even shipped.

Seriously, the SW team has to be beside themselves looking at those numbers next to their two-in-a-row failed campaigns. $500 glow stick, my ass.

 

[ThunderDan19]

That's a very strong finish. Good for them!

Yeah, SW can eat their giant glow stick! Bring on more GI Joe!

 

[nacho]

I hope the Joe mgmt team puts out a video/post today acknowledging what a success the campaign was. You have to assume this exceeded their wildest expectations.

 

[ThunderDan19]

You can bet they're patting themselves on the back internally. You have to also figure they made bank on this offering. Let's hope they don't get cocky (looking at you, SW) and decide to drop a basic VAMP with mostly Breaker repaint Clutch, some strap on missiles, a BONUS blue repaint SE and an extra pack of Cobra!!! stickers for $300 next go round...

And it begins:

HASLAB GI JOE 6 Inch Classified Hiss Tank & Driver | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for HASLAB GI JOE 6 Inch Classified Hiss Tank & Driver at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[nacho]

Agreed, it would be easy to fall into the hubris trap. Hopefully they learn the lesson that giving people value is the way to a successful campaign, rather than the "Holy crap, we're too awesome to fail. They'll buy anything!" mentality the SW team seems to have adopted.

 

[nacho]

WM just sent me an email that retro SS and Zartan, originally scheduled for the end of this month... are now scheduled for May of next year. WTF Mattel!

 

[ThunderDan19]

They’re likely in the same wave as the CG And SE. That’s the only thing that makes sense.

 

[nacho]

General Hawk, Tripwire, Buzzer, Snow Serpent, and Female Cobra Trooper announced at Hasbro Pulsecon today.

Serpentor (pulsecon excl), Outback, Covergirl, Falcon, Crimson BAT, and BBQ (Marauders deco) all up for preorder this evening.

Color renders of Shipwreck, Torpedo, and RnR look great, although I'm not crazy about RnR's tan accents and lighter shade of green. Gonna have to paint that one.

EDIT: the 6" Indy figures look great too, and the first wave is Raiders-based, not grandpa indy. Indy and Toht (with alternate burned hand and melty face) up for PO today. Marion, Sallah, and Belloq (finale) also shown, BAF is the Ark. Gonna be 25+ figures in the line total. Fingers crossed for some arab and german army builders...

 

[ThunderDan19]

Pre-ordered Cover Girl and Falcon. No interest in the others in this wave.

Looking forward to getting the Tiger Outback in the next couple weeks (already have a vest to cover that t-shirt). Next after that should be the retro CG from Walmart when that comes available. Everything I want after that won’t be until next year according to the current estimates.

Next batch looks pretty cool! Pretty stoked for Hawk and Snow Serpent! Will have to see the others to decide.

 

[nacho]

I PO'd the whole wave. Falcon, CoverGirl, Serpentor, and Outback were automatic, but I'm tempted to just cancel the TF Outback, as it bugs me that his haircolor is so different as to not be the same guy, and I was never a fan of the orange t-shirt. I have no nostalgia for the vintage european figure TF Outback is based on.

I decided I wanted just one Crimson BAT to put with my CGs... as I assume it'll make for some fun photos. And against my better judgement I ordered a Marauder BBQ, mostly because I plan to cover the neon blue/green with some OD paint to make him a viable trooper. I might not hate him if he doesn't stand out like a strobe light.

 

[nacho]

Everything I want after that won’t be until next year according to the current estimates.

It's staggering how not counting basic repaints, we've gotten six figures this year (BAT, AV, Spirit, Stormshadow, Officer, croc...and that's it?), yet the pipeline already has POs, renders, or announcements for a couple dozen figures next year. They're either going all-in on Joe in '23, or the supply chain shenanigans have affected them more than we realized this year.

I guess it won't look too lopsided if we get the Stalker-Tomax-Xamot and Dusty-Zarana-CG waves this year, but at this rate, I'm not counting on anything else shipping until next year. Distribution is all over the place. Some people are already getting CGs stateside, but mine still say March...

 

[ThunderDan19]

I just checked and Amazon updated the Stalker wave to November, so that’s a couple more for ‘22. I had to go find this post to update my current pre-orders. Maybe we’ll yet see another wave move to late ‘22...

Ok, so I've got a buttload of pre-orders now. I've got (this is more to help me keep track than anything else):

• Spirit, Storm Shadow and Cobra Officer - due in July according to EE - Got them!
• Dusty, Crimson Guard and Zarana - due next March '23 according to Amazon. I wonder if this might update to a month or two earlier.
• Stalker, Tomax and Xamot - updated to Nov ‘22 from Amazon
• Outback (updated to 10/17/22), Recondo and Bazooka - due whenever Target decides to send them...
• Falcon & Cover Girl - due April ‘23 according to Amazon

Had to update this again. Tarjay sent me an update this morning that now they expect to deliver Outback on the 17th instead of the 7th. Naturally...

 

[nacho]

So, I took the plunge and ordered a selfie-series figure... well, two actually. I did the scan a few times to get my eyes looking straight (?), and the hair style choices aren't as multiple or adjustable as I'd have liked b/c it seems like it flattens the top of your head a bit, but overall it didn't do a horrible job. I think it will *kinda* resemble me... and they did me the favor of shaving off a few years and a few pounds, as the scan really smooths things out.

Being able to add a beard helps cover off the baby-face effect you might get otherwise. And the beard choices are pretty good. I have brown hair, but I got the beard in black, as the brown when applied thinly for a beard looked almost ginger-like. So I might have to stipple a little dark brown and salt over the top of it, no biggie.

I got one on a Snake Eyes buck and another on an Iron Man buck so I'd have the option of being a Joe or a Vala Action Force guy... because the Steel Brigade is the OG "figure of yourself"... or maybe I'll join the X-Men

I'll let you know circa thanksgiving how well the process worked out.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Of anybody, you would be a good choice for this, as you have the tools and know how to make it what it ought to have been. Any thoughts on which Joe body you'll end up on, which weapons, kit? I'm assuming not basic ninja Snake Eyes, though he's one of only a few w/o the shin guards you kinda hate. You'd at least have to add some (dull, flat, camo-y) color .

If I had your skills and tools, I'd probably make a hybrid of Beachhead and Firefly with my head, but would definitely need a helmet or hat, maybe from HA Roadblock or Gung Ho (since I don't think there is a ball cap option large enough so far), and a vest/plate carrier. I think I'd need Duke's carbine, since it looks the best so far. In the end, I'd wanna look like this guy (since I look a lot like him already):

 

[nacho]

I definitely won't use the footie-pajama ninja buck the head comes on. That's a hard pass.

Truth be told, I'll probably be "boring" and make myself an additional member of the O13... might use a spare Breaker or Stalker or other upcoming early figure. Kit-wise, I'll probably do a mix-n-match from the various Action Force and GridIron Studios offerings. A helmet seems like a must.

Then again, I might pop up in all kinds of scenarios. I might get an extra torpedo for my underwater demolition missions and an extra snowjob for all my arctic adventures. I shant be limited to just one outfit! I'm going to have aaaaaaaaall of the specialties.

But getting the ML version too, I can use any action force body (in theory), so I could pop that head onto any one of their modern operators. My thought is that the Joe and ML versions will have different neckballs and slightly different scales. Getting two from different lines gives me some extra options.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Sounds like a great strategy. Can't wait to see the finished product(s)!

 

[nacho]

In the end, I'd wanna look like this guy (since I look a lot like him already):

View attachment 15911

Dude looks like Motocross champ, Eli Tomac:

 

[Videoviper]

Did the Mando. Sucks that you can only order 1 at a time so I’ll have to pay more shipping to add the family.

I kind of look like I did when I was younger, but the hair is definitely off.

Would prefer to do my chosen scale

 

[ThunderDan19]

Dude looks like Motocross champ, Eli Tomac:

View attachment 15912 View attachment 15914

He does look a lot like a younger, skinnier me... with smaller ears...

 

[ThunderDan19]

Got an email this morning from Amazon that the Stalker wave is now due to be delivered mid October instead of November. I wouldn't be too surprised to see the Dusty wave yet this year as well. I'm pretty sure that generally the remaining figs in plastic fronted boxes were supposed to be this year's batch, and that the supply chain/delivery issues got them. Some of the all cardboard boxed stuff has jumped ahead in line a little to try to pick up the slack, but there's still a chance that some more of the the 2022 stuff could get in under the wire for this year.

 

[nacho]

I have yet to see a pic of stalker that doesn't look grey. I really hope the final product if more like a typical green.

My stalker and twins are ordered through hasbro pulse, which means I'll be lucky to see them by the end of the year.

 

[nacho]

He does look a lot like a younger, skinnier me... with smaller ears...

His ear growth was probably stunted by wearing a helmet 12 hrs a day since he could walk.

If you've never watched AMA Arenacross or Motocross, the guy is amazing. He's on another level. 2-time Arenacross champ, 4-time Motocross champ, in the top-3 all time in wins, podiums, laps led for both series, etc. Do yourself a favor and watch the guy race a time or two before he retires. Arenacross restarts in Jan on MAVtv. [/COMMERCIAL]

 

[ThunderDan19]

I agree that the Stalker definitely looks pretty dull in color. That is what you want for actual camo, but you're right, it looks grayish in pretty much every pic. His dark tone just blends in and makes it hard to see much detail as well. Hopefully it's better in person with normal lighting.

I brought up some Tomac highlights on youtube. Dude looks relentless in pursuit of the top spot. It has to feel like being stalked by a predator for the other guys...

 

[nacho]

Tomac lives and trains in Colorado where the air is thin. For some reason, he rarely gets the best starts, but he's so well conditioned... when the other guys start sucking wind, he's putting in the fastest laps of the race in the last 10%. Anybody else gets 5-10s behind the leader and they just cruise to a top-5, knowing they'll never make up the gap. Tomac just bides his time, finds the best lines throughout the first half of the race, and then he flips the switch and just rages forward. It has to be almost demoralizing for the rest of the field. He just keeps coming at you.

And the crowd loves him. When he passes someone, the guys in the booth know it, even if the cameras are elsewhere because of the intense crowd reaction. It's special to watch. I'll likely lose interest in bike racing when he quits just because everyone else feels so pedestrian by comparison.

 

[ThunderDan19]

I just found that the Retro CG and OG SE are up on Walmart.com. They currently show as Out of Stock, but might open up at 10am EDT if the rumors come true.

 

[ThunderDan19]

I got my CG pre-ordered and yes, nostalgia got the best of me (plus the fact that it got me free shipping -$7) so I pre-ordered an OG Snake Eyes too. He just looks too legit, and I still have trauma from losing the original at a park back in the 80's.

If I come to my senses, I'll just return the SE at the store, but what are the chances of that..? The tough part will likely be deciding if I keep my (close to) v2 SE or completely swap out to the OG. I'll worry about that when they ship, supposedly next June. But the other WM Retros shipped way early, so we'll see what these do.

I kind of thought maybe SS and Zartan might come up for pre-order today as well, but they don't show the same way as the CG/SE did prior to the drop, so now I'm thinking they probably won't. Not sure what is up with those two.

 

[nacho]

I kind of thought maybe SS and Zartan might come up for pre-order today as well, but they don't show the same way as the CG/SE did prior to the drop, so now I'm thinking they probably won't. Not sure what is up with those two.

Zartan and SS went up for PO long long ago... July 21st according to my WM acct.

EDIT: Apparently we had a conversation about it that day:

Classified retro Zartan and Stormshadow up at WM... That SS looks much better than the normal release, IMO.

G.I. Joe Classified Series Zartan Action Figure with Multiple Accessories, Classic Package Art - Walmart.com

G.I. Joe Classified Series Storm Shadow Action Figure with Multiple Accessories, Classic Package Art - Walmart.com

Weird that those are listed as arriving in August while the first wave is listed for September. Seems like the shipping issues really jacked things up for this line. Or maybe it's just WM.com being its usual wonky self. You'd think a corporate giant like WM would be able to have a reasonably good, accurate, searchable online presence, but nah, ain't no time for dat.

So I went ahead and ordered the retro style Lady Jaye and Baroness. I'm planning to use the best parts of both to improve the versions I have. I'll give my daughter the other versions. She seemed excited about that, so it's worth it. I don't have any reason to buy any of the other retros unless they go way into clearance. Knowing there are only going to be the ones we've seen makes it even less appealing as a MOC set.

 

[Videoviper]

What the fuck? Is this a GI Joe site again?

 

[ThunderDan19]

Zartan and SS went up for PO long long ago... July 21st according to my WM acct.

EDIT: Apparently we had a conversation about it that day:

It's coming back to me a little now. We had another convo when the delivery estimate for SS and Zartan got pushed out. I guess I got confused and thought maybe they were realigning with the ones from Today.

WM just sent me an email that retro SS and Zartan, originally scheduled for the end of this month... are now scheduled for May of next year. WTF Mattel!

SE and CG are scheduled for June.

 

[nacho]

Got a stalker from AMZ today, and while he's technically green, it's nearly as grey as the pictures. It's kind of a bummer considering the OG figure had a base color the same as Zap with dark green camo applied to it. This is as muted as humanly possible. Which means we'll get the real thing as some kind of store/con exclusive, retro line, or some other gimmick. They really never miss an opportunity to double-dip.

Pulse is still saying 11/1 on my other order.

It's a good looking figure, love the old-school ribbing on the collar and cuffs, love the shin-guard-less boots, love the lack of kneepads, the retro gun (whtever that thing is)..., the face sculpt is excellent and appropriate for the character (if not a little too mean looking)... it's really well done except for the color palate. I could try a repaint on my own, but it's too much of a pain to go lighter. I'll just patiently wait for the repaint or a brighter green Zap I can use to kitbash a proper Stalker onto. Ironically, this is closer to the shade that Breaker and RnR should have been, but they're more medium green. I feel like the people making these might be colorblind.

 

[ThunderDan19]

So I came across an Alpha Commando SE today on Mercari and offered $24 and got it. He’ll be replacing the (approximately) v2 version I currently have displayed at work. My daughter will get that one with Timber, so she’ll have a good full Classified v2. I really like the AC version of SE and have been watching for a deal for a while now. He’s got some great modernization updates while still being fully recognizable as SE, just how I like them. Plus I get a new carbine for Flint out of it.

No shipping notices yet for me for Outback or Stalker’s wave. They’ll probably show up while I’m traveling...