What would it take for you to "finish" your collecting?
For me, a complete set of Sunbow Joes, and a few more beyond that, would probably seal the deal.
If Hasbro could muster 4 good 7-packs for 2014's 50th Anniversary, with smartly chosen characters and none of their typical filler/waste-o-space bullshit, I think they could pretty safely wrap up the "25th Anniversary" era, and leave any extras for the Club to fill in over the next couple of years. I don't want any more vintage-geared SDCC figures. I think that should be wrapped up from here on, and finished. This past year was a decent "last stage" for that, not the best "last note", but it was okay. Let 'em move onward with the future of Joe, whatever that is (if there is anything to move forward with.)
If they focused on releasing a good portion of those "Concept Case" figures, plus maybe a dozen more, I'd be happy. Seeing figures like Gung-Ho and Destro from that case makes me want them to redo the remaining figures from the original 2007 5-packs, just to come full-circle. (Let's face it, they look dated as hell now, and most of them are just awful looking when compared to the newer figures.)
Ending the line with some of those would be a cool "bookend" to the 25th Anniversary era. Duke, Scarlett, Roadblock, plus the Concept Case Gung-Ho and maybe a new General Hawk, Flint, Lady Jaye or Shipwreck could make a solid "commemorative" 5- or 7-pack of core Joes, and one more secondary Joe set for as-yet-to-be-made guys like Frostbite, Cross-Country and the Concept Case Leatherneck would be killer. Hell, toss in a few of the "easy kitbash" homeruns like the Concept Case Beachhead, BBQ, or a 'toon-colored Law & Order, and you've got another 5- or 7-pack. Done with the Joes. (Super bonus points if they fixed that fuckup of an Iceberg.)
Cobra could use updates on pretty much Destro, Zartan and Major Bludd. The Concept Case had a solid Destro and Zartan, and Bludd wouldn't be too difficult to redo from mostly existing tooling. A redone Copperhead using the new Rockblock buck, a kitbashed Scrap-Iron update, and a kitbashed Mindbender, and hell… They could even toss in the new Cobra Commander with an "I was once a maaaan" '87 movie head if they absolutely had to. A new Serpentor wouldn't be the worst thing, but they'd need to do some new tooling or not bother there. And that's one 7-pack (give or take one or two.)
Besides a fixed Monkeywrench, the only other necessary updates to Cobra would be troop-builders that they didn't quite get right the first time around. And if they did a set of just troop-builders, they'd damn well make them all troop-builders and make 3x as many as the other single sets, and they'd move without sticking retailers with a bunch of them. The Concept Case had the fantastic updated Tele-Viper, Eel and Snow Serpent, and several new troopers we haven't seen yet, and I'd love to see an accurate Motor-Viper (kitbashed from existing parts, of course), Stinger Driver, Cobra Officer, etc. to fill in the remainder. And you've got an excellent "Cobra Legions II" multi-pack.
TL;DR. What would it take for you to "wrap it up" and end your collection?
For me, a complete set of Sunbow Joes, and a few more beyond that, would probably seal the deal.
If Hasbro could muster 4 good 7-packs for 2014's 50th Anniversary, with smartly chosen characters and none of their typical filler/waste-o-space bullshit, I think they could pretty safely wrap up the "25th Anniversary" era, and leave any extras for the Club to fill in over the next couple of years. I don't want any more vintage-geared SDCC figures. I think that should be wrapped up from here on, and finished. This past year was a decent "last stage" for that, not the best "last note", but it was okay. Let 'em move onward with the future of Joe, whatever that is (if there is anything to move forward with.)
If they focused on releasing a good portion of those "Concept Case" figures, plus maybe a dozen more, I'd be happy. Seeing figures like Gung-Ho and Destro from that case makes me want them to redo the remaining figures from the original 2007 5-packs, just to come full-circle. (Let's face it, they look dated as hell now, and most of them are just awful looking when compared to the newer figures.)
Ending the line with some of those would be a cool "bookend" to the 25th Anniversary era. Duke, Scarlett, Roadblock, plus the Concept Case Gung-Ho and maybe a new General Hawk, Flint, Lady Jaye or Shipwreck could make a solid "commemorative" 5- or 7-pack of core Joes, and one more secondary Joe set for as-yet-to-be-made guys like Frostbite, Cross-Country and the Concept Case Leatherneck would be killer. Hell, toss in a few of the "easy kitbash" homeruns like the Concept Case Beachhead, BBQ, or a 'toon-colored Law & Order, and you've got another 5- or 7-pack. Done with the Joes. (Super bonus points if they fixed that fuckup of an Iceberg.)
Cobra could use updates on pretty much Destro, Zartan and Major Bludd. The Concept Case had a solid Destro and Zartan, and Bludd wouldn't be too difficult to redo from mostly existing tooling. A redone Copperhead using the new Rockblock buck, a kitbashed Scrap-Iron update, and a kitbashed Mindbender, and hell… They could even toss in the new Cobra Commander with an "I was once a maaaan" '87 movie head if they absolutely had to. A new Serpentor wouldn't be the worst thing, but they'd need to do some new tooling or not bother there. And that's one 7-pack (give or take one or two.)
Besides a fixed Monkeywrench, the only other necessary updates to Cobra would be troop-builders that they didn't quite get right the first time around. And if they did a set of just troop-builders, they'd damn well make them all troop-builders and make 3x as many as the other single sets, and they'd move without sticking retailers with a bunch of them. The Concept Case had the fantastic updated Tele-Viper, Eel and Snow Serpent, and several new troopers we haven't seen yet, and I'd love to see an accurate Motor-Viper (kitbashed from existing parts, of course), Stinger Driver, Cobra Officer, etc. to fill in the remainder. And you've got an excellent "Cobra Legions II" multi-pack.
TL;DR. What would it take for you to "wrap it up" and end your collection?
