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

[ThunderDan19]

Huh, that does seem to be bucking the current trend a little for sure. That said, maybe they have been forced to acknowledge that they missed the primary sales window on these by over a year and that their appeal is very marginal, despite the inclusion of that... crate of reused weapons.

Maybe they are trying not to repeat the same outcome as the SB Officer/Twilight Trooper, though they still bumped the price up $5 from that one. Bets on whether we see a bunch of these for $15 at **checks notes** Burlington in a year or two?

 

[Videoviper]

It would be $20-30 more if it was a licensed product like Star Wars.

They make more profit on Joe at a smaller price.

 

[nacho]

It would be $20-30 more if it was a licensed product like Star Wars.

They make more profit on Joe at a smaller price.

One of the main reasons my SW and ML buying have slowed to a crawl. I feel like I'm getting ripped off every time I pay the disney tax for a mediocre figure with a single accessory. Joe isn't cheap by any means, but you at least feel like they're *trying* to give you some bang for the buck, even on the sets that are higher than we think they should be.

The disney brands can't/don't even bother pretending. They still act like they're doing you a favor.

 

[Videoviper]

Just tried to purchase some SW stuff on Walmart to get a free ticket to Mando on Fandango, & honestly it still would cost me since I either:

1: Won’t want to pay the inflated prices for 3.75” figures (Especially 3rd party sellers)

2: I don’t want to pay just enough to qualify but still need to pay shipping (The cost of the movie ticket I’m trying to get for free)

 

[nacho]

This photo vexes me. I don't recall the OG Snowcat dwarfing the HISS like this... They really did upscale it a lot. No wonder it was so expensive. They could have made it smaller, ditched the troop-transport feature, and made it more of a vehicle and far less of a rolling coffee table.

From a FOMO perspective, I'm glad I broke down and backed the campaign, but I fear it's going to be much like the Rattler... i.e. so big that I don't know what to do with it.

 

[ThunderDan19]

I don't know this guy, but if he's right, Lenny is leaving Hasbro for Boss Fight Studio. If true, I wonder what direction GCS will go under new management.

 

[nacho]

Yeah, a lot of panicking in Classified fandom today. Lenny leaving Hasbro for Boss Fight is wild, and the doomsayers are out in full force, even the guy at TFW that seems to have insider knowledge. He's quite the know-it-all, but he's right more often than not. He seems to think Lenny was the only person keeping Joe off the chopping block. Time will tell. But it's widely acknowledged that they operate 18-24 months in advance, so it's not going away any time soon, but after '28, who knows.

I'm at peace with it. If it all ends, so be it. We've gotten 95% of the good stuff, and while I'd like a sunbow line, my life will be complete without it. Knew it couldn't last forever, but I think someone will pick up the torch and run with it. Joe is too good of a brand to just walk away because the tattoo enthusiast left. Some new blood might even be a good thing. I guess we'll see in a couple of years.

 

[ThunderDan19]

I agree. It might even cause them to go the safe route and make the rest of the missing OGs and some more proper retros ahead of anything else Neon Ninja Force.

 

[nacho]

I had a weak moment impulse buy and picked up the Legacy Marine. I had seen where he has the right arms in the right color to correct retro Zap's lack of ribbed cuffs on his sleeves. It's a dumb reason to spend that much on a figure, but I assume that his gear will be useful (like you say, Cobra Bazooka Trooper feels like a no-brainer). I wouldn't mind picking up some extras of this guy, but only on substantial discount.

Laying out $46 for a well-equipped but generic non-character feels all kinds of wrong, but if I can justify it for parts for more than one custom, I'll at least be able to sleep tonight. I've wasted more on worse

(I spent more than that before even getting dressed this morning on a 4" 3P TF from NewAge... so it's hard to feel tooooooo bad)

 

[nacho]

Hawk and MMS down to $50 on AMZ with their digital coupon.

 

[nacho]

So, after Flash getting bumped for Mainframe at the end of '25 because of a need to cut budget and reuse parts (hence MF being confusingly forced onto the Short King Tunnel Rat buck), the assumption was that he was a lock for '26. But now bmac (effectively the new Lenny) reveals that Grand Slam is being released in '26. This certainly means Flash can't be far behind, but might not be this year. This is good news and a bummer, as Flash was always a fav. But we'll be getting him eventually I guess. More O13 is always welcome.

It's anyone's guess if GS is just a figure release or if he's getting released with a JUMP or HAL. JUMP feels more likely since the jetpack part is already tooled, and I don't see them tooling a massive 1/12 HAL, but I could be wrong.

Not sure what this big exciting news is though..."Item of the Year"...?

- Golobulus?
- New Haslab (I'm guessing Hydrofoil this year)? ... But hard to call that item-of-the-year since it wouldn't ship until late '27 at best.
- Some other big vehicle? (VAMP v2? WOLF? Wolverine?... I'm assuming that they'll be making something I've recently printed... just to spite me. That happens with 90% of my customs )

Not sure what could be THAT big of a reveal, but I'm at least intrigued more for YoJoeJune than I was when I woke up this morning. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[nacho]

Got a whole box of Crimson Moon not-Red-Shadows figures today. They're pretty great once you get rid of all the werewolf parts and get the heads all swapped around to be the correct RS characters. I skipped Red Jackal's metal head because despite being a repaint originally back in the day, he just looks like Temu Destro, and I can't have that.

Overall the figures are really well done. If I had to nitpick, I'd complain about the ankles, as some of them are a bit loose, and they have position notches that are really far apart, making getting the foot in just the right spot for balancing them feels harder than it should be. The weapons are made of a nice rigid plastic, no gumminess at all, but the mags on the AK's will fall out if you look at them. It's super annoying, as I think I've already lost one. I see a bit of Kragle in my future. Same for Red Jackal and Red Laser's wrist rockets... those things will not stay pegged in. Can't decide if I want to glue them or just use poster tack. And one of my troopers came missing the knife that should be glued to his webgear. Gonna have to hit BBTS up for a replacement part on that.

But those minor things aside, the figures are pretty great and add a ready-made evil faction to my Joe universe besides just Cobra.

The bearded guy just didn't behave. Sucks to be him!

 

[ThunderDan19]

I have no point of reference for those guys but they look pretty cool. First impression from the pics is that they are a bit more OG (normal) proportioned vs. today's typical 'roided-hero proportioned figures. They definitely give upsized O-ring.

 

[nacho]

I think it's just that they pretty much all have coats/tunics that make the torsos look thicker. The under-bodies are pretty much the same as ML/Classified. Red Laser definitely has a big-looking o-ring-style head though. The basic trooper heads definitely are more simple-vintage-looking than uber-detailed modern Joe figures, but I think that's part of their charm.

Full disclosure, I have very little point of reference with Red Shadows either. I own fan-produced reprints of all the old 80's Action Force comics, from both before and after they became Joe-adjacent... but I've only glanced at them, never sat down and read them all the way through. So I mostly know who they are from my stint collecting MOC figures, where I amassed a sizeable foreign figure collection (that I sold off in the great purge of '14).

I do hope that the BBTS line continues long enough to give us more classic RS troopers like Muton, Red Wolf, and Kraken as well as some of the other Red Shadows from the 200x DDP comics like Wilder Vaughn, Dela Eden, and Artur Kulik. Dela Eden is the one that killed Lady Jaye and turned Flint grimdark. I could have some photo fun in that arena.

But I'm no Red Shadows expert. I just like their look... and I think it's interesting to have some baddies that aren't Cobra, even if they're extremely Cobra-esque.

 

[nacho]

Just when you thought Ultimates couldn't get any cheaper... 80% off!

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www.bigbadtoystore.com

And don't buy the full waves... because for some reason, you can buy the individual figures cheaper than the set... and they're all there. Weird.

I desperately wish I needed some, but the truth is that I have more spares than I know what to do with, even at 80% off.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Yeah, aside from the individual price drops, something weird happened with their pricing on Wave 2. A while back I had an excess of play money burning my wallet and was considering buying a pile of them with it. At the time I believe they were priced something like $55, $66 and $88 each for the three waves, with the fig prices varying, generally by wave.

I had carted I believe 10 figs total (Waves 1& 2 plus Scarlett and SS v2) for around $170. I came very close to pulling the trigger a few times but waffled. Then tax season came along and we needed a new laptop to run the software, so bye bye play money and hello new laptop instead.

Since then they seem to have had a serious pricing reversal with Wave 2 since it jumped back up about 100% from what it had been dropped to. But, like you said, if I cart them mostly individually I could now get 12 figs for that $170, adding Doc and a Trooper, which is an even more amazing deal.

But alas, all my recent play money has gone to PO'ing Zanya, Destro and WB. And I can't justify dropping "real" money to jump start an already dead-ended collection of (not my favorite versions - particularly SE and Baroness) 'toon figs anyway, as cool as most of them are in their own right. Not gonna lie, that deal still gives me a little FOMO.

 

[nacho]

Yeah, part of me agrees that buying a dead line feels weird, but on the other hand, you know it's finite and not going to drain your wallet for years to come.

Despite the figure limitations, I don't even feel bad having paid msrp for them. They're so staggeringly toony and well sculpted, they still make me happy. And I have plenty of customization fodder when classified dies in a few years and I need a joe fix.

 

[nacho]

Zanya shipping from AMZ (and according to reports, pulse as well). And WM charged me for 250th Duke, but no word on when it'll ship.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Oh yeah, AMZ says my Zanya is supposed to arrive on Monday. That's a surprise! Apparently I stopped paying attention and didn't expect that one for a while yet, though Full Force has been reporting various Joe merch showing up at ports. Thanks for the heads up!

Looks like the Dreadnoks will need to spread out to make way for Zartan and Chameleon as the centerpiece of their shelf. It'll be interesting to try to find a proper weapon/set up for Zanya, as nothing she comes with in the pack seems to really fit her. Time to break out the weapon fodder!

 

[ThunderDan19]

Ramen Mauler?

Ramen Toy The Wolverine 1/12 Armored Tank Vehicle Coming Soon

Ramen Toys has revealed images of a prototype for their upcoming The Wolverine 1/12 Armored Tank vehicle that will be coming out later this year. While named

toynewsi.com

Maybe a ride for Steeler...

 

[nacho]

Yeah, he's been teasing this for a while. I'm on the fence about it.

On one hand, I need a Mauler and if he's sweetening the deal with a Heavy Metal figure, then it'll be hard to pass up. On the other hand, I went full-in on the MOBAT and all its attachments, and TBH, they were a letdown. The MOBAT didn't look like a MOBAT, more like a BigLots M1A1. And the Wolverine attachment was ok, but it also felt kinda light, cheap, and way too big. It didn't help that the plastic is very grey, not much OD in there at all, so that further killed the illusion.

The bridge layer feels more like it was worth it, as it's big and functional and unlikely to ever get made by anyone else at all. But I wish I'd stopped there. If I'd known how much I was going to 3d print, I'd likely have skipped the other two.

And then there's the Rowdy Toys offering, and I skipped the PO on that one. Rowdy has some great designs that he's sold physical copies and the 3d print files on Etsy. He's the one that designed the Thunder Machine I printed, and it was an extremely enjoyable build with well designed / thought-out parts and great instructions. But I couldn't exactly justify spending $300-$400 for a 3d printed version when we don't know who or what else might be jumping on the Mauler wagon (... Haslab '27?... if the line is still thriving?)

I like Ramen, as Ace clearly has a passion for this stuff. I love my General Lee, and the vans are cool too (the first three versions are getting a re-release with a few improvements, but curiously not the A-Team flavor... glad I got that one.) But the MOBAT letdown is hard to ignore. Maybe it was compromised by the modularity, trying to make sure it was cost effective, trying to be lots of things at once.... but ultimately not being great at any of them. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But Ace has said that his Mauler will not be ARAH accurate, as he's leaving that to the Rowdy Toys dude, and said that he's even buying a Rowdy version for himself. So we're left with either a not-accurate Ramen version (with a figure) or an expensive 3d printed Rowdy version that the PO window closed on a long time ago. I'm assuming Rowdy will do another round... or better yet, I'd love for him to make the files available to purchase, maybe print one myself. But that possibility alone makes me hesitant about another ho-hum Ramen biglots tank.

But but but... Heavy Metal! Ugh, what first world problems!

 

[ThunderDan19]

Has he made figures before? I'm wondering about the quality and compatibility to blend in with the CS figs.

 

[nacho]

Yeah, he made a set of Top Gun pilot figures... but they were really expensive... hopefully because he was new to the figure game and was dealing in very small batches. I don't know anyone that actually bought them, so I can't speak to their quality. There's probably a review on the youtubes, but I haven't researched it.

And now he's doing the licensed Knight Rider KITT project that comes with a Hoff figure. The MSRP (rumored to be over $300 + shipping) on that one exceeds my give-a-damn about Knight Rider, but for big fans, I'm sure it'll be rather popular.

And he's stated that later this year, he's doing a second run of Tiger Orange (i.e. General Lee) and that he'll be releasing a Bo, Luke, Daisy set of figures to go along with it. The renders look pretty good, but it's just vaporware at the moment. So while he has figure experience, it's not extensive.

 

[nacho]

Right on cue, WM canceled my 250th Duke. Ugh. Would have been nice, but no big loss. Maybe I'll stumble on one in the wild eventually.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Gotta love that buttery flakeyness (is that a word?) that only WM can bring...

I can't say for sure whether or not the novelty and nostalgia will overtake me in the moment if I do see one in the wild (which seems nearly impossible these days since none of the WMs near me carry anything Joe any more), but I don't see paying $28 for the red, white and blue Duke. I no longer have a spot for it as wallpaper since I picked up a cheap rLJ to fill it, so I kinda doubt it.

That said, novelty plus a good clearance deal? That might get just get me.

 

[nacho]

It seems that most people's POs got cancelled, so one has to imagine that these will be clogging displays very soon. I'm not even sure they'll be on pegs, but rather mid-aisle seasonal displays.

I saw several red-white-blue themed setups in the main aisle in front of the toy section over the weekend, one of which included the 'Murica-themed soccer-playing transformer, so I have to assume Scooby-Duke will get the same treatment. That bodes well for stores that don't normally have joes on the pegs, as most would still get the full promo display.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Yeah, endcap or island displays seem the most likely since most stores don't seem to have dedicated shelf space these days. I think I've seen one of those islands like you mentioned as well, but never one of those cardboard CS Joe end caps that were showing up a couple months ago.

I'll be down south on vacation pretty soon, and they have a ginormous WM there and plenty of patriotism. Maybe we'll get there in time to see something down there before they evaporate. Still doubt it'll hook me, but I would enjoy seeing it in person.

Zanya/Chameleon arrived on Friday, but I was too busy moving furniture (got a new [to us] living room set, so the old had to go, and my office got a cleanout/facelift as well) and then playing Battlefield all weekend, so I never got to break it open. Yes, it's an addiction.

 

[nacho]

Wow, friday. That's quick! Zanya arrived here just minutes ago. UPS rolling early today.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Yeah, AMZ is weird for us. Sometimes we get stuff super fast, even without using Prime. And then there are other items that take forever even when my wife uses my daughter's Prime to speed things up. I'm pretty sure those must be through a third party seller or something.

I think we have a distribution center about half an hour or so north of us right now, but they are currently building what we believe to be another one about 10 minutes south from us, so it might get even a little better soon. It's almost enough to make me not want to leave the house... like I need an excuse...

 

[nacho]

Got Ketchup and Mustard today. I know the reception on them was lukewarm, but I'm glad to have them. If nothing else, it mean I have some troops to service the Rattler without having to steal troops from other units.

Interestingly, I had not seen this before... Ketchup has a red face mask, while Mustard has a black mask. But Ketchup also has a vertical scar running through his left eye. I am 1000% swapping his head with a basic Officer and making a Scarface. Yes, technically the classic Scarface has a v-shaped scar that runs up through both eyes, but this will do for now. It's an easy LBC until hasbro gets around to doing more comic figures.

 

[ThunderDan19]

So I finally found a minute to open up the Zanya/Chameleon set and get it up and displayed.

While nothing particularly outstanding, the Chameleon does fine as the center piece of the Zartan/Dreadnok/other-assorted-freaks shelf. I'd characterize it as about as good as the original, since it was always a cheap (obviously a relative term these days), while generally successful, attempt at a mini vehicle then and now. Ol' Z himself has taken proper possession of it and now straddles it like he owns it, while commanding his minions.

As for Zanya, she's a pretty good figure as well, in a psycho/freaky kind of way. I didn't use any of her accessories except for the oversized knife that goes on her belt. Speaking of belt, I can't fathom how H'bro still can't get the rubbery vs. rigidity of their plastic parts right. While I haven't found it the case any other time recently, her belt is darn near rigid when it should be way more rubbery like pretty much every other belt I've seen on CS figs.

Anyway, back to the accessories. I gave her I believe it was Buzzer's saw blade baseball bat, which by the way is way too rubbery . It's not really an issue though since it just hangs on that hook on her belt for display. I'm glad I found something to hang there since it is otherwise pretty useless. And for her main weapon - I gave her the pseudo AK-47 that H'bro inexplicably packaged with original Sgt. Slaughter. It's the low budget, low IQ, high damage choice around the world, so why not for Lil' Z.

Zanya hangs out at the back of the pack with her aunt and uncle, letting the meatheads take the lead and the damage while generally adding to the chaos while picking off targets of opportunity. I really don't have a frame of reference for anything else for her since she came along well after I had moved on back in the day. I am glad at least that she is a well executed fig, so I feel that the money for the set was fairly well spent, and definitely adds to the display.

With that I'd say my Dreadnok shelf is pretty well complete, at least until they decide to release a Thunder Machine. If that happens, I will have to go back to square one because I don't think relocating Croc Master, Raptor and Copperhead would create enough extra space there for it. I guess we'll cross that bridge if it happens.

 

[ThunderDan19]

And... I just ordered Sarge and Mercer from AMZ. I'm not proud of it, but they had a good coupon and I had some play money that got me down to less than $10 out of pocket so I did it. Do I need another Sarge? Absolutely not. But I did want to lock in Mercer as he was a bit of a favorite back in the day. And I anticipate his buddies will be discounted even more than he and Sarge were before it's done, so I jumped.

I had been watching the IG BAT over there which had gotten down below $25 w/ free shipping before going back up to $28. I could have just gotten that, but (even though one is a redundant Sarge) this is two figs, and I just can't justify the IGB for over $25. Plus, I'm convinced it will eventually be discounted significantly from that.

Bring on the Warthog! (not really... unless it's awesome)

 

[nacho]

I have zero use for a Warthog or TTT. No chance my shelves have room for a wrassler's vehicle.

I liked Mercer back in the day... definitely the coolest of the three Renegades. Except I remember in the late 80s I desperately wanted X-Men figures (long before Toybiz started making Marvel figures). So I customized some Joes, and Mercer became Colossus.

That 2-pack would have to get really cheap for me to bite, as my feelings on Sarge are well documented, and this Mercer is strangely small. I always pictured him as a bruiser, and this little dude just looks like a kid dressing up in an adult Mercer costume. I feel like he was designed by the same person that gave us derpy Mainframe. BUT, cheap enough, and I'd take a plunge. And if not, I'll live without the Joe-noks.

No shame in getting something you're after though, especially discounted. I like plenty of figures that weren't all that well received. I saw that IG BAT somewhere below MSRP the other day and thought of you. Now I'm trying to remember where... Do you have a camelcamelcamel alert set on the amazon listing?

 

[ThunderDan19]

I don’t, I usually just swing by a couple times a day or so, How’s the camel thing work?

 

[nacho]

camelcamelcamel is a website that tracks amazon prices and lets you set threshold alerts if a price dips below what you want to pay. But they have a browser add-on called "the camelizer" that makes it easy to look at the price history of any item while on the amazon item page. It's pretty cool. I've been using it for 10-15 years.

It's free to use... I guess they make affiliate-link money by you hopefully clicking through to the item when you receive the alert. But regardless, it's very handy.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Another one bites the dust…

G.I. Joe Classified Brand Team Member Tony Collela Has Announced He is Leaving Hasbro

The G.I. Joe Classified brand team is down another member. Designer Tony Collela has announced on social media that he is leaving Hasbro for a new job with Bo

toynewsi.com

 

[nacho]

On a human level, I wish him well. On a Joe level, I don't know what he specifically did or didn't do for the line. He seemed like a nice guy on the streams, but I have zero clue what this will mean for Joe. The franchise existed long before he and Lenny came along, and it'll exist in some form after they're gone. I refuse to assume the sky is falling just because hasbro wants everyone to relocate to Boston and some people choose another path. TBH, I probably wouldn't go to Boston either (yuck).

 

[ThunderDan19]

Apparently he was more of the execution guy for Lenny’s “big picture“ designs. Together they were the face of the design team. My hope is that maybe this will actually stabilize the line away from the weird and to the “safe” releases we haven’t gotten yet.

 

[nacho]

It shouldn't take a design wizard to make classified versions of ARAH figures... or sunbow designs. They need not reinvent the wheel.

 

[HUNMARINE]

They need not reinvent the wheel.

For Hasbro - exactly...with new guys on the job...especially without money for their salary.
And also it means - its gonna be a 50/50 situation, that the new "team" would possibly make something we all want and desire.
Aaand - dont forget, that Hasbro would set up its own rules...which usually cause the cost and quality of the figures...and of course - the new team will stick to this rules if they dont want to lose their jobs.

So please welcome the era of the expensive low grade kitbashes and repaints...
(of course after Hasbro will use all the ideas left from Tony and Lenny)...