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

[nacho]

So, POs were exactly what we thought: Ripper, Buzzer, Helix, Hawk, & Shockwave.

retro line reveals (no longer WM excl, better card stock): Scarlett, Duke, Recondo, Beachhead, Eel, Snow Serpent

renders shown: Techno-viper, Airborne, Big Boa, Quick-Kick, Mutt & Junkyard. Airborne looks like he was modeled after Jimmy Garappolo.

name-only pipeline reveals:
-Metal-Head (render actually shown, deluxe, not bad)
-Night Creepers
-Gnawgahyde & boar
-Ferret (not sure if it's the 4-wheeler or the driver of the DEMON... I'm guessing the ATV),
-60th Action Soldier (deluxe, looks like Valaverse figure)
-60th Action Sailor (deluxe repaint of Torpedo w/ extra gear)

EDIT: Strikes me very odd that there was zero mention of Parth "Wolf Spider" Varma, despite already seeing the produced figure and the finished packaging. Makes me continue to wonder if that's not some kind of above-average custom. There's something about it that just doesn't quite fit.

 

[nacho]

Went to Ollie's today, and to my surprise, they had an entire 6-shelf endcap of $4.99 classified Joes! It was glorious!

Except every single one of them was a movie figure. Even at $5, I couldn't make myself buy any of them.

Bought an $8 ML for the head, and at target, I bought three Sallah's on clearance to make into some taliban regulars.

Earlier this morning, I got a random email from Target saying that Grunt was back in stock, and he was listed at $11.99. I ordered five of them. If they show up, great, and if not, I've still got several at full price from AMZ and Pulse. Couldn't pass up new Joes for 12 bucks, especially one with so much custom potential.

 

[ThunderDan19]

So, POs were exactly what we thought: Ripper, Buzzer, Helix, Hawk, & Shockwave.

retro line reveals (no longer WM excl, better card stock): Scarlett, Duke, Recondo, Beachhead, Eel, Snow Serpent

renders shown: Techno-viper, Airborne, Big Boa, Quick-Kick, Mutt & Junkyard. Airborne looks like he was modeled after Jimmy Garappolo.

name-only pipeline reveals:
-Metal-Head (render actually shown, deluxe, not bad)
-Night Creepers
-Gnawgahyde & boar
-Ferret (not sure if it's the 4-wheeler or the driver of the DEMON... I'm guessing the ATV),
-60th Action Soldier (deluxe, looks like Valaverse figure)
-60th Action Sailor (deluxe repaint of Torpedo w/ extra gear)

EDIT: Strikes me very odd that there was zero mention of Parth "Wolf Spider" Varma, despite already seeing the produced figure and the finished packaging. Makes me continue to wonder if that's not some kind of above-average custom. There's something about it that just doesn't quite fit.

I’m underwhelmed with the new pipeline reveals and mixed on the renders:

Techno viper - looks cool, but will likely pass. I just don’t have a place for him.
Airborne - pretty good, but scratching my head on the rifle.
Big Boa - hard pass. Always was, always will be. He can go play with Rocky.
Quick Kick - can go play with them too! Pass.
Mutt & JY - absolute yes!
Metal Head - who? Don’t care. Pass.
60th Soldier - solid. Might get if I can find a good use for one, or some of the extras he comes with.
60th Sailor - also solid, but doesn’t seem to bring anything particularly useful that Torpedo doesn’t already. Maybe if they make it to Ollies!

The retros renders I’ve seen look solid, but none will be displacing any of my current versions as of now. I‘m pretty confident I’ll be passing on all the other new name onlys.

I’ll be PO’ing all five of the new drops, but not while I’m away from home. I’ve learned not to purchase over questionable wifi networks from past experience. I pretty confident they’ll still be available when I’m safely back home.

That‘s awesome on the Grunts! I hope it sticks!

 

[nacho]

I’m underwhelmed with the new pipeline reveals and mixed on the renders:

Techno viper - looks cool, but will likely pass. I just don’t have a place for him.
Airborne - pretty good, but scratching my head on the rifle.
Big Boa - hard pass. Always was, always will be. He can go play with Rocky.
Quick Kick - can go play with them too! Pass.
Mutt & JY - absolute yes!
Metal Head - who? Don’t care. Pass.
60th Soldier - solid. Might get if I can find a good use for one, or some of the extras he comes with.
60th Sailor - also solid, but doesn’t seem to bring anything particularly useful that Torpedo doesn’t already. Maybe if they make it to Ollies!

The retros renders I’ve seen look solid, but none will be displacing any of my current versions as of now. I‘m pretty confident I’ll be passing on all the other new name onlys.

I’ll be PO’ing all five of the new drops, but not while I’m away from home. I’ve learned not to purchase over questionable wifi networks from past experience. I pretty confident they’ll still be available when I’m safely back home.

That‘s awesome on the Grunts! I hope it sticks!

Don't blame you for not using shady wifi networks, but no VPN where you're traveling? I use expressVPN everywhere, all the time. Gamestop seems to be the only major retail site I frequent that will just not work with it, as I suspect they have their IP addys blocked. But ExpressVPN works great to protect me from questionable interwebs when I'm out, and it's great for downloading when I'm at home.

I'm down for most all the retros, as I like Duke and Scarlett even more than my customs... and Recondo is a no brainer in his classic deco. Beachhead is a "probably", depending on any improvements. If Eel is any different, I might get one to be the "officer", and I cancelled my other "deluxe" snow serpents in favor of the retro, assuming it won't be too different, just less stuff. If I can get more without having to pay $10 for a wolf pelt and snowboard I don't want, then that's a win.

As for the mainlines... I'll pick up everyone from '82-87, including Boa... if nothing else to have someone for Slaughter to fight before he gets killed early in battle. Metal-head is basically Destro's IG version of Scrap-Iron, came out in '90. I might get him just because Destro-troops will be few and far between. Tells us IGs are almost definitely in the pipeline. Techno-viper... I'll get 2-3 just for maintenance troops, but I won't be building a squad like I do with most A-list troopers. They're glorified mechanics in my world.

Gnawgahyde is a dreadnok, so I'll get one because we're almost out of named cobras, and I only want one night-creeper because I need to dye him black for my Plague trooper 13-man squad, as "Incision".

60th troopers... yeah agreed, I'll wait for a sale. I'm not paying deluxe prices for hasbro-valaverse figures that don't have any must-have parts or gear.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Hmm, you make a good point on the Snow Serpent. I wonder if he’ll have the original (better) paint job. I need to consider canceling the deluxe one. Have you seen any renders of the retro yet?

As for a VPN, I use one when I’m on a laptop (not often), but not on my devices. I haven’t looked into how that would work.

 

[nacho]

No, haven't seen any renders of the retro SS. I'm just gambling and canceled my other POs. Paying for all that extra trash for the rest of my squad was very unappealing.

Not to sound like a commercial, but ExpressVPN has apps for every platform, even mobile devices. I've been using them for over a year, and I've been really happy. Really fast, lots of nodes to pick from geographically, no leaks. I used to not want to use one because I was concerned it would slow my connection down too much, but they are quick to the point that I don't notice I'm using it. I tried them after hearing Ben Shapiro stumping for them on his show, but it's been worth it.

 

[nacho]

Target sent me an email that they've shipped my $12 Grunts. I won't get excited until I see what's in the box, but looks good so far. Fingers crossed!

 

[nacho]

Tunnel Rat is a pretty awesome little figure. He's actually shorter than the "standard" Joe, as he should be. He has a ton of gear, face sculpt looks great. My only beef is that he now has combat boots instead of cowboy boots, and his pants are grey instead of black. Both changes are more "real", but I'll be tempted to try to correct them both on a spare figure. For the "modern update" folks, he'll be a favorite.

 

[nacho]

These are sublime. I just desperately hope Flint gets the same treatment. I would hope for LJ too, but they already botched her retro release and I think most fans never want to see her ever again.

 

[ThunderDan19]

They definitely look legit! I would likely have bought them had they been the original releases of each, but I’m beyond that now and have no space or budget for a parallel retro set. That said, if I find any particular fig superior to one of the Joe CS figs I don’t already have, I’ll readily buy the retro and do what I need to assimilate him/her into my collection. If if find a retro superior after I own, I’ll do like I did for LJ and use the best parts of each to make my final version and give my daughter the other.

 

[nacho]

Grunt and Low Light in 'da house! Once I paint a set of Stalker's webgear to replace the plate carrier and change a few strap colors and such, I'll have the O13 complete in this form.

When it's all said and done, I suspect I'll have two sets, a Vala-based set and another set based on official & slightly tweaked hasbro products. But for now, I'll have all thirteen represented somehow in 6", a longtime goal from a decade before Classified ever existed. Very cool.

 

[nacho]

 

[ThunderDan19]

Looking forward to seeing pics of the complete set of OG13!

So what‘s your opinion of Low Light now that you have him in hand? I felt from the first time I saw him that he just looks uninspired. I‘m not sure what it is he’s lacking and I can’t really even come up with a good plan to try to improve upon the design like I’ve been able to do with a few others. I want to like him, but I just can’t seem to do it. Maybe he needs a semi-blacked out ghillie suit or something...

 

[nacho]

I agree about Low Light. He really is boring. His outfit is greebly... despite being very ARAH faithful, and there isn't much fun about him. The sculpt is nice, the gear is appropriate and well done... but he just doesn't do much for me. I was way more excited about getting a stalker harness painted for grunt... and when I was ready to take the pic, I was like, "Oh yeah, I got Low Light too. Guess I should put him in there. meh."

But he looks the part, and I can't complain about his ARAH deco. I'll just have to accept that he's not all that exciting... but his '86 figure wasn't either, so maybe there's just something about the character. Truth is, that's how I feel about the Classified Beachhead figure too. He's pretty uninspiring. I'm hoping that his retro offering is more fun.

 

[ThunderDan19]

I am looking forward to seeing how they handle Beachhead as well. I don’t hate the JoeCS version, but know there is room for improvement for sure, particularly with his load out. I could see hybridizing him for more character, possibly using the retro figure as the base if it’s awesome.

 

[nacho]

I think part of my dissatisfaction with LL is just my well-documented disdain for the class of '86. I do like a few of them, as they're interesting characters, but my whole "replacement theory" kinda taints that whole year's worth of figures in my mind. If the toon had integrated them with their specialty brethren rather than completely displacing the older characters, I'd probably feel very differently towards them.

I have the same love/hate with the TF class of '86, except in the case of TF, I wasn't a huge fan of the '85 guys (also well documented), so the '86 replacements weren't nearly as offensive in that context.

Ironically, Low Light is one of the few '86 characters that wasn't directly replacing anyone and shouldn't bug me... yet I still find his figure lacking. He's just dull and greebly. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[nacho]

Got BB x5 today. He's going to make a great terrorist, KGB/FSB troop, eastern block troop, or Oktober Guard base figure for Horrorshow. He's a little large, making use of the Slaughter lower half and seemingly new upper half. Definitely a 1/4" taller than Grunt and Low Light.

The gas mask head is the icing on the cake, as it looks nothing like a joe would wear but definitely more like 80's commies. Even comes with a MAC-10-esque sub (I'm not up on my tiny machine guns these days), the choice of non-aiming euro-terrorists everywhere.

 

[ThunderDan19]

BB? Never heard of him... joking. I was past Joe by the time he came along I guess. Plus, GI Joe was supposed to be a real American hero, no? Glad you are using that limey poser as a base for other stuff.

 

[nacho]

I'm in the exact same boat. I was into cars and girls by the time he came along, and I never learned of the character until I got back into Joe in the mid-Oughts. AND he's not american, so how can he be on the US Military's elite anti-terrorism strike force? Is there an exchange program with the SAS? If so, I hope we sent them f#%ing Bazooka.

Yeah, he's going to be a superb base figure for OpForces. I've got two more coming today (maybe b/c WM sent them to my old office address, grrrr) along with a couple of Range Vipers.

I have little connection to RVs either, but they're visually striking, and I need at least one to open to make my all-black Plague RV, "Body Bags". I bought a black CG head off mercari, someone parting out a PP CG. And I found an aussie caster selling great Munitia and Laser Viper heads. And I've got some idea about most of the other plague members. The AVAC is the only one I'm drawing a blank on, and I assume either hasbro or a caster will make a head for him eventually. I'm pretty stoked about having an evil-counterpart O13 squad, if nothing else because they're such a novel concept, and quite frankly, more scary than an entire legion of blueshirts.

 

[Videoviper]

Thank god I never went 6”

Need time to go through the 100 joes I have & set up the OG on my shelf.

I keep threatening to sell off Stuff, but never do.

 

[nacho]

Gotta say, as much as I have no nostalgic connection to Range Viper, he's a damn cool figure. I won't be army building him per-se, but I ordered five - one to keep in the box, one for my Plague guy, and a three-man squad.

I was going to use the black RV from the HISS Fire Team as the base for my Plague trooper, but after looking at them closely, the standard release has more black than the black fireteam figure. The FTRV has grey pants, grey arms, and red gear. So I canceled the HISS FT, as I'm old-school enough to want my HISS flanked by blueshirts anyway.

 

[nacho]

No joke, Target shipped me a box of $12 Grunts! Can't get fodder much better than that.

 

[nacho]

Finally, some non-cobra opposition. These guys look like they are raiding some bio-lab in an old eastern block country in an issue of Special Missions.

 

[ThunderDan19]

I went ahead and PO'ed Hawk, Shockwave, Buzzer and Ripper. Not that I needed to, but it's nice knowing that I'll get them as early as Amazon has them and at the lowest price they offer. I couldn't pull the trigger on Helix. She's not that great of a figure and I have next to zero knowledge or nostalgia for the character. I might pick her up down the road at a lower price if I see her on clearance or reduced (like pretty much every other female figure has gone).

I tried to cancel my Snow Serpent fig, but couldn't because he was co-PO'ed with Grunt, who has been delivered, and together had gotten me the free shipping. At least the price came down a couple bucks on the two of them. Feels like a waste to get the "deluxe" version with the wolf pelt and stuff I'll never use. In the end there are accessories I never use with every other figure anyway I suppose. It's just a lot of waste for the price. I'll still pick up the retro SS if he's more like the original and has better paint and accessories.

I opened Grunt yesterday since his delivery box was pretty smashed. The package box was a bit smashed too, but everything inside was fine, so whatever. That must have been a USPS delivery . I really dig the figure. They captured the essence of the original with a decent update. They still kept him pretty plain, but with enough character to fit right in. I had to change his rifle though. The outdated M-16 and the cartoon laser rifle weren't gonna do it for me.

Hoping to get Tunnel Rat and Crimson Viper opened today and all of them set up. Might need to pick a couple more figs to take home for my daughter. So far, Dusty and Alley Viper are the prime candidates for that, as they stand out the most as the odd balls color-wise. We'll see if I find the time, as I need to make a run to Ollie's and Cabela's some time today as well.

Saw plenty of Shippys and RnRs again at WM last evening along with the green pant SEs and Scrap Irons, and retro GHs. Might have to watch for clearance on those after the holidays...

 

[nacho]

I agree that the M-16 is pretty antiquated, but there are sooooo many AR rifles out there now IRL that mimic the look, I don't have a hard time convincing myself that this is a modern weapon with a retro appearance.

Shippy and RnR seem plentiful everywhere, yet I've never seen a Torpedo at retail. Weren't they in the same case/wave? Is Torpedo just getting snatched up, or is WM getting full cases of Shipwreck? It's very odd. But I see all the same figures at my local stores, with of course the retro LJ and Baroness that will still be on pegs five years from now.

I love how the interwebs are melting down over the $90 Crimson 3-pack now that they've all learned that the red baroness neckball isn't the same as that of the previous Baroness. So the only reason to get that whole set, the extra Baroness noggins, is now null and void. Hasbro kicked them in the jewels, and they're salty. And I'm here for it, as there was no chance I was wasting that kind of jack on red repaints I'd never display.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Hasbro? That's messed up.

The whole Torpedo thing has been odd too, like they produced a lot fewer of him or something. He is a pretty good fig too, so there is the potential that what is hitting pegs is getting snatched up. Although I've never actually seen him in the wild either, so who knows?

I'm hoping to see Shipwreck and RnR at Ollie's prices at some point. I'd buy one of each for that. I need an extra ammo box for RnR and would pay more to get it and shipped from Mercari.

 

[nacho]

I have a couple extra RnR's, but I wouldn't mind a couple more. And I definitely would like a cheap Shipwreck just for the head to put on other bodies. If either of them dip below $15, I'll probably snag one or two. I have no delusion that they'll ever get as cheap as the stupid movie figures at Ollie's. That's the perfect storm of overproduction and zero demand that's unlikely to be replicated... until the next movie.

 

[ThunderDan19]

I dunno. The ad for Ollie's had Stalker, Storm Shadow and Dusty for $5 each. That's not a movie wave, but may well have been overproduced too, as it seems maybe the Shippy/RnR cases have. I'll hopefully know more after my follow up visit to Ollie's today, if I find any leftovers at least.

As many SW and ML figures as I've seen around there, I could see some of the less popular and overproduced Joe CS figs could joining them. Hey, you just got a bunch of current release Grunts for $12/pop. It could happen! Have a little faith, man!

 

[nacho]

I did, but that felt like a glitch more than a true sale. Target already fixed the glitch. I can't believe they sent them to me. I'm never that fortunate!

I know the ad showed dusty and stalker, but they won't be plentiful like those movie figs, and they'll get snatched up long before I make my quarterly visit to Ollie's. I already have at least a half-dozen stalkers and dustys, but I'd buy more at $5 for sure. Too much custom potential in those guys to let the cheap fodder pass by. But I agree, Shippy and RnR seem more likely to have been overproduced.

 

[ThunderDan19]

So, I went to Ollie's at lunch today and found dozens of Joe CS... movie... figures . It is a step in the right direction for my location though, as last time there were exactly zero Joe CS figures. I saw mostly Karenesses and SEs with a few SSs, Akikos (whateverhernameis) and Scarletts. I bought none, because they have hardly any accessories and have particularly un-useful bodies.

I'm not surprised, but I was thinking that, despite the massive overproduction and minimal interest, the movie figs would have finally dried up by now. I was hoping that maybe that would allow for other post-movie waves (like that shown in the ad) - that got stuck in the covid backlog and never made it to retail at WM - to have been sold off as overstock with all the newer waves coming in now.

That may still be the case, but, if so, they are apparently still back in line behind the movie figs, if they were in the closeout bundle at all. They may show up at some stores, but probably not until other stock clears out. Maybe once word gets out on Hisstank that the movie figs are only $5, they'll start to army build movie SEs and Karenesses...*shudders*

There were even more SW and ML figures than last time with cases of toys and action figs stacked on palettes out on the sales floor. They got tons of Hasbro and Disney product ready to go for the holiday season. I didn't see anything that caught my eye or seemed useful from the stacks of Eternals figures or other lesser ML figs and the SW stuff was practically or literally a different scale from Joe CS, so nothing worth picking up there either.

 

[nacho]

Sounds exactly like my Ollie's. Last time out, I did buy an Eternals Icarus for the head, as I saw someone that shaved down the hair a bit and made a solid looking replacement noggin for Falcon, thought I might try it and compare to the Dusty-based solution I have now.

I keep thinking that Falcon, as ugly as he is, would be more plentiful (and cheap). I'd like another one b/c all you need is to slap on some browner camo and a noggin with a 'stache to have a near-perfect Footloose.

 

[ThunderDan19]

That is true. I thought he'd be getting heavily discounted at some point, but haven't seen it. I wonder if they took one look at the finished product and cut production on him. There are easily 20 figs reduced price below his on Amazon and I don't think he's ever budged, despite lower sales than most of those.

 

[ThunderDan19]

I think I figured it out. I need to wait until Shipwreck and green pants SE go into clearance and pick them up. I can assemble a decent SEAL/Commando version of Shippy with those plus an armor kit and helmet (assuming a Vala helmet covers Shippy's hairless head well enough). I suppose I could leave just the hair if it doesn't, though a watch capped w/ hair topper would be best, but I don't think we've gotten anything like that so far.

If I get too impatient, I could get most of the parts I need off Mercari and reduce my waste significantly, but it'll cost more than a complete fig w/ shipping costs. Unless they drop their asking prices. Stay tuned!

 

[nacho]

What torso would you use with green pants Snake Eyes?

 

[ThunderDan19]

I was planning to use the fully green pant SE body, sans the head, and put Shippy's there in place (assuming no ball joint issues... Hasbro... ). I was going to remove the web gear and replace it with some of the Vala kit you sent for body armor and likely a matching helmet if it fits/covers the SW head. Depending on what came with the body, I'd add/remove sidearms, knives, holsters, pouches, etc. until I found a good loadout.

 

[nacho]

You could use a Steel Corps torso, as those have that ribbed sweater look in traditional bright blue shipwreck colors, almost like one of his JvC or VvV figures. Just have to find someone with more muted pants, maybe even dye some regular shippy pants a dark grey.

 

[ThunderDan19]

This is more what I'm going for:

But kitted out for combat, and with the more earthy colors I have to use, like this:

So a hybrid of those, based upon what's out there to use without any real modification or painting.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Hmm. After a little more research, it looks like Shippy's head may not be compatible with SE's neck.

​

And furthermore, it appears that SE's neckball cannot be removed and replaced. Way to go, Hasbro.

Next option might be NF Tunnel Rat's body, though the pants could definitely be a little lighter IMO. At least by then it should be a less pricy to get ahold of a SW head. Eventually, I'll create a proper tactical Shipwreck (unless Hasbro beats me to it). Just have to be patient.

 

[nacho]

Anything from Tunnel Rat would be too small, as he's 1/4"-3/8" shorter than the standard Stalker buck. Good for variation, bad for swapping parts.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Lol, I just came to the exact same conclusion, as I finally got to open my TR tonight. Cool fig, but tiny.

Back to the drawing board...

Now I’m hoping for a compatible (Hasbro ) night force Beachhead, something akin to this:



A JoeClass version of this would make a great tactical body for Shipwreck.