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

ThunderDan19

Here Comes the Boom!!!
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Got Storm Shadow and Alpine this week and added them to the collection tonight. I really like them both! I also got a $25 gift card to AMZ today and promptly ordered a Low-Light. I‘m not crazy about him, but have determined that I will find a way to make LL great again! 😆
 
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nacho

"Big Guns"
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Must be some Pats fans a Hasbro… 😆
They're based in RI, so the closest NFL team is definitely New England. I have no doubt there are plenty of Pats fans in their offices. But the weird part is how little they even tried to hide the inspiration. If I'm Rodney, I'm suing for illegal use of likeness. Maybe they thought the goggles would hide it? Mostly it bugs me because the face is really wide, and Alpine always seemed to have a relatively narrow face in media and prior figures.

I may have to swap to the same noggin I used for my Valaverse Alpine custom, a comic ML Mordo head with a 'stache added. I think I have more than one spare Mordo and shouldn't need to steal from the other. I might get another gridiron kit for him too, as that looks better than the stock hat/goggles.
 

nacho

"Big Guns"
Founder
So I had planned on skipping the IG... mostly because he's SUCH a departure from the classic ARAH look that he seems like a no-brainer for a retro figure. I'd rather get a few of those for my Destro army instead. This one gives me Wave 1 "we're-trying-something-new" vibes.

However, I decided this one looked good despite the new design, so I grabbed one that can be a senior ranking guy with his double-breasted long coat and gold-ridged helmet. He arrived today, and it's a pretty nifty figure. Definitely not an army-builder in my eyes, but worth owning one or two as the officer class to your eventual rank and file IGs.

Might even be a solid base for a formal-dressed Adolf custom. What if Serpentor wasn't the only guy Mindbender cloned from old tyrant DNA...? :unsure:
 

ThunderDan19

Here Comes the Boom!!!
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Yep, I am definitely passing on the IG as a shock troop type as well. No way with that uniform. As an officer? Maybe someday, but I'll have to see how the retro/other IGs look first to decide if I will be pursuing anything IG besides perhaps Destro. IG BAT? No chance. I only have one BAT and that's the iconic one, so prominent in the cartoon and comic.

I have mixed feelings on anything IG. IG came into the line as I was in the process of exiting. By the time they were available, I had more money for toys due to having jorbs, but was struggling with whether I really wanted them or not. There was the fact that I really didn't much care for the direction the line had gone (beginning with Cobra-La), we had moved halfway across PA to a new area, and, by that time, I was wondering if I was actually getting too old to be collecting them anyway.

I had IG Destro (actually my favorite version of him) and a bunch of the other IG vehicles and figs, but didn't really get to play much with them. I had forgotten just how many I actually had until looking them up on yojoe.

I liked the idea of the IGs in concept, but wish they had come along about two years earlier, and maybe Destro's departure and rise to becoming the big bad could have been the plot of the movie instead of CL. I think that could have been a lot better for the popularity of the line, especially if they had given the IGs a cool, large playset to go along with the movie plot.
 
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nacho

"Big Guns"
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I'm with you on the BATs.... mostly. I do not like the Crimson BATs, Python BATs, or the IG BATs... they should be for the primary use of basic Cobra, and I don't want to see them bastardized for every sub-faction. From a fictional world standpoint, it just dilutes them into being very un-special if all these variants are the same with different clothes. But if they say the Crimson or IG versions are better, how so, and which one is best... and doesn't that make the original a walking limp dick? It's only cool and special when they're exclusive to standard cobra command.

That being said, I like the environmental variants since those still make sense in the framework of my cobra-only BAT stance. The arctic BAT is undeniably a badass figure. And I'd probably grab a couple of Jungle BATS if/when they get around to making those. Even then, I don't want a dozen enviro BATs either... no need for Laser Skydive Glow-in-the-dark SCUBA BATs. Arctic kicks-arse though. They need special heaters to keep the fluids from freezing.

The only exception I would make to my no-faction-BATs rule would be if they made a Dreadnok BAT... but NOT an army of them, just ONE that they stole and tinkered with. And he would wear light colored jeans and a denim vest, look all scruffy, and have one eye. And he would be named Bob or Steve or Oil-Leak. When we get the retro BAT, I might have to make this character. :LOL:

As for the IGs in general. I had IG Destro w/ Despoiler, one IG trooper, the AGP with Annihilator, the Demon with the driver, and Voltar. So I had an army of five. :cautious: After splitting my Cobra troops between CoCo and Serpentor, it was tough to have a third enemy faction with five guys... so while I enjoyed the toys, I didn't have enough of them to have proper battles. My appreciation for the IGs most came from the comics where they played an important role for a good while.
 
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ThunderDan19

Here Comes the Boom!!!
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I kinda like the idea of a few salvaged BATs being 'nokified and used as fodder by Zartan's gang. And I agree that environmental BATs do make sense (where factional does not), just like any other troopers. I suppose I just haven't seen any that they've made yet as worth adding to my collection.
 

Videoviper

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Behind a camera watching you!
The original story was that the BATS would just as likely to shoot cobras as they were the Joes. Very buggy & not reliable.

So any fraction version would likely be a BAT 2.0

Bob or Mr Roboto the dreadnok seems like a fun custom?

One fraction I’d like to see (they won’t do it) Decepticons.
I have an idea for a Cobra Commander pretender. Not sure how I’d build it yet.
 
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ThunderDan19

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The more I think about it, the more appealing it would be to put together a seriously banged up, pieced together DreadBAT. The spare damaged head and chest plate area already in everybody's leftovers. Seems like getting ahold of chainsaw and flamethrower hands might not be all that hard. Otherwise, it's about finding the right combo of pieces and parts from the various versions to make it look re-assembled by the 'noks from junkyard debris.

Quick image search yielded this fuzzy image as the best interpretation in my opinion:
1732115326821.png
I'd never go the full stipped leg route, but above the knees looks almost exactly how I'd imagine one to be. Of course multiple variations would be even cooler!
 

nacho

"Big Guns"
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Bob or Mr Roboto the dreadnok seems like a fun custom?
Now that I think of it, I might just make one from a PP BAT I bought for fodder. I could dye the pants and torso back to black, and I'd likely paint the boots something besides day-glo yellow anyway, something more of a dreadnok motif, like burgundy or pepto-green. And I'd use a battle damaged head from an original BAT, because he needs to look deranged.
 

nacho

"Big Guns"
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Yeah, I saw those when camelcamelcamel alerted me to some of the ML Zabu wave figures I need are on sale. (I only liked half the wave and refuse to pay full price for figs I don't want just for the BAF parts).

I agree, the Joe part of the BF sale is pretty lackluster. I did get an extra retro Duke just because he's a great customs base. But otherwise, the deals aren't all that stellar. I guess they'd be ok if someone was playing catch-up and needed some early '24 figs, but for avid collectors... meh.
 
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ThunderDan19

Here Comes the Boom!!!
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That's pretty much exactly how it would go if I saw a retro Beachhead in the wild. I think I could hold out on the rest at the normal price. The probabilities would rise with the level of clearance price cutting though.
 

nacho

"Big Guns"
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I'm hoping that several outlets have better "real" BF deals than these pre-BF BF-sales. Or cyber monday, which is often better than BF.

They desperately want to turn November into a giant sales event. As a good consumer, I have little issue with that other than the fact that I end up spending as much on myself as I do others I'm supposed to be shopping for. But when it's stuff I know I'll likely end up buying anyway, it feels wasteful NOT to buy it when it's got "the good price".

The justificationing is strong in this one :LOL:.
 
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nacho

"Big Guns"
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I'm not sure I need another one, but damn, that's the good price. Might get another one just for a generic trooper, as I like that buck more than the one used for the regular Shockwave release.

I had some time to kill before an appointment this morning, and I saw the Beachhead, Snow Serpent, Eel retro wave at two different Targets and a Walmart. So be prepared for that sweet retro Beachhead to whisper in your ear soon.
 

ThunderDan19

Here Comes the Boom!!!
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Finally got a chance to open up that NF Shockwave/cycle today. Dang if it’s not a great set! I had thought of using him for parts to improve on Low-Light, but couldn’t waste such a well done fig just for parts. So he shall be Shockblast, fire-teammate of Shockwave, and shall proudly ride on my only (first) vehicle, his RAM cycle (which I was able to make space for) with his cool helmet.
 
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nacho

"Big Guns"
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Only ordered one base and the bridge add-on. I assumed a Joe tank of some kind was going to be the next haslab, and a bridgelayer seems highly unlikely to ever be made by hasbro. But I might wish I had ordered another tank.

Maybe later he'll sell a cheaper tank base without the mobat parts. fingers crossed.
 
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ThunderDan19

Here Comes the Boom!!!
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So I saw my first retro Beach Head in the wild at Walmart this evening. Wow, that was a serious nostalgia buzz, and he looks like such a great, true-to-original figure! I managed not to buy him at retail price, but then I almost gave in and bought him and Jinx on AMZ tonight for an averaged cost of just over $20/ea. Again I convinced myself that I will still do better than that on two figures I really don’t need and already have great versions of. But it’s truly just a matter of time until I find a deal I can’t resist.
 
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ThunderDan19

Here Comes the Boom!!!
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I've always had my eye on that set, but have never pulled the trigger, despite my love for the Viper corps and good prices at times. Now that the retro (rolled up sleeves!) Viper is on the way, that's probably the only other Viper I am currently looking to add - whenever that actually makes it to market with the predicted 2025 delays. He'll likely be a (hopefully discounted by then) AMZ add on to get free shipping at some point.
 

nacho

"Big Guns"
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I'm not replacing my Viper troops with the new one, but the sleeveless retro looks "beefier" to me (not sure if it's on the same buck or not). I'll get one to add to each of the squads as a heavy gunner or something.

Broke down and picked up a few BF/CM deals on Joes, a couple of retro figs for customs, another Scrap Iron and TV w/ SMS to beef up the cobra defenses. Hard to pass up 35% off at Pulse.

I also saw the Alpine/SS/IG wave at my local WM. First time they've had any new mainlines since Doc and Quick-kick. No IG BAT, but I never cared for that one anyway. People online seem to be ga-ga over it. It's a nice deco, but as we've talked before, aside from enviro variants, non-traditional BATs don't blow my skirt up.
 
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ThunderDan19

Here Comes the Boom!!!
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Mar 14, 2011
11,045
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Yeah, I was trying to work up a free shipping way to take advantage of the 25% off at Pulse for us normies, but would have had to buy a Trouble Bubble along with BH and Jinx to get there. I really have no use for the TB and with the retro Tele-Viper coming soon enough, I couldn't justify it. If they had had the Ferret, I likely would have gotten that along with the figs, which came down to around $18 a pop with the discount. But alas...