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

[nacho]

The other issue with the horizontal/vertical fins is that they force the mounting point on the missile further forward... so as not to be in the middle of a fin. So it looks a little back-heavy. I agree that's one thing classified got right... a better "balanced" look if you will. I'm not torn about having to rotate them 45-deg. I think the whole thing will look better... whenever I can print them.

Finished up a long print overnight, came in at lunch to start another and the printer went belly up. Spent the last three hours trying to debug. Fingers crossed...

 

[ThunderDan19]

Are 3DPs generally considered finicky and demanding to keep up and running?

 

[nacho]

It feels like a car. It'll run forever with no issues, and then something happens and it seems you can't get anything to work right. You pull your hair out, take too many things apart, and eventually something works, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I finally got it started, some kind of epic clog in three places. WTH.

I'm printing a yuuuuuuge Endor bunker facade. It's like 30" wide. But because I want to use it more for a cobra outpost, I'm printing various cobra-themed add-ons to change the appearance slightly and a silver-chrome snake statue to put on top of it. Can't have a cobra base without gaudy snake head statues and totems. Gotta scare the locals away.

 

[nacho]

So I ordered three shades of green for the missiles... one that looked just right, one lighter, one darker. Gotta hedge my bets.

When they came in, they were all lighter and all looked identical. WTF Mattel!

I printed with the "darkest" one of the three, and it's still too light. I mean, it's not bad, but enough off that it'll bug me. Now I've ordered a couple more options, two that are "clearly too dark" in hopes that in reality they'll be about right. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[ThunderDan19]

That's disappointing. At least the missile looks good outside the shade variance.

Seeing that tiny missile blast/smoke trail makes me curious, is 3D printing an option to make copies of the larger missile trails that came with the Rattler, or is that too complex of a shape? Is orange a color in 3DP, and can it be meshed in with white to get a similar effect?

 

[nacho]

That's disappointing. At least the missile looks good outside the shade variance.

Seeing that tiny missile blast/smoke trail makes me curious, is 3D printing an option to make copies of the larger missile trails that came with the Rattler, or is that too complex of a shape? Is orange a color in 3DP, and can it be meshed in with white to get a similar effect?

I could print in a frosted translucent orange... not exactly "crystal clear" but not opaque. Then you'd have to add your own touches of white.

The one in the pic is the smaller of the MMS's effects. I was just checking the port. It's the same size as the official's port, but my plastic is far more rigid, less rubbery, so I might open it up a tenth of a mm. Right now it's tight.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Ok. So there really isn’t a way to mix the colors into the print itself then? I was wondering if it was a potential shortcut or not.

 

[nacho]

No, even with a multi-color printer, it has to flush the print nozzle, feed the other color, etc... for every 0.16mm layer with more than one color. Thus it's very time consuming and wastes a lot of material. I try not to do it unless the number of multi-color layers is minimal. Print orientation can make a huge difference, but that has other trade-offs. Like your JUMP pad... I printed the platform flat so the other colors would print on top, minimal changes. If I'd printed it vertical, the surface would have been smoother (vertical surfaces always come out better), but the number of color changes would have been astronomical.

That being said, there do exists filaments with more than one color mixed together. But you can't really control how they come out, you just end up with items with cool color gradients. It's unlikely to find a clear orange and white pre-mixed in one filament.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Ah, that makes sense. Sounds like Hasbro won't be replacing their normal methods with it any time soon then, and certainly not until the process can be sped up by a lot. And it sounds like errors become unrecyclable waste. I can see why Gridiron has such long lead times for complex items, and why the prices are steep.

 

[nacho]

Yeah, waste is a legit issue. I'm glad there is no way to calculate my cumulative filament waste. I probably have the environmental impact of a chinese coal plant. I was printing bunker walls overnight, and 95% though, something moved and I ended up with "bird's nest" for the last 5%. Maximum waste, maximum frustration.

I broke down and ordered seven different new flavors of green. Surely ONE of them will be a closer match for the MMS. The issue is that Hasbro picked a really weird shade for the VAMP and MMS. It's a very grey-green, almost like a russian or german green. It doesn't have nearly the yellow content of traditional "olive" or "army" green. But most of the filaments around are very saturated crayola grass green or very yellow olive greens. It's hard to find a dull grey-green that isn't substantially lighter than the hasbro color.

If this new crop of options doesn't work out, I'll either have to live with one of them or resort to finding a paint that more closely matches... and I really don't want to mess with paint beyond having to hand-paint the decals.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Just a heads up: Apparently this Pulse exclusive set is showing up at Burlington stores for $13 in case you need any (wildly colored) parts from the repaints:

G.I. Joe Classified Series #141, Steel Corps Commander Vs. Twilight Guard ​

Color me shocked that this set didn't sell well at their retail price...

 

[nacho]

Got three of the seven greens today... no luck. One far too light, one far too dark, and one too crayola green. I have more optimism for three of the four coming tomorrow.

I'm going to have the most comprehensive collection of green ABS, PLA, and PETG filaments in existence.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Maybe you could make a buttload of lego bricks and assemble them into multi-green digital camo bunker walls.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Apparently Retro CoCo and/or Stalker are showing up at Ross for $9 if anyone is still in the market for those.

 

[nacho]

I think I'm good on those... but it wouldn't matter. I've never found anything at a Ross... ever. And I feel like I need to take a shower after I leave, like I've been shopping at a skeezy flea market. I believe that there exist good Ross stores, but none of them exist in my orbit.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Lol, my experience is very similar with them, Marshall's and Burlington. Although my hands get a good sanitizer bath after WM and Ollie's as well. Can't be too safe. People are nasty...

 

[Videoviper]

I live in an area to populated
I will never be in Ross during the 15 minutes that they might have what I want.

 

[ThunderDan19]

So I decided to go ahead and use one of the appropriately sized missile trail effects from the Rattler to give the MMS an action element. Wouldn’t you know it? The connector is different so no dice. Really, Hasbro? Really? That’s disappointing and poor planning.

 

[nacho]

This is the way.

It's a line with like 15 different head/neck connector designs. Clearly compatibility is not a priority... or maybe even intentionally the opposite.

 

[nacho]

It's still not a *perfect* color match (hue is about right, just a bit too saturated, not quite grey enough), but I'm going to declare it "close enough".

Now I've gotta figure out how to paint the decals without losing my religion.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Looks great from the pic!

 

[nacho]

I suck at hand-painting little details, so this is as good as it's going to get... but I'm happy with the results. Much better than the stock Lenny-missiles.

 

[Videoviper]

It’s missing the Stark Industries Logo


Or better yet M.A.R.S.

 

[ThunderDan19]

They look legit from here! Definitely brings the nostalgia!

 

[nacho]

"Joe Day" reveals... basically Airtight and a metric ton of "meh".

Hasbro G.I. Joe Classified Series Render G.I. Joe Day 2026 Reveals!

Hasbro for the 2026 G.I. Joe day has released new G.I. Joe Classified Render Reveals for the following figures:Airtight ? The Joes? iconic CBR specialist has

toynewsi.com

 

[ThunderDan19]

Yeah, I never cared for Airtight and this one isn't going to change that.

Are they really not packing a spare hand for Hydro-Viper? So the left hand is useless. I guess that works out since they aren't including a decent primary weapon anyway. I was looking forward to seeing how they would update this one. Seems his strategy is simply to "scare" the Joes away. Definitely won't be PO'ing and will likely pass all together.

Looks like it might just be Zanya, because Dreadnoks, though classic (only) Zartan will end up with the skier. No chance I'm getting the hideous new one. Everything else is very much meh. I guess were are getting to that time in the line. It had to happen sooner or later I guess.

I will likely pick up Wild Bill. Right now I'm hoping for a MTO basic DF for him. I can't say there's much else on my radar.

 

[nacho]

Actually, that's not even Wild Bill. It's a new Joe, supposedly a native american (you know, because so many of them wore cowboy hats?) Retro line Wild Bill is rumored for later this year, but he's not a mainline.

I want Zanya, but damn that swamp skier is ugly. Word on the street is that it was designed by the same toolbag that FUBAR'd the AWE Striker, which I can believe just looking at it. It's so blocky... and they replaced the jet-ski-like propulsion with a weird 2-stroke with chrome exhaust... WTF Mattel. It completely lost the look of being made from a motorcycle and now looks like a Star Wars prequel ride.

Hydro-Viper is ok. I mean, the vintage toy had the webbed pimp-hand, so I don't mind this one looking the same. Another hand might have been nice, and no doubt his retro in '28 will probably have options.

Renegades are a pass. Ninja Force Zartan is a hard pass.

Airtight is a character I always disliked. He was an annoying know-it-all on the toon, his bright colors made him a battlefield liability, and his big weapon is a glorified vacuum cleaner. That being said, this is a solidly faithful representation, and he's pretty much necessary to fill out the '85 shelf. He'll join Bazooka, Sarge, Barbecue, and Crankcase on the front line, but that's ok. Someone's gotta die first.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Yeah, I saw that the Full Force podcast was saying that too regarding the silhouette. I have a hard time believing it though. Toy Habits is also speculating it's the retro WB that had leaked.

I know they have made dumb decisions before, but native knock off WB would rise to the top. I can't fathom they'd do that over the sure hit of a carded or boxed WB. Breaker was retro-ish in a box so maybe he'll be something like that too.

As for the Chameleon, I guess I have a bit more tolerance for it. After what they did with the 25th version, this one looks at least serviceable.

My biggest concern right now is that the line might now be firmly in a downslope. It feels like 90%+ of the best (practical) stuff has been done. Sure they are holding out on a few of the essentials, presumably to keep us engaged, but in doing so, they have generally only been dropping lesser offerings. That has led to, at least in my case, a serious drop in interest.

At this point, I am staring to wonder if it's just a temporary slump or how long it will be until it truly becomes stale.

 

[nacho]

I could be wrong, but really I think retro WB will come in a retro wave. I'm pretty sure this is something else.

From my perspective, my interest in the line isn't waning, but my interest in the latest few waves is certainly not what it once was. Like you say, it's almost inevitable as they move into the non-prime era out of necessity... or make rando new guys like "Parth Varna" or new Indian Cowboy. Once they put out the rest of the O13, Deep Six, retro Bill, retro Ripcord... there won't be much left from the '82-'87 era but vehicle drivers. Ace will be the only one I feel is 100% essential, and I assume Cutter will be coming with the '27 Haslab WHALE .

I can say that all this 3d printing and world-building I've been doing for the studio has kept my interest high though. It's not because I care about Desert Scorpion or Big Lob or any of Slaughter's minions. The more they slide into the neon 90's, DIC, or whatever bad idea killed the franchise the first time around, the more likely they are to lose us all again.

I would be more engaged if they skipped most of the 90s and started producing more 200x stuff from VvV, DTC, etc... and things from the comics like (Marvel - Kwinn, Billy, CoCo in his hippie look... Devil's Due - the Stall trio, the Plague, Medi-Viper, Wraith... and Skybound - Rook, Chameleon, etc.... or even leaned heavily into the toon look now that S7 has given up on Ultimates. I can even see Classified continuing down its current path until it's no longer viable, while having a separate sub-line that is uber-Sunbow. I feel confident THAT line would outlast Classified since they've exhausted most of the best the line has to offer in the current form.

At least this time around, I already have a hot girl and several fun cars, so I'm not losing interest to chase those things. I can simply see myself slowing down on toy collecting in general, not because of a lack of interest but simply because I have most everything I could ever want, and a million things I don't need. But I think I'll still have interest in what I've collected, or at least the best parts. If I never bought another Joe or 3P Transformer, I still have 100x what my 10yo self would have killed for, so it's hard to complain much. We have lived through the best toy timeline... as kids and adults.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Your last paragraph is spot on. In terms of figs, I've also surpassed my childhood collection twice now, with better detailed and articulated versions of the characters each time. The 25th/ROC/POC/etc. ran its course and I sold it off. Eventually the CS will likely suffer the same fate (or worse), along with my other scale military figs and vehicles and most of my other toys. But that's okay. It was a great ride, all three times.

I think knowing that has motivated me even more to curb the vast majority of my CS spending to "play money" instead of it coming out of my paycheck. Knowing that it will eventually be sold off for pennies on the dollar has kept me from going quite as far off the deep end as I did with the 25th. This time I can't even use the excuse of eventually "giving them to my kids" as they are all beyond any real interest in the collection. And yet, I still have eight shelves+ of them, thanks to sales and clearances pushing me past the "essentials" to picking up second tier figs.

It really is amazing that most of these were even made, with each generation moving farther away from the tactile toys and collectibles we grew up with to nearly all virtual games and electronic experiences. I have to think that this will be the last dance for ARAH Joe though, as even this one has lost the tagline. There is just enough nostalgia left for this go 'round, despite the evolution away from its roots, but our generation is getting older and time, space and disposable income are fleeting.

 

[nacho]

Yeah, I used to think Joe was an evergreen property. Maybe not to the same degree as TF or SW or Turtles, but definitely will always be around. Now I'm not so sure. Action figs in general are somewhat out of vogue... just ask the SW crowd... but the wrasslin' figs still sell like crazy, and MOTU seems to be in a renaissance in a zillion different lines... with a movie line about to drop (don't get me started on that...).

I think Joe will experience various revival attempts, but they'll be new and different and not aimed at old guys like us. I think you're right in that regard. The property is too good to die, not good enough to keep going in the current form indefinitely.

I'll just enjoy what we get, as long as we get it. I'll customize the gaps and have fun photographing. This is the way.

 

[Videoviper]

They will re-invent GI Joe at some point, every few years there seems to be a change update to match what they believe audiences will like.

But currently I think we are headed to
Ready Player One - where pop culture dies & they only have properties that are 40+ years old. Ironically a more interesting story.

 

[nacho]

How many years until Joe is in the dustbin of old forgotten franchises like Lone Ranger, Lost in Space, or Bionic Man? It's currently being kept alive by GenX, but once we stop caring or die off, it's hard to imagine Joe having legs with any younger generations absent a major revamp/revival. I think they'll try for sure, but I'm not convinced it'll catch on.

I did everything I could without being too pushy to get my son interested in Joe, and it was a 100% lost cause. I left the figures out, made the comics accessible, played the cartoon while he was around... zip, zilch, nada. I now it's a sample size of one, but action figures in general are no longer a thing. They'd much rather play a video game with said characters than play with toys of them. I think it rots their imagination, being force-fed playable story instead of making up their own narratives in the bedroom floor, but what do I know. I tried my best. Whatchagonnado? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Maybe it'll come full circle and I'll have grandkids that like Joe... they'll grow up with digital everything and toys will be a novelty. That's what I'll tell myself for the next fifteen years, and then I'll give up and start liquidating.

 

[ThunderDan19]

It's funny how that works. I never pushed my son either, but did gift him and his sisters a few figures and vehicles toward the end of the 25th period. He was the least interested. My girls each at least humored me a little more, with some brief interest in the toys, comics and/or cartoon. The boy? Nope. He jumped right to Legos, muscle cars/trucks and video games, with some interest in aviation, and still likes all of those. But no Joe.

Not that I see young kids much these days, but I can't remember the last time I saw a kid even carrying any kind of tactile toy around with them (I always had at least a couple Joes along), let alone seen them at play. It's always locked on to an ipad or a phone. It's sad really, and kind of gross. And it's not just kids. Brain rot is endemic to 90% of the planet these days. I think it would take a technological collapse to ever see a return back to the simple joy of creative play.

 

[nacho]

TL/DR - I've had one minor success with getting kids into fun toys.

--------------

A couple of years ago, my mom asked me for some unopened hot wheels to put in our office display case around christmas time (same case as my new Daytona display). We have a few customers that bring their kids in when they pay their rent, and she thought it would be cool for a kid to pick out a hot wheels... for kicks.

So we have this one tenant with an elementary-age grandson she practically raises. The kid has a host of serious medical problems, but he's friendly, polite, and a little young for his age. He was thrilled to get a hot wheels. So even after she took the display down, she lets this little boy get a hot wheels every month. He wanders into my office to look at the stuff I have on the walls, shelves, etc... and he asks a lot of questions. One day he picked a police car, and said he liked them, so for christmas, I ordered him a half dozen different of the best HW police cars and put them in a little travel case for him. That went over well.

Last month, I restocked the box (no fun seeing the same old cars every month), and he picked a HW color changer (Transformer Tracks - blue corvette that turns black in cold water). I told him there was a variant that started black and turned blue. He was excited about that too, so I found one of those he'll discover in the box later this week.

That's as close as I've ever gotten to getting a kid into cool stuff. And he'll age out of HW sooner than later (I figured it would have happened by now, but he's a little sheltered and a late bloomer per se). But it's been fun seeing him excited and trying to brighten the day of a kid that's been dealt a tough hand.

 

[ThunderDan19]

That's really cool! I like kids who are young for their age. I was definitely one. We have way more time (when we are required) to be adults. Why not enjoy play and creativity for as long and as often as possible?

 

[nacho]

Yeah, me too. I played with / collected toys longer than many of my peers. My kids are the same and it's never bothered me. My kids are 17 and 19 this month, and both asked for legos for their birthday. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But this kid that comes into my office, he's bright, but he's strangely young for his age. He's a good kid who has to go through a lot more than any kid should. Making him smile feels like the best $1.50 I spend every month.

 

[Videoviper]

My son & I joked a few weeks ago that he never had a dinosaur phase?

Recently he decided on his own to start watching Transformers (He like Transformers One & 86)
2 weeks later he is obsessed with the Dino bots

He was surprised by the number of TF I had bought him when he was younger & never played with.

Give kids a legitimate chance to play with toys & they will discover what we did. Having them choose it is the key.

 

[nacho]

That's great. It's true that it has to be their idea. Otherwise, it's just one more thing dad forces them to do... like a chore.

My son did have a brief Transformers phase. That did make me happy. But he only collected them and put them on the shelf. He didn't really transform them or have big adventures in the floor. He just kind of collected. Better than nothing I suppose.

 

[ThunderDan19]

My 21 year old son has tons of assembled Lego vehicles displayed on his shelving and also got a few new sets for Christmas. I love that he has those, and still loves getting and building them. But those are the only "toys" he has ever seriously collected.

It has been a long time since I've seen my kids play (not counting assembly as "play") with anything not running on a game console or other device. I acknowledge that it's to be expected, with my youngest now being 16, but I do miss it. There's nothing quite like seeing them all together, dumping out a bin of legos, getting creative and making up stories and adventures together with them.

Time is fleeting.