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

[nacho]

Eh, they didn't lose everyone that knows Joe. BMac is still there running the ship. Emily is still there, just promoted (she isn't a Joe fanatic, but she clearly understood how modern Classified worked). Dwight is just down the hallway and could easily be called back to active service on Joe. All is not lost.

Turnover happens in every industry, especially when a company moves to another state. Sure, you could be right and it could very well devolve into nothing but overpriced kitbashes... or it could make way for a new talent who "gets" Joe (in a way I'm not sure Lenny did) to come in and make us all glad this shakeup happened.

OR, since the hasbro CEO has stated he wants to get out of making toys and turn the company into an IP farm, it could be that no matter who ran the line, Classified could be ending in a few years and we'll see Joe farmed out as a licensed property. Mattel did it with MOTU for a decade before realizing they could do more with it in-house. Hasbro seem to be run by a nitwit, and that's never good, but CEOs come and go as well.

There's no way to know, and I think we should enjoy the good parts of classified for what they are, while they exist. Just five years ago, none of us could have imagined what our shelves look like today. It was unthinkable. So I'm not going to stress over the loss of a guy or two at a toy company. We've had an incredible run... that still continues, and I'm content to enjoy it.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Here’s hoping that the young talent will get to rise and guide the line after the current Lenny-driven plans finish up. I would imagine that his last plans finally include delivery of the remaining OG, more late stage Joe and also some more new/weird stuff (the last two being my least favorite aspects of Lenny’s creativity). But maybe the new team will play it safer and stay closer to home.

I hope they primarily drop back and evaluate what can be done better from what has already been made. I think the retro line could flourish with just a little more focus on better emulating the originals in the figures themselves and with a return to the original art (not AI knockoffs) to the extent possible. And I really don’t think that would even have to cost much in new tooling, since so much has already been made. As mentioned above, reuse would be right up their alley. And maybe the CS can shift toward the comics (legacy and new) and the cartoon.

I would also love to see product back on shelves again. There‘s nothing quite like hunting for product on real B&M shelves, and Walmart trips just aren’t fun since theirs dried up a while back. But they would need to purposely work within their supply chain to actually get current waves on shelves this time, instead of just old waves showing up sporadically and months late, like has been the case in the past.

It’s probably too much to hope for, but I will keep the faith until it’s obvious they aren’t willing or able to deliver.

 

[nacho]

I would also love to see product back on shelves again. There‘s nothing quite like hunting for product on real B&M shelves, and Walmart trips just aren’t fun since theirs dried up a while back.

There is legit truth to this. Yesterday, I found myself making a trip westward 45min to the Bucees (wife and daughter like treats from there), and so I did a little shopping nearby at the "good" WM. They still carry joes, more than I see anywhere else. They had several retros (not *just* CoCo and Stalker), Legacy Action Marine, several Torch's, the Big Lob/More Rat wave, MASS Device SE w/ polar bear, and the Cobra La Royal Guard. I don't recall seeing that many different figures and SKU types in person in a looooooong time.

I ended up buying an additional Royal Guard, another Retro She-Gee, a retro Flint, a retro BAT, and a Big Lob for the studio. That's a nice chunk of change I never would have spent online, but because I was so happy to see them in stores, the impulse-buy bug hit me.

 

[HUNMARINE]

At least you guys can find figs in the stores.
Here in Hungary, EU - those who are up on Pulse - getting figures and stuff faster than those 3-4 action figure stores we have. Even they are working more like "order helper"s...cause their stuff are coming from the Pulse too...the other half from some warehouse in Germany for half the price they are selling it...And G.I.Joe is 5-6 figures mostly what they have....
Now just for a sec imagine how great to see...when you see a date of "avialable" on Pulse...and realizing each and every time - that this date always the date of "in stock" in the US region. Than its automatically changes further for several month...even half year....for the date when we actually getting the stuff.
For some example: you"ve already have Hit"n"Run....we getting him only at July 29th - if we are lucky of course. And we play this "shitty" game each and every frickin time.
And I didn"t mention - the price is higher. For no reason at all.

We did not see G.I.Joe toys on shelfes since the beginning of the 90s.....Actually there were a little bit of something during the VvsV era....and thats it.

So...yeah..lets say I"m on the negative side on the relations with Hasbro. To be truth - i hate them. Hate them for how they treated and treats G.I.Joe as a franchise...especially in EU. Cause during the ARAH era and especially DiC era we had even EU special packages and variations of characters. It was a growing market.
For example - do you remeber the Tiger Force Outback? - EU stuff.

So I"m sorry if I dont have any hope for the Classified line. I know its sounds "drastic" - but I really waiting when it stops finally. Its hard to collect, expensive...takes tremendous time and effort to get even the main line.
And I know for sure - this is the last G.I.Joe line I ever collect. If Hasbro ever wants me back in their fan and collector base - they should bring such big effort and high quality standart - that they never did before....and knowing the company "treatment" - they never will.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Yeah, there have only been a few times I’ve found myself with enough leftover time and energy to do any kind of leisure shopping while in South America, Europe, Asia or even Oceana. When I do, I gravitate to the larger department stores or actual toy stores when those are present. It always makes me a little sad though to see what US toys are sold OCONUS and which ones are not.

With the exception of maybe some parts of Asia, I feel like the best of what we have to offer is never available elsewhere and what is there is more the vapid, movie or TV tie-in junk that has already clearanced out of the US. And yeah, the prices… yeesh. We forget how good we have it here, though I do see our biggest toy seller, Walmart, heading it the wrong direction. Less of the highly detailed, articulated, well accessorized action figures, and more of the lower tier junk, for nearly the same prices.

Bring back the dedicated toy and hobby stores! And don’t mismanage them to oblivion this time. (I know, there is no way they could ever compete with the AMZs and WMs these days). I just miss them, and the aisles full of Joe, Xfrmrs and SW.

 

[nacho]

Bring back the dedicated toy and hobby stores! And don’t mismanage them to oblivion this time. (I know, there is no way they could ever compete with the AMZs and WMs these days). I just miss them, and the aisles full of Joe, Xfrmrs and SW.

It's far sadder when you realize that TRU went under, not because they couldn't make money selling toys, but because a VC firm (thanks, Mitt Romney) bought the chain using funds that were leveraged against the assets (i.e. the store stock and real-estate) and saddled the chain with the debt they incurred... "buying" the chain.

So the profitable store was left with massive debt that it effectively incurred to buy itself... to the point that it couldn't make the debt payments.

Then they sold off the parts, filed bankruptcy, and walked away from the charred remains with their bonuses. It 1000% did not need to happen. Almost like someone takes out a HELOC on your house, skips town, and leaves you with a mortgage you can't afford to pay. It's like they were chosen for destruction BECAUSE they actually made money.

I'll never get un-pissed about the happiest place on earth (no, not disney) getting hollowed out for some VC douchebag's quarterly report.

I still have a series of pics I took when I started to realize that they were not long for this world. It was when the writing was on the wall but long before the liquidation sales and bare shelves. Just pics of my kids... in the same toy aisles I used to prowl 30 years prior... looking at massive walls of cool toys. I hope they'll remember those days too.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Yeah, I had heard that a VC predatory buy out was the final nail, but that they had had some issues with their toy mfr partners that led to that eventuality, but that’s just what I heard. I hope that those kinds of predatory practices have since been made illegal and cut off the profit by shorting crap that kills companies. I’ll never forgive the GOP for making me vote for human trash like Romney and McCain…

 

[nacho]

Not mine, but it's fun and reasonably well done. I would have skipped the uber-practical stuff and gone with overlays for muzzle flashes, smoke, and explosions, but I respect the effort.

Mostly I love the use of the o-ring figures, as those still resonate with me.

 

[nacho]

Lara Croft in Classified, anyone? It appears this is real.

Honestly, as a one-off, I have no problem with this... will probably get one. I think this fits far more than MASK, ROM, TF, Visionaries, or any of the other Hasbro-verse things they try to shoehorn Joe into. I can at least envision that they take place in the same universe.... and that Lara would run across Cobra, given their affinity for raiding ancient sites looking for DNA, treasure, and ancient/mystical weapons.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Wow, that came out of nowhere, but I'm also onboard with it. However, while I fully acknowledge I'm in the minority, I'm much more fond of the more recent video game version (the one with pants, climbing axe, bow and a proportional body) than the one depicted in the 30 logo at the bottom. I enjoyed that series enough that I already have a small statue of that Lara on my shelf at work.

Would I buy a 6" CS version? If it was a good depiction of the new version, absolutely! As it appears to be based on the classic version, I won't commit until I see how well it's handled. In this day and age though, I doubt it will be proportioned nearly like the classic overendowed pointy version, so I would imagine I may well have a 6" Lara joining Han, Chewy, Mando, Darth, Spidey and Cap on my shelf in the not so distant future.

 

[nacho]

Folks in the know claim she's not going to have Pam Anderson flotation devices... but personally I'll be surprised if she's not wearing khaki shorts and a baby blue sleeveless, merely with a slightly more "realistic" (in Joe terms) physique. I assume the general vibe will be more like recent TR games, as that would fit more with Classified's design aesthetic than 1998 EIDOS depictions. But I guess we'll see in a week or two.

If they're doing this kind of thing, I'd love to see Classified crossover with Danger Girl... because they've already done it in the IDW comics, and DG is basically a mashup of Tomb Raider and Charlie's Angels. Abby Chase would fit in the Joe-verse just fine. Again, it's far more to my taste than MASK or TF sharing a universe with Classified. Those fly in the face of Joe, not complement it.

 

[ThunderDan19]

I don't know much about DG besides recalling the particular artistic style of the comic, which, like TR, would probably need a bit of toning down for the post #metoo era.

Now that you mentioned it, I am reminded that back when I used to be a 1:6 collector, I had both a leather-clad (was that in one of the movies?) Angelina Jolie Lara Croft and an Abby Chase in that scale. I believe both were quite visually and anatomically... thorough... as I remember.

It's interesting what was (and maybe still is) considered acceptable in the figures of that scale in that era. I blame the Japanese...

 

[nacho]

Sure, J Scott Campbell's artwork is extra-cheesecake, but there's no reason they couldn't be adapted for a more sensible classified look. But I'd still not want them to be flat... I know hasbro is allergic to cleavage, but a little va-va-voom in an online-only collector's release wouldn't kill them.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Oh, I’m not suggesting H’bro has to go full frumpy. With the exception of Covergirl v.1’s butterface, they’ve made some fairly attractive female figs on both sides. But I also know that they wouldn’t be able to suddenly start sculpting disproportionately large chests with suggestively pointy tips and not risk massive blowback if the wrong groups suddenly noticed.

I think the Lara fig will probably be a good indicator of how far they will be willing to go. Zarana and Zanya have already brought the bare midriff to the line. Most likely this version of LC will likewise bare the belly, but the test will be just how amplified the equipment above and below are, and how tight the packaging. I don’t think they’ll go far past what they’ve already done with CG v.2, for fear of backlash, but it should still be an attractive figure.

 

[nacho]

I just hope it conditions them to allow a little more something.... I really want the eventual Lady Jaye v2 to show a little cleavage. Not a crazy exaggerated or pervy amount, just a little. She was always the sexiest of the joe females, and we need a figure that isn't buttoned up like a nun.

Something along the lines of this 25th era figure:

 

[ThunderDan19]

Swerving back into TL;DR territory below... apologies in advance.

Yeah, the art/design folks back in the 80's were definitely pushing a little more toward the edges of the envelope for both the male (Zandar, Mindbender, etc.) and female characters, more so with the card/comic/toon art, since the bulky, squarish figs weren't shapely enough to approach "hot." It surprised me when I got to see some of the additional concept work that never made it to development when I was reading through the Art of GI Joe book. There were a couple (mildly) risqué elements that maybe didn't really need to be there, at least not in a line for kids. The 80's were special at times.

It is interesting that 40+ years later the line could actually be considered a bit more conservative (or at least practical) than it was back then. Case in point would be that Zarana has gone from what could only be considered a torn fabric top to thicker, leather jacket style halter. I'll be honest, I actually like it better. It's not realistic that she would be running around wreaking havoc with the rest of the "Noks in a top that looks like it might blow off in the wind, let alone in any kind of combat.

It was ironically self aware that the second Jumanji movie pointed out how ridiculous the costuming for female characters generally is in video games. The same can definitely be said about most cartoons, comics and toy lines: male characters - very tactical/practical, female - generally way tighter/revealing and then maybe a little tactical. Maybe MOTU breaks the mold a little on this, but that line could hardly be considered realistic or practical anyway.

The CS has not fallen into that trap. Most females have been outfitted pretty equivalently to the guys, generally practical, but with just a bit more contour, except where the OG character design demands otherwise. The least practical would probably be any female that is outfitted with OG Scarlett's spandex leotard and swim(?) top. While mildly eyeroll worthy, we all know they are just reusing parts, which has always been a way of producing more content with less new investment. And they have even remained OG consistent for the figs that have been produced that way, not shoehorning it onto every female character.

I give the CS team a lot of credit - whether it was the design team or the vetoing managers above. It would have been easy, particularly early when the line was trying to get off the ground, to resort to "sexying" up the female characters to try to appeal to their grown gen X male base, and maybe to try to snag younger ones. Instead, they've kept it fairly realistic, while still (mostly) producing attractive figs. Unless Lenny and Tony where the ones driving this, I'm fairly confident we will see about the same going forward.

I guess all that to say that, while it would not be historically inconsistent to produce a new version of LJ that has a bit more to offer, I think that ship has sailed. To make another version of her now with obvious enhancements would probably stand out too much and draw attention. Conversely, LC is a perfect opportunity to introduce a character with a bit more appeal, without obviously, purposefully retooling a character that has already been produced twice (I guess thrice if you count arctic LJ). And this LC would be consistent with her (early) game persona, so shouldn't garner too much unwanted attention.

They just need to hurry up and drop more pics so we can stop pro/conning and see which way they are ultimately going with this!

 

[nacho]

Eh, I've never been overly concerned about battlefield realism in my Joe. Sure, I don't want it to drift too far into the goofy sci-fi realm, but not once have I ever wished for my Joes to be kitted out with body armor, kneepads, shinguards, or modern helmets. I mean, the representative marine of the group goes into battle wearing nothing up top but a baby blue denim vest. Nostalgia >>> realism

So it's not crazy to want the girls to be a *little* sexy. They were always flirty in the cartoon - I've been rewatching the series, and I'm a bit surprised at some of the relationship bits. But they weren't afraid of a little skin. We got all the girls in low-cut evening dresses at various points, bikinis too. We weren't quite so uptight about gender depictions in the 80s. That was back when hot girls were considered a good thing.

I've also been paying attention to the voices. LJ's voice was sexy as hell... a tiny bit raspy/breath-y, would crack occasionally when she got excited, very appealing..... whereas Karen's.... err, Scarlett's voice was far less appealing. I keep expecting her school-marm voice to yell at me to tuck in my shirt or something.

 

[ThunderDan19]

I read you. In the end it's all made up lore in a made up universe. I think the issue is the perceived double standard or objectification that nearly always exists between the male and female characters in mass media. The more enhanced and less properly clothed they are, the more that will be perceived. For females, too often it's Mary Sue or bimbo, because most writers/directors/producers can't seem to find the proper place for female heroes.

I guess my belief is that all the heroes at the Joe level need to meet the same ultrahigh performance standards and be able to proficiently use their tools and weapons toward the common goal. Should some of them (male or female) be able to use their appearance as a means of getting an advantage? Absolutely. But none of them should have that at the expense of being a proficient, properly equipped, contributing team member.

To me that makes it all the better when they ultimately also turn out to be

 

[nacho]

Sure, but I think LJ is a badass who happens to be really attractive and can use it when needed. In theory that's CG's schitck, but the toon always gave LJ those roles. Retaliation did too. So I would like her to get the glamor treatment in a figure. Not exaggerated or super-cheesecake... just moreso than ultra plain jane.

In contrast, Scarlett got the job of dressing up as an old lady... because she has gingervitis

------------------
Here's my TL;DR for today that might interest only me...

I've been working on a massive project.... that I don't know where it's going... maybe nowhere. But I keep thinking that the end product might be something modest like a "motion comic" with action figures, i.e. pictures with limited movement but sound rather than speech bubbles... or it might go as far as stop motion, might be AI animation... might be AI enhancement of stop-motion... or something new. It's all in the early stages, and the tech is moving so fast that I haven't nailed down what I'm actually doing. By the time I start, using AI to make legit sunbow-looking animation might be a thing. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

BUT, whatever it turns out to be, I know I'll 100% need sound, and it needs to be good, not me trying to ape character voices (I'm not that talented). To that end, I've spent months taking the ripped dvds of all the sunbow episodes of Joe and TF, stripping out the audio, using AI to strip out the music, leaving just the raw voice audio and sound effects. Then I'm going through each episode and snipping each spoken line, every sound bite that is usable and not garbled with lasers and explosions. Thus I'm going to have a catalog of roughly 20,000 sound clips of 200 Joe and TF characters that I can use to make AI voice models.

Obviously, some characters have WAAAAAAY more lines than others. Building a model of Tollbooth will be a stretch. Conversely, as there is an upper limit as to how much audio is needed for a good model, I have enough data to make 4-5 completely independent models some characters. And while I'm not finished yet, it's telling how many lines each character gets.

Would you care to take a wild guess at what characters have the most lines (or in this case, *usable* lines) for the Joe and Cobra teams?
-
- For Cobra:
-

Spoiler: spoiler

CoCo, duh. It's a runaway. He has more than Megatron and I haven't started Joe S2 yet. Destro is all alone in 2nd, while Baroness and Zartan are neck and neck for 3rd. Major Bludd doesn't get as many lines as you'd think, as he mostly just yells "Cobra!" and "Retreat!" in the middle of laser battles, so his usable lines are less frequent than you'd imagine. Guys like Storm Shadow and Firefly will be tough to get a good model, and Scrap Iron, Copperhead, and Wild Weasel will be a major stretch. They simply don't say much.

-
- And for Joe.....
-
-

Spoiler: spoiler

It's Lady Jaye by a mile. Way more than Flint, way more than Duke, more than twice as many as either Shipwreck or Scarlett or Gung-Ho. They should just call it the Cobra Commander and Lady Jaye Adventure Show.

While I have enough to get tolerable models, guys like Ace and Wild Bill have a ton of lines I can't use because there is so much jet/chopper noise in the background (or the audio is high-pass filtered to make it sound like it's coming through a crappy CB speaker), it'll garble the AI models. It's funny what you learn when you start parsing these episodes in such granular detail.

For some characters, I've actually resorted to getting audio from non-toon sources. For instance, Robert Stack who played Ultra Magnus in the TF '86 movie did not voice him in the S3 toon. So his lines were limited... but he sounds much better than the toon voice actor. However, since he is an actor, but not a "voice actor" in the traditional sense (i.e he does VO work, but it's all his regular voice, not a wide array of characters like Frank Welker), I could take audio from his other movies, other VO work, and it all just sounds like Robert Stack. So I should get a good model of movie-Magnus anyway.

I'll have more updates when I'm finished building the datasets and start constructing voice models, but for now, I'm doing the laborious grunt work.

(speaking of Grunt... poor guy, got like two lines in the whole show until the episode they permanently dumped him into another dimension. That model is going to be a tall order.)

 

[ThunderDan19]

Wow, that's ambitious! I can't wait to see some samples!

I got the CoCo, Destro and Baroness right. I definitely did not get the LJ. I thought for sure that would be Duke. I even used to consider the cartoon the Duke show, because he seemed to always be on screen. I guess my Mandela effect was kicking in there. I knew LJ was featured frequently, but would have never guessed she talked that much more than the others you mentioned. Is it possible her numbers are amplified because she talked the most without other noise perhaps?

Oh, and don't get me wrong, an improved, prettier LJ would be welcome over here as well, but I also don't have any problem with the one we have. She always seemed like a very capable member of the team, with varying levels of attractiveness depending on the medium she was featured in.

She was okay in the comic, but the cartoon was obviously the big one. I thought she was generally featured there very tastefully, with only a couple episodes that took her out of her military attire (not that I minded when that happened either). I never quite understood what happened with the hat though. Maybe the toon artists just didn't think they could make her look right with it on.

And you are so right about Scarlett. She was the worst on the toon. So much better represented in the comics.

 

[nacho]

I think she got more lines because she became the de facto question-asker and wall to bounce stuff off of. She's the reason the main character goes into exposition mode. Whether the male lead was Duke, Flint, Shipwreck, or someone else, she is right there asking "What does it mean?", "I don't understand what they plan to do with those scientists/gadgets/minerals/satellites/etc", "How are we going to stop them?" and "That's just what they're expecting!"

Honestly, I thought Scarlett did that more, but I've decided that I remember it that way because in the early miniseries, that WAS all Scarlett. And those are the episodes that got played in heaviest rotation because they existed longer. But taken in totality, LJ got way more lines in the main S1. I'm kind of dreading S2 because I know it's so Sarge-heavy, but at this point, I'm not stopping short.

I draw the line after the movie though. I'm not watching/parsing DiC. I spent a lot of time on imdb trying to identify who voiced who to see what characters were similar enough from the same voice actor to blend together for a more robust model (i.e. Prowl and Sideswipe, Bluestreak and Cliffjumper, Rock-n-roll and Footloose, etc). What I learned that DiC didn't even use the same voices in a lot of places. CoCo and Baroness were about the only holdovers. Destro, LJ, and a bunch of others were recast. And I thought I couldn't hate DiC more...

 

[ThunderDan19]

Yeah, not our Joe cartoon! I don’t think I’ve ever even watched a DiC episode. I’ve never heard enough good about them to chase them down and even Hasbro doesn‘t appear to be playing them with the Sunbows on YouTube, at least that I’ve seen pop up in my feed.

 

[ThunderDan19]

I found a few minutes this morning while most of the family were out to open up the Sarge and Mercer pack. I had kept my expectations low, so I am actually pretty pleased, mostly. Both figs are solid and it came with a crap ton of weapons, most of which hadn’t appeared previously, at least for me. Ironically, I didn’t actually put many of them to use, at least not yet.

Though it’s still not a great head sculpt/paint job, Mercer definitely looks better with the non-growling face. It’s not going to win a beauty contest, but it ain’t original Falcon’s head either. I gave him the futuristic looking rifle with the red accents that seemed to be made for him. Despite it not really seating in his hand well, it stays in place and seems to suit him.

In addition to the normal pistol and knife intended for him, I gave him the red beret that came in the pack. It looks like it was meant for Sarge and sits a little high due to Mercer’s flat top, but it makes him look a lot more intentional and less like a guy who just stumbled onto the battlefield. It seemed like he needed something, because otherwise he would be the only male Joe fig in my collection without something on his head besides a haircut.

Then there is Sarge. He’s actually a great figure… but I don’t have a place for him. I already have original Sarge in his iconic black and camo. I can’t justify replacing him with the less popular v.2. So I fiddled around to see if I could improve him, or at least make him different enough to reassign him as someone else.

I took off the Smokey bear hat and replaced it with the Marine looking cover and replaced the original aviators (which in the pack I received had been mangled to look more like granny glasses anyway) with the more 80’s future shades that were apparently intended for Mercer. When I was done, he kind looked more like my impression of a Desert Storm camoed version of Leatherneck or Gung Ho, and obviously way more formidable and bulked up than any of the CS versions of either.

Even with that, he really didn’t look enough like either of them to supplant the ones I already have. So, sadly, he went in the bag with other/old versions of figs I haven’t found a use for. It’s a shame really because he’s actually pretty well done. I hope at some point to find a use for him and at least part of all that extra gear.

Overall, the set was worth what I paid (heavily discounted and paid mostly with play money). I’m looking forward to the other Renegades coming out and going right on discount so I can add them as well.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Some interesting "in the pipeline" claims in the video:

• VAMP Mk II - If it's true, I'm absolutely there for it.
• Deep Six - not really a new claim, just some supposed new details.
• Lara Croft - I don't think those are official pics, but if she looks like that, I'll likely get one.
• Ninja Force SE & Jinx - I don't need another of either, but I might consider picking up the Jinx if it's an improved version that looks a bit more "modern ninja assassin" as long as the colors aren't too obnoxious.
• Hooded CoCo - I definitely don't need one, but if he looks good and doesn't cost a mint and require split second timing to get ordered, I might get one just for the nostalgia, since he was my only CoCo back in the day, until BA CoCo came along.

 

[nacho]

The guy in the know at TFW just yesterday threw cold water on the Vamp Mk II idea... Someone wished for a tan Clutch in retros, and he said that they'd likely reserve that for if/when VAMP2 got made and that a tweaked green version was more likely for retro. That didn't sound like someone who knew a MKII was on the horizon. Or maybe he was just playing coy... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Deep Six... yeah, I expect he'll look like a cross between the vintage diving suit and Iron Man... not all that unlike my custom made from a Buzz Lightyear. I'll get one or two for sure. It's an '84 guy... a no-brainer unless it's just terrible.

Lara Croft... I've always been a TR fan from the earliest days, so I'll almost certainly get one.

NinjaForce anything = hard pass. Classified v1 Jinx isn't great (I miss the sleeves... cloth, not ink), but I don't hate her. The only way I'd pick up the new one is if it looks nothing like any other neon nightmare NJAF figure we've ever seen. That feels unlikely.

Hooded CoCo... I'm a sucker. I have a good custom (at least I got some practice painting eyes!), but I won't be able to resist a sunbow or darker toy deco.

Yo Joe June can't get here soon enough. I'm in need of a fix... and to find out what other customs have been obsoleted

I got the ReAction+ 'Murica 250th WM figures (red-white-blue Duke, SE, LJ, and Falcon... all repaints except LJ, which is a pre-paint for w8) and the w7 wave (Flash, Daina, Chuckles, and HydroViper) today from DD. I'm in the habit of not PO'ing these, just waiting for DD get get stock and then jumping when they send out the 15% coupon. Otherwise, they're too overpriced for even a sucker like me.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Yeah, that whole video surprised me - particularly the VAMP II claim and the LC pics. Are those pics official? I hadn't seen anything beyond the teaser prior. If they are, that fig looks pretty spot on!

Anyway, dude sounds really confident, which is a departure from how he has been in the past. He's previously called out some of the other creators for making "confirmed rumor" claims, so I would imagine he might have some insider (possibly someone who is more likely to share now that the leadership has changed?) info on these ones.

Or he's just fallen off the deep end and is just out for clicks.

 

[nacho]

Yeah, that whole video surprised me - particularly the VAMP II claim and the LC pics. Are those pics official? I hadn't seen anything beyond the teaser prior. If they are, that fig looks pretty spot on!

Anyway, dude sounds really confident, which is a departure from how he has been in the past. He's previously called out some of the other creators for making "confirmed rumor" claims, so I would imagine he might have some insider (possibly someone who is more likely to share now that the leadership has changed?) info on these ones.

Or he's just fallen off the deep end and is just out for clicks.

I think the pics are just AI guesstimates, as that's par for the course for most of these info-video guys these days. Haven't seen anything that I thought was a leaked official pic.

Yeah, he might be right. I think a MkII would certainly sell, especially since a lot of people didn't get a v1 and have a Clutch-shaped hole in the their O13.

 

[ThunderDan19]

I think the pics are just AI guesstimates, as that's par for the course for most of these info-video guys these days. Haven't seen anything that I thought was a leaked official pic.

After taking a slower re-viewing, there is at least some AI in there. On one of the non-action figure pics of LC, she has a second braid. I'll say though, the AI figure pics look really close to the H'bro promo pics of the past, that's for sure. And they look to be remarkably consistent for AI and do make the figure look pretty darn good, aside from having pins where the more recent releases have apparently gone pinless (someone commented in the youtube poll).

Yeah, he might be right. I think a MkII would certainly sell, especially since a lot of people didn't get a v1 and have a Clutch-shaped hole in the their O13.

Like this guy right here.

 

[ThunderDan19]

And... I did it. I had a 10% off promo on Mercari and the listing already had already lowered the asking price with free shipping so I made an offer, got a counter and bought me a Dragonfly, with Wild Bill (gonna have to cancel my PO for the retro one). All in all, I'm confident it was the best I would do on the aftermarket, and I'm only paying for the helo and the fig I actually like from the set.

I followed up by ordering the rocket upgrade on ebay and I already have my flight helmet for WB from GI Studios, so I am so ready to go. Now I just need to get my 1:18 helos sold to make space at the ceiling for the DF and Rattler, and recoup some (hopefully most) of what I spent today. Yee haw!

 

[ThunderDan19]

Four G.I. Joe Hasbro Fanstreams Announced For YoJoe June 2026

Hasbro has announced they will be holding 4 G.I. Joe Fanstreams in the month of June for YoJoe June. They will take place on June 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th at

toynewsi.com

Looks like Dan Larson will be one of the new faces of the CS with Lenny and Tony gone. I used to think he was great until he decided to get political.

 

[nacho]

I love Dan Larson and Toy Galaxy. I missed his political turn. That's unfortunate. His toy videos are pretty great. He clearly loves toys and these properties the way us children of the 80s do.

 

[ThunderDan19]

Yeah, it’s generally better to just not know. Nothing is worse than watching someone you have always enjoyed previously go full lib-stick.

 

[nacho]

At this point, it's nothing new. I have a list as long as my arm of personalities I used to like that ended up with lefty-syndrome. I can't disown them all. I just have to compartmentalize and try to just see them for the things we agree on.

 

[ThunderDan19]

2026 SDCC G.I. Joe Classified Exclusives Revealed: Shipwreck vs Cadet Deming And Fatal Fluffies

Shown below are this years 2 G.I. Joe Classified SDCC Exclusive offerings from Hasbro. G.I. JOE Classified Series Fatal FluffiesThis set will cost $54.99 and

toynewsi.com

Well… that’s a very easy pass for me.

In other news, my DF is on the way! Huzzah!

 

[nacho]

Hmmm, I literally just finished parsing the audio from that "No Place Like Springfield" 2-parter last night. I will definitely get one. However, it will feel like a waste if we never get a Mara figure to pair with Shippy. She's the part that makes him *want* to believe it's real, even if she was a synthoid copy of the real Mara in that episode.

And I'll grab 2-3 Fatal Fluffies if possible. They're goofy and sci-fi and a genre-bending Gremlins meets Alien mashup... but in this case, nostalgia beats common sense with a tire iron. The S7 o-ring FFs are a ton of fun, so getting them in the larger scale is A-OK with me. I have several Extreme Sets popup-dios that will work for a an orbiting platform interior, perfect for Pyramid of Darkness - Space Station Delta photos. If you told me 24 months ago that I'd own official FFs in two different scales, I'd have asked if you were feeling ok.

All of this makes me think they're never going to do a separate Sunbow sub-line, but if they keep peppering them into the retros and SDCC sets, I won't complain.