25th Anniversary Line

[Daigo-Bah]

I bought the Hawk/Scarlett comic pack today.  Nice Hawk!  Brings back major memories.  As for the new comic pack images, that Copperhead is MINE!

[Brian]

I stopped by TRU this weekend and found Wave 5 on the pegs.  I couldn't resist and picked up a Crimson Guard, Flash, and the black Snake Eyes.  Our local WM is completely bare as well, and Target is pretty well stocked with Wave 2 figures, and the first wave of Comic Packs.  I'm thinking about picking up some of the stuff I'm missing next time we're there, and maybe a comic pack or two, because getting the mail-in Doc figure would be nice.  This line really seems to hold the nostalgia for me much like the VOTC line did/does, with the cardbacks and all.  I should probably stay away from vehicles when they start hitting, although it would be tempting.  There are so many (figures and vehicles) that I always wanted as a kid, which makes some of this stuff more of a temptation to pick up.

[Morgbug]

I am absolutely ecstatic I do not collect this line.  For the first time today I finally saw single carded Joe's (no multipacks, ever) at a Walmart.  From the sounds of things, it's wave 5 with Snow Job and Destro (gold head?).  Nice looking stuff, but I cannot imagine the frustration of starting out four waves behind.

[efranks]

Found the two new comic packs today and bought both of them, Dreadnoks and Destro/Breaker.  I haven't opened the Dreadnok set yet but did the other one because I wanted to check out Breaker.

He has some cool features but does anyone else have a problem with his helmet not fitting?  Or the communication device not fitting the helmet?  I have to say that so far the helmets have kind of sucked.  Hawk's doesn't fit right either

It's the same problem that I have with some of the Star Wars figures from Hasbro as well; they seem to have forgotten that these are toys.  I buy action figures because I like toys.  If I want statues I'll go to GG or Sideshow.

These figures look good but if I were a kid and I was trying to play with them I don't think I'd like them that much.  Weapons that fall apart (Gung Ho's grenade launcher and Scarlett's crossbow are the worst examples so far), helmets that don't fit (Hawk, Breaker) and figures that feel like they're about to break just coming out of the package.  The Baroness is guilty of that, her holster actually fell off when I was taking her out of the box. 

I don't like it when you need to have a hair dryer and tube of super glue on hand when you open your figures so you can fix the warped weapons/accessories/legs or reattach the broken pieces.

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[Ben]

I really don't think Hasbro made these for kids. Otherwise, they wouldn't be so damn hard to find. If Hasbro was really serious about selling these to kids, the retailers would allow them more peg space.

I suppose after Sigma 6 they really had a hard lesson in who was buying GI Joe toys. That still doesn't excuse shoddy construction of your Baroness, but I doubt many of these will be finding their way into kid's hands.

[Brian]

I could kind of see the helmet problem as well.  I opened up the Sgt. Flash I found this weekend, and his helmet falls off pretty easily as well.  Great figure, but it reminds me of last year's TAC Stormtrooper where you couldn't hold him upside down without the helmet falling off.  That is annoying.

Ben touches on a point I was thinking about as well, do you think any kids are buying these - or just collectors?  We were looking around for something extra to get our nephews for their b-days this month, and I showed my wife the Star Wars comic two packs at Target.  We were looking at something for $10 or less.  She said "well, those are $12 now" and I said, "well, the Joe ones are still $10", and she asked me if they would even know who those characters were - and I said I figured not.  It just got me to thinking, it is a really great/neat line, but without toon support I wonder how much kids will be buying them.  It doesn't look like it will make a difference to Hasbro, because they're selling well anyways, and I don't think we want them kid-focused anyways - but it was just something I was wondering.  I've never seen anyone but adults looking at them, and I see kids and adults checking out Star Wars and many of the other lines.

[Brian]

Here's some rumors for the 25th Ann. line this year, from the Joe Sightings forums.  Visit the linky for more info:

Singles:

Hawk
Bazooka
Barbeque
Storm Shadow
Serpent
B.A.T.

Comic Packs:

Snake Eyes and Hard Master
Beachhead and Mainframe
Scrap Iron and Wild Bill

Like I said, more info and speculation at the link.  If this is true, it sounds pretty good.  Barbeque is one of the Joes I had as a kid, and always liked, as well as Bazooka.  The B.A.T. would be nifty as well.  Sounds pretty good to me.  Also, according to this listing at EE, here's the case breakdown for Wave 7:

1x Major Bludd
1x Wild Bill
1x HISS Driver
2x Cobra Viper
1x Spirit Iron Knife
1x Snake Eyes #4
1x Duke with Jetpack

[efranks]

Whether kids are buying the Joe figures or not, they're still supposed to be toys.  I buy them because that's what they're supposed to be, but I don't think they hit the mark.

They make an great carded collectible and a pretty good loose-standing-on-a-shelf statue...but not a good toy.  I have the same beef with a lot of the Star Wars toys as well, though. 

I opened a Commander Keller/Marine comic pack the other night and Keller's left hand fell off.  There are quite a few SW figures that have arms, heads, belts and hands that fall off at the least bit of use and those don't make good toys either in my opinion. 

As a kid I never thought twice about rolling a VAMP full of figures down the hill when we were playing but I don't think I'd dare do that today.  With Star Wars we used to play in the snow, sand and grass with our figures without a second thought that they'd come back with all their limbs in tact...can't say the same for today's figures.

Hasbro still makes some awesome toys, though.  The Tranformers, for example, really impressed me this year with the movie vehicles.  They felt like toys you could play with.  Same with the Justice League Unlimited figures and the Ben 10 stuff.  The Star Wars and Joe figures, though, not so much.

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[Brian]

You make a good point about durability.  I know we played with our SW and Joes in all terrain/conditions as well, and I don't really remember any breakage either - especially with the SW figs (I think I might have had an o-ring snap on my Duke figure when I was older and my brother was playing with my childhood toys).  I think a lot of the difference is the articulation issue (and it may be other factors as well).  Things like the JLU figures are pretty durable, and in many ways comparable to the vintage SW figures where the articulation was just shoulders, hips, and head.  There isn't as much there to fall off.  The other improvements (paint, sculpt, articulation) are probably worth the trade off, but I can agree where they might not be as "ready for play" as they once were, and that's kind of too bad.

I picked up my first Joe comic pack today, the Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow one (what can I say, I'm a sucker for Snake Eyes).  Something I thought was cool about the Joe packs (compared to SW) is that both figures had stands, plenty of accessories (same as regular releases), the comic, of course, and even the file cards were packed in.  I guess I wasn't expecting all of that stuff (stands and filecards in particular) to be included.  Kind of cool.  Now I know I want to be sure to pick up at least five more packs so I can "rescue Doc".

[efranks]

I'm with you on the Joe comic value!  Their sets so far, with the possible exception of Hawk/Scarlett, have been incredible.  And actually, the V1 and V2 Snake Eyes and the V1 Storm Shadow (the V1 versions are in that comic pack) are actually three of the figures so far in the Joe line that I felt held up pretty well.

Those figures make good toys. 

One of the problems I have with the SW line, and some of it has carried over to the Joe line, is the type of plastic used.  I understand that there are budgets and safety to take into account, but some of the figures that have the most problems seem flimsy when you get them in hand.  The plastic is just not up to snuff for all the articulation they try to pack in some times.

Reading forums can really aggravates me, especially over at RS, because I'm always at odds with a lot of people on this topic.  As I said, I buy toys.  That's my thing.  I don't need them to be 100% screen accurate have 3 dozen paint apps and some ridiculous amount of articulation.  I want them to be pretty close on sculpt, enough that you know who the character is, decent paint apps that look good even if there aren't a lot of them, and good articulation or good posture/stance that makes sense for the character in the scene it's made for.

I don't need super articulated Cantina patrons, for example, but I like to see well done SA Troopers and soldiers.  Spend some money to give us super detailed, ultimate versions of the heroes like Vader, Luke, Obi-Wan, Dooku, Han, Boba, etc, then save cash with 6 points of articulation on Wuher and 3rd-from-the-left Jabba henchman.

Eh. I rant.  It's just one of the things that bothers me; give me toys for $6, if I want more I'll call Sideshow or Gentle Giant (who aren't exempt from mistakes, but that's a different issue).

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[spiderpumpkin]

http://i.toynewsi.com/g/index.php?dispsize=800&mode=view&album=GIJoe%2F25th_Vehicles%2FAttack_On_Cobra_Island&pic=Target_Hiss_03.jpg 

New boxed HISS picture at TNI.  Vehicle has ARAH size pegs which is good for ARAH figures but not for 25th figures.  The driver doesn't have a newly sculpted crotch for sitting.

[Reid]

That looks pretty neat, I love the driver. Still, would've been nice to see a 25th style HISS Driver. But I'll probably pass anyways, I like my DTC HISS just fine.

[iFett]

I really like the window boxed display of this set even though I'll be opening it for sure and the driver repaint looks pretty nifty.  This set should only be $15, but we'll see....

I'm hoping we get a few more vintage vehicles before the movie crap hits.

[spiderpumpkin]

It looks like Wave 4 isn't dead after all.  Many Target stores around the Twin Cities here in Minnesota put out a case today.  I saw them at the Andover, Coon Rapids/Riverdale and Brooklyn Center stores. 

Picked up the Gung Ho without anchor on hat, a couple Air Troopers and a Storm Shadow to keep on the card.

[JohnH]

I was excited about the HISS until seeing that pic.  Boooo.  If the vehicle was black and the driver was...well...a HISS Driver, I'd buy it in a second.  I'll pass on that though.

John