Ordering none of the FSS. The last mass release and TRU exclusive Joe's were more appealing to me. Of the FSS figures I would want the Ninjas and Metal Head but little else.
^Word.... ^There's Bulletproof with his 92' brethren. He's not a bad figure, he's just a little plain. I wasn't much into Joe's past 87'-88' so I have little attachment to him as a character.... Anyway, decent shelf filler none the less.....
I'm interested in starting my GI Joe collection. I want to have the POC line as my core- and collect figures from lines that share similarities in articulation, accessories, etc. I think the 25th, 30th, and 50th anniversary lines are similar to POC, correct? Can someone please confirm or help?
Yes that is correct, they were designed by Boss Fight Studio as well, which also designed the Marauders Gun Runners figures too. POC came after the 25th but shortly before the 30th line. In fact, the 30th line may have actually been POC internally but rebranded before released to retail. By POC/30th, hinge+swivel wrists largely became standardized and build quality was increased substantially over that of the 25th line(which felt cheap until waves 5 or 7). The 50th line, I've heard some qc complaints about, my figures from that are okay. If BBTS still has the Silent Striker set for $60-70, grab it because that's a steal, it's like getting the Skystriker for $40, the HISS tank with rail guns for $20 and 4 $10 Joe's for free. The Retaliation line had some "Ultimate" ARAH figures. Retaliation used some flimsy plastic, by wave 3 this was largely alleviated but just wanted to give you a heads up. For example the red ninja has flimsy hands compared to the Black Dragon ninja(possible the best generic ninja figure) in wave 3.
This is perfect and should help me get underway. I'm not sure about vehicles yet; I don't have the space, but I at least want 10 figures from each side to start. Thank you very much!
You're welcome, can you list which figures you're interested in? Chances are I might have them and can provide feedback on the best versions to get.
Joe's: Snake Eyes (w/ 3 swords) Lt. Falcon or Sgt Stalker (not completely sold on either falcon☹️) Gen Hawk Flint Duke Beachhead Roadblock Lady Jaye Shockwave/blast or Scarlett Then maybe fill out with Star Brigade (x5) Cobra: Cobra Commander Destro Firefly Storm Shadow (30th retaliation looks best) Baroness Iron Grenadiers x 2 Alley Viper Tombstone Shadow Tracker Then maybe out with BATS or Troopers (x5)
Snake Eyes- sounds like you're referring to POC wave 3 Dessert Assault(think that was the theme?) Snake Eyes. Arguably thee best Snake Eyes in that scale. Can't go wrong. Can switch between V1 and V2 look, lots of weapons. 30th Stalker is great, will have to check if I have Falcon ARAH General Hawk is okay, the elbows are very hindered. I prefer the POC version since it's more battle ready Flint- get the 50th anniversary edition, best one by far. 2nd afterwards might be the Resolute or 2009 5 pack version. Beachhead- get the 50th version from the 3 pack. Roadblock- the best one was the Resolute one Lady Jaye- the 30th anniversary one has the best accessories, the 25th anniversary one from a multipack looked best Scarlett- NONE of them are up to par IMO....Renegades one was okay but specific to that cartoon. Resolute one would've been awesome if the head wasn't huge Shockwave was okay, hindered elbows Don't have any Star Brigade unless you meant Steel Brigade? In that case, all Steel Brigade are awesome Cobra Retaliation Ultimate Cobra Commander is best. Battle mask and hooded head come in the same package Destro from the 50th anniversary 3 pack is best for a classic look. The POC one from one of the later waves(City Strike Destro?) is awesome Firefly from one of the Retaliation 3 packs is best(it's ARAH based) Storm Shadow, the one from the 30th single pack and 1 of the later 2 packs are the same, it gives you an optional head and gear for the Renegades version. Excellent figure. If you want something more accurate to the 1984 look, get Retaliation Ultimate Storm Shadow Baroness- the 2009 cobra 5 pack had the best one IMO but I think the SDCC one might be better(came in a GI joe vs TF set) Iron Grenadiers- 25th ones are classic and decent. The 30th/50th ones are heavy troopers, good for variety Alley Viper- all are worth getting, the POC/50th ones have more gear included. The Resolute ones are just okay, they don't resemble traditional Alley Vipers. Don't have Tombstone Shadow Tracker is based on Predator and is awesome. Unique for a Cobra villain. For troopers, the Jungle BAT and Jungle Vipers are awesome. Also the POC/30th Cobra Vipers and POC/30th/50th Cobra Troopers. Avoid the 25th Cobra Troopers, they're not as good.
Check out Hisstank.com. They're a sister site to TFW but focus on GI Joe. (You may even still be able to use your TFW login info over there.)
BBTS had or has some of the 50th sets for a decent price. You can also try Hisstank as mentioned above.
@Shin Densetsu as far as Scarlett goes I think the best modern one is the version that was released at SDCC with Powerglide. Granted getting her off eBay solo will cost you about $60... Also, the best versions of Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow were reissued during the 50th line as a two pack.
That Scarlett came out after I went dry on Joe's for a bit, I'll give it a look. I'm partial to the Joe Storm Shadow V2 that was in the set with Spirit.
I'm sorry Joe isn't doing anything right now, gang. I feel certain that it has a lot to do with the current political climate; that, and kids don't really want to play with army toys anymore, which, of course, boxes Hasbro in in terms of keeping the line going. I personally hope that it'll continue one day and feel strongly that a 6" RAH line would certainly be a wonderful spot to start.
While there isn't anything new, I've been having fun watching vintage toy reviews on HoodedCobraCommander788's YouTube channel after randomly discovering it over the holidays.
There are a lot of parallels between the US today and classic GI Joe themes. Domestic terrorists (Cobra) and an ethnically, sexually-integrated and culturally diverse military (GIJoe). Good guys who focus on individuality and teamwork. Hasbro has a GOLD property right now that could easily become one of the most culturally significant “kids” shows in years. They just lack the vision and ability to execute a vision. It drives me nuts how relevant this property is and it’s left in the dustbin rather than helping redefine this era. Too much?
Mezco could get away with the trappings of RAH in a way that Hasbro couldn't. Just like Sideshow did.
