Just wondering if anyone can help answer some questions about the classified line, as I'm new to collecting G.I. Joe in any form... never even had any back in the day. I don't want the complete line, by any means, but it would be nice to get a few figures of characters that I've enjoyed in the comics over the years... Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow, Beach Head and Firefly, and the Dreadnoks... maybe some more as and when/if they're announced I know very little about this line, so hoping someone here might be able to clear up a few things. Given that the line seems to be mainly focused on "classic" characters, or the equivalent of G1 in TF terms, can anyone explain why Hasbro decided to use that hideous Arctic deco look for their Storm Shadow figure? That seems a poor choice in a line they're still trying to get off the ground. Beach Head and Firefly are kind of expensive to get now, and not many (if any at all) seem to be available in the UK. Were these some kind of exclusive figures? And if so, does anyone know if there is likely to be a wider release re-issue at some point? I see Zartan is up for pre-order, but for me, the Dreadnoks are an "all or nothing" option. Historically , how popular are these figures (mainly Buzzer, Ripper, Thrasher, Torch, Zander and Zarana) and are they likely to get a classified release some day? Cheers.
To answer a few: Storm Shadow was an Amazon exclusive (in the USA), might be part of why they opted for the Ninja Force design as it wasn't a regular release Beachhead and Firefly were both Target exclusives (at least in the USA), which explains their high secondary market price
Hello! Can't say for sure about the Storm Shadow deco. My personal assumption (FWIW) is that there was going to be planned release of him (closer to his traditional look) for the movie line around the same time, but they held the movie figures when the movie got pushed back. Beachhead and Firefly were both *distributed* as Cobra Island-Target exclusives in the US. I don't know how hard they were to get for the rest of the world, but it has been pretty painful to get them here. So far, the released characters for the classified line have all been featured on the G.I.JOE site's roster. I am not aware of any word on a potential dreadnok release, but Torch, Ripper, Buzzer, Road Pig, and Zarana are all listed, so I am hoping that means there is potential to see them further down the road. But don't let not having all of them stop you from getting Zartan; he's pretty great, in my opinion.
Based on what the JOE designers say, if there is one word to describe Flint, it's *handsome*. I feel like the jaw line is wider now than in the teased version (skip to about 13:30).
Heh, yeah, not super-happy with the sculpt. Hoping someone does a good 3D print & paint of a more traditional looking Flint, that I can swap out.
In fairness, the way it looks mere inches from your face isn't the same as it'll look 10-20 feet away in your display.
All three original Dreadnoks were released in the 25th era, only 2/3 were released over a three year period of the new sculpt era; there simply is no absolute precedence for anyone to predict whether all three will make it to Classified. Even if they do release all three, in what period of time will they all eventually get released? the answer is likely that if the line continues long enough all three will get released. But that doesn’t mean they will all be released simultaneously. You have two options — buy Zartan then each of the Dreadnoks as they are released, meaning there will be a period of time you don’t have all of them, only some. If that does not satisfy your all or nothing need, then wait until all three Dreadnoks are finally released, then go back and buy the first two and Zartan on the secondary market. It may cost you more to do so, but at least you don’t emotionally have to deal with only having some of them but not all. Only you can decide how much it’s worth to wait to have all of them — either the emotional cost of only having some for a period of time if you buy them as they are released or financial costs of having none of them until they are all available and going back and buying the ones on the secondary market you passed on at release so you are guaranteed to have them all once you decide to buy them.
But what if it is mere inches from your face? I can't be the only one that likes to put the on their desk or study them closely or make out with them. Wait...I've said too much.
That’s true. And to be clear, I don’t absolutely hate it. I can live with it if no alternative comes along, but I’m curious to see if the customizing community does anything. Actually, I think someone had an 1/12 scaled 25th Flint head printed up for a custom, but I don’t think it was widely available.
I’m ever the optimist and hope, until proven wrong, that they’ll let pulse premium folks pre-order the new reveals today. No expectations re Target exclusives. I wager that chat will “crash accidentally” during the Joe portion. Life goes on. That said, it is at least remarkable that I am more likely to receive, at a lower cost and with much less stress, the Swarm troop builder from Vala than the Cobra Viper, etc from Hasbro.
Always a possibility but unless your name is Larry Hama you don't get to make yourself into a GI Joe. Everyone knows that.
Not going to lie. While I paid a scalper to get my Trooper and Beachhead...I have them. I have them with full accessories which is my biggest bugbear. While I also too have low expectations for any kind of re-issue of Cobra Island, at the very least I have one of what I wanted so far.
