[GizmoTron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Kain

Walked into a Gamestop today I haven't been to in over and year and here is what I see:



All those figures and the only GI Joe they have in there is one lone Gung-Ho. WTF Hasbro?????

Must be a Prestige Store, they tend to carry a lot more figures.

Gung-Ho is the only one I've seen at most stores recently.

[JCarterVA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Kain

Walked into a Gamestop today I haven't been to in over and year and here is what I see:



All those figures and the only GI Joe they have in there is one lone Gung-Ho. WTF Hasbro?????

That is very impressive. I was at a Gamestop a month ago that had 50% and I was surprised. They had 4 SE and CC helmets. 10 days later they went on sale online.

[Dr Kain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GizmoTron

Must be a Prestige Store, they tend to carry a lot more figures.

Gung-Ho is the only one I've seen at most stores recently.

Yeah, this location is the biggest store in Colorado. THey're at least four times the size of the normal Gamestop store.

[scarrviper]

Fuck Hasbro.

I want to give this line a chance. I preordered a Zartan from Amazon March 1, and today was supposed to be the delivery date. There was never a shipping notification, and now Amazon has delayed the order and has no estimate for when it will arrive. I'm guessing Hasbro shorted them or Amazon took too many orders. This was going to be my first classified figure, and now who knows when or if he'll ever ship. I know there are others who got the same message today from that preorder period.

I'm sure it's been asked a million times before and I'm preaching to the choir, but what are they doing? They have to know by now that this line is extremely popular, yet they still can't produce enough to fill the demand? Why are these things so damn scarce?

Zartan was the one figure that really stood out to me when I happened to see some in hand pics back in Feb. He looks exactly how I expected the characters in this line to look. Flint and Lady Jaye also look way better than the earlier classified joes imo. I'm sick of seeing nothing at retail, so I jumped on this preorder when I saw it. Now even preorders are meaningless.

Sorry for the rant, I was just really looking forward to getting something new this week after months of almost nothing.

[sh002]

Zartan is still available at Dorkside if you need him. I received 2 Zartans from Dorkside recently.

https://dorksidetoys.com/products/gi...gure-pre-order

[Archangel]

That new ML Zemo has potential in my Classified collection. Cold weather Cobra Commander?

[MeLikeJinx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scarrviper

Flint and Lady Jaye also look way better than the earlier classified joes imo.

I was watching reviews on them on Youtube... I don't like how Classified Joes make the upper chest and neck separate pieces... it looks like Flint and Lady Jaye are wearing flesh colored T-shirts... Duke was wearing an actual white T-shirt, so it doesn't look as bad on him. I'm really glad Marvel Legends doesn't do it like that.

Also... if Major Blood is another Cobra Island Target Exclusive that is total BS.

[SpasticPlastic]

If Major Bludd is another Cobra Island Target Exclusive, I'm out. I'll sell my collection and go back to hating Hasblo and everything they stand for.

[Trivial Psychic]

Now that some of the basic figures for the Snake Eyes movie has been revealed, I wonder if we'll be seeing that Night Creeper ported upto the Classified line?

I'm on the same boat as many others though...if Bluud and/or another troop builder is announced (which I have a feeling will be the Alley Viper...next time around, which so happens to be my favorite troop type,) for another wave of Cobra Island, I'm out. It has gotten to the point where when I get my hands on a new Joe...I find myself questioning whether it was worth the stress and trouble and truthfully...it's not. If I wanted that kind of drama to be coming up into my collecting habits on a regular basis, I'd be collecting all those different roach warriors from Mezco.

[Dr Kain]

Fortunately, outside of Alley Vipers and Crimson Guards, there's no other army builder I care about from Cobra, so as long as it's not those two, I'm good. If it is, then I'll just play it by ear.

[Atomsmasher]

I've never seen a line so impossible to collect. I'm looking forward to the 9.99 baroness

[scarrviper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MeLikeJinx

I was watching reviews on them on Youtube... I don't like how Classified Joes make the upper chest and neck separate pieces... it looks like Flint and Lady Jaye are wearing flesh colored T-shirts... Duke was wearing an actual white T-shirt, so it doesn't look as bad on him. I'm really glad Marvel Legends doesn't do it like that.

Also... if Major Blood is another Cobra Island Target Exclusive that is total BS.

I see what you mean about the neck/torso seam. I guess it doesn't bother me as much since the vintage figures were constructed similar.

If Bludd truly is a Target exclusive than it's another kick in the nuts. Especially since he's a favorite of mine. I will never pay a scalper for one.

Speaking of which, I actually got to see Flint and Lady Jaye in hand yesterday at a local store, however my excitement turned to anger and disappointment. They were charging almost double retail for them. I refuse to spend nearly $80 on these. I know it sounds silly but I kinda felt betrayed, to see this place suddenly charging scalper prices on brand new figures, that aren't even exclusives. I understand stuff having a slight markup but come on. It's sad that to see the shit situation with this line has made some turn to greed. It takes the fun and enjoyment out of this hobby.

They did look really good in person. After I got home I put in a preorder for them at Gamestop. Hopefully I actually get them. I'm a bit worried about my Zartan and whether amazon will ever ship him.

I'm just not used to having to preorder stuff. Most of my time collecting has been in store purchases, with only the occasional online order when I had no other option. I've seen product drought before, but nothing this bad.

What makes it more frustrating, is seeing everything else get stocked, except for G.I.Joe. Last year when the line debuted, I only saw part of wave 1 on two separate occasions, and wave 2 only once. I quickly lost interest. Yet every store had piles of ghostbusters, marvel legends and power rangers seemed always available. The only thing hasbro that I don't see besides joes at the stores, is star wars which I quit collecting a few years ago. You either see pegwarmers or just one or two new figures at a time. Meanwhile Mattel seems to almost always have WWE figures stocked on a regular basis. Same goes for mcfarlane DC stuff, or spinmaster Batman is always full from what I see.

All three big retail stores in my area each have 3 pegs with tags for classified figures, and they are always empty. One of them only added the pegs a month ago when they did a reset of the entire toy section. Obviously these stores are expecting product, otherwise they wouldn't be allocating valuable shelf space. So where are they? Why can't hasbro keep up? Why did they so badly underestimate demand? Why have they seemed to have done nothing to improve the situation? Why are almost half the figures exclusives to Target? Who thought is was a bright idea to make armybuilders Target exclusives? I can understand why some feel like there's a part of the company that hates this brand for some unknown reason. I realize I'm late to the party on this but I can see why so many collectors are pissed off. I really hope by summer they get this sorted out and we can buy what we want without all this headache and drama. I can dream right?

[GizmoTron]

Found Flint and Lady Jaye at a local store today. $25 each, but they really do look nice up close so I figured the extra $5 was worth it. Haven't had time to open them yet, but first impressions are that this line really is getting better with each new wave.

[Dr Kain]

Since I had to work today, I'm just now catching up on the news, which actually isn't hard because it seems like jack and shit were actually revealed across the board.

For both the Power Rangers and GI Joe lines, they showed absolutely NOTHING worthy of my money. None of these Snake-Eyes movie figures WOW me at all. I wish they had split the wave up with half being movie stuff and the other half being classic characters. I hope this isn't the only thing GI Joe coming out all Summer long because if it is, this sucks.

[scarrviper]

Yeah the movie stuff does nothing for me.

Honestly I'd rather see them crank out more of the existing figures plus the target exclusives before we get anything else new.

Hopefully after this dud of a movie the classified series will continue with what we really want. I have a feeling the movie stuff won't be as hot at retail.

[En Sabah Nerd]

I'm a little sad that we're getting movie Storm Shadow before a regular one, and similarly movie Baroness before an individual normal release.

[Trivial Psychic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scarrviper

Yeah the movie stuff does nothing for me.

Honestly I'd rather see them crank out more of the existing figures plus the target exclusives before we get anything else new.

Hopefully after this dud a movie the classified series will continue with what we really want. I have a feeling the movie stuff won't be as hot at retail.

I'd be inclined to believe that...but I'm thinking that these are gonna be no easier to find than previous waves. People have been clamoring for a classic styled Storm Shadow and a single pack Baroness re-release for a while...and honestly, these movie designs could probably blend into a regular display, at least as placeholders until Hasbro gives people (or bots) what they actually want. Snake Eyes sells no matter what...so that means the other two ladies in Scarlett and Akiko are the most likely culprits to be shelf warmers...if this wave ever makes it onto store shelves at all.

[Wolvie2334]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JCarterVA

The Joes are rolling out in style on a real Military vehicle!

Where did you get this? I see a similar one a Walmart but it does not come with the stickers. Thanks.

[scarrviper]

Thankfully my Zartan shipped out over the weekend from amazon after being delayed, and I received him today. I'll try to do some shots of him when I can. Thankfully I got one with good eyes. It was weird opening a Hasbro figure after not buying anything of theirs in years.

I've not had him out of the box for long, but here's my initial thoughts-

- I really love the sculpt. The detailing is exceptional. They did a great job with his face in particular. A lot of love went into the design. Everything about this figure screams Zartan.

- The articulation is really good, the joints have plenty of range.

- The overall quality feels like an average Neca figure to be honest. Some of the joints are very stiff and I will be using the hairdryer. The hips are just bizarre. I've never owned a figure with hip joints like this before. The hands are also surprisingly stiff, I need to heat them so his pistol will fit properly.

- Speaking of which, his accessories are all very good. I'm very happy he came with his vintage pistol, backpack, and mask. The knife is alright. I would like to know what the story is though about the monkey's paw and snake head charms. They are such an odd addition, I wonder why the designer wanted to include them.

- I do have to fix a qc issue with mine unfortunately. Both his thigh armor and shin guard on his left leg were not properly glued on and started to peel right off shortly after I got him out of the box. Hopefully it won't be big deal to re-glue them in place. Instead of putting the glue on the peg, they put the glue around the edges instead. So now I have to clean that up. There always has to be an issue with something. I also need to touch up his paint in a few small areas.


Overall I'm happy so far with my first classified figure. He's good, but I would never want to overpay for these. The quality is just not at as high of a level as I anticipated. I think the scarcity has led to overhyping and overvaluing. I'm glad I only paid retail for him. My curiosity is satisfied, but I still want Flint and Lady Jaye. I may pick up a few more figure if I ever see them in stores. I really don't like ordering these online.

[En Sabah Nerd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scarrviper

I would like to know what the story is though about the monkey's paw and snake head charms. They are such an odd addition, I wonder why the designer wanted to include them.

I just got mine yesterday and was also wondering about the monkey hand. I understand the snake head, either he's using it for its venom (to coat his knife or for poisoning targets) or it's simply a trophy he poached (I've seen people do similar with rattlesnakes). I'm stuck though trying to figure out why he's got a severed monkey hand since I'm not aware of any previous iteration of Zartan being involved in mysticism and it's not really a trophy otherwise, maybe he's just a big fan of W.W. Jacobs' short story.

[scarrviper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by En Sabah Nerd

I just got mine yesterday and was also wondering about the monkey hand. I understand the snake head, either he's using it for its venom (to coat his knife or for poisoning targets) or it's simply a trophy he poached (I've seen people do similar with rattlesnakes). I'm stuck though trying to figure out why he's got a severed monkey hand since I'm not aware of any previous iteration of Zartan being involved in mysticism and it's not really a trophy otherwise, maybe he's just a big fan of W.W. Jacobs' short story.

Using the snake head for venom makes sense, I like that idea. The monkey paw has me stumped.

Thankfully the hairdryer did the trick and now his hip joints function perfectly. His waist was completely frozen as well until I heated it up.

[Dr Kain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by En Sabah Nerd

I just got mine yesterday and was also wondering about the monkey hand. I understand the snake head, either he's using it for its venom (to coat his knife or for poisoning targets) or it's simply a trophy he poached (I've seen people do similar with rattlesnakes). I'm stuck though trying to figure out why he's got a severed monkey hand since I'm not aware of any previous iteration of Zartan being involved in mysticism and it's not really a trophy otherwise, maybe he's just a big fan of W.W. Jacobs' short story.

It's meant to be the Monkeys Paw from the tale that grants wishes.

[En Sabah Nerd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Kain

It's meant to be the Monkeys Paw from the tale that grants wishes.

I mused as much in my post but wasn't aware if magic elements were actually supposed to be a part of the GI Joe world, I always thought it was limited to sci-fi stuff.

[Cyclopswc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by En Sabah Nerd

I mused as much in my post but wasn't aware if magic elements were actually supposed to be a part of the GI Joe world, I always thought it was limited to sci-fi stuff.

I've always seen GIJoe having 2 worlds: the real-life/sci-fi military world, and the magic/mystic ninja world. Zartan being from the ninja world, it wouldn't surprise me that he also dabble in voodoo because he lives in/near the swamp. I also like that the monkey paw and snake head can be hang on his belt or on his backpack. I love backpacks that hold everything.

[Nutimus Prime]

Hasbro delayed my Zartan, again, again. So maybe next month I'll finally have a new G.I. Joe to play with lol.